Ao Long, Feng Tian, and Lin Tian moved toward the Primordial Heavenly Outer Heaven in their chaotic battle. Initially, Ao Long fought Feng Tian alone, with Lin Tian occasionally sneaking in attacks, but still failing to even scratch Ao Long! At that time, the three beasts changed their tactics of combat; Ao Long transformed into a towering nine-clawed Golden Dragon, Feng Tian revealed its true form as a Seven-Colored Cloud Phoenix, and together with the enormous Mysterious Black Qilin, the trio resumed their clash, causing destruction that was far beyond the sum of their individual powers.
The three gigantic beasts tangled and tore at each other. The Ancestor Dragon spit out the Three Yin Heavy Water, the Phoenix emitted True Sun Flames, and the Qilin wielded the Wuxu Earth Divine Thunder. Their collisions tore cracks in the Endless Void, from which grey Chaos Qi leaked, subsequently transforming into earth, water, fire, and wind. This churned the Primordial Heavenly Outer Heaven into a place of dark miasma and disarray.
On the Primordial Continent, at the Western Sumeru Mountain.
"Hehehe, truly Heaven favors me! Hong Jun, let's see how you can still compete against me!" Luo Hou, seated beside a pool of black water, rarely showed a trace of excitement.
At this moment, Li Qingming had already appeared outside Ten Thousand Bamboo Island.
Gazing at Ten Thousand Bamboo Island, Li Qingming felt a surge of emotions, "When I first left the island, I had not yet transformed. Now that I have attained the cultivation of a Daluo Golden Immortal, I suppose it can be considered a triumphant return, haha!" he laughed mockingly at himself, pinching a Magic Spell to open the Array and entering Ten Thousand Bamboo Island.
Outside the bamboo palace at the center of Ten Thousand Bamboo Island, Li Yanran was initially serenely tending to an apricot tree but her expression suddenly changed, turning to look at Li Qingquan.
Li Qingquan's face showed an excited smile, saying, "Mother, it's been over ten thousand years, and I feel like my body has rusted. This time, please don't stop me—I must seize the opportunity to exercise vigorously!" Saying so, he grabbed a green bamboo spear and rushed towards the edge of Ten Thousand Bamboo Island.
After Li Qingming stepped onto Ten Thousand Bamboo Island, he slowly began to take in the scenery of the island: the coastal shores spotted with bizarrely shaped rocks poised as if leaping, the cliffs like screens, worn smooth and rounded by the long battering waves, shiny and lovely in appearance, resembling beads and jewels in vast numbers. Su Shi has said: "Every time the tide falls, beads spread on the shore, dazzling those who see them, stretching endlessly from east to west, without seeing the end." This description fitting well here.
Further on, was the bamboo forest full of verdant bamboo. Curvy and tender were the new bamboos, like soft-hearted young girls; tall and upright were the old bamboos, resembling warriors clad in armor.
Looking around, the orderly arrays of bamboo seemed like troops of soldiers and horsemen in battle formation. As one walked through the lanes flanked with lush bamboo, the bamboo leaves gently brushed the face, presenting a serene and elegant tenderness. Combining strength and flexibility, this was yet another characteristic of bamboo. "Do not mind bowing low under the weight of snow, for when the red sun returns, shoot up to the sky; do not lament being buried short in earth, for once green tips emerge, they stand piercing the heavens." Isn't this exactly a portrayal of the bamboo's broad-hearted and optimistic nature?
Li Qingming walked through the bamboo forest, feeling the growth and sway of the bamboos, his Primordial Spirit clear and bright. Unexpectedly, he reached a state of sudden enlightenment that all cultivators yearn for.
At this time, Li Qingquan, filled with excitement, headed toward the outer perimeter of the bamboo forest. He never expected anyone could break through the Island Protection Array set up by The Three Pure Ones. Reaching the beach, Li Qingquan expanded his Primordial Spirit, recklessly probing the exterior of the island. After a long moment, he retracted his Primordial Spirit and scratched his head, muttering, "What's going on? Mother mentioned it, and I felt it too, someone clearly triggered the Array. How come there's no one here?"
"Boom!" A thunderous explosion sounded out of nowhere, sweeping across the entire Ten Thousand Bamboo Island.
Li Qingquan's eyes widened as he looked toward the center of the bamboo forest, thinking to himself, "Good heavens! What's happening now?" Feeling the force of the blast, Li Qingquan thought, "This must be a Daluo Golden Immortal by now! Bad news, I have to stop him, or Mother will be in danger!"
It turned out that right at the start of Li Qingming's enlightenment, he was drawn into a pit of his own making:
When Li Qingming opened his eyes again, he saw clean white walls and a room filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant. Standing by his side was a pretty nurse in uniform.
After nearly four months of recovery, Li Qingming was finally discharged from the hospital. Of course, the pretty nurse also left with him. During these four months, Li Qingming and the nurse went from acquaintances to friends, and then to lovers. Everything fell perfectly into place.
After leaving the hospital, Li Qingming established a company, donated to charitable causes, and a year later married the nurse and had children. In the following thirty years, Li Qingming grew his company to be the number one in the world. Defeating the economic system of the island nations, dominating the U.S. stock market, establishing independent funds...
In the last few decades, Li Qingming had purchased an island in the Pacific Ocean and was blessed with a large family, enjoying his twilight years.
As he was nearing the end of his life, Li Qingming looked at his room full of grandchildren and smiled contentedly. "In this lifetime, I have experienced bitterness, sweetness, and sorrow. With this, I am satisfied!" With that, the word "break" was uttered, and the space around started cracking. Li Qingming, who was originally sitting cross-legged, suddenly burst out with all his might, quickly releasing and retracting his power.
Standing up, Li Qingming muttered to himself: "I didn't expect to break through to the middle stage of Daluo Golden Immortal, truly the path of cultivation is endless! Hm? The peak of Taiyi Golden Immortal! Hehe, Xiao Er has been really diligent!"
"Hmm! Daoist! Who are you? Why have you come to Ten Thousand Bamboo Island? And how did you enter my Ten Thousand Bamboo Island?" Li Qingquan held a long spear and pointed it at Li Qingming.
Li Qingming felt a bit amused inside, rolling his eyes, he said: "I found this island to be destined for me, hence I came to claim it. I didn't expect it already had an owner. Although I uphold the virtue of benevolence, how vexatious fate can be! Alas, it seems I must kill the owner of this island!"
"You Daoist are unreasonable! This island has always belonged to us, what predestined connection do you speak of! Today, I shall not easily spare you!" Li Qingquan glared furiously and lunged with his spear.
"What an impudent youngster!" feigned anger from Li Qingming. He ducked his head dodging the green spear and casually plucked a lush green bamboo nearby, channeling True Yuan, and swiftly carved it into a bamboo sword. Holding the sword handle upside down, he charged forward.
The "sword" is often honored as "king of a hundred weapons". Generally, sword techniques only consist of three types: slashing, chopping, and thrusting. But the spear? It involves penetrating, stabbing, swinging, pointing, wrapping, and other techniques.
At this moment, the spear technique Li Qingquan was using was the "Rainstorm Pear Blossom Spear" passed down by Li Qingming! This spear technique consists of seven routines with a total of two hundred twenty-three moves, the techniques both tight and entangling. Li Qingming infused True Yuan into the bamboo sword, making it tougher than fine steel.
Li Qingming's moves were broad and bold, always targeting the weak spots in Li Qingquan's spear technique. For Li Qingquan, it felt like meeting a worthy opponent, and his millennia-old fighting spirit erupted, making him more and more excited as he fought, uncontrollably becoming frenzied. All one could see was the spear, its form no longer visible, just the cherry-red spearhead flickering and appearing in front of Li Qingquan!
"Good!" Li Qingming inwardly praised. Seeing the frenzied look on Li Qingquan's face, he understood that he must have immersed himself in the martial arts, so he raised his power to thirty percent. Only this could provide Li Qingquan with enough pressure.
"Clang, clang!" Their movements became faster and faster, and Li Qingquan's eyes shone brighter and brighter.
Who knows how long they fought.
"Hahaha! How exhilarating, exhilarating!" Suddenly, a burst of overwhelming momentum spread from Li Qingquan.
Because the noise from their fight was too loud, it had already alerted Li Yanran. By this time, Li Yanran was standing beside them, having watched for quite some time. Li Qingquan might not have been able to recognize the person, but who is Li Yanran? In any case, Li Qingming was flesh that fell from her body. That kind of blood connection can never be severed.
"Alright, Xiao Er!" Seeing the two stop fighting, Li Yanran stepped forward gently saying: "You too, Little Da! You come back and bully your little brother, yet you are supposed to be the older brother!" Although she was scolding, the affection in Li Yanran's eyes could not be concealed.
"Hehe! Mother…" Li Qingming also had tears in the corners of his eyes.
Li Qingquan, who had just broken through to Daluo Golden Immortal, was dumbfounded and exclaimed exaggeratedly: "What? Mother, you are saying he is my older brother?"