Chapter 1313: Counter Plan
Chapter 1313: Counter Plan
Not all of them were afraid of dying. However, they all cultivated for the sake of longevity, not for their love and loyalty towards the empire, let alone the fact that they had only met Si Long recently, so there was no loyalty to speak of in the first place.
With their flight from the battlefield, perhaps they would face the wrath of Si Long when they returned later, but he probably would not kill them at the very least. However, if they continued fighting Li Qingshan, only death would await them. Considering the trade-offs, it was obviously better to get as far away from here as possible.
Si Long said coldly, “Trash will always be trash!”
With a hawk’s cry, sharp talons swooped down towards Li Qingshan’s face, moving swiftly like lightning.
However, Li Qingshan did not seem to notice him, showing no intentions of dodging. He simply raised his head and gazed at Si Long. His dangling right arm had formed a claw, condensing his murderousness. He did not want to kill Gu Yanying’s father with his own hands, but in a clash of life and death, he definitely would not hold back either.
“Alright, you can back down!” Si Long ordered.
The hawk shot up the sky again right before colliding, such that the talons brushed past Li Qingshan’s face. One inch closer, and it would have been a matter of life or death.
Si Long smiled before sighing again. “I know you don’t want to go to the Human realm with me. From today onwards, you are free!”
The hawk turned back into human form, dropping down on one knee and glancing at him deeply. He spread his wings and took off, turning into a black speck instantly, embedded in the depths of the blue sky.
In the past, the young man emerged from the mountains, accompanied by the wolf and hawk, conquering the world. Now, the wolf was dead, and the hawk had flown away. Even as a Human Sovereign, he felt a hint of loneliness, except that was how the path of cultivation was like.
The Sovereign Dragon King continued to plummet as the splinters scattered across the sky. Si Long returned to his throne and continued to look down at him from above. “Li Qingshan. I have underestimated you a little too much, but even if you’ve destroyed this ship, what can you do about me?”
At the same time, he used the damaged Jade Seal of the True Dragon to suppress his cultivation deviation. Under the influence from the will of the heavens, his inner demons were gradually settling down, allowing him to demonstrate his extraordinary disposition. That was actual power to cultivators.
“You will find out very soon.”
Li Qingshan grinned, circulating the small world to recover his daemon qi.
A moment of eerie quietness actually appeared on the falling ship.
In the next moment, Si Long’s eyes twinkled, and he looked towards the east. He was surprised.
Under the shining sun, the peng spanned thousands of kilometres with its wings outspread, gliding over.
Si Long had never expected Su Mirao to fail at preventing Gu Yanying from leaving with her bewitchment, much less the fact that she would willingly cast herself into this battle that gambled her very life.
“I really don’t know how you did it.”
“If I were to choose between her and that vixen, I’d definitely choose her. This is the power of true love. Are you afraid?”
Gu Yanying heard this in the distance and could not help but roll her eyes. Then she recalled what she had seen when she flew past Dragonshead mountain—under the Heaven Climbing Vine that linked up with the sky, many powerful cultivators gathered around the altar, prostrating towards Si Long’s body of flesh under the guide of the previous emperor.
As a result, she smiled mysteriously.
Si Long smiled indifferently. He did not panic. “Do you think a fake kunpeng can threaten a true dragon? You probably still don’t know, but the offerings to heaven have already been completed.”
“What?” Li Qingshan’s heart tightened.
“When I set off back then, the offerings to heaven had already begun. Once I return to Dragonshead mountain, it’s all over.”
Si Long lifted up his right hand, splaying his fingers like everything was within his grasp.
“You still think you can go back?” Li Qingshan stepped over the shattered deck, walking towards Si Long step by step.
Si Long shook his head, forming a slight sneer. “You want to stop me? Don’t tell me you think I’d give you a chance at victory? Why would I tell you my plan so you have an opportunity at ruining it? It’s too late unless you can turn back time.”
“What if I’m actually capable of that?” Li Qingshan glanced at Gu Yanying. No matter how quickly Si Long’s Yang Soul could move, it could not be faster than a kunpeng. If they could make it to Dragonshead mountain first…
Si Long followed Li Qingshan’s gaze and glanced out. “I might as well explain this a little more clearly. I’ve already reforged the Frost Province cauldron three days ago. The day of the wedding was chosen after meticulous calculation. Although it’s merely a replacement, it’s enough to make up for the missing cauldron. Do you know what the effects of merging the nine cauldrons together are? Even if you fall from the sky a hundred more times, you won’t be able to breach the Barrier of the Nine Provinces around Dragonshead mountain, let alone her.”
He simply stood up from his throne, almost meeting Li Qingshan’s face. His golden eyes swivelled as if he was trying to observe the expression of a “failure”, but to his disappointment, he did not see any dejection or dismay.
“Admit it. No matter what tricks you played in the Jade palace, it was all for nothing. Right from the very beginning, the only one who could threaten me was Mirao, yet you personally saved me right when I was in my most dangerous moment. Don’t you find that very ironic?”
“Cut the bullshit! Eat my fist!”
Li Qingshan punched through Si Long’s chest, but there was no joy at all.
Si Long had proactively adjusted the shape of his Yang Soul, opening up a hole in his chest. It was completely free from the limitations of a body of flesh. Even in close combat, it was capable of countless wonders.
The shadow of the kunpeng arrived as the shattered Sovereign Dragon King fell to the ground.
“Try and stop me!”
Boom! Si Long said.
The central furnace to the Sovereign Dragon King exploded, immediately releasing destructive, pure energy that swallowed everything in the surroundings.
Even Li Qingshan was forced to spread his wings and take off to avoid the blast, losing track of Si Long.
“The Profound Light Illuminates All!”
The pieces gathered together and revealed everything within several hundred kilometres to him. He immediately discovered that Si Long had dived deep underground, rapidly moving towards Dragonshead mountain.
Li Qingshan had escaped many times in the past like that, but he felt rather powerless now. He was unable to keep up with Si Long, while Gu Yanying could not open up the earth to dig up Si Long either. It had always been very difficult to kill cultivators in battle. No one could stop the Yang Soul from fleeing.
“What do we do?” Rāhu Xiaoming loosened his grip on his slingshot. He did not make the futile effort of shooting at him.
For a moment, there was nothing Li Qingshan could say. Since even Rāhu Xiaoming was posing this question to him, his views and judgements were already as clear as day.
Now was the optimal time for them to leave. They faced each other in a great battle, resulting in a draw or even gaining the upper hand slightly. However, once Si Long completed the offerings to heaven, the disparity in strength would become so great that it could not be made up for. No matter how they struggled, it would be pointless. Instead, it was very likely to cost them their lives. However, he struggled to accept the choice of retreat. This battle affected far more than just him.
Gu Yanying suddenly said, “Let’s go to Dragonshead mountain. Xiao An and I came up with a counter plan a long time ago regarding the offerings to heaven.”
“You?” Li Qingshan was very surprised, exchanging glances with Rāhu Xiaoming. Since when were the two of them this close?
Xiao An nodded, expressing confirmation.
Gu Yanying smiled. “There is an inferior scheme we came up with, but it’s not guaranteed to succeed. To prevent Si Long from detecting it, we kept it as secretive as possible, limiting the number of people who knew about it, but looking at the situation now, it should be quite effective. Do you still remember that first and only disciple of mine?”
“Qian Rongzhi!”