Coupled with the earnings from the talismans he had sold, the spiritual stones on Li Qingshan amounted to over two thousand once again. He was even wealthier than before he had bought the Whale’s Ingestion of Water.

  The reason why he was still seated here was because he was waiting for the Qi Practitioner who wanted to buy the Sword Qi Calligraphy. If he really did possess another fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy on him, Li Qingshan wanted to use these spiritual stones to purchase it from him.

  There were the sounds of footsteps outside. Li Qingshan opened the door, but he found Liu Ruping standing there. “Congratulations, sir. Not only has the daemon core sold for a high price, but you’ve also managed to win what you wanted.”


  Li Qingshan saw how there was no one behind her. “Where’s that person?”


  Liu Ruping said, “He suddenly changed his mind. Apologies for making you wait for all this time. If there’s nothing else you want to buy, please leave now!”


  Li Qingshan was rather puzzled. Didn’t that person want the Sword Qi Calligraphy? Or was he wrong instead and that person came from the school of Miscellany to place dummy bids? Liu Ruping’s sudden change in her attitude raised some suspicion as well. “I’ll see you around.” He brushed past Liu Ruping.

  Liu Ruping had her back towards him. Her lips were open, but she made no sounds. She mouthed, “I won’t see you around!” She tied up her hair and thought, Though, I really must thank you! All she did was describe Li Qingshan’s appearance and features to that Qi Practitioner, and she had earned twenty spiritual stones. There were not a lot of easy business transactions like this.

  Ever since she had met this Niu person, she had been rolling in wealth. Both the commission from the school of Miscellany for his transactions and selling his information to others had net her a decent sum.

  However, she failed to notice that Li Qingshan had looked back carelessly at her back. A cold light flashed through his eyes.

  There were plenty of people in the world who were vicious, cruel, and willing to suddenly turn against someone. However, there were very few people who were resourceful and insightful at the same time. Qian Rongzhi was one, but there was not a lot of Qian Rongzhis in the world.

  At the very least, she had failed to see through Li Qingshan’s actual character.

  Even the debt of a single meal must be returned, and the grievance of a hostile glare must be resolved.

  ……


  Sunlight shone weakly onto the streets, nowhere near enough to purge the coldness brought on by the bitter winds.

  Most Qi Practitioners could ignore changes in temperature at such a level, let alone Li Qingshan with his body as a daemon.

  However, he felt a deep coldness. This was not a matter of temperature, but a sensation of danger. It was a sharp instinct he had developed after becoming a daemon, but it became sharper as his cultivation increased.

  It was so sharp that it was no longer just a so-called sixth sense. Instead, it directly originated from the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression.

  Shamans used turtle shells for divination, using them to forecast celestial phenomena and the future. Spirit turtles bore the nine halls and eight trigrams on their backs, and they possessed extraordinary intelligence. This kind of intelligence would gradually show itself as his cultivation increased. Although it could not forecast the future, he could sense ill omens.

  Li Qingshan exhaled gently, raised his head, and closed his eyes. The ruckus in the surroundings vanished completely, but a sense of being watched appeared in his heart.

  Not only did the person possess extraordinary cultivation, but their method of concealing their aura was extremely impressive as well. Even he would have failed to notice it if he did not pay attention.

  Li Qingshan opened his eyes. He did not hide in the safe town, instead making his way out. The danger would not subside with time. All he could do was confront it bravely.

  Stepping out of the town, the ground sank slightly, forming a round pit. As if he had stepped onto a springboard, Li Qingshan leapt a hundred paces away. His huge figure took off with unbelievable speed, rising towards the pure white mountains.

  He turned into a mountain pass and vanished.

  The forest rapidly approached him before rapidly receding around him. He dodged the obstacles dexterously, and if he could not dodge, he would directly run through it, but he would not stop. He did not try to use the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression to hide his aura either.

  A thousand steps behind him, a masked man in black clothing stopped hiding his tracks as he pursued.

  Li Qingshan glanced backwards, and his eyes narrowed. It was an eighth layer Qi Practitioner, but that was no danger at all. He should not be experiencing such an intense sensation of danger. Was this really everything?

  He did not stop. Instead, he ran even harder. He leaned forwards, sometimes pushing off the ground with both hands like a black tiger. He assumed the forms of the tiger demon when it came to running through the mountains and forests.

  The masked man cursed inside. He was determined to obtain the Sword Qi Calligraphy, but he never thought someone would get in his way. Originally, he wanted to meet with Li Qingshan to obtain the Sword Qi Calligraphy, whether it was through coercion or promises, but with further thought, he realised that he would have to spend over a thousand spiritual stones at the very least if he wanted to purchase it. It would be painful, like paying with his own flesh.

  As a result, he began to consider killing and robbing. In order to avoid alarming Li Qingshan, he even went as far as to spend twenty spiritual stones to purchase information about Li Qingshan from Liu Ruping.

  However, never did he think that the kid would be so cautious, taking off as soon as he left the town with such startling speed.

  However, he sneered inside. If you hid in the town, I wouldn’t have been bold enough to touch you, but since you’ve come out, you’re just begging to die. Do you really think you can shake me off? It won’t be that easy. He used a movement technique and true qi wrapped around him. Like a black arrow, he directly shot towards Li Qingshan.

  Within a valley covered by snow, fallen leaves were scattered everywhere. A black, spear-like object directly pierced towards the sky.

  As if he had run out of strength, Li Qingshan stood in the knee-deep snow while his body radiated with true qi naturally. All Qi Practitioners would be able to tell that he was at the fourth layer, and he was very much exhausted.

  “Why aren’t you running anymore?”


  After a moment of peace, a cold, complacent voice rang out from behind.

  Li Qingshan suddenly looked back and saw a masked man walking over through the snow. He emerged from the forest and left behind footprints in places without snow, gazing at Li Qingshan coldly. Although he had pursued for several dozen kilometers, his true qi was basically untouched.

  Li Qingshan turned around and asked in surprise, “Why are you chasing me?”


  The masked man said, “Hand over the Sword Qi Calligraphy.”


  Li Qingshan frowned. “I don’t know what a Sword Qi Calligraphy is.” Information on his identity should have been an absolute secret. The first person he suspected was Liu Ruping.

  Perhaps it was a rule of the school of Miscellany, but he had become a special customer of hers. She was responsible for serving him in all aspects within the store of Miscellaneous Goods. He was not completely certain, but so what if it was that woman? Hmph, he was not generous enough to forgive someone after being sold out and betrayed.

  The masked man shouted, “Don’t play games with me! If I said it’s you, then it’s you!” As he said that, a black vortex formed before him and whistled towards Li Qingshan’s chest.

  Li Qingshan dodged to one side in a desperate manner, lunging into the snow. He called out in a hurry. “Wait, it’s me! I’ll give it to you!”


  The masked man smiled. “That’s more like it!”


  Li Qingshan took out the Sword Qi Calligraphy reluctantly and asked, “Tell me, who told you that I purchased the Sword Qi Calligraphy? Was it the woman who passed on messages for you?”


  The masked man affirmed him casually as he looked at the Sword Qi Calligraphy rather excitedly. Who knows whether he thought of the same thing as when Li Qingshan had first obtained the Sword Qi Calligraphy.

  Li Qingshan said viciously, “I won’t spare her.”


  The masked man thought, And why would I spare you? He changed the topic. “And your hundred treasures pouch too! Hand it over!”


  Li Qingshan called out, “Don’t even think about it!”


  The masked man said, “Then I’ll come get it myself!” He patted his waist ,and a small, shining sword shot out, directly towards Li Qingshan’s head.

  He did not even take this too seriously. The flying sword of an eighth layer Qi Practitioner could cut up a fourth layer Qi Practitioner like fruit. The reason why he had bothered to converse with him was just out of caution. He wanted to check whether Li Qingshan had a particularly powerful master that he could rely on. He wanted to avoid biting off more than he could chew. After checking and confirming that Li Qingshan was indeed an ordinary independent cultivator, he launched a killing blow without any more hesitation.

  A ray of reflected sunlight dazzled the masked man’s eyes. It formed a rainbow for a brief second.

  There was the screeching of metal and sparks flew. The flying sword spun high into the air.

  A shadow enveloped the masked man. He raised his head in surprise and saw a pair of eyes filled with killing intent, and then he saw a blade, a great big blade composed of ice!

  In a trance, he seemed to see a huge, black tiger lunging towards him with a crystal blade.

  Murderous aura flooded the surroundings.

  All of this happened in just a split second. When Li Qingshan threw himself into the snow, he had secretly gripped the Whale’s Ingestion of Water and created the ice blade. The moment the flying sword was about to strike him, he swung up with his blade and sent the sword flying.

  Without any hesitation, he lunged forwards. He pushed off with his four limbs towards the masked man like a tiger lunging at its prey.

  This kid hid his strength! The masked man lived up to his identity as an eighth layer Qi Practitioner. He immediately broke free from the restraints of the murderous aura as the thought flashed through his head. He crossed his hands several times before raising them up to block, and a black qi revolved and whistled out.

  The blade and black qi collided violently, producing an ear-splitting sound, like an electric saw going through metal. Pieces of ice flew everywhere.

  Li Qingshan roared out and poured all of his Gui Water true qi into the blade. He did not hold back at all, condensing all of his strength, all of his energy, into the strike as he swung down.

  He was like a volcano that had fallen dormant for many millennia, now finally erupting. Happiness filled his heart. He felt extremely satisfied over the attack regardless of the results it achieved.

  The ice blade was extremely sharp. It sliced through the black swirl of qi, and the masked man paled in fright. This was not the strength that a fourth layer Qi Practitioner should possess!

  The blade swept through the protective true qi with a sharp whistle and blood splattered on the pure-white snow.

  The gust of wind that followed the swing blew away several meters of snow, revealing the black, frozen soil below.

  It left behind a deep gash in the frozen ground.

  Li Qingshan stood with the blade as he wiped away the frozen traces of blood from the weapon. He raised his head and looked at the trees.

  The masked man clutched the wound on his chest and looked down.

  Their gazes met like invisible weapons, clashing again and again and producing sparks in the air.

  The two of them seemed to want to say something, but neither of them spoke in the end. With a swish, the flying sword descended from above, now extremely swift and forceful.