Li Qingshan left the vicinity of Great Buddha mountain and immediately took off on a cloud, rising high into the sky. He gazed back at Great Buddha mountain in the distance. He seemed to see Xiao An’s figure atop the mountain, but it also seemed like there was nothing there at all.
He sucked in a deep breath and let out a great bellow, “Until we see each other again!”
His voice echoed through the mountains. The many pilgrims below all raised their heads and looked at the horizon. They had no idea what was going on.
Li Qingshan laughed a few more times before turning around and taking off without hesitation. He travelled at full speed along the way, without stopping at all, returning to the Ruyi commandery in a day and night. He reported back to Gu Yanying first. He did not even visit the Hawkwolf Guard, instead going directly to where she cultivated before calling out.
“Commander Gu, your subordinate Li Qingshan seeks an audience with you.”
Before long, a door opened in the formation. Li Qingshan flew over the small lake, crossed over the boundless stretch of lotus flowers, and arrived in the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind. Gu Yanying was already waiting for him on the terrace, smiling from afar. “Your trip has taken quite the time.”
Li Qingshan arrived on the terrace. He could not help himself as his heart skipped a beat. Gu Yanying stood in the breeze with her clothes whiter than snow, charming and graceful. Her charm could not be rivaled by any regular woman.
However, when he remembered their previous conversation, he immediately dismissed his thoughts. He had always been able to pick up or let go of his emotions at a whim. He had never been a passionately-devoted person like Hua Chengzan. Coupled with how he had already agreed with her last time, it was even less likely for him to change. He said relaxedly, “I ran into some small problems that took some time.”
Gu Yanying took note of his facial expression and the tone of his voice. She could not help but smile. She stopped worrying. He truly was a courageous and resolute man.
“Looks like you’ve benefited quite a lot.”
Li Qingshan ruminated over everything for a while before smiling. “You can say that I’ve gained more than I’ve lost. So how’s it? Do you need my help now?”
“There’s no hurry. It’s still not time yet.” Gu Yanying struck the palm of her hand gently with her folding fan, clearly knowing exactly what she was doing.
Li Qingshan said, “Then I’ll have to ask you for your help first. I want you to assist me with something small.”
“Go on.”
“You can say that I’ve been through quite a lot of battles, whether big or small, so I’ve accumulated many spoils. However, how I should handle these spoils and convert them into my own strength is quite a problem. Do you have any ideas?”
During his clash with Eternal Faith, Li Qingshan discovered that his identity as a human was still too weak. If he had not learnt the Demon Suppression Statuary, Eternal Faith would have been able to make things very awkward for him with merely a few arcane artifacts despite being extremely horrible in battle.
Demonification and the Traitorous Demon sword were both his trump cards. He did not want to use them unless he had to. As a result, he wanted to have a few powerful arcane artifacts at his disposal. Actually, he already possessed plenty of arcane artifacts, but he could not use any of them freely. He felt like he was guarding a mountain of gold, but he was unable to mine it.
“That’s not a problem. Actually, even if you hadn’t mentioned it, I wanted to discuss it with you anyway. If you can properly make use of the many resources from underground, the benefits they can bring will be far greater than you’ve imagined.”
“That would obviously be for the best.”
Li Qingshan smiled. Matters that posed great problems to him were extremely easy to handle for Gu Yanying. With her network of connections, she obviously possessed ways to deal with these “spoils”. However, that was also the only reason a foundation existed for their cooperation.
Li Qingshan took out a portion of his spoils. Just the arcane artifacts among them numbered five. He had found them all from the hundred treasures pouches of the Golden Core cultivators from the battle at Burial Mound mountain. Plenty of them were personal weapons of those cultivators, who made a name for themselves with them. Once one or two of them entered the market, it would immediately lead to an investigation.
Apart from that, there were also many miscellaneous items like pills and cultivation methods. Together, they were worth quite the sum as well.
“Sure enough, your spoils are plentiful. However, that shouldn’t be all, right? Since you want to exchange them, you might as well take them all out! Little bro Qingshan, it’s not like your older sister I covet these items of yours,” Gu Yanying said.
Even Golden Core cultivators could become green with greed when they saw these items, but they were not worth her attention.
Li Qingshan was convinced. “You don’t even know what I want. Deals and transactions still depend on whether the price is appropriate or not.”
Gu Yanying opened her folding fan and waved it gently. “I’ll just guarantee your satisfaction then.”
Li Qingshan studied her for a while. “Fine then! Here, take it all.”
In one go, he took out all the spoils he had accumulated, which included a vast array of items such as cultivation methods, formations, arcane artifacts, spiritual artifacts, pills, and talismans. There was everything a person could imagine. Li Qingshan only kept a few violet talismans to protect himself in the future.
Gu Yanying looked through them quickly and roughly estimated their value. As she went through them, she would make a few comments about some arcane artifacts or cultivation methods. Afterwards, she accepted everything and put them all away in her hundred treasures pouch.
Li Qingshan asked, “So where are my things?”
Gu Yanying said, “It’s not like I carry those items around on me. Let’s go pay a visit to the Arsenal of Arms!”
“The Arsenal of Arms? Surely you don’t plan on having me shop around and then purchase everything that catches my fancy for me!”
In the past, Li Qingshan’s first proper weapon came from the Arsenal of Arms. After entering the world of cultivation, he dealt with them a few more times. He knew that the Arsenal of Arms had an extremely large range of influence. They basically undertook all the transactions involving artifacts throughout the entire Ruyi commandery. If he wanted to look for a few suitable arcane artifacts, the Arsenal of Arms would obviously be the best choice. However, if he purchased from there, the price would be much higher.
Gu Yanying said, “That won’t be necessary.”
The two of them left the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind and arrived in the Ruyi commandery together.
As the very core of the entire Ruyi commandery, the commandery city of Ruyi was much more extensive than the prefectural city of Clear River. The city spanned dozens of kilometers, layered with buildings of differing designs that towered into the clouds. Most of them were made from wood and stone, which gave them an antique flavour, but various strange colours filled the city too, which did not make it resemble an ancient city.
The city was so advanced and convenient that probably even modern cities pale in comparison. Li Qingshan could clearly see wooden compartments that resembled trams sliding down the streets, stopping from time to time to let go and let on groups of people. Clearly, it was the handiwork of the school of Mohism.
It was around dusk right now, so the lights were being lit up for the evening. However, what lit up were not candles, but glimmering specks of light like spherical balls of lightning that appeared from thin air. The specks of light scattered across the criss-crossing streets, extending in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, the commandery city of Ruyi became submerged in a sea of stars. It was magnificent.
Clearly, it was the formation that enveloped the entire commandery city coming into effect. The mortals who lived here all seemed like they had already grown accustomed to it.
However, it did leave Li Qingshan who was in the sky amazed. Suddenly, he noticed that the entire city was decorated with lanterns and streamers as if they were celebrating something. He asked, “What festival is it right now?”
Gu Yanying said, “Oh right, you still don’t know. The new Marquis of Ruyi has already taken office. You’ll be able to see him tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“There’s a banquet in the Marquis of Ruyi’s estate tonight. You can come along with me.”
“Why would I go?”
“This prince from the imperial family of the Dragon province cannot be compared with Jiang Fu. You should consider it!” Gu Yanying finished speaking and flew down.
Li Qingshan considered it for a moment before flying down too. “I might as well then.”
No matter who became the Marquis of Ruyi, he would definitely be the greatest thorn in their backside. Knowing thyself and knowing thy enemy makes you undefeatable in battle.
