Between the sky and sea lay a colossal beast. Its navy skin was almost transparent, but no one could see all the way through it. It opened its abyss-like mouth and swallowed the seawater and wind.
It was noon, but the sun seemed dim. The colour of the sky gradually became an inky-blue like the curtain of night had fallen prematurely. It was the dusk of the world.
The legendary Daemon King stood on the back of the giant beast. The stars twinkled above him as the world prostrated at his feet.
He did not answer the Unraging monk. Instead, he spread his arms and asked loudly, “Fellows, you are all outstanding figures of the nine provinces, but have you ever seen such a grand sight before?”
Everyone gazed at him, all remaining silent.
The King of Southern Yue, Qian Lingzhi, sighed. “We haven’t just never seen it before. We’ve basically never even imagined it before!”
Li Qingshan smiled brightly, “I have, a very, very long time ago!”
If they were serious, that statement of his was basically so flimsy that it would fall apart under the slightest questioning. A very, very long time ago, he did not even know what a space-devouring beast was. How could he have imagined a day like this? However, his expression made people believe him.
Even across the fleeting span of human life, those who were fervent and made use of every single moment would leave a tremendous impact at the end of the day.
The Golden Cicada Spirit King brought his palms together and stood on the water. A conversation of the past filled his head, leaving him convinced.
“Amitābha. Fellow, you imagine those that others cannot imagine and do those that others cannot do. It is of no surprise that you stand here today.”
Even the tiny tadpole in the well had a chance to become a shining, colossal star.
Of course, Li Qingshan was still nowhere close right now. He had only managed to reach the edge of the well while croaking away loudly, allowing him to see a different starry sky.
The air gradually grew thin as night slowly descended. Above the vast ocean, the stars shone resplendently as if they originated from the ocean.
After dusk came the long night.
“I don’t have enough time to make any explanations. Once you reach that side, you’ll obviously understand everything.”
Li Qingshan raised his arm and made an inviting gesture, like an enthusiastic host inviting his guests into his door, except the door was the abyss-like mouth of the space-devouring beast.
Everyone hesitated. They did not have the courage to put up a battle, but they did not have anywhere to retreat to either.
Li Qingshan called out at the Unraging monk with a smile, “Oi, the fat monk over there! Stop dilly-dallying! I’m talking about you! Hurry up and get in here!”
“You damned brat!” The Unraging monk shook his head with a wry smile. He strode over and shook open his monk robes, making his way towards the abyss. Before he entered, he brought his palms together and bowed.
“Forty eight thousand insects in a buddhist temple’s bowl of water. To be able to see this, you are already deeply endowed with a buddhist nature. Your time as a buddhist disciple has not gone to waste. Cutting off your own flesh to feed hawks and sacrificing yourself to feed tigers is something only the buddha is capable of, so you don’t need to feel too guilty. If you can continue with cultivation, perhaps you will be able to meet face-to-face with the teacher and ask him to answer your doubts.”
Li Qingshan said in irritation, “You’re the one deeply endowed with a buddhist nature. Your whole family is deeply endowed with a buddhist nature. I’ve never regretted anything I’ve done in my life, so why would I feel guilt? Bald ass, if you continue to blabber about nonsense, I’ll send you off to see the buddha right now!”
The Unraging monk smiled and stepped into the abyss.
With a mighty dragon’s cry, the Dragon King of Ink Sea who had been missing the entire time burst out from the surface of the ocean and leapt into the abyss.
Afterwards, the cultivators followed behind them closely, mostly those who were connected to Li Qingshan in some shape or form in the past. The remaining cultivators were very cautious and fearful, but the world had almost been completely hollowed out now. It began to collapse on itself, already close to shattering.
They could sense their spiritual qi rapidly leaking away. If they did not enter a world quickly, then even if they managed to defeat Li Qingshan, they would be left to face the boundless outer space. Such a scenario guaranteed death. The terrifying abyss had already become their only chance at survival. After an internal struggle, they finally made up their minds and entered it.
In outer space, a star gradually dimmed. The flow of earth, fire, wind, and water came to a halt.
With a bang, it collapsed inwards, emitting blindingly-bright light.
The light would last for thousands of years, enough to reach billions of kilometres away. It would attract a large number of space-devouring beasts.
But in the blink of an eye, it was completely enveloped and devoured by a navy bubble.
In the eyes of people from other worlds, perhaps this was merely the extinguishing of a star, but on the other end of the sea of stars, a star rapidly shone brighter as if it was burning.
The Unraging monk passed through the deep chasm and arrived on the other side, only to see the open seas and skies, majestic and grand. For a moment, he was spellbound. This was clearly extremely ordinary scenery, yet now, it seemed so precious, basically entrancing him.
Li Qingshan emerged from the space there. His aura was vast and distant while his eyes seemed bottomless as if the complicated, profound laws of the world operated in them. He asked with a smile, “How do you feel?”
The Unraging monk could clearly sense that the aura of the Li Qingshan before him was vastly different from the one he had just seen before, yet there was an intangible connection between them, forming one entity. He said in surprise, “This is your clone. You’re the god of this world!?”
Li Qingshan nodded with a smile.
The Unraging monk sensed the surroundings silently and discovered that his powers were bound by invisible shackles. “Yeah, this world doesn’t seem to be able to contain third heavenly tribulation cultivators just yet.”
The cultivators that arrived afterwards all discovered this too. They felt very uneasy, but it also brought them relief.
The situation was actually extremely dangerous. It was completely impossible for them to withstand the backlash from the laws of the world. If it were not for Li Qingshan’s protection as the god of this world, all of them would have died. However, that did prove at the very least that he truly had no intentions of harming them.
“Yeah, it’s just not beneficial to digestion when you binge eat and drink. Please give me a moment, fellows.”
The space-devouring beast had swallowed a world several times larger than its own size in an extremely short amount of time, so it obviously could not assimilate with it that quickly. However, Li Qingshan had his plans too.
He pointed down, and the sea shook. It began to surge. A mountain burst through the ocean, jutting towards the sky.
Rumble!
Thousands of mountains rose up, parting thousands of kilometres of ocean, and it continued to expand until it became a new continent. It was filled with precipitous cliffs, white-water rapids, as well as barren land.
With a wave of his hand, plants sprouted and spread rapidly. In the blinks of an eye, the verdant colour covered the entire continent, immediately becoming brimming with life.
He waved his hand again, and the birds and beasts returned to their habitats. The hawks took to the skies, and the tigers returned to the depths of the mountains. The myriad beasts were no longer tied down, able to run about freely. Countless daemons hid in the deep mountains and swamps too.
He made all the daemons and beasts from the nine provinces settle down on this continent. Immediately, the entire continent surged with daemon qi.
“This is what I’ve prepared for my fellows of the Daemon race. From now onwards, you are free to live and thrive, no longer having to mingle with humans. You will not face any threats from hunters, fishermen, or even cultivators. However, with that comes the survival of the fittest and the strong preying on the weak. Natural selection is unavoidable.”
Everyone was completely dumbfounded by his methods of directly manipulating nature. They immediately understood one thing. In this world, he was the paramount god, but after realising that, they all sank into their thoughts. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Witnessing this in person, if they could comprehend something from the process, it would be of great benefit to their cultivation.
Rāhu Xiaoming also passed through the Heaven Climbing Vine and arrived in this world. He experienced quite the surge of emotions. As someone who had personally destroyed countless worlds in the past, he obviously would not be stunned by a mere sight like that. However, he did suddenly understand what Li Qingshan’s plans were.
He sighed in amazement inside. This is basically the Daemonic Beast realm!
