Li Qingshan exhaled and turned around, flying back onto the mountain. After some healing, most of his surface wounds recovered, but his exhausted energy could not be replenished so quickly. He needed a period of time to recuperate.
Seeing how Gong Yuan and the others were deep in thought, he could not help but smile. “Why is the atmosphere so heavy? We’ve won this battle after all! Fellow Ji has gotten his revenge, pavilion master Ye has upheld his promise, and the divine nun has demonstrated the great arts of her school of vinaya. It goes without saying regarding your majesty. The South sea is henceforth free of war, so why don’t we all laugh heartily and go for a celebration? Otherwise, if other people see us, they’ll think we lost!”
“Well said, fellow!” Ji Changfeng sucked in a deep breath and let out a few great laughs. Having gotten his revenge, he felt like he had been freed from another shackle. His mind became even more like the wind, free to wander the world.
“That’s true!” Ye Duanhai kept speaking to a minimum as always, but he also showed the rare hint of a smile. The battle had been dangerous, but that was not necessarily a bad thing for him. The path of a sword cultivator was also a path of slaughter. If he did not battle powerful enemies, if he did not experience danger, how was he supposed to polish his edge? As a result, he made up his mind. It was impossible for him to avoid the conflicts of the world. All he could do was dive head-first into it and pave a path of survival for himself.
“You’re just the simplest, aren’t you? Only caught up in the joys of the moment!” Gong Yuan grumbled softly. Her voice no longer possessed the same coldness as usual. Instead, it was gentle like water.
The two Merfolk Kings on the side glanced at one another, both slightly surprised. They realised something. Normally, it was perfectly normal for such compatible cultivation partners to become cultivation companions, but was that really possible between the two of them?
“If I can’t even be caught up in the joys of the moment, when can I ever be caught up in joy? Your thoughts span too deep, and you think too much.” Li Qingshan stretched and yawned, gazing at the clear sky and the expansive world.
“Perhaps!” Gong Yuan fiddled around with her hair and did not disagree.
“Amitābha. These fire devourers like to burn and kill. They’re ruthless in nature, so they deserve retribution. Though, I do have something that I wonder whether I should say to you or not.”
After witnessing Li Qingshan’s capabilities, the Divine Nun of the South Sea no longer viewed him as a junior, giving him the respect of an equal. However, many of the things he had demonstrated in this battle made her secretly frown. She did not feel like that was something a person of buddhism should possess.
“Then you shouldn’t tell me… Haha, I’m just joking. What would you like to say? Feel free to be straightforward. Though, I won’t really understand it if it’s some profound buddhist dharma or principles,” Li Qingshan said like it was obvious.
The Divine Nun of the South Sea was momentarily taken aback. She shook her head and smiled wryly. “So be it, so be it.”
“Fair enough, fair enough.” Li Qingshan nodded.
They conversed a little longer and agreed on a date and time to celebrate in the Crystal palace. Afterwards, they bade farewell to one another, each returning to recuperate.
Before they left, Gong Yuan shot a glance at Li Qingshan and said to him, “Don’t forget about what you said.”
“What did I say?” Li Qingshan shrugged. He acted clueless.
“Hmph!” Gong Yuan shot a vicious glance at him and rode off on the water.
Li Qingshan rubbed his chin. This queen was not without some adorable aspects, but making him remain in the South sea was completely impossible, so he avoided it all together, just in case it led to problems.
Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes staring straight at him. Turning around, he saw that Xiao An had already bade farewell to the Divine Nun of the South Sea too, staring straight at him with her bright eyes.
“You sure had it easy this time, watching it all from the sidelines from beginning to end.” Li Qingshan rubbed her head with a smile.
“I didn’t have it easy at all. I was very worried about you.”
“I know.” Li Qingshan’s heart softened, and he scooped her into his arms. “You’ve had it difficult!”
“My king!”
The three remaining cave masters of Savage mountain, Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, the Marquis of Serene Sea, and Ghost Shadow, all came to pay respects. They were all in horrendous shape, clearly heavily injured. In particular, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber had gone from a mountain of flesh to just skin and bones again.
“You’ve had it tough with this battle. I’m a man of my word. Xiao An.” Li Qingshan cut right to the chase. Xiao An took out the Blood Oath Scroll and erased the last three blood-red figures. The bloody words on there gradually faded away too, reverting to a blank.
“Thank you, my king!” The three of them all felt their hearts lighten. Originally, they were still worried that Li Qingshan would go back on his decision, but they were finally at ease now.
“Heh, no need to thank me. You had been captured by me in the first place, coerced into risking your lives. Now that you’ve been released, I don’t exactly deserve any of your gratitude. Though, it would make sense for you to hate me,” said Li Qingshan.
“Never!” The three of them said in a hurry. After witnessing their battle, their veneration towards Li Qingshan had reached a new peak. Even the proudest of them all, the Marquis of Serene Sea, became careful around him.
“Whatever you want. You can go now!” Li Qingshan waved his hand. Originally, he wanted to warn them to not blubber and disclose his secrets, but upon thinking about it, he found no need.
“I was a cave master of Savage mountain even before you came, so I have no other place I can go. I’m willing to continue with serving the king, to strengthen the foundations of our Savage mountain so that the king becomes the true lord of the south,” the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber said.
Now, the Myriad Poison Ancestor was already dead, and the South Sea Sword pavilion would not involve themselves so easily again, so just who could still be the King of Savage’s opponent in the south? If he issued orders under the title of the King of Savages, were there any cultivators that dared to defy him? He had gone from being the second cave master to the first cave master, and the only first cave master, so authority was within his grasp.
“Me too!” the Marquis of Serene Sea said in a hurry. He cursed inside, This damned fatty is just too good at sucking up! He has absolutely no sense of shame!
As the nominal governor of the South Sea commandery, he had never possessed true control over the South Sea commandery, let alone the south that was much vaster than that. Now that the opportunity presented itself, why would it let it slip by? If he returned to his estate now, he could live his days freely and at peace, but in the future, Savage mountain would probably restrain him in all aspects. Compared to that, he was better off remaining as a cave master. As long as he crushed this damned fatty under his feet, his status would immediately be worlds apart.
The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber and the Marquis of Serene Sea’s eyes met for an instant, sending sparks flying.
“My king, I don’t want to return to the Shadow palace either,” Ghost Shadow said as well. He did not have a lot of desire for authority, but he really did not want to return to that nightmarish place and serve as a stud.
“That’s not for you to decide.” A distant voice suddenly rang out.
Li Qingshan suddenly looked back, only to see that the Shadow Queen had appeared before anyone had noticed. She currently sat on a tall-standing rock, her face covered by a veil, only exposing a pair of eyes that stared at Li Qingshan. Even from such a close distance, she seemed hazy, like she was about to float away. Even the sunlight dimmed.
However, Li Qingshan’s eyes were fixated on the items in her hand, revealing a hint of surprise. They were the Fire Tablet of Heaven and the Fire Tablet of Earth that Zhu Fen had taken away. He could not help but ask, “Zhu Fen?”
“Already dead.” Ye Weiyang gave a simple answer.
Li Qingshan did not ask about anything more. The strongest Fire Devouring King was like an alpha lion, but he had caught the attention of the king of assassins in the Mist province when he was deeply poisoned and his mind was in a mess, so an outcome like this was not surprising. Her appearance there obviously had not been a coincidence either. The Great Banyan Tree King had probably arranged for that to happen, wrapping up this huge game of chess perfectly.
“Pay up!” Ye Weiyang extended her hand.
“Sigh, for what?”
“It’s very expensive to get me to carry out an assassination.”
“Can I pay with the flesh?”
“Hehe.”
