Outer Dao

Li Qi's heart skipped a beat.

Is the Three Lives Ancient Mirror an eye of the Heavenly Demon?

He quickly looked towards the Heavenly Demon.

But as the Grand Tutor pointed this out, her originally beautiful and charming face suddenly became somewhat terrifying.

Suddenly, one of those bright eyes collapsed, turning into a black void.

The void seemed to be some kind of extreme vortex that was impossible to look at directly; just one glance made one feel as if their soul was about to be sucked into it, unable to extricate themselves.

The Heavenly Demon then transformed.

He transformed from a charming woman into a robust man, but the emptiness in his eyes remained.

Then he continued to change, becoming a dog, but the emptiness remained.

The changes never stop; animals, plants, objects, men, women, the elderly, children—in just a moment, he changes into thousands of different forms.

Each one is different, and each one has a completely different form.

They have completely different appearances, completely different temperaments, and completely different Dao Path!

Everything he transformed into was exactly the same as the real thing...

No, that's the truth!

Mara of Self-Transformation, endlessly changing, each one of which is real!

However, after the Grand Tutor appeared, no matter how he changed, he always had one eye that was an empty vortex.

After more than five breaths, the Grand Tutor had already covered a third of the distance in the darkness.

"Sigh, looks like I'll have to talk with this ugly thing on my head. Really... couldn't you let me cover it up a bit? What if I expose myself and scare Li Qi?" The Heavenly Demon grumbled to herself, but stopped changing and reverted to her charming female form.

But Li Qi saw something hidden deep within the swirling eddies of her eyes amidst her endless transformations.

That is—

True Knowledge Dao Charm!

What the hell? The Heavenly Demon's eyes hold the True Knowledge Dao Charm!

Moreover, through his True Knowledge Dao Charm, Li Qi could vaguely sense fragments of the Three Lives Ancient Mirror.

His heart skipped a beat.

He immediately put his mind to work, tracing back to the source and reasoning based on the existing clues!

The Three Lives Ancient Mirror is the eye of the Mara of Self-Transformation.

In other words, the Three Lives Ancient Mirror has always been watching what's happening in Chang'an. It is through the eyesight of the Heavenly Demon that the Three Lives Ancient Mirror is able to trace a person's three lives.

Mara of Self-Transformation into the shape of the Three Lives Ancient Mirror using his transformation abilities, and no one ever saw through his disguise!

Regardless of whether the eminent monk Kashyapa Matanga, who came from the Buddhist kingdom to preach in the Central Plains, was a pawn or a spy, those things are not important. Judging solely from this incident, the Heavenly Demon should be well aware of many things happening in Chang'an.

The Three Lives Ancient Mirror is used to help people see through the flaws in their Dao heart and their own weaknesses. Moreover, according to previous rumors, the Three Lives Ancient Mirror is very rare, and even at the third grade, no magical Law Treasure has ever given birth to a spiritual intelligence.

Nonsense! This is not a third-grade Law Treasure at all, but the eye of the Mara of Self-Transformation, a trap he set in Chang'an!

During that assassination attempt, Li Qi had experimented with using the Three Lives Ancient Mirror to reflect his flaws and then correct them one by one.

This means that... countless people in Chang'an have used the Three Lives Ancient Mirror... and don't forget, the Three Lives Ancient Mirror is powered directly by the Dragon Vein.

It is said that the Three Lives Ancient Mirror has been used by more than a dozen emperors...

How many people's secrets has the Heavenly Demon spied on, and how many people's weaknesses does he know?

How many people has he secretly implanted demonic thoughts into? How many people in Chang'an have unknowingly become the henchmen and eyes and ears of the Heavenly Demon?

He even brazenly draws energy from the Dragon Vein to power himself, and perhaps he has his own plans among the Nexus of All Realms, taking advantage of the opportunity to connect with the Dragon Vein.

At this thought, Li Qi broke out in a cold sweat again.

So, was the assassination attempt on me really arranged by 'Nanshan Academy'?

Was my being assigned to the Three Lives Ancient Mirror for the exam the idea of the Heavenly Demon or the Academy?

Or perhaps... it was the Heavenly Demon who induced the academy's thoughts?

Just thinking about these things is enough to know that the Three Lives Ancient Mirror must be of great use to Mara of Self-Transformation. It is a significant hidden move for him, and this hidden move was made using one of his eyes.

Then, for his own sake, he deliberately exposed this eye.

Not just exposed, but even... shattered the eye.

So, after all that effort, what was it for? What was he after?

Let's start by analyzing what he did...

After paying these prices, Li Qi analyzed that he did three things.

First, he voluntarily gave himself a second strand of Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm, and may even have voluntarily let the Great Witch Mi Xin know about it.

Li Qi couldn't say what this meant, but the fact that the Dali Temple's anti-theft squad had come to his door meant there must be a lot going on behind the scenes. This wasn't something that could be done on a whim; there must have been a lot of procedures involved in the anti-theft squad coming to his door.

The actions and defeat of the Great Shaman Mi Xin, including the inaction of the Chang'an officials and the Great Shaman's pleas... should all be related to this.

Secondly, he did something big in Chang'an, which probably led to something even bigger, because Li Qi had just heard about it, and the Emperor had just left.

Would the Human Emperor just walk around like that? That's definitely impossible. Something very, very big must have happened for this powerful figure to personally handle it. Li Qi boldly guessed that this matter must have been caused by the Heavenly Demon through the Chang'an incident, creating a weakness in Chang'an and making it easier for him to arrive today.

And, the third thing, is also what Li Qi fears most.

The Heavenly Demon, carrying his clues, traced back to his past life, even reaching the edge of the universe! There, Li Qi witnessed firsthand the afterglow of the universe's expansion, the echo of creation.

Through this extraordinary encounter, he learned a tiny fragment of the Echo of Creation, which allowed him to comprehend the mystery of Creation from Nothing and advance to the seventh rank.

This is what Li Qi fears most.

The demon took him back to his past life, just so that Li Qi could hear the echo of creation.

Bullshit! No idiot would think that way!

Li Qi had a thought in his mind that he dared not think about, but had to think about.

However, it can be speculated that the Heavenly Demon's goal was to track Li Qi back to Earth. However, his absorption of the Dragon Vein until he overloaded, even though it exceeded the consumption of a normal third-grade cultivator by dozens of times, coupled with his own accumulated consumption...

Based on the Grand Tutor's words, Li Qi could deduce that the Heavenly Demon's Eye had traveled all the way to the ends of the universe, and its energy consumption was likely far greater than that required for dozens of third-rank cultivators. Furthermore, the shattering of the Three Lives Ancient Mirror was indeed due to overload...

That's terrifying.

The Demon King's goal is to trace his origins back to... Earth.

However, it now appears that the Heavenly Demon has failed.

The reason is simple: he has already traveled back to the edge of the universe and can't get out.

So, isn't my unorthodox Outer Dao a bit too far off?

Furthermore, just now, Li Qi discovered other True Knowledge Dao Charm in the eyes of the Heavenly Demon, exactly the same as the ones Li Qi possessed himself...

True Knowledge Dao Charm is?

Is it the Daoist rhythm of the Heavenly Demon? In other words... True Knowledge Dao Charm, it is actually the Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm?

Or perhaps, True Knowledge Dao Charm originated from Earth? It's just that the Heavenly Demon stole a portion of the true knowledge, while they themselves only obtained two strands?

Did the Heavenly Demon steal the True Knowledge Dao Charm from me, or was the Heavenly Demon stuffing the True Knowledge Dao Charm into my body?

Regardless of the answer, Li Qi felt a chill run down his spine.

This means that the Heavenly Demon does indeed have something to ask of him, and what he asks for is extremely important, even to the point that he is willing to give up the Three Lives Ancient Mirror.

Moreover, if we speculate in this direction...

Li Qi suspected that the Heavenly Demon had been arranging his path from the moment he obtained the True Knowledge Dao Charm, which was also the moment he got the progress bar.

Arranging for him to become a disciple of Wushen Mountain, arranging for him to come into contact with the demonic path, and even... the rabbit's 'spur-of-the-moment' decision to teach him the Polaris Golden Core Method —was this really just the rabbit's own idea? Or was it the Heavenly Demon influencing things behind the scenes?

And what is the ultimate result of all this?

It was I who came to the Tang Kingdom, I who went to the Imperial Academy, I who... went to look into the Three Lives Ancient Mirror under the noses of the Emperor and many other high-ranking Human Path.

Then, the Three Lives Ancient Mirror took him back to the edge of the universe.

Looking at it this way, is all of this really just a coincidence?

However, just as he was pondering this, the distance between the Tang Kingdom Grand Tutor and Mara of Self-Transformation, gradually closed to only thirty steps.

The two are only thirty steps apart.

The old man was still moving forward, but at a much slower pace.

He and the Heavenly Demon were still talking. While Li Qi pondered the matter, he also paid attention to their conversation, looking for any useful or secret information.

"You've already frightened him. Why don't you just let him leave? When the two of us are talking, there are no outsiders around, so we should be more frank." The Grand Tutor calmly continued to walk in the darkness.

Now that they were so close, Xia Li Qi finally saw Yun more clearly through True Knowledge Dao Charm.

He had only taken one step, but the distance in space seemed to be distorted, and it was impossible to tell how far he had traveled with that step.

However, no matter how far he went, the darkness in front of him seemed to stretch on endlessly, so that every step looked like he was standing still.

However, it is indeed slowly approaching the Heavenly Demon.

Li Qi couldn't help but put himself in that situation.

If he were to sprint through this darkness, even at a speed hundreds of times faster than the Heavenly Way Limit, it would take him... uh, a billion years?

I wonder if a billion years would be enough to move this distance?

"Outsider? How can Li Qi be considered an outsider? Are you trying to sow discord between us, old man?" Tianmo revealed his displeasure.

"Knowing too much is not good for him," the Grand Tutor said.

"Wrong. The more you know, the better. Knowledge is innocent, and the more you understand, the better. If someone commits a crime because of knowledge, then it means that someone else is at fault," the Heavenly Demon immediately retorted.

The Grand Tutor shook his head and sighed, "Alas... the demonic path."

That is indeed the case in the eyes of the demonic path.

After all, the demonic path doesn't care about conflicts on Dao Path, nor will it cause any flaws in your Dao heart. Once you enter the demonic path, all of these things will be irrelevant to you.

However, the Grand Tutor then said, "Enough, there's no use in saying anything. With me here, your power can't escape even a little bit. It seems you haven't succeeded in making Li Qi fall into demonic possession. Now, what can you do besides leave and run for your life?"

The Heavenly Demon chuckled, "Why would I want him to become a demon? What good would it do him?"

"Don't ask me, ask yourself. The demonic energy on his body is already overflowing." The Grand Tutor continued forward, "You'd better hurry, because Li Qi's master is already heading to Wushen Mountain, Mi Xin has already sent a message back using Secret Method."

"Li Qi's master? Oh, Zhu Fengdan. Does his journey to Wushen Mountain pose any obstacle to me?" Tianmo chatted casually, seemingly not caring at all.

"When the shaman god stationed there makes his move, you'll know what true obstruction is," the Grand Tutor said.

"You dare to let the God of Witches set foot in Chang'an?" The Heavenly Demon tilted his head and asked in surprise.

What's the difference between letting the God of Witchcraft enter Chang'an and letting the Heavenly Demon rush into Chang'an?

The answer is no difference.

Both are severe shocks to Human Path, and the damage caused by the intense conflict between the sorcerer and Human Path is likely to be even greater.

"If you dare to rush to Chang'an, and the God of Witchcraft dares to reach an agreement with us, then why shouldn't I, Meng, dare to do the same? Besides, how dare you say that this wasn't a trap we set to lure you here?" the Grand Tutor retorted.

Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Demon chuckled and said, "That's true, we've all thought of the same thing. Well then, let's leave it at that."

"Li Qi, remember to come to the Desire Realm when you have time~ If you want to know what exactly happened to you, I assure you, if you come here, you can get all the answers you want."

"You have a strong curiosity, but these old guys all think that 'knowing too much is bad.' I'm the only one who thinks that the more you know, the better. You know very well who you get along with."

"Well then, goodbye~." The Heavenly Demon waved his hand.

The surrounding darkness receded rapidly.

The Heavenly Demon vanished silently into the boundless darkness.

The Tang Kingdom Grand Tutor did not stop her, but let the Heavenly Demon leave.

Li Qi remained seated, a wry smile on his face.

Aside from thinking and reasoning, there's nothing he can do. A seventh-rank official caught up in a struggle between first-rank officials... what can he possibly do?

He didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

The surroundings were restored to the appearance of that cave abode, the one that Li Qi had rented, and even the surrounding furnishings remained unchanged.

However, the light of the universe remained stagnant, and an old man was now standing beside Li Qi.

"Li Qi... right?" he asked kindly.

Li Qi immediately stood up and bowed respectfully. "Qi greets the Grand Tutor."

His legs were shaking slightly.

In one day... he faced two top-ranking officials...

Moreover, it's possible that the sorcerer god might also come?

Oh no, my legs are too weak, I can't stand up.

The old man seemed to see through Li Qi's thoughts. "Don't worry, I'm just kidding him. I'm not so foolish as to let the witch god into Chang'an."

Li Qi couldn't help but groan.

Are you kidding me?

But then, the next sentence made Li Qi solemn.

The Grand Tutor said, "Sit down, let me tell you what just happened."