Li Qingshan glanced in Xiao An’s direction again. The Samādhi Flames of White Bone burned away silently, holding up Xiao An like a flame lotus. Under the illumination of the flames, her skin faded in and out, sometimes a set of white bones and sometimes an alluring beauty.
The Buddha Slaying sword hovered in the flames, also in a blurry, rudimentary form. It was no longer in the form of a sword embryo.
Li Qingshan could see that she still had a while to go with refining the sword, so he did not disturb her. He dove into the Asura Field.
In this world enveloped by a blood-red colour, only the sky supported by the Great Banyan Tree King retained its regular colour.
Li Qingshan stood on a tree branch and gazed down. The night roamers thrived under the tree, living in quite the peace, but the blood-red colour currently invaded bit by bit. This peace probably could not continue forever.
I can’t keep the night roamers in the Asura Field forever, Li Qingshan thought. He went to find Ye Liubo and Ye Liusu and discovered that they were currently in secluded cultivation, working towards the second heavenly tribulation.
They sat before one another, and between them was Ye Mingzhu’s spinning Night Demon core. It had already become much smaller. The pulses of power it gave off merged with their bodies. It was a mystery how Ye Liubo had managed to convince her. He felt rather delighted by this sight.
“How are the developments in the south?”
There was a gust of wind, and the Great Banyan Tree King rustled. An old, sombre voice reached Li Qingshan’s ears.
“Not bad. I’ve already taken Savage mountain now and obtained the Blood Oath Scroll. I took on two cave masters as subordinates along the way too.” Li Qingshan turned around and smiled.
“Your strength has improved yet again.”
As the Daemon King that had been rooted down in the Mist province for ten millennia, no one understood the Mist province better than the Great Banyan Tree King. He understood what kind of place Savage mountain was. Being able to breach that place and obtain the Blood Oath Scroll was not an easy feat.
“You can’t just idle away here. Fellow, would you be interested in changing where you stay?” Li Qingshan asked.
As the Asura Field strengthened, the Great Banyan Tree King’s existence began interfering with the Asura Field’s operation. Moreover, the Asura Field’s purpose was a place of trials and battles and a place where he could summon asura from to fight alongside him, not a moving dwelling.
“Sure. I’ve gotten a little tired as of lately. Savage mountain is a good place. It’s a renowned blessed land of the south.”
The Great Banyan Tree King smiled. Although Li Qingshan replenished him with spiritual qi, constantly contending against the power of the Asura realm was very tiresome.
“As long as you’re willing, fellow. You really can’t stay in this place for too long, but there’s no rush right now, so please hang on for a little longer. Please wait until I’ve made all the preparations so that you can return to the Mist province properly.”
With that, Li Qingshan leapt up and arrived in a desert. He called out, “Great king Milliped, stop sleeping!”
His voice echoed through the desert. A while later, the sand dune in front of Li Qingshan trembled and sand began to flow. With a poof, a huge, pink bug burst out of the sand dune, wrapping around him intimately.
“You cultivate a little far too slowly! Here, I’ll give you something good to eat!”
Li Qingshan tossed Wei of the Poison’s poisonous core to Milliped.
Milliped turned into human form and gulped down the poisonous core. He let out a belch, rubbed his bald head, and grinned widely.
“Stop grinning away foolishly. Refine the poisonous core properly, and you might be able to pass your days as a Daemon Commander. You better not say I’m not good enough of a friend!” Li Qingshan smiled.
Milliped nodded in a foolish manner.
At this moment, the lake in the distance suddenly surged. With a great splash, water was hurled into the air. A huge, red carp leapt out, shooting through the sky and lunging towards Li Qingshan’s direction.
“Oh you! You’ve come to take advantage of me again!” Li Qingshan extended his hand and held a young boy in red in his hand. That was the carp daemon he had named “Li’l Red”.
“Great king, great king, me too!”
Li Qingshan casually fished out a pill and shoved it into his mouth before throwing him hard. With a plop, he landed in the lake in the distance.
Li Qingshan returned to the great banyan tree, asking the Great Banyan Tree King for guidance regarding the cultivation of the Demon Suppression Statuary.
The Great Banyan tree King was rather amazed by the wonders of the cultivation method, but he admired Li Qingshan’s breath of mind even more than it. This cultivation method was known as one of the peak cultivation methods of this world. It was so valuable that it was immeasurable. If this had ended up in the hands of a regular cultivator, they would have viewed it even more importantly than their lives, so why would they ever show it to someone else so easily? However, he did not mind at all.
In return for this trust, the Great Banyan Tree King also did his best to serve as a teacher. Although he did not practise this cultivation method, even the Unraging monk paled in comparison to him with his several millennia of knowledge and experiences, which allowed Li Qingshan to benefit tremendously.
It was not that Li Qingshan did not know how to cherish things. For example, he would never tell anyone about the cultivation method of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. However, just the Demon Suppression Statuary was not worth so much attention. He would be replacing this cultivation method sooner or later anyway.
Talking with the Great Banyan Tree King was a great pleasure, and it was not only for the sake of cultivation. The Great Banyan Tree King possessed extensive knowledge and experience. He knew the history of the past like the leaves on his branches. He had a broad and long-term view of the current situation of the world too.
He broadened Li Qingshan’s horizons and allowed him to benefit tremendously. Just like this, time passed day by day. One day, a bolt of lightning suddenly descended from above, producing a great rumble.
“Someone is undergoing the tribulation. Huh? Ye Liuxing!”
Li Qingshan stood up and gazed over, only to see lightning illuminating an entire island in a lake, except it was unable to illuminate Ye Liuxing’s dark figure. Through the light, a cold gaze was glued to the horizon.
“I didn’t think she would actually be the first one to undergo the tribulation!”
Li Qingshan shook his head, but upon further thought, it made perfect sense. He could vaguely recall that Ye Liuxing’s cultivation had always been higher than Ye Liusu’s. She managed to become the daughter of a matriarch, so her talent was obviously no issue too. She had a stiff and firm will on top of that. When Ye Liusu was distracted by the matters of the clan, Ye Liuxing had never given up on cultivation. Instead, she placed even more focus on it now that the internal strife had died down.
As the night roamers developed, she received a sizable amount of resources. Afterwards, she even obtained an Origin Spirit pill as a reward. After spending so much time consolidating her foundation, it was finally time for her to break through.
Bolts of heavenly lightning hurtled down. The entire Asura Field shook as a result. The sounds of her clashing with the lightning basically stagnated in everyone’s ears.
Although the second heavenly tribulation was much more dangerous than the first, it was not a lethal threat to her.
The final bolt of heavenly lightning slammed down, and Ye Liuxing fell out of the sky. Her clothes were in tatters, and she was covered in burn marks. She seemed like she was in a horrible shape, but her spirit and vigour had changed qualitatively.
Her thin lips curled up, and her cold face produced a smile with confidence from the bottom of her heart. She was like a river of ice that had cracked open. Of course, what flowed out was still icy-cold river water.
“Congratulations!”
When Ye Liuxing looked up, she saw Li Qingshan smiling at her. She said politely, “Greetings, master.” The river of ice froze up again.
Li Qingshan waved his hand and flames surged out.
Is he trying to kill me while I’m weakened?
Ye Liuxing’s heart tightened, but she did not dodge, allowing the flames to land on her. She found them to be warm, and her wounds rapidly recovered. Only then did she ease up.
“You’re not afraid that I’ll kill you?” Li Qingshan rubbed his chin and considered whether to honourably grant her the third spot on the Blood Oath Scroll.
“If you wanted to kill me, do you really have to go to such lengths, master?” Ye Liuxing said.
“It’s for the best that you understand this. You can treat this as a congratulations for undergoing the tribulation successfully. If you have any requests, I might be able to grant them,” Li Qingshan said.
“Then please allow me to marry Ye Liusu, master!” Ye Liuxing’s eyes twinkled, filled with obsession.
“Denied!” Li Qingshan shut her down immediately. You damned lesbian, you’re even trying to lay your hands on my woman!
“Yes!” Ye Liuxing said nothing more. Her face that seemed as cold as frozen ice prevented anyone from guessing what she was thinking.
Li Qingshan wondered, Is she intentionally exposing her weakness to me?
Ye Liusu took on making the night roamers prosper as her own mission. For the sake of the clan, she would never betray him, let alone the emotions she felt for him. Although they had yet to do anything, their relationship was basically confirmed already.
The powers of night roamers were extremely special. They could achieve wondrous effects in certain areas. He would definitely be waging battle everywhere next, using the Blood Oath Scroll to gather ten people in total and establish a tremendous force. Through deterrence and negotiation, he would make the fire devourers lend the divine wutong tree to him for cultivation.
Otherwise, how was he supposed to make the fire devourer king lend his treasure to him as a measly White Hawk commander?
Moreover, through the Great Banyan Tree King’s reminders, he discovered another layer of lurking danger, which came from the lord of the Mist province, King of Southern Yue, and the lord of the Green province, the Fierce King of Chu.
These two clans had respectively established the Kingdom of Yue and the Kingdom of Chu before the establishment of the Great Xia empire. The so-called provincial lords also happened to be the lords of the kingdoms in the past. They waged war with one another, so the grievances between the two kingdoms stretched over who knew how many generations. Even their ancestral teachings were to destroy one another. They were basically beyond reconciliation.
Afterwards, only when the founding emperor conferred titles to the marquis and kings of the eight provinces and drew the boundaries of the Mist and Green provinces were the two clans forced to stop fighting, but their grievances had not ended there. It was hidden away. Now that the reign of the Great Xia empire was gradually declining, the flames of war began to smoulder between the two provinces.
In the past, perhaps Li Qingshan would think just what did this have to do with him? It was not like he belonged to the two clans. However, only after a discussion with the Great Banyan Tree King did his involvement dawn on him.
Sects and clans were different. After several thousand years of development in peace, the number of descendants had swollen to a startling number. They joined various large sects, and the organisations became entwined.
The descendants of large clans possessed a natural advantage in the first place, and it was not only because of their bloodline. They had grown up on spiritual springwater and pills, so how could they be compared to mortals that grew up on regular grain? The education they received from young was worlds apart too.
After joining a sect, they would receive the support of resources from both sides, making it very easy for them to stand out and become core figures in sects.
The two queens of the Fierce King of Chu were on par with elders in the Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect. This was not a coincidence either. As a matter of fact, it was not even what Li Qingshan imagined in the beginning, a form of political marriage where they sacrificed their own beauty.
It was the exact opposite. The three of them had known each other since childhood. Although they were separated by several generations, they were truly members of the same clan, geniuses chosen from countless clansmen. They had received guidance together and became friends with one another.
Through his supreme talent, the boy remained in the clan to continue cultivating, while the two girls joined the Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect because of their differing talents and dispositions.
Afterwards, the boy underwent the third heavenly tribulation and was successfully crowned king, governing the Green province. He married the two girls as the Light and Dark Queens, which even happened to be a much told tale in the Green province.
