The incense smoke curled through the room. The towering buddha statue sat high above with its eyes half-closed, calm and collected. The murals depicted the arhats and the heavenly maidens, as well as the eight legions. They assumed various postures and appearances, vivid and life-like, overlooking everything that happened in the hall.
“Please put him to death together!”
The words were like a clap of thunder, echoing through the hall and landing in everyone’s ears. They all looked at Li Qingshan.
Demon King! Released the Soaring Locust King! Colluding with the Demon domain!
Out of all these accusations, only one of them had to be proven, and that was a crime large enough for death.
Li Qingshan stood proudly, completely unfazed by this. His heart only sank lower. He was not worried about these accusations and slandering. He was worried about Hua Chengzan. Even if he faced death threats, he was certain that Hua Chengzan would never say something like that unless his will was subjected to someone’s control.
“So this is the secret within the sword, Sword Collection palace?”
Xiao An wanted to argue for him, but she saw Li Qingshan standing there sternly, without uttering a single word. He did not want to argue with a friend, and with everything that had happened, there was nothing to argue about! He had not trained and cultivated for all these years to bicker with others!
As a result, Xiao An let go of his hand and stood to one side silently.
Ji Xuanri smiled. “Sister Xuanyue, given your current identity and status, you should draw a boundary with people like him.”
Xiao An smiled at him. Her beauty was enchanting, leaving Ji Xuanri momentarily stunned, unable to say anything.
“Fellow Hua, you say my disciple has been colluding with the Demon domain and that he released the Soaring Locust King. Do you have any evidence?” the Unraging monk asked.
“Unraging master, we’ve already come so far. Do you still plan on shielding your disciple? If you don’t believe me, then ask him to release his aura. Let’s see whether it’s demon qi or not!”
Hua Chengzan responded aggressively. His face was filled with regret and helplessness. He unleashed his wit and intelligence, but it was for dooming Li Qingshan.
The Unraging monk frowned. This was indeed the greatest hole with Li Qingshan. His cultivation was indeed a Demon King’s. The various twists and turns involved in this matter were difficult to explain to others. Once this part about him was exposed, it would be unavoidable for others to become somewhat convinced that he was colluding with the Demon domain, and this would become a colossal scandal for the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga.
Gu Yanying furrowed her brows slightly. Something is a little off with little Hua’s behaviour!
The Fierce King of Chu said, “Li Qingshan, release your aura! Whether you’re colluding with the Demon domain or not can be verified through the xiezhi’s horn. I will ensure you get your innocence.”
“No need. I’m not innocent, nor do I need any innocence!”
Li Qingshan declined indifferently. He had already become sick and tired of dancing to other people’s tunes. He had already been fooled so much. Was that not enough?
In the end, even if it was proven that he was not colluding with the Demon domain, so what? Could he save Hua Chengzan? Perhaps he would lose this friend forever.
“You!” The Fierce King of Chu raised an eyebrow. He never expected him to decline in such a straightforward manner.
“In other words, you admit you’re a Demon King, that you’ve been colluding with the Demon domain, and that you released the Soaring Locust King?” The Light Queen communicated to him at the same time. “Kid, how does it feel to be betrayed? You asked for this. Originally, all you had to do was refine the Soul Cycling sword obediently, and you would have been fine.”
Li Qingshan gave no reply. He remained as silent as a rock.
Then Hua Chengzan said, “And I know about another great secret of his. He had another identity…”
Li Qingshan raised his hand and pointed straight at Hua Chengzan. Right when everyone present thought he would rebuke him furiously and threaten him menacingly, he instead spoke seriously.
“This person is my friend! I’m taking him away with me. Anyone who stands in my way will die!”
Hua Chengzan shuddered inside. Meeting Li Qingshan’s eyes, he saw no hostility or blame in his dark pupils. There was only apology and concern.
“Li Qingshan, you’re taking away no one today.” The Light Queen glanced backwards. “Chengzan, what’s his other identity? Tell us what it is!”
She was also rather curious. Just what other secrets did Li Qingshan have for Hua Chengzan to expose? A scene where friends turned against each other sure was moving!
“I… Qingshan…” Hua Chengzan’s voice was hoarse, and his face twisted and became conflicted. His handsome expression immediately seemed rather hideous. He bent over slightly and knelt down on the ground. Determination flashed through his eyes, and he suddenly bit down. A streak of blood flowed out from the corner of his lips, dripping onto the golden tiles.
Everyone was stunned, and the Dauntless monk was alarmed. Seeing blood in the grand hall was not a good omen.
“Chengzan!” Li Qingshan immediately saw red. He wanted to go up, but the Light Queen blocked his path again. “Li Qingshan, just drop your facade! If you want to silence him with death, you better get through me first!”
Then she communicated to him. “Hmph, you sure can hold in your anger, but as it seems, we really can’t keep him around any longer. Li Qingshan, I’ll give you one more opportunity. Kneel down and admit your mistakes right now, and I can still spare his life. Otherwise…”
Li Qingshan took a step forward. Thousands of golden tiles shattered, and the entire hall shook. He threw his fist.
“You mustn’t, Qingshan!” the Unraging monk yelled out to stop him, while the others all became astounded. “He’s actually done it!”
A smile flashed across the Light Queen’s eyes. Has he finally given in? Right from the beginning, they had never thought about proving Li Qingshan’s collusion with the Demon domain. Simply infuriating him was enough.
Under the gazes of the public, he was attacking a queen like her with his methods of a Demon King. Just that crime alone warranted death!
With a clang, her sword emerged from her sheath!
The blade of the sword trembled and turned to nothing, but it let out a wondrous thrum. The space there rippled and overlapped together.
The Clear Space sword—one of the Ten Renowned Swords of the Sword Collection palace. It possessed extremely wondrous abilities, able to establish a world of its own for defence and split through space for offence.
At that moment, the Light Queen seemed to leave the grand hall, standing in a different world. She sneered as she stared at Li Qingshan’s incoming fist.
The Light Queen said secretly, “Back then when I faced off against that bitch the Dark Queen, I just hid my strength intentionally. Do you really think you can harm me?”
The Light Queen suddenly discovered that Li Qingshan’s eyes had turned red. It was not a bloodshot red, but a clear, scarlet red. His long hair drifted through the air like fire, and his handsome face became extremely foreign too. A pair of curved horns grew from his head, engraved with the words “north” and “moon”.
Immediately, daemon qi gushed into the air, making everyone pale in shock. Even the towering, golden statue of the buddha paled in comparison.
“Nightmare Tiger’s Demonic Eye!”
The Light Queen’s breath came to a halt. Her mind blanked out as she experienced a hint of fear uncontrollably.
“Strength of the Earth!”
The Light Queen widened her eyes. The incoming fist rapidly grew in size, filling her entire view like a mountain.
“Tremors of the Ox Demon!”
Black cracks criss-crossed together, shattering the overlapping space. The Clear Space sword became visible again before shattering loudly!
“Frenzy of the Tiger Demon!”
Li Qingshan let out a furious roar and planted his fist heavily onto the Light Queen’s face.
“How is this…” The Light Queen was filled with disbelief, and her beautiful face soon shattered like the Clear Space sword. The power of tremors flowed through her body, pulverising her entire body to a bloody mist. Droplets of blood shot across everyone’s eyes, splattering against the murals and the statue and dyeing the grand hall red.
“Are! You! Satisfied! Now!?”
ps: 这一章从早上起来还是写，一直到现在，我不会为了爆发牺牲质量，那样毫无意义!别的不说了，再求个月票，晚上还有三更，不过可能会更到很晚很晚。
