The Nature of the Demonic Path

Just after the Heavenly Demon appeared, darkness enveloped everything, the surrounding cosmic light completely stopped, all movement ceased, leaving only Xia Li Qi and the Heavenly Demon still able to maintain their original abilities.

Li Qi listened to the Heavenly Demon in front of him, who looked exactly like him and even had the same temperament.

Then, Li Qi curled his lip and said, "I, Li Qi, love to say no to those self-righteous people the most."

"So stop talking. If I stick to my guns, you can't fool me."

Li Qi simply closed his eyes and mouth, refusing to utter another word.

But the Heavenly Li Qi didn't seem to mind. Instead, he tilted his head and continued, "However, even if I could manipulate my own will, I wouldn't do it."

"Because that's too boring. The will that I control is the same as my will. In that case, there's no difference between him and my clone. It's as if only 'I' am still alive in the whole world, and everyone else is just my clone. What's the point of that?"

"Besides, my will alone, no matter how much time and inspiration I have, is limited. Only when people like you also have your own will, will countless ingenious ideas emerge, making this world colorful and making me less bored."

Li Qi listened to the other person's words, but kept his eyes closed and remained silent.

He kept repeating to himself: I can't hear, I can't hear, I can't hear, I can't hear...

But the Heavenly Demon seemed unconcerned, continuing to talk to himself, "By the way, do you know why I pursue meaning? Do you know what a 'demon' is?"

"If you don't know, let me tell you."

"Look, I can easily manipulate all your senses. I can easily destroy your perception and then reshape it. With just a snap of my fingers, I can make you return to your infancy in terms of your senses, let you continue your childhood, and finally complete a 'rebirth', with everything just like the real thing."

"To be honest, it's not that difficult."

"Think about it, every day when you come home from the Imperial Academy, looking at the lights of thousands of homes on both sides of the road, how do you know that there are actually families living the same lives as you in those rooms? You haven't gone to see each and every one of them, have you?"

"How do you know there are really countless people in the world, that there are really distant oceans and lands, and that so many people and so many things are really happening? Right? At most, you've only read some books and looked at some maps. The only extraterrestrial realm you've ever been to is the Sacred Flame Realm, and even the Sacred Flame Realm is traveled on Star Raft. Is the Star Raft really for traveling? Is it possible that it's just showing you a panoramic video?"

"Isn't that night scene in the distance just a texture from a game you used to play? The farther away it is, the less you can see, but actually it's just that the resolution is lower the farther away it is. Does a place that you can't see at all when you close your eyes really exist?"

"Even if all of this is true, even if you have traveled to certain places, that only means what you saw at that time. When you come back, it may have disappeared."

"As for the other people, you only have about a hundred people you regularly interact with. The rest are either people you've never contacted, people you've only met once, and most of them have only had some audio, video, or even just text communication. Do they really exist?"

"Look, you were video chatting with that person named Shen Shuibi, right? How do you know that the person on the other end of the video call wasn't me? Could you tell the difference?"

"So think about it, if a demon, that is, me, wanted to manipulate you, the cost wouldn't be that high. After all, you can only accept so much information, a few thousand people, a few hundred scenarios."

"Everything in this world can be fake. Since I can easily manipulate your senses, what can be guaranteed to be real?"

"The only real thing in this world is one's own will, which is something that 'I' can be sure is real, reliable and without error."

"Even the Heavenly Demon might be fake; the only real thing is yourself."

"When everything in the world is false, life is meaningless, and all things are meaningless, the birth and death of life are like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, without any meaning, just existing there. The ultimate goal of seeking meaning is not to find a solution, but to realize that there is no solution."

"When everything may be false and meaningless, the only thing that is meaningful and certain is true is oneself."

"The devil is me, I am the devil."

"Demon thoughts are actually meaning. They are the scaffolds created by all sentient beings to support the bloated parts of their thinking that have grown excessively beyond their essential needs. Without demonic thoughts, there would be no humanity, and the world would have no reason to exist. Therefore, life cannot resist demonic thoughts, as they are an integral part of their existence. Without demonic thoughts to support them, all sentient beings would be meaningless."

Li Qi listened to the Heavenly Demon speaking to him from the side.

For some reason, the Heavenly Demon actually began to preach to Li Qi, and not in the mysterious and profound Daoist voice, but in plain and straightforward language, he explained the essence of the demonic path.

The "demonic path" is not about doing evil. If doing bad things is called the "demonic path," then that's too lame.

The essence of the demonic path is recognizing this empty and false world, and then finding the only meaningful thing within it.

That is 'itself'.

If everything in the world is false, then the only real and reliable existence is oneself.

It's like being in a giant virtual reality game where you can't tell whether other people are NPCs or players, but you can be sure of one thing: you are definitely a player.

If that's the case, then nothing in the world has any meaning except oneself. So what should one do?

Of course, it's all about... playing.

Since nothing else matters, it seems there's nothing else to do besides pleasing oneself and acting for the sake of one's own existence.

As a result, the demonic path began to do many strange and bizarre things.

They were like a bunch of self-important players.

After hearing what the Heavenly Demon said, Li Qi seemed to suddenly understand why the demonic path did so many vicious things.

Nothing special, just for fun.

The Fourth Calamity: a group of players who descended into a game world. Ever heard of it?

Those who follow the demonic path are a group of the Fourth Calamity.

Their actions defied all reason and convention, following no worldly rules, driven solely by their pure 'instinct'.

Li Qi seemed to have grasped the logic of the demonic path.

Indeed, if the world is truly as the demonic path describes, then the demonic path does indeed have its own worldview and rules of conduct, coupled with corresponding Cultivation Method and Technique Method, and can indeed be called a Dao Path.

However, Li Qi didn't understand why the Mara of Self-Transformation wanted to tell him these things.

However, he couldn't help but think about it in the way of the demonic path: if the Heavenly Demon was really as he claimed...

All his motives can only be summarized as 'having fun'.

Is it fun to say these things to yourself?

Is it fun to control things that happen to you?

Li Qi didn't understand. He wasn't someone who could produce particularly interesting reactions, and he hadn't gone hysterical or crazy after being messed with by the Heavenly Demon. It shouldn't have been a big shock to the Heavenly Demon.

Why would he pay attention to me? And why would he say these things to me?

Li Qi was unaware of this, but he still adhered to the sole and supreme instruction of 'I cannot hear,' resolutely refusing to communicate with the Heavenly Demon in any way, regardless of whether what the other party said made sense...

Wait a minute, Li Qi suddenly realized something.

Did you just now think that the Demonic Path actually 'makes sense'?

The moment this thought popped into his head, his still-empty human body and its surroundings suddenly began to move.

As mentioned earlier, Li Qi's human body and his microcosm are now just empty shells because his cultivation has been scattered. He used this scattered cultivation as a hook to fish, and fished out the Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm.

Li Qi could no longer hold back. He suddenly opened his eyes—oh no!!!

The demonic path, taking advantage of this moment, was incorporated into the framework within his body!

Just because he 'felt it made some sense', his body suddenly began to function, and the demonic path silently entered his body because of his 'thought'.

The Dao Path is not a sect.

You can join a sect whenever you want, and leave whenever you want; at worst, you can betray the sect.

However, the Dao Path is your body and mind, everything about you, the foundation of your cultivation, the source of your thoughts, the benchmark for all your actions, and the sum of everything you wholeheartedly approve of.

A person can betray anyone, but cannot betray themselves; a person can deceive everyone, but cannot deceive themselves.

You cannot betray or deceive your own principles.

Since Li Qi felt that the demonic path had some merit, he couldn't deceive himself; it wasn't something he could simply reject.

He knew this too, and that the Heavenly Demon wanted to exploit this point of his approval in order to distort his cultivation!

Let's not talk about turning into a completely demonic path, but at least we need to drive a nail in!

However, Li Qi immediately took action!

You have to understand that cultivation, no matter what, needs to be based on reality. He may agree with the views of the demonic path, but as long as he does not practice the demonic methods and does not invest his cultivation in them, even if he agrees with them in his heart, it will not be visible on the outside.

The Dao Path is based on intention, not actions; but when others observe, they can only judge actions, not intention.

Upon realizing this, Li Qi immediately began to save himself!

He immediately began to shut down his own little world, preventing his cultivation from recovering!

Then, it begins to actively collapse the framework within its body!

Even if it would cause him to lose all his cultivation and be reduced to a mortal.

But I couldn't worry about that now.

Close off the small world within the body to prevent external air from entering.

Then, the existing structure within the body collapses to prevent the demonic path from using them!

Li Qi knew that this might be futile, because if the Heavenly Demon really wanted to do something to him, Li Qi had no right to resist.

But we must resist!

We must resist!

Even if we're facing a first-rank being, who knows if there's any chance of survival? What if it's just a Heavenly Demon clone? What if it's not a demon at all?

Right?

No matter how difficult the road ahead, we must do it.

However, to Li Qi's surprise, as he disintegrated, the demonic path actually began to expand its territory.

Li Qi broke off a piece, and he occupied a piece.

No!

This is not acceptable. It would be exactly what the other party wanted, as it would be voluntarily giving up one's personal space to the Heavenly Demon.

Li Qi immediately changed his strategy. He opened up his personal microcosm and began to absorb the energy from the outside world. At the same time, he reconstructed the personal microcosm structure with man, witch, and Tao as its core.

However, when he begins to build, he will inevitably need resources from the outside world, different kinds of energy, to fill the microcosm of his body.

The Heavenly Demon simply smiled outside and then waved.

Countless demonic energies surged from the void.

Li Qi wants to rebuild the microcosm of the human being?

Alright, I'll only give you one kind of raw material, and that's demonic energy.

As long as you build, you will inevitably bring the seeds of evil into your actions.

The gap is too big; no matter what you choose, the outcome is already predetermined.

Li Qi had to rack his brains again.

Think... observe, and then make a decision.

How can we check and balance this kind of thing?

Immediately, a flash of lightning struck Li Qi's mind.

Then, he directly formed a hand Hand Seals, sat cross-legged, and chanted. "The Bodhisattva now goes to the Great Bodhi Field. He wishes to attain the fruit of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi and subdue all the armies of demons!"

"To perfect the ten powers, four fearlessnesses, and eighteen unique Buddha-dharma, and to universally transform all beings, I roar like a lion!"

"By extensively practicing the Dharma among all sentient beings, we purify their Dharma eyes and subdue all heretical doctrines with the true Dharma!"

He wants to use Buddhist teachings to subdue demons!

Li Qi had practiced Buddhism for a period of time, and he even possessed 108 kinds of exorcism Technique Method!

The Inner Gods sat cross-legged, dispersing their divine bodies and using the power of the Buddha to emit a great sound that filled the entire world, even reaching the top of the sky, like a lion's roar, proclaiming to all living beings according to their kind of sound!

Li Qi was really giving it his all!

If Inner Gods is completely dissipated, one will truly become a mortal, and will need to put in a hundred or a thousand times more effort to embark on the path of cultivation again.

Because the Inner Gods is essentially a part of the body, if it is damaged, Li Qi would probably have to be reincarnated to have a new one.

However, the Heavenly Demon simply smiled slightly and nodded gently.

He had devoted great effort to studying and learning the Dharma, but suddenly his understanding of it changed uncontrollably.

Li Qi's pupils contracted, and he immediately realized what it was.

Buddha-Demon Unity!

Mara of Self-Transformation the Buddha-Demon Unity, easily using the Buddhist teachings generated by Li Qi himself to reverse the situation, mixing the demonic path into it, making them indistinguishable!

Li Qi was utterly desperate.

There was no way to resist. The opponent didn't even use any Technique Method beyond the seventh rank. He just said a few words, stirred up some demonic energy, and then casually distorted Li Qi's Buddhist teachings.

Li Qi's cultivation gradually stabilized, his microcosm was reconstructed, and his cultivation level returned to the seventh rank.

This time, however... it's no longer a mixture of three Dao Lineage.

Instead, there are five!

Human, witch, Tao, Buddha, demon.

The characteristics of five Dao Lineage are mixed in one person.

The Heavenly Demon looked at the vast amount of energy on Li Qi with satisfaction and smiled.

"Look, isn't this just right? How about it, cultivating five Dao Path simultaneously is a rare feat even in the world. By the way, you don't have the corresponding Technique Method and cultivation methods for the Buddhist and Demonic lineages yet, do you? Here, I'll give you those."

As he spoke, he pointed out with one finger, and the Divine Will Inheritance pierced into Li Qi's brain!