Li Qingshan lingered on the beautiful, blooming island, forgetting to return. He savored the sweet nectar and fragrance to his heart's content, temporarily forgetting about the hardships and tiredness of the journey. It added a charming scenery to this journey of homecoming.
The girl of the past had already become a companion in his arms. Her boldness had even exceeded his expectations as a god. He could not help but lament over how unpredictable the human heart was.
In the past, he had made up his mind to never look back, advancing forward blindly. He did not want to be tied down by anything. However, he suddenly discovered that there were some things that he could not give up on even if he wanted them, yet there would always be people who could not forget about them. Through some sort of fortuitous encounter, they would unknowingly be tainted with his fragrance.
As a result, he understood that everything he had experienced from Crouching Ox village to the Demon domain had not only been deeply engraved in his memory, but it had also deeply influenced the world. It would always be repaid in some form, whether it be kindness or enmity, kindness or evil. This was probably what buddhists called "karma".
Now that he had become a True God and a Demon King, even if he was immersed in this land of tenderness, he would affect thousands of people every single moment.
The black sun shone down, illuminating the vast land. The black mass of marching troops rose and fell along with the terrain, extending all the way to the end of the horizon.
With his order, the entire Demon domain began a great retreat. They had once spent thousands of years, sacrificed countless demonfolk and humans, and gone through thousands of horrific and bloody battles to obtain this land, but they abandoned it without any hesitation. Coupled with the exhaustion of the journey, the internal struggle tormented every single demonfolk.
However, no one complained, as this was the will of a Demon God. They had grown accustomed to obeying those above them a long time ago. Even Demon Generals could order them to their deaths at will, let alone the King of Demon Gods that even the twelve Demon Gods had to yield to. He was an unimaginably lofty existence.
However, the atmosphere was different from the past. There were no violent curses or wild howls. The superiors forgot to bully the inferiors, and the inferiors forgot to flatter the superiors. They marched silently in the smoke and dust that filled the air. It was as if, overnight, they had learned sorrow.
Not long ago, all the demonfolk who could not endure the pain and torture had turned into demonic beasts. All the beasts ran off together, chasing after the sun as they died.
Now, the entire Demon domain was submerged in this sorrowful atmosphere.
Pairs of black eyes peered through the smoke and dust from time to time and stared at the black sun with golden rims in the sky. They silently muttered a name in their hearts — Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan opened his eyes and woke up from his dream. He returned to the fragrant island and the embrace of the beauty, but his expression was somewhat sad.
When he influenced the demonfolk, the demonfolk influenced him too. Everything was karma and retribution.
His strength was growing with every passing moment, even surpassing his cultivation speed. This was the accumulation of the power of belief of a trillion demonfolk.
A demonfolk was very weak. Compared to a true god like him, they were like droplets of water before the ocean. However, when trillions of water droplets gathered together, it could cause rivers to flood and oceans to flow.
Back in Black Cloud City, when hundreds of thousands of soldiers temporarily gathered together, his strength would multiply, and he would be able to crush any opponent at the same level as him. There were more than ten thousand demonfolk, and they constantly provided him with the power of belief. Just what kind of terrifying power was that?
And, all of this had only just begun. The demonfolk had only just heard of the name "Li Qingshan". Qian Rongzhi had yet to take action and promote her Ming cult either. The demonfolk were not even believers in him, yet they could already influence his emotions.
As his faith deepened, the influence would grow deeper and deeper as well, even distorting some of his thoughts until his heart wavered.
That was why he refused to be worshipped and influenced by others. However, when he devoured the Demon Heart of Black Sun and made up his mind to change the Demon domain and influence the trillions of demonfolk, he could not turn down the influence of demonfolk. As the king of Demon Gods and the ruler of the world, whether he was willing or not, he naturally became the target of worship for demonfolk.
And, without the power of belief, it would have been impossible for him to emerge victorious in the war. His opponents were renowned immortals and buddhas, worshipped by the entire six realms of saṃsāra and the three thousand worlds. Who knew how many millennia of power of belief they had accumulated. Not only did they control the laws of the world, but they also controlled the hearts of the people of the world.
If he was not even willing to pay this little price, what right did he have to contend with them? Perhaps compared to them, what the seven saints lacked was exactly this power of belief, which was why they were suppressed.
War was not a game. Even to gods, it was the same. The sacrifices were not just regular demonfolk. He, the king of Demon Gods, was the most important sacrifice.
Hua Chenglu gently stroked his furrowed brows with her slender fingers and asked curiously, "Do gods dream too?"
Li Qingshan answered gently, "Gods are the dreams of all living beings."
"Dreams?" Hua Chenglu blinked her eyes. She seemed to understand, but she did not.
Li Qingshan rubbed her head. "It's time for me to go."
Hua Chenglu did not urge him to stay. She only smiled. "Have a safe journey."
The flower had already bloomed, so there were no more regrets. As for when the flower watchers would come again, that would be up to the flower watchers.
The traveller took away the fragrance and continued with that distant dream — a pitch-black, rainy night. The young man stood at the entrance of the alley with a little girl in a straw raincoat, clasping his hands at the carriage that sped past. After bidding farewell to Yu Zijian and Hua Chenglu who were still young, they vanished into the pitch-black curtain of rain.
And then? Oh, right. He also fought for Zhuo Zhibo. He was ordered to complete a mission, to investigate a morgue. Actually, Zhuo Zhibo wanted to use the Zombie Daoist to eliminate him. It was also there that he met the disciples of mohism led by Hao Pingyang. Afterwards, they ventured into the underground cavern and fought the Zombie Daoist, killing Zhuo Zhibo.
Among the disciples of mohism, only Hao Pingyang had survived until today. He could be regarded as rather talented, having undergone the third heavenly tribulation.
However, Li Qingshan did not plan on summoning him into the Demon domain like he did with Li Long.
Although the agriculture in the Demon domain was underdeveloped, no other world could rival it in terms of mechanisms. Even beyond the Nine Heavens could not compare, let alone the measly World of the Five Continents.
After all, the Demon domain had a "Demon God Jia"!
It was said that he was originally a ruler of the ancient times. He was obsessed with various mechanisms and instruments since young, learning to carve bamboo and wood into birds before he was even ten. Once he was done, he could fly for three days straight. A virtuous sage advised him that while wooden birds were ingenious, they were not beneficial to the people. In reality, they were not even as useful as an axle that regular carpenters could polish casually. And, as the ruler of a country, he should not be filled with machinery and become obsessed with these trivial things.
However, he did as he pleased, completely ignoring them. He continued to be obsessed with mechanisms and algebra. Afterwards, he was exiled to the Demon domain. This instead served him well. He blazed a new path of his own, harmonizing with the ways and becoming a Demon God.
If a god was passionate about something, then their level would be far beyond what mortals could imagine.
The construction skills of the Demon God Jia had even exceeded Li Qingshan's imagination. It was nowhere near what the school of mohism could match up to. And, over the past tens of millions of years, he had gathered a large group of Evil Gods and Demon Emperors who were skilled in this field. It was equivalent to having his own team of engineers. He was the perfect candidate for the position of "Great Architect".
The Demon domain had already been unified. What came next was infrastructure. Whether it was water infrastructure, bridges, or roads, they all had to be built. This was a revolution against the heavens, so construction had to come first.
Water infrastructure could increase the production of food, greatly increasing the population of the Demon domain. Roads could connect the vast Demon domain together, allowing armies to reinforce the frontlines at any time.
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