Netherworld Constables
Li Qi felt he was very lucky.
Of course, it might not be good luck, but rather very bad luck.
Because he discovered that neither True Knowledge Dao Charm nor the naked eye could observe how this scene actually worked.
True Knowledge Dao Charm could not fathom the enormous Demon Dragon. Its status was too high, exceeding True Knowledge Dao Charm's level of observation, indicating that the Demon Dragon was at least a fifth-rank official in its previous life.
Li Qi did not attempt to force an observation; that would be fatal. Despite his daily interactions with those of equal rank five, it was precisely because of this that he was able to understand the power of rank five. A moth that tries to approach a flame is destined to perish.
However, it is impossible to observe with the naked eye. The naked eye can only see the light, as well as those mysterious fluctuations and runes, which gradually spread out from the Demon Dragon's body, connecting all the dragon Dragon Vein of the forty-nine cave heavens together to form a genuine 'earth dragon'. But that's all; you can only see the appearance and not the reality.
That's why Li Qi said he was lucky.
Three days ago, he finally gained a portion of what might be the ability of the Heavenly Eye, that is, the kind of information flow vision that can see through the essence of something.
At this moment, Li Qi realized that of all his senses, only his information flow vision could observe the changes in this Demon Dragon.
Hopefully, this is just a coincidence.
However, that's a story for later. At this moment, Li Qi is already clearly focused on the resurrection process.
Mysterious runes gradually lit up on the Demon Dragon's body, Li Qi could see that many 'components' were piecing themselves together.
Resurrection is an extremely difficult and taboo matter.
Li Qi had heard a story.
It refers to Shaman within the Human Path.
The book records. "At that time, there was a sorceress named Cai who bewitched the masses with her supernatural powers, claiming that she could bring the dead back to life. The people in the market believed her to be a deity. When the officials investigated and found her to be false, they petitioned to exile her to the border. A wise man said: 'If the dead do not come back to life, then it is a deception; if the dead are brought back to life, then it is an even greater sin.'"
This is enough to illustrate how taboo this kind of thing is.
Almost all Dao Path have some concerns about this.
The dead coming back to life is not reincarnation. Reincarnation is simply entering the cycle of reincarnation again, retaining only the mind. However, your previous life truly died and became part of the cycle of reincarnation.
The dead must be brought back to life by resisting reincarnation and escaping from the fundamental order of all the heavens and myriad realms, just as one would escape from the starry sky.
The starry sky was originally an order created by the Star Official.
For Li Qi, this was practically nonsense; there was no way he could do such a thing.
However, for the stronger party, there might be a chance to exploit loopholes.
However, only in such a situation could Li Qi clearly see that 'boundary'.
The boundaries between big and small, between groups and individuals, or between fast and slow—these boundaries all exist, but they are all too small for Li Qi to observe; he doesn't have that level of expertise.
Only things at the level of the boundary between life and death can have such a vast difference, such a dramatic transformation, so that it can produce sufficiently conspicuous traces for Li Qi to observe.
He is ready.
Clearly, the Demon Dragon was also ready.
It's unclear what level of power erupted, but the entire Imperial Academy was suddenly enveloped in a terrifying energy field!
Amidst the darkness and lightning, a dragon rose up, fueled by rage, and roared as it ascended!
The dragon's roar echoed for dozens of miles, Sravaka through the long river, causing the river to flow backward!
A crimson aura appeared in the northwest, and purple qi came from the east in the southeast. The two auras roared and surged toward Chang'an!
The Azure Heaven roared with thunder, and the majestic pheasant raised its head and crowed wildly.
Within a radius of three thousand miles, all the roosters raised their heads high and crowed to greet the sun, echoing the thunder in the sky.
However, these are all superficial. In the past, Li Qi might have focused on examining these special effects and trying to find the hidden symbols and secrets within them, but now he has a more intuitive understanding.
The information flow clearly reveals the entire process of a mind being resurrected from a state of death.
However, it has already attracted strong attention even before it has reached the threshold of resurrection.
Not far away, the Dharma body of the Imperial Academy Jijiu unfolded.
"What kind of monster are you!" A woman's angry roar was accompanied by the phantom of a ruler.
It seems that the Dharma body was not the real Imperial Academy Jijiu, but rather the Dharma body that Li Qi had seen earlier, which was transformed from the ruler.
Li Qi ignored the ruler.
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter.
This ruler... is not a threat.
Li Qi continued to watch the process from death to life, countless streams of information leaving traces in his mind.
Information flow perspective does not rely on the naked eye or brain, nor on the five aggregates, nor even on the spirit. This is purely mental observation, the observation of the material world by the 'spiritual entity'.
This world seems to be divided into two parts.
One part consists of things that operate at the lower level, similar to information flow, while the other part consists of the physical entities that we normally see.
The two coexist and together constitute this world.
Li Qi felt this particularly deeply at this moment.
The ruler reached out, but was knocked away by an invisible force. A serious female figure could be seen flickering within the ruler, seemingly quite surprised.
But it wasn't a rebel, nor was it the power of Demon Dragon; it was another kind of strange existence.
At the same time, the situation that Li Qi had anticipated also occurred.
The surrounding space was distorted.
The Black Mist slowly emerged, like mercury or silt, engulfing the area where Li Qi was located.
The area covered by this Black Mist was dark and Xuan Ming, where hibernating insects hid, vegetation withered, and a strange, eerie Yin Qi emanated from it.
Amidst this Yin Qi, an iron city faintly appeared.
The city gates stood majestically, shrouded in Black Mist!
There were many guards, all with Ox-Head -headed faces, blue bodies and dark hair, each holding a spear or halberd, some sitting and some standing on either side of the gate.
Li Qi watched this scene closely.
As expected, the resurrection of a high-level expert will inevitably attract the attention of the underworld officials.
But that's exactly what's needed.
The underworld, or rather, the netherworld, reincarnation—whatever the name, it's bound to conflict with the mortal world.
Li Qi had never seen the underworld, nor could he possibly have, unless he died.
But now is the time to see a part of the underworld.
The underworld and the world of the living merge!
A clash between life and death!
That boundary will be highlighted in this collision, making it exceptionally clear to Li Qi that he can see it all without missing a single detail!
Li Qi had no intention of intervening, nor was he inclined to help the Demon Dragon revive.
There's no need for that. His life or death is meaningless to Li Qi. All Li Qi needs to do is observe. Whether he lives or dies, he will use the last spark and ripples of his life to illuminate Li Qi's path to progress.
He remained as steady as a mountain, sitting cross-legged in place, observing, recording, and thinking intently.
Shaman are inherently neutral figures who stand aloof from the crowd.
They adjudicate conflicts between Heaven, Earth, Humanity, Spirits, Ghosts, and mediate contradictions among them, always remaining at the center, indifferently observing other beings.
Shaman are scales, bridges; they care about only one thing: that through their judgments, they can lead the world to a better future.
That future is a world where the Great Source of the World is incredibly powerful, and all life is like Innate Spirits. Everyone is a producer, able to create things through their own existence, rather than consuming other things to sustain their own existence.
The entire path of witchcraft is built upon this vision.
Therefore, Li Qi maintained this mindset at this moment, even though he had orchestrated this resurrection himself.
However, he only gave it a push, providing the Demon Dragon with an opportunity.
I'll give you a chance to be resurrected in exchange for a chance to witness a ceremony.
It was so fair that no one could find fault with it. Although this opportunity was forcibly granted, I suppose this Demon Dragon wouldn't refuse it.
If he could refuse, he wouldn't have chosen this method to maintain his possibility of resurrection in the first place.
Li Qi continued to observe, when suddenly he saw two ghost messengers, with ferocious appearances, walk straight up to him, one holding a lock in one hand and an imperial edict in the other, and loudly proclaim. "The underworld is pursuing you, and no idlers are allowed to enter!"
After speaking, they posted the edict in the air.
An invisible barrier was erected, isolating everything from the outside world, but Li Qi was still inside the barrier.
Li Qi was stunned.
This... isn't this a trick of Shaman Path? He used it just a few days ago, drawing a map and then easily blocking all the surrounding paths.
Is there any involvement of Shaman Path in the cycle of reincarnation?
It's not that unacceptable, after all...
The Great Earth Shamanic God is the one who shoulders the cycle of reincarnation. Li Qi personally witnessed that giant carrying the entire cycle of reincarnation and then using Shang Ritual to dispel the negative Yin Qi within it, thus maintaining the existence of reincarnation.
In other words... Shaman Path actually had a hand in the cycle of reincarnation?
Li Qi kept observing, a few thoughts surfacing in his mind.
Then, they saw dozens of underworld messengers step out from within the Iron City and rush towards the Demon Dragon.
A Yaksa ripped open his chest with a blade, an Ox-Head smashed his heart with a hammer, and Long-Tongued Ghost bound the Demon Dragon's body.
The Demon Dragon was besieged, skinned, stabbed, had its heart ripped out, and Demon Dragon eyes gouged out, but it did not wake up. Although it cried out in pain and resentment, its voice was earth-shattering, but it did not react in any other way.
However, the crimson and purple qi from all around also began to swarm in.
Furthermore, the Demon Dragon let out a low roar.
Dragons have the ability to unleash thunder.
Li Qi murmured, "Zhen is in Kun Kun, hence the saying 'thunder emerges from the earth.' Thunder is Yang Energy, and also refers to the dragon. After the summer solstice, Yang Energy reaches its peak and yin energy is born. Yin and yang clash, and thus thunder is produced..."
The thunder's roar was so swift, it resembled a dragon leaping and bounding.
A Demon Dragon appeared in the sky, taking shape with the help of the wind and clouds, embodying Yang Energy and bestowing life and light upon those below.
Black Mist billowed from within the Iron City, its Yin Qi dark and gloomy, obscuring the sunlight, as it confronted the Dharma form of the Wind and Cloud Dragon!
The battle has begun.
The battle between life and death has begun.
This is a tug-of-war, with the underworld messengers trying to pull the Demon Dragon to the side of 'death,' while the Demon Dragon's Dharma form is exactly the opposite.
Li Qi is theoretically qualified to be a referee, but he is not qualified at the moment and can only be a spectator.
We've seen enough of the special effects; it's time to focus on the essence.
Countless streams of information are being combined.
Li Qi didn't find anything particularly special for the time being, but he could sense a strange phenomenon.
It's like a jigsaw puzzle.
Forty-nine different living beings cut themselves in half and pieced themselves back together.
This caused confusion for Li Qi.
Forty-nine different living things were pieced together to become dead things, and then they were about to become living things again.
What's going on?
What does 'alive' mean?
But those forty-nine living beings, that is, forty-nine caves that still retain their vitality, have no mind; they are merely shells that are not quite dead yet.
It's like a frog's leg being cut off in a laboratory; it can move, it's not dead, but it's not really alive either, it has no mind.
This gave Li Qi a strange feeling.
He previously believed that a person is composed of both the physical body and the mental and spiritual aspects of being.
But if that's the case, then what about those forty-nine grotto-heavens, like now?
Given the current situation, what is the mind if it is in the physical body?
If we say that the mind of life is like a bee attached to a hive, then consciousness, for life, and even for species and the continuation of life, is like shoes for a person—just a means, a possibility.
Therefore, one could even say that the mind of life is a narcissistic thing, daring to claim itself as the species itself even though it is parasitic on the species.
Look at those Savage Beasts, those wild animals that depend on the laws of the Dao. They can reproduce and even reach a very high level, but they obviously don't have the concept of 'mind'. Their actions are entirely based on a specific set of rules, and everything they do is a reaction to those rules.
Or, to use a more extreme example, a robot with completely independent action capabilities, or, as the world calls it, a puppet.
High-level puppets are almost indistinguishable from True Person. These puppets can speak, react, and are more intelligent and decisive than many True Person. They even have emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. However, it is clear that they do not have 'mind', or what Li Qi now considers 'spiritual entities'.
So, what is the core logic behind their usual reactions and judgments? They have no mind, no spiritual entity, but they possess the same capacity for thought as humans.
Can these puppets be considered alive?
Seeing this scene of resurrection, some of Li Qi's doubts were answered, but more doubts followed.
However, those doubts are things that need to be resolved in the future.
We don't even need to wait until the future; if we clarify the 'boundaries' today, we might figure it out tonight.
Li Qi raised his head and took a deep breath.
The battle between the underworld officials and the Demon Dragon has reached its climax!
The tug-of-war between life and death is becoming increasingly fierce.
The forty-nine grotto-heavens gradually merged into one, and then transformed into a complete microcosm of the human body.
Immediately afterwards, this miniature world within the human body came to life—
Li Qi immediately widened his eyes and focused all his attention on it!
Here it comes!
Under Li Qi's gaze, the small world within the human body suddenly took shape, and then flesh and blood sprouted. A Demon Dragon rose out of thin air, and the Dharma image that was fighting with the underworld officials in the sky solidified instantly, with its eyes bursting out with complete light!
At the same time, Li Qi also saw it.
The moment from death to life!
Information has flowed, and dramatic changes have occurred!
In that instant, the nature of life and the nature of information flow underwent tremendous changes!
The boundary has been found!