Li Qingshan immediately raised his eyebrows. Just who was out of their minds and bold enough to come make trouble in his territory?
The curtain of night was heavy. Enveloped in dark clouds, the sound of thunder boomed constantly as the world flickered.
A familiar figure stood in the sky criss-crossed with lightning. His shabby priest robes ruffled despite the absence of wind, and electricity crackled on him as if a god of lightning had come down to the mortal realm.
Was that not Zhou Tong?
This old daoist priest has already undergone the heavenly tribulation! Li Qingshan thought. He looked at the sky again and discovered that Zhou Tong was not alone. A Soaring Dragon ship docked in the sea of clouds.
Standing on the deck were the various school leaders with Liu Zhangqing at the front.
Huge cannons erupted with streaks of light, barraging against the formation and making it flicker. It was on the verge of shattering.
During the time Li Qingshan refined the Watermirror disc, Zhou Tong had refined his Lightning Slaughter wooden sword again and finally taken the step, condensing a “Divine Lightning pearl”, which was the so-called Golden Core realm.
After resting up slightly, the first thing he did was come for revenge.
Seeing how they had a Golden Core cultivator at the lead now, the Academy of the Hundred Schools riled up in confidence too. They brought out the Soaring Dragon ship that the school of Mohism had spent many years building to provide assistance.
Liu Zhangqing’s face flickered due to the lightning. He also wanted to take back his Watermirror disc, so he glanced down at the Moon Court dwelling urgently, but after some consideration, he said to Juechenzi on the side.
“Juechenzi, looks like the moon demon really isn’t here. You should convince your master to hold back a little once he gets through the formation so that he doesn’t cause wanton massacre.”
The war had died down after so much difficulty, but even when the moon demon possessed the upper hand in the past, he had never hunted them down. If Zhou Tong wanted to vent, then so be it, but if this would lead to war again, then he would rather go without the Watemirror disc.
It was exactly because of this that they had remained on the sidelines. Otherwise, if they used the Dragon’s Roar with the main cannon on the Soaring Dragon ship, the Moon Court dwelling would have been destroyed a long time ago.
Hua Chengzan said, “Yeah. Even if the moon demon comes, all we need him to do is hand over the Watermirror disc and have him leave Moon- Clear Court lake.”
Juechenzi was troubled. “About this… master is having quite the time right now…”
“You don’t need to tell me that. I obviously know. I want to force out the moon demon so that he can fight me again. When that happens, none of you are permitted to interfere. This old priest will beat him until he begs for mercy. If he hands over the Watermirror disc obediently and leaves Moon Court lake, so what if I spare his life?”
Zhou Tong’s voice boomed out like thunder, reaching the Soaring Dragon ship. He had a violent temper, but he kept a clear record of his debts. He also knew the moon demon had held back before, so he obviously refused to stoop even lower than a daemon.
“Ox-nose, those are some big words! Just whose life do you plan on sparing?”
A violent bellow erupted from the lake, drowning out the wind and thunder in the air. Li Qingshan stood with his arms behind his back, gazing at the sky. His scarlet hair drifted in the wind, blazing like fire.
Zhou Tong’s eyes lit up, and he pointed the Lightning Slaughter sword at Li Qingshan. He bellowed out thunderously, “Wretched daemon, you’ve finally found the courage to come out. Are you bold enough to face me in battle?”
The lightning gathered together on Zhou Tong, making him blaze and flicker. He seemed like a sun conjured from lightning, continuing to absorb electricity from the cloud layer and becoming larger and larger such that it became visible even from five hundred kilometers away, possessing terrifying destructive power.
Li Qingshan laughed aloud. “I think you just don’t want to keep that stupid sword of yours anymore! You’ve brought it to me for roasting chicken!”
Their voices were grand and resounding, echoing through the surroundings like a conversation between two gods.
Li Qingshan hit a sore spot with that. Zhou Tong’s expression changed. “Alright, wretched daemon. Looks like you won’t feel despair until you face death.”
“Alright, old priest. Looks like you won’t give up until you see roast chicken. I can see you’ve reached Golden Core, but so what? Rain, clouds, thunder, and lightning, disperse!”
Suddenly, Li Qingshan extended his hands and pulled them apart like he had grabbed something.
A rip abruptly appeared in the dark clouds that spanned the sky. Like the slowly-unfolding curtains of a stage, they revealed the sky full of stars and the crescent moon.
Moonlight enveloped the Soaring Dragon ship. All the cultivators were stunned, and their faces had become pale-white from the moonlight.
This power was basically beyond belief. It was not something a Daemon General could possess. It almost resembled how Gu Yanying had carved out a battlefield in the sky back then.
Hua Chengzan said, “That might be the power of a water god. The moon demon might not have undergone the heavenly tribulation, but he’s become stronger too. This battle probably won’t be easy.”
However, the other cultivators were rather convinced. No matter how powerful the moon demon was, he was only a Daemon General. How could he be the opponent of a Golden Core cultivator?
Zhou Tong immediately lost his geographical advantage, unable to absorb the power of lightning from the clouds anymore. His expression became stern. He pointed out and channeled with the Lightning Slaughter sword in his hand.
The lightning that resembled a scorching sun, illuminating the surrounding region, suddenly flashed, turning the world white.
By the time everyone recovered, all that remained in their vision was the trace of a jagged bolt of lightning. Who could dodge something that moved so fast?
A huge hole had appeared on the surface of Moon Court lake, stretching over a hundred meters across. Not only had the lake water evaporated, but even the rock below had melted. Who could contend with such power?
However, Li Qingshan managed to dodge in the moment the bolt of lightning fell. He unfurled his wings of wind and turned into a scarlet streak of light, piercing into the sky.
Lightning blazed and crackled. Even the cultivators on the Soaring Dragon ship struggled to keep their eyes open.
No matter how fast the moon demon was, he could not be faster than lightning. No one could escape an attack like that. And, a casual strike from the current Zhou Tong was stronger than all of his full-powered attacks that summoned the heavenly lightning in the past. He only needed a single strike to decide the battle. This was the great power of a Golden Core cultivator!
However, they discovered very soon that they were wrong! The moon demon’s figure flew freely between the lightning, turning, darting about, and soaring. He was like a divine bird that clashed with lightning, yet not a single bolt of lightning was actually able to hit him.
Zhou Tong was surprised as well. “That’s impossible!”
Li Qingshan opened his eyes. The flashing trajectories of lightning appeared in them, but these flashed had not been left behind after the lightning had struck. Instead, they came from before the lightning erupted. Otherwise, even with the wings of wind’s speed, he would still seem slow if he tried competing with lightning.
It was possible to say that if the opponent dodged the moment Zhou Tong struck, they were basically too late already.
In the past, in order to unleash lightning with enough power, Zhou Tong had to perform a series of ritualistic daoist gestures and go to quite some lengths, which gave the opponent time to dodge beforehand.
Now, a casual strike of his possessed startling power, and it would be endless. This was what made lightning terrifying. As someone who practised the Divine Heaven Method of Lightning Wielding, Zhou Tong did indeed have the strength to strut around proudly.
Although he had only just undergone the second tribulation, he could probably look down on all early Golden Core cultivators already. When it came to a real battle to the death, even some mid Golden Core cultivators would not necessarily be his opponent.
However, Li Qingshan used the power of the spirit turtle to peer into that moment of the future. In the blink of an eye, he approached Zhou Tong. No matter how powerful a cultivator’s techniques were, their feeble bodies were still their greatest weakness.
“Be careful, senior Zhou!”
“Hmph, I’ve been waiting for this!” Zhou Tong suddenly slammed his hand against the scorching sun of lightning before him.
Boom!
In that moment, countless bolts of lightning were released like a wild dance of silver snakes, weaving into a net of electricity together with an unbelievably loud clap of thunder.
Even the cultivators on the Soaring Dragon ship high in the sky felt their ears buzz, becoming mildly stunned.
Although they clearly knew Zhou Tong stood on their side, they could not help but become overwhelmed with shock and horror. The interwoven net of electricity was a zone of death. If they fell in there, no matter how many Foundation Establishment cultivators there were, there would only be death for everyone.
Li Qingshan had already responded a moment earlier. However, even though he could see the trajectories of the lightning, he was unable to dodge in the dense net of electricity. Originally, he planned on unleashing the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell to block forcefully, but he suddenly thought of something and waved his hand.
Pieces of the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell assembled into a huge mirror. He unleashed two abilities of the spirit turtle simultaneously.
The violent lightning landed on the mirror, and most of it was reflected.
Li Qingshan stood behind the mirror, completely unscathed. He thought, The effectiveness of this move seems to be limited in close combat, but it seems to be quite effective against techniques, particularly against the flashing lightning from Zhou Tong.
Zhou Tong’s eyes widened immediately. Having undergone the second heavenly tribulation, not only did he condense a Divine Lightning pearl, but the Lightning Slaughter sword had become even more powerful after being further forged in the heavenly tribulation, yet his attacks had actually been blocked so easily.
It had not been easy at all for Li Qingshan. Although the reflection seemed to triumph over Zhou Tong’s lightning, it took a great toll on his mind to maintain the mirror. His daemon qi plummeted as well.
Normally, he would consider retreating, but he was right above Moon Court lake, so there was no need for him to fear a consumption of daemon qi at all. Taking advantage of Zhou Tong’s shock, he flew much closer.
He extended his hand when he was still thirty meters away from Zhou Tong. His arm suddenly swelled up and lengthened, turning into a huge, pitch-black limb that loomed over Zhou Tong’s head.
Zhou Tong erupted with lightning, and Li Qingshan felt like he had been electrocuted. There was severe pain, followed by a feeling of numbness that spread through his body. His movements slowed down, but he gritted his teeth and continued to reach down.
A bolt of lightning flew through his fingertips. Zhou Tong’s figure changed drastically as the lightning weaved together into the figure of the Lord of Thunder, holding a mallet in one hand and a chisel in the other. He had finally unleashed the ultimate move he had never managed to use in the past that he could now use at will. It was much clearer too, almost tangible.
Zhou Tong roared out furiously, “With the hellish might of gods, the Lord of Thunder strikes the daemon!”
Boom!
The Lord of Thunder struck his mallet against his chisel, and a bolt of lightning shot out, shining with a vague violet colour.
Li Qingshan knew he was unable to reflect this ultimate move. With a flap of his wings of wind, he dodged beforehand, but the trajectory of the lightning suddenly changed, piercing through the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell viciously and striking his body.
Li Qingshan shuddered all over. He actually lost control over his body at that moment. The wings of wind shattered as he directly fell towards Moon Court lake.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
How could Zhou Tong let such a fantastic opportunity slip by? He unfurled a pair of lightning wings and took off in pursuit. The Lord of Thunder constantly struck the chisel of lightning in his hand as bolts of violet lightning landed on Li Qingshan again and again.
The lightning would rip apart the daemon qi Li Qingshan had just gathered, and his body had become completely numb from the electricity. He entered a state where he was unable to put up any resistance.
Clashing with a Golden Core cultivator really is very dangerous! It’s also so unpredictable. Just the slightest carelessness might cost me my life.
The Water God Seal in Li Qingshan’s body produced ripples of light, which reached the edge of Moon Court lake in the blink of an eye.
The peaceful lake water suddenly began to bubble.
Swoosh!
A streak of water rose up from the centre of the lake like an upside down waterfall, directly charging into the sky and turning into a colossal hand that swung towards Zhou Tong.
