The World Within

This True Man Zhang... he actually practices the Cultivation Method of Mount Luofu.

The other eighth-rank Daoist cultivators all bear the shadow of Mount Luofu, but it's just a shadow. It's likely that their ancestors, going back to their masters and grandmasters, along with their own fortuitous opportunity, unknowingly learned something from Mount Luofu, which has been passed down.

But this Zhang Xin practiced the Mount Luofu Cultivation Method completely. If it weren't for the fact that he only had the Cultivation Method but no Technique Method, Li Qi would even think that this person was a disciple of Mount Luofu.

From the conversation of these people, Li Qi was able to discern their identities.

The old Daoist priest, the one surnamed Wang, was the kindest-hearted one. He seemed to have no greed and even intended to protect the land Mount Luofu. However, he couldn't say too much to the three of them, as it would easily make enemies. He wasn't inflexible, so he used a clever trick to persuade the others to stay.

Judging from his cultivation level, he seems to have just entered the eighth rank, but his foundation is solid. Although his Yang Spirit has not yet reached the Pure Yang realm, in terms of methods and strength, Li Qi felt that he was probably the strongest one present.

Not necessarily. That True Man Zhang cultivates the Mount Luofu Cultivation Method. Although he doesn't have Technique Method, he's definitely much stronger than an ordinary eighth-rank cultivator.

Moreover, judging from the appearance of this True Man Zhang, he was not like the other two. On the contrary, he echoed the Daoist Wang and persuaded the other two, thus laying the foundation for the 'protection' measure.

As for the remaining two, they should be complete weeds, submerged by the world, falling into greed and ignorance, fond of wealth and treasures but not knowing why they like them, developing power not for the sake of seeking the Dao, but only for showing off their power.

Well, there's nothing to say about these two. They're both good-for-nothings, don't bother with them.

After observing their character, Li Qi made his decision. However, just as he was about to reveal himself, he saw the eighth-rank Daoist priest surnamed Zhang secretly Hand Seals and subtly adjusting the chariot formed by the thousands of people.

This slight adjustment caused the car to veer slightly off course, and... it veered towards the center of Mount Luofu.

"It's definitely related to Mount Luofu." Li Qi canceled his plan to reveal himself.

Now he was intrigued. This group of people actually had someone connected to Mount Luofu, and they were even inciting the others to head towards the center of Mount Luofu.

So, his previous "compliance" wasn't actually about protecting the land of Mount Luofu, but rather about uniting the group and preventing them from having conflicts?

This Zhang fellow, without making a sound, actually wanted to direct several thousand Daoist priests to go to the center of Luofu.

What is his intention?

Is the faint resonance between the Dharma carriage and the center of Mount Luofu due to this person?

Li Qi had made up his mind. He pulled Old Ma out of the imperial carriage, and everything happened quietly, without anyone noticing.

He is Body Merged with Nature, a part of the world, and naturally there is nothing special about him, just like a roadside stone that is not easily noticed.

"Let's go, Old Ma, let's go find Yu'er," Li Qi said as he mounted Old Ma.

"Huh? What do you want with your sister-in-law?" Old Ma asked, puzzled.

"Go find her. She knows the details of Mount Luofu much better than the two of us. We should leave things here to her. Maybe she can uncover something," Li Qi said.

Old Ma nodded, indicating that he understood.

So the man and the dragon set off quickly, and in just a few minutes they reached Shen Shuibi.

Rabbits are always very engrossed and focused when they do things; she is currently squatting in front of a sixth-grade calamus.

This medicinal herb is very famous; even Li Qi had heard of it and read about it in a book.

The record states. "A man named Li Shaojun went south to Luofu Mountain and came to this stream. He picked calamus with twelve nodes per inch and consumed it. On the 25th of the seventh month, he ascended to immortality. Calamus grows in a stream east of Panyu. It is all one inch with nine nodes. There was also a man named An Qisheng picked and consumed it and ascended to immortality, leaving only his jade shoes behind. There was also a Han Zhong who consumed calamus for thirteen years. His body grew hair, and he could read ten thousand words a day and recite them all. He was not cold even when he was shirtless in winter. Calamus grows on rocks with nine nodes or more per inch. The purple-flowered variety is especially good. It grows in ponds and marshes, and its roots are twisted and segmented like a horsewhip."

Besides being eaten, this stuff can also be used in rituals. During festivals, disasters, or illnesses, calamus and Mugwort Leaf can be burned to ward off evil spirits and cure diseases. Hanging calamus and Mugwort Leaf on doors and windows can also prevent Yin Ghost from entering. It is a very useful spiritual herb.

However, you can't eat it like that; it's poisonous and could kill you if you do.

However, if properly processed by a practitioner skilled in pharmacology and made into medicine, it has remarkable effects. It is recorded in books that it "Heart Qi, calms the spirit, pleases the heart, benefits the will, and cleanses away evil and impurities, thus opening the nine orifices and nourishing the internal organs. It is not a warm or drying substance, but can nourish the true yin of the five internal organs. It is also commonly said that calamus can open the heart orifices, and its refreshing fragrance can help people invigorate their spirit, thus making the ears and eyes sharp and the nine orifices open."

To achieve this, one must actually refine spirit medicine, utilizing its power to improve eyesight and hearing, and open the nine orifices, to help people break through bottlenecks and overcome obstacles, with remarkable effects in advancing in rank.

For those who are stuck at a bottleneck their whole lives, and who will die of old age if they don't break through, or who have no hope of breaking through in this lifetime, taking one of these pills is a gamble. If they die from the poison, great; if they break through, all the better.

Li Qi watched as the rabbit carefully harvested the sixth-grade calamus, and couldn't help but sigh with admiration.

While marveling at the sight, doubts also arose in his mind.

Mount Luofu is indeed a rich and prosperous place.

The mountains and fields are covered with spiritual herbs, even sixth-grade spiritual herbs can grow there. Generally speaking, such spiritual herbs have a high probability of transforming into plant spirits, and then one day suddenly awakening their intelligence and becoming demons.

However, in Mount Luofu, the environment seemed too good, and the spiritual herbs grew too fast. Therefore, none of the spiritual herbs that Li Qi saw showed any signs of becoming sentient, but they continued to rise in grade.

Besides these spiritual herbs, there are other fragrant herbs and trees, each with its own mystical properties. Various floral, medicinal, and tree scents fill the mountains with fragrance, making Luofu a haven of fragrances. Its trees are mostly intensely aromatic and pungent.

Even withered branches and broken trunks, though their outer bark is rotten, contain a very fragrant core. Various trees, including those with scales and bark resembling those of the fragrant Xunluoxiang, as well as maple, cassia, Ji Teng, and Shui Song, are said to possess this fragrance. It is said, "Luofu is truly a fragrant mountain, its fragrance keeping the mountain dwellers constantly busy. A boat glides along the fragrant stream, carrying fragrance like dust, filling the world."

It truly deserves to be called a treasure land.

As expected of one of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens, this place... when the people of Mount Luofu were still around, no one dared to covet it. But now that Mount Luofu has fallen, only a few Rank 8 cultivators are here to deal with it?

Shouldn't there be several fourth and fifth-rank officials coming over to establish themselves as kings of the mountain?

It's unlikely that there will be any third- or fourth-rank cultivators, because they basically already have their own foundations. Moreover, Mount Luofu has only been gone for less than ten years, which is almost like the blink of an eye for high-ranking cultivators. Even if they wanted to take it over, they would probably wait until things settled down before coming.

Before they made their move, the people who were truly eager to seize it were the bolder fourth and fifth-rank officials.

But now, let alone fourth or fifth rank, there isn't even a seventh rank. Only a bunch of weeds who have never even heard of Mount Luofu have come over. This is really strange.

Li Qi pondered the situation and deduced what was going on, then stood there waiting for a while.

A few minutes later, Shen Shuibi finally finished collecting the spiritual herbs, which were intact and retained all their efficacy.

This is no easy task. To harvest the spiritual herbs while preserving their medicinal properties requires extensive study and practice. Most pharmacists are considered very skilled if they can retain 90% of the herbs.

However, being a direct descendant of Mount Luofu, it's only natural that he's even more powerful than just "very powerful".

"What's wrong? Didn't we already divide the tasks? Why are you coming to me again? Are you itching to do something after just a short while?" Shen Shuibi put away the spirit herbs and walked to Li Qi's side with a smile.

"Of course not. Even if I'm itching to go, I'll wait until I get home. I spotted some of those cultivators outside. They're coming in here under the guise of driving out thieves," Li Qi said with a smile, and then began to tell Shen Shuibi what he had just learned.

He told Shen Shuibi everything in detail, from the specifics of the incident to what happened after Old Ma was beaten up, and even the conversations he overheard.

However, Li Qi did not mention his subjective speculations. Those unfounded speculations would only affect Shen Shuibi's judgment. It would be better to tell her everything directly and let her make her own judgment.

After hearing these words, Shen Shuibi fell into deep thought.

There are still people using the name of Mount Luofu to do things, but she doesn't really care about that. After all, Mount Luofu is indeed famous. Although it has declined, it still has some legacies here. It's just that no one came to claim them before.

Besides not having time, the most likely reason is probably 'fear'.

The moment the Human Emperor Sword fell, their former homeland was completely turned into a dead zone. Most people probably wouldn't want to see this scene, and every time they returned, they felt a sense of fear.

Those Human Emperor Sword's Sword are almost unable to suppress their fear...

However, she feels much better now, probably because seeing Li Qi acting as if nothing happened gave her the feeling that "Li Qi is alright."

Li Qi is alright, which means... that matter is indeed over.

However, aside from the exploitation, what truly touched her was that there were still people genuinely thinking of 'repaying the debt' to Mount Luofu and trying to leave something behind for it.

This even touched Shen Shuibi.

As for Zhang Xin, who resonates with the people inside Mount Luofu... perhaps we need to go and see for ourselves before making a decision.

Upon thinking of this, Shen Shuibi immediately put down what she was doing and said, "Why don't we go and take a look for ourselves? Things outside won't be lost if we leave them here, but the center of Mount Luofu... I think it's still quite dangerous. If we really resonate with something, we might gain something else."

"That's true. Let's observe from the sidelines and see what these people are up to." Li Qi nodded and readily agreed to Shen Shuibi's suggestion.

After all, it's Mount Luofu; it's her property, so she can make her own decisions.

Now that the agreement was finalized, the two men and one dragon quickly arrived outside the imperial carriage, concealed themselves, and watched as these people performed.

To be honest, this kind of spying... feels quite strange.

This gave Li Qi a sudden feeling.

Do those 'Heaven's Will' also look at them in this way?

Li Qi only has one pair of eyes, which can only see the performance of a procession of imperial guards. How many eyes does 'Heaven's Will' have?

However, if we consider this perspective, Li Qi seems to think that Heaven's Will isn't so terrible after all.

For Li Qi, the truly terrifying aspect of Heaven's Will is that you never know when the things around you will become 'arrangements', and these 'arrangements' are not deliberate.

Everything was a coincidence, but this coincidence just happened to lead to the ending that 'Heaven's Will' desired. All the decisions were made by Li Qi and his people themselves, and were what they hoped for.

But everyone acts for their own purposes. Just like Li Qi for the separation of Mount Luofu, the Demon Prince for finding an opponent to build his foundation, the Demonic Energy Clone for independence, Ao Guangxiao for finding his nephew's remains, Canghou and the Reason Way Treasure Ship for the true dragon's body, and Moloyan and the others probably also have their own purposes, but Li Qi doesn't know it.

Everyone has their own plans, but all these plans, when put together, become 'Heaven's Will'.

This is what Li Qi fears most. To be able to do this is as if everything in the world is under control, and every person and every event can only be accomplished with the permission of 'Heaven's Will'.

So, after Li Qi put himself in this observer's perspective, he realized that... 'Heaven's Will' didn't seem to need to control everyone.

If these people have nothing to do with Mount Luofu, then I won't bother to even glance at them.

In other words, I am not as important as I thought. If I keep a low profile, act cautiously, and be a coward in the future, then perhaps I can find peace.

So... this time when I return to Wushen Mountain, I might really be able to cultivate properly instead of rushing around like this.

This promotion to the sixth rank was completely unplanned, and the consequences of such a promotion are ridiculously large. Although I've reached the sixth rank, it will take thousands of times longer to make up for today's rapid progress.

This could even become a huge obstacle on Li Qi's Dao Path, one that he might never be able to overcome in his lifetime.

But there was no other way; otherwise, I would have died.

Thinking this, Li Qi and Shen Shuibi also looked down.

The imperial carriage below continued forward, its direction becoming increasingly steadfast. In a few more Chen, it was estimated that it would be entering the heart of Mount Luofu.

The core of Mount Luofu is the two mountains themselves, Mount Luo and Fushan, not the surrounding mountain ranges.

However, since Mount Fu is suspended in the air, Mount Luofu has a true center, which is the point of contact between the peaks of the two mountains.

That is Zhu Ming Cave, the location of the Yang pole of Mount Luofu, corresponding to the Yin pole Ghost Gate.

"That Zhang Xin, his Cultivation Method is in sync with Zhu Ming Cave, and there are other arrangements inside." At this moment, Shen Shuibi suddenly said.