The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes continued to tower over the colossal platform it was built on. Its vermillion gates remained firmly shut.
At this moment, the red sun had only just risen, illuminating the land with its glow. It made the gate even more red, becoming like blood.
A large, tall figure suddenly appeared on the platform, approaching the vermillion gates slowly.
A long shadow extended from under his feet, slowly crawling along the tiles. It seemed particularly broad and mighty, except there were a pair of curved horns at the end.
With each step taken, the pressure on Li Qingshan grew heavier, causing his muscles to bulge further.
He had already arrived in the central region of the All-encompassing Formation of the Myriad, so its power obviously became mightier.
In the beginning, his footsteps were still somewhat light, no different from a regular person’s, but towards the end, they gradually grew heavier. When he arrived within thirty metres of the gate, each step left behind a deep footprint.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! The heavy footsteps echoed between the walkways.
The shadow on the gate suddenly became rather blurred. Li Qingshan looked back. Thick smoke rose up throughout Myriad city.
Basically all of the structures in the city were built from wood. Countless buildings and pavilions had been set alight by the intense heat released from the exploding Yang Souls. Fierce flames burst forth.
Normally, any inner disciple could extinguish this fire. Even just a thought from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was enough.
But now, the disciples had all fled already, and the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance could no longer spare any effort with anything else.
Watching Myriad city being burned to the ground, Li Qingshan also felt some pity. He said loudly, “Why don’t you submit to me, fellow? I will definitely do everything I can to assist you in undergoing the seventh heavenly tribulation. With your talents and foundation, you definitely won’t lose out on the title of god! You’ll be able to help the Myriad sect avert a crisis too. If we continue fighting like this, not only will Myriad city go up in flames, but even the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes and the billions of books collected in there won’t be spared!”
“You’re just an ignorant brat who can’t even uphold his word, and you still go on about godhood!? If you want to destroy my Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, why don’t you get through my formation first!”
The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance’s voice also contained a rare hint of anger. No matter how calm and rational he was, he was still a living creature with emotions. He could neglect the lives of the direct disciples, but the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes and the books it contained was a collection he spent his life building. How could he not be angry when Li Qingshan used that to threaten him?
Li Qingshan sighed. No matter how forceful and unreasonable he was, he was unable to rebuke the accusation of being unable to uphold his word.
When he arrived before the gate, great billows of smoke had already formed behind him, blotting out the sky. The vermillion gate was entwined in smoke as his shadow faded in and out.
The gate stood twenty-seven metres tall, towering over Li Qingshan loftily.
Li Qingshan looked up. The door was devoid of decoration. There were neither door nails nor hoops, neither couplets nor plaques.
However, when he stopped, three pitch-black, horizontal lines suddenly appeared in the vermillion paint. Each line was several metres long and heavy in colour, like three door bolts. It also seemed like a giant had wielded a colossal brush and used the gate as his canvas, writing away freely in a single stroke, with enough power to pierce rock!
However, there happened to be a sense of spaciousness and distance within the brush strokes.
A long time ago, Li Qingshan probably would have thought this was the Chinese character for three. After all, the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes had eight gates, so it made a lot of sense!
But now, he could tell with a single glance that it was the “qian” trigram of the eight trigrams.
For some reason, he found the penmanship to be rather familiar, but before he could think too much about it, he rushed over and threw his fist to burst right through it!
The trigram on the vermillion gate suddenly changed. The centre line suddenly split open, turning into the “li” trigram.
Li was fire!
Before Li Qingshan had even arrived, he felt the waves of heat fill his face, forcing him to squint his eyes slightly. Before him was no longer a vermillion gate but a sea of fire.
The cries of a dragon resounded out from the sea of fire. A colossal dragon’s head rushed out, heading straight for Li Qingshan!
With scarlet scales and scarlet horns, its golden eyes were like embers and its beard was like fire. It was completely condensed from flames. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and scarlet-golden flames surged out from the depths of its throat.
The scarlet-golden colour was even more blinding than the sun. Before the flames had even emerged, Li Qingshan felt the temperature around him multiply!
The fire dragon seemed to be conjured from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance’s wrath, wanting to reduce him to ashes.
A large, black hand suddenly extended over, grabbing the dragon by the snout and abruptly pressing down.
Boom! The dragon’s head slammed into the ground, and its mouth was slammed shut too. The scarlet-golden flames rushed out from the two sides, immediately incinerating several dozen pillars and rushing thousands of metres away, dyeing the world a fiery-red.
The fire dragon roared furiously and struggled violently, wanting to break free from the huge, black hand. It dug deeply into the ground with its claws, leaving behind ditches. At the same time, the intense heat it gave off turned the surrounding ground into lava.
With scorching pain, Li Qingshan’s left hand was charred. However, he did not even bat an eye, punching down forcefully with his right hand!
Bang! The wind raised by the punch arrived, and a huge hole erupted in the dragon’s head. The punch had already pierced its head, landing heavily in the sea of fire.
Boom! The entire Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes shook, and a fist print was firmly embedded in the vermillion gate. Cracks crawled across the entire gate instantly.
The vermillion gate twisted and changed in shape, tottering as it collapsed. He could even see the interior of the pavilion through the cracks in the door.
With just another attack, it would fall!
“Shatter!” Li Qingshan bellowed out and threw a punch.
However, the trigram changed again before his punch arrived!
The line at the very bottom also split open. The “li” trigram turned into the “gan” trigram.
Gan was mountain!
Immediately, the cracks on the door closed up, and the sea of fire turned into a range of mountains!
The punch arrived and the mountains collapsed! The mountains tipped backwards and knocked each other over like dominoes.
At the top of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance stood sternly, powering the formation with everything he had to block Li Qingshan’s punch.
By now, only twelve beads remained on Li Qingshan, which were no longer enough to hang from his shoulder. He could only wear them on his arm.
As long as he exhausted these last twelve beads, it would be useless even if Li Qingshan had already become a true god.
Without any regard, Li Qingshan stared ahead and punched out again.
The range of mountains shattered; the gate reappeared, covered in cracks!
The trigram changed once more, and the gate was repaired!
Xun was wind!
The fierce winds whistled, immediately blowing Li Qingshan off his feet and sending him several hundred metres away, far away from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. He felt like his flesh was being stripped from his bones. The wind wormed into every single pore in his body, leaving him with a splitting headache.
As the world spun around him, Li Qingshan glanced at the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance at the very top and suddenly turned into the tiger demon, unfurling the wings of wind!
The wings of wind closed around him. After absorbing enough of the winds, they suddenly unfurled again, reaching thousands of metres away. They sliced through the smoke behind him.
Immediately, Li Qingshan’s gales overwhelmed the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance’s gusts, sending him back under the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, landing a flying punch on the vermillion gate.
Bang! The door split open. The “xun” trigram had never been renowned for defence. Li Qingshan used the force of the wind and accelerated to the extreme. He was about to rush inside when he dove head-first into a vast ocean.
The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance controlled the formation and turned the “xun” trigram into the “kan” trigram.
Kan was water! It was what spirit turtles were most skilled with.
