Li Qingshan’s valiance had been roused. His smile vanished as he said loudly, “Under my orders, no one is allowed to interfere in any of my battles with this person! Fu Qingjin, if I can defeat you once, then I can defeat you twice, three times, until you’ve been slain.” He spread his fingers before closing them into a fist. “I will personally shatter your pride.”
Fu Qingjin’s eyes flashed. He gazed at Li Qingshan deeply. “You really aren’t like a daemon. A pity!” With that, he merged with his sword and shot off.
Li Qingshan watched the green light take off. He did not waste any energy to chase after it either. A golden ray of light lit up in the east, dyeing all the clouds and stretching thousands of kilometers away.
The bright moon remained in the west, hanging high above Li Qingshan. The cultivators in the distance all saw this and murmured, “The moon demon.”
Following the terrors of the blood demon and the rock demon, he who had fallen silent for three years made a name for himself through a single battle. With strength even greater than the two former daemons, he earned the name of the moon demon, casting a shadow over the hearts of all cultivators.
The night roamers succumbed to his figure in the sky, lowering their heads. The matriarchs all handed over the hundred treasures pouches obediently.
Ye Liusu went up. “Master, we should…”
Li Qingshan scanned past them and flew down. He landed on the bronze cauldron that tried to slip away before raising his hand. “Mingzhu, the map.”
As the red sun rose up in the east, the bright moon gradually faded away. However, so what if it was day? Now, the greatest threat, Fu Qingjin, had been heavily injured, no longer capable of battle. This was a fantastic opportunity to attack the Daemon Suppression alliance.
“Northmoon, you screwed me over!” A spiteful voice rang out from the forest. Bloodshadow’s pale-white face was twisted; no, his entire body was twisted, filling in the hole in his chest. Having been directly struck by the destructive lightning dragon, a part of his body had directly vaporised, leaving behind an injury that could not be healed. His three years of sucking blood and cultivation had basically vanished in a single moment.
Li Qingshan mocked him. “So you’re still alive. Why don’t you check yourself before you think about taking advantage of me? You better piss off, or I’ll send you off!”
“Y- you…” Bloodshadow pointed at Li Qingshan as his face became even paler from anger. Not only had he failed to benefit, but he even ended up being heavily injured from taking part this time. He had truly been humiliated.
The wings of wind rose up with a whoosh, and Li Qingshan arrived before Bloodshadow in a single step, cutting him in half with one stroke. With a sweep of his foot, the power of tremors emerged, and the top half of Bloodshadow’s body was sent flying, reduced to a mess. “Off you go!”
Li Qingshan returned with his blade on his shoulder. Just when he was about to speak, another omen of warning rose up inside him.
The east suddenly lit up as an aura of righteousness rushed into the clouds. Gazing over, it actually originated from a tiny, skinny old man, covered in wrinkles. His stiff expression radiated with righteousness, shooting over from the east with a sword like the unstoppable rise of the sun.
He was the head scholar of Pine Sough academy, Wen Zhengming. He had been paying attention to the situation of the Clear River prefecture the entire time, especially to Jiang Shancheng’s murderer. He had received the news and rushed over the moment Li Qingshan appeared, but due to the rules, he was unable to show himself. Afterwards, he saw how arrogant the wretched daemon behaved and could not help himself any longer.
Wen Zhengming opened his mouth and blasted Li Qingshan’s ears like a clap of thunder. “Die, wretched daemon!”
The sharpness from the sword pricked his eyes. Li Qingshan thought of the Soaring Dragon Elder again, and his heart sank. A Golden Core cultivator. He bellowed out, “Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell!”
Hexagonal pieces of faint blue light stacked before Li Qingshan. He was afraid to use the mirror reflection again, and it was not only because of the severe mental exhaustion he had gone through. It was also because with his current power, he probably could not even reflect a hundredth of the attacker’s strength. All he could do was use the simplest and most direct method to defend.
If Wen Zhengming changed his move, then Li Qingshan would be able to escape from the sword intent.
However, Wen Zhengming would never pull back his sword once he had swung it. He was straightforward, just like his own character. The Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell shattered layer after layer. This was something that even Fu Qingjin could not achieve.
Li Qingshan’s eyes were clear as he forced his mind to settle down. He spread his arms, and his scarlet hair danced. The spirit turtle’s daemon core revolved rapidly as he poured all of his daemon qi into the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell. I’m no longer the same Li Qingshan of the past. Even if a Golden Core cultivator wants to kill me, it won’t be that easy!
The night roamers all paled in fright, staggering back in retreat. They were unable to face the terrors of Golden Core cultivators. They were afraid to attract his attention. Only Ye Liusu remained where she was.
The bright yellow satin expanded to several meters across and flew towards Wen Zhengming. The moment it came in contact with the righteous aura, it ripped to pieces.
Ye Liubo cried out, turning into a shadow and flying towards Wen Zhengming. She stabbed down viciously with her dagger, and with a bang, she was sent flying, knocking down countless trees.
“Liubo!” Ye Liusu cried out.
Wen Zhengming’s righteous aura had been shaken up slightly, and it had shattered three layers of the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell beforehand. It was a spent force.
Li Qingshan’s anger was stirred. He withdrew the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell and spat out an oval bead. This was the phoenix’s embryo he had condensed in the magma underground.
Boom! It was like another sun had risen up from the ground, yet also like the surging eruption of a volcano.
“The World Flattened with Humanity and the Sword!” Even Wen Zhengming’s serious expression changed slightly. He bellowed out slightly, and his sword rose with the wind. His righteous aura surged, and he swung down, splitting through the flames right down towards Li Qingshan’s head.
Li Qingshan swung the blood-red blade with a violent roar. He did not retreat, advancing instead to fight with his life on the line. However, the sword swing ended up being deflected, brushing past him and landing on Bronze Cauldron mountain, cutting through the layers of rock and soil. Bronze Cauldron mountain was split in half as the two sides collapsed loudly.
Wen Zhengming lowered his head, and all he spotted was an invisible strand of spider silk wrapped around his sword. He gazed behind Li Qingshan and snorted coldly. “Spider daemon!”
Li Qingshan looked back. Before he knew it, Spider Queen Lolth was already standing behind him. She smiled. “You really haven’t disappointed me.”
“Save me, senior Wen!” The bronze cauldron flew out from the rock and soil behind Wen Zhengming. A call for help rang out.
The Spider Queen did not even glance at it. With a flick of her finger, the bronze cauldron suddenly fell down out of the sky, falling silent.
This time, Li Qingshan had to hold his breath and stare hard to tell what had happened. The bronze cauldron that had remained undamaged after countless attacks from him had been pierced by a crystalline thread even thinner than a hair. When it returned to the Spider Queen’s hand, it had already become a bright-red thread. A Foundation Establishment cultivator had been easily slain by the Spider Queen like she was swatting a fly.
Wen Zhangming was quite far away, so he was unable to react to it. He was filled with anger. “Wretched daemon!”
“Come!” The Spider Queen spread her slender arms. Her scarlet red evening dress exposed her cleavage. She seemed extremely alluring. She seemed like she wanted to hug Wen Zhengming’s sword. The smile on her face was gorgeous and venomous, truly quite a sight.
Li Qingshan came to a realisation. Once this battle began, the Clear River prefecture would no longer be a chessboard. With a flash, Ye Liusu had already used the explosion earlier to retreat into the distance with Ye Liubo. Only then did she ease up slightly. Ye Liubo was unconscious, but at least she was still alive.
Wen Zhengming’s robes surged as his righteous aura gushed out. They were on the verge of a great battle.
The Spider Queen’s smile suddenly stiffened. A voice that Li Qingshan found extremely familiar rang out in the sky. “A’Luo, long time no see again.”
In the blink of an eye, a figure landed between the Spider Queen and Wen Zhengming. Her white clothes were even paler than snow, and she seemed to hover there like an immortal. She held a jade fan in her hand; her smile was as graceful as the wind. It was Gu Yanying. The spectators behind the scenes finally could not help themselves but to leap on stage one by one.
Gu Yanying purposefully glanced past Li Qingshan mysteriously. She had wanted to teach this disobedient kid a lesson three years ago, but she became distracted by something else. By the time she remembered it again, he had already begun his secluded cultivation, and that lasted three years. He made a mess the moment he emerged, as if he was trying to make back all the time he had lost.
Gu Yanying moved away from the two powerful human and daemon cultivators. She said to Li Qingshan with a delightful smile, “You actually made head scholar Wen use the Triple Wealth style. That’s impressive of you.”
“You flatter me.” Li Qingshan’s thoughts were intricate now, which made him even more confident that Gu Yanying should have noticed his secret. Did she find out now? Or three years ago, when he joined the Academy of the Hundred Schools? Or perhaps she knew right from the beginning.
She had countless opportunities to deal with him, so why didn’t she? Was it because they were both human-daemon hybrids? Or perhaps she was afraid that brother ox who had slain the Soaring Dragon Elder had been watching over him carefully?
“Gu Yanying, get out of the way!” The Spider Queen gritted her teeth.
“Commader Gu, these daemons have been so arrogant. I uphold the righteous path, so I can’t just turn a blind eye to it. If you’re willing to assist me in purging daemons, then please do so. If you aren’t, then please move aside and don’t get in my way.”
Both of their auras gathered on Gu Yanying, trying to force her to leave.
Gu Yanying gently tapped her forehead with her fan in frustration. She sighed. “It really is difficult for me to satisfy the two of you.” Her eyes swiveled, and the corner of her lips curled up. “Looks like all I can do is listen to my heart.”
Li Qingshan had a feeling she was talking to him, and that she was slightly melancholic. Regardless of which side they chose, whether it be the humans or the daemons, they would never be able to obtain true peace. All they could do was walk their own path, but it would be a path of solitude that no one understood. Both sides would treat them as despicable traitors.
Li Qingshan thought of something. Looking at her graceful demeanor, independent and aloof from the word, her beauty unmatched in the world, his heart flittered slightly. He could not help but ask himself if his feelings of the past had changed at all.
“I have said that I’d continue taking responsibility over this war as long as no one interferes with it. However, I don’t think the two of you can be convinced with mere words.” Gu Yanying’s smile vanished. With a swish, she unfurled her fan. “If any of you are dissatisfied with me presiding over this matter, then come attack me!”
The Spider Queen snorted gently and curled her finger back, ready to flick it at any time.
Li Qingshan took a step forward and said softly, “Ma’am Spider Queen, we’ve already gained an upper hand in the war.”
The Spider Queen looked back. “You mean?”
“We shouldn’t get too greedy.” Li Qingshan shrugged. If they flipped the chessboard now, he would immediately be faced with an endless pursuit from Wen Zhengming. Instead of that, he would be better off benefitting sufficiently from this chessboard. There would be a day when he could leap out of the chessboard and cut down all of these people who dared to toy with him.
The Spider Queen considered it for a while. She also found it to be quite a waste to destroy the fantastic situation Li Qingshan had created. The great war would happen sooner or later, so there was no need for her to be so eager. She withdrew her daemon qi, turned around, and left.
Gu Yanying said, “Thank you.” but she looked towards Li Qingshan. She turned around and said to Wen Zhengming, “Head scholar Wen, surely we don’t have to fight against each other as humans! You’ve already heard what Fu Qingjin said. Are you really that unconfident in the Sword Collection palace?”
