“This fellow Ru really is getting more and more beautiful!”
Han Qiongzhi could not help but sigh. Even for someone whose thoughts were not as delicate, Han Qiongzhi could still tell that a strange sense of understanding existed between them, which left her feeling a little jealous. However, Ru Xin had been extremely composed, which prevented her from losing her temper, as that would make her seem petty instead.
Li Qingshan gazed at the glass bottle in his hand. He had never said a single sugared word to this female confidante of his, even spending most of the time exchanging foul words, but their relationship was anything but normal. They only needed to say a single word to go through hell for each other.
He had always been a man who liked fine alcohol, who liked fine women, and who did not disguise his desires. However, whenever he was with a beauty like her, rarely did he ever become worked up. She was truly an outlier.
Han Qiongzhi said, “What, you can’t forget about her?”
“The world is going to keep spinning, so why can’t I forget about her?” Li Qingshan stowed away the medicine preciously and stood up. He laughed aloud. “How dare you look down on me earlier! I’ll let you taste my power today!” As a result, he picked up Han Qiongzhi and made his way into the bamboo loft.
Han Qiongzhi broke free from his grasp. “Hell no! You better use your school of Novels techniques to deal with it!”
Li Qingshan pushed her over on the bamboo floor boards and smiled. “That won’t be up to you to decide!”
Han Qiongzhi gazed at him. “You better try the effects of the medicine! I still have missions for the Hawkwolf Guard to carry out!”
Li Qingshan was taken aback. After obtaining the medicine, he was eager to try it; he wanted to see if he could break through the final barrier and reach Daemon Commander. This desire was so great that it surpassed all lust, but Han Qiongzhi had travelled a great distance to come and visit him. He could not just abandon her here, right? He had to get along with her well, but he never expected her to see through him.
“Go do what you need to do. Do you think I’ll be happy if you just try to get me off your back like that? When we do something like that, I hate it when you’re half-hearted. The world is going to keep spinning, so why must you rush something like this? Cultivation takes priority!”
Han Qiongzhi silently thought to herself, I might not be of any help to you, but I definitely won’t become an obstacle in your path of cultivation.
“Thank you!”
Li Qingshan held her face and kissed her deeply before smiling. “I’ll spare you today. I’ll definitely make you beg for mercy next time.
Han Qiongzhi’s face reddened. “Don’t even think about it!” Then her voice softened. “After you finish cultivating, don’t forget to come find me, or I…”
Li Qingshan watched Han Qiongzhi vanish into the horizon before returning to the Qing Xiao dwelling. He took out the bottle of faint red medicine and stared at it for a while. He felt rather perplexed.
“Since the legendary Flower of Water and Fire doesn’t exist, where did this medicine come from?”
He was not too familiar with alchemy, but whether it were pills or medicine, it had to come from somewhere. It could only be produced by merging the effects of a few medicinal herbs.
He thought long and hard, but he was unable to think of anything. He would have to ask her the next time he saw her.
Li Qingshan removed the stopper and drank it all in one gulp. The taste was somewhat familiar for some reason, but before he could taste it closely, the liquid had spread through his body. After a slight refinement, it was immediately converted into a strange medicinal effect.
He tried absorbing it into his daemon core, and a sliver of joy suddenly flashed through Li Qingshan’s eyes. He held his breath as all of his muscles tensed up.
It really was effective!
The conflict between the two powers that originally opposed one another as water and fire, the spirit turtle and phoenix that struggled to merge together, was gradually being mitigated. Although this was nowhere close to merging, all he lacked was this step through the door. The thin barrier had finally been pierced through.
It was like among the sky filled with dark clouds, a tiny crack had appeared, allowing a streak of light to pass through and enter Li Qingshan’s head.
In that moment, the arduous comprehension he had developed over the past year filled his head. A solution finally appeared for the difficult problem that had troubled him for all this time. Li Qingshan riled up with vigour and shut his eyes, beginning a new round of cultivation.
Time passed by in a hurry. When the rivers of ice melted and spring arrived, the mirror clone suddenly turned into a puddle of water in the depths of the endless earth, within the surging magma. Within the surging fire, it evaporated away.
This also meant that Li Qingshan needed to devote all of his attention to the breakthrough. In the Qing Xiao dwelling, he opened his eyes. There was some exhaustion, but most of it was relief and joy. He said quietly, “It’s time!”
He began practising the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression and the Phoenix’s Scripture of Nirvā?a at the same time.
The two could be described as the very source of his daemon core. Originally, if Li Qingshan wanted to practise one of them, he would have to suppress the other. This was the first time he practised them both at the same time, which would definitely lead to the most violent conflict between the two powers.
The daemon core spun away, glowing with azure-blue and scarlet-red light at the same time. The azure-blue light was vast and expansive, filled with a peaceful and tranquil aura. The scarlet-red light was much smaller, but it was unending, like it could never be extinguished.
Sure enough, the two powers clashed violently. The different lights became more and more blinding. They were so pure that they could not accept any other power, let alone a power that was the exact opposite.
Instinctively, the spirit turtle wanted to suppress the phoenix to the very bottom of the ocean, extinguishing its final flicker of flames, while the phoenix did not back down either. It blazed brilliantly as if it wanted to evaporate away the ocean and burn the spirit turtle to death.
Li Qingshan carefully controlled the two powers, neither allowing the spirit turtle to defeat the phoenix in a single blow, nor allowing the phoenix to gain the upper hand. He did his best to maintain a balance between the two powers. For a moment, they were at a stalemate.
In such an intense clash, the two types of light criss-crossed, gradually showing signs of merging together. This was from the result of his past year of arduous cultivation, but it was also thanks to the assistance from the bottle of medicine from Ru Xin, which helped him save large amounts of time.
Li Qingshan knew he had already reached the most critical juncture. Success or failure all depended on this moment. Suddenly, he released his control over the spirit turtle while pushing the mantra of the first layer of the Phoenix’s Scripture of Nirvā?a to the limit.
There was a rumble in his head, making Li Qingshan’s head ring. The two coloured lights filled his mind. Behind him, the phoenix wings suddenly extended to the limit, almost unconsciously letting out a magnificent phoenix cry.
The phoenix broke through the spirit turtle’s suppression and spread its wings. The spirit turtle also seemed to recognise this power, no longer suppressing it anymore.
Li Qingshan returned to his senses. He was overjoyed. He drew all the light back into the daemon core. The two powers were no longer so distinct anymore. Instead, they both contained each other, like a taichi diagram of red and blue, rapidly revolving around.
Having faced numerous difficulties and obstacles, he had finally, truly reached the first layer of the Phoenix’s Scripture of Nirvā?a now. He gained the right to use the phoenix’s innate ability, but he still had not comprehended what the phoenix’s innate ability was exactly.
His daemon qi had virtually lost control, rushing out violently. If it were not for the containment of the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks, it almost would have rushed into the air.
When he subdued the conflict between the powers of water and fire, the daemon core recovered its perfectly-round state. At the same time, it underwent a qualitative change, advancing towards the realm of Daemon Commander.
