The mist-covered waters were magnificent as fog rose up into the air. Within an expansive lake, daemons swam around beneath the surface of the water, afraid to raise their heads.

  In the centre of the lake, Gong Yuan spread her arms and lay there quietly. Her slender, deep-blue fishtail spread out in the water quietly, swaying with the flow. She gazed at the dark, cloud-ridden sky with her dark-blue eyes. There was a hint of exhaustion.

  Bang! Splash! The familiar sounds of footsteps traversed the surface of the water, producing ripples as it approached her.

  Drip! Drop! The drizzle drifted down, kicking up a thousand ripples.

  Gong Yuan closed her eyes as if she refused to look at the person who had come.

  Within the mist and rain, a tall, upright figure strode over with a blade on his waist. He crouched down by her side, and his long, scarlet hair drooped down to her cheeks, but she did not seem to sense it.

  “You must have run out of patience already!” Li Qingshan said. The constant, intense slaughter also made him seem weathered, but there was not the slightest exhaustion to be seen. He was still in high morale.

  He had just returned from the Myriad Poison cult, handing his newly captured “prey” to Xiao An. Although they numbered fewer and fewer, Xiao An’s situation was improving with time, which made him relax a lot. It put him in a good mood. He was ready to keep going with the battles.

  Gong Yuan ignored him. She was not a battle freak like him. She did not like fighting and slaughter at all. Compared to her physical exhaustion, it was much more difficult for her to recover from her mental exhaustion. If Li Qingshan had not steadied her mind and eliminated her inner demons through dual cultivation, she would have run out of patience a long time ago. She never returned to the Myriad Poison cult either after the time with the Martial Chief King. She just found a lake to wait and rest in.

  Suddenly, she felt a sense of warmth on her face. Li Qingshan gently touched her cool, smooth cheek and said gently, “Yuan’er, I’ve really troubled you recently!”


  Gong Yuan kept her eyes closed as if she had fallen asleep.

  Li Qingshan was rather surprised. In the past, if he did this, she would immediately respond—she would show quite a lot of disgust and contempt. It worked every single time, but he never expected it to fail this time. As it seemed, he had used it too much, and she had already grown resistant to it.

  He smiled and laid down beside her, resting his head on an arm and gazing at her face. He suddenly felt a hint of reluctance. As Xiao An’s situation improved, this journey was about to come to an end. Afterwards, he would be returning to the Green province and beginning a new journey, while she would be returning to the South sea. Countless mountains and rivers would stand between them. Who knew when he could see her again.

  Their three months together might have been an extremely short period in the eyes of cultivators, but they either relied on one another and fought together, or they rested and cultivated together. Who knew how much danger and how many disputes they had gone through. Even Li Qingshan was very surprised by the fact that they had managed to last until now without disbanding. After all, he had not been particularly accommodating and considerate the entire time.

  It was the exact opposite actually. Trying all sorts of ideas to break her icy-cold expression was his favourite pastime. As a result, he verbally offended her dignity countless times, teasing her when they cultivated together. She would become furious enough to attack him, but never did she mention wanting to return to the South sea.

  He was extremely touched by this. Afterwards, he became even more fearless and took advantage of her even more, as when they were mentally linked during dual cultivation, she did not seem to particularly loathe this.

  What did that mean exactly?

  Li Qingshan had a slight understanding of the answer to that question. He pulled her into his arms and radiated with a simple, tranquil aura. It spread as a ripple, turning the lake into a mirror wherever it went.

  Gong Yuan murmured and adjusted her posture to something more comfortable. Her cold, dignified aura vanished, which made her seem like a regular mermaid.

  The scarlet hair that resembled flames and the blue hair that resembled the deep sea entwined. They laid in each other’s arms, both handsome and beautiful. They were like a natural pair of beauties, forming a tranquil, beautiful scene.

  Li Qingshan gazed at the sky. If he had been born in the Mist province, if he had encountered her much sooner, then so what if he remained in the South sea for good, serving as the son-in-law of the Crystal palace and assisting her in strengthening the Merfolk?

  When he said she could not wholeheartedly love someone, he was merely bickering. He did not actually care. From beginning to end, just which woman he had been interested in could achieve wholehearted devotion? Han Qiongzhi had her parents and her clan, Ye Liusu wanted to usher a new period of prosperity for her race, while his impression of that commander Gu who had once made him fall in love at first sight was still as aloof as ever.

  However, she actually believed him when he said that, and she was left at a loss as to how to respond. She sure was innocent.

  However, there were no ifs in life.

  Li Qingshan shook his head and dismissed these pointless thoughts. He had no idea how much of these feelings she could sense. She did not budge at all as if she was sleeping.

  The sleep was deep, drifting about hazily, reaching that lone island on the South sea…


  “Big sister, don’t say anything more. I’ve let you down. However, one day in the future, when you come across someone you love, you’ll naturally come to understand how I feel.”


  “That definitely won’t happen, as I’m not selfish like you!” Her icy-cold mind stirred as if she had just heard a terrifying curse, but it also led to a hint of envy and anticipation.

  “No, it definitely will, as we’re exactly the same…”


  The gloomy rain fell for several days on end. Gong Yuan suddenly opened her eyes and broke free from Li Qingshan’s embrace with a flex of her tail. She tidied her unwrinkled dress and said to Li Qingshan coldly, “Let’s go!”


  “Aren’t you going to rest for a little longer?” Li Qingshan asked.

  “There’s no need. The next one is the last battle anyway. Let’s end it quickly so that I can return to the South sea!”


  “Alright!” Li Qingshan immediately became reinvigorated. He crossed his legs, and the spirit turtle’s figure appeared on him. He carried out a divination before he did anything. “Hmm? This battle will be extremely dangerous!”


  “Are there any battles that aren’t dangerous when they involve Demon Kings? Not to mention that you can no longer rebirth, so of course, it’ll be even more dangerous. If you don’t want to go, I’m returning to the South sea.”


  “Are you saying you don’t want to part with me?” Li Qingshan leaned against his hand and said with interest.

  Gong Yuan snorted coldly and immediately flew away. Li Qingshan followed close behind, grabbing her hand. “Accompany me one last time!”


  “Hopefully, it’s not sending you off one last time!” Gong Yuan said.

  “Haha, if I have you around to collect my corpse, what am I supposed to be afraid of?” Li Qingshan smiled.

  As they conversed, they rushed through the cloud layer, and the sunlight illuminated the sea of clouds. Gong Yuan looked back, unable to forget that memory. She thought to herself.

  Little sister, I’ve actually always understood how you felt. Just like you said, we’re so similar. The only difference is I’m the elder sister, and you’re the younger sister. The older sister has to protect the younger sister. However… this bastard human-daemon is ten thousand times worse than that damned fire devourer!

  ……


  Several hundred kilometers away, a few voices whispered in the demon cavern.

  “Bone-eating Shaman King, are you certain they’ll come?”


  “Are you doubting the Meditative Brain King’s divination?”


  “Hehe, I would never. I’m just asking.”


  “Don’t worry. We’ve already eliminated enough possible places. This is definitely their last stop, as well as their final stop. Everything is according to great evil god Qiongqi’s arrangements!”


  The Demon Kings all fell silent. Even across the boundless Demon domain, the great evil god Qiongqi was a demon among demons, an evil among evils. It truly was quite unbelievable that he would actually pay attention to such an ordinary war in a foreign land. Could it be that the Demon Kings that died earlier were all just bait he had put out?