Manifestation of Buddhist Qi

In the hell of the underworld—

The sky was still a deep red, but the earth and the ghosts on it were gone. They had all been cleared away by the aftershocks of the fourth-rank battle. The area within hundreds of thousands of miles had become a complete void, no different from the outer realms.

But at that moment, a ferocious rabbit burst out from an open door!

Her eyes were bloodshot, her eyebrows were raised, her face was like frost, and a Sha Qi aura appeared on her face. The aura of the Taiyin was shrouded around her, and the Dharma image around her was magnificent. Moreover, it was not a common human form, but a rabbit.

This form represents a different meaning, unlike the usual cool and serene moonlight.

This image is taken from the Mao (卯) of the twelve earthly branches. It presents the hexagram Yi Mao (乙卯) of the sixth line of the hexagram. The Book of I Ching records that Yi Mao (乙卯) of the sixth line of the hexagram is the ghost official of Kun (坤). At the same time, Mao (卯) is the wood Chen (辰), and Chen is yin and thieving, hence the saying "compared to the wicked person".

Using this posture, she was able to pass through the Gate of Hell so easily and arrive here.

At the same time, Mao was also a means of execution. In High Antiquity times, Human Race were forced to sacrifice living people to ghosts and gods in order to please those naturally powerful deities. One of the sacrificial methods was the 'Mao sacrifice'.

The "Mao sacrifice" mainly involves hollowing out the internal organs of a person or other sacrificial offering, then cutting it in half and hanging the two halves on either side.

This is also the origin of the word Mao. The left and right sides of Mao symbolize the two halves of the body that have been separated, which is a very cruel method of execution.

Therefore, Shen Shuibi takes Mao as the core, extends the earthly branch Mao to Kun's ghost official, and uses Mao to accumulate Sha Qi, which is equivalent to Form Transformation from the usual quiet form to a killing posture with Yin evil spirits!

As Shen Shuibi descended into the underworld, a Dharma image stood behind her. Although it lacked majesty, it exuded a chilling and Yin Ghost aura.

Normally, Shen Shuibi is like the moon hanging high in the sky, silent and aloof. But at this moment, she is like a blood-red moon. Under the blood moon, it seems that the whole world has gone mad. Under the illumination of the blood moon, they begin to kill each other in a frenzy. Then, they hold the broken 'Mao' in their hands and offer it as a sacrifice to the high-hanging red moon.

Furthermore, she had injuries on her body, with blood soaking into her shoulders and back, which, combined with her current expression, made her look even more eerie.

As soon as she landed, she stretched out her hand, and when she flattened it, she saw an invisible cage in the center of her palm.

The mountains and rivers in her palm became a cage; within her palm was a small world, which transformed into a cage, trapping a... Demon Dragon.

"Tianhong Jun, we have arrived at the Underworld. Where is Li Qi?" Shen Shuibi looked around as she asked.

"I... I don't know either. I have already led you through the Gate of Hell as promised. If it weren't for me, Duoshuo Mountain would have been enough to hold you back for a lifetime. According to the agreement, you should let me go." Tianhong Jun was as small as an eel and whose body was less than the size of a palm, said on the verge of death.

Clearly, this rabbit has been fighting its way here, charging all the way from Chang'an to Duoshuo Mountain the East Sea, and then from the Ghost Gate all the way here, probably without holding back along the way.

"Fine, there are others around, so I'll spare your life." Shen Shuibi shook her head, gently squeezed the Mountain and River in her palm into a piece, and casually tossed it into the Gate of Hell.

Then, she looked at the Demon Prince beside her.

The Demon Prince was leaning against the body of the black jade tiger when he saw Shen Shuibi looking at him. He coughed twice and asked, "Senior, are you looking for Li Qi?"

"Hmm, you smell of him, a strong scent, and there's blood on you. Did you just have a fight?" Shen Shuibi slowly floated forward and said.

As Shen Shuibi approached, the black jade golden tiger opened its eyes, staring at Shen Shuibi and emanating a slight pressure.

The Demon Prince, however, reached out and pressed down on the Jade Tiger, then stood up and, holding his bamboo staff, said, "Senior is right. There was a good sparring match just now. I originally wanted to kill him, but halfway through the fight, I felt more and more that he was someone I could befriend, so I am now protecting him."

"You're protecting him while he's fighting?" Shen Shuibi frowned.

"Well, he just broke through to the sixth rank, so someone needs to keep an eye on him. That's why I'm taking a nap here and keeping an eye on him, lest he get eaten by some passing thing," the Demon Prince chuckled, then waved his cane.

The black jade tiger spat out a breath, and saw that a transparent curtain in front of it seemed to be blown open, revealing Li Qi sitting cross-legged and floating in mid-air.

The Demon Prince actually cast an illusion spell to conceal Li Qi, preventing Li Qi from being drawn into anything that happened to pass by.

However, it was obviously useless, as the surrounding area had been cleared away by the fourth-rank battle, and there would be nothing left.

But having this intention alone was enough to dispel Shen Shuibi's hostility.

But then Shen Shuibi's Sha Qi subsided slightly. She bowed in return and said, "Thank you for protecting my husband, sir. But how is he now?"

"What happened... I can't say for sure, you'll see for yourself." The Demon Prince took a few steps back and leaned against the Jade Tiger again.

Shen Shuibi didn't stand on ceremony and rushed over directly.

Meanwhile, on Li Qi's side—

"They've arrived," the Demonic Energy Clone said.

Li Qi nodded in agreement, "They're here."

Shen Shuibi has arrived, so now it's time to see who comes out on top. This is the best solution the two of them can agree on.

Now, take action and seize control of the body!

Suddenly, Li Qi opened his eyes, but as if he had gone mad, his two eyes flashed with different expressions, appearing extremely disjointed.

Shen Shuibi noticed this. "Possession...?"

Immediately, she flew into a rage, her hair standing on end from the force of her anger. In a flash, she appeared beside Li Qi, her hands Hand Seals, unleashing a set of soul-capturing techniques, preparing to extract the soul of the possessing fellow!

And then! They are cast into purgatory, never to be reborn!

At this moment, Li Qi suddenly spoke, "Yu... you finally—"

But the moment she heard Li Qi speak, Shen Shuibi's expression changed, and the life force in her hand instantly turned into Sha Qi, which she then slammed directly towards Li Qi's head!

At this moment, Li Qi's expression changed, and he quickly sent a message: "Wait! Don't!"

After saying this, Shen Shuibi suddenly stopped and then flashed to a distance of ten feet, looking at Li Qi with a suspicious and uncertain expression.

What happened?

She clearly sensed the aura of possession, but... it didn't seem like it. However, the two sentences just now were spoken by the same person, but the feeling they gave her was completely different.

However, from her own perspective, Li Qi was perfectly fine. His aura was normal, except for a slight amount of demonic energy, which suggested he was forced to use demonic techniques. But Li Qi was already skilled in these techniques, so it was quite normal.

This suggests that this feeling wasn't something I generated myself, but rather that someone was reminding me of it?

Shen Shuibi became wary.

"Li Qi, what's wrong with you..." But she couldn't help but ask.

But at this moment, Li Qi stood up. "Yu, come help me... I'm a little dizzy."

Shen Shuibi sized up Li Qi, her expression wary. "No, you're not Li Qi."

"..." Li Qi didn't speak, his eyes were on Shen Shuibi, and his expression showed a sense of helplessness.

"Wait, it seems like you've done it again?" Shen Shuibi's expression grew increasingly confused.

"That's me. I can't move right now. Can you come and get me?" Li Qi said immediately.

This time, Shen Shuibi did not continue speaking. Instead, she gathered her energy in both hands and pulled sharply, causing the Taiyin Qi to descend and seal Li Qi inside.

"Wait a minute, I need to figure this out first. Why are your sentences different every time?" Shen Shuibi locked Li Qi in her arms and stared at him intently.

At this moment, Li Qi suddenly closed his eyes.

Where his mind resided, the fontanelle on the top of his head opened, and two souls and minds intertwined.

One of them was extremely violent, roaring, "This is impossible! She doesn't have the ability to observe cause and effect; she can't distinguish it!"

The other remained remarkably calm. "Can't tell the difference? Haven't we figured it out now?"

The berserk spirit roared, "How did you know?! You knew all along that she could distinguish them? But that's impossible! What I don't know, you don't know either!"

The quieter one answered decisively, "I don't know, but like you, I believe she can recognize me. You think so, and so do I, but... it seems I've won."

Demonic Energy Li Qi was speechless.

Indeed, he was certain that Shen Shuibi would choose him.

There was no difference between the two; both Li Qi believed this with absolute certainty before her arrival.

If Shen Shuibi recognized 'him', then 'he' would also use the same calm tone to mock her, and the anger and calmness of the two would be reversed.

After all, he's just one person.

With this thought in mind, both of their spirits calmed down.

Because the thoughts of the two souls were almost synchronized, both knew that the loser must have a backup plan.

Of course, there were still some differences in the synchronization at this moment. Due to the information asymmetry, Li Qi did not know what the Demonic Energy Clone had prepared in advance. However, based on his own understanding, he knew that if it were him, he would definitely make many, many arrangements in advance to ensure that everything was foolproof before taking action.

Then, after only a few seconds of calm, the Demonic Energy Clone's soul suddenly erupted, as if it was triggering something!

Meanwhile, without the interference of the Demonic Energy Clone, Li Qi had completely taken control of his body. He opened his eyes, ignoring the confused Shen Shuibi beside him, and whistled.

The whistle was sharp; it was the whistle he used to call Old Ma. Back when he had no cultivation to send messages, he used this whistle to call Old Ma.

The whistle woke up Old Ma, who was sleeping downstairs.

As mentioned before, Old Ma needs to sleep for a period of time during the sacrificial ceremony.

And now, whether by coincidence or not, the time has come, and Old Ma has been awakened.

The Old Ma, startled awake, stretched its body and was no longer a horse, but a dragon. However, it had no dragon horns and could be seen to be a winding, coiling Demon Dragon!

At the same time, the Visualization Diagram on his body quickly disappeared.

When you're on a horse, you can't look back, so you can't see it from its back.

Now that the Demon Dragon can easily turn back, the Visualization Diagram must also disappear.

However, it did not disappear directly, but quickly transformed into a wisp of Buddhist energy.

The aura of Amitabha Buddha.

That Law Treasure monk, the Buddha Child Jingmo, was someone Li Qi had previously determined to possess items bestowed by Amitabha Buddha.

Just then, the Monk Jingmo suddenly opened his eyes.

This monk was not deluded by the Five Aggregates Demon energy at all!

As the Monk Jingmo chanted the Buddhist Incantation, a wisp of Amitabha Buddha's aura appeared on his hand.

At first, Li Qi judged that he had the aura of Amitabha Buddha. However, later, the Monk Jingmo said that he was Buddha Child of the Medicine King Buddha.

Li Qi still had doubts in his mind at the time, but he didn't ask, since everyone has secrets.

However, when the Demonic Energy Clone appeared, Li Qi understood completely.

Therefore, this became his backup plan.

Li Qi and his Demonic Energy Clone both knew that everyone liked to keep many backup plans.

If Demonic Energy Clone exist, why shouldn't Li Qi have them too?

As the Demonic Energy Clone activated something, the Buddhist energy from the Visualization Diagram behind Old Ma and the Buddhist energy taken out by Monk Jingmo merged into one and silently flickered into his forehead.

However, suddenly, strange phenomena of the Ten Directions Buddhist Land unfolded around Li Qi.

In the Buddha's land, there are seven jeweled ponds filled with water possessing eight virtues.

The bottom of the pool is covered with pure gold sand, and the steps on all four sides are made of gold, silver, glazed glass, and crystal.

Above it are pavilions, which are also adorned with gold, silver, glazed tiles, glass, giant clam shells, red pearls, and agate.

The lotus flowers in the pond are as large as cartwheels, emitting blue light, yellow light, red light, and white light, with a subtle and pure fragrance.

The wind blows through the lotus leaves, producing subtle sounds; the Dharma sounds flow forth, like hundreds and thousands of kinds of music playing at the same time.

Such merit and solemnity surrounded Li Qi's body.

Before the Demonic Energy Clone could unleash its next move, suddenly Buddhist energy emerged.

His face suddenly turned deathly pale.

The contingency plan left by Amitabha Buddha was also the contingency plan prepared by Li Qi.

So, this Buddha really knows everything?

Did the Buddha know that 'he' ultimately chose to wash away his physical body and rebuild it with demonic energy...?

The Demonic Energy Clone didn't even have time to reveal what it was hiding before it abruptly... melted away.

It truly melted, as if it had vanished.

However, a wisp of... True Knowledge Dao Charm remained in the same place.

Li Qi's eyes widened, but before he could react, the True Knowledge Dao Charm belonging to the Demonic Energy Clone merged into Li Qi's existing True Knowledge Dao Charm.

The True Knowledge Dao Charm was further enhanced; this was the third strand of true knowledge that Li Qi had obtained.

Where does the Demonic Energy Clone get its true knowledge?

Was it given by the Heavenly Demon?

Li Qi frowned.

But before he could think about it, he suddenly felt that his foundation was being altered.

The surrounding Buddhist land, after melting the Demonic Energy Clone, did not stop, but instead began to penetrate into Li Qi's body, becoming part of his personal microcosm!

Li Qi's sixth-grade Dao foundation is being transformed, gradually being purified by Buddhist energy from a purely demonic sixth-grade Dao.

Thus, the balance between Buddha and demon was restored.

Li Qi was overjoyed! He immediately seized the opportunity to activate his original Dao foundation, allowing the Shaman Path and the Human Path to expand once again!

In this way, he did not fall into the demonic path, but continued to advance using the Shaman Path as his core!

Was this also within Amitabha Buddha's calculations?

Is this also... Heaven's Will?