Chapter 554 – To Not Return, to Accompany Forever (1/2)

The sudden change in the situation took all the cultivators by surprise. Han Anguo’s face sank heavily as he tightened his grip around his spear.

The scholar in white could not help but recall Feng Buquan’s words when he behaved erratically, as well as the Dark Queen’s strange behaviours. His eyes were filled with surprise and doubt as he was on full alert.

Li Qingshan had never thought the Dark Queen would strike so ruthlessly either. He frowned and thought, She may be of noble status, but killing a marquis who was conferred by the Great Xia empire is no laughing matter. I wonder how she’ll clean up after herself.

The Dark Queen gave him an answer immediately. After killing the Marquis of Ruyi, she did not recall the Void-bellied Ghost King immediately.

The Void-bellied Ghost King’s huge, hideous head rotated slowly. His colossal body abruptly moved, striking flagrantly.

Gusts of wind kicked up the yellow sand, blowing into his face.

Li Qingshan squinted his eyes before widening them.

Within the sky filled with sand, the Void-bellied Ghost King rushed about quickly, unleashing a massacre. It basically killed off the remaining Golden Core cultivators one by one with a single strike each.

Li Qingshan wanted to say something. A hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned around, only to see Gu Yanying gazing into the distance and shaking her head gently.

Li Qingshan returned to his senses. The last sight he saw was Han Anguo merging with his spear, charging towards the Ghost King countless times larger than him. His gaze was as firm as steel as the spear burst forth from his hands, whistling and spinning like a tornado. It pierced the Ghost King’s huge hand, directly targeting the Dark Queen’s head.

Boom!

Following that sound, the fierce wind subsided, and the sand settled.

The Void-bellied Ghost King grabbed the spear like it was holding a toothpick. Han Anguo’s aura vanished.

Li Qingshan remembered how the Arts of the Boundless Ocean he practised had only been assembled by borrowing his power. He was also Han Qiongzhi’s uncle. He could not help but become heavy-hearted.

The Dark Queen rubbed her forehead gently. There was a red mark on there, but apart from that, she was unscathed.

She turned around. Her expression was as chilly as frost as the hem of her clothes swayed slightly. She hovered in the Void-bellied Ghost King, approaching the three of them.

The smear of azure in the centre of the sky began to spread and permeate sliver by sliver. A white sun radiated with light before rapidly descending in the west. The sky had been dyed red too before becoming a dark blue very soon. A lone moon hung high in the air.

Li Qingshan was unable to observe this bizarre phenomenon as he stood in the desert soaked in moonlight.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

She wants to kill everyone! Li Qingshan shivered inside. He was forced to admit that the Dark Queen did possess that strength right now.

The Void-bellied Ghost King extended its arm, reaching towards Li Qingshan. It did not move quickly, but it did lock onto Li Qingshan’s aura firmly, sealing off any room to dodge.

Completely exhausted, Li Qingshan was unable to dodge at all.

Xiao An leapt out and there was a flash of her sword.

The Dark Queen drew back her hand, now with a slash in her palm. She closed her hand firmly and gazed over coldly. The flames flickered in Xiao An’s eye sockets as she met her gaze.

“Your highness, it’s quite late already. It’s time for us to return.”

Gu Yanying gazed at the sky. The rate at which everything changed was currently slowing down silently.

“I know you’ve guessed it already. If you can keep this secret, you will obtain the friendship of the Umbral Yin sect.”

The Dark Queen shifted her gaze away and dispersed the Void-bellied Ghost King with a wave of her hand as she said that to Gu Yanying.

She had not carried out a massacre on impulse. Cultivators were thorough with their thoughts, let alone Golden Core cultivators. Every single one of them were well-versed with how to deal with people. The Marquis of Ruyi had come from an aristocratic background and had become rooted in fear and hatred, which was why he was unable to see through her strange behaviour. However, that did not mean other cultivators had not noticed or seen through it. Silencing them was necessary.

The very belief of a demonic sect like the Umbral Yin sect was to view human lives as nothing. They were not bound by any laws or morals at all, completely doing whatever they wanted. Even if it were not for this secret, she probably would still do the same for the cultivators’ golden cores and belongings. Every additional golden core gave her greater confidence with overcoming the third tribulation.

As for Gu Yanying, she was on rather friendly terms with her. Moreover, Gu Yanying stood aloof from the world and was not a so-called person of the “righteous path”. Although she could be rather heartless, she was not sinister.

Most importantly, the Dark Queen had no confidence in being able to kill her here. This was how people of the demonic path did things. As long as they could increase their cultivation, even by only a bit, it would be worth it no matter how many “fellows” they had to kill. To her, cultivators like the Marquis of Ruyi had enjoyed peace for far too long. They had forgotten about the age when cultivators fought and killed one another.

Gu Yanying lowered her head slightly and bowed gracefully. “Please exchange this friendship for three golden cores.”

The Dark Queen immediately tossed three golden cores to Gu Yanying. One of them was pure-white and out of the ordinary. It was the Marquis of Ruyi’s golden core. Gu Yanying ingested it without minding at all and began meditating to refine it.

Only then did the Dark Queen relax, completely extinguishing the killing intent inside.

They no longer said anything afterwards, waiting quietly to return to the World of the Nine Provinces.

Li Qingshan had no idea whether Gu Yanying and the Dark Queen were communicating with their soul sense.

However, from the beginning till the end, the Dark Queen and Xiao An did not speak a single word to one another.