Li Qingshan grabbed Gong Yuan’s hand and soared into the sky, powering the Heart of the Abyss. Strands of black power of Ruin’s End emanated out, wrapping around the two of them and assuming the form of a spirit turtle. It waggled its head and tail in an extremely realistic manner.
“Snow Drifts Through the World!” Gong Yuan murmured.
Wisps of clouds appeared, constantly spreading and swelling up. They gradually darkened in colour until they became pitch-black. By then, they had already shrouded half of the sky. Large flakes of snow drifted down from above.
Li Qingshan powered the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression to assist Gong Yuan in stabilising her mind so that she could control even greater power of Ruin’s End, allowing her to push this technique’s power to the limit.
They were already extremely familiar with this strategy. Their objective was to destroy the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous first, and then they could fight the Demon King.
The snow drifted down, producing ripples as they collided with the demon qi.
Originally, destroying the formation was an extremely exhausting and troublesome task, but they possessed the Heart of the Abyss, allowing them to draw power from Ruin’s End endlessly, which allowed them to succeed every single time.
“Hiss!”
The Nine-headed King raised his nine snake heads and hissed at the sky. Within the surging demon qi, nine brown torrents rushed into the sky, circling around and hurling towards the spirit turtle.
The surging torrents were filled with heavy and foul demon qi. They could corrupt weapons and even souls. The effects were particularly evident against the cultivators of this world.
Gazing at the incoming streams, Gong Yuan could not help but reveal an undetectable smile. “He’s not just a fake. He’s even perfectly suppressed by us.”
“Looks like the final battle is going to be easier than we imagined,” said Li Qingshan.
The torrents arrived thirty kilometers before the spirit turtle, and the spirit turtle opened its mouth, emitting a breath of cold air filled with snowflakes.
At that moment, the nine torrents all froze into ice. Grey rivers of ice crossed through the sky, crackling as they fell out of the sky and stirring up the muddy water in the swamp.
At this moment, the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous had been severely weakened. Thousands of demonfolk had been frozen. They could almost launch a direct attack and kill this fake hydra.
Li Qingshan’s eyes constantly scanned around as he was in thought.
Gong Yuan asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It might be because it’s always been too difficult, so I’m a little unaccustomed now that it’s suddenly so easy.”
Li Qingshan shook his head. The spirit turtle did not give off any warnings. The entire battle was no different from the ones in the past, but he felt like something was off.
……
In the demon cavern, the Demon Kings discussed the situation of the battle above.
“The Meditative Brain King is correct. The Nine-headed King really is a sham. He doesn’t stand a single chance against them.”
“Even the Martial Chief King was not their opponent, let alone him!”
“Alright, let’s stop talking. Once they come down, let’s strike together and get our revenge!”
“The formation has already fallen, so why are they still up there? Have they discovered something?”
“That’s impossible. We’re located in the demon cavern, which is almost a different world compared to there. It connects two worlds too, so the heavenly secrets are particularly chaotic. No matter how sharp his senses are, he won’t find anything.”
“They’re coming! They’re coming!”
During the conversation filled with glee and hatred, the spirit turtle descended from above, rushing straight towards the Nine-headed King as it was wrapped in wind and snow.
The Nine-headed King stood like a mountain. His greyish-brown skin was uneven, covered with bone spikes. In comparison to him, the black spirit turtle was much smaller, but much more exquisite and elegant too.
However, not only did the nine snake heads shrink backwards, but fear even appeared in their cold eyes. He sprayed the foul torrents even harder in an attempt to stop the spirit turtle from approaching him.
The torrents erupted like flash floods. The disturbance was utterly shocking, but they were frozen the moment they approached the spirit turtle. The spirit turtle smashed through the ice along the way, making grey ice powder drift through the air.
The Nine-headed King did possess a part of the hydra’s bloodline, but he only knew how to spray torrents. He could not achieve a separate ability for each head like the true hydra. Now that he was completely suppressed by the spirit turtle, he seemed particularly powerless.
However, this was the exact effect that the Demon Kings who set up the trap were after. Everything was happening according to plan. Li Qingshan was approaching a trap of death step by step.
“He’s trying to escape!” Li Qingshan was rather surprised. The Nine-headed King actually refused to receive him in battle, turning around and fleeing towards the demon cavern. The torrents were suppressed, but he could still put up a fight against any opponent given his tough body. To think that he was actually such a sham.
Li Qingshan was about to rush over and shatter the demon cavern with a punch so that he could see if he could make the Nine-headed King stay, or at least keep a part of him here for good.
Gong Yuan’s face changed, and she retreated in a hurry with him. “There’s an ambush!”
Boom! A column of demon qi smashed through the mud and water, connecting with the demonic clouds.
There were a total of twelve plumes like that, establishing the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous that Li Qingshan was all too familiar with. However, it was much larger in scale than anything he had seen in the past, enveloping both of them.
In that instant, the landscape before him changed. The swamp vanished, and only demon qi remained, circling about and rushing in from all directions, distorting the spirit turtle in the process.
Li Qingshan felt like he was advancing through a sea of magma. Looking up, the twelve columns of demon qi turned into twelve Demon Gods. They varied in shape and size, some humanoid and some beast-like. They constantly surged in an unstable manner as they gazed at them.
They were not truly alive, but the aura they gave off was particularly terrifying. There was pride, there was coldness, there was wrath, and there was greed. Among them, Li Qingshan could vaguely make out Qiongqi’s existence. He cast down a curious gaze with his eyes widened, which even seemed a little innocent, but it was only chilling. He was like a child watching an ant, but what descended next might just be a finger to crush them, scorching fire, or a brazen massacre, ignorant of the implications.
Li Qingshan looked away. When he looked down again, the demon qi from the demon cavern surged even more violently, turning into something like a whirlpool. The doubts in his mind suddenly resolved themselves. He even came to a great realisation.
The Nine-headed King stopped fleeing, turning around with his nine heads to gaze at him coldly. Within the scoffs, sneers, and strange laughter, Demon Kings appeared from the demon cavern.
“Yuan’er, a lot of old friends have come today!”
Li Qingshan pointed at them with his lips. Apart from the Bone-eating King, he had seen every single one of them before. They were the five Demon Kings he had clashed with before, seven in total if he included the Nine-headed King. With seven Demon Kings working together, just how many people stood a chance across the entire nine provinces? They had caught them off-guard in an ambush too, so they were already in dire straits.
The warning from the spirit turtle shot straight up until it reached the very peak, but it was already too late.
“The surrounding domain has already been sealed off. Can you get through it?” Gong Yuan’s heart rapidly sank. She was not in the mood to joke around.
“I can, but they won’t give me the opportunity. Sure enough, you really can’t joke around when it comes to something like one last time.”
Li Qingshan understood just from seeing these old friends that his many abilities were no longer a secret after the consecutive battles. Since they had done so much to lure him in, they would never let him go so easily.
The Demon Kings remained calm and composed. They were in no hurry to attack.
“There’s still a chance,” Gong Yuan said after a moment of silence.
“What chance?”
“I can help you stop them momentarily.”
“You’re serious?” Li Qingshan frowned. No matter how powerful Gong Yuan was, she could not stop seven Demon Kings unless she went as far as to blow herself up in an attempt to drag them down with her. He could sense the hint of resolve in her heart.
“Hmph, you don’t have to be so sentimental. If it weren’t for the fact that there are no other ideas, why would I come up with such a horrible one? I wouldn’t want to die with you!” Gong Yuan’s expression was cold like before, but Li Qingshan’s heart warmed up. Just how many people in the world were willing to sacrifice their lives to pave a path for him? He smiled and pulled her into his arms. “I said this before; I won’t let you die before me. We still have to become a pair of eternal lovers!”
“Li Qingshan, I originally thought you were a straightforward man, but I never thought you’d be so fussy. Since I agreed to purge demons with you, I’ve already made my resolve. I’m just paying you back with my life at most!” Gong Yuan said.
“Haha, what use do I have for your life? You might as well say you’re only useful to me when you’re alive. Be good and stay here. Don’t act like you’re doomed. It’s just one, two, three, four, five, six, seven Demon Kings. I just happened to be worrying about insufficient resources!”
Li Qingshan was composed. Over all these years, who knew how many times he had faced dire straits. There was no need for him to panic. He would die at most. From the moment he set foot out of the Crouching Ox village, he had also made his own resolve.
“Li Qingshan, do you recognise me?” The Bone-eating Shaman King stood forward.
“And where did you come from?” Li Qingshan really had not seen the Bone Eating Shaman King before. Seeing how hostile he was, Li Qingshan even felt rather confused. He could sense that his aura was similar to a Demon King’s, but it was slightly different at the same time, which gave him an inkling over his identity.
“I am the Bone Eating Shaman King. Did you ever imagine a day like this when you killed my Bone Eating shamans? I’m supposed to grind you to dust and obliterate your soul today, but great evil god Qiongqi wishes to give you an opportunity. Pledge yourself to the Demon domain!” When the Bone Eating Shaman King said that, the Demon Kings fell into a dispute before Li Qingshan could even answer him.
“What? Aren’t we going to kill him?” “We can’t spare him!” “Bone Eating, how dare you lie to me!”
They had all witnessed Li Qingshan’s strength. Even without undergoing the third heavenly tribulation, he could hold his ground against Demon Kings. If he joined the Demon domain and received the good graces of Demon God Qiongqi, perhaps his future status would even surpass theirs. Not only would they be unable to achieve their revenge, but it was even possible for them to face retribution instead, so how could they accept that?
Only the Meditative Brain King remained silent. Qiongqi’s interests had never been slaughter, just like how children did not crush ants out of hatred, but because it was fun. However, this Li Qingshan really was special since Qiongqi would pay so much attention to him.
“This is great evil god Qiongqi’s orders! Are you bold enough to defy him?” The Bone Eating Shaman King was completely unbothered by their complaints. Deceiving one another was normal in the Demon domain. If you were fooled, then you were just a fool.
The Demon Kings immediately fell silent. The Demon God Qiongqi conjured by the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous seemed to be watching them right now. Let alone Demon Kings like them, even the Demon Emperor who presided over their attack against the nine provinces dared not defy Qiongqi’s will.
“Sure enough! No wonder! Sure!” Li Qingshan sighed. Someone as “great” as that was actually scheming against him. He sure felt honoured.
“In other words, you agree?” The Bone Eating Shaman King was slightly surprised. He mockingly said, “And I had thought you would put up some resistance at the very least, King of Savages?”
“How does that go again? Capable people are treasured!” Li Qingshan said.
“Then come!” The Bone Eating Shaman King stood to one side, raising his hand and revealing the demon cavern behind him.
The demon cavern was like a huge mouth that the seven Demon Kings in the surroundings tended to. Once he set foot in there, it would be another world.
