Hearing that, both Li Qingshan and Mo Yu’s faces hardened. Although they had known Gu Yanying for different lengths of time, they trusted her judgement quite a lot. Never had she declared their deaths with such confidence.
“Like what I said. You’ll die ahead of me. Even this woman doesn’t hold high hopes for you!” Li Qingshan suddenly laughed and sneered at Mo Yu again.
Mo Yu said flatly, “Today, regardless of whether I survive or die, you will definitely die. However, there’s no need for the dragon king to take action personally.”
They both happened to be rather unconvinced over Gu Yanying’s judgement. Mo Yu obviously did not think he would die. It was the exact opposite actually. He was still holding back, and he was prepared to overwhelm and kill Northmoon as long as Gu Yanying did not obstruct him.
Li Qingshan believed that once he killed Mo Yu, all he had to do was conceal his aura properly and go back to being a Scarlet Hawk commander, and that would be enough. No matter how powerful the Dragon King of Ink Sea was, where was he supposed to find him? His only worry was that Gu Yanying might sell him out.
Both of them happened to look at Gu Yanying at the same time. The resolve in their eyes went without saying. They wanted to continue this battle until someone died.
“Foolish men!” Gu Yanying brought her hand to her forehead and sighed. She shook her head. “Alright. Since you insist, I definitely won’t be interrupting this battle.”
Gu Yanying chose to back away, moving away from Calm Wave lake. She spectated from the pavilion on the mountain to the western bank of Calm Wave lake, expressing her absolute neutrality. As a White Hawk commander, she should have been overjoyed to see two powerful Daemon Commanders become wrapped up in internal strife. She had already lived up to her responsibility to them by speaking up and telling them to stop.
“Big sis, they don’t want to stop?”
In the pavilion, Si Bao leaned on the railing and gazed into the distance, lifting up her thick brows slightly. A battle on such a level was extremely rare in this day and age.
“They’re not going to stop until someone dies this time.”
Gu Yanying nodded. She, who had always been so graceful and unworried, was quite solemn right now. Although she had never planned on becoming lovers with anyone, more friends always guaranteed a larger network she could access. Whether it was Mo Yu or Li Qingshan, they were both very important to her.
“Big sis, you don’t have to worry. According to my observations, it’ll end in a draw at most. Without using any abilities, Mo Yu can’t even touch a hair on Northmoon, which really makes me question how he cultivated. He has actually already reached Daemon Commander, and he’s just a mess of strength.”
“As for Mo Yu, his Shadow Displacement is as nimble as it can get, and he’s never been a regular crow in the first place. Even if he endures a few blows from Northmoon, it won’t lead to any substantial damage. Fleeing is not a problem for him if the situation turns against him. He can move over fifty kilometers away in a heartbeat, so just who can catch him?”
Si Bao calmly analysed her observations from their clash earlier. She was skilled with actual combat, and her words were convincing. To her, this battle would end in neither victory nor defeat at most.
“You underestimate the two of them too much. Mo Yu still has a chance to kill Northmoon, but once he fails, Northmoon will kill him. Northmoon thinks he can escape the dragon king’s pursuit, but he won’t be capable of that.”
Gu Yanying leaned on her hands and the railing, gazing at the two figures on the horizon.
“Really? I’ll have to take another look… If it really does end up like what you said, big sis, then you won’t be able to make use of them!” Si Bao smiled.
“Yeah, all I can do is make use of you.”
Gu Yanying extended her hand to pinch Si Bao’s nose. She was only joking when she said she would make use of them. Over these years of contact, she personally believed she had not let down any of them. If it were just being used one-sidedly, why would they maintain their relationship? It was not like they were idiots.
She would help neither this time. She felt very much at ease.
……
“This time, she won’t be able to save you,” Mo Yu said flatly.
“Yeah. Originally, she could have saved you this time, except you’re not clever enough.”
Li Qingshan smiled. If Mo Yu had agreed to a ceasefire, he would not pursue a battle relentlessly, basically doing it for Gu Yanying’s sake. He would hope to not actually push the Dragon King of Ink Sea over the edge, where he would come out in person to hunt him down. However, Mo Yu was clearly determined to kill him, so he would definitely use this opportunity to bring this to an end.
As he spoke, he smoothed all of his thoughts, like smoothing out every single ripple on the surface of the lake. Against Mo Yu who could appear anywhere, he actually closed his eyes like that.
Here!
His mind rippled slightly and developed an obscure feeling. Li Qingshan suddenly struck out, punching out diagonally towards his right back.
Mo Yu had just shifted there, prepared to launch a sneak attack and disturb Li Qingshan, but he never expected a fist to flow over the moment he appeared. He was unable to dodge in time at all.
With a great boom, the punch landed right on Mo Yu’s chest. Even the air split open, becoming riddled with cracks. Mo Yu’s body could already be regarded as tough among Daemon Commanders, but Li Qingshan’s iron fists were unstoppable. He had still been blown away viciously, his chest rupturing and becoming riddled with vicious wounds. However, there were no organs inside, only a pitch-black liquid like ink that had been stirred up viciously into a mess.
Li Qingshan was about to go after him, but Mo Yu had already teleported several hundred meters away. He stared at him in doubt and surprise and thought, Was it luck?
Si Bao let out an interjection of surprise as she spectated the battle. She saw it very clearly. Northmoon’s punch did not land out of luck; instead, it was filled with confidence. Had he grasped the patterns of Mo Yu’s movements during the battle? But that did not seem too likely.
Gu Yanying explained to alleviate her doubts, “Didn’t I tell you before? He has the ability to obscure the heavenly secrets and avoid being divined, which also means he can carry out some divination.”
“So you’re saying that he’s using his premonition to grasp Mo Yu’s movements? Just what kind of daemon is he?!”
Si Bao widened her eyes in disbelief. Knowing divination was nothing, but being able to use it in such an intense battle and predict the opponent’s next move was impressive. Even if he were slightly weaker, he could easily gain the upper hand. Was he supposed to be some exotic beast that naturally possessed the ability of foresight?
“Even I don’t know. He seems to be a hybrid of many bloodlines; each bloodline is extraordinary, which is why he possesses so many innate abilities.”
“But maintaining this premonition will definitely take a great toll on his mind. He won’t be able to maintain it for long periods of time.”
“However, even if Mo Yu’s physique is different from regular daemons, just how many punches can he withstand?” Gu Yanying calculated silently. It was probably about time for Mo Yu to take out his trump card!
Li Qingshan flapped his wings of wind and fire and turned into a streak of scarlet light, flying towards Mo Yu. Before he had even reached Mo Yu, he suddenly changed directions and lunged down. Sure enough, Mo Yu had shifted to the position he had been anticipating, allowing Li Qingshan to plant a kick on his shoulder and send him falling towards the lake. His entire shoulder collapsed, reduced to a clump of blurry, black liquid. He was unable to neutralise the power of shockwaves for quite some time.
Right when he was about to fall into the lakewater, Mo Yu shifted again, but before he could even catch his breath, the smear of scarlet light had already arrived within arm’s reach.
Li Qingshan kept his eyes shut, flying around in the sky and constantly barraging Mo Yu’s body. Even if his physique was extremely special and could withstand a tremendous amount of damage, it was virtually impossible for him to maintain his shape. Under the constant attacks, unable to fight back at all, the expression on his face became more and more human. It was filled with anger!
The spirit turtle still remained at the fourth layer, waiting for the phoenix to climb to the same level of cultivation. Only when he achieved a balance between water and fire would the spirit turtle continue to progress. However, after reaching Daemon Commander, Li Qingshan could use the spirit turtle’s powers more freely and flexibly. After his soul sense was strengthened, he could withstand a greater toll.
With his speed, he could rush over with a single flap of his wings as long as he predicted where Mo Yu would teleport to next. As long as this continued, victory was merely an issue of time.
Mo Yu shifted away once more, and Li Qingshan tailed him like a shadow, throwing a punch at his face. Mo Yu took out a painting scroll from his sumeru ring and unfurled it with a flap. It was blank.
Gu Yanying’s eyes narrowed. “He’s finally taken it out.”
And what’s this?
Li Qingshan shivered inside. He wanted to pull back, but it was already too late, so he threw his punch at the painting scroll. Who cared what it was. He would rip it apart first and see.
The punch landed on the white paper and kicked up a series of ripples. A strange thing happened. The thin paper was not ripped in half. Li Qingshan’s fist inched into the paper instead. The painting scroll suddenly rolled up and swept Li Qingshan inside completely.
The painting scroll unfurled again in Mo Yu’s hand, and Northmoon’s figure appeared on it, remaining in the posture where he flapped his wings and threw his punch. Each strand of drifting, scarlet hair could be made out clearly, like a life-like copy of him.
A sliver of delight appeared on Mo Yu’s face. “Northmoon, I’ve put up with you for so long, so do you finally understand my power? I’ll take you back to the Ink sea right now and hand you over to the dragon king.”
Si Bao said in surprise on the pavilion, “Mo Yu actually possesses such an exotic treasure for sealing and suppression! From its quality, it should be an arcane treasure at the very least!”
Gu Yanying sighed. “But can he really suppress him? This is Mo Yu’s lifebound item. If he didn’t use this painting scroll, then it would be just like what you said. He could still escape. However, if the painting scroll is destroyed, he’ll definitely be heavily injured!”
“His lifebound item? Why would his lifebound item be a painting scroll!?” Si Bao was stunned.
Lifebound items normally referred to a certain part of a daemon that had been refined and cultivated, like Sha Bie’s shell. It was closely connected to the life of the owner, and it possessed extremely great power. However, what kind of daemon had a painting as a lifebound item?
“Don’t tell me…”
Si Bao thought of the only possibility. The daemons in this world came in all different shapes and sizes. Who knew how many types there were exactly. Not all daemons were birds or beasts. Sometimes, when a rock or a well gained intelligence, they could also turn into daemons.
“Yeah, his original form is actually a painting, a crow inside a painting.” Gu Yanying nodded. Having reached this point, she no longer needed to keep this secret for him.
“That means… the Dragon King of Ink Sea… No wonder…”
Si Bao suddenly understood many secrets, such as why Mo Yu had “mo” or “ink” as a surname and why the dragon king’s son would be a crow.
Gu Yanying said slowly, “The Ink sea was not named after the dragon king. Legend has it that the Ink sea was once extremely clear, but an immortal dwelled by the seaside and liked to paint and write calligraphy, frequently washing his brushes in the sea. As time went on, the seawater blackened and became the colour of ink.”
Si Bao had heard of this legend too, except there had always been many of these folklores. Most of them were exaggerated and strange, not worth her attention. Only when she heard it right now did she become surprised. “Don’t tell me the legend is true!”
“Who knows? Look, the time to determine victory has arrived.”
On the snow-white paper, Li Qingshan, who had been sealed in the painting, suddenly swiveled his eyes, meeting Mo Yu’s.
