Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 501-Chapter 600)

He arrived at the end of another great river. The surging daemon qi refined the river and the Water God Seal shimmered, now with another thick trajectory.

Li Qingshan could sense the daemon qi in the spirit turtle’s daemon core had already reached the absolute peak. Once he devoured all the water spiritual qi of this river, he would basically be able to break through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle. Afterwards, the heavenly tribulation would basically descend upon him.

Was he going to use this opportunity to break through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle, undergo the heavenly tribulation and become a Daemon Commander, or was he going to remain at his current level and wait until the Phoenix Transformation caught up so that water and fire were balanced out and he managed to merge them?



Li Qingshan considered that question for a while before deciding on the former.

Normally, he would probably choose the latter. Although the long term benefits were not necessarily better than the benefits right before him, it was not like he was facing any life-threatening danger right now. Proceeding step by step in an orderly manner was obviously the best choice. Focusing on quick successes and instant benefits would only drastically increase the difficulty of cultivation later on, which would do more bad than good.

But right now, she was waiting for him!

Li Qingshan began absorbing the water spiritual qi, pouring it into the spirit turtle’s daemon core.

He comforted himself inside, This should also be a form of choice! If I can become a Daemon Commander, I might not be able to oppose the kings, but I’ll be able to protect myself to a certain degree. At the very least, I’ll have the confidence to triumph over opponents like Mo Yu. I’ll basically have a stable footing in the World of the Nine Provinces and can take my time with everything else.

Li Qingshan gradually shone with a resplendent, blue light, conjuring the figure of the spirit turtle again.

……

The eighty-ninth day.

Han Qiongzhi meditated with her legs crossed. Seeing the window light up, she murmured that inside before opening the window and gazing out, only to discover the sun had not risen yet. It was merely the reflection of the snow. She had actually made a mistake.

“Sister, stop waiting for that heartless guy. He’s not going to come.” A young girl walked over from behind. The days when she had fun with Han Qiongzhi in the garden were gone forever. The pain from losing her father had made her become much more mature all of a sudden.

“I’m going out for a stroll.”

Han Qiongzhi did not respond to that and left through the door. The world was completely white as huge snowflakes continued to drift through the sky. The graves had been covered in thick snow, turning into mounds in the snow.

A tall figure walked over from afar, trudging through the snow. He walked in such a familiar way.

Han Qiongzhi rubbed her eyes and murmured, “Qingshan.”

The tall figure sped up his pace, and Han Qiongzhi could not help but speed up too. They went from walking to running.

The two figures overlapped, embracing one another firmly.

“Apologies. I’ve come late.”

Han Qiongzhi buried her face in his chest. Tears had already begun falling down her face like rain.

Descendants of the Han family emerged one by one from the row of simple buildings and witnessed this. Han Anjun and Han Tieyi were among them too, but they remained silent. All they could hear was the sound of falling snow.

……

Under Han Qiongzhi’s lead, Li Qingshan arrived before Han Anguo’s cenotaph. He bowed with respect while holding incense and thought to himself, Uncle Han, I couldn’t save you back then, which I am truly sorry for. I will help out with the matters of the Han family as much as possible. I hope your soul can rest easy.

His breakthrough to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle had failed in the end. As the water spiritual qi gathered, it pushed the daemon qi in the spirit turtle’s daemon core to the very limit, but he encountered an unexpected yet also expected “bottleneck”.

Breaking through with the ox demon required devouring various pills and resources. Breaking through with the tiger demon required frenzied battles to the death.

As for the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression, it was similar to the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, requiring the existence of a level of comprehension to break through. At the very least, that was not something that the current Li Qingshan who was bothered with various thoughts could achieve.

He attempted the suppression with the power of the peak fourth layer spirit turtle. Coupled with the Water God Seal’s support, he finally suppressed the ox demon and tiger demon, turning back into human form.



However, the suppression had been extremely forced and difficult, such that he was unable to use any of the spirit turtle’s abilities anymore. He could not predict danger with great precision, and he struggled to conceal his aura.

As a result, whether he was in human or daemon form, he was unable to hide his spiritual qi or daemon qi.

As for innate abilities like the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell, they became even more impossible to use. The mirror clone he had created with the Watermirror’s Image also directly collapsed the moment he made this decision.

And, he was unable to freely interchange between Li Qingshan and Northmoon anymore. Once he released his daemon qi, suppressing it again would take a tremendous amount of effort. He could basically imagine the spirit turtle using everything it could to suppress the ox demon and tiger demon below itself.

Li Qingshan exhaled deeply inside. He had made it in time at long last.

He did not feel any regrets in failing his breakthrough to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle. Instead, it brought him relief. This was the best choice for him. He could slowly cultivate the Phoenix Transformation like this.

“You don’t mind him coming so late?” A young man in black could not help but question. His facial features resembled Han Tieyi slightly. He was one of Han Anguo’s sons.

The other descendants of the Han family were not particularly friendly either. With Han Anguo’s death in battle, even some family and friends that they were not particularly close with had come and paid respects a long time ago, yet as the son-in-law of the Han family, Li Qingshan had actually done something like this. He made Han Qiongzhi stand watch over the grave alone, only hurrying over when the mourning period was about to end. He was truly as rude as he could be, and it made them feel he was not worthy of her.

Han Qiongzhi wanted to speak up, but Li Qingshan had already arrived before her. “I won’t apologise, nor will I try and explain myself. The school of the Military doesn’t seem to accept reasons, no matter how eloquent. If you find anything displeasing, just come at me!”

“You!?” The young man in black was taken aback.

“What, afraid?” Before Li Qingshan had even finished speaking, the young man launched a palm strike at Li Qingshan. With a thump, Li Qingshan allowed the palm strike to land on his chest. “To think you’re actually a descendant of the Han family with such a weak and powerless attack.”

The young man in black was furious. He no longer held back anymore, using a battle skill and unleashing a barrage of attacks. Blasts of air rushed into the surroundings, sweeping up the snowflakes in the air.

“Qingshan!” Han Qiongzhi cried out, but Han Anjun stopped her. “He knows what he’s doing.”

“Have you hit me enough? How useless. Why don’t you all come at me together?”

Li Qingshan stood like a rock in the ocean. Having endured countless horrific wounds before, a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s attacks were basically no different from a scratch.