In the past, Li Qingshan would have never been able to issue such an arbitrary order. He would have never been able to kill the clan matriarchs who possessed sensitive identities at a whim either. Causing a revolt among the night roamers would lead to nothing good.

  However, he had the confidence now, as well as the right. This all came from his personal strength. Only with absolute strength was there absolute authority. There was no need for him to rack his brains with tricks and tactics.

  Those who obey me will prosper. Those who defy me will die.

  Brute force could not deal with everything, probably because the amount of force involved was insufficient.

  In the past, the Spider Queen wanted them divided and at war with each other, so they were divided and at war with each other. Now, Li Qingshan wanted them united, so they had to unite together.

  Ye Liusu’s expression changed a few times. At first, there was joy and surprise—not only had she avoided the need to flee, but she had instead obtained even more. The great cause of unity she pursued had been easily achieved with a single word from him.

  Only afterwards did she become filled with some lingering fear. If she really had followed the ancient, scheming principles of night roamers and betrayed him, then she would lose everything. Most importantly, she would lose his heart forever. She would never receive such warm protection again.

  When she thought of that, she could not help but lean closer in his arms, showing her delicate side to Li Qingshan for once. Having gone through this together, they had become one step closer. However, if Li Qingshan did not possess absolute power, she would never behave like this with her pride and perseverance even if she was smitten with him.

  “Thank you for your gift.” Ye Liusu raised her delicate face as her eyes that seemed like the night sky shone with light.

  “This isn’t my gift.”


  Even Li Qingshan himself had never imagined he would be able to defeat Lolth and force her to accept a treaty with him. Originally, he planned to use this opportunity to break through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon before taking off for good.

  By then, claiming a territory above ground and signing a non-aggression pact with the Academy of the Hundred Schools would not be particularly difficult with his strength. It would basically assist Ye Liusu in completing her dream of the night roamers returning to the surface.

  Looking at Ye Liusu’s curious face, Li Qingshan only smiled. He planned on giving her this surprise later.

  “Let’s return to the territory first. I’ll leave the rest up to you!”


  Li Qingshan gently patted Ye Liusu’s perky buttocks and let her go. In the past, he would never do this, as it would only make her look down on him for no good reason. But now, it seemed extremely natural.

  “Yes.”


  Ye Liusu reddened, but she stiffened her face and behaved like nothing had happened at all. Li Qingshan found this to be extremely interesting. He would definitely tease her properly when he had the chance.

  “Ma’am Spider Queen, Northmoon welcomes your challenges at any time. Hahahaha!”


  Li Qingshan turned towards Cobweb city and said loudly before unfurling his wings of wind. Then he took off into the air with Ye Liubo without the slightest care.

  “Will ma’am Spider Queen do something to my sister?”


  The fierce gales whistled by as the caves twisted and changed so rapidly that even Ye Liubo struggled to see them clearly, so she stopped looking, focusing on his face instead. In his arms, all she could hear was the sound of wind, but she could not feel a single breeze. This feeling left her charmed, but upon further thought, she began to worry for Ye Liusu.

  She still referred to Lolth respectfully as ma’am Spider Queen even when no one was around, which only demonstrated the extent of Lolth’s power and influence. Li Qingshan did not make her change the way she referred to her. She could never go wrong with maintaining a bit of respect towards the strong.

  “Probably not. Right now, she’d much rather keep her around as something holding me back so that I stick around!”


  Li Qingshan had already gained a rough understanding of Lolth’s mentality. After turning back into a predator, she placed all of her focus on him, biding her time and waiting to deal a lethal strike. She would not do something that was purely detrimental just to vent her anger.

  A while later, they returned to the territory.

  Ye Liubo continued to cling onto him like a koala, refusing to get down.

  “Oh right, what reward would you like?” Li Qingshan smiled. Ye Liusu’s complete loyalty had left him surprised and overjoyed, but this girl’s performance had never left him disappointed before.

  “What do you think?” Ye Liubo pouted her lips and nudged him.

  “Maybe not today!” Li Qingshan smiled bitterly. Even if he had all the lust in the world, it would have been dispelled after the battle with Lolth. If he had not been completely satisfied, he would have never let Lolth go either. Right now, even without the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression, he felt a little like his mind was as still as water, without any worldly desires.

  “Fine.”


  Ye Liubo was immediately disappointed, but she had no intentions of disobeying him. She struggled to hide her lament.

  “It’s a little too hasty right now. Let me make some preparations, then I’ll…”


  Li Qingshan whispered into her ear, comforting this small, loyal pet that he adored. After that, he left behind his mirror clone and left the underground world in a hurry. He had been gone for so long. Who knew if anything had happened on the other side. Xiao An was probably anxious from waiting!

  The Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga was indeed related to him to a certain degree. Wanting to steal their special cultivation method was virtually impossible. Even if he underwent another heavenly tribulation, he still would have no confidence in this. The task of obtaining the Chant of Deva-Nāga would probably fall onto Xiao An’s shoulders.

  Did that strange infant underground, the “frog in the well”, sense the existence of an opportunity because of this?

  Lolth’s challenge would arrive very soon. If she did not fight, then so be it, but once she struck, she would be striking to kill.

  Right now, everything that Li Qingshan possessed was based on the victory he had achieved earlier. If he failed to match Lolth, then not only him, but even Ye Liubo and Ye Liusu who depended on him would suffer.

  Only by obtaining the phoenix’s feather and reaching the first layer of the Phoenix Transformation could he increase his odds.

  Sparing Lolth obviously left behind a huge problem. However, it also pressured him into constantly thinking of ways to increase his strength, afraid to slack off for even a second.

  Just by looking at the results, this choice was relatively better. If he really decided to kill her, the strange infant underground probably would not simply stand by and watch on.

  Not to mention that the death of a Daemon Commander was anything but trivial.

  Maybe even the leader of the Daemon race in the Green province, the Dragon King of Ink Sea, would respond. After all, even after so many years, the Sword Collection palace was still clinging onto the Soaring Dragon Elder’s death, refusing to simply let the matter go.

  Even the best result would be another Daemon Commander coming over and claiming this territory, adding countless new variables and making the situation even more unpredictable. Compared to that, he would be better off keeping the various variables within his control.

  Li Qingshan slowly thought through the matter. He was filled with a grand ambition, showing no fear or intention to cower at all.

  “Come! No matter how many times, I will defeat you viciously, and then go at it again!”


  ……


  Li Qingshan returned to the Chain mountain silently, but Xiao An was no longer in the dwelling.

  Did she encounter something unexpected? However, the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks was in perfect condition, and with her current strength, the only one that could threaten her in the Clear River prefecture was the Spider Queen.

  Just when he was rather confused, a neighbour visited. Li Qingshan opened the formation and invited Ru Xin into the dwelling.

  “You’re finally back. How was your trip?” Ru Xin studied the extremely spacious dwelling, which only confirmed her thoughts further. If he were a regular cultivator, why would he make his dwelling so exaggeratedly large?

  Perhaps left intentionally or otherwise, but there were even a few strangely large claw marks on the floor of the dwelling. And, the aspects that sparked doubt were much more than these.

  It was no wonder why Xiao An refused to let the group of people inside. Otherwise, all of them would find this rather strange as long as they were human!

  She only glanced past these parts hastily before turning her gaze back to the “mystery man” in front of her. At first glance, he seemed exactly the same as when they had first met. Even the aura he gave off was the same, However, his bearing had changed. It had become even more high-spirited and confident, filled with fighting will. It only gave her a single feeling. He had become even stronger.

  “It was alright! Do you know where Xiao An went?”


  Li Qingshan did not go out of his way to hide anything. Their relationship had already reached a state where they could understand one another without talking. Perhaps due to clearing out his desires, when Li Qingshan saw Ru Xin again, his passion had faded away. He cherished their friendship more than ever.

  Even though he had a grand dream of taking all the beauties in the world as his wives, beauties were common, while confidants were rare.

  “The Annihilum Light Chan Master of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga came, yet she refused to let anyone enter her dwelling, so all they could do was go to the academy together.”


  “The Annihilum Light Chan Master? Tell me exactly what happened.”


  Li Qingshan’s eyes lit up. The strange infant underground sure was capable. As the head monk of the Bodhi courtyard of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, he should know the Chant of Deva-Nāga. Couldn’t Li Qingshan just get him to pass it onto Xiao An and then exchange it for the phoenix’s feather?

  “Sure. One spiritual stone per word. I already said thirty-two words earlier, but considering our friendship, I’ll just give them to you as a freebie.” Ru Xin extended her hand like she deserved it.

  “Our friendship sure is worth a lot!”


  To his surprise, Ru Xin furrowed her brows and began thinking as if she was seriously considering their friendship. Suddenly, her brows eased up again.

  “Actually, we don’t even really have a friendship. Hurry up and cough up the spiritual stones, or I’ll refuse to answer any more questions.”


  “Am I the novelist or are you the novelist? Are your stories really worth that much?”


  “Fifty-six spiritual stones! Oh wait, it should be fifty-nine spiritual stones. If I include that sentence, it’s sixty-four spiritual stones! No, it’s wrong again. It should be…”


  “Damn woman, you’re even including what you said at the very beginning! You’re still counting! Even talking to yourself counts as words!?”


  “You’re welcome to not listen.”


  “Alright, talk!” Li Qingshan refused to pay a single spiritual stone to her.

  “Please settle the bill first.”


  Li Qingshan exhaled in frustration and directly tossed out a great pile of spiritual stones.

  Ru Xin did not hold back, accepting the spiritual stones with a smile. She said, “A long, long time ago…”


  “It was just a few days at most!”


  “You think you’re so clever! Do you know what I’m going to say? Stop interrupting me. A long, long time ago, there was a child called Chu Tian. He was a Reincarnated Celestial and a clever, kind-hearted boy- wait, forget I said those four words. I’m not going to charge you for them. I’ve helped you save four spiritual stones. Hehe.”


  “Hehe my ass! You’re charging me over that entire monologue, aren’t you? It’s already exceeded twenty words.”


  “That’s right.”


  After learning all about Chu Tian’s appearance, figure, background, and origins, Li Qingshan finally heard Ru Xin say he succeeded with Foundation Establishment and had come to the Chain mountains to challenge him. He could not help but begin paying attention too.

  At this moment, the story came to a halt.

  “Your spiritual stones have run out. If you wish to continue, please pay up.”