A Little Over Half a Year

The Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

This is a chaotic land within a radius of tens of thousands of miles, teeming with demons and monsters, and its territory is as large as a country.

Although it cannot compare to those large countries, it is even more terrifying than some small countries.

The identity and origins of the Sky Swallowing Demon Lord remain unknown to this day. All that is known is that he possesses a Divine Ability that devours the heavens. When unleashed, it devours the sun and the sky, displaying immense power, darkening the sun and the sky as if a deep abyss has descended.

It was said with great force, but as a signature move and representative Divine Ability of Fifth-Rank Great Expert, it must have its unique features.

As the master of the demon nest, the Sky Swallowing Demon Lord even named the demon nest after him. He also had the Six Heavenly Filth Demon King under his command. These were six toad spirits whose origins had been thoroughly investigated. They attained enlightenment by embracing the filthy energy born from heavenly lust. Dao Accomplishment Sixth Rank enlightenment and each possessed their own power. They surrounded the Sky Swallowing Demon Lord, exuding a fierce and awe-inspiring aura.

Under the power and prestige of these seven great demons, countless lesser demons have become vassals of the demon's lair. They fight independently and, although nominally obeying the orders of the Six Demon King of Heavenly Filth, most of them have actually gathered their own forces, become kings of their own mountains, and live for themselves.

The Baiyue Myriad Mountains are generally peaceful and orderly. Although there are conflicts and frictions between the various kingdoms, there are basically no major conflicts. Therefore, the existence of the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest seems particularly abrupt.

However, it is, after all, a demon, not a simple monster.

A simple demon is just a race, nothing special, but those called demons are mostly vicious and wicked creatures.

In fact, it's not just demons; many evil sects and wanted criminals have also established themselves in the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest, which has become a gathering place for the criminal forces of Baiyue.

Demons were stationed in the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest, dark clouds billowed, and they plundered everywhere, causing widespread suffering.

Yes, the people were suffering, Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest actually had 'people' in it.

Demons would raid and plunder from time to time, vying to devour people, after all... there are Three Innate Treasures within a person's body.

As a naturally intelligent race, Human Race possess Three Innate Treasures, making them more nourishing than wild beasts. This is why most demons prefer to eat humans.

It's not just man-eating demons; many demons also particularly enjoy using humans as materials. For example, to forge a Hundred Soul Banner, one would often need hundreds of living souls.

The Three Innate Treasures are truly treasures, and they can be used in many ways.

Fortunately, due to the restrictions imposed by the Righteous Sword Palace and three other countries, the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest could not spread.

There are three kingdoms bordering the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest, and they often go to war with Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest. The Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest often goes to these kingdoms to plunder people, so the three sides have been strengthening their border defenses to prevent the demons from invading.

This was the first time Li Qi had ever seen a state of 'war preparedness' in this world. Moreover, the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest against four opponents, was not at a disadvantage; it was merely restricted from expanding.

However, Li Qi also discovered on the way that the basic strategy of those three countries was to defend themselves, resolutely stay indoors, and resist the demons when they came, but resolutely refuse to enter the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest even half a step.

Only the Righteous Sword Palace dared to charge in and slay the demons.

These were mostly gossips that Li Qi overheard while searching for information on the road.

In fact, half a year had passed, Li Qi had been heading towards the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest. Along the way, Li Qi constantly gathered information about the Righteous Sword Palace and the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

After all, no matter what you do, you have to understand it first before you take action.

Time flies, Li Qi left Clear Mist City, traveling all the way, and was already close to the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

At this moment, he was on the border of the Hundred Forests Kingdom. Once he crossed the border and passed through the town, he would arrive at the direction of the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

Now, surrounded by a crowd, Li Qi is holding Sacrificial Ritual.

Li Qi was dressed in his usual clothes, without any special attire, but he held a spirit wood branch in his hand, and an altar was placed in front of him. He chanted loudly towards the sky:

"Food is the most important thing for the people, grain is the main food, and water is the foundation of grain. Without grain, people cannot survive, and without water, grain cannot grow. Since this spring, the gods have been sparing in their rain, and there has been no water on earth. The great rivers have shrunk, the small rivers have dried up, the fields have cracked, and the crops have withered and turned yellow. This is especially true in this basin. Early rice has been planted less due to lack of water, and mid-season rice has suffered damage due to lack of water. Now it is the peak season for transplanting mid-season rice, but this place is still dry and has little rain. Without water to cultivate the fields, it is a matter of life and death."

"If the mountain god blesses the people, then the people will respect the mountain god; if the mountain god ignores the people, then the people will not believe in the mountain god. The people and the gods are related and depend on each other."

"We hope the mountain god will discern the truth and not conceal the mountain's energy!"

Li Qi read out the eulogy, which was written in plain language, without using many literary phrases, for fear that the recipient would not understand it.

He was talking to the mountain god, because rain is actually mostly the mountain god's job.

Clouds are the vapors of mountains and rivers, and are associated with rain.

Clouds are the vapors from mountains and rivers rising into Upper Heaven sky; they are not actual 'weather'.

Therefore, among the Six Qi of heaven, there is no category such as cloud qi.

Therefore, when it doesn't rain, either there is a powerful being who can transport water, or even draw endless water directly from the sea like a true dragon; otherwise, it's better to honestly ask the mountain god for it.

After all, mountains and rivers are interdependent, and the mountain god must have water veins within his possession; otherwise, the mountain would not be a mountain, nor could it contain a mountain god.

Under the hopeful gaze of many villagers, Li Qi waited for a while in front of the altar.

But the rain still didn't come.

Li Qi was somewhat embarrassed, and the villagers wailed and even expressed their resentment.

However, Li Qi turned around and said, "Fellow villagers, please be patient, I'll be right back."

After he finished speaking, he whistled.

Then a strong Dragon Horse descended from the sky, its body covered in black scales like black armor, its feet treading on auspicious clouds, its shoulders eight and a half feet tall, majestic and powerful, with drooping hair and a mane carrying subtle electric currents. As it raised its head and neighed, it seemed to rumble with thunder, descending from the sky, riding the wind and clouds, with unparalleled majesty.

When the Dragon Horse was born, the villagers knelt down in fear and trepidation.

But then Li Qi mounted his Dragon Horse, slapped its leg, and charged straight into the mountain where the sacrifice was being held.

The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment.

But a few minutes later, the wild beasts in the mountains seemed to be afraid and ran away. The wind picked up, clouds and mist spewed out, and the sky and earth were shrouded in mist. Sometimes stones and sand flew, and there was a rumbling sound.

After a while, a clear mist suddenly rose from the foot of the mountain, eventually illuminating the mountain and lingering there.

A strange wind slowly descended, swirling in the mountains, sometimes rising and sometimes falling, constantly turning and twisting, and a bolt of lightning followed closely behind the strange wind, relentlessly pursuing it.

Then, thunder rumbled, as if mountains were collapsing, and strange winds scattered, escaping into the waves and disappearing without a trace.

The lightning flashed again, and it gave chase.

About fifteen minutes later, dark clouds descended from the sky, the air swirled with life, and raindrops began to fall.

First came a soft, pearl-like sound, then a mighty, raging torrent, as if the heavens were parted and the earth was nurtured, with ten thousand horses galloping in a trough, and sweet rain falling everywhere, landing on the ground.

When they saw Li Qi again, he walked out of the mountain pass with the same complexion as before and his clothes as clean as new. He returned to the altar with a leisurely air.

The villagers were still stunned.

"Alright, now that the rain has fallen, I will take a sliver of your village's vitality as agreed. The mountain god made a promise with me that for the next three years, he would not dare to withhold water. For the next three years, I cannot say whether the weather will be favorable, but the rain will certainly be plentiful."

After Li Qi finished speaking, the villagers finally realized what was happening.

They immediately became trembling with fear, all kneeling down, all their previous thoughts vanishing, and they cried out, "Great Shaman, please protect us!" while kowtowing repeatedly.

"There's no need for formalities. The mountain god is unkind, and as Shaman, I should speak out for people's needs. But you must also remember that while you can appeal to the god's ingratitude, you must not be disrespectful in your sacrifices. As I said, the upper and lower realms are interconnected, gods and people depend on each other, and all things are equal." Li Qi waved his hand.

After speaking, as agreed beforehand, he reached out and took a sliver of the immense energy gathered by the crowd.

Then he turned around and went back into the mountains.

He left behind a group of villagers who, whether they heard him or not, were shouting "Great Shaman!" and kowtowing incessantly.

While passing through this place and taking a break, he heard that the mountain god here had stopped bringing rain, so he took on the task, but in return, he would collect a bit of the local energy.

Since the money was collected after they had helped them, there was no causal entanglement.

The popularity he gathered was the process of Li Qi's cultivation, and his cultivation level became more and more profound in this process.

However, he had been suppressing his cultivation of the Inner Gods, waiting for the fortuitous opportunity mentioned by the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord to condense his Primordial Spirit, which would be more beneficial for his future cultivation.

Li Qi left the crowd and entered the mountains.

As soon as we entered, Old Ma came over, neighing, with a weasel on his back.

The weasel's expression was extremely human-like. Upon seeing Li Qi enter, it immediately spoke in human language, "This Shaman, shouldn't one be reasonable in life? It's hateful that unreasonable mortal. I treated him with kindness, but he treated me with malice. Whenever outsiders come, he only complains about his grievances, completely forgetting how I treated him. I merely collected water vapor and imprisoned them for a year as a warning to others, and you come knocking on my door. What kind of logic is this!"

It turns out that this weasel is the mountain god of this place.

Li Qi looked at the other party and calmly replied, "No matter how wronged you are, it is still wrong for it not to rain for a year. This area has not had rain for a year. Putting aside the life and death of people, just consider the surrounding mountains and forests, the wild animals in the distance, and the fish and shrimp in the river. Haven't you caused them all to suffer? As the god of this mountain, do you only enjoy the incense offerings of the gods and do nothing of substance?"

"To sever the lifeblood of a mountain for selfish desires is an act that should never be done. This punishment is for that very reason. Since you have strayed from the path of the gods, you must know that the gods exist because of humans. You have received the sacrifices from the gods and should also perform some action." (Note: The inscription of the gods is 'Shi Shen'. 'Shi' in ancient times meant altar, and 'Shen' was an ancient variant of 'electricity,' which also means natural forces such as thunder.)

The weasel, who had been so self-righteous, immediately lost some of its bravado upon hearing this and said in a low voice, "The river has dried up, the forest has withered, and all the beasts have become listless... Well, that is certainly my fault, but that village has really gone too far!"

The weasel grew furious. "They used to worship me, and I naturally blessed them with good weather and abundant harvests. But then the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest came, and I sacrificed sixty years of my cultivation to protect the peace of this area. However, my strength was indeed lacking, and the demons broke through the maze and abducted three or four hundred people from that village... After that, they smashed my statues and destroyed my shrine, almost causing my Dao Path to be severed. How can I tolerate this?!"

"How many people are there in that village?" Li Qi asked in return.

The weasel paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and replied, "About a thousand."

"A village of over a thousand people lost three or four hundred people, three or four tenths of the population is gone, and you blame them for not continuing to worship you?" Li Qi asked again.

"You can't blame me for that. I sacrificed sixty years of my cultivation to set up this illusionary array; I did everything I could." The weasel retorted indignantly, no longer even afraid of Li Qi.

"Then talk to them. You cut off the water supply without saying a word. How can they continue to worship you?" Li Qi waved his hand and said, "You have difficulties, and they have difficulties too. Humans and gods depend on each other. How can they break off their relationship in a moment of anger? If you really lose them, how will your divine Dao Path continue? Do you think you are one of those great gods who have people worshipping you for miles around, and it doesn't matter if one or two villages stop believing?"

"The essence of the divine way lies in the power of Shen and the sincerity of Shi. Think about it yourself. It is not easy for the weasel clan to achieve the Dao. You are also a kind and honest person. If you continue to protect them and ensure good weather for the next three years, what do you think?" After Li Qi finished speaking, he grabbed the weasel, threw it up the mountain, and without lingering there, mounted his horse and galloped towards the main road.

There was nothing to linger over; this scene was not uncommon for Li Qi on his journey.

He has done this kind of thing countless times along the way.

In the midst of various conflicts between humans and gods, Human-Ghost, and ghosts and gods, the Shaman ritual stands at the center, acting with righteousness and treating people with justice, resolving misunderstandings and conflicts, making fair judgments, and then collecting their corresponding energy.

This is one of the ways to cultivate Shaman.

Of course, if you find this too tiring, you can also retreat to the mountains to cultivate yourself slowly, gradually refining your personal world, which can also lead to advancement.

But compared to Li Qi, they will be slower.

Every time Li Qi absorbs other energies, he is filling his own personal microcosm. For example, this time, he has the energy of a village. After his personal microcosm is perfected, a settlement similar to this village will appear.

According to the book, if your personal microcosm can contain and obtain all types of 'qi' in the world, then your personal microcosm can reach a state of perfection.

However, if you go directly to collect Qi, you will be entangled in karma.

For example, if Li Qi directly takes over the popularity of a village instead of balancing things out beforehand, he will become tainted by the karma associated with that village, which will be very bad for his future development.

Some rural shamans only realized that they could extract other people's energy, without realizing what would happen later. As a result, their cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds in the early stages, but they had to pay a thousand times more in order to repay their debts later.

The way of the shaman values righteousness, so one must always be vigilant.

Otherwise, if the debt cannot be repaid, then one will most likely have to change Dao Path, such as... joining the demonic path, using karma as nourishment, and taking plunder as one's mission.

Li Qi rode the Old Ma and quickly returned to the roadside.

Shen Shuibi was standing by the roadside, dozing off.

That's right, standing.

(I forgot to post the links for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets yesterday, so here they are for your convenience in voting.)