The stone egg that rolled into the bush with the gold currently shone with rings of scarlet light, pulsing about like it was breathing.
The Bone Eating shamanfolk noticed this too. The strongest shaman had just finished off the pitiful young man’s last finger. His body that had already been robust swelled up a little further. As he licked away the blood on his face, he made his way over.
Within the stone egg, a pair of eyes suddenly opened. They were like rubies.
After a lengthy slumber, Li Qingshan’s consciousness slowly returned. He blinked his eyes and sensed the existence of his arms and legs, but he was trapped in a thick shell. He spread out with his body, trying to break out of the shell.
The leader shaman picked up the egg. He could feel that the stone egg was burning hot and trembling gently. He turned around and asked Gold earrings with a hoarse voice, “What is this?”
Gold earrings shook his head numbly.
The leader shaman tried to crush it in his hands, but the egg did not even budge, shining quietly. He could not help but let out an interjection of surprise. With his strength, he could even crush steel, let alone rock.
He saw a huge boulder on the side of the path. He went over and casually dug a hole in it, placing the stone egg in there and throwing a punch.
Boom! The boulder shattered into pieces, but the stone egg was perfectly fine.
Crack! A crack appeared on the surface of the stone egg, seeping with red light. The crack expanded and covered the entire egg very quickly.
Clatter! The thick stone shell outside finally fell off, exposing the phoenix egg. It was as red as the setting sun. There was a magnificent pattern like burning flames on the surface. Even the most beautiful artwork in the world paled in comparison.
Gold earrings widened his eyes. He had never expected the stone egg he had exchanged for with a pot of salt was actually hiding something like that. If he had chipped away the stone shell earlier and exposed its current form, it probably would have been worth much more than the patterned bundle. He smiled self-deprecatingly. He was about to die, yet he still cared about whether it was worth any money or not!
The Bone Eating shamans were surprised. They polished off the food in their hands in a hurry and gathered over, observing the phoenix egg. They were unable to see what was going on inside the egg.
However, Li Qingshan could see their hideous faces through the shell. He could not help but feel rather surprised. Wasn’t I in the volcano? How’d I end up here? Don’t tell me I had erupted from the volcano? Oh no, the Asura Field! All of my possessions are in there!
The shaman leader licked his fangs, and a voracious light filled his eyes. The Bone Eating tribe ate humans to strengthen themselves. They were born particularly sensitive to life force. The life force in the egg was basically even greater than a thousand or even ten thousand people. If he ate it, he would probably directly become the chieftain once he returned to the tribe.
The other Bone Eating shamans obviously sensed it as well, and the same voracious light filled their eyes. A small, skinny shaman could no longer resist the temptation, extending his hand to touch the egg. A slap from the shaman leader sent him flying before falling to the ground. Who knew whether he was still alive. The shamans immediately lost the courage to act up, but their eyes were still glued to the phoenix egg.
Li Qingshan could clearly see the voracious eyes merely inches away. He clenched his hands and feet, but never did his body feel so tender and feeble. His daemon core still existed, but all of the daemon qi had been drained. It was in a state where he could not mobilise it. He could use none of his innate abilities either.
So-called “nirvā?a rebirth” clearly was not becoming stronger all of a sudden. Instead, it required a process of growth. This was also the process he would be using to adjust the various powers in his body.
Right now, he was in the most feeble state possible!
I managed to escape the Dragon King of Ink Sea’s pursuit alive after so much difficulty. If I die to the likes of these, that would be what you call a joke!
Li Qingshan saw through the strength of these Bone Eating shamans with a single glance. From the perspective of humans, they were sixth layer Qi Practitioners at most. From the perspective of daemons, they had condensed a daemon core at most. Although they were tough, they topped out at the level of Iron Plate corpses.
But right now, he could not even deal with a single regular zombie, let alone an Iron Plate corpse. He could feel that the scarlet, boiling liquid was still flowing around him, so he grinned widely.
Abruptly, the phoenix egg lit up with blinding light. The fiery patterns on the surface danced around like real fire.
The Bone Eating shamans suddenly felt danger. As they gradually departed from humanity, their senses had become sharper, but their human greed made them hesitate, refusing to leave.
Boom!
The phoenix egg exploded, and violent flames surged out, swallowing the Bone Eating shamans. Among the cries, they were reduced to ash. The liquid in the phoenix egg was something tangible Li Qingshan had produced by drawing in the flames of the earth, so the power went without saying. It was not something that a few shamans could withstand with their bodies alone.
When all of the shamans gathered around the phoenix egg, Gold earrings had silently moved away. The Bone Eating shamans did not believe he had the power to run away, so they did not restrain him.
Suddenly, there was a flash of scarlet light. His reactions had not been slow, kicking off with his legs and throwing himself into the distance. He felt a wave of heat rush past him from behind, throwing him heavily against a tree. His vision darkened, almost fainting, but he immediately bit the tip of his tongue and held on. He could feel scorching pain from his back.
It was all thanks to the shamans that had gathered around the egg, as they blocked most of the explosive power, letting him survive.
Gold earrings wanted to run away, but as soon as he glanced back, he saw the small shaman who had been knocked away earlier just a few steps away. His body immediately stiffened. This was not cowardice. Who knew how much life-threatening danger he had faced in his life. Even with a blade to his neck, he could continue to smile, but the sense of fear was beyond what he could endure.
It was said that many animals would lose the power to fight back before their natural predators. No matter how vicious a dog was, they could only tremble with their tail tucked between their legs in front of a dog butcher. These Bone Eating shamans were the natural predators of humans, true butchers of humans. He was only “small” compared to his tribesmen. Killing Gold earrings was still a piece of cake.
Sigh, having killed these damned animals, you can say I got my revenge. That pot of salt was well spent!
However, the shaman did not even glance at Gold earrings. A prey he could eat at any time was not worth distracting himself over. He gazed toward the centre of the explosion in full concentration, arching his back and producing a threatening howl.
Just who can survive such a violent explosion!?
Gold earrings could not help but follow the shaman’s gaze and look over. The vegetation in the surroundings that had been set alight flickered in the firelight, but the centre of the explosion seemed a little dim. All of the flammable vegetation had been reduced to ashes. In a blur, he made out a very small figure.
Don’t tell me a monster was actually born from the egg? Heh, that works too. He can kill all of these man-eaters. Even if I die to the monster, it’s better than dying at their hands. Huh? That’s…
Gold earrings squinted his eyes before suddenly widening them again. There had always been many mysterious and strange legends in the Mist province, but everything that happened tonight was even stranger than the legends.
Emerging from the egg was not some monster, but an infant!
He seemed like he had just been born. He was only a foot tall, and his skin was white with a touch of red like he was a jade sculpture. He seemed extremely tender, except his scarlet pupils shone with a soul-stirring glow.
“There’s actually still one left! How troublesome!”
Li Qingshan mumbled to himself and discovered that his voice was basically an infant’s babble. With his current strength, he still was not the Bone Eating shaman’s opponent. The danger had not been eliminated yet.
However, just how much danger and how many powerful opponents had he faced in the past? He did not really care about an opponent like this at all. Under the Bone Eating shaman’s threatening growls, he glanced over indifferently with his scarlet eyes.
All of the Bone Eating shaman’s hairs stood on end. He leapt backwards, pacing around on all fours. He was afraid to meet the scarlet eyes’ gaze, but he refused to leave. The heavy aura of life attracted him.
Li Qingshan began walking towards the Bone Eatin shaman. His footsteps were tiny, but he walked with great ease and calmness, showing no fear or hesitation at all. He passed through the flames in the bush, and the flames wrapped around him, avoiding him obediently.
The Bone Eating shaman staggered backwards. As Li Qingshan advanced, the flames licked the air, suddenly turning into a pair of flame wings and shooting towards the Bone Eating shaman.
The flames whistled with grandeur, like a phoenix spreading its wings.
In reality, this was merely a false front. The actual flames could not cause much harm to the Bone Eating shaman given his tough body.
The Bone Eating shaman wailed out and fled in a panic, disappearing into the jungle in the blink of an eye.
Don’t tell me this infant is a Fire Devouring folk? It’s said that the Fire Devouring folk are born from fire, but I’ve never heard that they can turn into eggs. And, it’s said that most Fire Devouring folk are to the south? Who cares. This Fire Devouring folk has chased away the shaman. I need to flee immediately. I didn’t think I’d actually be able to get away with my life intact. How unbelievable!
Having emerged from a hopeless situation alive, Gold earrings fantasised to himself, but he did not see the “Fire Devouring folk” chase after the Bone Eating shaman. Instead, he looked at him and asked with his childish voice, “What’s your name?”
Gold earrings almost sank into numbness again, waiting to act like he had seen and heard absolutely nothing.
The Bone Eating shaman that fled through the jungle saw how Li Qingshan did not come after him, so he came to a halt hesitantly. Suddenly, he heard a miserable, despairing howl in the distance and immediately took off again. He did even look back. It had clearly begun dining already. He did not want to become food. He would be better off reporting this matter to the chieftain!
Gold earrings howled as he desperately tried to strike the flames on his hand, trying to extinguish it.
Li Qingshan leapt in fright. He thought, You’ve only been burned by fire. Do you have to squeal like a pig up for slaughter?
The dread in Gold earrings’ heart had already reached the limit. The slightest stimulation was like a needle to a balloon. All of it erupted suddenly.
“Stop howling. I’m asking you a question!” Li Qingshan said. His voice was unclear and tender, but the imposing bearing it contained was not something Gold earrings could defy. This was a bearing that could only be developed through slaughter and controlling the fate of others.
Gold earrings discovered that his hand had only been burnt red. He dared not look at Li Qingshan from above, so he threw himself to the ground and prostrated. He trembled. “T- this one is Goldie A’bao!”
“What a good name!” Li Qingshan praised with absolutely no sincerity. He asked, “Do you want to die, or do you want to live?”
The desire to survive suddenly filled Goldie A’bao’s mind. He raised his head. “Of course, I want to live!”
Li Qingshan smiled. “Very good! I fucking hate people who don’t want to live!”
PS: Qingshan has hatched out of the egg. Where is he off to? We’ll continue with double releases today! Furiously begging for monthly votes!
