"Hmm? Yes! "
Qian Liangmu offered up the jar of alcohol. He was very confused. Why were they all asking for a jar of alcohol? Yes, the jar of alcohol was precious, but that was only to someone at his level. Whether it was the Myriad Poison Ancestor or the King of Southern Yue, they would never ask for it.
In reality, ever since the King of Southern Yue was appointed as a provincial lord, he had indeed rarely received such an ordinary gift. He fiddled around with the jar of alcohol in interest.
"What do you think, fellow cultivator?"
The Banyan Tree King in the pot swayed gently and said in an ancient voice, "I'm familiar with this child. I usually refer to him as a fellow cultivator."
Qian Liangmu was dumbfounded. He referred to the Banyan Tree King as a fellow cultivator?
The woman was surprised too. The Banyan Tree King had a mild temperament, but given his status and cultivation, even if others referred to him as a fellow arrogantly, he would not be angered, but just how many people in the world could he truly acknowledge as a fellow?
"No wonder you're bold enough to come to my Mist province. As it turns out, it's nice to enjoy the shade under a great tree!"
Said the King of Southern Yue. The Banyan Tree King had always maintained a neutral stance. He would never give advice or suggestions. He would only analyse the situation and let you make your own decision. It was truly rare for him to directly express his preference like this.
"It's just sowing good karma. It's nowhere near protection. If you've thought it through, make your move! "
The Banyan Tree King obviously would not reveal Li Qingshan's secret to the King of Southern Yue, nor would he tell Li Qingshan about what happened here. This was his principle, so he could not analyse certain situations.
However, what he was implying was very clear. It was not because he wanted to protect him, but because he felt that Li Qingshan had taken action against him. The disadvantages outweighed the advantages. As for how to make this move … As for how to proceed with this move?
The King of Southern Yue pondered for a while before suddenly slapping open the seal and drinking all the alcohol in the jar.
Clang!
The white piece landed on the chessboard. He had given up on the opportunity to kill his piece, instead reopening the situation and building up his momentum.
In that moment, Qian Liangmu suddenly understood the jar of alcohol's intentions. He was filled with disbelief.
The jar of alcohol was not a gift to curry favour with the King of Southern Yue. He didn't have any intention of taking the initiative to ask for peace either. There were only eight words in his words — treat him with courtesy and treat him as an equal!
It wasn't that Qian Liangmu wasn't smart enough. It was just that this matter was too unbelievable. Although he thought highly of Li Qingshan, it wasn't to this extent. The most unbelievable part was the King of Southern Yue actually accepted the jar of alcohol.
"No wonder Master is angry. This Li Qingshan only gave him one jug of wine. It was clear that he didn't put him in his eyes at all. He didn't even want to talk about friendship, let alone being his protector. "
Qian Liangmu took his leave. He thought about how he was going to tell the Myriad Poison Ancestor about what had happened here when he returned. Though, with how the Banyan Tree King referred to him as a 'fellow', it's not a big deal. Perhaps even his master would have to think twice about this. What was the background of this Li Qingshan? Wasn't he from Qingzhou? How could he be friends with the Banyan Tree King? I really don't understand. "
The King of Southern Yue's decision was not just because of what the Banyan Tree King had said. The Banyan Tree King possessed a great status, but it was not enough to sway his decision. However, this was not enough to influence his decision. Moreover, after considering various factors, the current situation was not suitable to start a war with the Azure Province.
Li Qingshan had stated his stance too. He would not become embroiled in the conflict between the two provinces for the sake of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga.
Of course, this guarantee was utterly unconvincing to the King of Southern Yue. If the two provinces actually went to war, he refused to believe that Li Qingshan could remain uninvolved.
As a third heavenly tribulation cultivator, why would he be willing to become embroiled in conflict? Could the hatred passed down from his ancestors really make him empathize with them, even to the point of losing his rationality? Compared to that, he would much rather remain in his courtyard, playing chess and admiring the flowers, focusing on cultivation.
However, how could people truly be alone in the world? They would definitely be tied down by various connections, such as friends, lovers, children, and even enemies. It would lead to endless conflict.
As for people who only wanted to avoid conflict and not prepare for battle, they would definitely lose all peace.
His actions will be quite troublesome. There aren't a lot of banyan trees in the south, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor isn't a magnanimous person. I'd like to see what he does next.
The King of Southern Yue thought and took a few more steps. However, the Banyan Tree King's skill at chess had always been superior, so he was still distracted. The situation for the white pieces took a sudden turn for the worse. The black pieces were about to kill the dragon.
The woman clapped her hands and smiled. "Grandpa banyan tree is about to win."
"This game doesn't count. I was distracted." The King of Southern Yue waved his hand and messed up the chessboard.
"Lingzhi, you're being shameless again. How shameless," the woman said.
"Even a small area needs to be fought over when it comes to games, let alone a region that spans thousands of kilometers. It's a matter of life and death." The King of Southern Yue tapped the chessboard, producing a clear thumping sound.
"Stop quibbling. You've never been obedient since you were young, and your skills at chess are terrible. Grandpa banyan tree was far more distracted than you." The woman did not buy it, revealing the King of Southern Yue's past without holding back.
"Who told me to be called Lingzhi? It's obviously because I'm unwilling to lose out! "The King of Southern Yue smiled.
The Banyan Tree King smiled silently. Just like the woman had said, his mind was divided into countless parts, listening to countless words and watching countless flourish and decline, birth, age, sickness, and death.
It was always the joys and sorrows of separation and reunion, love and hatred, repeated over and over again, but when he thought about it carefully, it was all different. It was like thousands of stars gathered in his heart, turning into a sea of stars. He had never grown weary because of his long lifespan. There were many, many things he needed to think about and questions he could not answer.
As he played chess with the King of Southern Yue, he also conversed with Li Qingshan. Of course, he scrupulously abided by the rules of being a tree and did not reveal anything. Li Qingshan had to discover everything himself.
"Are you ready, sir?"
In the Asura Field, Li Qingshan stood on the branch of the tree and asked. He had already decided to move the Banyan Tree King to Savage mountain. He had moved all of the night roamers outside the Asura Field.
"I'm ready."
"Then I'll have to trouble you to come out yourself. I really can't move you."
Li Qingshan waved his hand, and a blood-red swirl appeared above the Banyan Tree King, expanding to several hundred times its original size in the blink of an eye.
The ground shook, and the Banyan Tree King rose up slowly, flying towards the blood-red swirl with thousands of tonnes of soil and rock, vanishing into the swirl bit by bit.
A similar swirl appeared in Savage valley. The Banyan Tree King's colossal figure slowly appeared. The verdant crown was like a green cloud, blotting out the sky.
All of the night roamers gazed at this sight with emotions from the bottom of their hearts.
As for Yu Wufeng, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, and the other cave masters, they struggled to hide their shock, as the Banyan Tree King resided in the centre of the Mist province. He rarely had any branches in the south. They had only heard of his name, but they had never seen him in person.
They could not help but sigh in amazement inside, So this is the Banyan Tree King!
Ghost Shadow was basically the one who understood the Banyan Tree King the most out of everyone here, so the shock he felt became even more intense. He stared at Li Qingshan on the branch.
When Ye Liubo told him that Li Qingshan and the Banyan Tree King referred to each other as fellow cultivators, he was filled with doubt. Only when he personally witnessed Li Qingshan and the Banyan Tree King chatting one day did he become convinced of this reality. As a result, he lost all thoughts of resistance. Just like Yu Wufeng, he just cultivated obediently and waited for the day when Li Qingshan would show mercy.
"A little more to the east. Yup, yup, a little closer to the main peak. Be steady. Don't fall. Alright, alright, alright. Luoluo!" Li Qingshan directed, and the Banyan Tree King adjusted its direction.
With a great rumble, the Banyan Tree King landed slowly, right in the centre of the valley, in the city of the past. Afterwards, it dug its roots deep into the ground.
If everyone was surprised by how the Banyan Tree King referred to Li Qingshan as "fellow cultivator", then probably even the King of Southern Yue would struggle to believe him if he told them his true opinion of Li Qingshan.
Although Li Qingshan purposefully avoided talking about many things, the Banyan Tree King still noticed quite a few signs through their conversations. Afterwards, through his intelligence, he gathered and analysed them and obtained an answer that left him surprised for a very long time.
"In the distant Nine Heavens, who is waiting for him?"
"Are you satisfied with this place?" Li Qingshan said to the Banyan Tree King.
"I still have to thank you for allowing me to return to the Mist province and for having such a great place to cultivate."
The Banyan Tree King thanked Li Qingshan. Although it was only one of the countless branches, being able to take root in a blessed land like this was beneficial to his cultivation.
"You're welcome. However, I do have a small request. In the future, I'll have to ask you to preside over the formations of Savage mountain."
Li Qingshan clasped his hands. He wanted to establish Savage mountain as a base of operations so that it would be convenient for him to carry out his activities in the south.
However, although he had cast down a few formations of extraordinary power, formations at this level could not be used on a whim. If he wanted to unleash its full power, he needed to possess a relatively deep understanding of formations, but that would take a tremendous amount of time. Even with Little Ann's intelligence, it was impossible for him to accomplish it in a single stroke.
Moreover, it was impossible for him and Little Ann to remain on Savage mountain forever. If there was no one to preside over it, the formations' power would decrease by another thirty percent. Right now, all of his potential opponents were third heavenly tribulation great cultivators, so it would be very difficult for the formations to stop them for too long.
"I'm just a tree. It's my duty to provide shade, but as for presiding over the formations …" The Banyan Tree King was rather troubled. He had always maintained a neutral stance, so he would never directly interfere with these matters.
"You said you want me to follow you to the Mist province, so I fell out with the old dragon in the Green province. I'll be a Daemon Commander under your command in the future, so why don't you take care of me? If someone barges in, my identity will be exposed immediately, and once it makes it out, that old dragon will even kill his way over. Do you think you'll care or not?" Li Qingshan teased.
"You brat … Fine then!"
The Banyan Tree King smiled bitterly. Under his control, the formations paused slightly, and the inscriptions flickered and vanished in the air before operating again. They merged with one another and radiated with an endless aura.
From the outside, the mist that enveloped Savage mountain grew thicker, but it was possible to see the sky outside from the mountain.
"If you have any orders from me in the future, great king, I'll go cut down any insect that offends you."
Li Qingshan smiled. He had made up his mind. With that, he had nothing to worry about. Even if the King of Southern Yue attacked, he wouldn't be able to get through the formations so easily.
"I'm not worthy of being referred to as' great king 'by you. I'm afraid my lifespan will be shortened!" The Banyan Tree King said in exasperation.
"Your lifespan is very long anyway. Even if you shorten it by a few years, it won't be a problem."
Yu Wufeng and the others who watched on from the side had already become completely speechless.
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