Chapter 1551 - As One
Li Qingshan’s face was swollen, twisted and deathly-grey, basically no different from a corpse. He felt as horrible inside as he looked.
The path of great liberty was supposed to a.s.sure his immunity to any interference from external demons when he faced heavenly tribulations. It should have given him a tremendous advantage.
Yet when he faced the fourth heavenly tribulations, his inner demons turned on him. His soul nascence turned into a demon nascence, wanting to destroy itself, which had almost screwed him over.
During the fifth heavenly tribulation, he had lost his Yin Soul, so he did not get to enjoy this benefit. It took him tremendous effort before he defeated the skandha-māra.
Now that he had finally reached the sixth heavenly tribulation, his Origin Soul just rebelled and ran off, having a great time right now at who knows where.
When he looked at it in hindsight now, he never actually avoided the māra a single time. What a s.h.i.tty life!
Right now, the māra of death had possessed him, furiously devouring his life force.
He circulated the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression desperately, but he was unable to find anything to suppress. The māra of death had completely merged with him.
“Death has always been something that you are born to face,” a cold voice rang out sinisterly, yet it originated from his mind as if it was his own voice.
“Hold on, have you got this wrong? I’m not a Human Immortal- Death is the fairest thing in the world, whether you’re a beggar or an emperor, an ant or a true dragon.”
He called out inside, only to be interrupted by his own “voice” immediately.
“Don’t shoot, captain! I’m one of you! Actually, I’m also a m- Death is unavoidable, whether you’re an unstoppable cultivator or a blessed deva.”
“Motherf.u.c.ker! You’re talking about celestial decay, aren’t you?”
There were five signs of celestial decay—the dirtying of clothes, the withering of hair, the sweating of axilla, the stench of the body, the loathing of oneself.
As long as asura never lost their fighting spirit, they could avoid death. Deva possessed powerful life forces and lengthy lifespans, almost close to eternal life. However, when asura grew weary of fighting, they were not truly undying. When deva used up all of their good karma and approached the end of their lives, the five signs of celestial decay would manifest, signifying the arrival of death.
In reality, Human Immortals already enjoyed eternal life. They only feared two things, the Book of Life and Death and the demon right here, the mṛtyu-māra.
At least with the former, they could escape and negotiate their way out. Even at worst, it would just be reincarnating and starting over from scratch.
However, the latter was much more terrifying. Māra of death were unavoidable and could not be bribed. Whether you were a divine general of the heavenly palace or the master of a large sect, once you died, your soul would perish, never to be reborn.
This was a risk that had to be taken in order to become a True Immortal.
However, something had gone wrong somewhere. Li Qingshan was nowhere close to that stage, yet he already drew a māra of death to him. With his current realm and cultivation, he was completely incapable of fighting back. All he could do was hold on for dear life.
If it were not for his bloodlines of the demonic and divine that granted him an exceptionally long lifespan, he would have been dead before the lightning even reached him.
However, if this continued, he would not be able to hold on for very long either. At the same time, under the state of celestial decay, his mind was uneasy and in disarray.
In a daze, an armament of tribulation lightning shaped like a chain wrapped around firmly. Before he could even respond, several bolts of lightning shot over, carving him to pieces.
With a rumble, countless criss-crossing streaks darted back and forth, slicing him into bits. Not a single part of him remained complete, not even a finger.
With a phoenix’s cry, Li Qingshan rebirthed in the flames, but he discovered in despair that the māra of death was still firmly adhered to his body. Even calling it a disease would be an understatement.
He gritted his teeth, flying into a great fury. “p.i.s.s off!”
The “voice” rang out again, “Death is unavoidable. Rebirth is but a lie.”
“p.i.s.s off!” Another violent bellow rang out, except it originated from the clouds, like an order from the heavens.
Within the surging tribulation clouds, the lightning illuminated a person’s face. It was Li Qingshan.
The māra of death shuddered. “Devaputra-māra!?”
Under the thick clouds, within the pouring lightning, Li Qingshan gazed at Li Qingshan. They suddenly smiled at one another.
The māra of death said sternly, “So it’s a successor of the devaputra-māra. If you were the one facing the tribulation, I’d obviously keep my distance, but he’s not you, so this isn’t for you to decide. And, if what I’m seeing is correct, you originated from his body! If he dies here, you can replace him.”
“No, you’re wrong. He is me. I am him. Whether I die or not is not for you to decide!”
Li Qingshan descended from above, and Li Qingshan moved up to receive him. The two Li Qingshans merged together!
One engaged in a struggle to the death against the māra of death, while the other received the sky full of armaments of tribulation lightning.
A comet suddenly shot through the sky in the small world. A colossal, bloated corpse descended from above. It was the māra of death.
Li Qingshan gripped his throat firmly, throwing a punch at his face!
The speed of his descent abruptly accelerated. With a rumble, he slammed into the ground, shaking the entire world.
The māra of death roared, “You’ve disrupted the laws of the heavenly tribulation! Master won’t spare you!”
“That’s your master and the laws you’ve come up with!” Li Qingshan planted a foot on the māra of death’s head and rained down with fists.
The small world rumbled away. Countless mountains collapsed.
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The māra of death struggled and howled. His body swelled up, reaching ten thousand metres, a hundred thousand meters, a million metres…
Li Qingshan expanded with him, continuing until he filled the entire world.
The small world came to a halt. At this moment, a huge hammer condensed from lightning slammed down. Li Qingshan used his innate abilities, throwing a punch. The power of tremors in his fist suddenly dispersed and the hammer slammed into the ocean, crushing his body.
He struck the bottom of the ocean in an instant. The remaining parts of the Xuanming dwelling collapsed and scorching-hot magma surged out from the cracks, producing another great wave.
Within the rolling magma, Li Qingshan saw countless bolts of lightning rain down as soon as he recovered his vision. His waist tightened, having been caught by that lightning chain again.
If he could not control the māra of death, then only death awaited him.
The māra of death continued to swell, wanting to burst the small world. He smiled sinisterly. “You might be a successor of the devaputra-māra, but you’re still too soft!”
“I have a question. Can a māra of death die as well?”
“What are you trying to do?”
Li Qingshan plunged his hands into the māra of death’s chest and dove in.
The māra of death widened his eyes, and Li Qingshan’s smile appeared on his face. His body convulsed before rapidly shrinking again.
The small world began to operate again. Li Qingshan let out a furious roar and broke free from the lightning chain. He unfurled his wings of wind, and with a furious beat, he parted the ocean and shook off the encirclement of countless armaments of lightning tribulation. He rushed into the sky and shattered the lightning hammer with a single punch.
He let out a furious roar and scarlet stripes stretched over him. The tiger’s roar shook up the world—Frenzy of the Tiger Demon!
During celestial decay, it was all too common for wrath to be incited, falling into a path of wickedness. Using this opportunity, the Tiger Demon Transformation broke through again. Immediately, his blood boiled and murderousness swept out like the wind, scattering the sky full of wind and lightning.
In the small world, the māra of death turned into a ball of twitching flesh, struggling and rolling around. Sometimes, it would grow a pair of arms that gripped its own throat. At other times, it would grow two heads that bit away viciously at one another.
Li Qingshan seemed to have the upper hand, but the māra of death rapidly devoured his lifespan as well. His Origin Soul also began to manifest with the signs of celestial decay. However, he was absolutely confident in being able to drag the māra of death down with him.
They were deeply entangled together, so the celestial decay was unable to distinguish between them. Since death was unavoidable, the māra of death would have to die as well.
The māra of death felt shocked and frightened. He never imagined the successor of the devaputra-māra to be so crazy, bold enough to go as far as mutual annihilation.
“Hah, so a māra of death is also afraid of dying!”
Li Qingshan completely accepted death, casting the two of them into death’s embrace. The māra of death finally gave up. “Release me. You win.”
Smashing through the last armament of tribulation lightning, Li Qingshan’s ruined body fell into the ocean.
The clouds dispersed, and the winds stopped. The ocean recovered its calmness. A streak of light emerged from between the clouds, illuminating his smiling face.
His Origin Soul smiled as well. Even when the māra of death had almost drained all of his lifespan, leaving him close to death, none of it mattered.
“Before we’ve reached the Nine Heavens,” the two Li Qingshan said together, “I still can’t die yet!”
The two figures merged back together.