Chapter 82
Li Qingshan grabbed the [Cursive Sword Script] on his back. His true qi had not only recovered to fullness after drinking the Bodhi brew, it even reached the highest apex it’d ever reached. It was fully sufficient to operate this spiritual weapon once more, and it was certain to be much fiercer than the wind-stitching blade.
But he had no absolute confidence he could do Feng Zhang in in one killing strike. This spiritual device of his was probably more than a rank higher compared the wind-stitching blade, it was a genuine treasure. If he couldn’t kill the enemy and the rumors spread out with the wind, then those it would attract wouldn’t only be first-grade masters but innate masters. Or maybe he should say qi refining masters.
On top of that, he couldn’t yet manipulate this spiritual device very well. It would suck in the entirety of the true qi from his body once stirred. If it failed, then his stamina or speed or strength would all decline by more than a level. He’d only be able to sit still and wait for death.
Heavy dark clouds once again covered the sky. There were two men in the pitch-black curtain of the night, one chasing and one fleeing. Li Qingshan kept leaping among the mountains thanks to his extraordinary vision, focusing his search on rugged spots that were hard to pass. He climbed cliffs and jumped across mountain streams, the scenery constantly flying backward.
Feng Zhang madly chased behind with bloodshot eyes. It seemed he was also able to see through the night, but his vision was still far from matching Li Qingshan’s eyes that had been dripped with the green bull’s tears.
Perhaps he would have been able to catch up if they were on flat land. But in the mountains, the effects of Li Qingshan’s three tiger demon body techniques simply stacked on top of each other. He was unbelievably fast. The lay of the mountains also undulated up and down, and after several twists and turns around mountain peaks, he could no longer find Li Qingshan’s whereabouts.
Li Qingshan pulled away just like a hunting tiger. He concealed himself in a snow pit within the shades of the mountain rocks, his hands squeezing the [Cursive Sword Script]. He even called out Little An. As long as Feng Zhang caught up, then it was in for a penny, in for a pound. He would act with his entire strength, and even if he couldn’t kill him he would give him some injuries. This place was already deep inside the mountains and it gave him enough room for maneuver. He would be able to chase Feng Zhang all the way until he killed him. His plan couldn’t be said to be shallow.
A long whistle sounded up. Feng Zhang’s venomous voice reverberated among the mountains: “Li Qingshan, I’ll definitely peel off your skin and mince you into ten thousand slices, I won’t rest until you die!” It shook the snow cover on the mountain top into sliding down pell-mell.
Li Qingshan realized he wouldn’t be catching up for now. He sighed in regret. As to those threats, he would naturally not take them to heart. He stayed in ambush for another while, making sure that Feng Zhang indeed wasn’t catching up. Only then did he drill out of the snow pit. He shook off the snow from his body then walked toward the depths of the Boundless Mountains.
He’d finally discovered after obtaining the map that what those hundred thousand great mountains he’d gazed at from afar for a dozen years were called “Boundless Mountains.”
No borders and no limits because they were boundless. A broad-minded heart and chest, because they were boundless.
A good name!
He ascended a tall peak and once again gazed at the ranges of mountains from afar. There was no more confusion in his heart. He saw buildings in the distance. He hurried there to have a look and only found out then it wasn’t a village, but a dilapidated mountain temple. Apart from the front hall, the surrounding walls and buildings were all half-collapsed. But it still was shelter from the wind in any case.
He didn’t fear the cold, but it was still extremely taxing on his stamina and true qi to stand amidst these patches of frozen skies and snowy lands.
He found a bear’s lair with Little An’s help. That wild bear was still in the middle of hibernation. It couldn’t even wake up before Li Qingshan killed it with an explosive punch and carried it back to the mountain temple.
Because they cultivated different supernatural skills, Little An’s five senses weren’t as keen as Li Qingshan’s but he seemed to have an extreme sensitivity toward the vitality of the living. Even Li Qingshan hadn’t discovered the bear’s lair under the snow cover at first.
The great hall was a great patch of emptiness. There wasn’t even an offering table or an inscription wall board. Those had probably been taken away by nearby villagers to use as firewood. But Li Qingshan saw a ten feet tall awe-inspiring mountain deity with a ferocious-looking face actually carved out from solid wood. It stood intact on the divine table, with only vestiges from the erosion of the years gone by on its body. Those villagers probably didn’t dare to be excessive in their blasphemy.
Li Qingshan didn’t have the same considerations however. Now he was already hanging out with monsters. Little An and himself were both cultivating supernatural skills from the ways of monsters and demons, so he had no need to venerate any damned god. He went up and crushed the deity’s figure into pieces with kicks and punches. He built a fire inside the great hall, then skinned a great bear and tore its bones. He had no need for any cutting tool. He would merely scratch lightly with his fingers, and the thick bear fur and bear meat were slit apart like paper.
The bear’s heart became Little An’s dinner, the bear skin was spread on the ground like a rug, and the bear meat was hooked over the fire.
Speak of the devil and the devil will show its horns. Li Qingshan was just reminiscing about the green bull for a little bit that it appeared in front of Li Qingshan, very unable to endure reminiscence.
Li Qingshan slandered him groundlessly inside. It was simply like those policemen in the movies, it always only showed itself when whatever it was had already ended.
The green bull threw a glance at the god’s figure inside the blazing fire. It nodded as if very satisfied, and asked, “How did you feel today?”
Li Qingshan said, “I felt like I don’t understand anything and made a joke of myself for no reason. You still don’t explain things clearly. Even if I truly cultivated the Strength of Nine Bulls and Two Tigers to completion, would I really be able to beat them? Those qi refining golden cores, what’s it all about?”
The green bull said, “Isn’t your present understanding much deeper than what I’ve explained to you? Whether this supernatural skill of mine is useful or not, you’ll understand very quickly. As to those qi refining or golden cores, those are human cultivation levels.”
Li Qingshan said, “Am I not human?”
The green bull laughed and said nothing. It made Li Qingshan feel a burst of evil chilliness. He grabbed the bear meat and ate it with big mouthfuls and big chews. A lot of it was still half-raw and half-cooked, still carrying traces of blood, but it unexpectedly didn’t feel unpleasant to him. It felt like another kind of flavor instead. A great bear was gnawed clean in not long of a time.
He also felt that he was a little unlike a human. But there wasn’t anything bad about being able to eat and drink different things in any case. Afterwards he practiced some after-dinner exercises. He stood up and trained his skills. He found out there was only a small gap left until his [Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist] could reach the first layer realm after he drank the Bodhi brew, but it still wasn’t enough to break through.
He questioned the green bull about the reason why, and the outcome indeed wasn’t outside of his expectations. The [Bull Demon Strong Fist] was steady and required painstaking training, while the [Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist] required one to progress amidst slaughter.
Slaughter! Li Qingshan lowered his head in deep thoughts.
A dot of light could spread to places very far away inside the pitch darkness of the range of mountains. Li Qingshan lay on the bear fur, his hand holding the [Cursive Sword Script], and told Little An to hide. He quietly waited for his prey to take the bait.
He suddenly opened his eyes when heard the sound of footsteps. He trod outside the mountain temple. What he saw wasn’t Feng Zhang alone. There were five other persons beside him. Hall master Wu, Wei Dandong, Chu Xin, Lu Tingrui, and Wan Hao, the five first-class masters stealthily surrounded the mountain temple, sealing Li Qingshan’s escape.
There were other countless figures coming and going, all of them their sect members and disciples. There was no lack of second-grade masters among them, and even the weakest ones were third-grade masters.
Li Qingshan didn’t think that his bait for Feng Zhang would actually attract so many people over. It seemed that even if Feng Zhang’s heart was inhabited by extreme anger, he still wasn’t an idiot and knew to borrow strength from others.
Feng Zhang’s face exposed an ecstatic expression when he saw Li Qingshan, but his anger burst out as if he were mad when he saw the wolf badge at Li Qingshan’s hips. It was precisely this man who’d taken everything away from him. Li Qingshan spoke before he had time to say anything: “I don’t know the nicknames of your four, but you’re still figures with status and reputation. You’ve just been scolded into scramming the hell away, and now he’s now ordering you about in the blink of an eye, don’t you feel ashamed?”