But Li Qingshan was different. He had achieved success while still young, earning the King of Savages as a title in his mere thirties. Now that someone was blocking his main entrance, how could he accept that? He would definitely grow restless, which would affect his cultivation, and if he could not put up with it and was bold enough to face him in battle, that would be for the best. He was confident he only needed a single move to claim his life.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor had a calculated plan, so he was in no hurry. He simply sat on the cloud, weighing over Savage mountain like a mountain.
On this day, clouds loomed across the entire sky, pitch-black like ink and weighing down heavily.
The thunder rumbled as drizzle drifted down with the rain. A storm was about to pour.
Li Qingshan stood on the top of the precipitous cliff and gazed up. He could not see the Myriad Poison Ancestor, but he could clearly sense he was still there.
“It’s about time.”
During the past month, he had cultivated in the Asura Field, focusing on the Demon Suppression Statuary. He allowed the malice of the tiger demon to surge before converting it into the demon heart’s power, gradually diluting the spiritual qi from the Ocean pearl. His demon qi became more and more pure, and he began craving a battle.
“I’ll watch over you.” Xiao An stood beside Li Qingshan, gazing at the boundless clouds with her clear, pure eyes.
Li Qingshan wanted to forge the tiger demon’s battle spirit through this battle, to minimise his chances of killing the Myriad Poison Ancestor, so there was no need for Xiao An to take part and expose his trump card. However, since Xiao An was watching over him from one side, she was obviously waiting for this slim opportunity to appear as well.
With a clang, Li Qingshan immediately demonified, becoming clad in armour. Many minor details of his outer appearance changed, now smeared with the colour of blood. It made him seem even more vicious.
With a boom, the rock beneath Li Qingshan’s feet collapsed and shot off into the surroundings. He had already taken off into the clouds, arriving five kilometers away.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor snapped open his eyes, which shone with dark-green light. He beamed with joy, but his face soon twisted viciously. Sure enough, he’s young and can’t control himself. Allow me to erase a genius like you from existence today.
He stood up resolutely, and his green robes became filled by the fierce winds. Within his wide sleeves, two shrivelled hands danced around. Surging poisonous gas gathered into a poisonous sphere that crackled with lightning.
“Lightning Sphere of Myriad Poison!”
Li Qingshan happened to be soaring through the clouds, navigating past a bolt of lightning that slithered through the air like a violet snake. He could hear the rumbling of thunder both near and far.
Suddenly, danger arrived. Green light descended from above, peeking through the dark clouds and growing brighter and brighter.
Boom!
A huge hole appeared in the thick clouds, having been blasted apart. They rippled away like the tide, but there was no light of day. There were even denser green clouds instead.
Under the green clouds, the pitch-black Demon Suppression Tower was in horrible shape, close to collapsing.
At the critical moment, Li Qingshan had summoned the Demon Suppression Tower and forcefully blocked this strike. He really is a great cultivator of the third heavenly tribulation after all! Sure enough, he’s capable of something!
The lone eye on his forehead lit up, producing a streak of light and piercing the green cloud. The green, jade throne that the Myriad Poison Ancestor sat on jiggled like jelly. The strange beasts engraved on the throne seemed to come alive, opening their gaping mouths together and spraying out thousands of Lightning Spheres of Myriad Poison.
The corner of Li Qingshan’s lips curled up, and he soared up against the wind.
Jangle. A hundred Chains of Demon Suppression stretched out, ripping through the air and swinging around madly like whips.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The Lightning Spheres of Myriad Poison all exploded, and the sky became a terrifying zone of lightning, impacting dozens of kilometers away.
Li Qingshan suddenly rushed out of the zone of lightning. His armour was covered in marks of being struck, but they had forcefully blocked the damage. Then he dove into the green clouds, but even with his protective demon qi, his ears were immediately filled with the hissing of corrosion. Some of the corners on his armour had been directly eaten smooth as if he would disintegrate if he remained a moment longer in the poisonous clouds.
Li Qingshan was unfazed. The Myriad Poison Ancestor was right in front of him. He swung his right hand backwards, and the Demon Dragon sword shot out.
Kill him!
The edge of the sword shot forth like a dragon, heading right towards the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s forehead.
However, the Myriad Poison Ancestor sneered. The jade throne produced a thin, green film that resembled soap, blocking the edge of the Demon Dragon sword.
Li Qingshan’s left hand silently curled into a fist. The killing thrust of a sword, filled with chilling sword intent, was merely a probing strike. As long as he could land a punch on the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s old face, he was not without a chance.
Immediately, Xiao An’s figure appeared above the poisonous cloud. Her seaweed-like hair drifted, and her clear, pure eyes had already become almost-transparent white flames. The Buddha Slaying sword was in her hand too.
But suddenly, she sensed danger. Before she knew it, the Myriad Poison Ancestor was already holding a green tumour in his hand, having silently nurtured it for quite some time now. It was the treasure of the Myriad Poison cult, and it produced a streak of brutal-green light.
Li Qingshan pulled his sword back to block, but he did not feel any resistance at all. Instead, the Demon Dragon sword thrummed sadly and green light dyed the entire weapon before flowing through the hilt and infecting his right hand. Immediately, the armour on his right hand shattered, and his right arm went numb before spreading through his body slowly.
With a clang, the Demon Dragon sword shattered, dispersing as fragments.
Li Qingshan could clearly sense that if it were not for the fact that he practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine and that his body was as tough as a Daemon King’s, he would have been smashed to pieces. That strike would have stripped his flesh from his bone.
“Die!”
Seeing how Li Qingshan was actually fine, the Myriad Poison Ancestor was surprised. He suddenly leapt up and swung his hand, launching a palm strike at Li Qingshan’s chest.
Li Qingshan was overjoyed. Was this not the opportunity he had been waiting for the entire time? Cold light shone through his eyes as fire-like hair drifted out from behind his helmet. A moo deafened the surroundings. The figure of the ox demon appeared behind him, butting its head towards the Myriad Poison Ancestor. That was his fist thrown!
The Myriad Poison Ancestor suddenly felt uneasy, but he was unable to work out what went wrong. With Li Qingshan’s cultivation, he would still have a chance at surviving if he escaped, but he was clearly asking to die by engaging him forcefully. It was already too late for him to change his mind now.
The fist and palm collided!
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Li Qingshan’s fist rapidly corroded away, revealing bone in the blink of an eye. Even the shining, metallic lustre dimmed from the corrosion, but as the poison seeped through his body, a smile stretched over his face.
On the other hand, the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s face was filled with disbelief. His skinny hand rapidly deformed and changed in shape, like a stick that had been broken, exploding into a clump of mist with a bang.
He was a great cultivator of the third heavenly tribulation, but his physique was not his forte. He stood no chance against Li Qingshan’s great strength that could even rival Corpse Kings and Daemon Kings, not to mention there was the all-conquering power of tremors too. He had been openly and viciously deceived by Li Qingshan, falling back heavily into the throne.
Li Qingshan’s scarlet eyes clearly reflected the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s frightened face, as well as his ghost-like figure. He planted a foot on the green bubble created by the jade throne that rapidly sank in, raising his arms high in the air and crossing his fists, launching a violent attack with a roar.
Even if it were a mountain, he would crush it to pieces!
Boom!
The green clouds dispersed, revealing the azure sky. The green bubble twisted and surged violently, actually withstanding Li Qingshan’s powerful attack without shattering, even showing signs of trying to recover. The defences were as powerful as they could be, basically almost indestructible.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor raised his head and looked at Li Qingshan. His armour had all been eaten away, revealing his robust body and his devilishly-handsome face. Pointed teeth poked out from his flagrant smile. The pair of ox horns on his head curved like the crescent moon as if they were trying to penetrate the sky.
Just who… is this kid!?
The Myriad Poison Ancestor began considering retreating. The tip of a sword poked out of his chest. The Buddha Slaying sword pierced the green bubble, the back of the jade throne, as well as his back.
A white skeleton stood behind the jade throne, wrapped in surging flames. With her around, he would never be alone.
“Y- you-” The Myriad Poison Ancestor widened his eyes, which were now completely bloodshot.
The Buddha Slaying sword definitely was not just tough and sharp. It was currently destroying his mind, burning his flesh, and devouring his soul.
Li Qingshan cut right to the chase. He planted his feet on the armrests of the jade throne and grabbed the Myriad Poison Ancestor by the head, throwing another punch!
Xiao An twisted the Buddha Slaying sword, and the Samādhi Flames of White Bone surged out, enveloping the Myriad Poison Ancestor. White bone claws reached towards the back of the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s head.
The green tumour in the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s hand suddenly swelled up, beating like a heart. With each thump, it would grow ten times in size, highlighting its green strands and vessels.
The Myriad Poison Ancestor produced an inhuman roar, “Die!”
“Retreat!”
Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes and forcefully wrenched back his fist. His phoenix wings flapped forwards violently, and he rapidly pulled back. Xiao An drew out her sword as well, but they were already a step too late.
The green tumour turned into a green sun. Thousands of rays of brutal-green light shot out, drowning out the sun overhead and swallowing them up.
The green light landed on a mountain far off in the distance, and the mountain collapsed silently, landing on the jungle below. Whether it were the trees or rocks, it was all reduced to fine powder, turning into a pit of white sand in the blink of an eye.
The light receded, and most of Li Qingshan’s flesh was gone as if he had been gnawed away by invisible insects. It revealed his jagged bones, but they no longer shone with a metallic luster. They had become extremely frail.
Xiao An’s white bones were also coated in the colour of rust. She arrived beside Li Qingshan, “Are you alright?”
“It’s not enough to kill me. That old bastard has escaped!” Li Qingshan said.
As she asked that, Xiao An used the Samādhi Flames of White Bone to suppress the spreading “rust”, while Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression to stop the poison he was coated in. Even though he had grasped an opportunity, killing a third heavenly tribulation cultivator still was not that easy.
Having been kept busy for a moment, it was enough for the Myriad Poison Ancestor to flee back to the Myriad Poison cult. The formations of the Myriad Poison cult even surpassed the ones on Savage mountain. With the Myriad Poison Ancestor personally controlling them, although it would not be as great as the Great Banyan Tree King, he could still unleash enough power. Even if the two of them were in peak condition, they would not be able to break through.
“We’ve played all our cards this time, but he’s still managed to escape. There’ll probably be quite a lot of trouble from now onwards.”
“The hunting hound has already been sent out. Perhaps she might be able to keep him busy for a while,” said Xiao An.
“The hunting hound? Oh!” Li Qingshan suddenly realised what she meant. He smiled. “You really are the one who thinks things through.”
Asura Commander Yin Qing flew through the air, constantly flashing through space as she tailed a streak of green light closely. She searched for an opportunity and was ready to strike at any time.
When Li Qingshan began facing the Myriad Poison Ancestor, Xiao An had given her this mission. She had remained on the mountain peak the entire time, spectating the battle carefully. When the Myriad Poison Ancestor blew up the cult treasure and fled from Savage mountain, she set off immediately with a single mission—keep the Myriad Poison Ancestor busy.
She was tense. The opponent was a great cultivator on par with Asura Kings. Although he was heavily injured and currently fleeing, it only made things more dangerous.
