A while later, Xiao An explained everything to Li Qingshan, which left Li Qingshan in disbelief. To him, every single Daemon King was an extremely powerful and independent individual. They possessed their own distinct personality and ideas. It was just far too bizarre that the Clam King of Mirage Sea behaved differently and assumed various forms purely based on another’s thoughts.
He could not help but reevaluate the Clam King of Mirage Sea before him. Just what kind of existence was she? His initial guess that she was bound by her feelings had always been a joke, so why did she spend her entire life wandering the South sea?
“It’s all my-” Xiao An wanted to apologise when Li Qingshan interrupted her. “What?”
“Nothing.” Xiao An lowered her head.
“That’s more like it. Although it does feel like several years have passed, you better not think I’ve forgotten what I said!”
Li Qingshan smiled. However, this also explained why the Great Banyan Tree King had refused to tell him the truth. Once he found out the Clam King of Mirage Sea was a “monster” like this, it would be impossible for him not to grow wary, which would make it very difficult to deal with the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s soul nascence.
However, it still led to numerous twists and turns in the end, and it was still not completely over, as even a blind person could sense his deep hostility, let alone the Clam King of Mirage Sea that could read the minds of others. He had no idea what would happen, but he had never been afraid of a challenge.
He said to the Clam King of Mirage Sea, “In other words, I asked for all of this, and it’s not your fault at all!”
“Heh, if you’re ugly, it’s not like you can blame the mirror!” The Clam King of Mirage Sea smiled like a blooming flower.
“Then given everything that has happened so far, can you let us leave now?” Li Qingshan composed himself and controlled his battle intent.
“I refuse!” the Clam King of Mirage Sea said firmly.
“Really?” Li Qingshan squinted his eyes. As it seemed, this situation could not be resolved peacefully, but how was he supposed to defeat this Clam King of Mirage Sea?
“Relax, relax. I don’t have any plans on harassing you anymore.” The Clam King of Mirage Sea smiled and waved her hand.
“Harass?” Li Qingshan frowned. He had clearly been forced into dire straits, enduring hardships he had never endured before, yet it was merely harassment? She sure knew how to get on someone’s nerves.
“I say it’s harassment, but it has brought you great benefits. You have a spirit of forging on valiantly, but you’re still too young. Your temperament lacks tempering. Your cultivation speed will become slower and slower, and it’ll be very easy for you to be caught up at a bottleneck. This dream has made you confront your fears directly, which basically makes up for your shortcoming. That’s more precious than any medicine out there. It was a little dangerous, but from the end result, I think you should be thanking me instead.”
The Clam King of Mirage Sea tilted her head and smiled as she stared into Li Qingshan’s eyes with her colourful eyes
“That’s really hard to feel grateful about. Perhaps I should thank eight generations of your ancestors.”
Li Qingshan peered inside his body. He was extremely tired, but his mind had never been so clear before; it was like a rusty sword that had just been polished, exposing its edge. He also could not help but admit that the benefits from the dream were far more than what words could describe.
First of all, he had gained a deeper comprehension of the Ox Demon Transformation.
He had forcefully pushed the Ox Demon Transformation to the fifth layer, but he was like a child trying to wield a huge blade. He had never been able to use it as he pleased, completely limited to its great destructive power. Only through his battle with the Myriad Poison Ancestor did he comprehend the usage of the Gravity of the Earth. Now with his brand-new spirit and mentality, he only needed to go through a period of consolidation, and he would be able to unleash even greater power from the fifth layer of the ox demon.
He could not help but sigh. So the fifth layer of the ox demon can be this powerful. I’ll probably only be able to unleash its full strength once I undergo the third heavenly tribulation. By then, just which Daemon Kings in the world can still contend against my strength?
The other benefit was that the spirit turtle had become clearer and more penetrating, like a brilliant mirror that had just been cleaned of dust. His senses over the obscure heavenly secrets and fate had become sharper, while his usage of his abilities had become even more refined.
The omen of warning had vanished. There did not seem to be any more danger lurking in the Mirage sea, but Li Qingshan still refused to drop his guard. Common logic simply did not apply to the Clam King of Mirage Sea.
“Doesn’t that break the principle of your very existence?” Xiao An asked.
“Don’t look at me like that. I also have free will. I just don’t use it that regularly.” The Clam King of Mirage Sea loosened up and gazed at the sky. She said, “I might still be a stranger to you, but I’ve already known you for many years in the dream, Li Qingshan!”
“So I should call you old friend?” Li Qingshan sneered. He just did not feel honoured when others watched and enjoyed his suffering in a nightmare.
“Hehe, that won’t be necessary, but I do hope you understand that I share the same fear as you, which is why I’ve been trapped in this Mirage sea for thousands of years.” The Clam King of Mirage Sea spread her arms as if she was trying to demonstrate the length of several thousand years.
“Didn’t you create this place yourself with clam qi?” Li Qingshan said in surprise.
“Isn’t a cocoon created by the insect itself?” The Clam King of Mirage Sea smiled before cursing, “It’s all that bastard’s fault. I just played a joke on him, yet he actually screwed me over like this…”
The more she cursed, the angrier she became. Just swearing was not enough, so she suddenly leapt up, and a man in dragon robes suddenly appeared in her hand. She launched a barrage of slaps from left and right, smacking him across the face. “You think you’re so good just because you’re the emperor? Huh? You think you’re so good just because you’re the emperor? Huh?”
Li Qingshan exchanged glances with Xiao An. He communicated to her, Is there something wrong with the Clam King of Mirage Sea’s head? Nothing was more terrifying than a powerful woman sick in the head. No one could guess what she could do next.
A while later, the Clam King of Mirage Sea tossed the man aside and laid down on the ground. She exhaled. “So be it. It’s still my own problem at the end of the day.” She seemed to calm down, but then she suddenly went crazy again. She clutched at her hair and rolled around on the ground. “Why?! Why?! Why?!”
The surroundings twisted and produced countless phantoms, forming thousands of painful faces that wailed and moaned about. The terrifying power it hid was chilling.
“Uhh… Clam King of Mirage Sea… Ma’am… We want to leave…”
Li Qingshan took a step back, no longer angry at the Clam King of Mirage Sea at all. There was no point bickering with a madman, right? And this madman really did seem a little frightening. He would be better off keeping his distance.
“You cannot!” The Clam King of Mirage Sea suddenly looked over, and the faces roared together.
The incomparably tremendous pressure made Li Qingshan feel like he saw the Dragon King of Ink Sea again. He asked, “What else do you want from us?”
The Clam King of Mirage Sea smiled. The sky recovered its azure-blue colour, and the sunlight shone resplendently, still as beautiful as a dream. “In return for your fascinating performance, I’ve decided to give you a gift.”
“Umm… I don’t really want it, but okay!” Li Qingshan had to admit that he was still a little curious.
A smear of green light was tossed to Li Qingshan. It was the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s slumbering soul nascence. Li Qingshan caught it carefully, only to hear the Clam King of Mirage Sea say, “I’ve completely suppressed his consciousness and will. Even if you forge him into an artifact, he won’t put up any resistance!”
Li Qingshan suddenly thought of a bold idea. If he used the tiger demon’s third ability, Subservience to the Tiger, on the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s soul nascence, could he turn him into a haunt?
He would never consider that in the past. The willpower of a great cultivator was far too powerful. If he handled it badly, it would even lead to a backlash, but it was a heaven-sent opportunity now.
In the past, he had converted a group of Daemon Commanders into haunts, but as souls without bodies or daemon cores, they were far too weak. They were not of any practical use at all. Afterwards, he could not be bothered with dealing with them and handed them all to Xiao An to refine.
However, soul nascences were different. That was the condensation of a great cultivator’s entire cultivation. Even if their bodies were destroyed, the effect on their strength would not be too great. If he could convert him into a haunt, that would be equivalent to having a great cultivator as a servant, and they would be absolutely loyal without any chance of betrayal at all. It was much more effective than Blood Oath Scrolls or whatever.
“Then thank you for your gift, fellow. We’re going to be taking our leave.”
Li Qingshan did have some sincerity behind that this time. Although he had faced unprecedented danger this time, these benefits basically made it worth it.
“Stop right there! Who said that that was my gift?! Do you even have a brain?! You clearly brought that here yourself! Am I really that stingy that I’ll give it to you as a gift? Are you looking down on me? Li Qingshan?” The Clam King of Mirage Sea grabbed Li Qingshan by the shoulders and roared viciously
“Go on, go on. I’m in the wrong, are you happy now?”
Li Qingshan wiped away the spittle on his face. For the first time in his life, he was not tempted by an absolute beauty. He had just been scolded for no reason, but he became slightly eager over what kind of gift could make the mighty Clam King of Mirage Sea so serious. Was it an arcane treasure? Too tacky. He felt it should have been a little more precious.
The Clam King of Mirage Sea suddenly stood up on her toes and wrapped her arms around Li Qingshan’s neck. She whispered into his ear, “The world is a dream!”
Her warm, gentle body filled his arms and gave off a nice scent. At that moment, Li Qingshan had to admit that he was still a little tempted, but before he could even enjoy himself, the Clam King of Mirage Sea pulled away from him, gazing straight at him as if she was asking. How’s that?
“Huh?” Li Qingshan was taken aback. He pointed at his ear and said in disbelief, “The gift you speak of is what you just said?”
“The gift is too heavy, isn’t it? But I believe you can endure it.” The Clam King of Mirage Sea sighed again and looked at him pitifully, afraid he would collapse under the weight of this gift.
You’re such a great fool for believing a madman like me!
Li Qingshan raised his head and sucked in a deep breath so that he could control his temper. He looked down again and clasped his hands. “I’ve received your gift, so can we go now?”
The Clam King of Mirage Sea suddenly moved, reaching towards Li Qingshan’s chest.
With the experience from last time, Li Qingshan did not try to dodge. The tips of her finger touched his chest and produced a colourful ripple before reaching in and removing an item.
Of course, what she removed was not the heart, but the Divine Talisman of Great Creation that had been gathering dust.
“You must be a disciple of the school of Novels!” The Clam King of Mirage Sea played around with the Divine Talisman of Great Creation that flowed with colour.
“Is there anything else you want to say? If you want that, I’ll give it to you, alright? Please, I’m begging you. Just do something good for once and let us go!” Li Qingshan almost could not stand this madman anymore.
“Novelists can turn fiction into reality. If this world were a novel, what should we do?” The Clam King of Mirage Sea gripped the Divine Talisman of Great Creation firmly. The Divine Talisman of Great Creation that was almost intangible actually shattered like glass in that moment, piercing her skin and making blood flow.
