The Dark Queen glanced over indifferently, and Ru Xin immediately felt a heavy sense of danger. The woman before her was extremely dangerous. Demonic cultivators never bothered with something like reason. Some of them did not even bother with weighing the consequences, acting purely as they wished. The Dark Queen clearly belonged to that type.

  “Please do whatever you’d like.”


  Ru Xin returned to the carriage, but her hand in her sleeve had silently shattered a jade talisman.

  The Dark Queen sensed it and squinted her eyes slightly, but she turned around again, gazing at Fu Qingjin and Yu Zijian beneath the Void-bellied Ghost King’s hand.

  He asked her if she actually wanted to declare war against the Sword Collection Palace. That was exactly what she wanted, to declare war against the Sword Collection palace!

  She was not how she seemed, a person who completely acted on their wishes. Instead, she had calculated this consequence a long time ago. This was something that ran much deeper, a sense of fearlessness and disregard. Even if she had to wager the entire Umbral Yin sect and everything they had built up during the past ten thousand years, she would still make what she had said come true. She would kill everyone from the Sword Collection palace!

  “Senior brother, I can’t hold on for much longer. You should find a way and escape by yourself!”


  Yu Zijian’s sword-wielding hand trembled slightly. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, just enduring the Void-bellied Ghost King’s aura had taken up all of her efforts. If it were not for the fact that she was working with Fu Qingjin, she would not have even lasted for a second.

  “Hang on for a little longer. Reinforcements will arrive very soon!”


  Fu Qingjin tossed out a violet talisman. A glorious streak of light pierced the ghost claw and shot towards the Dark Queen. The ruins and earth in its path were gently split open like a thin piece of paper. Even the hazy moonlight and gentle night breeze were no different.

  The slash was akin to the full-powered strike of a great sword cultivator!

  But under the Dark Queen’s cold, indifferent gaze, the slash began to twist and dim before it could even come within three hundred meters of her, dispersing into the night in the blink of an eye. She continued to caress the cat. She had already sealed off this region a long time ago.

  If even her attempt at the lives of two juniors ended in failure, then she really had cultivated for nothing!

  Fu Qingjin frowned heavily. Violet talismans were extremely precious, equivalent to the strike of a great cultivator, but their effects were extremely limited before another great cultivator, let alone the fact that they had been taken by surprise. Were they really going to die here tonight? He was not afraid of dying, but he wanted to protect the woman beside him!

  “Senior brother, it’s fine.” Yu Zijian forced out a smile. Her eyes continued to shine. “Actually, I know it’s impossible to kill all the monsters in the world. I also know I’d die in the hands of monsters sooner or later. I just never expected it to be so soon. You better go!”


  Fu Qingjin pursed his lips and said nothing, firing off violet talisman after violet talisman that turned into slashes, lightning, and fire, but it was unable to stop the advance of the Void-bellied Ghost King’s hand.

  Yu Zijian looked at Fu Qingjin and opened her mouth, but she did not try to convince him to leave anymore. It turned into a smile. “Then let’s die together, but I don’t want to end up as a soul in the Umbral Yin sect’s hands.”


  “You won’t!” Fu Qingjin said.

  Immediately, the faint layer of violet buildings collapsed, only leaving behind the Green Ruins Illusion.

  The final violet talisman was burned to a crisp.

  The Dark Queen said, “Hmph, you’re just delaying the inevitable!”


  “There sure are a lot of acquaintances tonight!”


  A sigh suddenly rang out. In the beginning, it still came from the horizon, but when it reached the last word, it had already arrived nearby.

  Li Qingshan walked over through the ruins and stepped into this sealed region. He clasped his hands. “I’m Li Qingshan. Greetings, your highness the Dark Queen.” Then he glanced deeply at the cat in her arms and could not help but smile resplendently, revealing a set of pure-white teeth.

  Xuanyue’s ears pricked up, and she stared at Li Qingshan. Her eyes were filled with curiosity. She just found him to be rather familiar for some reason.

  “This is the reinforcement you’ve called over?” The Dark Queen ignored Li Qingshan and gazed at the horse carriage behind her.

  “He has always liked to stick his nose into other people’s business.” Ru Xin lifted up the curtains and smiled.

  “Not everyone is capable of sticking their noses into my business. Li Qingshan, do you really think I’d be afraid to kill you because you’re the Unraging monk’s disciple?”


  “Li Qingshan!” Fu Qingjin thought of something. He could still clearly recall this name. Meanwhile, a strange light flashed through Yu Zijian’s eyes, and she muttered soundlessly, “Niu Juxia!”


  “Your highness, don’t listen to that woman’s nonsense. I’m not here to stick my nose into any unnecessary business. I’m a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace after all. When disciples of the Sword Collection palace are troubled, I obviously have to lend a hand. Oh right, you’re welcome to kill that guy called Fu. Just hand the woman over to me. If you don’t mind, you can include the cat in your arms too. I just happen to be lacking a pet.”


  When Li Qingshan finished what he was saying, even the Dark Queen was taken aback. She never expected him to be so audacious. Only when the cat in her arms let out a furious meow did she return to her senses. Her face immediately sank.

  “Even if the Unraging monk was here, he would never talk to me like that.”


  “I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m Li Qingshan!”


  “Senior brother, looks like we don’t have to die today!” Yu Zijian smiled happily.

  “He just indicated that he wanted me to die!”


  Fu Qingjin smiled wryly. She was always so optimistic, but the difference in strength was so great, so what could a last resort like him do apart from buying time until the reinforcements of the Sword Collection palace arrived? But was that even possible?

  “He’s just joking. There’s no need to take it seriously, senior brother, “ said Yu Zijian.

  “You know him very well?” Fu Qingjin glanced at her deeply.

  Yu Zijian nodded without denying that.

  “What a Li Qingshan. I’ll kill them first and then teach you a lesson!” The Dark Queen waved her hand, and the Void-bellied Ghost King opened its gaping mouth, sucking at Fu Qingjin and Yu Zijian.

  Like a whale inhaling water, black wind immediately surged through the surroundings, and Yu Zijian was blown into the air uncontrollably. Fu Qingjin grabbed her hand firmly, but his feet had left the ground too. After lasting for so long, he had depleted his spiritual qi too.

  “C’mon, just do it for my sake!”


  Li Qingshan extended his hand at the distance and surging demon qi condensed into a black arm covered in muscles, reaching towards the Void-bellied Ghost King with fingers outstretched. The Void-bellied Ghost King let out a furious roar, but it was unable to break free from the black, demonic claws. The black winds halted as a result.

  “Demon King!” The Dark Queen shivered inside as her dispirited expression became one of astonishment.

  “Don’t talk nonsense. I’m a buddhist disciple!”


  Li Qingshan pushed his hand forward, and the mountainous Void-bellied Ghost King was launched far away, smashing through countless buildings. He turned around and arrived before Fu Qingjin and Yu Zijian, smiling. “Zijian, long time no see! And brat Fu too!”


  Fu Qingjin was stunned as well. In the past, when he first met Li Qingshan, he was still just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It had only been a few short decades, and he already possessed such strength, which was simply unbelievable. The power from the Demon domain made him fearful too.

  On the other hand, Yu Zijian was not surprised by Li QIngshan’s strength or his abilities as a Demon King at all. She smiled, “It really has been a long time. I heard you returned from the Mist province. If you still didn’t come to the Sword Collection palace, I was going to go to the Clear River prefecture to look for you.”


  The Dark Queen said furiously, “Li Qingshan, do you think you can stop me with just this?”


  “I’m not bold enough to clash with the Dark Queen, but this is the Sword Collection palace’s territory after all, so I’d advise you to leave here quickly!”


  Li Qingshan pointed at the northern sky. A streak of light as bright and clear as snow pierced through it.