Demonic Thoughts

Wang Baiyan's face flushed red and then turned pale, her heart filled with conflicting emotions, torn between hope and fear.

When Li Qi saw his expression, he put on a stern face and said, "Brother Wang, I have a word for you."

Li Qi also stood up from the stool, raised his arm and shouted, "Listening is the sign of an event, and planning is the opportunity. How can a strategist in this world miss an opportunity and remain at peace for long?"

Then, he put down his hand, slammed his hand on the table, and scolded, "Time flies! There's no time to plan! We must be rushing to prepare provisions and riding horses, fearing we'll be too late! Brother Wang, after all your scheming, is all you've come up with is petty calculation?!"

"Do you think you'll die if you lose this time? Don't you have any means to save your life?"

"After your Lineage hears about your challenge to the seventh-rank Wushen Mountain Prince, will they blame you for your recklessness or praise your courage? If you lose this decision, will your reputation be damaged or will it make you famous throughout the world?"

"Not to mention, even if we succeed, so what?"

"Don't you understand these things? No, I think you see them very clearly."

"Is it reasonable to know something but not do it? Those who are wise and sincere but dare not act on it will bring disaster upon themselves in all things!"

"Therefore, knowledge is the ability to make decisive decisions, while doubt is the cause of trouble. Carelessly scrutinize petty plans, and you will overlook the greater good of life!"

"The hesitation of a fierce tiger is less effective than the sting of a bee or scorpion; the timidity of a fine steed is less effective than the steady gait of a nag. Comparing you, my brother, to an ordinary person is like comparing a fierce tiger to a bee or scorpion, or a fine steed to a nag. Do you not even have these decisive qualities?"

"Don't you understand yet? The moment you helped the New Horse King, you were already tied to me!"

"Do you really think that after Chanzhi Zhi won, he wouldn't understand? Do you think the Wang Family wouldn't understand when they investigated afterwards?"

"Hesitation and indecision, merely observing success or failure, will only lead to disaster sooner or later. What will become of my brother then?"

Wang Baiyan was startled by Li Qi's reprimand and subconsciously took a step back, her expression somewhat annoyed.

However, before he could continue to be angry, he heard what Li Qi said next.

Then, Wang Baiyan suddenly realized that she had overlooked something.

Yes.

From the moment he applied to his family for resources to help the new Horse King of horses, he had already sided with Li Qi.

When doing things, the worst thing you can do is to be indecisive.

Especially when neither side is easy to deal with.

Then, he immediately started thinking about it.

If we help Li Qi, then in the eyes of our Lineage, this would mean getting involved with the Shaman Path forces, which is not a good thing.

This was also a major reason why he was initially unwilling to help.

I came to Baiyue as a spy for Human Path forces.

Just like the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

That Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest was the nail those great demons hammered into the Baiyue.

However, the demonic cultivators were crude and did not understand the principle of subtle influence. They directly forced in a top-tier fifth-rank cultivator. Although they gained a foothold through brute force, they were firmly locked in place by the Righteous Sword Palace and four other kingdoms, and could not spread out.

Wait a minute... Li Qi is hinting at him!

Thinking about this, Wang Baiyan suddenly realized this!

The phrase "challenge the seventh rank with Wushen Mountain" itself represents an attitude; it means he has made contact with Young Master Wushen Mountain!

This is truly a subtle and pervasive influence. Being able to work with a young master from Wushen Mountain represents a lot in itself. The Lineage... no, even the main family, will only feel that this is definitely more important than a mere Guangyang.

Li Qi may seem to be trying to persuade me, but this is both a deal and a threat!

There was no other way for him to choose.

Unwise!

Wait a minute, that woman back then, the woman who became the Horse King, said that Li Qi sent her here!

Damn it! Li Qi had already planned to drag him down with him back then!

He was a step too slow to react and thought it was just a transaction, but now that the deal was done, the Human Path forces in Guangyang City were tied to Li Qi, unless Wang Baiyan was removed and a new master was found.

But it's already come to this point, can it be withdrawn?

After reaching out that hand, Wang Baiyan was left with only one path: to help Li Qi with all his might, even if it meant sacrificing all the wealth he had accumulated in Baiyue over the years.

Even if you lose your fortune, you can still give your employer an explanation. With their support, it's only a matter of time before you make a comeback.

Not to mention, there's actually a tiny chance—

Just in case, or perhaps it really is just in case.

This young master, he...

Did you win?

If I win, I'm afraid I won't be in charge of a state this time.

Many thoughts may be expressed, but in reality, they are only fleeting moments.

Wang Baiyan was not an indecisive person. His character was fully revealed from the fact that he plotted against Li Qi from the beginning and tried to interfere in many things.

Just now, he was only frightened by the seventh rank.

For no other reason than that, in his view, Li Qi's words were nothing short of suicide.

A ninth-rank official challenging a seventh-rank official—such a thing has never happened before in the world.

But upon closer reflection, could it really be a ninth-rank challenge against a seventh-rank?

They possess considerable eighth-rank combat power and abundant resources.

Essentially, this was an ambush and killing of a seventh-rank official by the young master of Wushen Mountain using the resources at his disposal.

It's still shocking, but it's much more understandable than a one-on-one fight.

Once this is accomplished, it will be recorded in history and may even be included in the annals of virtuous and courageous figures.

Since that's the case...

Wang Baiyan gritted his teeth, steadied himself, and said, "In all things in this world, if you focus on the small and forget the big, you will surely suffer harm later; if you hesitate and doubt, you will surely regret it later; if you make a decisive decision and act boldly, even ghosts and gods will avoid you, and you will surely succeed!"

"Your reputation is well-established and respected by all. Now, the evil monk is rampant and Guangyang is in turmoil, with people filled with fear. There are many who are thinking of ways to help you. Bai Yan is already very fortunate to have been favored by you. Therefore, I dare to speak frankly and wish to carefully consider a plan for you and offer my help! Wherever you command, I will surely respond."

He immediately and firmly stated his decision.

Li Qi laughed loudly, said nothing more, and left happily with the rabbit in his arms.

He got back into the sedan chair, beat gongs and drums, and left in style.

Now that Wang Baiyan is settled, the next place to look for is Righteous Sword Palace.

Fortunately, Righteous Sword Palace shouldn't be too hard to find, after all, he had left a letter for Zhang Lan on Old Ma.

Li Qi always had his own calculations in mind.

However, he often appears indecisive and hesitant because he thinks too much.

A few days ago, while he was strolling through Guangyang City, climbing the Five-Level Pagoda, going to the Small World with Wang Baiyan, and exploring the mountains and forests with Li Zhufang, he was already considering all sorts of possibilities.

Now, it's time to put it into practice.

Time passed quickly; seven days had already gone by.

For the past seven days, Li Qi has been arranging how things should proceed.

For example, how should Wang Baiyan's resources be implemented, and what should the people of the Lower Nine Gates do?

The plan has been roughly finalized, but to complete it, it needs to be divided into decision-making and execution levels.

Now that the decision has been made, the next step is to execute it. Unfortunately, Li Qi has no trustworthy subordinates to carry it out, so he has to do it all himself.

Seven days later, the general arrangements were finally finalized.

For the past seven days, Li Qi has been multitasking.

On one hand, his true form was constantly working for Chanzhi, analyzing the characteristics of different demons and then using Shaman Path to create corresponding methods to counter them.

This is very difficult, extremely difficult.

Normally, most ninth-rank cultivators are just constantly learning other people's methods, and they rarely think about the essence of the Technique Method, nor do they seek a deep understanding of them.

For them, learning how to use it is enough.

It is pointless to delve into the principles behind Technique Method.

A well-developed and mature Technique Method is like a rifle that has been manufactured.

Even if an ordinary person doesn't understand the principles, as long as he pulls the trigger, the power will naturally be exerted in his hands.

For these Technique Method, by collecting the necessary Qi step by step and then processing it according to different methods, one can naturally use different Technique Method.

Even if he disassembled the rifle and understood all its principles and working processes, that is, understood the "method" hidden within the "technique," it would be meaningless.

This won't make your Technique Method stronger, nor will it make you more powerful in combat.

A sharpshooter doesn't need to understand the principles of a gun to hit the bullseye every time; all they need to do is learn how to use it.

Therefore, for a ninth-rank cultivator with a limited lifespan, this is a completely unnecessary investment. It would be better to accelerate the improvement of cultivation and take it slow when one can live longer.

However, in reality, once people get used to not seeking a thorough understanding, most will lose the motivation to continue pursuing knowledge.

Li Qi always understood this principle, and he did not fall into that vicious cycle. Instead, he diligently studied to improve his knowledge and learning ability.

However, he had never pushed himself like that before.

Under external pressure, Li Qi was forced to begin his own research process, and in the process, he continuously familiarized himself with the True Knowledge Dao Charm and honed his research and development capabilities.

Having been captured by Chanzhi for only ten days, he felt that his confusion about Buddhism, demonic thoughts, and his own Shaman Path had suddenly become clear, and he had accumulated a lot of experience.

He originally planned to learn slowly, leaving aside anything he didn't understand and studying it later.

But people are just like that; they need some pressure to get their brains working.

Under the pressure of the Chanzhi, Li Qi made rapid progress over the past ten days.

First and foremost, one must True Knowledge Dao Charm.

Now that he has truly mastered this Daoist principle, Li Qi can confidently say that as long as the opponent is below the eighth rank, no Technique Method can conceal the underlying principle from him.

If a progress bar can interrupt the other person's actions.

If True Knowledge Dao Charm, you can directly interrupt the opponent's Technique Method itself.

They could achieve something similar to Shen Shuibi, where a single finger strike could immediately disrupt the opponent's Technique Method.

He was already used to analyzing Technique Method. The demonic thoughts of these demons were composed of Technique Method, changing every second. Li Qi had to keep up with the changes, constantly sensing the changes in the other party, and then find commonalities. Only in this way could he determine what kind of 'trend' the other party belonged to, and then find a way to suppress that trend.

It's like a random algorithm. With the help of this algorithm, these demonic thoughts keep generating random numbers. Simply memorizing these random numbers is useless.

We need to break through the essence, find the pattern between random numbers, deduce the underlying algorithm, and then crack the algorithm.

Li Qi is doing this every day now.

True Knowledge Dao Charm is his means of observation. He observes, then thinks, and finally draws a conclusion. He then takes action to verify his conclusion. If he is wrong, he reflects on it until he is right and then achieves results.

When people repeat this kind of thing a lot, they will find that they become smarter and smarter.

Moreover, they have acquired more and more knowledge.

More and more of what he read in books became the skills he mastered.

In just ten days, Li Qi felt that his understanding of Technique Method had improved to a new level. True Knowledge Dao Charm had helped him store countless memories, which he could access at any time.

These experiences all became his own.

Li Qi felt that these demons were no longer a challenge for him.

The remaining demons have become mere machines; as long as they continue working, there will be no further gains.

Just as Li Qi continued working, he suddenly felt a chill behind him.

He immediately put down what he was doing and turned to look behind him.

Chanzhi Zhi was standing on the stairs, looking at Li Qi with kind eyes.

Li Qi felt a chill run down his spine and quickly stood up. "Master, what brings you here?"

"It's nothing, I'm just amazed by your progress, young friend, that you've already reached the realm of Buddha Mother." Chanzhi Zhi clasped his hands together, his face gentle, and walked up to Li Qi.

Li Qi's heart stirred, and he asked, "I wonder what you mean by that, Master?"

"The art of technique is boundless, both horizontally and vertically, and its quantity is as numerous as the sands of the Ganges sand, immeasurable. Therefore, focusing on technique is of no benefit; one must focus on essence, and this is the essence of Buddhism."

"Buddha takes the Dharma as his teacher, and the Dharma is the mother of Buddha. Buddha refers to all Buddhas in general, and the word 'mother' means birth. Therefore, the Dharma gives rise to all arts. Being able to understand the essence of all arts means entering the realm of the Buddha's mother. It has only been ten days, and such enlightenment... truly makes this humble monk ashamed." Chanzhi Zhi exclaimed.

Upon hearing this, Li Qi also showed a joyful expression and said happily, "So that's why you came, Master. I am honored by your praise. In this way, I will be able to help you out of your predicament as soon as possible. It's a happy ending for everyone, truly a happy ending for everyone."

However, Chanzhi was not very happy. Instead, he shook his head and said, "Although this is a good thing, something bad has happened to you, which is why I came to find you."

"Ah? May I ask what it is, Master?" Li Qi asked in confusion.

Chanzhi released his clasped hands, walked up to Li Qi, and said, "It's like this, perhaps you've been too tired lately. I was curious today and observed your condition, and found that you don't seem to be in very good spirits."

Chanzhi Zhi stared intently into Li Qi's eyes and said gently, "Young friend, is your soul somewhat damaged? Is it due to overwork? Or is it due to the erosion of demonic thoughts?"

This question has been raised.

Li Qi's heart skipped a beat.

Distracted, were you discovered?