Li Liehuo currently floated on the surface of the turbulent ocean. His eyebrows were firmly locked, and his eyes were firmly shut. He had clearly achieved the physique of a half-immortal already, yet his lips were cracked and he poured with sweat. His expression warped and changed, sometimes furious and sometimes overjoyed. The flames around him flickered as well, sometimes erupting violently and sometimes dimming to a point where they were almost extinguished.
As the cause for all of this, the Heretic God of Hundun rampaged through the swamp for a while before sinking back into chaos, wandering around the swamp aimlessly. Even the tendrils that had been severed by the Elder of Heavenly Tomes slowly regenerated.
This was not just due to its own power, primarily because of the blessings from Hundun’s dominion, but it was still an indication of its strength.
Li Liehuo was skilled in battle, but he had only undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation after all, so how could he stand a chance? Now that he had been corrupted by the powers of chaos, his mind was a mess and his powers had lost control. He was already on the verge of cultivation deviation.
The Elder of Heavenly Tomes conveniently wiped away the remaining tears on the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance’s face. With a flick, the tears turned into a thin stream of blue light, flying over and landing on Li Liehuo’s forehead.
Li Liehuo’s expression settled down. His Origin Soul was illuminated by the profound light, and his rationality gained the upper hand again. Only after adjusting his breath for a while did he open his eyes slowly. His dried lips moved slightly. “Li Liehuo thanks the great sect master for saving his life… I’ve failed to protect the sect, so please punish me, great sect master…”
Then he experienced some lingering fear. If the great sect master had not helped him out, he basically would have been crippled even if he managed to survive. He might have even accepted Li Qingshan’s offer and fallen as a Heretic God. He could not help but glance at Li Qingshan cautiously again.
The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said earnestly, “Liehuo, you can call me master just like Tianjiao. Your mental state has yet to stabilise, so don’t let your emotions fluctuate too much.”
“Yes, master!” Li Liehuo also felt slightly inspired.
There were many different divisions among the disciples of the Myriad sect—formal disciple, inner disciple, and direct disciple. However, only when they underwent the sixth heavenly tribulation and became a Human Immortal did they earn the right to call this great sect master their master.
“You don’t need to feel ashamed either. That is not your fault. There’ll be plenty for you to be proud of when you get to the Heavenly Palace of Divine Clouds for facing this little bro and surviving!”
“The Heavenly Palace of Divine Clouds?” Li Liehuo’s eyes lit up. That was the Longevity Emperor of the South Pole’s palace.
“That’s right. You’ve already entered the Immortal’s Records.” The Elder of Heavenly Tomes stroked his beard and smiled. “I’ve already recommended you to the Lord of Fire Virtue, Huode Xingjun, as a divine general of the fire department. He’s an old friend of mine. He’ll definitely take good care of you.”
“Thank you for your kindness, master!”
Wasn’t the exact thing that cultivators were after becoming an immortal? A moment earlier, he was in a critical situation, yet now, his dream had come true. This upheaval even left Li Liehuo emotional, unable to express himself properly. Despite his wounds, he got up and bowed solemnly towards the Elder of Heavenly Tomes.
Chao Tianjiao smiled. “Congratulations, first senior brother. Congratulations.” Half of it was sarcasm and half of it was sincere.
Li Liehuo did not even bother to acknowledge her, but he suddenly felt a little lost. From the corner of his eye, he saw Li Qingshan standing with his hands behind his back. The lone, proud tiger remained lone and proud as always.
Li Liehuo was originally a martial arts practitioner in the Human realm. He only knew some methods of practising qi and had basically been enlisted to Black Cloud city as a mortal. After countless brushes with death, he made a military contribution on the Demon domain battlefield. After that, he finally received a true cultivation method.
Fighting, cultivating, fighting… Step by step, he climbed towards the top, from formal disciple to inner disciple, then from direct disciple… to Human Immortal!
Just how magnificent and valiant of a life was that? Yet now, he needed to be in someone’s care. Of course, being in someone’s care was not bad, but… something seemed to be lacking.
Chao Tianjiao immediately knew what he was thinking when she saw Li Liehuo’s expression, as she had once felt the same.
The heavenly palace had thousands of divine generals, while she was merely one of them. She did practise the path of zhenwu, so she was quite valued by the Desireless Heavenly Palace, directly bypassing the regular divine generals and joining the ranks of the Six Ding and Six Jia, answering straight to the Zhenwu Emperor.
However, she no longer possessed the sense of domination she once possessed as the first senior sister.
Probably only when she became a True Immortal would she regain some of her past demeanor. However, there were only several dozen proper gods of the heavenly palace. Just how obscure was her future to become a True Immortal?
Out of those who could become Human Immortals, just who wasn’t endowed with talent? Who wasn’t endowed with fortune? Who wasn’t endowed with exceptional mental will? However, most of them had already reached the end of their path once they made it here.
After all, not everyone was Li Qingshan.
However, Chao Tianjiao noticed that Li Qingshan only stood on the surface of the ocean, without budging at all, gazing out at the boundless sea as if he was in a trance. For some reason, there was actually some worry between his eyebrows.
Hmph, this kid is posing around again!
The waves on the ocean gradually settled, and Myriad city had completely vanished. Even the ruins had sunk into the ocean. The colossal waves earlier had swept away all of the remains, only leaving behind the vast expanse of the ocean.
It was as if Myriad city had never existed.
Everything that Li Qingshan experienced here was like a dream, like it had never truly occurred.
From great beauty to white bone, form was also emptiness.
However, something did end up being preserved.
The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes had been lost and regained. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance held onto the painting scroll, glancing at it again and again. From time to time, he would take out a book from there and read through it, grinning away like a kid. He even seemed to let go of his hatred for Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan smiled. For some reason, he felt a knot in his heart loosen up slightly.
Spirit turtles were emotionless. He was not even fazed when he forced all the direct disciples of the Myriad sect to their deaths, but he also had people he liked and things he loved. Before that person, he could express his emotions freely, no longer needing to hide everything away in the depths of the ocean.
As such, the living creatures felt bitterness, as well as happiness.
Suddenly, he felt a little worried. He also had someone he liked, but that person was in another distant world.
After becoming a god, he had already faced many acquaintances and many enemies again, but she was the only one he was rather reluctant to face. Even he himself was unable to understand this feeling.
Having resolved a major matter, there was nothing that could distract him for the time being, so he began to think of home.
His home was not the five continents or the Demon domain, but by her side.
Xiao An.
Suddenly, a violet aura of slaughter made him jerk back to his senses. Her figure that gradually grew clearer and more consolidated dispersed from his mind like the clouds.
“I’ve made you wait, little bro.”
Having dealt with his internal affairs, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes arrived before Li Qingshan with a chuckle. His disciples followed close behind, standing to his left and right.
The Elder of Heavenly Tomes’ smile suddenly vanished. He raised the tally stick in his hand and said solemnly, “Under the decree of the heavens, I’ve specially come to invite you to a banquet!”
At that moment, his figure seemed to extend indefinitely like he was the embodiment of the heavens. Even Li Qingshan could not help but look up at him.
However, before Li Qingshan could respond, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes immediately relaxed again as if he had completed some kind of mission. He turned around and smiled at his disciples. “The heavenly emperor is holding a banquet in the Lingxiao hall, specially inviting this little brother of the Li family. All of the gods and immortals in the records will be in attendance, and even the four emperors will come in person. Of course, the two of you can’t be absent either, so it’s perfect for you to go up to the heavens with me.”
