Li Qingshan glanced over and actually failed to find Dai Mengfan. It seemed as if she had already vanished when he turned into the ox demon and began the massacre.
However, just by sensing around slightly, he noticed that she had not left Myriad city. Instead, she had made her way over to the other side of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, even hiding underground.
What’s this supposed to be? An ostrich?
Li Qingshan was puzzled by what she was trying. Even if his senses had been greatly dulled by the All-encompassing Formation of the Myriad, it would not be to the point where he could not find her anymore.
He was puzzled, but he did not stop. He took several steps and threw several punches, killing off all of the remaining direct disciples before going off to find Dai Mengfan.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom… The explosions of Yang Souls rose and fell, forming an endless string.
The earth shook, the ocean surged, and the storm danced.
The sky seemed to melt away, turning into a blanket of blinding light, flowing down and swallowing the entire city.
Li Qingshan’s target was only the direct disciples, but it was everyone’s disaster. No one could remain unaffected.
A direct disciple tried his best to erase his aura and changed his appearance, attempting to slide away in the crowd and avoid this crisis.
As such, his Yang Soul exploded in the crowd, immediately swallowing several dozen buildings in the surroundings and hundreds of cultivators. Even when a major portion of their Yang Souls exploded in the air, it was enough to wipe out the low-level cultivators within several kilometres.
The apocalyptic horror turned into thousands of streaks of light, rising up in Myriad city and fleeing into the surroundings like a flock of startled birds sensing the chill of winter.
The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance did not divert any attention to these people either. Beneath Yang Soul, they could not pose any threat to Li Qingshan unless they established a military formation. Remaining in the city would only increase the losses for nothing.
And, he had already achieved his objective, sacrificing all of the direct disciples and depleting Li Qingshan’s spiritual qi to the greatest extent. Now, it was time for a direct confrontation!
Hmm? There seemed to be someone who refused to sacrifice themselves.
As the first senior sister of the Myriad sect, the one and only direct disciple remaining, Dai Mengfan continued along her path of survival.
Early in the morning on this day, before the sky had lit up and before the night had ended. Li Qingshan had only just returned to Myriad city and purchased his first flask of alcohol.
To the west of the city was a series of greyish-blue buildings. That was where the Department of Law and Punishment stood.
Imprisoned there, Yang Miaozhen opened her eyes slowly and exhaled gently. She stopped meditating and stood up from the stone bed.
The security of the Department of Law and Punishment was extremely lax. She only had her cultivation sealed up, preventing her from using techniques, but it did not stop her from cultivation. However, that only gave her a sense of great confidence and arrogance.
She was already at the peak of Golden Core, only a step away from the third heavenly tribulation. However, did it make a difference even if she underwent the third heavenly tribulation?
Yang Miaozhen smiled wryly. Even if she underwent the fourth and fifth heavenly tribulations and became a lofty Yang Soul cultivator, she would not be able to escape from this place.
The underground prison was thirty metres tall, with only an opening at the very top that gradually let in a smear of light. The morning mist surged in from the opening. It was very refreshing and crisp.
She had once wondered about the various ways she would die—suffering from cultivation deviation while cultivating, being struck to death by lightning while facing a tribulation, being eaten by a daemon while out picking medicine, or being pierced to death by a flying sword when engaging other cultivators in battle…
In short, they were all regular ways to die for a cultivator. She never thought that the final destination of her path of cultivation would be this prison, about to be formally executed.
Isn’t this no different from a mortal?
She loathed this method of dying slightly, but she also felt powerless. All she could do was move her legs and stroll around in the cell like a crane.
Even with her extraordinary temperament, no one could remain absolutely calm in the face of approaching death that could occur at any moment. She could not help but reflect on her life, the various matters she had experienced, and the various people she had met.
But strangely enough, the person she thought of the most was not Li Qingshan but Li Guinian, her only son.
His little face, little hands, and little feet when he was born were all vivid before her eyes, as well as his serious demeanor when he studied daoism with her when he was five years old… She would probably never get to see him again!
Abruptly, sorrow welled up inside. She could vividly sense the approach of death. She hurried back to the stone bed and continued meditating, doing her best to repress the emotions that welled up inside her. She wanted to die as a cultivator, not as a woman. She hated crying.
She shut her eyes, and her breathing gradually steadied, entering a state of cultivation very soon. Now that was what she did the most in her life.
At this moment, a tremendous voice rang out from above.
“Li Qingshan, the Myriad Heavenly Tome is the supreme treasure of the Myriad sect. My master has ordered me to protect the Myriad sect. The Myriad Heavenly Tome cannot be handed to an outsider, much less a Demon God!”
Yang Miaozhen widened her eyes, doubting what she had heard. She extended her slender, fair neck, doing her best to gaze out of the opening above.
A while later, the voice rang out clearly again, “All disciples, kill Li Qingshan’s clone! Today’s battle determines the fate of the sect. If anyone takes a single step back-”
After that was a string of explosions from techniques.
Yang Miaozhen smiled and thought, If he’s here, I might still be able to live! She did not exactly understand what the words “Demon God” signified, but she felt trust without any reason, a woman’s trust in a man.
Of course, there was also the woman’s distrust in a man. Sigh, I just wonder if he still remembers me? Even if he does, he probably doesn’t know that I’m locked up here.
She wanted to call out and get his attention, but she was also worried about distracting him in battle or becoming someone’s hostage to be used to threaten him.
For a moment, the sudden changes in her predicament made her emotions surge. She was unable to cultivate any further.
A while later, a woman appeared before Yang Miaozhen with a flash.
Even when she stood in the darkness, Yang Miaozhen still recognised her with a single glance.
Anyone in the world, whether they were a man or a woman, would probably never forget her as long as they saw her once. Not only did she possess unparalleled beauty and a graceful, lithe figure, but she also possessed a noble bearing like a queen and a powerful cultivation that allowed her to overwhelm most.
“Dai Mengfan!” Yang Miaozhen said indifferently, “Have you come to execute me? Or do you want to use me to threaten him?”
“Save me, junior sister!” Dai Mengfan took a step forward and grabbed Yang Miaozhen’s hands firmly.
“Hmm?” Yang Miaozhen was stunned, making her blink her eyes. Only now did she notice that Dai Mengfan seemed slightly different from usual. Her eyes were teary, her hair was messy, and her face was pale-white. She no longer possessed any of the prestige of a “queen”. She even seemed a little pitiful.
Every cultivator had their own path of cultivation, which originated from their different personalities and experiences. Dai Mengfan’s path of cultivation was very simple, which was “to live”. Her objective for cultivation in the very beginning was longevity. Even now, that had not changed.
Everything was for the sake of living. Living was everything!
