The effects from swallowing a thousand Qi Gathering pills at the same time was akin to swallowing a bomb. He felt like a fire raged in his belly, about to blow his stomach to shreds. It if were not for the fact that he had already daemonified, so his body was much tougher than regular people, this process would have been enough to claim his life.
Under the effects of the medicines, the daemon qi gradually became violent, losing control and rampaging about fearlessly as if it wanted to blow up Li Qingshan.
If it were not for the fact that the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength and the Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging had made his body as tough as steel, even regular daemons would have exploded from that. If he had so many advantages, and he did not go a little tougher on himself, he would not be a man.
He ignored the pain as he forcefully moved his body, raising his leg, lifting his shoulder, and punching out, guiding the daemon qi along a fixed path. He unleashed the three forms, the Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves, the Ox Demon Butts its Horns, and the Ox Demon Forges its Hide, again and again. Who knows how many times he had unleashed them. He had sworn that he would only emerge to see Xiao An once he had broken through to the second layer of the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength and attained the strength of two oxen.
Five figures moved rapidly over the wilderness. It was Wei Zhongyuan and the four grannies from the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Every single one of them was surrounded by a flow of qi. Their feet did not touch the ground as they moved with the wind while their sleeves ruffled in the breeze. They were extremely graceful.
A farmer saw this from afar as he worked in the fields. He immediately knelt down on the ground and proclaimed, “Immortals!”
The five of them did not even glance at him. They made a turn and arrived above the river, kicking up waves in the water. They followed the river straight to the entrance of the Zombie cave before stopping. As they stood above the water, they gazed at the pitch-black cave that seemed no different from the gaping mouth of a beast.
“It might be dangerous in the cave. The two commanders from the Hawkwolf Guard have probably lost their lives in there. It’s very likely that Li Qingshan possesses an Iron Plate corpse.” Wei Zhongyuan warned them, displaying his bearing as a leader of a sect at the same time.
“With what we’re capable of, an Iron Plate corpse is nothing,” said the East Gate Granny with a sneer. “If it were a Steel Plate corpse, then we’d need to be careful, and if it were a Bronze Daemon Corpse, then I’d leave without even looking back.”
The West Gate Granny sneered as she said, “Big sis, you’ve grown senile to say something as foolish as that. There are quite a few daemons and daemonic beasts underground, or even Daemon Generals. There’ll be trouble if you run into a Daemon General. If we come across a Daemon General, all five of us will have to lay our lives down there.”
The East Gate Granny raised an eyebrow. She hated when people mentioned how old she was the most. She cursed, “You old hag, are you trying to call me ignorant? How can a Daemon General appear in such a shallow place? If there really are Daemon Generals, why would the Zombie Daoist build a dwelling here?”
Wei Zhongyuan said, “Stop arguing. There’s nothing wrong with being careful. We have to save my son, kill that Li Qingshan, and capture that child with the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty this time. Let’s go!” With a wave of his hand, he flew into the cave first.
……
The burning sensation in Li Qingshan’s belly gradually spread throughout his body. His black skin reddened slightly. As soon as sweat oozed out, it turned into white steam, rapidly rising from his bulky, powerful body; it was like he was in a steamer.
His movements as he practised the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength became slower and slower as well. In the end, he became so slow that he seemed like he was practising tai chi. As he slowed down, even the air seemed to thicken with him.
However, every punch he threw was able to make the air in the entire cave surge. The air was just like the daemon qi in his body, rampaging about and resonating in the narrow cave. It resonated in an oppressive matter.
He had reached the most crucial moment in his cultivation.
……
The five of them had arrived at the first fork. Just when Wei Zhongyuan tried to sense for any aura, the West Gate Granny was already prepared. She took out a spherical, wooden ball.
“What’s this?”
“A Pathfinding Insect Hive.”
“That mohist by the surname of He sold it to me. He even made me keep it a secret.” The West Gate Granny twisted the mechanism, and a complete underground map appeared. This was a record of when the mohist disciples had ventured into here last time.
The five of them directly flew towards the Zombie Daoist’s dwelling. They were even faster than birds.
The scarlet red from Li Qingshan became more and more obvious. It basically flowed out of him, making him seem like a heated piece of iron.
The red light in his eyes became brighter and brighter as well. There was the sound of stretching iron as he rapidly grew taller, becoming even larger and stronger.
Thirty-three feet, thirty-five feet, thirty-seven feet.
The process was extremely painful, but he grinned widely, revealing his sharp teeth. He seemed extremely satisfied.
A while later, the five of them arrived at the Zombie Daoist’s dwelling, and they barged in without any hesitation at all. They searched around, but all the rooms were empty. Only the cultivation room was blocked up by a huge piece of rock.
The West Gate Granny asked, “Is he in there?”
Wei Zhongyuan walked over without any hesitation and casually struck out with his hand. The rock shattered loudly.
Li Qingshan grew by twelve feet, reaching forty-two feet. He let out an explosive bellow and spread his arms to the sides and produced a roar!
The lakewater beside him was suddenly blown apart, ramming against the walls in the surroundings as waves several meters in height. The waterfall almost ended up flowing backwards. The muddy depths of the lake were revealed within a radius of ten meters from him.
As it turned out, Li Qingshan had found the ceiling of the cultivation room to be too low, so he came to the underground lake where he had fought Zhuo Zhibo and the others. The ceiling was two hundred feet high, so he could move around freely there. He just happened to avoid the people of the Sect of Clouds and Rain in there as well.
Li Qingshan laughed heartily. He had finally reached the second layer of the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength, and his physical strength had reached an extremely terrifying level. The lakewater flowed back towards him and formed a great vortex around him. It was enough to swallow boats, yet it only managed to reach up to his waist.
A figure flew towards Li Qingshan. He extended his hand, and the figure landed in his palm. She was Xiao An. She also grinned, feeling happy for him.
Li Qingshan felt like his body was filled with explosive power. He had never felt so great before. He waded through the water and arrived by the shore, pressing his hands against the stone walls. The rocks that had been left untouched for all these years were so tough that even blades would struggle to leave a mark. However, he only pressed gently, and his hand sank into it without any resistance at all, like he was pressing against mud. Moreover, he developed a weak connection with the rock.
Afterwards, he tried a new experiment. He took out a Wind-entwining blade and swung it at his own chest. With a clang, sparks flew and the blade rebounded away. It failed to even leave a mark on his body.
Afterwards, he took out Zhuo Zhibo’s mid grade spiritual artifact blade and replicated the speed and strength when Zhuo Zhibo controlled it, stabbing it at himself. All he felt was a slight sting, but it failed to penetrate him as well.
Having reached the second layer of the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength, his strength was not the only factor that had grown; his terrifying defence had become greater as well. If he combined it with the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell, even Hao Pingyang’s Yellow Dragon’s Cannon of Devouring Light would struggle to leave a mark on him.
With his body as a daemon, he could massacre as many sixth layer Qi Practitioners as he wanted as long as they were presented before him. The only question he considered right now was whether this strength was sufficient to defeat ninth layer Qi Practitioners like the West Gate Granny. Killing intent flashed through his eyes. The Sect of Clouds and Rain was determined to take Xiao An away, which had crossed his bottom line. It made him determined to kill them.
However, he placated this killing intent afterwards. The Sect of Clouds and Rain was still a colossal, undefeatable existence in his eyes. He needed to keep enduring whatever they threw at him.
……
Wei Zhongyuan looked at the empty cultivation room. “He’s not here!”
“No, he’s been here before!” The West Gate Granny wiped the stone table. There was not a speck of dust on there.
When Xiao An was bored, she would frequently order the puppet and Iron Plate corpse around to clean.
The West Gate Granny said in a sinister manner, “He’ll definitely return here. We can set a trap here and just wait for him to walk into it!”
They glanced at one another and nodded together. Immediately, they hid themselves in the darkness and concealed their auras, waiting for Li Qingshan to walk towards his own doom.
They could imagine how Li Qingshan would be like a trapped tiger once he set foot here. He would never be able to escape.
……
Li Qingshan returned to human form and looked at himself in the water. He smiled bitterly.
Right now, he seemed no different from the burly NBA stars from his former life. He was riddled with muscles. He seemed like a ferocious beast just by standing there. In no way did he seem like a sixteen-year-old teenager. He opened his mouth and rubbed his long canines as he felt even more helpless.
The first layer of the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression just happened to be enough to suppress the first layer of the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength and the Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging. Now that Li Qingshan had reached the second layer with the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength, that was equivalent to breaking this balance. Immediately, he gained many more features of daemons. If he reached the second layer with the Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging as well, he probably would not be able to suppress these changes anymore. He would not be able to return to human form.
“Whatever! The most important part of a man is not his appearance!” Li Qingshan said to Xiao An, “I’m very manly like this, aren’t I?”
Xiao An nodded firmly. She liked him no matter how he seemed.
Li Qingshan said, “Alright, let’s go back!” He took a step forward, but all he felt was the ground give way. Looking down, he had left behind a deep footprint. He sighed gently and began to focus on controlling his power as he advanced step by step. He no longer felt like he was treading on air, and his steps grew faster and faster. Gradually, he felt like the firm ground was strangely springy, allowing him to travel even further with each step.
The five peak Qi Practitioners waited quietly in the Zombie Daoist’s dwelling. They waited for a long time. One day passed, two days passed, and three days passed. A layer of dust formed on the stone table again.
As Qi Practitioners, they were all people with patience, but just when were they supposed to wait until?
Li Qingshan originally wanted to return to the dwelling, but his stomach growled. It was thunderous. He rubbed his belly. “I feel like I can eat ten oxen. Let’s go find something to eat first!”
He had already emptied out the food in all of his hundred treasures pouches. Although he would not starve to death as long as he had Qi Gathering pills combined with absorbing the spiritual qi of the world through his daemon core, eating actual food still came with benefits, and it would be preserving one of his joys of living. He took out the underground mental map, found the closest exit that led to the surface, and made his way out.
PS: Li Qingshan has become Li Erniu! Let’s give him an applause of warm welcome! Please send monthly tickets!
TL: Erniu means two oxen.
