Chapter 82: 82
Li Qingshan grabbed the Cursive Sword Calligraphy on his back . After drinking the Bodhi Brew, not only was his true qi filled to the brim, but his condition was even better than it had ever been before . As such, it was enough for him to power the spiritual artifact again . It would definitely be much sharper than the Wind-entwining blade .
However, he did not have complete confidence in being able to kill Feng Zhang with a single strike . His spiritual artifact was probably several grades higher than the Wind-entwining blade, making it a real treasure . If he failed to kill his enemy, news would spread, and he would probably attract people greater than just first-rate masters . There would be innate masters as well, or rather, Qi Practitioners .
And, he was still unable to control this spiritual artifact very well . Once he used it, it would drain all of his true qi, so if he failed, both his physical strength and speed would decline significantly . He would basically become a sitting duck .
The dark clouds shrouded the sky once more . In the pitch-black night, a person fled as another pursued . Li Qingshan used his extraordinary sight to constantly bound through the mountains, purposefully looking for rugged terrain . He climbed up cliffs and leapt over valleys . His surroundings constantly receded around him .
Feng Zhang chased him wildly with eyes red from rage as if he could also see through the night, but his vision was nowhere near as great as Li Qingshan’s . After all, Li Qingshan’s eyes had been awakened by the black ox’s tears . If they were on flat ground, perhaps Feng Zhang would have been able to catch up .
Unfortunately, they were in the mountains . The effects of Li Qingshan’s three forms of movement from the Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging were basically amplified, making him unbelievably fast . And, with the rise and fall of the terrain, Feng Zhang could no longer locate Li Qingshan anymore after a few twists and turns .
Li Qingshan widened the distance between them . Like a hunting tiger, he hid in a snowy crevice below a cliff, clasping the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in hand . He even called out Xiao An . As long as Feng Zhang came over, he would go out . Even if he failed to kill him, he would wound him at the very least . They were deep in the mountains, so it gave him enough room to catch his breath . He would be able to chase Feng Zhang to his death; this really was quite the scheme .
With a great bellow, Feng Zhang’s resentful voice echoed through the mountains . “Li Qingshan, I’ll skin you alive and cut you into pieces! I will never spare you!” It was so loud that the accumulated snow collapsed in small avalanches .
After he received the map, he finally learnt the name of the myriad mountains he had stared at from afar for a decade . They were the Boundless mountains .
Vast without end, without bounds, was known as boundless . A broad, open mind was also known as boundless .
It was a good name!
He made his way up to a peak and gazed at the mountains stretching into the distance once more . He no longer felt lost inside . He saw structures in the distance and only when he hurried over to it did he discover that it was no village, but an abandoned temple for a mountain god . Aside from the main hall, most of the other structures had collapsed . However, it at least provided him with a place to shelter from the wind .
He was not afraid of the biting cold, but remaining in a world of ice and snow did sap his true qi significantly . Under Xiao An’s assistance, he found a bear’s den . The bear was still hibernating for the winter, so it was not awake . As a result, Li Qingshan went up and killed it with a punch, carrying it back to the mountain god temple .
Due to the different ability he practised, Xiao An’s five senses were not as sharp as Li Qingshan’s, but he was extremely sensitive to living auras . Even Li Qingshan failed to discover the bear’s den under the snow immediately .
The main hall was empty . Even the altar table and plaques were missing; the villagers who lived nearby must have collected it to burn as firewood . However, Li Qingshan did discover a mighty mountain god that stood over three meters tall with a blue face and protruding teeth . It was actually a solid, wooden statue, standing on an altar as a whole piece . It was only covered in traces left behind by time . The villagers must have been afraid of blaspheming the god too much .
However, Li Qingshan was not worried by this . He had been spending time with a monster, and both he and Xiao An practised the abilities of daemons and demons, so there was no need for them to worship any ghosts or gods . He went up, and with a few easy strokes, he smashed the statue to pieces . He lit a fire in the main hall before skinning and deboning the huge bear . He did not need any tools at all . Just a simple swing of his nails would pierce through the tough bear skin and bear meat like paper .
The bear heart went to Xiao An for his dinner, while the bear skin was laid on the ground as a mat . The bear meat was placed on the fire .
It truly was speak of the devil . The black ox that Li Qingshan had been thinking of appeared right in front of him . Li Qingshan jokingly thought that it was basically like the police in the movies, only appearing at the very end .
The black ox glanced at the statue in the crackling fire and nodded as if he were greatly satisfied . He asked, “How do you feel today?”
Li Qingshan said, “I feel like I know nothing, and I’ve been laughed at by others for no reason . You’ve never explained it properly . Even if I really achieve the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers, can I really defeat other people? And those Qi Practitioners and Golden Cores, what’s that all about?”
The black ox said, “Isn’t your understanding right now much deeper than if I tried to explain it to you? You will know very soon whether the ability I gave you is useful or not . As for those Qi Practitioners and Golden Cores, that’s a human way of dividing and labelling . ”
Li Qingshan said, “Aren’t I a human?”
The black ox only smiled, which irritated Li Qingshan . He grabbed the bear meat and began wolfing it down . Many parts of it were still not thoroughly cooked and still bloody, but he actually did not find it to be disgusting at all . Instead, he felt it had a particular flavour to it . Before long, he had picked the bear clean . He also felt he was a little inhuman, but as long as he could drink and eat, there was nothing wrong with that . After eating, he began exercising, practising his ability . He discovered that after drinking the cup of Bodhi Brew, only a film separated him from reaching the first layer of the Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging . However, he was unable to break through .
He asked the black ox for the reason, but the response did not surprise him at all . The Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength was steady and firm, requiring bitter practice, while the Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging advanced through slaughter .
In the pitch-black mountains, a single ball of light could reach very far away . Li Qingshan laid down on the bear skin, holding the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in his hand . He made Xiao An hide away as he quietly waited for his prey to bite the hook .
He heard steps and snapped open his eyes, emerging from the mountain god temple . However, he did not only see Feng Zhang . There were five other people beside him . Hall chief Wu, Wei Dandong, Chu Xin, Lü Tingrui, and Wan Hao—five-first rate masters—surrounded the mountain god temple, preventing Li Qingshan from fleeing .
Countless more shadows flickered about . They were all their disciples, with plenty being second-rate masters . Even the weakest were at the third-rate .
Li Qingshan had never thought that as he waited for Feng Zhang to bite the hook, he would draw so many people here . As it seemed, Feng Zhang had lost his mind to anger, but he was not an idiot . He knew to borrow the strength of others .