Journey

Leaving aside the miscellaneous matters along the way, after twelve days, Li Qi followed the entourage of the White Snake Prefecture Prefect all the way back to White Snake Prefecture from that valley.

I've been here for seven days now.

White Snake Prefecture.

The Prefect's Residence.

Li Qi was observing the celestial phenomena in the south.

Because summer has arrived.

The South is associated with fire, its emperor is Yan Di, its assistant is Zhu Ming, who held the balance and governed the Xia dynasty, its god is Yinghuo, its beast is the Vermilion Bird, its sound is Hui, and its days are Bing and Ding.

"When the summer solstice arrives, the Dipper is in the south, the Yang Energy is at its peak, and the Yin Qi begins to emerge..." Li Qi muttered to himself as he observed the celestial phenomena.

What he was saying meant that at the summer solstice, the Big Dipper points south to the noon position, Xianghe with the meridian. At this time, the Yang Energy reaches its limit, and the Yin Qi begins to stir.

When the summer solstice arrives, fire follows. At this time, there is no need to worship the Azure Dragon, but instead to worship the Vermilion Bird, one of the four celestial symbols.

Taiwei is the master of the Vermilion Bird, and the Purple Palace holds the Dipper and rotates counterclockwise, moving one degree per day to complete a cycle in the heavens.

The celestial signs are correct.

Then, the sacrificial ceremony may begin.

When offering sacrifices to the Vermilion Bird, one must face south, with red as the most revered color, and Red Tiger Tablet used to worship the south.

That is to say, it refers to using a red jade tablet to worship the Vermilion Bird, the god of the south.

In addition, a gift of light red silk is required, as both of these items are favored by the Vermilion Bird.

In the sacrificial ceremony, these two kinds of offerings are arranged, prayers are recited, and the offerings are moved and chanted according to regulations to complete the Sacrificial Ritual.

The ceremony is complete.

The 'qi' within the offerings dissipated, the beautiful jade turned into opaque stone, and the coins became rough and powdery, as if they had been weathered for a long time.

Li Qi also obtained the second type of Qi of the Four Seasons.

The divine aura of the Vermilion Bird of the South.

Fire is associated with the south, and it is the source of all things, which are destroyed and transformed. In spring and summer, the wood energy has not yet dissipated, but the Fire Qi has already arisen. Spring and summer bring punishment and misfortune. If the midsummer fire suddenly ignites, it is called the fire of the official position. There is a wood above it that generates the fire, and its energy is at its peak.

In early summer, the fire shines brightest, marking the peak of the six yang energies. The Fire Qi obtained in early summer is called the Qi of Flourishing Fire.

Just from the name, Li Qi could feel its immense destructive power.

This Fire Qi cannot be used on oneself like the Azure Dragon Spirit Qi; instead, it must be directed outwards.

It's likely to be quite powerful.

Fire Qi enters the body, the Qi of the Four Seasons within the human body's microcosm have already completed two of them.

Once all four are present, it is time to prepare the product.

"Phew, it's finally over. It wasn't difficult at all." Li Qi felt the changes within his body and the intensity of that wisp of Qi of Flourishing Fire.

"Young Master, you are exceptionally talented and have won the favor of the Great Shaman. The matter of entering the ranks is naturally no challenge for you." A guard stepped forward and flattered Li Qi.

"Didn't I tell you? Brother Bai, you don't need to call me Young Master, just call me Li Qi." Li Qi said with a wry smile to the handsome man beside him.

He's really handsome.

Despite being called a guard, the man was nine feet tall, with an ethereal and otherworldly air. He was dressed in white, with flowing black hair, possessed the graceful figure of a beautiful jade, and had an exceptional temperament. Standing next to Li Qi looked more like a servant doing odd jobs.

This young swordsman in white, who appears otherworldly, is named Bai Di and is the nephew of the governor of White Snake Prefecture.

Upon arriving in White Snake Prefecture, he was assigned to be Li Qi's bodyguard.

Li Qi could roughly understand the specific thoughts behind it. He probably hoped that this person, who was his peer, and another young man in his early twenties could develop a friendship, which would definitely be of great benefit to White Snake Prefecture in the future.

The reason for choosing a nephew is probably because if the person doesn't have a good relationship with him, he can easily distance himself from him, since he's not a direct descendant and can be easily abandoned.

Furthermore, this title of guard also allows him to keep an eye on what Li Qi is usually doing.

It wouldn't be accurate to call it surveillance, but it would at least give us a glimpse into Li Qi's usual preferences.

At most, Bai Di will most likely be able to enter that outer realm with him and obtain a spot under the guise of a guard, which is one of the selfish motives of the White Snake Prefecture Governor.

After all, it was only after arriving here that Li Qi learned that the outer world was not ruled by the governor of White Snake Prefecture, but by the recommendation of heroes from various prefectures to the Great Deer Kingdom Lord for decision-making.

After all, this is the Great Deer Kingdom's own external world.

However, given his high status, the Great Deer Kingdom Lord would most likely not dare to remove him from the list.

In this way, by recommending himself and bringing along a nephew, he could secure a spot for free.

All I can say is that he truly is a shrewd and astute governor of a prefecture.

Everyone helps each other out, and Li Qi had no reason to refuse to bring someone in. He had thought all of this through, so Li Qi felt there was no problem in agreeing and agreed.

But after arriving, Li Qi regretted it.

Bai Di was so outstanding that it made him feel somewhat ashamed...

He was a head taller than Li Qi.

His cultivation level is also at the ninth rank of martial arts, but it is extremely refined, only one step away from the eighth rank. It is said that he is just one step away from condensing the 'Martial Way Divine Intent'.

Once this barrier is broken, one can directly enter the eighth rank.

His manners and conduct are impeccable; he is gentle and refined.

He can be considered an outstanding figure selected from among hundreds of millions of people in White Snake Prefecture, so excellent that Li Qi felt ashamed of himself.

Yet he was extremely respectful to Li Qi, always addressing him as "Young Master," and always accompanied him wherever he went, never behaving impolitely in the slightest.

"How dare I address you by your name, young master?" Bai Di quickly bowed his head and said.

"Alright, let's each call out to each other. Brother Bai, shouldn't we be setting off today? I'm so sorry to have troubled you all to wait for me until now," Li Qi said.

"Young Master's cultivation is important, but it's only a matter of a day or two. Besides, I was able to go to the outer realms for training entirely thanks to you, so how could I be rude to you?" Bai Di replied immediately.

"There's really no need to be so reserved..." Li Qi scratched his head, his face full of helplessness.

Originally, the journey to the outer realms could have been undertaken earlier, but Li Qi felt it would be safer to wait until after obtaining the Vermilion Bird Qi, so it was delayed until now.

This made Bai Di feel quite embarrassed, as he had been waiting for him until now.

Just then, someone walked in from outside.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Shen Shuibi. She waved and said to Li Qi, "Li Qi! Have you got it all sorted out? Shall we set off?"

"It's all done, let's go!" Li Qi replied, then turned to Bai Di and said, "Brother Bai, let's set off."

Bai Di cupped his hands in greeting. "Please heed my words, Young Master."

Damn it, this conversation is going nowhere!

Helpless, Li Qi had no choice but to set off first, walking out of the courtyard and heading towards the White Snake Prefecture Prefect's residence not far away.

"Thank you for your trouble, Prefect." Li Qi bowed.

"It's alright," the governor replied. "My family only got a spot because of your influence, young master. It's only right that we wait a little longer."

After saying that, he took out a jade talisman and infused it with divine energy.

But then the jade talisman cracked open, swayed in the wind, and transformed into a portal, from which a gate of light opened.

Upon seeing this, Li Qi knew that this was the gate to another world.

He hurried inside, followed by Shen Shuibi and Bai Di.

The trials beyond the borders have begun.

Watching their retreating figures, the smile on the face of the governor of White Snake Prefecture faded.

The butler stepped forward and asked, "Sir, is this really alright?"

"What do you mean 'good' or 'bad'? It's just mutually beneficial. Besides, Bai Di is the only promising one among the young men. Wouldn't it be good for him to go out and gain some experience?" The prefect said to the steward.

"My lord should know that this is not what I meant," the steward said. "I think that Young Master Bai Di is also very outstanding, only slightly inferior to that Young Master Wushen Mountain in terms of Innate Dao Rhyme. He can secure a spot on his own without having to rely on the young master. Doing so would make us seem petty and might lead to us being looked down upon, which would also be a blow to his character."

"Normally, that's how it is, but this time is different." The governor of White Snake Prefecture shook his head and said, "This time... there's more than one young master from Wushen Mountain vying for a spot."

"Bai Di is the hope of the new generation of my Bai family. I don't want him to die young because of his encounter with the young master of Wushen Mountain. Let the sons of great figures fight like dragons and tigers. I only hope that he will be a guard dog and not directly encounter a tiger descending the mountain or Flood Dragon emerging from the sea," the governor said with emotion.

Meanwhile, on Li Qi's side...

He felt a sensation of weightlessness.

Then, he landed on the ground and stood firmly on the ground.

When I looked up, I saw... uh, what the hell is this?

Li Qi could clearly see a metropolis.

There are cars, highways, power lines, and tall buildings.

Something seems off about this art style.

Li Qi was completely stunned.

Shen Shuibi, however, seemed quite knowledgeable after seeing all this, saying, "Ah, so this is a resource-rich world? Then it probably doesn't have much of a future. This world is probably almost completely depleted, isn't it?"

"What... what is this object? Has the Reason Way developed in this world?" Li Qi asked, looking surprised.

Shen Shuibi, being more knowledgeable, said to the two, "Ah, no, it's because the cultivation path in this world is not developed enough, so we can only rely on external things. Moreover, these external things are not without their merits; at least they are excellent in terms of resource extraction, so many worlds have developed these things."

"Many of the resource worlds under our rule rely on these rapidly replicated external objects for mining. This way, we don't need to employ high-level cultivators, and we can mine them very quickly."

Shen Shuibi said.

Li Qi frowned. "Then, Miss Shen, why don't they use this technology over there? If so, they should have been able to develop from that primitive agriculture long ago, right? So many resources are buried underground..."

Shen Shuibi rolled her eyes at Li Qi and retorted, "Do you, Li Qi, think that rapid resource extraction is a good thing?"

"The so-called resources are the foundation and origin of the world. Within a certain range, humans and demons can take them. However, if they are exploited without restraint, it will only cause the world to become barren, and eventually the Dao will dissipate, turning it into a dead land where only mortals can survive and it cannot support the existence of cultivators."

"As I said before, the grade of a world is determined by the highest level of cultivators they can support. If a world cannot even support cultivators, it is not graded, and only mortals can survive. There is basically no way out for them."

"Do you think that True Immortal, witch gods, and Great Sage of the Demon Race don't know how to quickly unleash a lot of combat power? But that would come at the cost of consuming the world's origin. It would be better to maintain the status quo and let the world slowly accumulate and develop further."

Shen Shuibi looked at Li Qi and said to him, "I heard Her Your Highness say something."

"What?" Li Qi asked.

Shen Shuibi repeated Lady Luofu's words to Li Qi: "The reason why this world is the way it is is because the True Immortal want it to be the way it is."

The world is the way it is because the True Immortal wanted it to be this way.

True Immortal, witch gods, Great Sage of the Demon Race, and saints of Human Path are not unaware of the so-called 'advanced' society, but they still chose to let the world be this way.

What a magnificent spirit!

However... through this sentence, Li Qi suddenly realized...

The conflict between Wushen Mountain and the Tang Kingdom.

Could it be that... the sorcerers think the world should be this way, but the sages think the world should be that way?

So that's why the two sides started fighting?

This is terrible! This is much scarier than any resource competition theory!

Philosophical and conceptual conflicts, when translated, are nothing short of a "battle of righteousness," a fight to the death.

"Miss Shen, young master, let's talk about these things on the way. Let's go to the arranged place and rest first," Bai Di said from the side.

Li Qi nodded and said to the young nobleman, "We are not familiar with this place, but it is, after all, a resource-rich world of the Great Deer Kingdom. Brother Bai must know something. Why don't you tell us about it on the way?"

"How dare I disobey?" Bai Di immediately bowed.

Then, the three of them set off towards their destination.

Old Ma didn't come; he went to fatten up.

He's gained over 100 pounds in the last few days, it's terrifying! It's the first time Li Qi has ever seen a horse with a double chin.

Along the way, Bai Di began to introduce this world.

In that 'world,' resources were considered the foundation of the world. They were subject to restrictions due to the existence of sorcerers, gods, True Immortal, and could not be mined at will. This even limited the development of the lower civilizations.

Therefore, the only way to obtain a large amount of resources for cultivation is to explore the outer realms.

This realm contains several worlds, which is the outer realm developed by the Great Deer Kingdom. The Great Deer Kingdom Lord named it the Wandering Realm, and one of these worlds is called the Earth Oil Realm.

It is spherical in shape, roughly the size of one province of the Great Deer Kingdom.

In other words... it's about the same size as Earth.

And it's not a flat earth with a round sky; it should be a star system?

There are also the moon and the sun, each circling around.

Forty percent of it is land, sixty percent is ocean, there is only one continent, and some isolated islands.

This is a world of resources because it is rich in 'local oil'.

This is not oil, but something else entirely. It is a solid formed from the condensation of earth's energy and water vapor, resembling oil droplets, flowing through the earth's veins, like the blood of the earth.

Earth oil can hold a large amount of earth energy, and with water vapor as an insulating container, it will not easily disperse and is easy to preserve. Moreover, it is useful to cultivators whether they are refining weapons, making pills, or consuming it directly. Therefore, it is one of the most important resource areas in the Great Deer Kingdom.

Therefore, the Great Deer Kingdom developed 'industrial companies' here, using Evil Method within Human Path to control the people, dismantling the original country and transforming it into large industrial companies, mobilizing the natives of the entire world to extract oil, making it the economic lifeline of the entire world.