It was like a ball of colours erupting in the surroundings, splashing with beams of red and golden light.
The mountains, rivers, and lakes that appeared in the air were like mirages in the hot wind. They blurred immediately, dispersing rapidly.
Cracks filled the air above Dragonshead mountain like webs, unable to contain their existence. It was like what had happened in the Jade palace. The colossal stone structures that had stood for thousands of years at the top of the mountain were like sand sculptures on a beach, collapsing under the wash of the waves.
However, the red light gradually dimmed, swallowed by the surging golden light.
He was the demon king who faced the hostility of the will of the heavens, cursed by the living beings. Alone, how was he supposed to contend against the glorious might of the heavens and the will of the people?
The flashes of the sword attacked every single opening available, sharp like light. Before he knew it, fine cracks covered his sturdy body, joining up to form bloody wounds. Like a bronze artifact in the face of the passage of time, it fell apart piece by piece.
He completely disregarded it. Every single piece that fell was ignited again, turning into specks of flames. The cracks were like the fractured ground where scorching magma surged out, setting his entire body alight. He received the surging golden light and travelled against the flow, rushing right over to Si Long.
With a clang, the blade and sword clashed. Li Qingshan and Si Long’s eyes met. One was like fire, while the other was like gold. Neither of them wavered, not even in the slightest.
However, true gold was impervious to flames, and flames would run out one day.
With a bang, Li Qingshan’s body collapsed, turning into flowing fire.
The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End spiralled out, falling towards the top of the mountain. It was left with a deep mark from the sword.
He had fought from the Jade palace till now, facing the golden dragon first before taking down the Sovereign Dragon King. His body had reached its limits a long time ago. After cutting down the eight cauldrons, it was already on the brink of collapse, and he had to face the glorious strike from Si Long too. As such, he simply erupted with all of his strength. He was better described as proactively burning himself to a crisp than being cut down by that slash.
A wound appeared between Si Long’s eyebrows as blood flowed down. However, he was unfazed, staring at the flowing flames and lifting the Immortal Relinquished sword again.
Xiao An tried everything she could to control the Immortal Relinquished sword, but she received no response. She was extremely anxious. “Take me over!”
“Calm down. Believe in them. If we received that strike instead, we’d be completely dead,” Gu Yanying said solemnly.
Even if she possessed the speed of a kunpeng, she definitely could not escape if she rashly approached Si Long and allowed the sword intent to lock onto her.
With a phoenix’s cry, the flames condensed again. Li Qingshan had undergone rebirth. However, before he could use any of his abilities, an invisible power gripped him. The sword intent of the son of heaven had locked onto him.
Si Long’s eyes flashed with golden light as he swung down violently with a second strike.
“The Son of Heaven’s Sword of the True Dragon, Pacifying the World.”
Li Qingshan raised his head as the sword filled his face. The omens of warning blared out in his heart. He knew Si Long was determined to kill with this strike.
If he died again, he would turn into a phoenix’s embryo. By then, Si Long probably did not even have to swing out a third time. Just the residual might from an attack was enough to destroy it.
Because of these consecutive, bitter battles, Si Long had already realised something. If he did not completely destroy Li Qingshan, this battle would never end. As long as he killed this rebel, the enemy would pose no threat to him anymore.
In this moment of life or death, Li Qingshan felt no fear. He erupted with a roar and was about to receive the attack with a punch when a figure appeared in front of him.
“Xiaoming!”
Rāhu Xiaoming crossed his arms, nurturing a cluster of deep darkness inside that constantly ate away at the incoming attack.
However, with an absolute difference in strength, even the son of an asura god was powerless.
In the blink of an eye, the darkness shattered. He turned around and nodded towards Li Qingshan. After that, he was torn to shreds, blocking the attack with his own body.
Li Qingshan let out a furious roar, spreading his wings and rushing into the sky, lunging towards Si Long. He gripped the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly and unleashed the Force Field of the Earth again, connecting them together firmly.
A hint of viciousness flashed through Si Long’s eyes. Using this attraction, he swung down.
The twisted sword was like a golden bolt of lightning, plunging deeply into Li Qingshan’s chest. The sword qi rampaged through his body, destroying everything.
Not only did Li Qingshan make no attempt to dodge, but he even welcomed it instead, spreading his arms and embracing Si Long firmly. He used the Ox Demon Forges its Hide to catch the sword, opening his huge mouth and biting down on Si Long’s neck. His four canines that resembled blades collapsed when they met the dragon scales, but his other teeth managed to rip through the scales forcefully, drawing the dragon’s blood.
Gu Yanying rushed over with Xiao An in her arms, arriving behind Si Long instantly. The Buddha Slaying sword thrusted forwards silently.
Si Long furrowed his brows. He reached back with an arm, catching the sword firmly with his five fingers.
Through Gu Yanying’s speed, Xiao An’s thrust was sharper than ever before. It forcefully passed through the obstruction of the claws, continuing towards Si Long’s back with the sound of screeching metal. However, it was blocked by the golden scales, unable to move even another inch forwards.
Time seemed to come to a standstill. Li Qingshan had already sustained a heavy wound. Si Long only needed to break free. With that, he would be in an undefeatable position again with no one able to block his path anymore.
At this exact moment, Xiao An’s voice rang out in his ears. It sounded like the chanting of a scripture, but there was nothing solemn or holy about it at all. Instead, it was filled with an ominous and blasphemous vibe.
The Trisepultural Robes that had been drifting through the air the entire time descended, wrapping around the four of them.
A figure flew out from the bundle, landing heavily on the ruined Dragonshead mountain. It was Li Qingshan. He bled from all of his facial orifices while his body was riddled with holes. Even the Immortal Relinquished sword was still planted in his chest.
Shortly afterwards, Gu Yanying and Xiao An also flew out from the bundle.
Li Qingshan eased up slightly. He wanted to stand up and continue fighting, but he was incapacitated. His organs were in pieces, his meridians were severed, and his body could collapse at any moment. If he let Si Long stab him a few more times, he would have become an egg already.
No matter what, that was already his final bout. He had no idea whether it ended in success or failure.
The bundle in the air surged constantly. Xiao An brought her palms together solemnly. Her thin, red lips opened and closed rapidly, chanting the scripture of blasphemy. The Soul Stirring Bell on her waist trembled away as if she was carrying out some sort of funeral ceremony of expiation.
The bundle rapidly shrank, turning back into a kasaya that was draped over Si Long. A string of white prayer beads even hung around his neck as if he had gone from the son of heaven of Great Xia to a buddhist practitioner all of a sudden.
The kasaya and the prayer beads were the Trisepultural Robes and the Skull Prayer Beads.
The chanting was rapid; the ringing was stirring. The Skull Prayer Beads turned into cackling skulls as scripture lines appeared on the Trisepultural Robes, sharing the same rhythm as her chanting.
The three sounds followed one another, rising and falling together and merging as one. It was as chaotic and noisy as possible.
If the living creatures all roared when Si Long swung his son of heaven’s sword, then this sound was like the creatures that perished in the Samādhi Flames of White Bone, calling out to him, Come over to our side! You won’t feel any more pain or fear! This is paradise!
Even Li Qingshan felt restless when he heard it, using the spirit turtle to suppress his mind in a hurry.
“Shut up!”
Si Long covered his ears as his face twisted viciously. Hell snakes wriggled out from beneath his scale armour, raising their heads in Xiao An’s direction as if they were listening along quietly.
The world was like a dwelling of fire, a place where the living suffered. The sea of suffering was boundless, so just who could reach the other side?
“Don’t tell me this is the White Bone Bodhisattva’s Scripture of Trisepulture!?”
