The wolf king suddenly looked back and pushed off the space there with the tip of his foot, shooting over as a shadow. As long as he obtained that, then all of the humiliation he suffered here would basically be paid off.
“Don’t even think about leaving!”
Li Qingshan leapt up. Originally, he planned on chasing after him, but he suddenly remembered something and slowed down his pace, advancing gradually.
The colourful insect hidden in the space there emitted invisible ripples. Even the whistling Hot Wind hell from Gu Yanying who was the closest settled down.
The wolf king suddenly became overwhelmed by an urge to yawn and sleepiness flooded out. He thought, Oh no, I’ve moved too quickly!
The power of the tiny bug was much greater than he had imagined. Advancing quickly into the forbidden area had never been particularly appropriate and ever since Gu Yanying had ripped open the space there, exposing the source of the forbidden area’s power, the power from the colourful tiny insect became even greater.
With a bang, the wolf king fell down mid-air and began snoring away.
Li Qingshan took advantage of how the wolf king was unconscious to completely suppress and refine the Frost Province cauldron. As he saw the ripped space gradually close up, he extended a hand and an invisible force drew the piece of amber over. As the bug grew closer to him, he was also overwhelmed by a sense of irresistible drowsiness. Combined with the tipsiness from drinking the spirits, his body immediately began to sway a little.
Heh, this bug sure is wondrous, but if it wasn’t capable of something like this, how can it be effective against the Featherfolk King?
He maintained a distance from the tiny bug and slowly arrived beside the wolf king. He removed the wolf totem first and shoved it into his clothes, before finding a wolf teeth necklace around his neck. The largest tooth in the centre was a strangely-shaped sumeru ring.
After doing all that, he drew the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End. He was ready to root out this potential problem for good.
“Where… is this…” The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower also fell asleep.
However, the wolf king shivered and his face twisted, as if he was doing all that he could to wake up.
Li Qingshan considered it, before stowing his blade away again, not because he had suddenly found his benevolent side and remembered the Unraging monk’s teachings, but because it would probably be very difficult to kill the wolf king with just one swing. Instead, the attack would wake him up, leading to more unnecessary trouble. If the situation really devolved to a point where he blew up his daemon core in an attempt to drag him down, then it would be pointless.
As a result, he tossed the bug into the Asura Field and his mind cleared up immediately. Before the wolf king could wake up, he arrived beside Gu Yanying in a flash and picked her up, taking off into the sky.
A while later, a hysterical howl rang out from the icy tundra.
“Li Qingshan, I’ll never spare you!”
Li Qingshan grinned and completely ignored that. The Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell formed a sphere around him, erasing their auras completely as they hovered high in the air. Gu Yanying in his arms continued to sleep away. After all, her strength still was not on par to the Heavenly Frost Wolf King’s and the Hot Wind hell and depleted all of her strength too. She seemed quite delicate for once.
That familiar face of hers had once sent him into a reverie. He could not help but extend his hand now. Just when his fingers were about to touch her cheek, he suddenly curled them into a fist and smiled self-deprecatingly, “Am I just unwilling, or am I unable to bring myself to do this?”
As a result, he did nothing else. He just sat down like that, laying her down in his arms quietly.
The sky was so blue that it was almost transparent, while the white clouds rose and fell silently.
Gu Yanying slept quietly. In a daze, she had returned to that tall, lone cliff. Finally, she was no longer a monster and she had made everyone who ever called her that pay the price. She felt rather content. When she recalled everything she had faced in the past few years, it had helped her greatly in establishing her identity whether she was willing to admit it or not.
Now, she had finally become strong enough. She was confident she could tolerate and forgive.
Could she think of all of that like this, that he had done so for her sake?
As a result, she stood before him once more.
“Actually, right from the moment you were born, I had the ability to turn you into a human.”
That statement of his tore apart all of her psychological defences. That was the last thing she wanted to hear. To him, was this really something completely insignificant? Just what was the point of all these years of persistence.
She forced out a smile, “If this is a test for me, then isn’t it a little far too brutal?”
“A test? That’s not the case. The resources you received were not a form of concern or help. The pain you went through was not a form of training or test either. All of this is just your fate, your choice. It has nothing to do with me. I can only give you one which, which is freedom. I hope you like it.”
“Father, do you hate me? Because I…”
“No.”
The cold response made her wake up. She met Li Qingshan’s pitch-black eyes. He asked, “How was the sleep?”
“How long have I been asleep?” Gu Yanying pressed against his knee and propped herself up. She rubbed her forehead. The sky was already filled with stars.
“Not too long,” Li Qingshan said.” Their faces were just inches apart, but she was composed as ever, without any other emotions.
“Did you take it?” Gu Yanying stretched and yawned.
“Of course.” Li Qingshan took out the Asura Field.
“We must hurry. C’mon!” Gu Yanying had already found her bearings. She was just about to fly towards Clouded city.
“Hold on!” Li Qingshan grabbed her sleeve, “This thing can’t discriminate between friend or foe. Once you take it out, both you and I will be affected. How do you plan on using it?”
“We’ll go visit the Featherfolk King and ask for your son. He’ll definitely let up into Clouded city. He might even hold a banquet to welcome us. You’ll take out the bug silently and crush the surrounding amber, so its powers are completely released. Afterwards…”
“Afterwards we’ll all go to sleep! Isn’t there some way to refine it? Speaking of which, just what is this tiny bug? It doesn’t seem like a daemon. It’s very strange!”
“It’s a sleepy bug, not a true insect, but something akin to a technique or ability. It’s the condensation of a great power. We’re nowhere powerful enough to control it, so we can only use it in the most foolish way possible.”
“A sleepy bug!”
Even though Li Qingshan had become much more open minded after witnessing the impact that the feather had left behind with Gu Yanying, he was still amazed by the fact that an infamous forbidden area of the nine provinces originated from a single technique. It made him set aside his arrogance.
“Clouded city is the featherfolk’s home ground. What exactly makes you think that the Featherfolk King will fall asleep before us?”
“He’s an old man. Old people are always sleepy.” Gu Yanying stated her reason after some thought, which left Li Qingshan at a loss for words, “Why have I heard that people sleep less the older they get?”
“Really?” Gu Yanying was rather surprised by that. She said firmly, “All we can do is gamble on this.”
“Hey, don’t you think you’re in too much of a hurry?” Li Qingshan frowned. He felt like Gu Yanying was rushing things now that success was in sight.
“This has to do with your son’s life. If you’re a step too late, he might be refined into a pill and eaten by the Featherfolk King. Aren’t you even a bit worried?” Gu Yanying replied with a question.
“Then that’s his fate!” Li Qingshan remarked.
