As for Xiao An, she showed Li Qingshan the Skull Prayer Beads she had refined. A string of fourteen prayer beads hung from her slender wrist, pure-white like they were brand new.
“So does anything special happen when you assemble fourteen beads?” Li Qingshan asked curiously.
Xiao An smiled. With a wave of her hand, the prayer beads scattered and fell onto the ground. They bounced around a few times before standing up.
Yes, standing up. Every single prayer bead turned into a complete skeleton. They were only the size of a thumb, but their bones were bulky, their claws were sharp, and their teeth were protruding. They seemed both vicious and powerful.
“What’s this?” Li Qingshan bent down and studied them carefully. Suddenly, he became shocked. He could sense that every single skeleton possessed the strength of a regular Daemon General. It was just withdrawn right now. They had not released their true strength.
“Skeleton Demons.” Xiao An opened her right hand, and the fourteen skeleton monsters leapt into her palm, baring their fangs at Li Qingshan. Xiao An flicked their heads, and only then did they settle down.
But in that instant, Li Qingshan truly experienced a sense of danger. If they actually began fighting, the Skeleton Demons would definitely pose a huge issue.
The fourteen prayer beads symbolised the fourteen dauntlessnesses of buddhism. They were the first complete artifact from the artifact forging section of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, the weakest version of the Skull Prayer Beads.
Note: The fourteen dauntlessnesses of buddhism refer to
Li Qingshan could not help but sigh over the power of the supernatural ability. Even when ignoring personal cultivation, they would possess the might of fourteen regular cultivators by undergoing a heavenly tribulation. Just how powerful was that?
This was not exactly unique. For example, the Lone Grave Elder among the three elders could achieve this through refining Corpse Generals, and mohist masters could achieve this with powerful puppets and mechanisms. However, the difficulty of the refinement and the demand in the quality of the materials would well surpass Skull Prayer Beads.
Most importantly, the Skull Prayer Beads were connected with Xiao An, basically akin to her clones. She could wield them like an extra limb, and when it mattered, she could even merge them with her body, repairing her white bones and healing her wounds.
This was a supernatural ability that originated from beyond the Nine Heavens and was rumored that it could be practised to the realm of bodhisattvas. The further she progressed with it, the more it would manifest with its power.
With a white bone sword and a string of Skull Prayer Beads, Xiao An was basically undefeatable among the Foundation Establishment realm unless she went up against someone like Fu Qingjin, who wielded a powerful arcane treasure. Perhaps she would only encounter some difficulty when she was pitted against cultivators at peak Foundation Establishment.
“Are you trying to pressure me?” Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An’s head forcefully. He had felt unstoppable after reaching Daemon General, riding on the crest of success and feeling like he could look down on everyone else. Only now did he jerk to his senses all of a sudden—he could not be so careless.
“Do you want to enter secluded cultivation?” Xiao An smiled bashfully as her eyes shone eagerly.
“Alright, alright, alright. Once we get through this, we’ll cultivate in seclusion for a while. I need to properly raise my cultivation as a Qi Practitioner and reach Foundation Establishment as quickly as possible. That will allow me to find out what brother ox left behind. I’ll be able to obtain the wealth of a Golden Core cultivator at the very least. I can’t let you get too far ahead. Let’s check out my spoils first!”
Opening Jiang Shancheng and the Green Vine Elder’s hundred treasures pouches, Li Qingshan was disappointed at first before becoming overcome by joy.
Jiang Shancheng had only established a foundation recently, and he was just a disciple, so his wealth was extremely limited. Only the supreme grade spiritual artifact sword he wielded had some worth. He did not have much else, such as pills or spiritual stones.
However, the Green Vine Elder’s hundred treasures pouch was so plentiful that it surpassed Li Qingshan’s expectations. Even if the possessions of the two other elders were combined, it probably would still not be enough to rival his. The tremendous amounts of pills and spiritual herbs completely filled his eyes, and a few supreme grade spiritual artifacts glowed brightly.
Among the various pills, pills as rare as True Spirit pills and Virtue Accumulation pills amounted to over a dozen, but what interested Li Qingshan the most were not them. Instead, it was a dark-golden pill sealed within a bottle.
“This is… an Origin Spirit pill!” Li Qingshan’s eyes narrowed. Having spent so much time with Ru Xin, he had basically gained a general grasp over the common knowledge regarding various pills. Among them included this renowned Origin Spirit pill.
It had a similar use to True Spirit pills, also for breaking through, but the realm it broke through to was Golden Core. It was a hundred times rarer than True Spirit pills, not something that regular Foundation Establishment cultivators possessed. Just what kind of luck did the Green Vine Elder possess to obtain one? Perhaps it had been bestowed upon him by the Sword Collection palace.
After inspecting it, Li Qingshan stowed it away carefully before drawing a long blade from the many spiritual artifacts. The edge of the blade was a purply-green, varying in tone. Combined with the distinct, layered pattern of feathers, it stood out very much. As he held it in his hand, it was light, as if he was holding nothing at all.
Its overall design resembled a strange bird. The hilt was curved and pointy, like the sharp beak of a bird, while the blade was large and wide like wings. The edge was circular, resembling a strange bird’s head. Its two eyes were rounded, giving off a sense of twisted strangeness and a sense of mysterious magnificence.
Li Qingshan felt like he had seen something similar before. Suddenly, he remembered Ru Xin’s Crystal Resin cauldron. Although their patterns and designs were completely different, their overall style definitely came from the same origins. Did this supreme grade spiritual artifact come from the Mist province too?
It was the only weapon that suited him out of the many supreme grade spiritual artifacts—he could easily give himself away if he used a sword—but the blade did not seem to be suited for killing. The edge was very blunt. When he brushed past the edge with the tips of his fingers, he suddenly felt a hint of numbness spread up through his fingers, leaving behind a streak of bright green as distinct as a verdant, venomous snake.
This is a blade of poison!
Li Qingshan was alarmed. He used the spirit turtle’s daemon core to suppress it in a hurry before forcing the poison out with his daemon qi. The poison was so potent that even he could not underestimate it.
Li Qingshan had guessed correctly. The Green Vine Elder’s blade did indeed come from the Mist province. As the hilt could absorb poison, and the blade could unleash poison, it was called the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather.
Poisonfeather birds were strange birds among legends because they were fond of ingesting poison. Their feathers were known for their poison, and dipping the feathers into alcohol could poison people to death. This was also where the saying of “quenching thirst with poison” originated from. The design of the blade originated from there.
After the Green Vine Elder obtained it, he had refined it with various poisons, which was why it had achieved its current toxicity. However, he never had the opportunity to use it, and he eventually obtained a more suitable weapon, the Green Vine staff. After that, it just sat in his hundred treasures pouch, gathering dust.
The Ox Demon Forges its Hide could block direct blows, but it could not stop poison. However, basically all other people or daemons suffered from this problem. If it were not for a cultivation method like the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression, he would have been forced to resist the poison with his full strength. Otherwise, the damage the poison would cause would grow even more severe as it invaded his body.
However, who would give their opponent this kind of opportunity in actual battle?
Li Qingshan lifted up the blade and smiled resplendently. He had finally found a weapon that could increase his chances at victory.
Aside from that, the most important spoils he had obtained were a few formation banners and discs for setting up formations. After being replaced by the Duality Formation of Disintegration, the original formation around the Green Vine mountain had been stowed away by the Green Vine Elder.
Li Qingshan had obtained quite a lot of formation scrolls and discs in the past, but they were all on the level of Qi Practitioners and not worth a lot. These formations were truly formations that guarded an entire sect.
From a certain perspective, they were even more important than spiritual artifacts or pills. Formations were crucial for establishing a stable base. Otherwise, no matter how many powerful cultivators you could gather, as long as the enemy was slightly stronger in cultivation and knew a concealment technique, they would be able to come and go as they pleased. Even if formations could not stop the enemy, they could still serve as an alert for danger.
Li Qingshan thanked the late Green Vine Elder. With these items, he could begin his plan.
“Xiao An, get ready to accompany me on an expedition to crush the enemy!”
……
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. Word of the battle between the three great Daemon Generals had already spread throughout the underground world.
Basically everyone sat on the edge of their seats in Cobweb city. This was a battle that controlled the fate of the entire race of night roamers.
“Is he still not here?” Ye Mingzhu leaned on a window sill and gazed at the tall terrace. The Spider Queen seemed like a god with her bright-red figure, also waiting.
“Don’t tell me he’s afraid!” Ye Liuxing said coldly.
“He’s going to be challenging the two of them consecutively. It only makes sense if he’s afraid.” “He actually said he wants to become the king of the night roamers. His boasts are simply absurd!” The elders discussed softly, sneering at him in disdain.
“Master is omnipotent. Why would he be afraid of them?” Ye Liubo rebuked loudly as her gaze shone fervently. To her, this person was no longer her master in name only. Instead, he had become her pillar of support that upheld all of her hopes and feelings.
The elders glanced at this traitor furiously, but Ye Liubo refused to back down. Ye Mingzhu and Ye Liusu managed to calm her down.
As for the other clans, their sneers of disdain and displeasure only rang out louder. A Daemon General who had appeared out of nowhere wanted to challenge the order of the underground and rule over them. He was over his head!
“He’s here!” Ye Mingzhu’s eyes flashed.
A scarlet-red figure pierced through the air, arriving on the terrace in the blink of an eye. Just his startling speed only made the mouths of many night roamers drop!
Li Qingshan was bare-chested, exposing his body that was so perfect that it seemed like a sculpture. He had his hands in his sleeves, and the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather was thickly bundled, stretching over his back. He was extremely relaxed.
“Ma’am Spider Queen, I’ve made you wait.”
“So this is your main body.” Spider Queen Lolth studied him up and down, licking her lips that were a dazzling red.
“You can say so!” Li Qingshan scanned the cavern from the corner of his eye. He could not sense any aura at all, but he knew Xiao An was watching over there quietly, preparing for the worst-case scenario. However, he could tell that the Spider Queen had no plan on turning against him, at least for now.
“Let’s begin!”
Strongboulder and Bloodshadow unleashed their daemon qi simultaneously. Li Qingshan smiled and no longer held back anymore. His daemon qi rushed into the air too.
The three daemon qi scattered the black clouds that constantly lingered over the city. Among them, Strongboulder was the strongest, Bloodshadow was slightly weaker, and Li Qingshan was much weaker. Although it was already extremely rare of him to possess such strength as a Daemon General who had broken through recently, just the quantity of daemon qi was enough to decide the outcome of the battle.
“And I had been wondering just how impressive your main body would be. Looks like this is all you have.” Bloodshadow mocked.
“You better cultivate for ten more millennia before you fight me!” Strongboulder was rather disappointed. It was impossible for Li Qingshan to stand against him with such measly daemon qi.
Li Qingshan raised boths of his hands, pointing at the two of them and smiling.
“Ten millennia is too long. All I can do is seize every moment!”
