Qian Rongzhi curled around Li Qingshan’s wrist and flickered her forked tongue. Her timing was extremely precise. Even the unruly tiger had times when it felt weary.
He had just been through a brutal, close battle, witnessed a ruined city piled with corpses, and learned about the bizarre events of the ancient times.
During the battle, Li Qingshan obviously fought courageously and fearlessly, completely casting aside the thought of death. Now that he had broken out of the dire straits, he experienced an entirely different feeling.
When Qian Rongzhi represented the Demon domain and invited him again, he did not decline immediately. Instead, he raised his head. The moon had already sunk in the sky, leaving the demonic heavens deep and distant. He struggled to imagine that there was such a warm and wonderful paradise on the other side of the sky, yet he was forced to stand with demons.
He had only just escaped from the demon city, yet in the blink of an eye, he was supposed to enter a mysterious and dangerous maze.
And at the end of the maze another true Demon God awaited him.
After clashing with Taotie, he gained a deep understanding of the strength of Demon Gods. Even with the Sword of Xuanyuan and the Mountain-moving tablet in hand, he probably could not win.
If he lost here, he obviously would refuse to submit to Qiongqi. Only dying in battle awaited him.
He was not particularly afraid of dying, but… was that the end?
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Or in other words… was he truly not afraid of dying?
Without fear, there was no need for courage. Without pain, there was no need for persistence. Without suffering, there was no need for resolve.
He was welcome to ask the world just who was willing to be courageous, persistent, and resolute? He was better off saying that the courageous and persistent were all a bunch of unfortunate people.
He went as far as to butcher all living things, bearing heinous sins. He did not fear whatever danger that laid ahead of him, slaughtering many powerful opponents. Was this all just so he could die?
Yes, having come so far, I don’t have any choice anymore. I can only devour the Black Sun Demon Heart. I require even greater power. As long as I devour the Black Sun Demon Heart, all of my problems will be resolved, so why refuse? After all, this is the only way for me to survive, to help brother ox.
Li Qingshan’s expression changed with uncertainty. His eyes dimmed and brightened.
Qian Rongzhi watched on with a smile.
Li Qingshan took out the Black Sun Demon Heart. Suddenly, his eyes shone, and he drew the sword from its sheath, slashing down heavily!
The Black Sun Demon Heart was split in two by the Sword of Xuanyuan. With a chink, it shattered into pieces, dispersing with the wind, glimmering like the stars.
At that instant, the demonic heavens shook. The wind and clouds surged. Qian Rongzhi’s smile vanished as well.
The fierce winds roared through the valley as if they were furiously questioning his actions.
Li Qingshan sheathed his sword. His eyes shone, bright like stars. He smiled easily. “Thank you for your reminder.”
“Why?”
“I kept this thing around all this time all because I was still hopeful, prepared to use it to turn the tides whenever I encountered a problem that I couldn’t resolve.”
“That’s how a regular person would think!”
“Yes, but unfortunately, I’m Li Qingshan.”
In the past, when he was still wet behind the ears, he was filled with the spirit of youth, and he did not fear death. He had been bold enough to storm the Black Wind stronghold alone. Yet now, after tasting the fine alcohol, sleeping with beautiful women, and fighting with the strong foes, he had instead lost his courage to face death?
If he had been so cowardly right from the beginning, the Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor would not have given him the sword and the demonic heavens would not have chosen him. Even brother ox would have just been an old ox missing a horn that he had sold. There would not be today’s Li Qingshan.
Along the way, he had done some righteous deeds, but at the same time, he had also committed heinous atrocities. Even today, he refused to lower the butcher’s blade, determined to follow his heart and make it to beyond the Nine Heavens.
Those who killed would be killed. There was nothing to resent over, nothing to escape from. If the time to die had come, then he would die!
The Nine Heavens were not in the distance, but in his heart. It was that young cowherd who refused to be ordinary’s belief to follow his heart and live out a hearty life.
Li Qingshan glanced at Qian Rongzhi. “If it’s others, then so be it, but do you not understand this either?”
Behind her mad appearance was brutal and deceitful cunning, but even deeper was even more hysterical madness, a will to make the world burn. It was not just for the sake of greater power or a longer lifespan.
If the world would explode upon her death, she would probably die immediately. She basically completely disregarded her own interests, purely out to harm others.
Compared to her, that kind of selfish wickedness was basically oozing with happiness.
“Unfortunately, the demonic heavens chose you, not me!” Qian Rongzhi sighed.
“Because you’re not Li Qingshan,” Li Qingshan said in high spirits.
“Try and avoid Jiuying as much as possible. You’re probably not her opponent.”
“Cut the nonsense. Who cares if it’s some Jiuying or some nine children. I’ll butcher them as they come!”
Li Qingshan berated as he used the Spirit Turtle Transformation. His bloodline completely turned into the spirit turtle’s and a silent and deep power of Ruin’s End permeated every inch of his organs and body. He no longer gave off a hint of aura anymore. Even his body gradually faded away, becoming transparent and devoid of colour like clear water.
He raised his right hand and flipped it around as he stared at it, nodding in satisfaction. It was enough to fool the eyes of Heretic Gods. Only the tiny snake on his wrist stood out like a sore thumb, which made him snort coldly in dissatisfaction.
“Alright… you win…”
Qian Rongzhi was unable to respond. She felt like he was even more shameless than her at times. Was this the difference between them?
As she thought that, she also became transparent like water, blending in perfectly with the environment.
“We probably won’t be discovered like this. Hmph, I’m not an idiot. Why would I throw my life at every single person I run into?”
Li Qingshan nodded in satisfaction and strode over to the end of the valley. He glanced at the deep, distant demonic heavens one last time before silently vanishing into the crack of flesh.
During this process, his body rippled and changed shape like flowing water too. He did not make contact with the wriggling flesh in the surroundings, avoiding any possibility of exposing himself.
At the same time, the Origin Soul of great liberty opened the divine eye on his forehead, observing the changes with the laws.
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Even without Qian Rongzhi’s remainder, he was well aware that he really might not be able to defeat Jiuying.
He was not belittling himself. As his cultivation climbed higher, as he got closer and closer to the realm of Forging Soul back into the Void, he instead understood his limits better.
The method of battle between gods was completely different from cultivators. The techniques, arcane treasures, and formations were still the same, but what mattered was their control of the laws. In reality, the techniques, arcane treasures, and formations were all just an extension of the laws.
Whoever grasped the laws, whoever was the god.
Through the Sword of Xuanyuan, Li Qingshan entered the state of being one with the heavens, butchering Heretic God Baitun like he was butchering a pig. However, once Demon God Taotie descended, even if it was only an embodiment, he was immediately thrown into dire straits.
The most basic difference was not their strength, but the level of authority they possessed.
All dwellings possessed a protective formation. As long as they remained in the formation, they could fend off cultivators even stronger than them. However, if their authority over the formation was taken away from them, then they would instead become sitting ducks. The dragon in the Xuanming dwelling had been subdued by him like that.
The wonders of the Sword of Xuanyuan were it could drastically increase his authority.
According to his current observations, the Blood maze should have been an existence that lay between a world and a dwelling.
Jiuying definitely possessed the highest authority there. She could fend off the twelve Demon Gods there, or she would have never been able to maintain its existence.
Even with the Sword of Xuanyuan in hand, he would probably struggle to defeat her in this aspect. He might even be overwhelmed by her. If it was purely a struggle of strength, then she did not even have to do anything personally. Just her nine children were enough to teach him a lesson.
After all, if he had not entered the wondrous state of being one with the heavens, Heretic God Baitun was not that easy to kill. And what if there were nine Heretic God Baituns working together? Coupled with a mysterious and unknown ancient Heretic God Jiuying, the situation would be even worse.
The crack was much deeper and longer than he imagined it to be. Even after advancing for over fifty kilometres, he did not reach the bottom. However, the laws did gradually change, which verified some of Li Qingshan’s thoughts. As a result, he became even more cautious.
After travelling for a good while longer, he came across a round door that was firmly shut.
In the depths of the flesh on the sides of the door, the criss-crossing purply-red blood vessels outlined a few twisted, yet powerful words—the Gate of Xuanpin.
