Even with that being the case, the Steel Plate corpses still caused Li Qingshan quite the trouble. It was a pity that Xiao An was not here, or these Steel Plate corpses would be easily dealt with. Originally, he had Xiao An hide underground so that she could lead a coordinated attack with him at a critical moment and deal a crucial blow to the enemy.

  However, after the violent collisions and the destruction from the Ox Demon Tramples, the caves in the pit had completely collapsed, now buried under thousands of tonnes of rock. It basically destroyed the starting point of the Herb Gathering ceremony for good. Xiao An was trapped below as well, so she was unable to provide any assistance for now.

  The Lone Grave Elder also saw how the Steel Plate corpses could not be defeated by Li Qingshan immediately. A small, bone sceptre appeared in his hand; it had a small skull on the tip. He swung it around, and the eye sockets of the skull unleashed a streak of red light.

  Li Qingshan felt a strong sense of danger. He did not want to experience the full-powered strike of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but if he used the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell and let the zombie beneath him break free, the situation would only worsen. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

  A Steel Plate corpse stood in front of Li Qingshan. It just happened to be in the path of the red light. Half of the Steel Plate corpse had melted away silently and instantly.

  The Lone Grave Elder was surprised. All the Steel Plate corpses were under his control, so why did one appear out of nowhere?

  A black hole had appeared in the ground at a certain time. The Steel Plate corpse had emerged from there.

  Under Xiao An’s command as the vice leader, the boulder viper had used its burrowing abilities to create a deep hole. However, getting the daemons to partake in this battle would be impossible.

  Two skulls emerged and sprayed flames at Li Qingshan.

  The Lone Grave Elder was surprised. He became even more confused whether the arriving person was an ally or an enemy.

  Li Qingshan did not avoid it. Like taking a shower, he allowed the flames to wash over him. Wherever the flames passed by, the Steel Plate corpses all collapsed. The flames then extended towards the Ancient Bronze Corpse General below Li Qingshan’s feet, but it was stopped by a layer of black corpse qi.

  The Ancient Bronze Corpse General experienced a great sense of threat and struggled even more desperately.

  The Lone Grave Elder sensed how his connection with all the Steel Plate corpses had been severed. His expression changed as he called out, “Where be the wretched daemon? Show your true form!”


  Red light flashed through the eyes of the Steel Plate corpses, and they all stood up, turning around and lunging at the Lone Grave Elder.

  A chill ran down the Lone Grave Elder’s back. Through all the years he had spent cultivating, he had never seen such a strange sight before. If the zombies that had to be refined with so much effort could be stolen so easily, why would refining corpses still be a thing in the world? He wondered what the fire was, seeing how it was capable of something like this.

  As the Lone Grave Elder retreated, scarlet light shot out from his sceptre and struck three Steel Plate corpses. Most of them immediately melted away, but fire immediately sprang up around the corpses, merging them into the skull.

  The Lone Grave Elder was pained. Refining these Steel Plate corpses had not been easy. Never did he think there would be a day when he would have to destroy them with his own hands. Black mist surged beneath his feet and pulled him into the air. All the Steel Plate corpses missed him.

  Kicking hard, they leapt high into the air and touched the black cloud, but they were unable to fly, so they fell back down.

  At this moment, the two Skull Prayer Beads became even larger. They flew around and collected all the Steel Plate corpses before rushing towards the Lone Grave Elder. They were like two carrier ships.

  Li Qingshan knew very well that just his and Xiao An’s strength was definitely not enough to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but all they needed to do was keep them busy and make time for Milliped to kill one of them. Afterwards, they could defeat the others one by one. Even if they could not kill all of them, at least they could leave easily.

  Only a thin layer of withered wood remained around the Green Vine Elder. He called out, “Please save me!” This time, he was not talking to the Golden Pheasant Elder and the Lone Grave Elder.

  “Daemons run amuck and bring strife to this world. Fu Qingjin of the Sword Collection palace has specially come to provide assistance, to purge and eliminate daemons.”


  A man’s voice suddenly rang out in the sky, but it did not possess the elation and boldness that befitted it. Instead, it was rather indifferent and bored, as if purging daemons did not interest him at all.

  Great streaks of green light fell from the sky, enveloping the entire pit.

  Time seemed to freeze. An undefeatable power made Li Qingshan’s heart shiver. He looked around and a ruined, abandoned structure grew from the ground, like an illusion yet also realistic.

  A green streak of light tore through the sky, like a silent bolt of lightning, yet also like a vicious wound.

  Milliped howled out in pain and fell from the air, falling into the ruins heavily. A huge wound appeared on his back as blood flowed out like a stream. Even the toughest part of him, the shell on his back, was unable to stop the power of the green light.

  Above the green ruins in the sky, Fu Qingjin stood with his sword as his worn out, green robes ruffled in the wind.

  The Green Vine Elder, who had narrowly escaped death, was still shaken. He bowed at the air. “Thank you for saving me, fellow.” The Golden Pheasant Elder and the Lone Grave Elder bowed at him deeply too.

  Fu Qingjin’s indifferent gaze scanned past their faces, like a king looking at his useless subjects. The three of them felt like their faces had been stabbed with humiliation as they burnt up.

  “This person is so powerful!” Hua Chenglu was overcome with amazement.

  “It’s you!” Yu Zijian exclaimed.

  Fu Qingjin turned around, and his gaze immediately became much softer. He seemed to go from the lonely king back to that leisurely swordsman from before. However, he only nodded and said nothing more to her.

  Instead, he said to Hua Chengzan, “You’ve already fulfilled your obligations, but no one can maintain peace in the world for long. With your talent, you will definitely have quite the accomplishments in the chaotic future if you’re willing to resign from your position as the hawks and hounds of the empire.”


  He gently consoled Hua Chengzan over his failures, even showing much admiration, but he was like a senior directing a junior, even referring to the Hawkwolf Guard as hawks and hounds. Their ages were not particularly far apart either.

  “What has the peace of the world got to do with me? You’re more than welcome to do what you want to do, sir. Though, you’d better be careful or they’ll escape again, and you’ll humiliate yourself.” Hua Chengzan recovered his tired and indolent attitude.

  However, Hua Chenglu could feel that Hua Chengzan had lost his usual composure when he faced this person, which was why he was forced to use this attitude to mask himself.

  “Yeah, what has it got to do with me?” Fu Qingjin was not annoyed either. He sighed gently, as if he was emotional. Suddenly, he jerked to his senses and cried out, “Each and every person has responsibility over the prosperity of the world! How can you shy away from your obligations?” He seemed like he was speaking to Hua Chengzan, yet it also seemed like he was speaking to himself.

  With a flash of green light, Fu Qingjin vanished.

  Hua Chenglu pointed at her head and stifled her voice. “Don’t tell me there’s something wrong with this person’s head?”


  Yu Zijian said, “He seemed to be in great pain.”


  Hua Chengzan asked, “You know him?”


  Yu Zijian shook her head, but she felt like she had met him somewhere, not on the Green Vine mountain by the pond, but some time even further away than that.

  Hua Chengzan lowered his head in thought. The Green Ruins sword had been drawn, just as expected. There was nothing for him to be surprised about with the strength Fu Qingjin possessed. He had already come up with guesses by himself. This matter was so significant that everyone involved had undergone no less than one heavenly tribulation, yet they sent him, a Qi Practitioner, to handle this. They probably did not have the determination to stop this in the first place. Perhaps it was just a concession for what had happened with the Soaring Dragon Elder.

  The appearance of the Green Ruins sword only verified this speculation further now.