Sudden Enlightenment (Happy New Year)

When it was fully light, Li Qi put away the Ghost Chariot and walked towards the center.

Here, not a trace of Yin Qi can be seen. A huge peach tree stands in the very center of the island, its branches and leaves stretching for thousands of miles, dancing in the wind, with leaves flying everywhere.

Li Qi walked on the tree roots, which were like roads.

This Great Peach Tree was simply a colossal pillar supporting the sky! If Li Qi hadn't seen it from a distance, he wouldn't have even realized he was standing under it. Its size was unbelievable; it was like being in the mountain itself and not recognizing its true form.

The enormous tree roots, some as large as a city, acted like dams blocking a section of a river. Yet, these roots, large enough to be called dams, were but a drop in the ocean compared to the entire tree.

From a distance, the reach of this giant tree's branches was even more extensive, exceeding even human vision. The massive branches forked to the left and right, stretching far out to both sides. Li Qi looked towards the edge of the branches and could only see more of these enormous branches around him. These branches were so wide that building a country on them would be no problem at all...

Walking on the tree roots, the surrounding rocks are riddled with huge cracks from which spring water gurgles. Trees grow in abundance, some towering and twisted, others even split in two by lightning. Vines intertwine, resembling green spider webs.

However, the scenery was also spectacular. Moreover, the tree was Great Peach Tree, and Li Qi could see many petals on the branches. The vast canopy, which stretched for three thousand miles, extended out in a true 'riot of colors'.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she tucked her sleeves into her hair, and red blossoms and green buds clustered at the fragrant banquet.

The morning sun faintly illuminates the clear sky, and people enter the mountains and walk among the birds.

Gazing at the flowing mist and clouds, the beauty is boundless, a scene of pure white light against the pink walls, red shadows on the branches, and delicate scenery.

Li Qi was quite satisfied with the scenery, but at the same time, he became increasingly puzzled.

During the day, it's all natural scenery.

At night, there is a Yin Qi aura.

How exactly was this switching accomplished? Did the Paoqiu Association also master this method, which is why they were able to move Elder Li around so silently?

Forget about it, it's all trivial. I already have that Ghost Chariot, I'll refine it and try using its ability to Ghost Chariot. I think the answer won't be too hard to find.

Thinking this, Li Qi quickened his pace, manipulated the wind, and soared into the air, drawing ripples in the sky. Stepping on the constantly falling peach petals, he quickly rushed towards the Great Peach Tree.

In this scene, with peach blossoms fluttering in the air and someone seemingly floating on top of the flowers, if seen by ordinary mortals, it would likely become another legend of a celestial being.

Unfortunately, there are no ordinary people on Duoshuo Mountain.

Li Qi could even see other escape lights and various flying magical Law Treasure. Most of these flying magical Law Treasure had a strong Reason Way style, which showed that everyone had their own things to do after disembarking and were completing their goals on Duoshuo Mountain. Li Qi was not conspicuous among them.

It's actually quite eye-catching, because walking on flowers and air looks cool, but it's actually very silly. Directly riding the escape light is much faster.

But there was no other way. Li Qi thought it looked cool this way. Anyway, it was only three thousand miles away, and it wouldn't take long. He just regretted not bringing Old Ma down with him.

I initially thought there might be danger, so I left Old Ma on the ship. Now I think it should be fine to bring him along. Theoretically speaking, Duoshuo Mountain should be quite safe for the members of our research ship, since he is protected by the divine light of the Fifth Rank Treasure Ship, and even the Ghost Market cannot harm him.

After drifting along for a Chen or two, Li Qi finally arrived at the center of Duoshuo Mountain, on the trunk of that Great Peach Tree.

Once you get here, you can't see the so-called 'main trunk' at all.

Li Qi felt as if he were in a huge forest, but this forest was three-dimensional, with tree trunks under his feet, tree trunks all around him, and tree trunks overhead.

The entire world is filled with woody elements, and massive amounts of Yang Energy and woody energy burst forth, making people feel uncomfortable all over.

Both wood energy and Yang Energy are symbols of vitality, but if they are too strong, they can make people feel like they are suffering from heatstroke.

Like the sun, it is pure Yang Energy condensed. When you are far away, it is the source of life; when you are close, it will burn you to death.

However, Li Qi was only a seventh-rank official, so although he was in pain, he was not in any danger.

Standing on the trunk of the Great Peach Tree, Li Qi closed his eyes and quietly felt the Yang Energy, wood energy, and the intense vitality emanating from the place.

That's amazing.

The Ghost Gate, an extremely yin place, possesses such intense Yang Energy.

It's like the Yellow Springs.

The Yellow Springs, though the source of the underworld, is also a source of intense Yang Energy. As mentioned before, "Under the Yellow Springs, all things are red."

Red represents the height of Yang energy, thus it is the Yin that arises from the extreme of Yang. (See Chapter 457 for details)

The principle of yin and yang complementing each other seems to be reflected in these places.

Even Yin Qi and Yang Energy, which are fundamentally contradictory attributes, can complement and generate each other. Li Qi felt that the Dao struggle within him should also be possible.

It's just like the Tai Chi diagram in Daoism.

Thinking about all this, Li Qi suddenly felt something operating.

Vital energy and Yang Energy continuously emanated from the Great Peach Tree.

The deathly and Yin Qi energies accumulated at the roots of the Great Peach Tree.

This is the cycle of life and death, just like the yin and yang fish rotating on the Tai Chi symbol.

"The Six Paths of Reincarnation, the cycle of life and death, the flow of yin and yang—is this related to the natural cycle pursued by Shaman Path? Are the four seasons of heaven also a kind of cycle?"

Li Qi fell into deep thought.

The four seasons of heaven, spring, summer, autumn and winter, can be said to be one of the foundations of the entire Shaman Path. When Li Qi first entered the ninth rank, he needed to collect the Qi of the Four Seasons and worship the gods of the four directions to obtain the corresponding seasonal qi in order to expand and stabilize his own human microcosm.

The cycle of the four seasons, the cycle of life and death, the cycle of yin and yang...

Rotation...

Li Qi suddenly felt a sense of awe from the 'Dao', and he seemed to clearly sense the process of the transformation of Yin and Yang energies.

Therefore, he immediately used the power of 'boundaries' to examine the 'boundaries' of this cycle of change.

Since there is a process of rotation, there must be a boundary of change, which is the boundary of the moment when spring, summer, autumn and winter change.

He sensed the existence of this cycle boundary.

He simply sat cross-legged on the ground and began to analyze, identify, think, and understand.

"So this is what reincarnation is all about." Li Qi suddenly realized that he had subconsciously overlooked a very important aspect of the path of cultivation.

The so-called cycle is not mysterious at all. On the contrary, the cycle is an extremely real and commonly used basic property of matter.

Even chopping wood and starting a fire is part of the transformation.

The human body is constantly converting food or other substances into the energy it needs.

Everything in the universe is constantly changing its form, because the essence of transformation is mutual influence.

That's right, 'mutual influence' is the essence of transformation. No matter can completely maintain itself; they will inevitably be influenced by other things around them, while at the same time, they themselves also influence other things.

The same applies to humans themselves; while humans are transforming nature, they are also being transformed by nature.

Of course, Human Path may have different views on this, but for Li Qi, a Shaman, this kind of mutual influence is a very natural and easy thing to understand.

In the mutual influence and rotation of all things, everything reaches a 'delicate balance', producing a kind of static within dynamics.

This delicate balance is what is known as 'the law'.

The four seasons of heaven and the five elements of earth are all like this.

If this mutual influence reaches a state that one desires...

As soon as Li Qi raised his hand, hundreds of thousands of wisps of energy suddenly appeared around him.

These energies are the raw materials. Li Qi has learned tens of thousands of Technique Method with various effects, but they are all essentially the same. They all use these energies as raw materials. Different energies have different properties, and when combined, they will have other properties, just like machines. As long as different mechanical modules are assembled together, all kinds of strange machines can be made.

The only difference is that machinery requires physical matter to assemble, while Technique Method can directly utilize the body's internal energy.

Similar to how ordinary people need to carry physical items like guns and ammunition when using a gun, a gun created directly through Technique Method can be hidden inside the body and summoned at any time through Technique Method.

The source of power is simply that large-scale engineering machinery is installed inside the body, and there is enough energy to drive these Technique Method. There is nothing mysterious about it. If a person can summon a dump truck anytime, anywhere, then he can also make his power come from within himself.

But that's not the point.

The key point is that the way these qi form Technique Method are produced is a wonderful consequence of 'mutual influence,' much like a chemical reaction that generates different products, which in turn have different effects.

Just now, Li Qi realized the subtle reaction caused by this mutual influence.

So he released the gas.

At the same time, the transformation of these energies begins. If the essence of this cycle is mutual influence, leading to a dynamic balance, then this could become an important means for Shaman Path.

As Shaman, Li Qi's methods and Technique Method are almost all based on the influence of Qi on the outside world. Shaman will use various methods to catalyze this Qi, so that it can have more additional effects on the outside world. For example, the typical method of making straw dolls is a Curse method. In fact, it is through the Qi of blood, hair and other things wrapped around the straw that it affects the main body of the Qi, which is one's own enemy.

Is this also part of the transformation?

Li Qi needs empirical evidence.

A massive amount of air filled the surroundings.

Spring brings life with its joyful atmosphere, autumn brings death with its anger, summer brings nourishment with its happiness, and winter brings storage with its sorrowful atmosphere. All four of these are present in both Celestial Person and man.

Things are influenced by qi (vital energy). The movement of spirit and qi is subtle, yet it can manifest in the following ways: eclipses of the sun and moon, rainbows appearing in the daytime, the five planets overlapping, the four seasons multiplying, water drying up and mountains collapsing, night light illuminating the day, stones sputtering and dogs succumbing to illness, summer frost and winter thunder. The movement of spirit and qi is subtle, hence the saying that heaven and man communicate through this.

Li Qi once again sensed the correspondence between the microcosm of the human body and the macrocosm of the outside world, and in the fusion and transformation of countless energies, he grasped a certain pattern.

Hundreds of thousands of wisps of energy floated around Li Qi, changing with Li Qi movements. Each of his actions produced different effects from the energy.

Hundreds of thousands of types of qi produced tens of millions of different effects. Li Qi's hands stirred these qi, constantly combining new qi, probing the different manifestations of the nature of 'flow', calculating and feeling the qi of the earth, the wind and thunder, the myriad qi flowing and taking shape, all things emerging, the Heart Qi, the qi of nature, the qi of life, the qi of the soul, the qi of spirit, the qi of the sky, the qi of the earth, the qi of mountains and rivers, the breath of man, which is the image of the interaction of hardness and softness, the opening and closing of heaven and earth, one bending and one stretching, interacting with each other, man is born from it, heaven and earth give birth to man and things without ceasing, the emptiness and the meridians, the image of rivers and valleys, this is the movement of yin and yang, movement is formed by one movement and one stillness.

Four Chen later, he opened his eyes and tentatively opened his hands.

Countless streams of energy, hundreds of thousands of different kinds, separated themselves, each wisp distinct and no longer causing any 'disturbance' or 'influence'. In other words, the flow of these streams of energy disappeared, and they became independent wisps of energy.

Immediately afterwards, Li Qi clasped his hands together.

With a loud bang, all the energy frantically merged, compressed, and even devoured each other!

The compressed air began to become chaotic, losing its original properties and transforming into another type of air that Li Qi was familiar with.

Martial Dao Inner Qi!

Li Qi the method of circulation to forcibly create Martial Dao Inner Qi!

However, this Martial Dao Inner Qi was completely uncontrollable, even more violent than the energy of any martial artist Li Qi had ever seen. He simply could not control it any longer. With a loud bang, a large amount of energy exploded and scattered in all directions, stirring up countless storms. Thunder resounded for dozens of miles around. The wind blades whipped up by the energy wave cut countless marks on the tree bark, but did not cut off a single tree trunk.

The burst of power from a seventh-rank cultivator was far from enough to destroy this Great Peach Tree.

But Li Qi laughed at this moment.

"Indeed, the Way of Flowing Qi can control and influence the nature of Qi, which has a considerable advantage in the construction of Technique Method. It's quite an unexpected gain. Observing the Ghost Gate up close like this is indeed rewarding. If I can master this method of flowing Qi, will I be able to comprehend the Way of Tai Chi?" Li Qi muttered to himself.

I guess I've learned something new, which is a good thing.

Having learned the principles of circulation, perhaps we can explore even more deeply in the future.

At that time, Tai Chi, the right timing, and even the deeper Dao should also appear.

Life is always full of unexpected surprises; it's always good to go out and see more of the world.

Now that we have harvested the fruit and reached the branches of the Great Peach Tree, let us begin the sacrificial ceremony.

With the altar prepared and the offerings taken out, Li Qi began the ritual of worshipping Shen Tu Yu Lei on the Great Peach Tree.

(Happy New Year, brothers! Wishing you a prosperous new year!)

(I'm taking the day off tomorrow. I've been feeling a bit foggy-headed lately, and I feel like my intelligence and energy have been severely depleted since I tested positive. I need to take some time to recover.)