Manifestation

Darkness suddenly enveloped the cave abode.

Even the light of space seemed to stand still.

But Li Qi didn't feel anything. Although he felt that the door was slightly damaged by his outburst of anger, he didn't think anything of it.

If someone is a regular at this kind of place, they would immediately know that someone will come to see what's going on, so if no one comes at this time, something must have happened.

However, Li Qi was unaware of this because he did not understand the rules here. He only knew that although the formation was slightly damaged, it could still function normally. At worst, he would have to pay some money after leaving.

Therefore, he continued to dissipate his cultivation, causing the Dao principles within his body to conflict with each other.

This is mainly because Li Qi's life is too 'detached from worldly affairs,' so he is completely unfamiliar with the common places that cultivators often frequent, and has never been here before.

Normally, cultivators of martial arts, Human Path, or other Dao Path require a great deal of resources for their cultivation.

To train, one needs a place to absorb various kinds of energy, and requires the assistance of various heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

For example, Li Qi knew that there was a Five Elements Sword Qi in Daoism, which required five supreme treasures of the five elements as medicinal guides for cultivation, such as the Geng Metal Lung Sword and the Yi Wood Liver Sword. These did not require physical swords. After being forged, five sharp swords would naturally appear in the chest and abdomen, and the breath would have great power. They could also assist in the cultivation of internal organs, making people's breath long and their lifespan intact.

This method of cultivation requires a suitable location, heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and carries a certain degree of danger, such as the potential for backlash, where the internal organs may be damaged by the five elements of the supreme treasure.

Therefore, this kind of cave abode is very suitable for them. There are doctors guarding it, materials can be bought with money, and there are people to clean up the messes caused by your cultivation.

But the Shaman Path is different. The practice of Shaman is not as complicated. They pursue the 'inner' more.

Seek within your own heart, not externally.

Theoretically speaking, as long as he has enough wisdom and knowledge, he can simply sit in the chair in his study and push his rank all the way up to the seventh rank or above.

It might be possible for someone to be at the seventh rank or higher, but he hasn't tried it and doesn't know, so it's hard to draw a conclusion.

Of course, this is just the rank; cultivation level still needs external resources to fill it, but that's all. Whether you level up or not has nothing to do with these resources.

However, simply staying indoors and working in isolation makes it difficult to make progress in one's inner world. Therefore, practitioners of the Shaman Path still travel extensively, but not for the sake of cultivation resources. Rather, like Li Qi, they go out to witness the world and gain more inspiration.

He deliberately allowed the conflict of Dao principles within his body to tear his small world apart bit by bit, while enduring the intense pain and wholeheartedly using his True Knowledge Dao Charm to scan any place where there might be demonic Dao principles.

Then, suddenly—

He sensed it!

Within his body, there are extremely small amounts of energy that are influenced by some kind of rule!

It was neither the rule of Human Path nor the rule of Shaman Path, but a Dao that Li Qi had never cultivated or seen before, and it was even different from the demonic path he understood!

But Li Qi couldn't hold on any longer. If he continued in this state of conflicting principles, he would soon self-destruct.

So he immediately suppressed his aura, his inner world stirred, and all the Inner Gods emerged, displaying divine power. Through the gods' ability to govern nature, he forcefully suppressed the violent laws within his body!

This path, that path, are all essentially Li Qi's own choices! Li Qi's will is the 'Heavenly Dao' of his microcosm!

This is my own little world!

What rules to use! I decide!

At this moment, the laws of nature are in conflict, and to suppress them, swift and decisive measures must be taken!

Suddenly filled with righteous indignation, he unleashed his fury like thunder!

The body's essence was established, following the will of Heaven, and the Inner Gods Li Qi's body began to dance.

The mountain god resists the five tones, the water god reaches the Six Laws, the heavenly god sings the nine merits, the Primordial Spirit dances the eight rows of dancers, the four barbarians play in turn, and the virtue extends far and wide. This is a grand sacrifice that fills the entire body!

At dawn, the soil is fertile and vibrant.

With reverence and dignity, he vanquished the wicked.

The blazing fire shot forth like shooting stars, chasing away the red plague across the four corners of the land.

Then Lingtianchi, Juefeiliang, and the Eight Spirits were all terrified!

At the two ends of latitude and longitude, the first latitude represents the landscape, and the second latitude represents human reasoning.

Unifying the vast universe and bringing light to the six directions, the principles of humanity and nature were once again calmed, restoring the previous state of balance.

The conflict was no longer sharp. Although countless air currents were still swirling outside, impacting the formation, Li Qi, who was in the center, had calmed down.

Numerous Dao principles were shaken, and under Li Qi's all-out suppression, the conflict gradually subsided.

Li Qi's mind still has sufficient control over these Dao principles, unlike before when he was in front of the Three Lives Ancient Mirror, when his inner demons possessed him and he lost control over these Dao principles.

This is also the source of his confidence to do such a self-destructive thing.

The stability he's maintained over these past few days means he won't die here easily.

He was always confident that he had enough self-control to stop himself.

Of course, if his confidence fails, he will explode into a pool of blood right now.

It's clear that he succeeded this time. Even when walking a tightrope, he wouldn't walk a tightrope he wasn't confident about.

He controlled the energy that followed the strange demonic path while restoring his own cultivation.

Then, he used his True Knowledge Dao Charm to probe into those strange energies.

In that very instant—

Li Qi suddenly realized that his senses... had become faster.

The swirling air currents around him seemed to slow down in his eyes, as if time itself had slowed down when he focused his attention.

However, Li Qi immediately realized—

No, it's not that his perception has become faster.

Rather, it's the world around us! It has really slowed down! It has definitely slowed down.

Darkness descended, and within this darkness, everything except Li Qi himself began to slow down, or even come to a standstill.

Li Qi's heart skipped a beat.

Seriously, officer? This is Chang'an!

This is the center of Human Path in all the heavens and myriad realms, a place personally suppressed by the Human Emperor!

It's not about the Heavenly Demon...

But before Li Qi could even unleash his inner roar, a vortex suddenly appeared in front of Li Qi.

Then, from within the vortex, emerged... Shen Shuibi?

As you can see, the rabbit came out.

However, it wasn't the adorable, clueless rabbit that Li Qi was familiar with; it was something more... how to describe it...

A rabbit that looks even less like a human.

Cold, aloof, expressionless, with piercing eyes, she seemed to look down on everyone. You could sense her arrogance, the kind of conceit that even if her eyes swept over you, you knew she wasn't really looking at you...

She was simply absorbed in her own world; nothing in front of her mattered.

Li Qi frowned. Was this... Shen Shuibi before he met her?

Then, why is that?

Is this a demon? This is definitely not the rabbit itself; it's a demon in disguise.

Why? To shake one's Dao heart?

I doubt it. To think that something like this could shake his Dao heart would be to underestimate yourself.

However, Li Qi had already begun to make plans in his mind.

They were figuring out how to escape and how to call for help.

He stared at Shen Shuibi's figure, quietly watching her walk over.

Shen Shuibi walked over, and then, with a wave of her hand, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

Li Qi discovered that everything had disappeared.

He seemed to be floating in an endless realm, where all objects, light, and gravity had disappeared, and everything had become utter nothingness.

The whole world consisted only of him and 'Shen Shuibi' who was gradually walking towards him.

Li Qi was filled with fear, but he suppressed his emotions and spoke first, "Change your image, you're just annoying me like this."

"Really? If you changed your image, I think you would unleash all your firepower on me the moment I appeared. Although it doesn't matter, at least it would calm you down, wouldn't it?" Shen Shuibi suddenly changed her original aloof temperament and became charming.

This made Li Qi's expression darken.

But upon closer reflection, it seemed that what the other person said was indeed true.

If it were a black ball or some other monster that came out, he'd probably just go for it and fight first.

But what came out was a rabbit, so he didn't take action, but instead pondered whether it was real or fake.

Li Qi took a deep breath, maintained his seated posture, and said, "There's no need for such pretense. You've set up so many things around me; you must have something in mind. And now you're even risking everything to come to Chang'an... Don't waste time. Just say what you have to say."

"I will definitely tell you, but before that, I need to make you sober up first," said Shen Shuibi.

Then, she hooked her finger.

Li Qi immediately felt that the energy he had just found, which was influenced by the demonic path, was directly sucked away.

At the same time, five strands of Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm emerged from his body!

Five strands in total!

Each of the four limbs and the head has a strand!

Then, certain memories suddenly began to resurface in his mind.

The Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm of the Three Lives Ancient Mirror...

The Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm attached to the young Dragon Soul...

The Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm that Chanzhi Zhi received.

Confront the Heavenly Demon and obtain the Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm.

And, when he was still a boatman, he was afflicted by a water curse and his stomach was full of worms... and that's when he obtained the Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm.

Li Qi broke out in a cold sweat instantly. Even though he was already at the seventh rank and had extremely strong self-control, he still lost his composure at this moment.

Damn it, five years ago, the first Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm resided within me!

If we calculate the time frame, when was five years ago?

It was when Teacher Zhu Fengdan had just begun the grand ceremony!

The outcome of that grand ceremony prompted him to leave Wushen Mountain and come to find himself, an Outer Dao. He eventually found the Mighty Gang and, through Mighty Gang, found Li Qi.

In other words, Li Qi had not been in the world for very long since he arrived, and had been secretly watched by the Heavenly Demon.

This made Li Qi feel extremely uncomfortable.

However, the next second, Li Qi suddenly looked up. "No... there were only two. The others, you're lying to me. Those memories are fake, and your current perception is fake too."

Only the time with Chanzhi Zhi and the time with the Three Lives Ancient Mirror are real and reliable; all other memories are false.

"Oh? Why do you say that?" 'Shen Shuibi' tilted her head and asked in a tone that Li Qi was very familiar with.

Li Qi then said seriously to the Heavenly Demon, "Memories can lie, feelings can lie, but facts can't. The Heavenly Demon can guide thoughts, conceal or implant memories, but he shouldn't be able to affect reality, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to be forced out by me using the Dao principles to induce them."

"The Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm is different from simple demonic thoughts. This thing is of too high quality and has too great an impact. It will inevitably cause corresponding changes in my microcosm. Although the changes are very small, and may not even cause the slightest reaction in an ordinary person's body, there will definitely be some."

"Therefore, under extreme circumstances, the Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm will inevitably produce corresponding fluctuations, and my self-destruction of my cultivation body is a typical and extreme case."

"My cultivation body has been on the verge of self-destruction due to the struggle for the Dao more than once or twice. In so many cases, these Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm have not reacted at all? Have they not produced the situation just now where they automatically attract all kinds of energy to establish a demonic cycle?"

Li Qi countered the question to the Heavenly Demon.

However, the Heavenly Demon merely smiled and pointed to the five wisps of Daoist energy swirling in his hand, "Are these fake?"

"It's just a trick of mortals. When you pulled out that one strand, you added four more strands at the same time, making it look like you pulled out five strands," Li Qi said confidently.

Why is he so certain?

There's no particular reason why, but if you're not resolute when facing the Heavenly Demon and keep doubting and questioning, you'll definitely get played to death.

Therefore, Li Qi made up his mind that even if it was wrong, he would never think about it anymore.

Li Qi firmly believed that the more you think about something, the happier it is. It's better to stick to one path and go all the way. When a swindler comes out, those who fall for his tricks are either smart or think they are smart.

If someone is single-minded, there's no way to fool a scammer.

Upon hearing Li Qi's words, Shen Shuibi laughed, a laugh that sounded quite pleasant and made one's heart flutter.

Immediately afterwards, 'Shen Shuibi' vanished.

Instead, there was another 'Li Qi'.

The ability to change at will is a characteristic of the Heavenly Demon.

Otherwise, his name wouldn't be 'Mara of Self-Transformation'.

This suddenly appearing 'Li Qi' spoke eloquently to the real Li Qi: 'You know, I can manipulate perception, obscure memories, and alter thoughts, but I will never truly manipulate someone's will.'

"Because will is the foundation of everyone's existence. All ways of thinking, memories, and perceptions are merely auxiliary tools of will. Will... or rather, a bit of true spirit, is a fundamental existence that even I cannot touch. So your idea is correct. As long as your will continues to resist, no demonic thought can do anything to you."

Li Qi was baffled. Why was this Heavenly Demon saying all this?

However, the next second, the Heavenly Demon changed his tone. "However, I always have a way to make you cooperate with me on your own free will."

"Young Master Wushen Mountain, Li Qi, come sit down and let me have a good talk with you."