Legend of the Great Sage

ed down on his shoulders and asked, “What did she say?”

“She said while smiling, ‘I don’t believe that bastard will die in such a hilarious way.
He’s killed their son, so they chased him down and hacked him to death.
Isn’t that just a joke?’”

“That does sound like something she would say! Though, I’ve suffered such a tragic fate, so doesn’t she even know to feel a little sad?” Li Qingshan said in discontent, but his eyes betrayed him with smiles and emotion.
She had travelled thousands of kilometers to find him as soon as she learnt about what had happened to him.
Then he became rather worried.
Where was she right now? He had spent most of his time hidden away, so it was not surprising that she had not found him.

“You should have persuaded her otherwise.
If I really were dead, it would be useless even if she went.
If I managed to survive, then of course I wouldn’t be found so easily.”

“That’s exactly what I said, but she said that even if you really died, you’ll need someone to burn some joss paper for you! When she said that, her expression was very painful.
I’ve never seen her show an expression like that despite knowing her for so long!”

No one suspected that the Dragon King of Ink Sea would fail to hunt down and kill a Daemon Commander.
She clearly believed so too with her smarts, but she still went.

“What a troublesome woman.
What’s wrong with behaving and just staying at home? I have to search for her now!”

Li Qingshan closed his eyes before opening them again.
For a moment, he was tempted to throw the Asura Field aside and track her down immediately.

At this moment, Hua Chengzan’s expression changed, and he gazed down the mountain.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Chenglu.
I’ll make her wait outside for a while!”

“There’s no need.
It’s quite late.
It’s time for me to go.
Oh right, why aren’t you finding a master to study under? Don’t tell me you plan on reestablishing the Soaring Afterglow sect as their sect master after you undergo the second heavenly tribulation?”

“I’m nowhere near as impressive as you.
I want to break through to late Foundation Establishment and then visit the Sword Collection palace!”

“You want to join the Sword Collection palace?”

“If I want a master, they’ll obviously have to be a great cultivator of the third heavenly tribulation.
Among the three great sects of the Green province, it’s not like I can go become a monk or go to the south and join the Umbral Yin sect!”

Li Qingshan wanted to say, You’re a Hawkwolf guard, so how can you join the Sword Collection palace? They might not necessarily accept you either.
Apart from the three great sects of the Green province, the governance system of the Great Xia empire has some great cultivators too. However, he understood what Hua Chengzan was trying to say with some further thought.
He did not want to see Gu Yanying again.

“Commander Gu gave me special permission to resign from my post in the Hawkwolf Guard.
She even sent a word to me that if I can’t join the Sword Collection palace, then she would recommend me to a great cultivator of the Umbral Yin sect.
She told me that I have to wait a few more years, and she’s basically lived up to her duty as a friend.
Looks like it wasn’t an accident that I fell in love with her.”

Hua Chengzan smiled bitterly.
Something as great as this that regular people could only wish for instead made him feel a mixture of emotions.

“What living up to her duty as a friend? She should know that you absolutely won’t accept it!” Li Qingshan said in objection.

The bird woman was always meticulous when she did things, such that no one could find any fault in it.
She was not annoyingly tactful.
Instead, she gave off a faint sense of alienation.

“Who knows, she might also know that the Sword Collection palace would never accept me, and she divulged that on purpose.
In order to stop me from joining the Umbral Yin sect, perhaps it might even increase my chances of the Sword Collection palace accepting me!”

“You really are beyond help.
Take care, I’m going!”

Right when Hua Chenglu almost ran out of patience from the waiting, the formations finally opened.
She arrived in front of Hua Chengzan and asked curiously, “Was that really your friend? Who was he exactly?”

Hua Chengzan said, “I’ll introduce him to you in the future!”

 ……

Before long, Li Qingshan arrived before the dwelling of the “bird woman”, the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind.

He knew she was in possession of an Ink Dragon talisman, and she was on good terms with the Dragon King of Ink Sea, but he still came.
He clearly knew that their friendship was not particularly deep, but he could still trust her.
This could probably be regarded as an ability too!

He took a step and crossed from the chilly autumn night to the early summer beaming with sunlight.
The lotus flowers bobbed up and down, stretching as far as the eye could see.
The smell of flowers wafted through the air.

He leapt into the sea of flowers and saw the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind in the distance.

Gu Yanying stood in a set of white clothes that were even whiter than snow.
She smiled.
“Looks like I was wrong!”

“Completely and utterly wrong!” Li Qingshan landed on the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind.
“How is it? You didn’t think of this, did you?”

“I really didn’t think of it.
I never expected you’d be quite interesting after shrinking!”

Gu Yanying smiled.
When she saw Li Qingshan, she had indeed been shocked.
The Dragon King of Ink Sea did not tell any lies, yet he was well and truly alive.
What he achieved was unfathomable.

“Interesting your face.
If you had told me that that kid Mo Yu was capable of something like that, I wouldn’t have fallen for his trick!” Li Qingshan said.

“It’s not like you’re my man, hehe, or my son either.
I tried to persuade you, but you didn’t listen, so how can you blame me?”

“I haven’t come here to joke around with you.
I require some fire element spiritual stones and pills!”

Practising the second layer of the Phoenix’s Scripture of Nirvāṇa was not as easy as the first layer.
It required large amounts of resources, but he was currently broke.
All of his wealth was in the Asura Field, and even if he were in possession of the Asura Field, he could not purchase so many resources easily.
He required her assistance with this.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll sell you out to the dragon king?”

“I’m not!”

“Do you have money to pay for it right now?”

“I don’t!”

“Alright then, but I need some time!”