Madam Vine’s words did make Li Qingshan waver slightly, but he asked himself, Will I also cease being me once I reach beyond the Nine Heavens?
As a result, he no longer had any more hesitation. Only those who possessed an unbelievable dream could believe in another’s unbelievable dream.
“You don’t care about his fate at all! That’s the only reason why you can say something like that!” Madam Vine flew into a fury. For a moment, murderousness filled the surroundings.
Li Qingshan said, “If you really care about him so much, then you should be lending him a hand, not getting in his way!”
“Shut your mouth! I’m doing this for the sake of our future!”
The sun vines twisted about like dancing snakes and swarmed over. The Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell blocked them.
“I think you’re doing it for the sake of your own future!” Li Qingshan sneered. With a clang, he drew his blade.
Xiao An gripped the hilt of her sword firmly. The Buddha Slaying sword was quite effective against colossal opponents with powerful regeneration.
Even if Li Qingshan cut apart all the vines here, it could not cause madam Vine any substantial harm, but as long as the Buddha Slaying sword cut through one of the vines, it could reach her main body and harm her.
However, a different emotion fluctuated in Xiao An’s heart, so the strike became rather hesitant.
“Alright, stop making trouble!”
At this moment, the Great Banyan Tree King’s voice ran out. His voice was quite helpless, but it was irrefutable.
“Hmph, all you know is showing bias towards outsiders!” Madam Vine pulled back reluctantly.
“Thank you for your trust. That means a tremendous amount to me!” the Great Banyan Tree King said to Li Qingshan.
“You’re welcome. I’m even looking forward to you succeeding so that you can help me out in the future!” Li Qingshan smiled.
“There’ll definitely be a day like that!”
The two Daemon Kings anticipated that day together in high spirits. Meanwhile, Xiao An gazed at the sun vine that wrapped around the great tree firmly and sighed inside.
Li Qingshan returned to Towering city, but the peaceful and quiet atmosphere had changed. He could clearly sense hostility everywhere. He knew he had angered madam Vine. However, he brushed it off with a smile.
In the blink of an eye, several days had passed. Li Qingshan absorbed one of the spiritual stones from the Great Banyan Tree King, and he returned to his peak condition. He stood before the Mist Province cauldron again.
“Are you ready?” The Great Banyan Tree King asked.
“I’m ready! Though, have you really decided to go forward with this, fellow?” Li Qingshan asked.
“I have no other choice.” the Great Banyan Tree King sighed.
“Alright then!”
Li Qingshan nodded and stopped wavering. He took a step forward, arriving before the Mist Province cauldron, but he did not take action immediately. Instead, he studied the patterns of mountains and water on the cauldron deeply. Gradually, nothing else remained in his eyes. All he could see was the cauldron of the Mist province.
The endless sea of trees, mountains, and rivers all appeared before him as if he was not facing a cauldron but the fifty thousand kilometers of the Mist province. The boundless pressure became even more evident. He felt like he was already shouldering a mountain before he had even taken action.
Behind this Mist province was an even vaster world. That was the nine provinces, just like one complete entity.
It was unshakable, definitely unshakable!
Li Qingshan pursed his lips and clenched both fists firmly, allowing the power of tremors to rapidly gather. His body shook gently, but he did not strike as if he was waiting for something.
The Great Banyan Tree King nodded in satisfaction. If he had been a regular Daemon King instead, he definitely would not have been able to withstand the tremendous pressure. He would either be directly forced back, or he would strike blindly, which probably would not even be enough to leave a mark on the Mist Province cauldron!
The Great Banyan Tree King spread his arms. At that moment, every single banyan tree in the sea of trees that spanned five thousand kilometers shook and trembled. The rustling sound was deafening, producing something akin to waves that gathered towards the Great Banyan Tree King’s main body.
Aerial roots spread furiously, forming layers upon layers on the walls of the tree hole, but the aerial roots around the Mist Province cauldron rapidly receded, exposing the cauldron completely. It shone with a magnificent glow.
“Seal!” The Great Banyan Tree King spat out that word gently, and the glow from the Mist Province cauldron dimmed.
Li Qingshan’s eyes lit up as if a bolt of lightning had flashed through them. All of the illusions of mountains and rivers shattered. Standing before him was still the same Mist Province cauldron. The pressure from it seemed to plummet immediately after being isolated from the nine provinces. He struck out with both fists and bellowed, “Boom!”
Thunk!
A great boom reached hundreds of kilometers away like the ring of a great bell.
Under the night sky, Ye Weiyang stood high among the treetops, only to see an inky-green column of light rush into the sky, even thicker than the Great Banyan Tree King’s main body, just like a pillar of heaven. With that as a foundation, a tremendous formation that spanned several thousand kilometers was activated.
She furrowed her brows as if she was worrying about something. She said with an undetectable voice, “Don’t!”
Within the sea of trees, millions of creatures gazed into the distance, looking in the direction of Towering city. Their gazes contained either understanding or confusion.
Thousands of kilometers away, the King of Southern Yue suddenly sensed it in the Silver Dragon King. He smiled. “It’s finally begun!”
……
The full-powered strike that Li Qingshan had charged up the entire time only managed to rock the Mist Province cauldron, leaving behind two undetectable imprints of fists. There were a few cracks, but they closed up the moment he pulled back his fists. It seemed like the Mist Province cauldron only needed the blink of an eye to become brand-new again.
However, the rumbling continued to echo through the tree hole, slamming against his soul viciously. They were like questions, asking him how dare he infringe upon the sovereign authority!
“Sure enough, it’s tough enough!”
Li Qingshan laughed. If the Mist Province cauldron had not responded at all, that would be far too boring.
“Roar!”
A tiger’s howl drowned out the rumbling. Li Qingshan’s blood surged through his body as his skin turned scarlet. The markings of a beast stretched over his forehead into a 王” shape—Frenzy of the Tiger Demon!
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The great booms rang out endlessly, deafening the surroundings.
Li Qingshan blurred, turning into a storm as he barraged the Mist Province cauldron furiously.
Within his frenzy, he maintained a hint of clarity with his mind. The black specks on the Mist Province cauldron recovered much more slowly when they were damaged, like they were the Mist Province cauldron’s fatal points. Apart from his initial probing strike, all of his fists landed on these black markings.
The fist indents constantly grew deeper, and the cracks rapidly spread until they formed a complete fracture. Suddenly, a beam of rainbow light poured out.
“Nice!” The Great Banyan Tree King praised loudly. He was using his full strength too, not only sealing up the Mist Province cauldron, but also wrapping green, transparent roots around Li QIngshan’s legs to deliver tremendous amounts of spiritual qi into his body.
The state of the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon was powerful, but it also caused Li Qingshan a tremendous burden. It could be described as wounding himself first in an attempt to wound the enemy. He could not maintain it for too long. However, with the Great Banyan Tree King’s full support, these various downsides had been reduced to a bare minimum, allowing him to unleash his destructive power to the limit recklessly, to his heart’s content!
Beams of rainbow light poured out. More and more cracks appeared on the Mist Province cauldron.
At this moment, madam Vine suddenly appeared in the tree hole. She was extremely stern. She never imagined Li Qingshan to actually possess the strength to achieve that. She bit her lip and shot a vicious glance at the Great Banyan Tree King before approaching Li Qingshan step by step.
Li Qingshan seemed to be completely absorbed in the delight of destroying the Mist Province cauldron. He was completely defenceless from behind.
“Don’t do something foolish!” The Great Banyan Tree King frowned heavily. His voice was solemn and grand, dignified like a god’s.
Madam Vine was immediately restrained and immobilised, but she said in disdain, “Hmph, damned old man. I’m not as clever as you, but you can’t stop me either. Just ascend with me obediently!”
She raised her right arm high into the air. The sun vine wrapped around the great banyan tree suddenly constricted. A golden ribbon of light twisted and coiled up too, wrapping around the inky-green light that rushed into the air. The light immediately began to diminish, while the golden light rapidly strengthened.
Li Qingshan immediately felt the pressure from the Mist Province cauldron increase drastically. Even the cracks showed signs of healing. He gritted his teeth and continued his forceful attack.
If the Great Banyan Tree King was restrained, it was absolutely impossible for him to shatter the Mist Province cauldron alone.
“Why must you do this?”
Right when his plan was about to succeed, it fell into shambles right before him. The Great Banyan Tree King lamented and closed his eyes gently.
“Old man, I’ve let you down, but I will accompany you forever and pay you back ten, a hundred times over. Can you forgive me please…”
Madam Vine’s voice came to a halt. Golden blood sprayed from her mouth.
A shiny, white sword poked out of her chest. Xiao An stood behind madam Vine, gripping the hilt with one hand as her white clothes drifted in the air.
The golden light around the column of inky-green light immediately collapsed. Even the sun vine as colossal as a golden dragon began to wither away at a visible rate.
Ye Weiyang saw this and smiled wryly. At the very least, she should feel fortunate that she did not have to do it!
Li Qingshan caught a glimpse of this from the corner of his eye before immersing himself in the destruction of the Mist Province cauldron again. Everything was still going to plan.
The sensation of death crept up, turning madam Vine’s face ashen. She stared straight at the Great Banyan Tree King and asked in disbelief, “You really… want me to die!?”
“Sorry. I really couldn’t come up with a better way to stop you.” The Great Banyan Tree King seemed to grow much older in that instant. His voice was particularly heavy and sombre. Only his eyes remained as determined as before. Not everything could be settled with a compromise.
“Fine then…” Madam Vine lowered her head powerlessly. The sun vine flower in her hair immediately withered and fell. She murmured, “Then what were these five thousand years… supposed to be?”
Xiao An pulled out the Buddha Slaying sword, and the pale-white flames rapidly swallowed madam Vine. She looked up and gazed at Li Qingshan. The dazzling, rainbow light added another resplendent halo to him.
After who knew how long, Li Qingshan threw a punch against the Mist Province cauldron, and time seemed to freeze. Thousands of colours flowed before his eyes. Only then did he realise the Mist Province cauldron had already shattered.
He widened his eyes and saw a green heart in the shattered Mist Province cauldron. He realised that was the Great Banyan Tree King’s daemon core. The tree hole was the Great Banyan Tree King’s central chamber.
The heart absorbed the colours and suddenly erupted with light, which even penetrated the thick walls and trees and projected a magnificent haze in the night sky. The various scenes across the Mist province vaguely appeared before condensing into the landscape of the Mist province, hovering in the air.
The Great Banyan Tree King stood exactly where he was. Only the colours in his eyes constantly changed.
Li Qingshan frowned heavily. Originally, the Great Banyan Tree King possessed the tranquility of a tree. There was benevolence and life within the tranquility. But now, it had become the tranquility of heaven. Within the tranquility was emptiness, viewing all life as nothing.
If he could not stay true to himself, then it would not be as simple as a drastic change in personality. He would be assimilated into the world.
