“That’s good to know!” Li Qingshan laughed aloud.
In the past, he would never accept Fu Qingjin posing around, wanting to teach him a proper lesson. But right now, he saw the absolute confidence of a swordsman, who was also filled with a certain will.
This was a good opponent!
“But I’d like to say the same thing to you. Your defeat is certain with this battle!”
Fu Qingjin smiled. “In the past, I only treated you as a measly daemon with good luck, but I must admit that the current you indeed threatens me a little. If I get the chance, I will kill you.”
“I’d hope you can escape from my hands with your life intact instead.”
“Oh? Why?”
“Killing a disciple of the Sword Collection palace with a renowned sword is a very troublesome matter,” Li Qingshan said in an unconcerned manner.
“In other words, you’re going to be holding back?” Fu Qingjin’s face sank as his lips curled into a cold sneer.
“That’ll depend on what you’re capable of. Once my killing intent is roused, even I won’t be able to control myself. If you can escape, then fate is on your side. If you can’t, then I’ll have to deal with some troubles.”
Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed and smiling, gazing at Fu Qingjin from above as if Fu Qingjin had already been defeated and he was considering at leisure whether he should finish him off or not.
Fu Qingjin discovered he had already lost the upper hand in this verbal clash, so he no longer said anything. The Green Ruins sword thrummed as he drew it from its sheath, declaring an end to this conversation.
Li Qingshan drew his blood-red blade. With a casual swing, the blade aura cut through all the rain in the air.
The clouds ebbed and surged, filling the hole that Li Qingshan had created very quickly. The golden light vanished, and the surroundings sank back into darkness.
Faint, green light rose up from Fu Qingjin’s body and wrapped around him, isolating him from the fierce wind and rain. His green robes and hair began to float.
He was like a torch within the endlessly dark night, burning on the cliff and becoming brighter and brighter.
Li Qingshan’s daemon qi rushed into the sky. His scarlet hair danced around like fire. His blood-red pupils locked onto Fu Qingjin and murderousness surged around him like wind.
He raised the blood-red blade high into the sky before suddenly pausing. He smiled. “You sure have brought a lot of helpers!”
Within the dark clouds, a brilliant bolt of lightning twisted and turned rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the bolt of lightning had pierced the clouds, but it moved much slower than regular lightning. At a closer glance, it was Zhou Tong riding over on his Lightning Slaughter wooden sword.
The Divine Heaven Method of Lightning Wielding circulated to its limit within him. Zhou Tong was slightly pleased. Weather like this was perfect for unleashing the power of lightning.
Lightning Slaughter flew into his hand. He raised it high up, pointing it at the sky as he began chanting.
“As the Lord commands, may the Lord of Thunder and Mother of Lightning cast the divine lightning to slay the daemons!”
Light poured through the dark clouds. Countless bolts of lightning weaved into an electric net, turning into a colossal bolt of lightning that fell right towards Li Qingshan. The surroundings were dyed white.
Suddenly, Fu Qingjin fished out a scarlet talisman from his sleeve. It turned into a long, slender, golden sword and shot out, catching Li Qingshan in the middle of a pincer attack.
Further away in the sky, specks of light twinkled like stars. There were many Foundation Establishment cultivators. They were slower than Zhou Tong, but they all hurried over as quickly as they could.
Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, but he did not move. Over a dozen meters above his head, the golden sword and the lightning collided.
“Fellow Fu, what are you doing?” Zhou Tong said in surprise and anger.
“This is our battle,” Fu Qingjin said indifferently.
“You idiot! Why would you still bother with fighting alone against a daemon? Take a look for yourself!” Zhou Tong pointed at the distant mountains. Black figures flashed past the mountains as daemon qi erupted from the underground caverns, rapidly drawing closer.
Li Qingshan and Fu Qingjin’s battle definitely did not only impact their lives and sense of honour. It also impacted the direction of the entire war.
If Li Qingshan fell in battle, then only Dragonsnail would be left, which would not be enough to prop up the situation. The night roamers would lose their leader and fall into disunity again. If Fu Qingjin died, then no one would be able to continue leading those sects. The Daemon Suppression alliance of the Clear River prefecture would collapse, and their alliance with the academy would not be able to continue either.
Even without these consequences, Fu Qingjin and Li Qingshan’s individual strength alone was enough to tamper with the scales of victory. As a result, neither side dared to be careless. They all brought their full strength.
The battle between the two of them had evolved into a decisive battle between humans and daemons.
Daemon Generals, powerful night roamers, and Foundation Establishment cultivators all converged towards the two of them. They were like countless sparks, about to collide together.
A great battle was on the verge of breaking out!
Suddenly, swathes of sunlight fell from the sky. The sun shrouded by the thick, dark clouds emerged, radiating with endless light and warmth.
Tornadoes ripped apart the thick clouds. Everyone could not help but raise their heads. A figure in white clothes even paler than snow stood under the azure skies.
“Commander Gu!” Liu Zhangqing, Wang Pushi, and the others all cried out in surprise.
“Gu Yanying!” In Cobweb city, Spider Queen Lolth currently watched this unfold through a mirror. Her face coldened.
Gu Yanying held a jade fan. With a gentle swing, fierce gales sucked up the dark clouds, making them recede into the distance. A while later, she had carved out a region of clear sky that stretched a hundred kilometers across. She pulled back with her fan and pointed down.
“No one is allowed to interfere with their battle. Whether you’re human or daemon, as long as you set foot in the sunlight, you will be executed without mercy. Zhou Tong, what’re you staring at me for? What do you think? Dragonsnail, do you really think I can’t see you just because you’re hiding underground?”
“Fine then! I’ll leave!” Zhou Tong snorted and rode off on his sword. Only when he reached fifty kilometers away and entered the shade of the clouds did he stop. He was utterly furious, but he was unable to vent it. The other Foundation Establishment cultivators immediately retreated too. None of them could bring themselves to object.
Without saying anything at all, Dragonsnail lead all the Daemon Generals back to the depths underground.
Originally, there was no need for the night roamers to come under Li Qingshan’s suggestion. However, the Spider Queen’s orders could not be defied. Now that they saw Gu Yanying’s powers, it made them even more afraid to resist. They all backed far away.
So she’s Gu Yanying. If I had that kind of power, would I still have to worry about being incapable of leading the night roamers to prosperity? Ye Liusu stared at the white figure on the horizon.
Gu Yanying stood on the battlefield under the clear sky that she had personally carved out and nodded towards Li Qingshan and Fu Qingjin. “You can continue. It’s a battle between commanders now.” She smiled. “You don’t have to worry. I’m just an arbiter. No matter who gets killed, I won’t interfere.”
“Then thank you for assistance, commander Gu.” Fu Qingjin clashed his hands.
“Northmoon, is there anything else you want to say?”
Gu Yanying’s gaze landed on Li Qingshan again. She felt like he would leave her surprised every time she saw him. Never had she seen someone grow so quickly. Others might have had various speculations over the deaths of the blood demon and the rock demon, but she knew it was all connected to him.
Apart from that, she also felt some attachment to him, as if she was seeing her past self.
During the three years of secluded cultivation, just how many struggles and hardships have you gone through? Have you ever made a choice between humanity and the Daemon race? Though, at the end of the day, you won’t be able to make a choice, nor do you have to make a choice. To people like us, the only side we can ever be loyal to is ourselves. We won’t ever be accepted by either side. This is also true freedom.
As Gu Yanying stared at Li Qingshan, Li Qingshan stared right back at her. As the dream lover who had once made him fall in love at first sight, she was just as beautiful as when he first saw her. Her splendour had not dimmed at all, not even by the slightest. His past longing for her had now become some understanding. He understood why she could be as unrestrained as the wind, which made her even more enchanting.
What else do I want to say?
Li Qingshan thought of something. He raised his arm, pointed it straight at her, and smiled. “I’ve fallen in love with you at first sight!”
His voice filled the entire sky, such that even the thunder in the distance became soft. For a moment, there was only silence.
The cultivators were all stunned. When they returned to their senses, they all reacted in various ways and began discussing among themselves.
“Has he lost his mind? He’s a daemon for heaven’s sake!” “Though, commander Gu also seems to be…” “He’s a toad lusting after a swan’s flesh. He’s only a measly Daemon General. If he pisses off commander Gu, she’ll have him slaughtered right here and now.”
“Northmoon… he sure is much bolder than me.” Hua Chengzan murmured, left at quite a loss as for how to react. However, he also could not help but develop some admiration towards Northmoon. Only daemons could be so direct!
Fu Qingjin finally became stunned. The great battle was on the verge of beginning, yet he decided to profess his love towards the arbiter. Moreover, the person he was professing his love to was the renowned daughter of the Hawk God. Northmoon, looks like I’ve still underestimated your conceitedness.
“Master!” Ye Liubo pouted unhappily. This woman’s chest is nowhere near as large as mine, nor are her buttocks anywhere close enough to feast your eyes upon. You can tell with a single glance that she’s no good for birthing and raising children!
The Spider Queen’s face sank. A Daemon General under her command was expressing good will towards her arch nemesis, which made her even more displeased with Li Qingshan.
Of course, not a lot of people could guess where he had actually fallen in love with her at first sight.
“Is that all?” Gu Yanying widened her eyes, making them round like a pair of hawk eyes.
“That’s all!”
Li Qingshan smiled resplendently. He was no longer the young, wandering gallant of the past, nor was he the infatuated type like Hua Chengzan. He merely said what he wanted to say and did what he wanted to do. As for what Gu Yanying would think or do, it was no longer that important. As long as I’m satisfied, who cares what the outcome is?
“First of all, you have to survive! And, even if you say something like that, I’m not going to favour you.”
Gu Yanying began smiling as well, shaking her head slightly and making her black hair drift through the air. If men were all so straightforward, then being loved by others would not be something troublesome anymore.
As she said that, Gu Yanying directly took off into the horizon. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from view.
Li Qingshan gazed into the horizon. The surrounding landscape suddenly began to change. Dilapidated palace walls and broken towers rose up. He no longer stood on thin air, but cracked, granite bricks covered in moss.
A desolate, dilapidated aura filled the surroundings. It was impossible to distinguish the real from the fake, and his connection with the spiritual qi of the world was suddenly severed. He had fallen into the Green Ruins Illusion once again.
“Just how many times do you plan on using the same move on me?” Li Qingshan turned around and said to Fu Qingjin nearby.
“As long as it’s effective, I’ll use it as many times as I want.” Fu Qingjin walked over slowly with his sword.
Liu Zhangqing, who watched on from a distance, let out a deep sigh. “The Green Ruins sword is simply too powerful. As long as the Green Ruins sword is present, fellow Fu possesses a geographical advantage no matter who he faces. He stands in an undefeatable position.”
Even a powerful Daemon General like Strongboulder could only use his malice to create a hole and escape when he faced the Green Ruins Illusion. It was impossible to defeat Fu Qingjin inside there.
However, Li Qingshan did not seem to have come here today to run away!
As Li Qingshan laughed aloud, he took a step forward and threw a punch at the air.
In that instant, countless cracks pervaded the surroundings, covering the entire Green Ruins Illusion like spider webs. The dilapidated walls shattered like scenery on a canvas, all of it turning into fragments.
Fu Qingjin’s expression changed. He raised his sword to parry. The power of tremors was startlingly great. He was sent flying through the air full of fragments.
The Green Ruins Illusion shattered in a single punch.
