Chapter 719 - The Vicious Totemic Beast, the Crystal Skull

“It’s not like I’m trying to harm you, so what’re you being so afraid for? You have no idea how many people wish they had an opportunity like this! Your body can become even tougher than those barbarians!”

Li Qingshan crouched down and touched Xianghua Man’s cheek gently. Although he spoke like he was trying to persuade her, it only made Xianghua Man shiver inside. It only made her understand a certain reality even more. No matter how much he resembled a cute child, no matter how helpless he seemed when he was being teased, he was still a powerful monster that she stood absolutely no chance again. Once a fundamental problem arose, he would never allow her to decline or put up any resistance.

“I don’t want to become a monster. I’d rather die than that!” Xianghua Man called out.

The thought that she would end up as twisted and ugly as the merchant from Goldie fort made her shiver, and that was still a little better off. If she were to become like a Bone Eating shaman, she would not be able to accept it at all!

“How will you? You’ll only become even younger and more beautiful. Goldie A’bao betrayed me, which was why I unleashed all the potential in his body and made him throw his life away against those barbarians. Otherwise, he’d probably be much stronger than you already. And, the life force in his body was overly impure, so it was easier to lose control. Meanwhile, these flames all come from the same tribe. I’ve already refined it too. Don’t worry. As long as you are good, why would I harm you?”

Li Qingshan explained it patiently, but the softer and more sincere his tone became, the more afraid Xianghua Man felt. Even if she did not become a monster, it would still mean she was under his control, unable to break free ever again. She stared straight at Li Qingshan and tears poured out from her eyes. For a moment, she was unable to say anything.

Li Qingshan waited for her to calm down a little. “Tell me your answer now.”

“I’ll accept it!”

“Alright. Open your mind!”

Li Qingshan blew gently, and the blood-red fire swept over to Xianghua Man, merging into her body bit by bit.

“Ahh!”

Xianghua Man moaned as great pleasure erupted in her body, making her head blank out. Only after who knew how long did her consciousness gradually return. Her body felt numb and indescribably restrictive. As if she had gained new life, unprecedented power flowed through her body.

She was different from Goldie A’bao, who was merely a mortal that had been forcefully propelled to the realm of shamans. She possessed several decades of cultivation experience. She began meditating in a hurry and directed this power to the right path. The Fragrant Flower gu in her body was nourished, breaking through once more.

Li Qingshan smiled. “How do you feel?”

What Xianghua Man did first was not to check how much stronger she had become, but to take out her bronze mirror and check whether she had become ugly or not. She could not help but cheer out, “Fantastic!”

Although in the past, she did not seem old due to practising qi, she was still the mother of three children after all. Faint Crow’s feet wrinkles were appearing on the corner of her eyes, and her skin was no longer as supple as it used to be either. But right now, she seemed like she had returned to her twenties. She was glowing.

To a woman, particularly a beautiful one, nothing was more terrifying than watching herself gradually age in the mirror, nor was there anything more delightful than recovering her youth. Immediately, she felt that her alarm earlier had been pointless. Although they all said that gains and losses came hand in hand, her luck still seemed pretty good so far!

“Dispose of these corpses!” Li Qingshan ordered.

Li Qingshan fiddled around with the skull staff as he picked up a tiny hundred treasures pouch from beside the shaman priest. He opened it up and took a look. The space inside was only the size of a shed, and there was a messy assortment of items. He had no idea what they were for, so he casually hung it on his waist.

“How am I supposed to dispose of so many of them? Why don’t we just leave them here? They’ll rot away in less than ten days!” Xianghua Man widened her eyes. There were several hundred corpses here. If she were supposed to bury them all, how large of a pit did she have to dig?

“Be good, or you’ll turn into a monster!” Li Qingshan said in an unconcerned manner and made his way into the depths of the fort. Originally, he had mentioned it thoughtlessly, but since he had said it, it would be an order. He had gone to such great lengths to extract the life force so that she could recover her youth and increase her strength. Was he supposed to just provide for her for free?

“Yes!” Xianghua Man nodded immediately.

Li Qingshan made it to the end of the fort and gazed over. An ancient totemic diagram was carved into the rock face. There were only a few strokes, but it was vivid, spilling with artistic charm. It was shaped like a tiger, but it seemed even more vicious. It had a pair of wings on its back, which did bear some resemblance to the tiger demon. However, the tiger demon was purely battle intent and killing intent, while the totemic diagram possessed a sense of deep malice, opening its mouth as if it were trying to swallow people whole.

If he had guessed correctly, this was the Bone Eating tribe’s altar. It vaguely gave off a shocking power, which was the result of countless years of worship from the Bone Eating tribe.

Li Qingshan pressed his hand against the rock face gently, and immediately, the totemic diagram sprang alive. It glared at him viciously, and with a roar, it leapt off the rock face.

“Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell!” Li Qingshan bellowed.

With that, the vicious totemic beast collided heavily against the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell.

Bang!

Cracks appeared on the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell!

“What power! This is the Bone Eating tribe’s strongest trump card! They actually have something like a guardian beast, and its strength nears Daemon General! Fortunately, they didn’t activate it, or I really might be in some trouble!”

Clang!

The Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell shattered!

Li Qingshan unfurled his wings and took off into the air. The totemic beast flapped its wings too, chasing after him closely. However, after reaching several hundred meters into the air, it no longer took a step further. Clearly, it could not travel too far away from the altar.

Li Qingshan studied the beast. Sure enough, it seemed like a vicious, black tiger, constantly swinging its claws at him.

The totemic beast growled for a while before returning to the rock face. Li Qingshan exhaled gently, and his breath slammed against it viciously. The totemic beast lunged back, waving its claws and baring its fangs. It obviously could not reach Li Qingshan.

Whenever the totemic beast tried to return to the altar, Li Qingshan would disturb it. This went on for over two hours, and the totemic beast gradually faded before vanishing completely.

Li Qingshan arrived before the altar and threw a punch at the rock. The rock face shattered, and rubble crumbled down. There was a shiny flash, and Li Qingshan reached in to take a look at it. It was a shiny skull that resembled both a human and a beast’s, glistening under the sunlight. He had sensed that the altar was hiding something right from the beginning, which was why he went so far to deal with the totemic beast.

He looked back and asked, “What is this?”

“This seems to be the skull of the Bone Eating tribe’s ancestor!” Xianghua Man was currently making her way over.

“Didn’t you say they ate their predecessors?”

“This is a Bone Eating shaman who’s undergone the heavenly tribulation. It’s probably too tough. No one can bite through it!”

“There are other Bone Eating tribes?” Li Qingshan brought the skull to his nose and sniffed it, sinking into his thoughts.

“Of course. The Mist province is littered with Bone Eating shamans. There are tribes of all different sizes! This one is only average in size. It’s said that large Bone Eating tribes have thousands of Bone Eating barbarians!”

Li Qingshan said, “Then I’ll have to take a look for myself in the future!”