Legend of the Great Sage

No matter how he viewed it, it only seemed like a clumsy attempt at goading him into a trap. However, the Dragon King of Ink Sea’s expression was so calm that it seemed like he was stating a simple fact.

Li Qingshan actually believed him. Perhaps he was not a true dragon, but he possessed the pride of a dragon. He would never stoop low enough to play these games, so he praised him.

“The Five Absolutes Immortal sure managed to capture the bearing of a dragon in his painting!”

The Dragon King of Ink Sea’s expression suddenly changed. Even when Mo Yu had been killed, even when Li Qingshan landed a strike on him, he had been deeply indifferent, but at this moment, he seemed to be truly angered. He glared at Li Qingshan.

“Just saying that alone makes you deserve death!”

Li Qingshan had been expecting this. “Whether I deserve death or not is not something that can be decided by what I say. Don’t worry, whether it’s the Ink sea or the Painting Tomb, I’ll be there when the time comes. However, it won’t just be me by then. Today also happens to be your only opportunity to kill me.”

“Bring as many people as you’d like!” The Dragon King of Ink Sea stormed off. He grabbed Chu Danqing’s shoulder, and they vanished at the same time.

Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts slightly before suddenly sensing something. He muttered, “There sure are a lot of nosy people!” With that, he also concealed his aura and dove into the ground.

Soon after he had left, several powerful auras rushed over from afar. They were all alarmed. “What great destructive power!”

The clouds in the sky were completely dispersed, and the forest and vegetation was completely flattened. The lingering daemon qi in the surroundings was frighteningly dense, but the two fighting daemons had already vanished, which left them rather disappointed. After greeting one another, they used their soul sense to search around.

They were not being nosy. Instead, even if the conclusion of a battle between existences at a realm like this could not influence the world, it was definitely enough to influence the overall situation of a province.

Yue Wuyang sank into his thoughts, The daemon qi seems to be different from any regular Daemon King’s. One of them was the Dragon King of Ink Sea, so who was the other? To think they can actually hold their ground against the dragon king, and they weren’t killed on the spot! Perhaps it’s another great Daemon King.

He did hope that the Soaring Locust King and the Dragon King of Ink Sea would turn against one another, but the likelihood was not high. It was probably a great Daemon King from another province, very likely to be one of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings.

……

Deep underground, Li Qingshan gazed at Tiger’s Fang in his hand. There was an evident nick on the blood-red blade, which reminded him of the Dragon King of Ink Sea’s strength yet again.

He had grasped an opening with that swing and cut through the Dragon King of Ink Sea’s sword, but it came at a tremendous cost. It might have been a tiny nick, but it directly destroyed the entire structure of the asura armament. As such, its might and toughness decreased drastically. If he clashed against a powerful enemy like the Dragon King of Ink Sea again, it might even become a lethal opening for him.

He could use his blood to repair it gradually, but Li Qingshan had already decided on switching to a new weapon. This blade was more suitable for crushing weak enemies instead of receiving powerful foes in battle. In particular, when he was up against a bloodless enemy like the Dragon King of Ink Sea, the weapon seemed extremely feeble.

If they had kept fighting earlier, the blade would definitely break!

Given my current strength, it’s enough to pull out a stronger asura armament from the Asura Altar of Armaments, but where am I supposed to find so many weapons to offer up? Li Qingshan sheathed his blade as he thought to himself.

For the sake of this Tiger’s Fang, he had already offered up all the weapons he had gathered over the years. If he wanted a stronger weapon, then he had to find even more and even better offerings.

Whatever. I’ll go back and find Xiao An first.

Li Qingshan moved through the underground caves riddled with roots rapidly, flapping his wings and accelerating. He arrived in the territory of the Clear River prefecture very quickly and suddenly recalled the adventures he had been through here. He could not help but smile.

I wonder how the Golden Cicada Spirit King’s great plan of ascending is going. He even said he had a gift for me. I wonder if this gift can help me out with dragon slaying or not.

He made a turn and arrived deep underground. Within Cobweb city of the past, the sculptures left behind by the night roamers had already become covered in spider webs. It had truly become a spider’s nest.

Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. There was a familiar sense of viciousness and venom within the permeating daemon qi, far more powerful than before. As it seemed, she had not wasted this time either. He thought of their “wonderful” memories from the past and knocked on a wall with a smile. “Little Lolth, are you here?”

His voice echoed through the cavern, making the threads tremble. In the blink of an eye, the resonance from the threads filled the entire cavern. A huge cocoon wrapped in spider silk in the centre of a huge spider web suddenly split open. Four pairs of gloomy green eyes lit up in the darkness.

“Northmoon!”

Lolth emerged from there, and her gorgeous face was filled with delight. She approached Li Qingshan quickly with her pitch-black dress dragging behind and fluttering about.

Li Qingshan stepped onto the long bridge woven from spider silk and approached her too. He spread his arms and gave her a hug. “So you’ve undergone the third heavenly tribulation too!”

“Did you know? I’ve always been waiting for you, waiting for you to become my prey!” Lolth’s smile suddenly became cruel and vicious as she bit down on Li Qingshan’s neck. She had waited just too long for this moment. She was eager to see him howl and beg for mercy.

“How does it taste?” Li Qingshan asked.

“You-”

Lolth’s face changed drastically. She discovered her venomous fangs were unable to pierce his skin, while the force from his arms became greater and greater. She immediately used her innate ability to turn her skin silver, but to her surprise, it did not stop his arms from gradually closing around her at all.

She suddenly recalled what he had just said, So you’ve undergone the third heavenly tribulation too. Had he already become a Daemon King?

“Stop messing around. I just had a battle with the Dragon King of Ink Sea. I got nothing out of it, so I’m not in the best mood. It’s very easy for men to become violent at a time like this. You sure are forgetful.”

“The Dragon King of Ink Sea!”

Lolth took a step back in surprise and raised her head, gazing at Li Qingshan in disbelief. With all the years she had spent in the Green province, she understood how terrifying the Dragon King of Ink Sea was. Even when she became a Daemon King, she dared not oppose him. She was far too astounded, such that she even forgot about the pain from her body.

“Oh right, I think I told you in the past that I’ll butcher you if you ever lay your hands on me. I almost forgot! So you can go die!” Li Qingshan’s eyes narrowed and suddenly closed his arms around her forcefully.

Lolth let out a groan, and all the bones in her body creaked as they twisted. She wanted to use the new innate ability she had comprehended after reaching Daemon King, but under the gaze of the scarlet eyes, she actually felt like she could not put up any resistance. She dared not put up any resistance.

Even until now, he had yet to release any daemon qi. After several decades since she last saw him, just what kind of monster had he become? Suddenly, she recalled what the Golden Cicada Spirit King had said to her when she emerged from the tribulation successfully. Back then, all she wanted to do was redeem herself and eat him.

“Lolth, you may have become a Daemon King, but if you ever meet him again, do not lay your hands on him, or even I cannot save you. Bear this in mind!”

Roar! The tiger’s howl was filled with violence and malice. A tiny figure rushed out of the huge cocoon.

“Where did this little daemon come from?”

Li Qingshan casually grabbed the figure by the neck. It was a little girl radiating with daemon qi, dressed in clothes woven from spider silk. Her eyes were wide open, and her expression was extremely vicious, putting up a forceful struggle in his hand.

Then he noticed the faint tiger markings on the girl’s face, as well as the curled tiger tail behind her back. He found her scarlet eyes to be rather familiar too, which left him uncertain.

“Northmoon, if you want to kill me, then kill me, but even a tiger does not harm its cubs…”

Li Qingshan waved his hand and Lolth flew out, snapping countless strands of silk and slamming against the wall heavily. However, she eased up inside. She felt like she had just survived a brush with death.

Back then, when she sensed a movement in her womb, she had considered directly wiping it from existence. It was the Golden Cicada Spirit King who had persuaded her otherwise. He said to her, “Don’t underestimate this child. Raise her well. She might save your life in the future.”

The little girl leapt in fright. She had never seen such a terrifying person before, but she refused to back down, glaring right back at Li Qingshan.

Li Qingshan stared at the little girl and sensed an aura that resembled Lolth’s. However, there was another aura that was even more powerful and violent, which he also found to be extremely familiar. That was the aura of the tiger demon!

Apart from that, there was a feeling of a connected bloodline and fate. He no longer had any doubts. He only found it a little surreal.

“This little girl is my daughter!?”

Li Qingshan had no idea how to respond. He had just promised Han Qiongzhi that he did not have any illegitimate children, only for one to appear right here. On top of that, he had her with the loathsome Spider Queen. This was basically a colossal joke!

“That’s right. She is your daughter.” The Golden Cicada Spirit King’s voice rang out in his head. He also seemed to be smiling.

“Is this supposed to be a surprise?” Li Qingshan exhaled and let go of the girl’s neck. He knelt down on one knee and faced her, asking her, “What’s your name?”

“Go die!”

“You have quite the personality. Like me!” Li Qingshan’s eyes narrowed, and he released the aura of the tiger demon. He asked again, “What’s your name?”

“I- I’m called Tigress…” The little girl experienced a sense of dread and reverence instinctively. The man before her gave off a special sense of familiarity. She became puzzled, looking back at Lolth in search of help.

“Do you know who I am?” Li Qingshan pointed at himself.

“Who are you?” Tigress asked tenderly.

“I’m your father,” Li Qingshan smiled.

“And I’m your mother!” Tigress said angrily.

“Fucking hell!” Li Qingshan raised his hand before lowering it gently again. He patted her on the head. “You still don’t know anything right now, so I’ll spare you this time!” Then he barked to Lolth, “Explain everything to her and teach her some manners in the meantime too!”

Lolth only sneered.

Li Qingshan pointed at his feet. “Get your ass over here. You better not think I won’t kill you just because you have this protective charm!”

Only then did Lolth walk over, pulling Tigress to her side.

“Don’t blame her. She’s violent and easily irritable. Even my buddhist dharma struggles to change her,” said the Golden Cicada Spirit King.

“Did she only inherit the bloodline of the tiger demon?”

Li Qingshan murmured softly. The numerous bloodlines in his body only formed a single entity through the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, and many conflicts still existed. Inheriting only a single bloodline basically made sense. Though, from a combination of Lolth’s viciousness and the tiger demon’s violence, it really would be quite difficult for her to end up as some good child.

“Whatever, let’s not talk about this. She has her own path to walk. She can already be regarded as extremely fortunate compared to regular daemons. You haven’t ascended yet?”

“I’m already at the final juncture, but I still need you to lend me a hand!”

My Conditions—Female and Living

I just got home. I feel a little tired. I seem to always feel tired. Things that others can achieve easily always seem to be particularly difficult for me.

I set off on the 24th and got back on the 28th. During that time, I released a total of two chapters. The chapter about the clash between Qingshan and the dragon king was just a measly two thousand characters, but I had to skip the activities organised by Qidian, spending an entire afternoon to write it. I really didn’t slack off. I was under the watch of my head editor, big sis Wintermelon, the entire time.

By the time the authors got back from the publishing house, we took a group photo together downstairs, and then I went back to my room to keep on writing. I couldn’t attend the dinner together tonight either. Only at six o’clock when we set off for Zhangjiajie did I come downstairs starving and board the bus. It’s all thanks to big sis Wintermelon who brought some food. I had a meal on the bus with a boxed meal in my hands.

And I’m still relatively dissatisfied with that chapter. The clash should have spanned much deeper, matching the set up from earlier to form an even more perfect rhythm. It might just be the difference of five hundred characters of content, but it’s like a crack in a bowl. It’s painful.

If I were at home with much more time, then I’d be able to come up with these five hundred characters, but under the pressure of releases, I really couldn’t. As a result, after an entire afternoon of hard work, I’ve become exhausted, and I’ve been left with a bit of a sense of defeat yet again.

But even if I wrote those five hundred characters, I’d just be calm, like that was supposed to happen. Feeling calm is rare enough. I’ve written three novels, over five hundred million characters. The number of times when I truly felt satisfied have always been pitifully less.

Actually, I’m not asking for a lot—using an adequate style of writing, a consistent logic, and fleshed-out characters to write a novel that leaves people happy. If you call me tasteless, then I’ll admit to it gladly, as this is a novel I’d like to read.

This is the exact same standard as what damned shut-ins who can’t find a wife have for their partner—female and alive.

Webnovels need satisfying points, but you can’t just keep repeating the plot and be satisfying from beginning to end. How is that any different from jerking off? Though, perhaps the direction of development for webnovels really just needs to cast aside all impure thoughts and concentrate on writing ability, to use a simple and direct rhythm to bring the reader to a rapid, mental climax, relieving them of the various pressures of life.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with this. I’ve frequently done both of the things I’ve mentioned, and I can sense the relaxation and joy involved. (PS: I am referring to writing cookie-cutter novels and reading cookie-cutter novels here.)

Though, I noticed a very long time ago that my seemingly-simple request is basically no different from a damn shut-in looking for a girlfriend.

However, I believe that no matter how much they grumble and complain, all shut-ins will find a girlfriend. No matter how tired or defeated I feel, I’ll end up writing a novel that I’m satisfied with.

Last of all, let’s summarise the achievements for this month. My target is a hundred thousand characters. So far, I’ve just exceeded eighty thousand characters. I’m certain that if it weren’t for this gathering by Qidian, which made me spend around four or five days outside, I would have achieved this goal with ease.

There are still two days left. I will continue working hard on writing. If I really can’t achieve it, then just treat it like I hit a hundred thousand characters, alright? Give me some monthly votes to motivate me.

I want to write a hundred and twenty thousand characters next month!