“Oh? What would this bad news be?” The Bone Eating Shaman King remained calm and looked down.
“Fellow, have you heard of the name Li Qingshan before?” The Myriad Poison Ancestor stood with his arms behind his back. He did not look at the Bone Eating Shaman King. Instead, he overlooked the city and the fields outside.
The sun had already set by now. The moon rose up into the air, shining on the two of them and casting two long shadows.
“So what if I have heard of him? So what if I haven’t heard of him?” Cold light flashed through the Bone Eating Shaman King’s eyes. His fury from earlier remained.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor saw through everything with a single glance. “Seems like you already know, fellow, then that saves me from all the talking. I only have a single question for you. Do you want revenge or not?”
“So what if I do? So what if I don’t?” The Bone Eating Shaman King’s anger vanished in a flash, recovering his unfathomable composure as a king.
“If you do, then I’m willing to lend you a hand. If you don’t, then I’ll save the talking and leave right now,” said the Myriad Poison Ancestor. To someone like the Bone Eating Shaman King, it was absolutely useless to say anything unnecessary. If he spoke too much, it would instead make him suspicious.
“What a great plan, fellow Myriad Poison. Are you trying to pull me into your attempt for revenge?”
“Since you already know, then let’s lay it out in the open. I will never forgive Li Qingshan. I will definitely make him suffer all the pain there is in the world, poisoned to death by a myriad of poison.” The Myriad Poison Ancestor’s face sank. His sunken voice seethed with hatred.
“He’s a mere Golden Core cultivator, yet you actually can’t deal with him?” the Bone Eating Shaman King asked in doubt.
“Savage mountain is a rare, blessed land in the south. The formations are extremely powerful, and he hides in there all year round… Whatever. If you don’t want to partake in this, I’m going to return to the Myriad Poison cult to cultivate. I’ll get my revenge sooner or later one day, but I’m just afraid that he might silently run back to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga in the Green province. By then, neither you nor I will be able to do anything to him. He might even undergo the third heavenly tribulation and come back to make trouble for us!”
The Myriad Poison Ancestor rambled until he felt like he could not continue any longer out of his own pride, so he went off in a huff.
“Please hold on, fellow!” The Bone Eating Shaman King stopped the Myriad Poison Ancestor and said sincerely, “I’m also determined to kill that bald ass. If we work together, let’s see how he continues to run amok!”
Bald ass? The Myriad Poison Ancestor was momentarily taken aback before understanding what was going on. The Bone Eating Shaman King thought Li Qingshan was a monk because he was a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga! There was no need for him to straighten out this misunderstanding. Instead, he rejoiced inside, I’ve finally got you, you Bone Eating barbarian! He let out a long sigh. “That’s what I think too! However, I should make some things clear before all of this. Everything on Li Qingshan belongs to me!”
“How come?” The Bone Eating Shaman King immediately let go of the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s sleeve and thought, As genius disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, who knows what good stuff Li Qingshan and Xiao An possess to be able to stir up a mess in the Mist province. Just the formations that the Myriad Poison Ancestor is powerless against are worth a sizable sum.
“Because of the losses my Myriad Poison cult has suffered!” the Myriad Poison Ancestor said as if it was his right.
“Your losses might be big, but have my clansmen just died for nothing? A hundred thousand of them, an entire one hundred thousand! All dead!” the Bone Eating Shaman King said “furiously”.
“They’re just some unimportant clansmen. Your Bone Eating city is untouched.”
“You can take the blessed land of cultivation that Savage mountain is, as well as twenty percent of the other spoils, but the rest belongs to me.”
“Since we’re in the same boat, that is not exactly impossible. I’ll be a little more generous to the young’uns then.”
The Bone Eating Shaman King was astounded. He had thought they would continue to go back and forth for a few good exchanges. He never expected the Myriad Poison Ancestor to just agree like this. Was this all merely a ruse?
The Myriad Poison Ancestor changed the subject. “But with the twenty percent, I’m fine with nothing else. I just want the two of them. You can keep the Blood Oath Scroll!”
“What a great appetite you have, fellow! Aren’t you afraid of biting off more than you can chew? You might as well just turn it around and say I’m getting the ‘twenty percent’ share instead.” The Bone Eating Shaman King sneered, but he stopped worrying. Now this was the kind of shamelessness and greediness that resembled the Myriad Poison Ancestor.
“Alright, then that’ll be that,” the Myriad Poison Ancestor said suddenly, and a smile flashed through his eyes.
The Bone Eating Shaman King’s heart sank, What a crafty old man. He’s intentionally used that to pull me into this matter. He wants to divert all the trouble to me.
But with closer thought, obtaining a Blood Oath Scroll and ten cave masters as servants was not exactly the bad end of the deal. As for that bald ass Li Qingshan, he had been planning to bring him back to Bone Eating city and torturing him slowly anyway, so it made no difference if he went to the Myriad Poison Ancestor. As a result, he agreed to the deal. However, he forgot to ask why the Myriad Poison Ancestor had not been camping out around Savage mountain, where Li Qingshan and the others were still able to capture Bone Eating shamans en masse.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor had been subdued by the Nightmare Tiger’s Demonic Eye, but his craftiness remained. If it were not for the fact that he had been too confident in his own strength and had ignored all the warnings, why would he have ended up like this in the first place? As for the Bone Eating Shaman King, even if he wracked his brain, he would never think that an ability that could turn a great cultivator into a servant existed in the world.
“Alright, let’s go!” the Myriad Poison Ancestor said.
“The great shaman priest is currently preparing a ritual. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t wait around and leave after the divination,” said the Bone Eating Shaman King.
“The two of us are working together, so why would we still need divination? You’ve been cooped up in this city for too long, fellow. Have you even lost the slightest bit of courage?” The Myriad Poison Ancestor mocked him intentionally.
“My courage doesn’t depend on waiting a short moment. That’s better than waiting a few years before achieving revenge!”
Unlike the fury he had demonstrated when they haggled over the share of spoils, the Bone Eating Shaman King had truly become furious this time. Taking a second heavenly tribulation cultivator so seriously was indeed unbefitting of his identity, so he could not help but mock the Myriad Poison Ancestor instead. It has been so long, yet aren’t you no different, unable to do anything to Li Qingshan?
“Alright, alright, alright. I’ll watch your shaman dance then!” the Myriad Poison Ancestor said furiously. Originally, he wanted to agitate the Bone Eating Shaman King, but upon considering he had already agreed to this, he found no reason to rush, which could only make him suspicious. If divination actually worked, why would he have suffered so much back then?
As they spoke, a nine-layered platform had already been constructed on the square in front of the hall. Flames burned in the surroundings, together with offerings of beef, lamb, and pork.
The great shaman priest brought a group of people of various ages and genders onto the platform. A few regular shaman priests gathered beneath the platform with a large group of Bone Eating shamans, prostrating on the ground and chanting and praying.
“Just so few people? Fellow, aren’t you afraid of angering your great god Qiongqi?”
The Myriad Poison Ancestor frowned. As one of the most powerful cultivators in the world, he did not have much reverence towards gods. Gods and buddhas were once human too. Speaking of which, they were just stronger cultivators.
If Qiongqi was here in person, then he would obviously shut up and keep everything to himself, but it was not like he could overwhelm the powers of the world and directly descend here. At most, only a wisp of his consciousness would descend through some ceremonies and rituals. There was nothing to be afraid of.
What surprised him was the number of human sacrifices. Some larger barbarian tribes could sacrifice over a hundred people at the same time, and they would always pick able-bodied men or pretty women.
However, the group of people on the platform ranged from young to old. As sacrifices, their “quality” was nothing special at all. Were they devout followers? But they were trembling away with faces full of fear. They did not seem dedicated at all.
The Bone Eating Shaman King seemed to forget about their bickering earlier. He explained with a smile, “Don’t let their appearances fool you, fellow. We’re offering up anything but ordinary. You’ll know if you keep watching, fellow.”
The great shaman priest suddenly produced a cry and began dancing around madly at the top of the platform. The prayers from the shaman priests and Bone Eating shamans below became louder with that.
Only the people on the platform were still left at a loss. The great shaman priest produced another cry and suddenly began to sing at the top of her voice. She sang in an uneven manner, resembling stern abuse, yet also like a vicious curse.
The group of people seemed to receive some kind of order. The men began to strip their clothes before throwing themselves on the women beside them. Wails and sobs rang out.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor was at a loss. There were many rituals that involved sex to amuse gods, but Qiongqi was not a god of lust, but a god of evil. What was the point of doing something like this?
“You still can’t tell, fellow? They’re all family connected by blood. All three generations are there. We call this ritual the Ritual of the Ten Abominations, offering up ten abominations of the living world. This is only the first half.”
The Myriad Poison Ancestor immediately realised what was going on and could not help but sigh that Qiongqi truly was a god of evil. He personally believed he was heartless, sinister, and ruthless and never took the words “good” and “evil seriously, but whatever he did, he would still check whether it would benefit him or not. If doing good merited benefits, then he would do good. He did not do evil for the sake of doing evil. Deeds like that were closer to the behaviour of demonfolk.
On the platform, the entanglement continued, but it developed into fighting as well as injuring very soon. This must have been the so-called second half!
A while later, various tragedies unfolded in the tiny space. There were many more abominations than just ten that had occurred there.
The great shaman priest seemed to lose her will. Her body shook violently as she cried out again and again. Her state became more and more miserable. Colour that resembled poison and pus rose up from the platform, gathering on her body and rising up into the air.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor could not see the point of this. These primitive forms of divination through possession had been abandoned by the cultivation community a long time ago. Even if so-called “gods” from higher worlds could perceive fate to a greater degree, they were still in two different worlds, and the “god” might not be skilled in divination in the first place. Even if it were able to, it would not necessarily give a response—disclosing the heavenly secrets came with a cost.
Towards the end, the so-called “possession” would often just be a farce. Some smaller tribes did not possess the ability to connect with another world at all. The shaman priest just behaved as if they were possessed, while the results of the divination were all made up.
Only a single person remained on the platform. He had just killed his mother, the very person that had given birth to him, while his neck had been ripped open by his son, bleeding constantly. He died in the blink of an eye, completing the final tragedy of the Ritual of the Ten Abominations.
The great shaman priest suddenly stiffened and collapsed on the platform before springing up suddenly. She gave off a terrifying aura that could not be put into words and yelled at the Bone Eating Shaman King, “You mustn’t!”
The voice was no longer the great shaman priest’s voice. It was filled with malice and evil. The yell echoed through the city, and the Bone Eating Shaman King’s face changed drastically. The Myriad Poison Ancestor was astounded too. It actually worked, and it gave him a direct warning!
This was a form of possession, but it only allowed the shaman priest’s mind to connect with the god’s to gain inspiration. This inspiration would often be extremely vague and unclear too. Only a fool would directly replicate a god speaking.
However, with the Bone Eating Shaman King and the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s cultivations at the third heavenly tribulation, they could obviously tell this was not a lie. The Bone Eating Shaman King asked in a hurry, “Great god, why not?”
However, the terrifying aura had already receded like the tide. The great shaman priest’s body swayed about, like a wooden puppet with its strings cut, collapsing on the platform and reduced to meat paste. Her brain core exploded, and the invisible, violent power swept out into the surroundings. The platform immediately collapsed, which took a few Bone Eating shamans down with it, killing them on the spot.
Being possessed by a god came with a price. It once again proved the veracity of the warning.
“Myriad Poison, how much else are you hiding from me? If you don’t explain yourself today, don’t even think about leaving Bone Eating city alive!”
The Bone Eating Shaman King turned around and gazed at the Myriad Poison Ancestor. His entire face twisted and darkened. His eyes were sunken, and his sharp teeth were exposed. Great god Qiongqi had gone to such great lengths to warn him, so this matter clearly was not as simple as it seemed.
A roar rang out from behind, bearing some of the bearing of the warning from earlier. A huge, vicious qiongqi emerged from the totem. It gazed at the Myriad Poison Ancestor with its bloodshot eyes filled with malice, ready to lunge over and kill him at any time.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor also felt unlucky. If the great shaman priest had only received some inspiration before issuing the warning, he could still say something to egg on the Bone Eating Shaman King. But now that the god had directly spoken, where even the great shaman priest had died on the spot, the Bone Eating Shaman King would never go to Savage mountain with him as long as he still had half a brain.
Ignoring the threat from the Bone Eating Shaman King and the Qiongqi totem, he said emotionlessly, “This battle will be a little dangerous. Otherwise, why would I want you to tag along?”
“You want me to serve as your scapegoat!” The Bone Eating Shaman King’s black hair stood on end, piercing his clothes like thorns and covering his entire body. He no longer resembled a human anymore.
With Qiongqi laying it out in the open, he immediately sensed the life-threatening danger involved. He understood many of the things that perplexed him too. It was no wonder the Myriad Poison Ancestor had yet to get revenge despite how great of a grievance it was. As long as he could cast away his pride and owe a few favours, finding two or three helpers would be nothing difficult at all. Why did he have to wait so long before coming to Bone Eating city to find his help? He was clearly trying to take advantage of his weaker senses over fate. The great cultivators could all sense that something was amiss!
It made sense, speaking of which. That Li Qingshan could reach his realm of cultivation in his thirties, completely falling out with the Myriad Poison Ancestor on one side while still capturing and hunting down Bone Eating shamans en masse on the other side. Was he really out of his mind? The Myriad Poison Ancestor had suddenly become a ghost cultivator, which was probably because the losses he suffered near Savage mountain were much greater than they were rumored to be. It was impossible for that bald ass Li Qingshan to possess this power. Just what terrifying existence was standing behind him?
It was fine and dandy when the Bone Eating Shaman King did not think about it, but now that he did, he thought very deeply into it. He felt like there was no saying what could happen if he became involved in this trouble. Upon remembering how Li Qingshan had accurately grasped the locations of several hundred Bone Eating tribes, he could not help but think of a possibility, That one of the Mist province does possess this ability. Not only do grass and trees serve as his eyes and ears, but his divination ranks among the top of the top across the entire nine provinces. He can fool my senses. However, if that one is willing to commit such atrocities without even batting an eye, has he realised my plans?
Thinking up to there, the Bone Eating Shaman King could not help but inhale deeply. If his plans were made public, basically no one would allow him to exist any longer, whether they were human or daemon, a righteous cultivator or a demonic cultivator. No matter how mild and generous the Great Banyan Tree King who devoted himself to protecting the balance of the Mist province was, he would still do everything he could to kill him. Not to mention, the King of Southern Yue would never let a fire spiral out of control in his own backyard.
Don’t tell me the hundred thousand Bone Eating shamans are just to lure me out of Bone Eating city so that they can deal with me easily? If I really go to Savage mountain, there’ll probably be a good handful of Daemon Kings waiting there. The first thing I’ll see is seven or eight innate abilities hurling right into my face. I can’t block that no matter how powerful I am! The King of Southern Yue’s estate might even send honoured guests to cut off my path of retreat. I’ll really have no way out by then. I definitely can’t go.
He felt more alarmed and terrified the more he thought about it, and he became even more furious towards the Myriad Poison Ancestor. Who knew what role he was playing in this scheme.
“Myriad Poison, you’ve gone too far! I’m going to eat you!” The Bone Eating Shaman King erupted into a frenzy, and the Qiongqi totem lunged over. At the same time, the protective formation of Bone Eating city activated as well, shining with brilliant light and dyeing the night sky blood-red. Coupled with the blessed land of cultivation rich with spiritual qi, its might became even more startling. He was about to kill the Myriad Poison Ancestor then and there.
“You were willing and so was I, so how can you say that I’ve gone too far? Strength has always been everything in the cultivation community. If you’re too afraid to seek revenge, I’m not going to drag you along with me. If you want to keep me here against my will, hmph, I think you don’t want your Bone Eating city anymore!” the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s green robes ruffled as he said fearlessly.
This was why great cultivators had to drastically supplement their grasp and knowledge over fate once they had reached the third heavenly tribulation, especially among demonic cultivators. If you were screwed over because of your insufficient grasp over fate and could not outdo others, then there would only be four words for you, that served you right!
The Bone Eating Shaman King suppressed his fury and stopped the Qiongqi totem. He knew that the Myriad Poison Ancestor was right. He did not even have to consider the results of their battle—just the aftermath would destroy the city. If he really forced him into dire straits, he would blow up his soul nascence, and the entire formation would definitely be destroyed, the Qionqi would be destroyed, while he himself would probably be injured too. That was the price that came with killing a great cultivator.
If he had really reached that point, then probably only he would remain in the world as a lonely Bone Eating Shaman King. He would have nowhere else to hide either. It was very likely for the Bone Eating shamans to be eradicated altogether.
As a result, he calmed down and ordered the Qionqi to return to the totemic mural. He stopped the formations as well and said to the Myriad Poison Ancestor, “You can piss off!”
The Myriad Poison Ancestor said nothing more, immediately turning into a streak of green light and flying away. He was extremely fearful of death too. If the Bone Eating Shaman King ignored the consequences, he really could prevent him from leaving.
The Bone Eating Shaman King thought to himself, As long as I remain in this Bone Eating city, then anyone that attacks here will pay a hefty price, no matter who they are. If I really run out of options, I should be capable of dragging down one or two with me. Which third heavenly tribulation cultivator doesn’t value their own life? I better just stick with the status quo for now. Hmph, I’ll definitely get my revenge one day.
……
Li Qingshan sat in the Aura Consuming Formation of Nine Breaths cast from the crystal skulls and absorbed their aura rapidly. At the same time, he practised both human and daemon cultivation methods. The aura circulated through his soul, where the malice went to the tiger demon and the evil was deposited in the demon heart before he used the Demon Suppression Statuary to suppress and convert it. The Demon Suppression Statuary actually progressed even more than the tiger demon, which was quite a nice surprise.
“What are you exactly, good or evil?”
“The fuck’s it got to do with you!”
ps: 五千字大章有木有，月票好不给力啊!你们鼓励一下我，让我超越一下极限好不好!
