The endless underground river that Li Qingshan had discovered was not the only one—it was only one of them—and they criss-crossed with one another like a spider’s web.
After comprehending the wonders of the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas, his ambition began to swell. He was no longer content with refining this underground river. The range would exceed his territory, but were there any Daemon Generals bold enough to stop him?
As a result, whenever he encountered a fork, he would split his daemon qi. Even with the divine powers of the spirit turtle, this process still became extremely slow.
However, he was in no hurry, pushing forwards slowly so that he could construct a huge, underground net of water for himself.
At the top of Cobweb city in the dark chambers, a snowy-white figure was vaguely visible through the layers of curtains.
Lolth laid on her bed, completely unclothed. Her crimson lips parted slightly, spitting out a thread as her ten fingers flew about. Even her eight legs waved around in a dazzling array. The spider silk was constantly spun and twisted as if she was weaving something.
She was serious and focused. Although she was naked, there was nothing erotic about it at all. She seemed extremely natural.
At the same time, her cold, noble, and ruthless bearing had completely vanished.
Right now, she seemed more like a craftsman, an artisan, carefully tending to her creation, having forgotten about the world outside. There were no distractions from the outside world that could influence her.
However, Li Qingshan’s act of refining water systems en masse still ended up alarming her.
Lolth raised her head and clearly sensed Li Qingshan’s daemon qi spread and permeate the surroundings. She bit her crimson lips gently. A spiteful light flashed through her eyes, but it vanished in an instant. She lowered her head again and continued focusing on the work at hand.
Actually, this was the way a spider killed—spending lengthy amounts of time on preparation for the moment of surprise when the prey stepped into the net.
……
“Croak croak! Great king! Great king!”
The ice frog leapt around in Li Qingshan’s hand. The ice spring it occupied was also a source of a water system that Li Qingshan wanted to refine.
Li Qingshan smiled. “Looks like you’re almost up to that step, so let me lend you some assistance.”
The ice frog had always been one of the strongest daemon soldiers under Li Qingshan’s command, and it seemed to possess a rather special bloodline, which was why it could use the power of ice.
Even a few years ago, it was already very close to the Daemon General realm. After a few years of arduous cultivation, it had basically arrived at the cusp. However, the time required for the actual breakthrough would still be calculated using years.
However, Li Qingshan took out the Water God Seal and pointed at it gently, drawing out a thread of blue light and pouring it into the ice frog’s head.
Immediately, the ice frog radiated with resplendent, blue light. The extreme coldness from the daemon core within its body permeated the surroundings.
With a plonk, the ice frog turned around and leapt into the ice spring.
“You better turn into a beauty to pay me back!”
Li Qingshan sniggered. He felt the ground tremble slightly, and the spring suddenly lit up, shining with the glow of lightning. Afterwards, it flickered and grew brighter and brighter.
Quite a while later, the trembling gradually subsided, and the glow of lightning slowly dimmed.
A delicate young man with icy-blue hair crawled out from the spring. He said, “Croak croak! thanks, great king!”
After a careful inspection, Li Qingshan confirmed he was indeed a young man and not a young woman. He said in disappointment, “Fine then. Looks like I’m unlucky. I’ll give you a name. You can be… Li’l Blue! Sigh, let’s hope Li’l Red is female.”
Abiding to his absolutely tasteless naming style, Li Qingshan casually named the ice frog “Li’l Blue”. As for the “great name” of “Li’l Red”, he had also come up with it on the spot. He felt like it suited the huge red carp very well.
“Croak, croak! Alright!”
The ice frog of the past, or Li’l Blue right now, obviously had no objections. He still did not have an idea of which human names were good or bad. Only until many years later did he come to understand, but when he began to resent it, it was already too late.
Li Qingshan directed Li’l Blue to swim upstream and continue cultivating in Moon Court lake. Afterwards, he conveniently flooded the spring with daemon qi, completing the refinement of another water system.
Right when he wanted to continue with his journey, he felt a familiar aura rapidly grow closer. Li Qingshan smiled and withdrew all of his aura, taking a step back and merging with the rock wall.
A figure stepped out of the darkness. Ye Liusu arrived by the spring. She wore a luxurious, black cape as she wore a silver circlet. A silver, crescent moon hung on her forehead, which made her seem mysterious and noble.
She looked around, unable to hide her anticipation, but she failed to find Li Qingshan and became slightly disappointed.
“Are you looking for me?”
Suddenly, a hand hugged her from behind. Her body tensed up before relaxing again, leaning in his arms softly.
“Master, I- I sensed your daemon qi.”
Afterwards, I left behind the group of night roamers to directly come and see you. Her face heated up slightly as she felt something she had never felt before. She felt extremely peaceful in his arms. Her exhaustion from dealing with the schemes of all the night roamers faded away silently.
“How has your great cause of unification been going?”
“It’s been alright, because master…”
“You should change the way you refer to me! That doesn’t suit you.”
Li Qingshan smiled. Although making the proud, independent Ye Liusu call him master was something that made him very happy, it was exactly because of this that she could never be like Ye Liubo and call him that from the bottom of her heart, filled with true feelings.
“That’s… not really a good idea!” Ye Liusu hesitated and turned around, looking at Li Qingshan with twinkling eyes. “I just won’t call you master when no one’s around, alright?”
“Whatever you want.”
Ye Liusu smiled faintly, taking the initiative to wrap her arms around his neck and offering up a kiss in a rather bashful and inexperienced manner. She stopped very quickly as her eyes were filled with undisguisable affection.
She did not want to remain as only a servant to him. When she chose to abandon everything and wander the world with him, she understood what she wanted. This wish had only intensified, and he had heard her voice inside, feeling extremely happy.
“Do you want your gift?” Li Qingshan smiled.
“Yep.”
Ye Liusu possessed none of the power and prestige of the past great king Ye Liusu right now. The coldness and resolve she showed in front of the night roamers had completely vanished. She was as docile as a teenage girl in love.
“Then close your eyes.”
Li Qingshan traveled upstream with Ye Liusu, passing through the current and finally arriving in Moon Court lake. He passed through the many formations and arrived in the Clear Court sect of the past, the Moon Court dwelling of the present.
“Alright. Open your eyes!”
“What’s this?” Ye Liusu opened her eyes and saw the rising and falling halls and pavilions under the moonlight.
“We’re in Moon Court lake. I’ve already refined it. This island originally belonged to a sect called the Clear Court sect, but I’ve chased them away. From now onwards, it is the Moon Court dwelling, as well as the territory you wanted under the stars!”
Li Qingshan pointed at the sky. It just happened to be late at night, so the brilliant moon hung in the sky, surrounded by stars.
“This is… my…”
Ye Liusu’s heart seemed to drift towards the stars with Li Qingshan’s hand.
She had intended to establish a territory above ground since a long time ago, but she understood human cultivators were not amicable with otherfolk. Acting rashly would only turn the night roamers into targets.
She had this ideal, but she still had to listen to her rational side. Not to mention it all meant nothing if she did not possess a territory she could fall back onto.
Now, Li Qingshan had personally delivered the territory she could only dream of to her, completing her long-cherished wish. The surprise and joy she felt went without saying.
Ye Liusu returned to her senses and pushed Li Qingshan onto the ground. She was unable to express her feelings with words anymore. All she could do was embrace him with all the strength she had in her.
Li Qingshan laid on the soft grass and saw the corner of Ye Liusu’s eyes moisten. They glimmered like stars, turning into tears very quickly. She became a weeping beauty, becoming even more beautiful and enchanting.
He also became filled with a faint feeling of joy, wiping away the tears for Ye Liusu. He held her delicate face and gently kissed her lips.
Ye Liusu made a clumsy response, extending the tip of her tongue into his mouth. He immediately sucked it and began tasting it.
Li Qingshan pulled off the black cloak on Ye Liusu. She was dressed just like when they had first met. The simple, black armour only covered her most important parts such that both her thin waist and slender legs were exposed. A flowery pattern extended across her skin, making her mysterious and alluring.
Li Qingshan rolled over on top and smiled. “When we first met, I think we were like this.”
Ye Liusu turned crimson from embarrassment. Back then, never did she think there would be a day when she would lie beneath him willingly. Her eyes suddenly began to flicker. “Actually, I have another wish.”
“What?”
“I read a book by humans about the matters between a man and woman. They were the only ones for each other. If one of them died, the other would not be able to live any longer either. It made me very envious. It made me wish I also had someone like that. However, this kind of feeling will never appear among night roamers, and I never dared to wish for it either until I met you.”
Ye Liusu was rather embarrassed, but she was very calm, as if she was waiting for him to do anything he wanted to her.
Li Qingshan shuddered inside. Listening to her sincere words, he was very touched, but from Ye Liusu’s expression, he could not help but think of Han Qiongzhi.
Had she emerged from seclusion yet? Had she succeeded with Foundation Establishment? When would she return?
Li Qingshan rolled onto the grass and gazed at the sky full of stars. He murmured, “The only one.” The stars turned into Han Qiongzhi’s longing face as he felt a tinge of guilt inside.
The tender love he usually showed to Ye Liubo was merely a master’s affection to a pet, not to mention nothing had actually occurred yet, so he felt no guilt. As for what he went through with Lolth, it was more like a great adventure filled with danger and excitement. Even his fate had been unpredictable, so he had no time to feel guilt even if he wanted to.
However, with Ye Liusu, he had truly been captivated. He was unable to avoid it.
“What’s wrong?” Ye Liusu propped herself up and asked in confusion.
Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms and shook his head with a smile. “Nothing. I just thought of something I had promised, but I failed to uphold it.”
Fortunately, this was not his former life, or he really would have committed the most heinous of crimes. In this day and age, even the icy-cold Han Anjun had a great group of concubines. This was why despite the constant rumors between Ru Xin and him, Han Anjun had never killed his way over and ordered him to move out of the Chain mountains.
Compared to this, what Li Qingshan had even less of a choice over was his identity as a daemon. Now this was something that truly touched on his life and survival. If he handled it badly, he would definitely harm himself and others.
