Li Qingshan said nothing more. He shut his eyes and focused on controlling the mirror clone.
“Greetings, my king!” Greetings, society leader! What has happened here?”
Figures gathered over from every direction, all staring at the mountainous cauldron in shock.
“You can stay quiet. Just watch!”
Gu Yanying waved her hand. Everyone stood in silence behind her, listening to the thunder rumble and feeling the vibrations. They could not help but gaze at Li Qingshan. Had he set off such great might of the heavens again?
The Frost Province cauldron was extremely tough, and it was not restrained by the laws of the world, so it stood firmly even under the bolts of lightning.
The ground began to shake violently. Suddenly, cracks split open, and magma surged out. The scarlet flames rushed straight towards the bottom of the Frost Province cauldron.
With that, no one dared to stand in front of the cauldron anymore apart from Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying. They all backed up far away, still feeling shocked.
The world seemed to become a furnace with nature as its blacksmith, the earth as its anvil, and the lightning as its hammer, doing its all to melt and reforge the Frost Province cauldron.
A gust of hot wind blocked the lightning and fire that had been knocked askew. Gu Yanying watched on silently. Only now had she seen basically an inkling of the so-called might of the world, but it also manifested the laws of the world.
While it was possible to comprehend the laws of the world through various matters normally, that frequently was only surface-level knowledge. Just like when a person had lost their temper or was intoxicated, it was much easier for them to show their true colours.
This was indeed the best opportunity for comprehending the laws of the world. She wondered whether Li Qingshan could grasp it and comprehend the laws of the world in a single stroke or even become the god of this world.
However, would his main body truly be unaffected if his clone became the god?”
Time trickled by. The power of the world was endless. Even the Frost Province cauldron began showing signs of giving way. With a crack, a fracture appeared on the bottom before rapidly spreading across the rest of the cauldron.
Li Qingshan’s expression changed slightly. A streak of rainbow light poured out of the crack.
Rainbow light poured out wherever cracks appeared, like it was trying to repair the damage.
However, Gu Yanying could tell he was currently competing against the world to refine the Frost Province cauldron first.
Finally, the Frost Province cauldron became covered with cracks. Rainbow light poured out everywhere, completely dyeing the entire cauldron.
Time seemed to stop for a moment. With a great rumble, the cauldron exploded into pieces as a wave of air rushed out to hundreds of kilometres away. Rings of rainbow light began to expand, turning the sky a magnificent colour.
The fragments of the cauldron melted away in the air like ice, devoured and digested by the world.
The colour of the sky whited slightly as the lightning and magma gradually subsided. The magma completely destroyed the palace, and ash had covered the entire city.
Fortunately, there were countless innate masters in the city. Everyone had rushed to the fires in time, which was the only reason why the city had not burned to the ground.
Above the ruins, Li Qingshan opened his eyes slowly. They were clear and empty as if they could pierce everything in the world.
Gu Yanying asked, “How is it?”
“It’s difficult to say, but I’ve definitely lost the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. You better hurry up and pay with your body.”
As soon as Li Qingshan’s mirror clone entered the Frost Province cauldron, he used the Divine Talisman of Great Creation to power the Spirit Turtle Transformation. He did so to deduce the laws of this world while fending off the strikes of lightning and the scorching of the magma. Afterwards, he competed against the world to refine the Frost Province cauldron first. The power of belief he had accumulated over all these years basically trickled away like water.
Fortunately, he had once shattered the Mist Province cauldron and eaten a Fruit of Wisdom, so he had some comprehension of the laws of the nine provinces. The refinement process was reasonably successful, so he managed to refine the Frost Province cauldron first in the end.
However, the Frost Province cauldron was unable to withstand the attacks from the lightning and magma, so it shattered and was devoured by the world. Even his mirror clone and the Divine Talisman of Great Creation had been swallowed.
“Cut the nonsense. How has it gone exactly?”
“Even I don’t know how to describe my current state. On one hand, I’m standing here, right in front of you, and on the other hand, I’m wandering through the world, coexisting with the world. I can dive into the oceans or scale to the top of mountains in a single thought. Yeah, there’s a woman sleeping naked here. Her figure is quite nice, but there’s something wrong with her digestion…”
Originally, Li Qingshan had been completely solemn and serious, like an observer from beyond this world, but the words he said in the end immediately exposed his true nature.
Gu Yanying shot a glance at him in exasperation. “What else?”
“I can also see the endless laws, but all I can do is stroll around and see them. I don’t think I count as a god…”
This was the first time in Li Qingshan’s life that he had experienced such a wondrous state. When his gaze landed on Gu Yanying standing right before him, he instead saw a ball of whistling hot winds of hell, wrapped around a dark-azure feather, which left him slightly disappointed. He never expected her to have reached such a level with the Illustrations of Naraka, such that she basically coexisted with hell!
From his expression alone, Gu Yanying knew what he was doing. She finally ran out of patience and smacked him over the head with her iron fan.
Li Qingshan realised he could not see Gu Yanying clearly, so he continued to wander through the world, only to be caught off-guard and smacked over the head. He rubbed his head. “What’re you hitting me for? It’s not like I saw anything!”
Looking at how furious and aggrieved he seemed, Gu Yanying truly struggled to stay angry. She sighed. “You’re close to omniscience in this world now. This is already the ability of a god.”
“Yeah, that’s reasonable, but it’s been far too short after all. I still haven’t comprehended all of the laws of the world, so I’ll obviously struggle to grasp the power of the world.” Li Qingshan nodded. Suddenly, he suddenly smacked her over the head. “Heh, it’s not that I’m not getting my revenge. It’s just not time yet!”
Gu Yanying shook her head in disbelief. She was speechless. She felt like she could not stoop down to his level in front of so many people.
“But will your main body really be unaffected by your clone? Let’s hope you don’t assimilate with the world.”
After all, no matter how great of a power he grasped in this world, he could not bring it back with him to the nine provinces. If he assimilated with the world, that was even more terrifying than being rejected by the world.
“It’s like a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water. It’s all just a reflection. Of course, I won’t be affected.”
“Sigh, given that it’s you, you probably won’t be affected anyway.”
Gu Yanying sighed. Who would still peep on women when they were in this state!? They would have submerged themselves in the endless laws of the world a long time ago, viewing everything in the mortal world as fleeting like clouds. She almost felt some admiration towards his disposition. How was he so thickheaded and stubborn?
“Though, you have no idea. This really is great fun. It’s basically like a game!”
It reminded Li Qingshan of the sandbox games from his past life, but even at their largest, it would be a city while the realism would be very limited too. This was an entire world, and it was detailed down to each grain of sand, each speck of dust.
“I’ve never heard of a game like that, but your ability sure is wondrous!” Gu Yanying praised.
“Really?”
Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. Apart from in the very beginning, when the Mirrorwater’s Image helped him hide his identity, the assistance it had brought actually diminished as time went on. As his identity was exposed and the enemies he faced grew stronger and stronger, his clone could be used as a meat shield at most. It truly felt rather useless.
But this was because of his lack of understanding. Actually, clone techniques were not a particularly high-level move. Even Qi Practitioners could use them, but normally, they only used them in battle. They were all limited by distance, almost like puppets.
Only extremely powerful cultivators would possess true clones that could replace the main body and wander the world. However, clones like that would definitely influence the main body. On top of that, there was a risk, which was a disunity between the main body and the clone. It might even develop a consciousness of its own and break away from the main body, which would be a huge loss.
His mirror clone was almost like an extension of his body, and the issue of disunity did not exist. Instead, it had a wondrous self-defence system, preventing the main body from being influenced by the clone. No matter how twisted the reflection became in the mirror and water, the flower and moon would remain independent and unaffected.
If his main body became the god, then his disposition would definitely be heavily affected. How could the immensity and breadth of an entire world not leave behind a mental impact?
This was an innate ability that existed within the bloodlines of spirit turtles. When spirit turtles submerged themselves in the ocean and controlled their clones to go travelling, a clone would be meaningless if it could break away with ease or if their main body could be injured through the clone. Why would they take this risk at all?
Only by creating a mirror clone like this could they ensure they remained in the safest position possible the entire time.
If Li Qingshan learnt about this, he would definitely lament over how spirit turtles were basically natural damned shut-ins. The Watermirror’s Image was basically like a computer screen, forming a barrier that isolated them from the world.
Everyone gathered over again and asked what had happened.
A young man stepped forward from the crowd. His back bulged slightly, and his figure was very wide and thick, but his appearance was extremely handsome and delicate, bearing some resemblance to Li Qingshan. He clasped his hands. “Father, mother has asked you to meet her in the Abstruse temple.”
“What’s happened?”
When Li Qingshan asked that, he already saw Yang Miaozhen in the Abstruse temple, and he already knew the answer to that question. Finally, someone would be leaving him!
The matters of the world progressed and people were on the move. He was not the only one that could leave those around him.
Yang Miaozhen suddenly sensed something and stood up, looking around at the surroundings.
How sensitive. Is it because you’re about to ascend? Li Qingshan praised inside.
Yang Miaozhen was the greatest among all the women, whether it came to her talent and comprehension or her disposition and willpower. Over the years, she had focused on cultivation without missing a single day, completely disregarding the conflicts of the world. Even Hu Xian’er, who was not weighed down by any clans or sects, would try to fight for his favour. Only she remained indifferent, seeking nothing.
However, it was exactly because of this indifference that they had gradually grown apart over the years. Even when Li Qingshan summoned her, she would regularly ignore the summonings. By now, she had reached the highest realm of the tenth layer, only a single step away from ascension.
The reactions from the heavens that night had given her quite the inspiration. She noticed a wisp of the laws of the world from within. Now, she was about to ascend, so she ordered her son to ask Li Qingshan to come.
Xuanwu city of the past had now become the Central capital. It was not far away from the Abstruse temple. Li Qingshan did not make her wait for too long. As soon as day broke, he arrived before her, smiling. “Congratulations, congratulations!”
“You really haven’t changed one bit, while I’ve aged.”
Yang Miaozhen stared at the man before her. He did not seem like he had changed at all compared to many years ago. It was not just his appearance. Even his mentality was the same, while she felt like she had witnessed many shifts of times.
Li Qingshan said, “Yeah, you have aged.”
Actually, her appearance had not changed by much either. The Yi Wood Method of Living Qi had the effect of preserving youth, so there was not a single wrinkle on her face or a single strand of white hair on her head. Her figure remained as slender as before, but she had still aged after all.
After all, she was only a mortal. She did not possess some powerful bloodline, and the world did not have a lot of medicines that could prolong life. Once she aged and declined to a certain point, that was death! Even if she still resembled a young woman, dying was still dying after all.
If she refused to part with him through death, then she could only part with him through life. Now was a time of parting.
