Talking to Himself

The Demonic Energy Clone had been plotting for an unknown amount of time, expending countless efforts, and using up all its wisdom and abilities, all for this moment.

He had already foreseen that Li Qi would inevitably choose to ultimately advance to the demonic path. He had been maneuvering and maneuvering among various forces all along the way, just to lead Li Qi here.

He is the mastermind behind everything. Although Heaven's Will is also important, he is the one who guides Heaven's Will.

Ultimately, it was all to force Li Qi to abandon all his previous limitations and be forced to advance through the demonic path!

Moreover, he didn't actually attack Shen Shuibi at all. He made the Demon Prince say those words just to provoke Li Qi.

That's... a rabbit.

How could he bear to harm a rabbit?

He still 'remembers' the things they went through together.

It is precisely because he remembers these things that he is Li Qi, and not some Demonic Energy Clone.

He was Li Qi, so he racked his brains, abandoned all his bottom lines, used every means at his disposal, and painstakingly deduced a result.

He knew he was a cautious person, but this caution also made him passive; most of the time, he chose to step back and watch others make their moves.

He would never use the things he learned, those methods that he could directly read through True Knowledge Dao Charm.

Cautious and conservative are Li Qi's characteristics. He is like a hamster, hiding these methods before he can fully digest them. He is content with just getting by and doesn't need to pursue anything too good.

Li Qi is the kind of person who saves his favorite things for last. If there's a strawberry on a cake, he'll definitely eat the last one.

Li Qi, the Demonic Energy Li Qi, was fully aware of all of this. He understood himself better than anyone else and knew what choices he would make under what circumstances.

Li Qi can be considered a wise man, capable of planning the future of a world. His comprehension and planning abilities are quite remarkable. Although he cannot compare to those great beings who can manipulate the heavens and scheme about the endless world situation, he can be considered top-tier within his rank.

Li Qi is like this, then 'he' is naturally the same.

Therefore, he controlled everything, ultimately leading to the current outcome.

He even knew that this was what the Heavenly Demon wanted him to do; the Heavenly Demon wanted Li Qi to willingly become a demon, and he was just a pawn.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

He himself was made of pure demonic energy and knew Li Qi's body structure and all his origins perfectly. He knew every detail, including the Dao foundation, as clearly and easily as if he could see the lines on the palm of his hand. Therefore, it was only natural for him to merge into Li Qi's small world at this moment, without the slightest sense of sluggishness.

Even though Amitabha Buddha cleansed the demonic energy from his body, he still chose to fall back into the demonic path in order to successfully possess Li Qi's body.

He entered the sixth rank of the demonic path even earlier than the real Li Qi! He had already fallen into demonic possession during the last battle with the Demon Prince!

Possession seems to have become a settled matter.

But at this moment, Li Qi suddenly activated his cultivation, locking down the inner and outer worlds of his body, completely sealing off his consciousness and cultivation! He seemed to have made preparations!

This is a very dangerous thing, because the Demon Prince is still nearby. By doing this, Li Qi has completely given up all his ability to protect himself and entrusted his life to the Demon Prince.

If the Demon Prince harbors ill intentions, then Li Qi will die here immediately.

However, to be honest...

Li Qi believed in the Demon Prince. Even though he was a member of the demonic path, Li Qi's sixth sense told him that the Demon Prince would never lay a hand on someone who had lost the ability to resist.

And that is indeed the case.

The Demon Prince coughed twice, spitting out a bunch of blood. His bamboo staff almost shattered, but since it was formed from the Daoist essence of the Earth Mother, something he had specially found to compensate for his physical and mental deficiencies, it could still maintain its shape for the time being.

Then, he patted the black jade tiger pendant at his waist.

A black jade tiger leaped out from it.

It's actually a fifth-rank!

This jade pendant belongs to the Demon Prince's protector!

However, the Demon Prince did not command the tiger to do anything, nor did he speak. Instead, he leaned against the black jade tiger, closed his eyes, and began to rest.

It's a pity we can't see the battle between two wise men, but... Li Qi was actually prepared for the invasion long ago, that's impressive, I couldn't have thought that far ahead.

But you should know the result after you wake up from a good night's sleep, right?

As for the loss this time... well, he lost. He's not one to be a sore loser; as long as he didn't die, that's fine.

I learned a lot this time, so I'll go find the Little Heavenly Master next time.

After all, he made a promise to the Heavenly Demon: to defeat ten people in a row, accumulate momentum, and ascend to the sixth rank with an overlord-like demeanor as the foundation for his Dao...

You've underestimated everyone. You still need to work hard. If Li Qi is this good, then it must be difficult to beat the others, right?

Unfortunately, they lost the first match, but thankfully no one knew.

The Demon Prince closed his eyes to rest...

At the same time--

Li Qi's consciousness sat upright at the head of the human body's microcosm, the top of the sky, the abode of the sun, Sun Moon Heavenly God.

Dark demonic energy quietly spread here and then condensed into the appearance of another Li Qi.

"Sigh, I was right." Li Qi raised his head and looked at himself, which was formed from demonic energy.

Back then, the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood nearly killed him, so he had to try to transfer his entire mind into his Demonic Energy Clone, wanting to temporarily abandon his original body, act as the Demonic Energy Clone, and then break the seal of the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood from the outside.

However, the result was that he did not transmit his mind, but instead copied his mind, giving birth to this Demonic Energy Li Qi, who possessed a body personally replicated by the Witch God and a mind copied by Li Qi himself.

From a material point of view, he and Li Qi are exactly the same.

Of course, Li Qi, who is now able to see the world from the perspectives of information and causality, can clearly distinguish the difference between the two.

Therefore, he had been trying to figure out where the Demonic Energy Clone had escaped to and had made many contingency plans, which were now proving useful.

The Demonic Energy Clone also sat down, facing Li Qi's mind, and said, "Yes, but I wasn't wrong. You no longer have the strength to defeat me. As long as I cover your consciousness, then I will be the real Li Qi."

"This is difficult. You calculated very accurately. I really can't kill you right now, but you can't do anything to me either." As Li Qi spoke, lotus flowers suddenly rose around him, protecting his mind.

The Demonic Energy Clone frowned slightly. He could tell, of course, that this was Buddhist energy protecting him—the Buddhist energy of the Medicine King Buddha ...

Are the Buddhas watching this place?

Is this also part of Heaven's Will?

The Demonic Energy Clone and Li Qi's thoughts were almost synchronized, with no difference between them. Therefore, they could even guess what the other was thinking, just like a person asking and answering their own questions.

However, out of caution, Li Qi still decided to communicate with the other party.

What you think is ultimately your own thought, and it may not necessarily be the same as what the other person thinks. Even if it is the same, you still need to confirm it before making a decision.

Clearly, Li Qi thought this way, and the Demonic Energy Clone naturally thought the same way.

Both sides decided to communicate verbally instead of playing their own games with phrases like "I guessed it" and "I guessed it too."

Then, the Demonic Energy Clone said, "Yes, it seems that the two of us are trapped here now. You have locked me here, but since I am here, you can't get out either. You have just advanced, and your small world is unstable. If you show yourself, I will devour you."

"So, what do you mean, stuck here? Waiting for rescue? Let's see if they can tell the two of us apart?" the Demonic Energy Clone laughed.

Li Qi shook his head. "We need to wait for rescue, but not for those strange and unusual things, but for Yu'er."

Upon hearing those two words, the Demonic Energy Clone suppressed its smile and stared coldly at Li Qi.

"Alright, let's not talk about Yu'er anymore. Why don't we exchange ideas? After all, no matter how similar we are, we are still two different people." Li Qi appeared more composed than the Demonic Energy Clone, showing no sense of urgency about being possessed.

Seeing his expression, the Demonic Energy Clone wanted to get angry, but it knew what would happen if it did, so it shook its head and sighed, "Indeed, we should have a talk. However, the topic of our talk shouldn't be our experiences, but rather what happened to each of us. So, who should we start with?"

"Let's start with you, since you're the one who initiated this," Li Qi said.

The Demonic Energy Clone nodded. Neither of them had any objections, nor did they care who spoke first, so the Demonic Energy Li Qi spoke first.

He said, "Well, after we parted ways, I encountered the Heavenly Demon, and he took me to the Desire Realm."

"In the Desire Realm, I experienced some things, and my cultivation improved at a similar rate to yours. I learned about the true Demonic Path and witnessed the true Spiritual Path. Not long after, the Heavenly Demon took me to a world cluster outside the realm."

"Isn't that impressive? The Heavenly Demon himself is taking you there," Li Qi said.

"It's indeed extraordinary. I wonder if you've ever heard of 'Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss,' the legendary Western Paradise?" the Demonic Energy Clone asked. "Yes, I've heard of it. I recently met a Buddha Child, and he told me about it," Li Qi nodded.

The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, also known as the 'Amitabha Pure Land,' is a legendary place created by Amitabha Buddha.

To assist the Buddha in achieving the grand goal of "Awakening the World," Amitabha Buddha made forty-eight great vows, guiding those who had already awakened to enlightenment with lotus flowers and placing them in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, a magnificent, pure, and egalitarian world. All beings in this world are "superior virtuous people," and therefore free from suffering, hence the name "Ultimate Bliss."

Li Qi couldn't help but fantasize: Amitabha Pure Land, how magnificent it must be! It probably can't be compared to the ordinary world.

But he remained completely focused on listening to his Demonic Energy Clone continue speaking.

"There, I obtained a piece of death energy from the time of the collapse of a Fourth-Rank World, and then I met Amitabha Buddha."

"You're so lucky, Amitabha Buddha..." Li Qi couldn't help but exclaim.

"That's great, how about you switch with me?" the Demonic Energy Clone sneered.

"Never mind then, you can continue." Li Qi waved his hand.

"After that, I practiced with the Buddha for a long time, suppressed my demonic thoughts, and reorganized my human body's microcosm. Then I bid farewell to the Buddha and began to make arrangements to guide you here. Of course, it's also possible that I was guiding you, since I knew you would definitely come here," said Demonic Energy Li Qi.

"How did you guide him?" Li Qi asked again.

"It wasn't too difficult. I contacted Tianhong Jun in advance, and on the condition of traveling by water, I asked him to contact many people for me. Then, through these things, I guided you here step by step, including getting you onto the ship of the Path of Reason Way. Because I knew you would definitely go to the Ghost Gate to worship Shen Tu Yu Lei, I also made a wish in advance so that you could comprehend the method of transformation."

"So... Shen Tu Yu Lei didn't respond because of you? Then it seems there's no need to talk about my affairs anymore; you've probably already found out everything yourself." Li Qi was speechless.

In other words, the Ghost Emperor's approval must have come from this, right?

The Demonic Energy Li Qi went ahead to fulfill his vow. Due to the need to fulfill the vow, coupled with the demands of the True Dragon, Shen Tu Yu Lei were able to open the Ghost Gate and send the entire treasure ship here.

Therefore, when Li Qi Li Qi went to Duoshuo Mountain to offer sacrifices, he did not receive a direct response, because Shen Tu Yu Lei felt that the matter had been settled and did not concern themselves with it further.

In many ways, the two of them were one and the same.

Everything has its origins. Human Path dispatched the treasure ship of Reason Way, the true dragon descended, and the demonic path made its move in the shadows. It seems that even though I am still alive, there are powerful figures from Wushen Mountain manipulating and plotting behind the scenes.

It might just be Zhu Fengdan. Although Li Qi himself doesn't really believe it, given Zhu Fengdan's personality, she probably doesn't know what happened yet and is either lying at home like a corpse or out digging up someone's backyard.

"So you're a pawn too, just like me. We're no different. All you've done is just to benefit others. In the end, everything we've done has become part of their plan. Aren't you desperate?"

"Are you asking yourself this question? Don't you know the answer?" Demonic Energy Li Qi scoffed. "No matter how many people are manipulating our actions behind the scenes, as long as the decision is made by myself, it doesn't matter."

Li Qi nodded. "That's right, then you should be very clear about it now, right? Your existence is the purpose of the Heavenly Demon. Haven't you realized it yet? The meaning of your existence is to force me to advance to the sixth rank with the demonic path as my foundation. The Heavenly Demon wants me, not you, but you actually willingly entered the demonic path for this reason. Why didn't you possess me when I was at the seventh rank? Were you afraid of having a backup plan?"

The Demonic Energy Clone stood up. "If I had attacked you when you were at the seventh rank, I wouldn't have been able to truly replace you. As for the Heavenly Demon... if I win, then what he wants is me."

"After all this talk, you still can't wait? Didn't you say you were waiting for Yu'er to come?" Li Qi looked at him without making a move.

"We won't get any results anyway, so let's give it a try. What if there really is a difference between us? What if I'm really stronger than you?" the Demonic Energy Clone said.

"Fine, if you're happy, you can give it a try." Li Qi also stood up.

However, when Li Qi actually got up, the Demonic Energy Clone sighed.

Li Qi laughed and said, "You see, we all think the same thing. Neither of us likes to fight. Let's wait for the outside help and see who they'll help."

"Yes, you're right. Let's wait then." The Demonic Energy Clone decisively stopped its erosion. "However, it's your turn to tell me about your experience."

Li Qi naturally didn't hold back and told everyone about his experiences at sea.

After this exchange, the two passed the time in this manner.

About six Chen later.

The Demon Prince stretched and awoke from his deep sleep.

"Huh? These two haven't decided who's the winner yet?" He looked at Li Qi was still floating in place, with surprise.

But at this very moment—

Suddenly, the space of the underworld was torn apart by a violent force!

The entire plane shattered explosively, a large door was forcibly opened from the human world, and a berserk rabbit with red eyes rushed out from it!