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

“Qingshan!” Xiao An tugged Li Qingshan’s sleeve and pointed towards the distant horizon. At the end of the sea of sand was a huge building that reached into the sky, wavering about in the heat waves. It seemed a little remote.

“C’mon, let’s go take a look!” Li Qingshan was unable to understand how he had lost the letter of introduction, so he downright stopped thinking about it. Since the Clam King of Mirage Sea had already given a reply, then everything would obviously be clear once he saw her.

He did not use the phoenix wings, just flying by Xiao An’s side. They flew at a very low altitude, where the gusts of wind kicked up sand waves and produced a long trail in the sand. Under the illumination of the sun, the sand glimmered like gold. It was extremely beautiful.

Li Qingshan had sworn to travel to all corners of the world and appreciate all the scenery it had to offer. He knew the sea of sand was an illusion, but it was still enough for him to take in and appreciate. Then he looked at Xiao An beside him. Her skin seemed smooth and pale like jade, while her clothes were even whiter than snow. Her black hair flowed with the wind, like a thick, long ribbon. She was a clear contrast of black and white, with just a bit of redness in the lips. As she smiled gently, she was as beautiful as a spirit of nature, or even something that originated from imagination alone.

Perhaps because of the influence of the wonderful illusion, Li Qingshan felt like it was the first time he had seen her, yet also like they had been on close terms for a thousand years already. He could not help himself as his eyes became fixed on her red lips, becoming dazed for a moment. He almost wanted to kiss them, but he suddenly shook his head and tossed this strange thought out of his mind.

Xiao An only stared at him closely, as tranquil as breathing.

Li Qingshan suddenly smiled and thought of a playful idea. He flew away from Xiao An and circled above the sea of sand, using the gusts of air to write two large, crooked words, Xiao An.

Xiao An smiled as well, flying down to write “Li Qingshan”, except it was neat and graceful.

Li Qingshan refused to just accept this. Then he wrote “Nine Heavens”, and at least that was much neater. He could not help but laugh aloud. The bright and clear laughter shook the sand dunes below, making a sheet of golden sand flow.

Xiao An began laughing too. Her laughter was like silver chimes, pure and ethereal like a dream.

They continued onwards. The wind and sand blew behind them, gradually swallowing the words they had written, leaving no trace behind.

They had fun along the way, except the “Clam building”—that was the name that Li Qingshan had given to the building—was even further away than he had imagined. It had only grown slightly larger despite flying for a good half a day.

TL: The Chinese word for “mirage” is actually an idiom, 海市蜃楼. A literal translation of it is “sea markets and clam buildings”. It basically describes just how bizarre a mirage can be, just as a market under the sea and buildings made from clams. This is also the origin of “Clam building” in this case.

Li Qingshan stopped playing around. He stared at the Clam building on the horizon. The Mirage sea definitely was not this large. As it seemed, it was like what Xiao An had said. This trip would not be as simple as he imagined it to be. He hoped this was only a test!

Xiao An remained unfazed, gazing at his back with her tranquil eyes.

Afterwards, they accelerated, flying straight towards the Clam building. Suddenly, Li Qingshan’s heart skipped a beat, and a yellow line rose up in the horizon, even obscuring the Clam building that reached into the sky. The yellow line gradually grew larger.

“It’s a sandstorm!”

If this were only a natural sandstorm, then Li Qingshan obviously would just brush it aside. However, this was an illusion made by the Clam King of Mirage Sea. This sandstorm definitely would not be as simple as it seemed.

Not only did the sandstorm blot out the sky, but it was boundless too.

“Let’s go down and avoid it for now. I refuse to believe it can blow us away!” Li Qingshan said.

Li Qingshan and Xiao An arrived on the ground beneath a stone pillar that was about to be swallowed up by the sand. There were ruins here as well, but only the huge stone pillar jutted out of the sea of sand. It was engraved with a few words that he could not really understand, as well as a few blurry diagrams, but he did find them familiar.

Li Qingshan took a closer look and had no idea how to react. The words were the English he had learnt in his past life, while the diagrams were geometric figures from maths. However, none of these things existed in this world, so was the illusion actually able to project the thoughts in his head?

Before he could think too much about it, the whistling sound travelled closer and grew louder and louder. It was like a sky full of mouths, blowing away at him. In the blink of an eye, the violent sand swallowed them up and brought darkness.

Li Qingshan discovered that his choice of hiding behind the stone pillar was correct. The sandstorm was so violent that even he felt like the world was spinning around him. He instinctively pulled Xiao An into his arms. His visibility had actually been reduced to less than thirty meters.

He sighed inside. What force. If he had remained in the sky, he definitely would have been blown away. The engraved pillar was like a tower of strength, fending off the invasion of the sandstorm.

“I wonder when it’ll pass,” Li Qingshan said to Xiao An in his arms who was as light as a feather, embracing her a little more tightly.

Xiao An said something, but her voice was drowned out by the wind.

“What did you say?” Li Qingshan asked with his soul sense, but before Xiao An could even reply, he suddenly heard a moo, ringing through the sandstorm with great clarity. He found the sound so familiar and close, as if it rang out from his heart.

Li Qingshan stood up and gazed around. In the dim sandstorm, the silhouette of an ox looked back at him.

Li Qingshan widened his eyes, clearly making out a broken horn on the ox’s head. He could not see it exactly, but he was certain it was black. He could not help but shudder inside. This was the greatest secret hidden in his heart, even greater than the fact that he had transmigrated.

Reincarnation and memories of past lives were nothing in the World of the Nine Provinces, but the black ox’s existence far surpassed this world. He was an existence that even superseded the six realms of sa?sāra, standing beyond the Nine Heavens.

However, Xiao An beside him did not seem to see anything at all, leaning against his lap quietly.

Was this also an illusion the Clam King of Mirage Sea created? But it was far too realistic!

The regular black ox gave off an aura that could not be put into words. The sandstorm and even the entire mirage twisted as a result, like it was about to collapse.

“Wait for me!”

Li Qingshan instructed Xiao An and rushed after the black ox. Even if it were an illusion, he wanted to catch another clear glimpse of the big brother that had given him everything yet had been gone for so long!

Xiao An extended her hand to grab the hem of his clothes, but it slid through her grasp helplessly. She watched as he vanished into the sandstorm.

The sandstorm was even more powerful than Li Qingshan imagined it to be. Even with his strength and cultivation, it was rather difficult to make his way through it. A great force pushed against his body, forcing him to hunch his back and stagger towards the black ox.

The black ox waved its tail and turned around, making its way off into the depths of the sandstorm in the same unhurried way as always.

Li Qingshan calls were blown away by the wind and sand. He thought of something and looked back. The sand and wind limited his visibility, such that he could not see the stone pillar or Xiao An anymore. He suddenly felt rather lost, but he did not have the time to think too much about it. He used his full strength to chase after the ox.