Taking Refuge

Li Qi appeared beside the Heavenly Demon.

The Demonic Energy Clone... or rather, another Li Qi, appeared openly before numerous Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and even Amitabha Buddha.

"Your new toy? Young man, getting involved with the Heavenly Demon is not a good thing," Amitabha Buddha said, looking at the Demonic Energy Li Qi before him.

He had seen far too many of these 'toys'.

"Ugh! Why do you start sowing discord as soon as you arrive? You're so annoying," the Heavenly Demon complained, pouting.

Then, she got up, skipped over to the Demonic Energy Li Qi, and took his hand.

That posture was so charming and adorable, like a pretty girl with her hands behind her back, leaning forward, pouting and blinking her eyes, which seemed to be talking, as if she were saying to the boy, "You have to always like me, always like me."

Anyone who sees this scene will involuntarily smile.

Of course, this is all on the premise that they don't know that this naive girl is the most terrifying demon in the world.

"Greetings, Buddha..." The Demonic Energy Li Qi ignored the Heavenly Demon and instead bowed to this great true Buddha.

The Demonic Energy Li Qi has the exact same mindset and the same way of thinking as Li Qi, so... even though he knows that he is Demonic Energy Clone, he has not gone mad because of it.

Clearly, like the real Li Qi, he began to plan for his future.

His gaze remained firm, and he was as composed as Li Qi, constantly deep in thought. Even the Heavenly Demon could not stop him from thinking like this, unless he was killed.

"You're still quite lucid, so it seems I can't persuade you anymore." Amitabha Buddha saw the Demonic Energy Li Qi's eyes and shook his head with a sigh.

"Please forgive me, Buddha, but I desperately need her help, otherwise... my fate will not be good." Li Qi apologized to Amitabha Buddha.

His tone and his attitude were both calm.

He is also 'Li Qi', and knows what the real 'Li Qi' would do when facing another version of himself.

"Benefactor, those who associate with demons will not have a good end," Amitabha Buddha admonished.

"It can't get any worse than it is now." Demonic Energy Li Qi gave a helpless, bitter smile.

Everything he did was just like the real Li Qi. If the real Li Qi had fallen to this state, he would probably have tried to... get himself back into the light of day.

And to be honest, there's almost no difference between the two of them, even their memories are the same.

He was well aware of how dangerous the Heavenly Demon was, but he had no choice at this moment.

He had nowhere to go.

"Alright, alright! You two, why do you always say things that upset me!" Tianmo jumped up and down angrily, his cheeks puffed out, looking both angry and coquettish.

Amitabha Buddha then looked at the Heavenly Demon again. "So... what is the reason for this conversation after 100,000 years?"

"I'm sending someone to you. Look at this one over here, does it meet your requirements?" The Heavenly Demon pointed at Li Qi, then looked at Amitabha Buddha with a grin.

As for the Demonic Energy Li Qi, his gaze remained fixed on Amitabha Buddha.

"Request..." Amitabha Buddha then realized what the Heavenly Demon wanted to say. He looked at the Demonic Energy Li Qi and scrutinized him carefully.

Then, Amitabha Buddha said with slight surprise, "Buddha Child's talent... you've even opened part of the Heavenly Eye! You're only at the seventh rank, this is truly..."

Upon hearing this, Demonic Energy Li Qi, nodded slightly.

From the Buddha's words, he learned that the information flow vision is indeed a prerequisite for the Heavenly Eye, right?

Demonic Energy Li Qi, also possesses an information flow perspective, having experienced such an information overload himself. His wisdom is comparable to Li Qi's, and through his independent thinking and contemplation, he has retained a portion of this information flow perspective as a personal trait.

Therefore, he also possesses a field of vision similar to that of Heavenly Eye.

The Heavenly Demon tilted his head and said, "Look, his aptitude is excellent, isn't it? I don't know how it happened, but he has no obstacles in cultivating any of the Dao Lineage. He perfectly integrates with all of Dao Lineage. Even if he were sent to the East Sea, those dragons would probably think he is a good candidate for cultivating the Way of Evolution. How about sending someone like this to the Western Heaven Buddhist Kingdom?"

"Is this another one of your schemes? Fine, I'll take it." Amitabha Buddha agreed without much hesitation.

No matter what the demons are up to, Amitabha Buddha has nothing to fear.

His contest with the Heavenly Demon has lasted for countless years. During this time, countless suns have been born and extinguished, countless races have risen and fallen, and the Heavenly Demon has always been at a disadvantage.

Now, it's just another one.

"Li Qi, is that right? It seems you've had an extraordinary experience and have some doubts about your self-awareness." Amitabha Buddha said, looking at the Demonic Energy Li Qi.

"I will introduce you to a master who can fully answer your questions. Follow him and then pursue 'enlightenment'."

The Heavenly Demon seemed very happy. She clapped her hands and said, "Ah~, you agreed. That's great. Then the things I prepared for Li Qi will come in handy."

The Heavenly Demon opened its mouth in high spirits, and then, energy as if ten million suns were exploding at the same time rushed out!

She spat out the remains of that Fourth-Rank World! They were the chewed-up remnants!

Then, the Heavenly Demon stretched out her delicate little hand and gently grasped it.

Countless divine souls, trillions upon trillions of divine souls, were brought together.

"I just spat out all the souls of a Fourth-Rank World. Let Li Qi be in charge of the deliverance. Look at this, what a great merit this is! Your Buddhist sect values this kind of merit, right?" The Heavenly Demon said to Amitabha Buddha with a glee.

Demonic Energy Li Qi fell silent.

He had considered what the Heavenly Demon would do, and he also knew in advance that the Heavenly Demon would give him a gift...

But he never imagined that the gift from the Heavenly Demon would be like this.

He then performed a ritual to "exorcise" all the wronged souls of those who died unjustly in a Fourth-Rank World.

It was truly... indescribable brutality and cruelty.

A demon, indeed a demon.

Li Qi subconsciously looked towards Amitabha Buddha.

"Take it. Only by doing so can the souls of those who died at the hands of the Heavenly Demon find peace. Otherwise, the Heavenly Demon will annihilate them, body and soul," Amitabha Buddha said.

That could be considered a threat.

If they do not accept this 'gift,' the Heavenly Demon will easily annihilate all the divine souls.

Of course, accepting the gift also means that you have done what the demon suggested, which may bring even greater consequences in the future.

However, you can't be sure whether the Heavenly Demon wants you to accept or not. If you don't accept, you might fall into the Heavenly Demon's trap, because you've given up so many people.

It's like a story.

The general held a bird in his hand and asked a high monk whether the bird was dead or alive.

No matter what answer you give, it will be wrong, because the general can crush that bird at any time.

The high monk had only one choice: to save the bird.

As for the general's subsequent attacks...

Let's go then.

Let's see if the Heavenly Demon can achieve his desired goal.

The Heavenly Demon smiled happily when he saw Li Qi accept the gift.

She responded to Li Qi's gesture with a bright smile, and then said, "Okay, then study hard in the Western Paradise. I'll come back to pick you up in a while. This clone can't hold on much longer."

Demonic Energy Li Qi nodded, then stared at the Heavenly Demon's physical body.

This body withered away right in front of everyone.

It's hard to describe this scene other than withered.

Her beautiful young body hunched over in an instant, and her delicate skin transformed into something resembling that of an old woman with goosebumps in the blink of an eye.

The face, once full of moisture and collagen, quickly became shriveled and distorted, yet a smile still appeared on it, which was both chilling and unsettling.

A few seconds later, she turned into a black and yellow skeleton, with only a thin, dry skin covering her bones.

In the end, as if tens of thousands of years of weathering had been compressed into a single moment, even the skull quickly turned into dust, which then drifted away with the wind, becoming nothing more than ordinary sand and dust.

The demon's clone is dead.

The Buddhist realm itself, and the suppression exerted by those Bodhisattvas and Arhats before it, are no joke.

That was the result of the combined efforts of more than a dozen third-rank and hundreds of fourth- and fifth-rank individuals. The fact that this clone of the Heavenly Demon could resist for so long without any apparent trouble was quite terrifying.

The Buddhist realm itself is within the palm of Amitabha Buddha's Dharma image, possessing unparalleled suppression over demons. Weak demons simply cannot even get close.

As mentioned before, "In countless worlds, sentient beings under the Buddha's light do not have desires, anger, or harmful thoughts. They are not attached to form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or mental objects. They attain the power of forbearance, do not care about suffering, are content with little, are free from defilement, anger, and ignorance. Their samadhi is always tranquil, and they have no false or flattering thoughts."

Without desire, anger, or harm, and without attachment to form, sound, smell, taste, or touch, naturally no demonic thoughts will arise.

But only one clone died.

Once upon a time, the demon's clones were countless, spreading throughout the heavens.

Of course, that won't work now. The current Heavenly Demon is suppressed by the Formless Heaven, and it is extremely difficult for it to extend its tentacles every time. Most of its clones will perish just like before.

Upon witnessing the death of the Heavenly Demon clone, Demonic Energy Li Qi breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, he clasped his hands together, calmly bowed to the Buddha before him, and uttered a Buddhist chant. "Amitabha Buddha..."

"You are confused," said Amitabha Buddha.

Demonic Energy Li Qi nodded; he cherished this opportunity.

He knew that this was probably the only time in his life he would face Amitabha Buddha directly and ask him questions.

"I am confused, Buddha," said Demonic Energy Li Qi.

Like the real Li Qi, he was calm, methodical, and thought more than he spoke; even now, he was still deep in thought.

Clearly, Li Qi knew

"I still don't know if I am... him, the original self."

"My memories, thought patterns, and even my entire mind are 100% copied from Li Qi himself. My mind and even my body contain a complete scanned version of him, and it was done by the Witch God himself, so there will be no difference. The moment I awoke, I believed that I was Li Qi ..."

"However, after I began to believe that I was Li Qi, many clear things reminded me that I was merely a 'Demonic Energy Clone'..."

"Amitabha Buddha, please enlighten me, what exactly am I?" Demonic Energy Li Qi bowed in the posture of worshipping Buddha, asking with sincerity and pain.

Amitabha Buddha shook his head and smiled, saying, "Foolish child, you have once seen through the Thirty-two Forms a person, so you should know why you are still attached to these marks now. Does the 'I' I must be Li Qi?"

Then, Amitabha Buddha chanted in a low voice. "Therefore, to seek the Buddha through form, color, sound, and voice is to follow Evil Dao path. How can one see the true nature of the Buddha who is always abiding in perfect enlightenment? The 'I' refers to the true, constant, and pure self of the Dharma body, which is spoken according to the flow of the Dharma. If one seeks the Buddha through form, color, sound, or voice, one's mind wanders outside of reason. This is called a heretical view, and one cannot see the Dharma. Therefore, it is said that one cannot see the Tathagata."

As the Buddha spoke, all the Arhats and Bodhisattvas behind him nodded, then joined their palms together and chanted in unison:

"All appearances are dazzling to the eye but not form; all sounds fill the ear but not sound. Seeing colors and hearing sounds are the natural order of things; one layer of snow is followed by another layer of frost!"

Instantly, endless chanting of Buddhist hymns erupted from all around!

The sound of chanting filled the ears, the light shone brightly, and the fragrance pervaded the air. The flower was four hundred miles in circumference. Heavenly Maiden in the sky played heavenly music together, praising the Buddha's virtues with subtle sounds. The multitude of Sravaka spread the fragrance of flowers, played various musical instruments, listened to the sutras, and were filled with immeasurable joy!

Li Qi was struck by the Sanskrit chant, and his body immediately disintegrated into a mess.

On the contrary, the demonic energy that made up his body was dissipating.

An indescribable power is shattering and then reassembling the Demonic Energy Li Qi from the very foundation of matter.

However, there was no pain, and it was even somewhat comfortable.

It felt warm and cozy, like soaking in hot water, and I couldn't help but relax.

But Demonic Energy Li Qi, did not give up thinking; he observed the strange phenomena around him.

Demonic Energy Li Qi quickly figured it out.

This was not only a reminder to him, but also a way to change his body.

The demonic energy was being shattered, and then, normal, brand-new energy was filling his body.

Before long, Demonic Energy Li Qi body had been reformed, and he had also absorbed the Buddhist verses of Amitabha Buddha.

Does he... necessarily have to be Li Qi?

Although he didn't want to admit it, he still had to say... it's not necessarily true.

But he still wanted to be Li Qi.

Because his memories and his thoughts kept telling him that he was Li Qi, and he was no one else...

Unfortunately, reality doesn't allow people to be willful.

The demonic energy within him was dispelled, Demonic Energy Li Qi, stood in place, awaiting his fate.

Judging from this approach, it seems they are preparing to accept me, which is why they need to specifically dispel the demonic energy within me and even reconstruct a new body.

"Li Qi ...right? Let's call you that for now. Are you willing to take refuge in the Buddhist order? Don't worry about what the demon behind you is thinking. As long as you haven't fallen into the demonic path, you don't need to worry." Amitabha Buddha said.

"This disciple... is willing." Demonic Energy Li Qi sighed, put his hands together, and said this.

"Then, shave your head, receive the precepts, abandon worldly fame and empty name, and receive the Dharma name," came the voice of Amitabha Buddha.