“You’re too kind, master!”


  Li Qingshan laughed and took no offence.

  “I don’t even compare to a ten-thousandth of junior brother Qingshan’s talent. It would be impossible for me to pay him back with the kindness he’s shown by saving my life, so please accept a bow from me!” The One Lamp monk bowed deeply towards Li Qingshan.

  Li Qingshan accepted it calmly. He smiled. “As long as you don’t blame me for almost pulling you apart.”


  “If I ended up in the hands of the demons, I’d definitely suffer a fate worse than death. Even if I ended up dying unfortunately, I’d still have to thank junior brother for sending me off!”


  The Dauntless monk became filled with endless pity again. He had heard from the Unraging monk that Li Qingshan had actually undergone the second heavenly tribulation many years ago. Such talent and willpower were all that of a one-in-a-hundred-year genius. He definitely was on par with One Will. If he could become a formal disciple, he would definitely become a mainstay of the monastery.

  However, he was staunch, so he could not be forced into anything against his will. Fortunately, the Unraging monk had accepted him as a disciple, establishing a tie with the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga. He would not have to worry about him refusing to help out in the future either.

  Leaving the Demon Suppression hall, the setting sun illuminated the valley, dyeing everything red.

  The One Lamp monk sucked in a deep breath. He felt like he had returned to the human world. The Dauntless monk sent him back to rest. He thanked Li Qingshan again before turning towards Great Buddha mountain, and his footsteps became firmer and firmer.

  Right when he was about to step into the defensive formations of the monastery, a tiny egg almost invisible to the naked eye burrowed out of a pore on the back of his neck and landed in a bush. The One Lamp monk was completely unaware of this.

  The egg hatched very quickly and turned into a pinky-sized locust. It flew through the bushes, leaving Great Buddha mountain quickly. Only when it reached over fifty kilometers away did it stop on a tree and begin munching away at the leaves furiously.

  The locust rapidly grew in size, absorbing the spiritual qi of the world strand by strand. Before long, it had reached the size of a fist. With a buzz of its wings, it flew even further away.

  ……


  The Dauntless monk said, “One Will, if you must go, I won’t force you to stay. The Mist province cannot compare to the Green province. The South Sea commandery is filled with dangers and is over ten thousand kilometers away from here. If you encounter any dangers, even I cannot rescue you in time. You only have yourself to rely on.”


  “I understand!” Xiao An said.

  The Unraging monk repaired Li Qingshan’s prayer bead; then he said, “Qingshan, just keep it as a memorial! The South Sea commandery is too far away. Even if you crush the prayer bead, I won’t be going there! You’re better off relying on yourself than relying on others! Take care of yourself!”


  “I understand.” Li Qingshan pursed his lips and clasped his hands. “Then we’ll be bidding farewell!”


  Right when he was about to leave, a voice said meekly, “Senior brother!”


  “Duoge! Oh, I almost forgot. Here, this is for you. I’m giving you two for the one I borrowed, so you better not say your senior brother is not generous enough!” Li Qingshan passed the demon hearts of two Demon Commanders to Duoge.

  “No, no, no! That’s not what I meant!” Duoge shoved a handful of demon hearts into Li Qingshan’s hand.

  “What’s this?” Li Qingshan was rather surprised. Only then did he notice that the string of prayer beads around Duoge’s neck was much shorter. There were thirty to forty demon hearts in that handful at the very least, all shining brightly. They were of great quality.

  “I heard the South sea is dangerous, so these are for you. I have no use for them right now anyway!” Duoge said shyly.

  Li Qingshan was very touched, giving him a great hug. “Kid, I’ve remembered your kind intentions. I’ll definitely pay you back double in the future!”


  Afterwards, he glanced at the Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk in contempt. So much for eminent monks of buddhism. You aren’t even as sensible as a little demonfolk!

  The two eminent monks were obviously unfazed by that. The Dauntless monk had indeed considered bestowing a buddhist treasure to Xiao An, but after some contemplation, he dismissed that idea. Although he could pour all the resources into outstanding disciples, he still had to maintain a basic level of fairness as the abbot of the monastery.

  Buddhist treasures touched on matters of great importance. One Will had joined the monastery far too recently. She had already enjoyed far too much special treatment, and she had not made any contributions either. Leaving the monastery this time was also because of her own, selfish demands. If he still gave her a buddhist treasure on top of that, the other disciples would definitely be displeased.

  The Unraging monk chuckled as if he had anticipated that Duoge would do that. He was extremely satisfied. He also held an arcane treasure in his hand, prepared to give it to Li Qingshan. It was not a buddhist treasure, but a demonic treasure. However, it was still not time yet.

  In other words, there were already two arcane treasures waiting for them. With their talent and cultivation, they already possessed the right to possess them. They only lacked the qualifications.

  This demonstrated the superiority of the Sword Collection palace. Even those who had just become a formal disciple had the opportunity to obtain a renowned sword on the level of arcane treasures. As long as they gained the sword’s recognition, no one could say anything. However, the disadvantage was even if the Sword Collection palace was about to be destroyed, the palace master could not bestow these swords to disciples. He could only wait for their swordmasters to appear!

  Li Qingshan and Xiao An took off on a cloud, vanishing into the horizon.

  ……


  “Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!”


  A brown dog barked away in a field of melons.

  To the corner of the field, a naked man currently held a watermelon and chomped away at it. He ate everything, rind, flesh, seeds, and all! He was stocky in stature, and his skin was a drab yellow. His dark, brown eyes flashed with a fanatic light. He chomped away as he said.

  “It’s too fucking delicious! I’m finally out! Fuck! Fuck! Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, Unraging monk, Golden Cicada, and Li Qingshan! All of you fucking deserve to die!”


  A melon farmer with a straw hat heard the barks and emerged from the straw shack with a farm tool. “Bastard, how dare you steal my watermelons? Are you sick of living?”


  “Who are you?”


  The man suddenly raised his head, and the melon farmer froze up, completely immobilised. Countless reflections of himself appeared in the deep, brown eyes.

  The dog yelped and scurried away with its tail between its legs.

  The man licked his lips. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve had human flesh. The flesh of demonfolk is foul and sour. It’s fucking disgusting!”


  A while later, the man stood up in the melon field and wiped away the blood from the corner of his lips. He gazed at the western sky, and the last ray of sunlight dimmed. Surprisingly, there was a Demon Suppression statue tattooed on his back, and it was different from all of the ones that Li Qingshan had seen.

  “That kid sure has given me some inspiration! Otherwise, I would have never been able to fool those two monks. I’ll let him die a little faster when the time comes!”


  ……


  On the cloud, Li Qingshan’s heart skipped a beat. He seemed to sense something.

  Sitting with his legs crossed, he made the spirit turtle divine again.

  A while later, he opened his eyes and glanced back at Great Buddha mountain in some surprise. He had clearly left the Demon Suppression hall already, so why did this strange sense of danger continue to linger around? Instead, it seemed to hide away, showing signs of constantly being nourished and strengthened.

  “What’s the matter?” Xiao An asked in concern.

  Li Qingshan smiled. “Nothing. I just feel that it’s going to be a little dangerous up ahead. Though, there really hasn’t been a lot of times without danger so far! As long as we’re together, we’ll definitely be able to overcome all difficulties and make it to beyond the Nine Heavens!”


  ……


  Deep underground the Clear River prefecture, magma surged, and the lakes of fire blazed.

  “Fellow Golden Cicada, we’ve come to uphold our old promise!”


  Li Qingshan turned into Northmoon’s form and called out loudly. His voice echoed around.

  A shiny skeleton stood beside him with milky-white, half-transparent flames burning in her eye sockets.

  “You’re finally back!”


  An immature yet ancient voice directly rang out in their seas of consciousness!

  ps: 虽然我是这样一个恬淡的人，视名利如粪土，视虚名如浮云，不过六十多名也太难看了吧，难为我把小说写的这么好看，强烈呼唤月票!

  PS: I might be a person so aloof to worldly successes, where fame and gain is no different from muck to me, and the concept of reputation is as fleeting as the clouds, but being ranked among the sixties is just a little too unsightly, am I wrong? So much for how great of a novel I’ve written! A vehement call for monthly votes!