Legend of the Great Sage (Chapter 701-Chapter 833)

That might be possible with regular female cultivators, but they both have a chance at breaking through to the third heavenly tribulation. Looks like Xiao An’s father really does know how to run a harem. It’s worth learning from. Though, it still fell apart in the end. Even his daughter ended up dying mysteriously.

Li Qingshan could not help but imagine. In the past, the three of them were childhood friends, innocent playmates of one another, so why did it turn into hatred?

The Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect probably had a hand in it too. When the clans influenced the sect, it was unavoidable for the clans to be influenced themselves, such that various factions would develop in the clan.

Xiao An’s father sure had it difficult with his harem. He could deal with two women, but how was he supposed to deal with two sects? Coupled with the internal conflict among the factions of the clan, it really was a situation beyond help. In the end, it even cost Xiao An’s life.

In short, the Umbral Yin sect, the Sword Collection palace, and the clan of the King of Chu were inseparable. They were part of one another and completely bound together.

When he first heard the Great Banyan Tree King mention this, Li Qingshan even rejoiced over the fact that he was uninvolved. He was an ascetic buddhist disciple through and through. Although he was merely a secular disciple and did not exactly have peace over all six of his sensory faculties, he had peace over three of them at the very least.TL: The author is using a play-on-words here. Achieving peace over the six sensory faculties is basically an objective of buddhist cultivation, which happens to be the senses of vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and thought. It basically just means that nothing pesters and annoys you anymore, so Li Qingshan is saying at least he’s not involved with this messy affair, giving him some peace of mind.

If you interpret what the author said literally and insist on indicating three sensory faculties Li Qingshan has peace over, I’d personally say it’s the senses of vision, hearing, and thought in this context. He doesn’t have to see, hear, or think about the tangled situation.

However, the Great Banyan Tree King told him that among the three great sects of the Green province, the one that had the closest relationship with the royal family was not the Sword Collection palace or the Umbral Yin sect, but the buddhist holy land, the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga. These ascetic monks obviously also had a place in the secular world originally.

The Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga was located in the centre of the Green province, extremely close to South Hub city geographically. That was no coincidence either. Before the establishment of the Great Xia empire, buddhism was the religion of the Kingdom of Chu, and the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga served as the royal monastery of the kingdom. Past lords of the kingdom even underwent tonsure and joined the monastery after abdication.

The monastery had played a decisive role during the several thousand years of war with the Kingdom of Yue. It was the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga that had stood forward and protected the royal family several times when the Kingdom of Chu was in peril. As a matter of fact, even the current abbot, the Dauntless monk, possessed a royal bloodline.

As a result, the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga seems to be neutral, keeping the Umbral Yin sect and Sword Collection palace apart and maintaining balance, but when it actually mattered, they would definitely serve as a mainstay of the Green province. When the Unraging monk went on his rampage and claimed countless lives, it probably was not only the sect that protected him and allowed him to return to the monastery safely. There was probably the royal family too.

As a result, once the two kings began waging war, it would definitely develop into a full-scale war between the Green province and the Mist province. As two genius disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, Li Qingshan and Xiao An definitely would not be able to remain uninvolved. Instead, they would surely become crucial figures to the war.

The more their names resounded, the more likely the provincial lord’s estate would treat them as potential trouble and eliminate them for good. If they actually declared war, the King of Southern Yue might even rush over personally and execute these two geniuses.

However, the Great Banyan Tree King also told him to not worry too much. At the very least, war would not be erupting within the next decade, and his identity as a White Hawk commander would still be of some use. The decline of the Great Xiao empire could not happen overnight. Even when the sun had already set, its afterglow continued to shine for a very long time.

Right now, the two provinces were making preparations too. If the King of Southern Yue personally killed them, then the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga would definitely take drastic action in revenge, and war would immediately erupt. However, while he would not be taking action openly, creating setbacks under the table would be a whole other story.

This was all thanks to the fact that Li Qingshan had moved fast enough. He had killed the White Hawk commander right off the bat. Then he killed his way into Savage mountain a few days later, leaving his tracks a mystery and his fate unknown. Even if someone wanted to create setbacks for him, they would have to look at the situation first.

The Great Banyan Tree King did not give him any direct suggestions, but Li Qingshan understood rather well that he had to continue moving quickly, establishing his framework of Savage mountain before the lurking enemies could respond. He had to use the Blood Oath Scroll to gather ten powerful lackeys and form a formidable force.

That way, no one would be able to look down on him anymore. Even if they wanted to work against him, they would have to consider the consequences. Perhaps the King of Southern Yue might even undertake softer, political tactics to recruit him.

Only then did Li Qingshan understand why Xiao An had chosen Savage mountain after reading through all the records. She might not have been taking every possibility into account, but she had been meticulous and had actively hedged against the risks.

At this moment, a “ghost shadow” was currently circling around the surroundings of Savage mountain.

After a lengthy period of rest, this strongest assassin of the south had finally recovered from his wounds. After facing life-threatening danger, his strength had improved slightly yet again.

This was already his seventh visit to Savage mountain. Every single time, he chose late at night when he could unleash his powers best. The moon and stars were blotted out by clouds, preventing a single ray of light from passing through.

A ghost shadow like him completely merged with the night. He wandered around the surroundings of Savage mountain, observing every single clue and trace available to him as he estimated the enemy’s strength.



As he faced Savage mountain that he had inhabited for many years, it was as if he was facing a den of danger. He was extremely cautious every time he approached the place.

The path of assassination was not about drawing the sword in fury. Instead, it required absolute patience and calmness. Since his enemy needed to be assassinated, they would definitely be more powerful than him, or why would he go to such great lengths? If he wanted to kill an enemy stronger than him, of course he had to pay a price in the process. Even spending several years to plan out an assassination was very common.

He had a vague feeling that his target this time was something huge.

It was a moonless and starless night, both raining and windy.

There are many similar claw marks in the surroundings of Savage mountain. It seems like there was some sort of colossal daemon and a lot of them too. They were the ones that stopped them from running away. Though, the marks don’t match up to any kind of daemon’s claws, let alone a species with so many members. The marks actually resemble the hands of humans instead. Is this also something they’re capable of?