The wind blew quietly while the cloudless night sky was illuminated by the extraordinarily large moon. The distant stars formed a resplendent river in the sky.
Li Qingshan clutched the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, remaining speechless for quite a while. Everything he had been through in the Mirage sea was like a dream. He murmured to himself, “Shen Mengdie!”
Suddenly, he smiled. Probably no one could imagine just what kind of upheaval this crazy woman that had been trapped in the South sea for thousands of years could bring to the world after undergoing the fourth heavenly tribulation. The Dragon province would be getting lively now.
Of course, even up until now, he still felt great doubt over what she had said. He felt that she had wallowed too deeply into the dreams and illusions, which left her crazy like this. She was like the authors that had actually been frightened to death by their own horror novels from the news in his past life.
However, it was exactly because of unique existences like her that the nine provinces would be so interesting, that people would yearn for the nine provinces.
“Alright, I await the day when we meet again in the Dragon province, but when that day comes, I want to viciously ‘harass’ you back.”
He stowed the Divine Talisman of Great Creation back inside him and smiled. He was very vengeful.
After he said that, he looked around, only to see that all was peaceful. He could not help but smile wryly. He had almost been driven a little mental himself by that crazy woman. He just felt like she could appear at any time.
“Qingshan, look, what is that?” Xiao An suddenly pointed towards the south.
Li Qingshan followed her finger, only to see a protruding semicircle on the horizon. “It should be an island!” It was so far away, so that seemed to be the only explanation.
“But it wasn’t there earlier…” Before Xiao An could finish, Li Qingshan noticed something strange too. The “island” was clearly rapidly growing larger, approaching them at an unbelievable speed. The calm seas suddenly began to surge violently.
Li Qingshan called Xiao An and immediately flew towards the north. It definitely could not be dealt with easily considering the disturbance it created. Fortunately, while they had encountered great danger in the Mirage sea, they were basically unscathed, so they currently flew at top speed and moved extremely quickly.
However, when Li Qingshan glanced backwards, he discovered in shock that the “island” was clearly faster than them, making it seem even larger.
Right when Li Qingshan wondered about what other trouble he had caused, the “island” stopped where the Clam King of Mirage Sea underwent the tribulation and swam around.
“So its target isn’t us, but that crazy woman!”
Li Qingshan eased up slightly and flew a little further away, concealing his aura before using the Profound Light Illuminates All. Immediately, the scene from several hundred kilometers away was presented right before him.
“So big!”
Li Qingshan cried out. The “island” was actually a colossal whale over thousands of meters long. Just a gentle wave of its tail could produce a tsunami, while the water spout it produced rushed into the clouds, like it was rinsing the stars and moon. Before this bizarre, unbelievably large creature, Li Qingshan could not help but sigh like he had just witnessed a god.
“It’s the Great Whale King of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings. It’s said that he dwells deep in the sea and never comes to the surface, so very few people have seen him before. It’s rumored that his whale song is highly beneficial to the soul. It must be similar to the Chant of Deva-Nāga used by a peak third heavenly tribulation Monk King, except it’s rarely ever heard.”
Xiao An introduced calmly. Just like the Clam King of Mirage Sea, the Great Whale King was a prominent figure of the South sea, except one dwelled deep under the sea, while the other was trapped in the Mirage sea. Even someone as clever as her never anticipated they would run into each other.
Suddenly, a deep, broad whale song, together with the surging of the seas, crossed several hundred kilometers of ocean and reached Li Qingshan’s ears.
He had heard countless different songs before, both pop and elegant classical music, but never had there been a sound that could be compared against the mighty whale song. It seemed like the spirits of the sea were singing, making his soul shudder.
The whale song emanated over wave after wave, rising one after another just like the sea waves. Li Qingshan shut his eyes and listened closely. He sensed the immensity of the ocean, and his exhausted mind gradually settled down. Everything he had experienced in the Mirage sea drifted past his eyes like fleeting clouds, such that only the solemn yet gentle whale song remained, constantly echoing through his head.
After who knew how long, the whale song subsided. The Great Whale King seemed to glance at Li Qingshan through the Profound Light Illuminates All. His dark eyes seemed to freeze the entire deep sea, deep and gentle. He no longer remained there, making his journey back to the deep ocean.
Li Qingshan suddenly experienced an uncontrollable urge to cast aside everything and follow him to the depths of the vast ocean, to drift with the waves and to wander on the seas. There was no need for any more conflict, no need for any more trouble.
However, he recovered from that mentality very quickly. Now was still not the time. He still shouldered a great burden. He had to continue onwards, all the way to beyond the Nine Heavens, where he could stand beside that figure.
As a result, he watched as the great whale shrunk, finally vanishing into the horizon.
“He’s probably come to see off Shen Mengdie! But he doesn’t know that crazy woman has already gone to the Dragon province.” Li Qingshan could tell that the whale song was to bid farewell. He could also hear some joy for her, as she had finally broken out of the Mirage sea, breaking out of her cocoon to emerge as a butterfly.
“She continues to doubt her own existence. She wants me to remember her as evidence she exists, but unbeknownst to her, someone has never forgotten about her.”
Afterwards, Li Qingshan discovered he had completely digested and mastered the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. This cultivation method he had once placed great significance in had been discarded before he even reached the ninth layer, so even if he comprehended something now, it was useless. However, did that matter?
Most importantly, he would never forget about the whale song under the moon. He let it echo through his heart. He would listen to its calling on the day he finally lifted the burden from his shoulders.
But before that, he would hold onto his fears and dreams and continue fighting.
Under the glow of the rising sun, Li Qingshan and Xiao An saw the shore. They continued off in the direction of Savage mountain.
“Qingshan,” Xiao An suddenly called his name.
“Hmm? What’s the matter?” Li Qingshan looked back and smiled at her.
“In the dream, did you want to kiss me?” Xiao An’s clear eyes stared straight at him as if she could see the depths of his mind.
“It’s not like I haven’t kissed you before?” Li Qingshan’s heart skipped a beat as he said in an unconcerned manner.
“Not the face, the lips!” Xiao An was extremely accustomed to reading his face, where even the most subtle expressions could not escape her eyes. In order to place emphasis, she even went out of her way to point at her lips.
“Don’t talk nonsense. How could I?” Li Qingshan stared at her with eyes as wide as an ox’s.
“Your face is turning red,” said Xiao An. She added inside, And it’s very red!
“It’s from the light,” Li Qingshan refuted.
“But the side without light is red too.”
“Alright, it’s pointless to talk about this. We need to hurry back!” Li Qingshan accelerated off. He had always been renowned for his valour and vigour, but right now, his figure seemed a little sorry. Xiao An’s chime-like giggles rang out from behind.
Returning to Savage mountain, the first thing that Li Qingshan did was take out the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s soul nascence. He planned to create a third heavenly tribulation servant for himself.
