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Why do so many Dao Lineage know the answers to many questions, yet insist that their disciples seek the answers themselves, even at the cost of the premature death of many geniuses in the process?

That's because, on some matters, the answers you come up with through your own thinking are different from the answers you hear from others.

I heard it from someone and came to understand it at the time, but that will always be someone else's understanding.

Always.

"Foolish child, do you know that by listening to my words today, you have escaped the siege of the Heavenly Demon? But your path to the third rank will be a thousand times, ten thousand times more difficult."

"Li Qi understands, but... there are things I can't let go of." Demonic Energy Li Qi knelt before the Buddha, clasped his hands together, and said calmly.

He certainly knew what the consequences would be.

Information itself is contagious. People can only think based on their own level of cognition, which is the sum of all their experiences from birth to the present. People cannot understand things beyond their own cognition.

If I had to explain, it would probably be like this: if you understand, you understand; if you don't understand, you can't explain it to someone else.

Forcing an explanation only leads to a superficial understanding and can easily create Cognitive Obstruction.

What is the Cognitive Obstruction?

It's important to understand that once a person's knowledge reaches a certain level of depth and breadth, simply trying to re-understand even their own past knowledge in a new way requires tremendous effort, and may even be impossible.

This state of being bound by one's own knowledge is called the Cognitive Obstruction.

The stronger you are, the more extensive your knowledge, the stronger and more extensive your Cognitive Obstruction will be.

Countless powerful figures were bound by it, and in desperation, they chose to broaden their Dao Lineage and cultivate the younger generation, allowing these young people, who are free from Cognitive Obstruction and break through the barriers that their predecessors could not overcome.

"Things you can't let go of... Yes, your lover, your friends, everything you once had, you feel they are yours, but they never truly belonged to you," Amitabha Buddha said.

Upon hearing this, Demonic Energy Li Qi, let out a deep sigh.

Yes, Amitabha Buddha's words perfectly captured what Demonic Energy Li Qi, could never let go of.

Shen Shuibi, Zhu Fengdan, even Uncle Liu, Wave-Pushing Gang, Bo Yue, Liu Shenzhi, and the others... all appeared clearly in his memory.

He clearly remembered his past with them, their expressions during conversations, and the deep affection they shared.

But... those things never belonged to 'him'.

He was less than ten days old when he was born, and the things he thought he experienced never truly belonged to him.

From the perspective of the true 'self', he was merely experiencing an illusion; he was another person, another 'cause', and also the result of other 'causes'.

His relationship with Li Qi was not a relationship at all; they were simply "fate" to each other. They were two different causes intertwined, and they were both unique, not copies of each other.

From the perspective of time and causality, the Demonic Energy Li Qi... had never even seen Shen Shuibi.

But I'm not willing to accept it...

How could those memories be fake?

The Buddha told him to let go, to let go of everything, and to enter the Buddhist order.

But... I can't let it go.

It's not that simple. You can't just let it go like that. Ask the 'real Li Qi's and see if he can let it go.

What does the 'real Li Qi's feel like? That's what the Demonic Energy Li Qi feels right now.

Beneath his calm exterior lay indescribable pain.

This pain drove him to break free from the threat of the Heavenly Demon as soon as possible, even if his Dao Path was bound by the Cognitive Obstruction, and he might even face certain death in the future, so that he could do what he was supposed to do.

"Foolish child, your next step is to leave this place and pursue your worldly desires, isn't it?" Amitabha Buddha said to the Demonic Energy Li Qi.

"I dare not deceive the Buddha, this humble one truly has such intentions," Demonic Energy Li Qi replied respectfully, his hands clasped together.

"That's fine too. You're just an infant who accidentally gained memories, less than ten days old, and have never been to the mortal world. How can you escape it? Go and try, go and talk to the real 'Li Qi,' and do what you want to do," Amitabha Buddha said kindly.

The Buddha does not force anyone to do anything; everything is as one pleases, and one's Buddha-nature is inherent within.

The Tathagata has a great undertaking called "Awakening the World," which enables all beings in the world to become Buddhas and enlightened beings.

As a staunch supporter of the Buddha's great work, Amitabha Buddha has always believed that all sentient beings need to experience everything they are meant to experience in order to truly awaken.

The same applies to Demonic Energy Li Qi.

"Thank you, Buddha. Well then... I'll be on my way. I'm sorry to have troubled you, Buddha, by shaving my head in vain," Li Qi said apologetically.

As he spoke, he stood up, and his bald head was now covered with a thick, black head of hair.

At the seventh rank, limb regeneration is commonplace, and growing hair is naturally effortless.

"What use is it to cut off the hair on the head if the hair in your heart is not broken? Go, sever worldly desires and the karmic causes and effects of all lives, only then can you Sea of Suffering." Amitabha Buddha uttered a Buddhist sound with a buzzing tone.

Demonic Energy Li Qi bowed again.

He was about to leave.

Chang'an, Shangyuan.

Yu Zao watched Li Qi leave.

Everything has been agreed upon, and both parties have reached a cooperation agreement.

Li Qi successfully sold the first batch of Witchcraft Silkworm, and they were all grade seven production lines. The price was quite good, neither too high nor too low, and within the acceptable range for both parties.

The Miscellaneous School produced two Seventh Rank World, one of which has a unique specialty called the 'Singer'. It is a special individual of the local world race, appearing randomly, with an average occurrence cycle of about one every two hundred years.

Singers possess an exceptional talent for music, being born with the ability to hear almost all frequency bands of sound. Such special individuals are a 'specialty' of this world.

Specialty products don't necessarily have to be materials; Cultivation Method, local special social structures, or even the indigenous people themselves can all be called specialty products.

The sacred flames of the Sacred Flame Realm are also products of the natives' bodies.

No way.

Chang'an will not give those people 'fairness'; beneath the facade of Human Path prosperity lies great cruelty.

After leaving the Yu Zao, Li Qi returned to the literary gathering.

However, before they even arrived, just halfway there, Li Qi could already feel the oppressive atmosphere emanating from inside.

"Huh? They're fighting?" He looked up and realized something was wrong.

Just then, Liu Shenzhi was seen running out from inside, heading straight towards Li Qi's direction.

Judging from her appearance, she must have been looking for Li Qi. Now that she had found him, she didn't hesitate at all and ran straight towards him.

As an eighth-rank official, he accelerated and arrived in front of Li Qi in almost an instant.

"Li Qi! Where have you been! I haven't seen you around here. Never mind that, let's hurry inside, things are in chaos." Liu Shenzhi rushed over and pulled Li Qi, trying to lead him inside.

"Wait, don't rush to pull me in. What's going on inside?" Li Qi grabbed Liu Shenzhi, preventing him from moving.

We dared not go in casually; we had to first test the waters.

When Li Qi asked this question, Liu Shenzhi realized that rushing in like a headless fly was indeed useless.

So he stopped and began to tell Li Qi what had happened inside.

"Here's what happened: after that preliminary screening of calligraphers—"

Liu Shenzhi began to speak, and Li Qi listened attentively.

So, this is what happened.

The Trumpet Flower God did indeed do as she had been told.

Based on the competition results, she selected a calligrapher and asked them to copy the calligraphy individually.

Although it only captured a fraction of the spirit of the work, it still proved the existence of this magnificent piece of writing to everyone.

However, this made the scholars quite unhappy.

Based on Liu Shenzhi's observations and speculations, the reason was probably that they originally thought that the Trumpet Flower God.

However, when the article was published, everyone present was stunned and speechless.

This is actually a poem titled "Ode to the Trumpet Flower" written specifically for her!

The praise and effusive admiration far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Only then did everyone realize that the Trumpet Flower God hadn't come back to seek revenge after obtaining the treasure; rather, she had actually gotten in touch with Liu Donghe!

Then, the scene exploded.

Of course, everyone remained calm and didn't cause any disturbance; there was only a slight commotion, and the crowd quickly dispersed.

Some of the Hanlin scholars wanted to retreat, while others flocked to Liu Shenzhi's side.

Liu Donghe personally stated that no one would believe that Liu Shenzhi was not involved, since Liu Shenzhi's presence at the meeting speaks volumes.

All of this was within Liu Shenzhi's expectations.

Liu Shenzhi said to Li Qi, "The Trumpet Flower God tricked me, and I was naturally unwilling to let her do this, making it seem as if only she could scheme against others, so I set a trap for her in return."

Liu Shenzhi began to explain his actions.

It turns out that before the literary gathering began, Liu Shenzhi had already been spreading the news about the Witchcraft Silkworm intentionally or unintentionally in the surrounding area, and when the Trumpet Flower God was dancing, he also mentioned that he wanted to promote the Witchcraft Silkworm.

These events, taken together, although Liu Shenzhi didn't say anything outrageous or even anything suspicious, easily point to a conclusion—

It was Liu Shenzhi who wanted to instruct the Trumpet Flower God to promote the product, so he asked Liu Donghe for this article.

In fact, this is the truth.

Liu Shenzhi himself would never admit to this; if asked, he would simply say that he was stupid and that others had accidentally noticed it.

In this way, the nature of the matter changes.

The remaining scholars sneered twice, then fell silent and went back to continue attending the literary gathering.

After the literary gathering, the next step is naturally to write an article. With Liu Donghe's excellent work as a precedent, everyone should strive to catch up and write a good article to achieve their goal.

Some wanted to find a place to make a name for themselves, some wanted to show off in front of the Flower Goddess, some wanted to join the Hanlin scholars to build connections, some just wanted to get used to the occasion, and some came to suppress the Trumpet Flower God. But no matter what, it all came down to writing.

The Trumpet Flower God also announced the prize at this time.

She said that the person whose article is most loved by everyone can take away Liu Donghe's original work as a prize for this literary gathering.

As a result, everyone put in even more effort, except for a few fifth-rank Hanlin scholars who seemed to be pondering something.

It was at this moment that Liu Shenzhi understood why the Trumpet Flower God deliberately destroyed the paper. Besides making it more valuable and clearing herself of suspicion of collusion, she also knew that she had planned to give it away from the beginning, so she didn't care about it at all.

The benefits of giving it away are also obvious.

There is only one criterion for judging the winner of the literary contest: the opinion of the Trumpet Flower God.

In other words, if other people who had nothing to do with those Hanlin scholars wanted to obtain Liu Donghe's authentic works, they would naturally have to be hostile to those Hanlin scholars who were causing trouble, as their articles would conflict with each other's.

It must be said that the Trumpet Flower God Creeper is indeed very cunning.

At this point, Liu Shenzhi added, "Things were all going smoothly up to this point; the unexpected happened later."

He then continued his narration.

After that, the literary gathering began.

Everyone started writing.

However, almost everyone had written their answers in advance and brought them over; very few wrote them on the spot, as that would compromise the quality and make it impossible to carefully consider the wording.

Once everyone has finished writing, we can begin the feast.

With the Trumpet Flower God in attendance, the group engaged in drinking games, discussed literature and poetry, Discussing the Dao cultivation, drank fine wine, and enjoyed delicacies, creating a harmonious and lively literary gathering atmosphere.

It wasn't until after several rounds of drinks that everyone began to bring out their own writings for everyone to appreciate.

At first, it was fine. The works were mostly clumsy pieces from young scholars. Although they showed some talent, they were still immature. People gave brief comments, praised their talent, and occasionally made minor revisions before moving on.

For exceptionally talented young scholars, the Trumpet Flower God would personally come down to pour them wine and serve them drinks. There was even one scholar who, instead of writing essays, used poetry to describe the beauty of the Trumpet Flower. Because his poems were exceptionally beautiful, although somewhat ornate, they were sincere and heartfelt. He was even rewarded with a dance performed by the Trumpet Flower God on the spot. The atmosphere was jubilant, with one climax after another, and everyone was happy.

This is the rhythm and atmosphere of a normal literary gathering.

Unfortunately, today's meeting was not a regular literary gathering.

As time went on, some articles began to criticize, and even insult, the Trumpet Flower God.

At first, the Trumpet Flower God just smiled and quickly moved on. Although the atmosphere had cooled down a bit, she was adept at social maneuvering and soon reignited the excitement.

But... another round of drinking games passed, and this time, the turn came to a fifth-rank Confucian scholar from the Hanlin Academy.

His article begins with the statement. "Although the snow-capped mountains are pure white, with overlapping peaks and a cool summer, there are no lush plants for people to pick."

The meaning is very simple.

Although the snow-capped mountains are pure white and beautiful, with towering peaks and a cool climate in summer, they lack abundant flowers and plants for people to pick and have no vitality.

The meaning is already quite clear.

But the Trumpet Flower God remained smiling, unperturbed, and continued reading.

Then, it says below that there are many dead trees and flowers in the snow.

Two kinds of flowers grow there: snow plum and trumpet vine. The snow plum blooms in the snow, while the Trumpet Flower clings to the withered branches, trembling and not daring to peek out.

At this point, Li Qi had already guessed what the article was about.