Although otherfolk and humans were both technically people, their hatred for one another was so deep that it far exceeded their hatred for daemons despite daemons being the ones that ate the most people. It was probably because daemons could not come up with all these dishes. Instead, being killed and eaten by daemons was more of a norm.
What left Li Qingshan even more surprised was Ru Xin’s attitude towards all of this. It was said that everyone always had some attachment to their own kind, but she was surprisingly indifferent towards Merfolk. It was like she did not treat herself as a Merfolk, but she did not treat herself as a human either.
Thinking up to there, Li Qingshan scanned the beach, but he did not see Ru Xin’s figure. They had split up, so even he had no idea where she was right now. However, there was no need for him to worry either. She was under the protection of the Myriad Poison Ancestor, so she definitely would not be in any danger.
The length of the Merfolk sea fair was variable. It could last as short as a night, or as long as several days. Gong Yuan had come in person this time, so it would probably last a little longer. Ru Xin definitely would not be missing out on it.
“Kid, we’ve reached the beach. Aren’t you going to get off?” Elder Blue lost his temper and swung his tail, kicking up huge waves.
Gong Yuan had led the elders off the whale’s back, and she was currently talking with Ji Changfeng. The two of them glanced over from time to time.
Only Li Qingshan stood alone on the blue whale now as if he was waiting for something.
He smiled at Ji Changfeng and Gong Yuan and simply sat down, patting elder Blue’s smooth head.
“Don’t be so impatient. I’m waiting for someone!”
“Oi, are you really taking me as your own mount? Hurry up and get off me!” If it were not for the fact that elder Blue was afraid of creating a disturbance for the sea fair, he would have taken on Li Qingshan in a great battle right then and there.
As they spoke, another figure flew over from the cloudy horizon. Her target was elder Blue’s head.
“Just who is bold enough to- hmm? What a beautiful girl!” Elder Blue was surprised and forgot to fly into a rage, allowing Xiao An to land on his head.
“That’s…” A gleam of light flashed through Ji Changfeng’s eyes. When he was younger, he often became involved in affairs of love. He was very much a romantic. At his current age, he had cast aside something like that long ago, but he still believed he had witnessed all the beauties the world had to offer already, where it was impossible for him to be amazed again. However, at this very moment, he could not help but sigh inside, The world actually has someone as beautiful as her! Just what else do the nine provinces have to offer?
Ji Qingfeng and the cultivators with weaker willpower and cultivation were directly stunned by her, unable to shift their gazes.
The mermaids were beautiful, but compared to her, it was like comparing pearls against the moon. They stood no chance. She was not adorned with any accessories, so simply dressed that there only seemed to be two colours, black and white. Her black hair and eyes and her white clothes and snowy skin actually made her surpass even the Merfolk Queen.
She’s Xiao An. The dragon’s cry came from her earlier. It’s said that she’s even younger than Li Qingshan. She probably hasn’t even reached thirty yet, yet she already possesses such cultivation. How terrifying. Humans might mostly be mediocre, but among their vast population, they can produce wondrous geniuses every now and then, such that even godfolk stand no chance. That’s why they could conquer the nine provinces.
Gong Yuan thought, But do buddhist disciples practise arts of charm? It doesn’t seem to be as simple as the arts of charm.
Although the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty included numerous different arts, such as artifact forging and alchemy, the arts of charm was not one of them. It focused on the path of life and death, the concept of form and emptiness. Great beauty was form, and white bone was emptiness. The two words “great beauty” contained the acme of appearance within the living world, which was why it could contrast against the emptiness of white bone.
It was not an art of charm, yet it surpassed all arts of charm. It was the very essence, touching on the very origin of all arts of charm.
“The guy from the sword pavilion sure is slow. He’s probably trying to assert himself right at the beginning. Hmph, am I supposed to be begging you? If you think you’re so capable, why don’t you try not coming?” Li Qingshan found a bronze mask and made Xiao An wear it before calling out at the sky, “Yu Wufeng!”
There was no reason for the South Sea Sword pavilion to hurry anyway. It was not like he wanted the master of the sword pavilion’s help either. It was perfect that they did not come to make trouble for him.
Yu Wufeng hovered in the sky and stared straight at the direction of the South Sea Sword pavilion, but he did not see any streaks of light. Hearing Li Qingshan’s call, he felt powerless, turning into a streak of white light and arriving before him, but he did not land on the whale. He clasped his hands. “My king, what are your orders?”
“We can’t just keep waiting like this. The old chap below us is already running out of patience. Your master will come if he wants to. Let’s go ashore first!” Li Qingshan said.
“Yes,” answered Yu Wufeng.
“You’re Yu Wufeng!?” Elder Blue was surprised. They had only met once several years ago, but the streaks of light that resembled fogbows and his head full of white hair was simply unforgettable.
“It’s been several years. I didn’t expect elder Blue to still remember me.” Yu Wufeng smiled.
Right when everyone became disappointed because Xiao An had put on the mask, Yu Wufeng’s appearance immediately led to an even greater uproar.
“It really is him, the Fogbow Swordsman Yu Wufeng!” “Wasn’t he expelled from the South Sea Sword pavilion? Why is he still bold enough to come to the South sea!?” “Your information is far too outdated. That was a scheme by the South Sea Sword pavilion for him to take Savage mountain. He just never expected Li Qingshan to suddenly appear from nowhere, not only losing out on the title of King of Savages, but even being unwittingly dragged into the whole matter himself.”
Hearing these discussions and conversations, Yu Wufeng sighed inside. He looked at the beach again and saw many familiar faces among the cultivators of the South sea. The reason why he was unwilling to go ashore earlier was because there were far too many acquaintances down there, but he had basically settled down now. He clasped his hands at them from afar, basically greeting them.
Virtually all the cultivators returned the gesture from afar. With it came to reputation among the cultivation community of the South sea, Yu Wufeng’s even outshone Li Qingshan’s. He was a supreme genius in the past, wielding the arcane treasure, the Fogbow sword, as he wandered the South sea alone. For a time, his prominence was unrivalled. Afterwards, he was expelled from the South Sea sword pavilion, becoming the first cave master of Savage mountain, which added some legendary splendour to his name.
Tonight, he returned to the South sea. The Fogbow sword shone just like the past, but his cultivation had climbed to a higher level, basically only a step away from the third heavenly tribulation. This should have been something worthy of celebration, but he just happened to be bound by the Blood Oath Scroll, forcing him to serve someone else. How could they not lament over this?
Some of Yu Wufeng’s old friends wanted to hurry over as soon as they saw him, but when they saw him refer to Li Qingshan as king and stand behind him silently, they all stopped and hesitated. It left a very bad taste in their mouths. They would have preferred it if they had not seen that.
“No Wind, seems like you’re quite popular in the South sea.” Li Qingshan smiled.
“My king, don’t let my current circumstances fool you. I too had once been a righteous swordsman! With this sword in hand, I’ve saved numerous people from disasters,” Yu Wufeng said.
After everything he had been through, he already began to admire Li Qingshan from the bottom of his heart. In particular, the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s fate left him utterly overjoyed. He no longer had any intent on making an enemy out of Li Qingshan anymore.
This was not out of fear for Li Qingshan’s strength. As a sword cultivator, it would be absolutely impossible for him to reach his current cultivation if he did not have a firm, unyielding nature where he could disregard his personal safety. He admired him out of respect and admiration.
“Yeah, you don’t look like a demonic cultivator. Don’t worry. Even if your master doesn’t come, I’ll remove the blood oath in the future.” Li Qingshan patted him on the shoulder. Someone like him was not a sinful demonic cultivator, nor did he have any plans on becoming his enemy. If it were possible, Li Qingshan also hoped he could continue down the path of cultivation.
“T- then thank you, my king. If I am ever fortunate enough to undergo the third heavenly tribulation, I’ll definitely pay you back!”
What Yu Wufeng feared the most was being stuck under Li Qingshan for the rest of his life because of the Blood Oath Scroll. Having suddenly received this promise, he could not help but be taken aback. He knew he was not someone who gave empty promises, so he could not help but become overwhelmed with admiration.
If it were anyone else, even if they had no use for Yu Wufeng, they would never release him so easily, afraid they would face retribution once he underwent the third heavenly tribulation. However, Li Qingshan was unafraid. His breadth of mind and courage originated from absolute confidence. Once he underwent the third heavenly tribulation, even if Yu Wufeng decided to turn against him, it was only a matter of killing him with a single punch.
“Hopefully it’s not payback.”
Li Qingshan smiled. He trusted his insight. As a genius sword cultivator, Yu Wufeng definitely was not someone despicable like that. If it had been the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber or some other demonic cultivator instead, he would have never done this. Even if he promised them something, it would probably just be a sham.
“Definitely not. I can swear on my heart of the sword to never make an enemy out of you! Actually, we never should have been enemies in the first place. The circumstances were just against us. However, that’s not exactly a bad thing either. I was in a hurry to return to the South Sea Sword pavilion, so my chances at surviving the tribulations were not actually that high. With this setback, I’ve been able to consolidate my cultivation a bit more, which might instead be a blessing to me. I just hope that we can treat each other as equals in the future, where I don’t have to call you ‘king’ anymore.” Yu Wufeng confessed.
If he cast aside their disputes, everything that Li Qingshan had done in the Mist province—vanquishing the cave masters of Savage mountain, sweeping up the demonic cultivators of the south, devastating the Myriad Poison cult, and massacring a hundred thousand Bone Eating shamans—was something that he wanted to do as well but was incapable of doing. Even if he underwent the third heavenly tribulation and became a great sword cultivator, he would not be able to subdue the Myriad Poison Ancestor. He would not be bold enough to become enemies with the Bone Eating Shaman King either. If he had a choice, he was extremely willing to befriend Li Qingshan.
“Sure! I actually don’t like strutting around on top of others. It’s just that with certain people, they won’t take you seriously unless you walk over them!”
Li Qingshan shook his head. Because he had once ridden on brother ox’s back, he refused to lower his head to anyone. It was exactly because he had witnessed brother ox’s strength that he understood how distant the Nine Heavens were, which was why he struggled to develop the so-called mentality of the strong where mortals were mere ants. Gazing down from beyond the Nine Heavens, he was only a slightly stronger ant himself. If he thought he was extraordinary after merely obtaining a bit of power, strutting around like no one could be his boss, even he would find himself embarrassing.
He had just stood before the Merfolk Queen and held a regular conversation, and he had been labelled as arrogant. He had just referred to Zhu Yan as “fellow”, and that had earned him a ruthless mocking. Just who was being arrogant here?
Yu Wufeng felt ashamed. If he had tried conversing with him as an equal in the beginning, the situation would have never ended up like this. He had also looked down on Li Qingshan because he believed he was powerful, and he possessed a geographical advantage, even blaming him for ruining his plan in Savage mountain. In the end, Li Qingshan had to plant his foot on his head before he wanted to befriend him, basically living up to what he had just said.
“Get off me!” Elder Blue flew into a fury.
“I’m not talking to you. Alright, alright, alright, I’ll get off right now.” Li Qingshan suddenly realised it really was quite ironic to say something like that on top of elder Blue’s head. He had it coming.
The rumors really are true. His current cultivation is even slightly greater than what I anticipated it to be. He really is a sword cultivator genius. How could anyone give up on a disciple like him so easily? If my sect had a successor like him, I’d probably agree to any condition that Li Qingshan would put forth just to guarantee the future prosperity and longevity of the sect. Ye Duanhai is in trouble this time.
Ji Changfeng thought and shot a glance at Ji Qingyu.
Ji Qingyu flew over. “I am Ji Qingyu. Under the sect master’s orders, please come to the platform with me.” He could not help but glance at Xiao An again, meeting the dark eyes behind the bronze mask and immediately shifting his gaze again.
Li Qingshan suddenly looked back. A streak of lofty light rose up from the surface of the sea like a star. Several dozen streaks of light followed right behind, establishing a sword formation.
