Under the tribulation clouds, the insect swarm surged out from the underground caves again, spreading over the uneven ground like a surging ocean. The locusts all spread their wings at the same time, producing the image of a mountain that resembled Great Buddha mountain somehow.

  The sunlight was brilliant, but Great Buddha mountain was enveloped in a giant shadow.

  “The Sword Collection peak!” Li Qingshan’s eyes narrowed. He made out the source of the shadow.

  “Oh no! His target is the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga!” Gu Yanying frowned.

  Thrum!

  The Sword Collection palace let out a strange resonance. All of the swords trembled and turned into streaks of light, whistling down like a meteor shower.

  The buddhist hymns rose once more, but without the accompaniment of bells and drums, it seemed extremely feeble, almost drowned out by the whistling.

  “The formation can’t last too long! Attack!” the Dauntless monk said.

  “Alright!” the three Monk Kings answered together.

  Bang! The guardian king leapt up from Great Buddha mountain and swung its vajra club towards the rain of swords, receiving the Sword Collection peak.

  “The Guardian Kings Subdue the Demon!”


  The tip of the club erupted with reseplent light, rising up into the sky like a golden star.

  “Huh?” However, to the Dauntless monk’s surprise, the whistling rain of swords did not block their attack. Instead, they flew around in circles in the surroundings, assembling the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth to seal up the entire Great Buddha mountain.

  “He doesn’t just want to destroy the Demon Suppression hall, but kill us as well?”


  “There’s no difference! We stand as the hall stands. We perish as the hall perishes!” the Unraging monk said firmly. Watching the Demon Suppression hall was his duty.

  The three other Monk Kings were determined as well. Even if it would cost them their lives, they would stop the invasion of the Demon domain. Fleeing in the face of danger was not a concept to them.

  “Sword Qi of Heaven and Earth.” Elder Tian sneered in a twisted manner and spread his arms, wielding his fingers like a sword and suddenly pointing it at the Sword Collection peak beneath his feet. “Go!”


  A streak of light suddenly shot out from the Sword Collection peak. Li Qingshan almost mistook it for a bolt of tribulation lightning. He never expected the Sword Collection peak to possess such terrifying power. It definitely could not be stopped by the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga.

  “Are you seeing this? Golden Cicada, that will be the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga’s fate. Very soon, the Demon domain will arrive once more. You can imagine the fate of the nine provinces. Don’t you have a heart of benevolence? Where are you trying to flee by ascending now?” The Soaring Locust King laughed madly.

  The Golden Cicada Spirit King glanced down, and his ascension immediately came to a halt. He wavered slightly inside. The Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga bore extraordinary significance to him. He had realised his true self there, and it had allowed him to embark on a correct path. However, the consequences of the Demon Suppression hall were unthinkable, so he could not help but glance at Li Qingshan.

  “Just face the tribulation in peace. Their scheme won’t succeed! Yanying, I’ll leave here to you.”


  Li Qingshan suddenly spread his phoenix wings and produced a wave of air, soaring off towards Great Buddha mountain. He felt slightly uneasy inside. He had an extremely wide network of acquaintances, but he did not have a lot that he held dear. The Unraging monk happened to be an extremely important one, so he prayed, Master, you have to hold on.

  “But I also want to… whatever!” Gu Yanying exhaled sharply and blew a few strands of her hair over her forehead up into the air. She looked at the insect swarm below and said, “I can watch from here anyway!”


  With a boom, the ground cracked, and earth was thrown into the air. A shockwave ripped apart the scene created by the insect swarms.

  Li Qingshan’s mirror clone stood on the ground. His promise to the Golden Cicada Spirit King was still in effect.

  “Alright then!” Gu Yanying shut her eyes.

  The Golden Cicada Spirit King smiled and withdrew his gaze.

  “Hahahaha, Golden Cicada, do you think he can stop the Immortal Relinquished sword? And just who can stop me now?”


  The Soaring Locust King laughed madly. His sound no longer came from the buzzing of the insects, but from much deeper underground. It was hoarse and dry. Violent daemon qi gushed into the air, together with sinister demon qi.

  Gu Yanying shivered inside, The Soaring Locust King’s main body is here! Everything he did was still for the Golden Cicada Spirit King after all!

  All of the insects surged out from underground, but they did not swarm over madly anymore. Instead, they fell into formation, constantly moving about flexibly like a chaotic army that had gained a commander. Their bearing changed completely!

  The Soaring Locust King stood on the cloud of insects, rising up slowly from underground and standing in the very centre of the formation. He was the absolute ruler of this army of locusts. A pair of cold, compound eyes locked onto the Golden Cicada Spirit King in the air, filled with bone-deep hatred. He made Gu Yanying feel pressured before he had even done anything.

  “Li Qingshan is right here!”


  Li Qingshan controlled his clone to stride through the sea of insects, piercing through the waves and hurling a fist at the Soaring Locust King. Black shockwaves cascaded, giving off a false illusion of slowness. His clone only possessed around thirty or forty percent of his main body’s strength, but the destructive power behind this punch already surpassed what regular Daemon Kings were capable of. He wanted to kill the commander amidst this army of millions and make the army of locusts collapse on itself.

  The Soaring Locust King swung his hand without even looking back. A huge, yellow hand composed of locusts rose up from the swarm and swung towards Li Qingshan.

  Boom! The hand and fist collided together, and a wave of air rushed out. The yellow hand dispersed and shattered, while Li Qingshan’s clone was launched away as well. With a flap of his wings, he stabilised himself and frowned heavily.

  The Soaring Locust King’s current strength really is as great as Gu Yanying described it to be. If he was just out for me, then I could still maneuver about, but stopping him from interfering with the Golden Cicada Spirit King’s tribulation is virtually impossible. This grievance has developed well beyond the point of any reconciliation, so what are we supposed to do?

  The Soaring Locust King completely ignored everyone else. All he could see in his compound eyes was the Golden Cicada Spirit King. He closed his claws firmly and said, “Golden Cicada, I will make you pay the most severe price for what you’ve done, which will include your life!”


  “Sigh…” The Golden Cicada Spirit King sighed, unable to refute him. This was all karma.

  ……


  “Demon subdual!”


  The four Monk Kings roared out furiously together, and the guardian king advanced against the attack, rushing through the sharp streaks of light and swinging the vajra club heavily towards the Sword Collection peak.

  At this moment, “elder Tian’s” eerie figure suddenly appeared. With a wave of his left land and wielding his right hand like a sword, he touched the guardian king’s forehead gently.

  Thunk!

  Like the long ring of a bell, a great sound erupted, and the guardian king froze up. Its body began to dim.

  As if a very, very long time had passed, a crack began to spread from its forehead, reaching across its body. Golden light poured out from the cracks.

  Boom!

  The guardian king shattered, the formation collapsed, and the four Monk Kings fell out of the air. Their faces were filled with disbelief. They could accept defeat—after all, Li Qingshan had recently defeated them in an open confrontation—but a miserable defeat like this had happened just too quickly and just too unbelievably.

  The Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings was the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga’s strongest formation. It was righteous and mighty, without any flaws. Only Li Qingshan was able to tear it apart in a direct confrontation through absolute strength. The strength that “elder Tian” had unleashed was much lesser than Li Qingshan’s, and the resplendent streak of light was only a feint. Despite that, he had actually grasped the weakest point in the Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings instantly, using it as an opening to destroy it in a single strike.

  They suddenly realised to their horror that compared to great strength, it was the supreme swordsmanship that far surpassed anything in this world.

  “Hehehehe, you even have the courage to clown around in front of me? You can all go and die!”


  Elder Tian stuck out his bright-red tongue and spread his fingers, swinging his hands down.

  Thousands of streaks of light shot towards Great Buddha mountain, preparing for a slaughter!