Fu Qingjin’s expression changed. He was unable to drink anymore.
The other Foundation Establishment cultivators took note of this and immediately connected the dots. Is the Soaring Dragon ship the one that Jiang Shancheng brought with him? Qiu Haitang left with him earlier! Why are they going to Green Vine mountain? Don’t tell me the daemon has already got to them?
The Green Ruins sword exited its scabbard, and Fu Qingjin merged with it, turning into a streak of green light and vanishing into the horizon. The other members of the Daemon Suppression alliance became restless too, all taking off right behind him.
The news from upstairs reached downstairs very quickly, leading to an uproar.
“Haitang!” Hua Chengzan exclaimed, no longer as graceful and composed as before. He immediately took off. If this woman who he had let down died to the hands of a daemon because of him, how was he supposed to forgive himself?
“Are we continuing?” Li Qingshan looked around. The disciples of the Daemon Suppression alliance were filled with indignation, as well as a hint of fear. The strength and arrogance of daemons had deeply shocked them. As for the disciples of the academy, they felt sympathy aside from the joy from their victories. After all, they were all humans.
“It ends here as a tie. We’ll obviously clash again in the future.” Jin Feipeng glanced at Li Qingshan deeply.
Li Qingshan did not mind. He returned to his original seat, and the various primary disciples all congratulated him for his victory, but they were rather distracted. After all, the competition during the banquet was only a side dish that went with the alcohol compared to something so significant that it determined the fate of a few Foundation Establishment cultivators and the war between humans and daemons.
Li Qingshan was helpless. He felt like he had completely stolen his own thunder. However, in his eyes, the matches here had always been a boring game that kept him distracted. Now, he could finally focus on the Soaring Dragon ship.
Wind whistled past his ears.
The Duality Formation of Disintegration shone with dazzling light after absorbing and decomposing countless attacks, and the Green Vine mountain even became blurry inside it. The light illuminated a radius of fifty kilometers, making the area as bright as day.
“How much longer do you think until the formation is destroyed?”
Li Qingshan held the flag as he stood on the prow, staring at the light and asking without looking back.
Although he had only managed to catch a glimpse of Fu Qingjin, his speed had completely exceeded his expectations. According to his estimates, even the wings of wind would have been nowhere close to matching him. Was this the power of an arcane artifact? In other words, he would arrive here before long, and by then, the outcome would be determined. His plan to kill the Green Vine Elder would fail once more.
“I don’t know, but there isn’t a lot of spiritual energy left.” Qiu Haitang touched the ship’s wheel, and an indicator for the supply of spiritual energy appeared. Only twenty percent remained.
The spear was already running out of power before it could pierce the shield.
“How’s that, wretched daemon? There’s nothing you can do!” The Green Vine Elder stood on the top of the mountain and called out loudly.
“But, we still have a final move!” Qiu Haitang said suddenly.
“What move?” Li Qingshan turned around suddenly.
“It’s below your feet.”
“Isn’t this just decoration?” Li Qingshan lowered his head and studied the dragon figurehead.
“Of course not. This is the Soaring Dragon ship’s largest main cannon, the Dragon’s Roar! A single attack from it takes up a tremendous amount of spiritual energy, and it requires a long time for preparation too. It’s basically designed for destroying structure and formations.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“We’re too close. The ship can’t withstand the recoil.”
“Then why are you telling me now?”
“Because I want to.” Qiu Haitang smiled, recovering some of her natural grace as the master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain.
“Then let’s see the Dragon’s Roar’s power!”
All of the attacks stopped, but the roaring still lingered in his head. Having fled to the bottom of the mountain but blocked in by the formation, Yu Shukuang gazed at the sky in surprise. He saw the Soaring Dragon ship slowly rise, disappearing into the clouds before long.
“Did we make it?”
Before he had even finished asking that question, a beam of light descended from the sky, piercing the clouds and directly landing on the Duality Formation of Disintegration. The beam was so large that it even made them think of the legendary pillars that held up the sky.
It dispersed the clouds, exposing the Soaring Dragon ship above the cloud layer. The dragon figurehead’s mouth was wide open, letting out a furious roar!
The beam of light did not vanish with a flash this time. Instead, it persisted, channeling all of its power into the formation. The Duality Formation of Disintegration began to tremble, unable to completely nullify this power. It had reached a state of saturation such that rings of light spread outwards like ripples.
On the other end of the beam of light, the Soaring Dragon ship shook and creaked.
The spear pressed against the shield. Either the shield broke or the spear snapped.
“Can we get through?” Li Qingshan asked loudly.
“Difficult to say.” Qiu Haitang furrowed her brows and watched as the spiritual energy was rapidly drained away.
Glancing around, her eyes narrowed. A speck of green light appeared in the sea of clouds.
At the same time, Fu Qingjin spotted a dazzling streak of white light. He frowned and urged the Green Ruins sword to move faster.
“I need to trouble you with one last matter.” Li Qingshan’s voice rang out in Qiu Haitang’s ears clearly.
“Are you planning to run? The ship can’t move very quickly!”
“Please help me collect all the puppets and cannons. I want to take them with me!” Li Qingshan had already learnt that the Soaring Dragon ship could not change in size, and it could not be stored in hundred treasures pouches either. However, the tremendous number of puppets and powerful cannons on the ship would still serve as quite a nice spoil.
Qiu Haitang had no idea on how to react. Was this guy still a daemon? She controlled the puppets to take apart the cannons before gathering on the deck and storing them into a hundred treasures pouch.
“Let’s go down.” Cold light flashed through Li Qingshan’s eyes.
“What did you say?”
“I said let’s fly down!”
“Are you crazy? Do you know how much this ship is worth?” Qiu Haitang finally understood what he was saying. She was taken aback.
“I don’t care how much it’s worth! It’s not like it’s my ship!” Li Qingshan smiled brilliantly.
“Fine then!” Qiu Haitang was helpless. What could she do about the fact that her life was in his hands right now? However, she became excited for some reason. Before long, all the levitation formations on the Soaring Dragon ship vanished. The ship fell back into the hands of gravity. All of its movements changed in direction, falling towards the ground as quickly as it could.
The Soaring Dragon ship fell faster and faster. Li Qingshan stood on the nose of the ship in the whistling wind, waving his flag. The wind became even more violent, making the Soaring Dragon ship fall even faster.
Under the recoil of the Dragon’s Roar cannon, the indestructible Soaring Dragon ship began to fall apart. The central furnace groaned painfully.
“Oh no!” All Fu Qingjin could do was watch as this unfolded. He paled in fright.
The Green Vine Elder squinted, trying his best to see through the scorching light. He gazed at the sky, but the surging spiritual energy and light made his soul sense useless while greatly limiting his vision. He could only see a black speck constantly grow larger.
Fu Qingjin’s voice rang out from the jade tablet in his hand. “Run!”
At that instant, the Soaring Dragon ship several hundred meters in length collided with the Duality Formation of Disintegration like a small mountain.
Time seemed to slow down. The Soaring Dragon ship that was close to falling apart began to collapse and disintegrate upon making contact with the barrier of light. Soon, it reached the centre of the ship, and the central furnace exploded. The residual energy was completely released, but the Duality Formation of Disintegration swallowed it all before it could even demonstrate its power.
The Duality Formation of Disintegration dimmed, twisting and shrinking towards the mountain like a ball of light. Then, it swelled slightly again before releasing a flash in the very end, turning the surroundings white.
It was like a stomach that had been pushed beyond its limits, violently contracting before exploding suddenly. The undigested energy turned into thousands of streaks of light, erupting completely and rising up from the ground like a hundred suns.
The Green Vine Elder’s terrified face was dyed snow-white. Like a mortal, he raised his hands instinctively, as if that would be enough to block out the danger. He was swallowed by the swollen ball of light.
Boom!
Only after a very long time did the explosion occur, blasting away the clouds and revealing the resplendent sea of stars.
Fu Qingjin halted momentarily, staring at the sight before him dazedly. Everything had vanished, the Soaring Dragon ship, the Green Vine Elder, and… Green Vine mountain.
The Green Vine mountain had vanished, replaced by a huge, spherical crater. Only the foot of the mountain remained as residual evidence of its existence.
The other Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived behind him. They were all dumbfounded by this, and the same emotions appeared on the faces of them and their disciples—indignation and fear!
“Shancheng! Haitang! Haitang!” Hua Chengzan brushed past Fu Qingjin and called out in a panic.
In the area that was originally the foot of the Green Vine mountain, the earth shifted slightly.
“Haitang, is it you?” Hua Chengzan rushed over, but a green light had already brushed past him. Fu Qingjin stood with his sword in hand.
The earth erupted, and Yu Shukuang stuck his head out. Seeing the tip of the sword right before his eyes, he leapt in fright.
Afterwards, the disciples of the Green Vine mountain climbed out of the ground one after another. They were unable to leave the mountain, so they dug out a hole together, hiding underground. They thought even if the daemon got through the formation, he would not be able to see them and probably would not bother digging them out. In the end, they were buried underground, but they managed to survive.
“Hmm? Where’s Green Vine mountain?” Yu Shukuang looked around. He spotted the crater and entered a daze before realising what had happened. He was dumbfounded, still shaken up. If the crater had been a little larger, it would have reached where they were hiding.
Fu Qingjin sheathed his sword, while Hua Chengzan was greatly disappointed.
“Chengzan, I’m here.” Qiu Haitang made her way out from behind a mountain.
“Haitang, that’s fantastic. I thought you already… Are you fine?” Hua Chengzan flew over, completely overjoyed.
Qiu Haitang’s heart warmed slightly. They had spent all these years together, so she still meant something to him. It was just a pity that fate was against them.
“Where’s Shancheng?”
Their eyes met. Hua Chengzan sighed. It was not that he actually felt nothing towards her. He would simply never change his mind. Accepting her feelings when he was in love with someone else was disrespecting her. She would only end up with an even greater heartbreak.
“Where’s the daemon?” Fu Qingjin interrupted them.
“Shancheng died to protect me.” Qiu Haitang’s gaze became desolate once more as she began to speak tirelessly.
In her story, the daemon used her to threaten Jiang Shancheng, forcing him to control the Soaring Dragon ship to attack the Green Vine mountain. In the end, when the daemon wanted to silence them both, Jiang Shancheng stood forward and kept the daemon busy, allowing her to live.
Women were natural actors, while Qiu Haitang was the best among the best. She wove this lie intricately, completely distancing herself from any blame.
The Daemon General called Northmoon had vanished, but he did leave behind a few things in her hands.
