Little Li’s face was being squished a bit out of shape by two soft, feeble hands.
Ice Chunk didn’t giggle, but she didn’t say anything either.
With those big, watery eyes just staring at him, it was enough to make anyone’s heart race.
It was a bit intense.
There were many reasons Li Mo stayed, but Ice Chunk’s reason was much simpler—just one person.
So, Little Li was feeling a bit overwhelmed.
He gently pried her pale little hand off his face; her fingers were a bit cold, so Li Mo warmed them with his own.
As he rubbed her hand, he mumbled, “I have a method to teleport thousands of miles, plus the Buddha beads Brother Murong gave me. I could vanish in an instant and head to the Floating Temple…”
“I always have an escape route, but while you may be quick, that doesn’t guarantee you can escape whenever you feel like it.”
“Besides, the soldiers in the city see me as their backbone. If I bail, what’s left for them to fight for?”
“Han Zhen won’t just let this slide.”
“The next time we run into him, we won’t have a big army at our backs.”
Gradually, the little hand in his palm warmed up.
Strangely enough, this little hand that wielded a sword to slay demons felt so fragrant and soft when it was in his grasp.
In the end, it was Li Mo who didn’t want to let go.
Ying Bing looked down at the young man, noting the fierce determination shining in his usually youthful face.
As long as Han Zhen lived, the predicament in Qingmu City would be unsolvable.
As long as Han Zhen lived, there would always be people after the Nine Colors Original Phoenix’s nine souls—a never-ending headache.
But Han Zhen wasn’t alone; behind him were the Huanmo Sect and the remnants of Da Shang.
“He’s just a national master from Da Shang.”
“I want to see if I can take him down in one go.”
Li Mo didn’t show his usual sunny smile.
Instead, he mimicked Ice Chunk’s expression, looking cool and composed.
Ice Chunk’s face—Little Li’s version.
“Copy my style?”
Ying Bing pulled her hand away in a huff, then began to squish his face, playfully squishing his cool demeanor into all sorts of funny shapes, like she was kneading a doughy little doll.
But as she looked at Little Li’s charmingly boyish face being formed into all sorts of goofy shapes, she couldn’t help but smile, causing the frost on her face to thaw.
“Then I can’t leave even more.”
“Hmm?”
“The soldiers count on you, so how can you not have anyone to rely on?”
Ying Bing said as she tugged on his face.
“Ice Chunk…”
She restrained her smile, and seeing the seriousness in her expression made Li Mo’s heart skip a beat.
Translating that meant…
Does that mean I could be your backbone?
And she said it so earnestly.
Funny how such words, when spoken by Ice Chunk in her cool, collected manner, sound so domineering!
“Let’s go; we need to get moving.”
Li Mo thought about it too.
Since they decided to give it their all, they needed to get themselves in peak condition from this very moment.
He really did need a quiet place.
Ever since mastering the Somersault Cloud, he’d been extremely busy.
He hadn’t even had time to continue developing the “Wukong Seeks the Way” plan.
……..
In the main army tent.
Qu Sheng finally deployed the battle plan for the next day with the generals.
After the commanders hurried off to handle their military duties, he remained in his seat, polishing a spear that hadn’t been used in years.
As an exterior martial artist, he hadn’t gotten a chance to fight personally in quite a while.
Having lived a life of war, he had accumulated many unhealed scars, and as the commander, he couldn’t charge into battle alongside his soldiers.
Unless absolutely necessary.
Polishing the spearhead, he seemed to ponder something and asked his bodyguard, “Where are Young Hero Li and the Cold Fairy?”
“Commander, the two have already left the camp.”
“Hmm, good for them, good for them…”
Qu Sheng muttered, seemingly relieved.
He looked down at the old spear, now polished to a shine, reflecting his tired eyes under the candlelight.
Wasn’t it just yesterday that these eyes sparkled with youthful ambition?
Picking up the spear again, he was momentarily lost in thought, as if staring into the face of his former self.
……..
At the Tavern, that same private room.
As all the doors on the street were shut tight, the main road was deserted—there wasn’t even a candy art stall to be seen. The tavern owner had lost an arm, but he also joined the militia, helping transport supplies.
Inside the room, it was eerily quiet.
The glow of the Jade Phoenix Divine was particularly enchanting against the backdrop of the night.
You could almost feel the energy.
Ice Chunk was about to take her next step in her transformation to the avian form.
Li Mo watched her for a moment before taking out the “Wukong Seeks the Way” chart.
Finally, he could continue the analysis of that ultimate form.
Or perhaps calling it “ultimate form” wasn’t entirely accurate.
This chart contained the divine powers imprinted on his consciousness soul—powers that couldn’t be understood by observing any other divine intent; it merely preserved those powers in the form of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Divine Vision.
Ultimate forms were this amazing.
What would happen with the Great Dao Divine Forms?
Li Mo’s eyes shone with determination as he took out the Golden Creation Seal.
This little seal, filled with boundless mysteries, slowly pressed onto the chart.
Buzz—
The instant the Creation Seal touched the chart.
Li Mo’s consciousness soul imprint on the stone monkey erupted with a sound that only he could hear, reverberating like a thunderous bell, as if responding to the fast-evolving events in the chart.
It felt oddly… “excited”?
Just like the excitement bubbling within Li Mo himself.
The tadpole patterns seemed like golden flames, burning the “Wukong Seeks the Way” chart to ashes, transforming into fine strands of light that flowed into Li Mo’s consciousness soul. In that moment, within that divine pattern.
His eyes.
Were ablaze with a fiery crimson gold.
“Hmm?”
Ying Bing gently opened her eyes, glancing at the boy with his back to her.
She saw him peacefully seated there, seemingly lost in thought.
But she also felt…
He seemed a bit different?
Ying Bing could only vaguely sense it, realizing she couldn’t quite see the scenes within Li Mo’s eyes.
Breath after breath was gathering.
It was as if Li Mo’s consciousness soul had left his body, turning into another world.
He lifted his head.
And saw a vision of the heavenly palace far more vivid, grand, and divine than anything in his small realm, standing amid the white clouds.
The figures standing above the clouds weren’t large, yet they exuded an overwhelming aura.
Wind swept down from the heavens.
Carrying with it a chilling sense of k*ll and the sound of fluttering flags. Though he couldn’t see the expressions of those figures, they were undeniably stronger than any warriors Li Mo had ever encountered.
If one compared the pressure of a Disaster Beast attacking a city, it was like a firefly against the bright moon.
And even the rain of killing intent couldn’t extinguish a single flame.
Those two gazes burned eternal, as if illuminating all illusions, peering far into the distance, yet feeling as if they were looking straight at him.
Enveloped in golden armor, their bodies seemed a bit slender. A purple-golden crown raised proudly above the head, while in their hand was a pair of iron rods clenching black iron tightly, with an inscribed line of text carved into the areas where they clenched.
Li Mo was momentarily stunned.
Key phrases.
Heavenly palace, celestial soldiers, monkey!
