“Good grief, are your words still human? Could you please have a little more conscience? Aren’t owners supposed to protect their pets?”
“I’m not human to begin with. What’s a conscience? Hee hee, you finally admit I’m your mistress!” Halfmoon beamed. She lightly coughed twice: “As long as you shout out loud mistress save meow, I’ll definitely come protect you.”
Li Qingshan said, “I’d rather die!”
Halfmoon said, “This isn’t cute, you’ll be abandoned by your owner.”
Li Qingshan said, “I beg you to abandon me as fast as you can!”
They started again on their way as they bickered. But it seemed a layer of shadows had wrapped around their hearts and minds. Li Qingshan’s following actions became much more cautious, walking as much as possible inside the dense forests in the depths of the mountains, and he dodged past those monster beasts as much as he could when they encountered them, definitely abandoning any zeal for fighting.
His technique for restraining his qi also became increasingly stronger as he progressed deeper into the cultivation of his [Spirit Turtle Sea Guarding Secrets]. Those keenly perceptive monster beasts would often walk past just beside him, and they wouldn’t find the slightest thing different about him.
Haflmoon admired her own correct choice. She wasn’t the slightest bit stingy with the spirit pills on hand as she “fed” them to Li Qingshan, but this was mostly because she was used to throwing wealth away by the handful. Li Qingshan also had the constant nagging feeling she wanted to fatten him up so she could use him as a meat shield.
At long last they traveled in peace for many days. Halfmoon said, “This place is already not far from the Dragon province.”
The three of them once again rested inside a natural cave when daylight drew near. The cave wasn’t sealed off. Rather, there was a cold and gloomy wind blowing from the endless quiet and dark depths of the cave, connecting it somewhere unknown.
Halfmoon lay on the cat basket and rested in it. Li Qingshan and Little An sat at one side in cultivation.
A rustling sound came from below the ground, getting denser and denser, closer and closer.
Li Qingshan opened his eyes and saw that Halfmoon had already stood up, her two cat ears standing erect. Obviously she’d also heard the movements?
“There’s monster qi!”
Countless eyes lit up inside the darkness, densely dotted together, even issuing the crack crack sounds of shattered stones, sending cold shivers to the bottom of one’s hearts.
There were monster beasts coming from underground, more than one at that!
Li Qingshan had already been accustomed to such a life long ago. He stood high on alert together with Little An while Halfmoon conscientiously concealed her figure.
Mice drilled from the the depths of the cave like a tide. Li Qingshan frowned tight when he took in this scene, even if he was already used to seeing all sorts of monster beasts. But this was only the beginning. The mice drilling out from the cave became increasingly bigger, the small ones like dogs, the big ones like bears.
The cave was instantly submerged in a sea of mice. All sorts of mice crowded together up and down, all of them staring at Li Qingshan. The sounds made by the grind of their teeth joined together in a single chorus reverberating inside the cave, sending chills and disgust to one’s heart.
Li Qingshan was calm and fearless. There was a nemesis of theirs here. But then he felt Halfmoon actually slightly trembling as she stood on his body. He lowered his voice and mocked: “Are you actually afraid of mice?”
“Too… Too disgusting. What lousy place did you pick! Hurry… hurry up and kill them!” When had Halfmoon ever seen such things inside the province capital!
Li Qingshan said br.i.m.m.i.n.g with malice, “Isn’t that your favorite food? They came just in time, you can catch them and use them as dinner, you hurry up and start your meal!” Take revenge if you have enmity, settle your scores if you have complaints. As to the place, there was probably no choice. Those mice monsters had a body strength far exceeding that of ordinary mice, and they’d probably already dug this entire area into a rathole. It would be hard to avoid falling onto their doorstep no matter where one chose to stop over.
“I’ll eat you first!”
Li Qingshan’s voice had hardly fallen when he felt pain on his ear. Halfmoon had bitten his ear all of a sudden, but apart from the sharp pain brought by the teeth, he also felt soft lips and a moist tongue. It was actually a somewhat ecstatic experience.
“I don’t have this kind of fetish!” Li Qingshan shook his head. “Little An, release fire!”
Little An had been waiting for this moment already. He immediately jumped up and sprayed out rolling blood flames roasting toward the group of mice.
The group of mice shrieked and screeched. The small and weak ordinary mice turned into ashes in the s.p.a.ce of an instant, their blood and flesh nourishing the fire’s momentum. But those big mice unexpectedly pounced toward Li Qingshan and tried to bite him even with their bodies on fire from head to toes. The strength of their vitality was for all to see.
But the stronger the vitality, the more exuberant the Cremation Blood Fire. The blood fire soared to the sky with the countless mice monsters as fuel, transforming into a fire snake inside the cave opening its maws wide as it bit toward those big mice.
Little An had simply taught himself without any teacher, and he was increasingly free in his use of the technique. The alarmed mice monsters ran away in panic as they saw the emergence of a natural predator.
There was lingering fear in Li Qingshan’s heart. It was all thanks to the great power of Little An’s technique, otherwise it would have been difficult to avoid suffering losses once drowned by so many mice. Especially those mice monsters’ steel teeth, they obviously hadn’t been made to eat peanuts. He’d have been nauseated to death even if they’d won.
“Careful!” Halfmoon whispered softly in Li Qingshan’s ear, having already let go of it. Li Qingshan felt a warm gentle breeze enter his ear, but he didn’t have time yet to savor this feeling when he also felt a gust of mighty monster qi come from the depths of the cave.
“Woosh!”
A beam of yellow light fired out and went through the fire snake, hitting Little An and sending him flying out.
“Little An!” Li Qingshan hurriedly caught Little An. He saw thin threads of fissures on his body. One had to know his body was even harder than steel after cultivation. It was obvious to see how fearsome the might of this strike had been!
The yellow light was like a living creature. It turned in the air and shot toward Li Qingshan, its speed reaching the utter limit and not giving him any time to react.
Halmoon casually grabbed forth, and unexpectedly caught the yellow light in her hand. A round yellow bead spinning on itself appeared when she opened her hand and took a look. “Monster core!”
The newcomer was a monster who’d formed a monster core. A mouse resembling an elephant charged out from within the cave with a huge rumble. Its mice eyes flickered with sharp light; it clearly possessed wisdom already. It fixated at the empty air with staring eyes, uncertain what it was that had restricted its “monster core,” then it charged at Li Qingshan with a shrill scream.
This was the first time Li Qingshan exchanged blows with a monster who’d cultivated a monster core. He immediately sensed his opponent’s frightfulness, and his body continuously sent off instinctive warnings, also reminding him that he wasn’t this thing’s match.
Yellow light flashed inside the the mouse monster’s eyes. An earth spike suddenly stabbed upward under Li Qingshan’s feet. Troubles brewed close at feet. The earth spike was both sharp and fast. Li Qingshan couldn’t react in time.
Halfmoon lifted Li Qingshan and soared in the air. The earth spike finally exhausted its power after piercing up ten feet. There was cold sweat all over Li Qingshan’s body as he looked down.
Little An once again sent layer after layer of blood flames burning after the mouse monster, but they were unexpectedly blocked by layers of yellow light and couldn’t inch inside.
The mouse shrieked. That monster core shook increasingly stronger in mid-air, anxious to return to its body.
“Hold tight on it!” Halfmoon casually threw the monster core to Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan hurriedly squeezed it, but he hadn’t imagined that this monster core was so powerful, almost escaping from his hold despite him exhausting all his body’s strength. This mouse monster’s power was presently so fierce and sinister already, wouldn’t he have no leg left to stand on if it were to recover its inner core.
The Spirit Turtle Guards the Sea and quells the evil spirits!
Li Qingshan suddenly operated his entire monster qi and revolved it inside his body, deathly suppressing the monster core in his hand. The mouse monster saw it and wouldn’t let him get away with it. It charged forward with a shriek, its enormous body resembling an elephant actually as fast as lightning and not sluggish in the slightest.
A fishy gust of wind rushed to his face. Li Qingshan stooped down and lowered his head, using the true form of the “Bull Demon Horn Gore.” His pair of horns viciously collided with eerie white mouse teeth.