“Since you’re all so obstinate, I’ll play with you to the very end then!”
When Si Long said the first half, he was still in the sky, but the second half rang out from the Sovereign Dragon. He had returned to his throne.
“Your majesty!”
When the Jade palace completely collapsed, the great cultivators all fled back to the Sovereign Dragon King, using the Coiled Dragon formation to fend off the effects of the battle. They really had gone through quite an emotional upheaval. How they felt when the Nine-tailed Fox Empress was around went without saying. When the golden dragon had its head shot apart, they really were grief-stricken, but they were overjoyed again after Si Long recondensed his Yang Soul and left Li Qingshan powerless.
Now that Si Long had returned to the Sovereign Dragon King, they truly did encounter a multitude of emotions.
As Li Qingshan and the others had said, Si Long did not possess the ability to sweep them aside, or he would have annihilated the enemy a long time ago. He would not be retreating and defending right now.
They had just fled from the battlefield, but in the blink of an eye, they had been dragged into a new battle. Perhaps Si Long could kill Li Qingshan in the very end through the wonders of the Yang Soul, but they would not necessarily live to see that day. The religious protector of the left and the Heavenly Frost Wolf King had been examples. A battle on this level was far too dangerous to them.
Si Long ordered them. “Minister Lu, set back immediately. Gather the lords and prepare to perform the offerings to heaven!”
Minister Lu was the minister of works out of the nine ministers and six ministeries. He was the greatest grandmaster of mohism, the creator of this Sovereign Dragon King. He had remained on the Sovereign Dragon King with his two vice ministers, without participating in the battle in the Jade palace.
“Yes, sir.”
Minister Lu’s face was stiff and devoid of any emotion, like he did not see his colleagues’ reactions. He immediately steered the Sovereign Dragon King in the air, turning the ship around at the same time and setting off for Dragonshead mountain.
Si Long sat back in the golden throne and said indifferently, “My officials, if you are fine, prepare for battle!”
When the officials heard that, their hearts all turned cold. For a moment, no one actually responded.
Since they could become great cultivators, none of them were fools. With how quickly Si Long could fly with his Yang Soul, it was impossible for Li Qingshan and the others to stop him, yet he just had to ride the Sovereign Dragon King back. That obviously was not so he could swagger around on his high horse. It was clearly for the sake of salvaging the “waste” available to him to wear down the enemy’s strength, and they probably were the “waste”.
Earlier, they could not even participate in the battle directly. Even the impact from the battle had injured them. In particular, their minds were severely wounded.
The four vice ministers from the ministry of personnel and the minister of revenue were unable to resist Su Mirao’s bewitchment and had perished under the Buddha Slaying sword. They had managed to hold on with their mental fortitude without losing control on the spot, but even a decade might not be enough for erasing the influence of the Nine-tailed Fox Empress. It might even form inner demons, affecting them for the rest of their lives.
And now, Si Long actually wanted them to directly confront Li Qingshan. That was basically asking them to die. Once the Sovereign Dragon King exploded, no one was confident enough to say that they could survive.
However, they were in the same boat right now, and they could not defy Si Long’s authority. Some of them were already riddled with regret. They originally thought this was a shortcut to ascend to the Human realm, but they never thought it would hasten them to their deaths. If they had known earlier, they would have stopped the emperor from making offerings to heaven no matter what.
Si Long took note of everyone’s behaviour. He even sensed the violent upheaval of emotions in them. He sneered inside slightly. Since when did something as great as a shortcut without risks exist in the world?
He was completely unconcerned about whether the Sovereign Dragon King could sail back successfully. As long as it stopped Li Qingshan, it was enough. Every bit of strength he depleted was a larger chance at victory for him. If Li Qingshan refused to follow along, that would be even better. He could take his time to adjust his Yang Soul and suppress his inner demons. By the time he returned to the imperial court, the overall situation would be set in stone. This was a fine plan.
Flames and air surged out from behind the ship, and the Sovereign Dragon King began to accelerate. At this very moment, a dark shadow suddenly enveloped them.
The officials gazed over, only to see a mountain uprooted from the ground, rushing into the sky and blocking their path east.
A pair of scarlet stars flashed from beneath the mountain. They were Li Qingshan’s tiger eyes that scorched like fire. He lifted up an entire mountain with his body of the demonic and divine.
There was a series of cries from the deck. Even though they had already witnessed it once on Dragonshead mountain, it still made them lurch when they saw it again. They were filled with a sense of feebleness like they stood no chance.
Si Long sat on the throne, completely unfazed. His eyes shone with golden light. “Be careful, my officials! The wretched being is coming!”
With a roar, Li Qingshan threw the mountain as hard as he could. It hurtled straight towards the Sovereign Dragon King.
Si Long waved his hand.
Boom!
The main cannon at the stern of the Sovereign Dragon King, the Dragon’s Roar, fired, piercing the mountain in a single blast and leaving behind a hole that stretched three hundred metres across. It paused in its trajectory as if it had been frozen mid-air.
At the same time, countless cannons extended out from the deck and the hull, blasting away instantly. The dazzling light shattered the mountain to pieces.
The dust rose up in the air like a yellow cloud as the rubble scattered like hail.
The Sovereign Dragon King sailed through the cloud of dust, over Li Qingshan’s head and right into the clouds.
Si Long stood on the dragon head at the stern and gazed down at Li Qingshan below. He extended his hand conveniently, and thousands of streaks of light rained down on the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The light fell like rain as hemispherical balls of light rose up from the ground, flattening mountains after mountains and leaving behind a ground riddled with holes.
The colossal being of three thousand metres vanished. Li Qingshan turned back into human form, unfurling the wings of wind and manoeuvring between the streams densely-packed in the storm. He travelled against the flow, arriving directly beneath the Sovereign Dragon King, the blindspot where the firepower was weakest. He gripped the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly and unleashed the Force Field of the Earth!
The Sovereign Dragon King rocked violently as if a mountain had abruptly weighed down on it. It came to a halt. The twisting and cracking of steel and wood filled everyone’s ears. The great cultivators on the ship all felt like they were about to face imminent catastrophe.
“Obliterate!”
Li Qingshan used the opportunity to throw a punch. The power of tremors surged forth madly and cracks appeared in the space there.
There were no formations in the world that could stop a punch from him. The great strength of the ox demon behind the punch was already enough to tear through all obstacles, let alone the fact that it was imbued with the all-conquering power of tremors. It was enough to split the Sovereign Dragon King into two.
However, at this exact moment, golden light rapidly gathered at the bottom of the ship. All of the spiritual qi from the formation that enveloped the Sovereign Dragon King gathered at that point, dazzling like a golden sun. It forcefully stopped the terrifying power of tremors and made Li Qingshan’s fist bounce back.
Li Qingshan furrowed his brows and flew away. It was as clear as day what Si Long was trying to do. He definitely could not exhaust too much strength here. Originally, he wanted to gather all of his strength and penetrate the ship in a single blow, but he still ended up underestimating what Si Long was capable of.
Si Long sat back in his throne. He held a golden compass of delicate design in his hand. That was the disc that controlled the formation.
Apart from him, no one in the world possessed such fast reactions and such great control to make a formation operate at such a level.
