Ye Weiyang suddenly vanished. A shadow touched Li Qingshan’s shoulder before climbing onto his neck and lifting up his chin. That was her hand. An eerie, feminine voice rang out from behind Li Qingshan, “Sure. Your bloodline is very impressive. The chances of producing offspring is a little lower, but as long as you try it a few… tens of thousand times, you’ll end up succeeding one way or another!”
There were many hybrids in the Mist province. The bloodlines of humans, daemons, and otherfolk were all mixed together. Good bloodlines could produce extremely powerful offspring. Otherfolk normally did not breed with other races, as their bloodline was already extremely powerful, but it was still nowhere close to the bloodlines of divine creatures like dragons and phoenixes.
Li Qingshan’s expression hardened. If he wanted to tease around, at least he had to identify his targets. The Shadow Queen was not as “innocent” as Gong Yuan, but they were polar opposites in the first place. He had to keep his integrity in the Crystal palace, but in the Shadow palace, he would have to serve as a stud until he went mad. If only they could balance it out a little.
“I think… let’s just forget about it! Though, it’s not like I asked for your help, and you’ve already obtained your spoils too. The Divine Fire tablets are the divine heirlooms of the fire devourers’ kingdom.”
“Hehe, you temperamental man. Though, there’s still a Divine Fire tablet missing. If you give the Fire Tablet of Man to me, then our debt is settled.”
“I’d love to help, but that’s beyond my ability, unfortunately. The Fire Tablet of Man isn’t with me. If you want it, go ask for it yourself!”
“It’s not like I know him. Are you two very close? Help me out!” Ye Weiyang said right by Li Qingshan’s ear.
“There’s nothing I can do. It’s not like I planted him…” Before Li Qingshan had even finished what he was saying, a scarlet speck of light rose up from below. It was Zhu Yan’s Fire Tablet of Man.
Ye Weiyang caught it with a flash. With the three Divine Fire tablets assembled together again, they immediately shone with a divine light. They were extremely wondrous.
Li Qingshan glanced down, only to see Feng Xiwu standing with his hands behind his back. “Stop being so fussy. Since she’s helped you resolve a huge problem, she deserves a corresponding reward. I’m giving the Fire Tablet of Man to her for you. You can treat it as a gift for our first meeting.”
“You sure are generous. Can you give me a gift for our first meeting too? You don’t understand the situation here at all. This woman is clearly trying to rip me off!” Li Qingshan said.
He was someone who kept clear tabs on his debts, but Ye Weiyang had only appeared here due to the Great Banyan Tree King’s arrangements, and she had not done anything during all those dangerous situations earlier. Only when the battle ended did she rock up, steal a kill, and collect the spoils. All of that made it very difficult for him to feel any gratitude towards her.
On top of that, he also wanted a treasure like the Divine Fire tablets! If he could obtain the Fire Tablet of Man, then he could find a way to obtain the Fire Tablet of Heaven and the Fire Tablet of Earth. After all, it was not like the night roamers used fire. They had no use for an incomplete set of Divine Fire tablets. There was no chance for that to happen now.
“Regardless of how many details are involved, I only focus on the reality. I’d rather be let down than let people down. You can take this as a lesson too. You might possess a bit of the phoenix’s bloodline, but you don’t have a phoenix’s heart. How can those who shamelessly seek out their own self-interests obtain the phoenix’s legacy?” Feng Xiwu disagreed.
“We just can’t be on the same page!” Li Qingshan exhaled heavily, basically understanding why people noble at heart were said to be difficult to get along with. People like them all had their own ways of going about matters. They could not allow for even the slightest deviation.
“Thanks. You really are the divine wutong tree that grew with the phoenix. Unlike a certain daemon, you’re in a realm of your own.” Ye Weiyang returned to the rock with a flash.
“Yes, yes, yes. You can get out of here now that you’ve taken advantage of the situation and gotten what you want!” Li Qingshan could not be bothered with acknowledging her.
“What, don’t you want it? Why don’t you consider the offer earlier?” Ye Weiyang tossed up and caught the three Divine Fire tablets like she was juggling, shooting a glance at Li Qingshan.
Sure enough, Li Qingshan considered it, before declining with a strong sense of righteousness. “Don’t even think about it! I ain’t no whore!”
“Then so be it.” Ye Weiyang stowed the Divine Fire tablets away and said sternly, “I’m taking away the night roamers on Savage mountain.
“Alright. I hope you can treat them well. I will visit them.”
Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo’s figures drifted through Li Qingshan’s mind. He was rather reluctant for them to leave, but he still nodded in agreement, and it was not because he was unattached to them. During the many years he had spent with them, his feelings for them were not exactly lofty like the mountains and deep like the ocean, but it was not shallow either. He had not even allowed them to come when he attacked Fire Melt mountain this time, exactly because he did not want them risking their lives.
However, even if he kept them by his side, the time they could spend together would be extremely limited. Moreover, the environment of the Shadow palace was without a doubt much more suitable for their cultivation. It could allow them to make it a little further. Only like that could he avoid hearing the news of their deaths in centuries’ or millennia’s time.
“The King of Savage’s word is law. Who dares to defy it?” Ye Weiyang joked around, but after personally witnessing the battle, her attitude towards Li Qingshan had changed drastically too. She no longer tolerated him for the Great Banyan Tree King’s sake. Instead, she felt respect for him from the bottom of her heart, placing him on an equal pedestal. She also anticipated his future. Perhaps his good will towards the night roamers could turn into a precious friendship.
Her eyes shifted and landed on Ghost Shadow. Ghost Shadow shivered all over and cried out, “My king!”
“Nothing forcibly done is going to be agreeable.” Li Qingshan advised. Ghost Shadow had just risked his life for him after all.
“Then I’ll be awaiting for the King of Savages’ arrival in the Shadow palace.” Ye Weiyang bowed and turned into a shadow, drifting off into the mist.
“Thank you, my king!” Ghost Shadow said in a hurry.
“If you want to remain on Savage mountain, that’s up to you. I’ll pass on the position of King of Savages to whoever undergoes the third heavenly tribulation!” Li Qingshan waved his hand, expressing that they did not have to pose around anymore. “Though, let me make this clear first. You can forget about rampaging around under my name. You’ll be taking responsibility over whatever mess you create yourself.”
The title of the King of Savages was not particularly important to him. The so-called authority that came with dominating the south did not hold any significance either. He was fine with acting around like a king a bit and accepting a few lackeys, but the lackeys were for dealing with problems. Those lackeys who specially used their boss’s name to do things and created problems for their boss could just go die!
“Yes.” The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber shivered inside. The more Li Qingshan cared about his title, the greater the benefit it would be to them. If anyone in the south defied them, then they would be insulting the King of Savages, except Li Qingshan did not care at all, so they could not swagger around on their high horse so easily anymore.
The three of them bade farewell and took their leave. Li Qingshan gazed towards the north, in the direction of Savage mountain. Xiao An asked, “Aren’t you going to go back and take a look?”
“They’ll know,” Li Qingshan said. Although he had once played a purpose in their lives, this path was far too long, and this could not even be regarded as a farewell.
“Not bound by reputation, not perturbed by lust. Impressive, impressive! Originally, I saw how violence and stubbornness was ingrained within you, which even made me worry whether you were qualified or not. Now that I look at it, you really do have the bloodline of the phoenix. As long as you look back on your past mistakes and start over, you can still shoulder the duty!”
Feng Xiwu’s praises rang out, which made Li Qingshan shake his head. This guy really was an ancient daemon after all. He still had a pair of sharp eyes. By “violence and stubbornness”, was that not the demonic nature of the tiger demon and ox demon? However, getting him to “look back on his past mistakes and start over” would probably be impossible.
“Oi, you’ve rambled on and on, but you still haven’t even told me what the duty is.”
“You’ll know very soon.”
“Give me a moment,” Li Qingshan said before taking out a formation he had prepared in advance and setting it up. The formation was called the Fire Gathering Formation of Southern Bing, only slightly above average in quality. It could not be compared to the fire devourers’ original protective formation, and it could only cover the main peak. There was nothing he could do about the four hundred kilometers of Fire Melt mountain, but it still made use of the geographic advantage of the mountains and was reasonably powerful.
After setting up the formations, Li Qingshan stood on the mountain peak and overlooked the mountain range. The rivers of lava had turned into lakes and puddles, shimmering under the sunlight. However, the volcanic clusters that the rain had extinguished were currently reviving, spewing out with black smoke again. This place would probably return to the same state as before quickly. A single storm could not permanently alter an environment like this.
Looking up, the white clouds drifted through the expansive sky. After all these years in the Mist province, after battles after battles, he had finally arrived here. Before him was an even more far-reaching path, leading all the way to beyond the Nine Heavens.
Then come!
Li Qingshan smiled at Xiao An and turned around, leaping down and arriving before the divine wutong tree.
“Tell me, what’s the duty?”
……
Savage mountain, under the great banyan tree.
“They’ve won!” Ye Liubo said in surprise and joy.
“Yeah, they’ve won.” Ye Liusu smiled, but she sighed a little inside.
Under Li Qingshan’s orders, neither of them could leave Savage mountain. All they could do was wait here for the news. Just then, the Great Banyan Tree King had provided them with joyous news, as well as something else. The Shadow Queen was coming. Actually, regardless of the outcome of the battle, the Shadow Queen would have come to take them back to the Shadow palace. There was no need for them to worry about the retribution of the fire devourers. However, that did not diminish their concern.
“Alright, we can pack up our luggage in peace now. When the Shadow Queen gets here, we can set off,” Ye Liubo said in delight.
“Aren’t you going to wait for him to get back?” Ye Liusu was rather surprised. Originally, she thought Ye Liubo would wait here to bid farewell to him, or go straight to Fire Melt mountain to find him.
“He’s taken Fire Melt mountain after so much difficulty, so he must be preparing to enter secluded cultivation right now. Why would he come back?” Although they had not spent a lot of time together, Ye Liubo personally believed she understood him after so many years of admiration and reverence. She also supported his decision.
“That’s fine. We’ll meet again in the future. We can’t fall too far behind either.” Ye Liusu patted her shoulder in consolation.
“Sigh, I’m so envious of Xiao An!” Ye Liubo let out a faint sigh. Only then did she demonstrate her deep reluctance to part with him.
Ye Liusu asked herself, Do I feel envious? Of course I do, but no matter how much admiration I feel, no matter how deep my feelings for him are, I just can’t cast aside everything and completely follow his path!
“Well, there’s nothing we can do, as we’re still normal people!”
Ye Weiyang arrived from Fire Melt mountain very soon, and the night roamers were already ready to go. She could not help but nod in satisfaction. “Let’s go. Clansmen, a feast has already been prepared. It’s time to go home!”
The valley fell silent once more. Ru Xin sat on a branch, in an exuberant corner, holding a cup of tea. The sunlight scattered through the leaves and landed on her as the steam curled upwards from her cup. The corner of her lips curled into a smile, and she raised her cup in the direction of Fire Melt mountain, giving a toast to the distance. “Thanks!”
