Journey to Penglai

With everything settled, Li Qi entered the most peaceful period of his life. He finally had ample time to perfect his cultivation and meticulously refine his own inner world.

If Li Qi's previous promotions were like sculpting with explosives, now he can slowly adjust his direction and use a knife and chisel to slowly carve out the shape he wants.

The methods he had previously learned for adjusting the microcosm of his body, those little tricks, and techniques to help the microcosm of his body become more harmonious, all came in handy at this moment.

For two whole years, he practically never left his house, spending more than two-thirds of his time each day cultivating himself and adjusting his mental state.

At this moment, Li Qi had never felt so good about himself.

He once looked into the Three Lives Ancient Mirror. Although it was the eye of a celestial demon, the contents inside were real. The Three Lives Ancient Mirror marked all the hidden injuries, underdeveloped parts, disharmonious parts, and conflicting parts of his body.

Now, everything has been repaired and fully restored. His physical body is now perfect, and his inner world is no longer obstructed.

In Shen Shuibi's words, his physical body has now reached the 'Golden Core' level.

Gold is something that is hard and indestructible; cinnabar is something that is perfect and without flaw, a unified whole without any imperfections.

Although for Daoist practitioners, reaching the ninth rank requires achieving the Golden Core stage in the physical body, Li Qi was, after all, a Shaman, and this was not part of his cultivation needs, so it was considered an extra achievement.

Li Qi has been doing this for the past two years, while Shen Shuibi has been doing something else.

That means taking care of your body and preparing for pregnancy.

The couple has decided to have a child, and they are preparing for a double pregnancy, meaning that the child will inherit both the bloodline and the spiritual lineage of the parents.

Even powerful beings are unlikely to give birth to children with this configuration, as it would be a considerable burden on the mother.

Even though Shen Shuibi has Immaculate Body, it is still the same, because pregnancy is not an injury, not an external substance, and even the fetus itself cannot be considered an external thing.

Strictly speaking, a fetus is an organ of the mother, except that this organ will leave the body in the future. However, this organ is a pure bloodsucker, constantly demanding and absorbing nutrients from the mother's body until it leaves the body or the mother dies from exhaustion.

Therefore, generally speaking, the weaker the fetus, the safer the mother. Conversely, if the fetus is strong and healthy, and is a chubby baby, then the mother is likely to have a difficult labor and should prepare for a cesarean section, otherwise she will suffer.

Unfortunately, the fetus that incorporates fragments of the two people's Dao will be extremely strong, strong enough to crush a building when it is still an infant.

Therefore, few powerful beings would be willing to conceive such a fetus. It's not that they can't handle the fetus; they have many ways to deal with it. But the question is, if you're going to deal with it, why did you give birth to it in the first place? All methods of dealing with it weaken the fetus, and no mother would want to make herself feel better by weakening the fetus.

So there's nothing we can do but accept it.

However, there is a solution. A simple one is to strengthen the mother's body as much as possible, adjust her condition, and store enough energy and supplies. This way, the fetus can suck blood at will, as the mother's blood volume is high enough to withstand the sucking.

This stage was referred to by Li Qi as 'preparing for pregnancy'.

Shen Shuibi thought it was a good description, so she started calling her that too.

Recently, she has been preparing to spend a full five years of savings, because a fifth-rank child cannot really stay obediently for ten months.

Those who give birth quickly can produce a baby in three years.

He was born slowly; it took the Dao Ancestor's mother a full eighty-one years to conceive him.

I don't know how long this kid will take, but he definitely won't be born in ten months.

Everyone was busy with their own things, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.

After two years, Li Qi has recovered and now he has some things to take care of.

Inside the cave abode—

"Yu'er, are you ready?" Li Qi looked at Shen Shuibi over there.

Shen Shuibi was preparing pills for her trip. She could usually refine them at home anytime, taking them one day and refining them the next. However, she couldn't do that when she was going on a long trip, so she had to prepare some in case she didn't have time to refine the pills.

These pills are all for nourishing her body and storing up energy for conceiving a baby. She can't possibly consume all that energy at once, or she'll explode and die.

Therefore, Shen Shuibi devised a complete plan for taking pills at fixed times and in fixed quantities, down to the Chen. As long as she took the pills according to this plan, she could accumulate enough energy within five years. Even if she finished trying to conceive, she wouldn't suffer too much from the pain of the fetus.

As for whether she gets pregnant or not, there's no need to worry. A fifth-rank cultivator already possesses cellular-level operational capabilities; as long as she's thinking about the bed, she can do it anytime.

Not to mention the fifth rank, even the seventh rank can be easily achieved.

"Alright, everything's packed. Since we can't refine pills, this should be enough for a year. It should be enough for this trip," Shen Shuibi said with a smile.

"That's good. This trip to Penglai shouldn't take too long, at most one or two years. You can refine it yourself in your spare time, which will be more than enough for a year." Li Qi nodded.

That's right, this time they're going to Penglai.

The reason is simple: Li Qi received an invitation from the Demon Prince to attend a ceremony in Penglai.

What kind of gift?

Of course, as mentioned before, the Demon Prince will descend upon the world and crush ten geniuses.

Where did these ten come from?

Of the Nine Lands of the World, excluding the demonic path, there are eight.

The remaining options are one each from the fields of Reason Way and martial arts.

Exactly ten.

The Heavenly Demon has already made arrangements for the Demon Prince.

The first one is the Little Heavenly Master from Penglai. Li Qi, as one of the few 'friends' of the Demon Prince, is invited to attend the ceremony and watch the Demon Prince crush these geniuses one by one.

Li Qi knew that there were many lucky factors in his defeat of the Demon Prince. For example, the Demon Prince did not want to fight Li Qi at first. He only wanted to fight Li Qi had been freed from all restraints, so he deliberately provoked Li Qi.

For example, even after Li Qi racked his brains to remove all the constraints, the Demon Prince still easily suppressed Li Qi, forcing him to directly absorb the third-grade head and forcibly advance to the next level.

For example, while Li Qi was recklessly advancing to the sixth rank, the Demon Prince could also advance to the sixth rank anytime, anywhere. His foundation was much deeper than Li Qi's, and advancing on the spot was not difficult for him; it was just a matter of a thought.

However, what he wanted was to accumulate the momentum of victory and use the potential of a hegemon as the foundation for advancement. Therefore, he did not choose to risk his future like Li Qi, but instead honestly chose to admit defeat.

Because under those circumstances, he could afford to lose, while Li Qi could not. The Demon Prince was never afraid of or hated failure. If he lost, he lost. What could you do to him?

But they both knew that if the Demon Prince really wanted to fight Li Qi to the death, Li Qi would lose under any circumstances, with no chance of victory whatsoever.

This is what a 'strong person' is. If Li Qi has reached the theoretical limit of the seventh rank, then the Demon Prince has surpassed the theoretical limit. He himself has broken the so-called theory, and those 'theories' should be revised for the sake of the Demon Prince.

It could even be said that his appearance was solely for the purpose of thoroughly slapping the faces of these Dao Lineage; the Heavenly Demon was definitely interested in this.

Even Shen Shuibi had to admire the Demon Prince's power. After meeting him for the first time, Shen Shuibi said that he was no pushover.

If the Demon Prince can climb the ranks step by step, he will likely have the ability to challenge opponents of higher ranks at each level and become Invincible at the Same Level.

At least Li Qi knew that when the Demon Prince advanced to the sixth rank with the talent of a tyrant, the theoretical formula for calculating the combat power of the sixth rank would probably have to be revised again for him.

However, Li Qi didn't think anything of it. He knew from his time as a boatman that this world was not simple, and he was not some kind of protagonist.

This world is too big.

In such a big world, no matter how strong you are, there will always be someone stronger than you. The world is vast and full of wonders, and there will always be someone more capable than you.

This statement may not apply to the Demon Prince.

For the time being, there may not be a stronger seventh-rank expert in the world.

At least that's what Li Qi thinks. He hopes that the brothers and sisters from other major forces can put down the Demon Prince's arrogance and give him a good slap in the face.

Therefore, Li Qi accepted the invitation and went. He and Shen Shuibi were going to Penglai to broaden their horizons in the Daoist holy land, and also to see how the Demon Prince beat up the Little Heavenly Master.

With everything ready, Li Qi shouted into the sky, "Old Ma!"

But then a loach, less than a finger's length long, darted out of a nearby mountain stream. Its body suddenly expanded in mid-air, growing to over two hundred feet before stopping.

Maintaining this posture, he let out a series of dragon roars that echoed through the mountains, and then flew to Li Qi's side.

At this moment, Old Ma had completely stabilized his eighth-rank posture and was more adept at handling the dragon body.

As a dragon, its speed is still astonishing, and its endurance is even more terrifying. Li Qi's cruising speed still cannot match its speed.

Although Li Qi's burst speed far exceeds that of Old Ma, and he can leave Old Ma far behind in a short time, movement itself requires energy and mental control for Li Qi.

However, for Old Ma, the movement at cruising speed actually consumes less energy than his natural recovery. In other words, Old Ma can now maintain cruising speed indefinitely. As a result, over time, Old Ma's cruising range is actually larger than Li Qi's.

As expected of a Conglong that specializes in running away, it's truly professional.

No wonder many powerful figures have mounts. It turns out that nothing runs as fast as a mount. Even though Old Ma's cultivation level is far lower than Li Qi's, it's the same. He doesn't need fuel to run, so you can't catch up with him.

"Didn't I already have a name? Why is the boss still calling me Old Ma? Can we change it? My name is Ma Ji now!"

"You're so loud, I thought your name was Ma Su. You're surnamed Ma, so what's wrong with calling you Old Ma?" Li Qi rolled his eyes.

Old Ma is incredibly smug now. Having received a name bestowed upon him by the Great Shaman, he can't wait to wear the name Ma Ji on his chest for everyone to see. Now, he doesn't even like being called Old Ma by Li Qi anymore; he has to be addressed by his full name, Ma Ji!

At first, Li Qi thought it was quite interesting and called him by his full name, but later he got used to calling him Old Ma and switched back to the way he was addressed. However, Old Ma reminded him every time.

Li Qi didn't tolerate it. "Old Ma, Ma Ji is for Sanpao. You young man, do you deserve to eat beef?"

Anyway, the two of them have been dragging this out for so long without any resolution.

However, it didn't affect their relationship; they continued to do what they were supposed to do as usual.

Shen Shuibi shook her head. It seemed that the two people, one human and one dragon, were fixated on this title. Oh well, as long as they were happy with it.

So she said, "Ma Ji, shall we set off now? You've already memorized the route to Penglai, haven't you?"

"Don't worry, sister-in-law, it's all taken care of!" Old Ma chuckled, then swayed his body. "Get on, we're setting off now. First, we'll travel from Liesu to Baiyue, through the Human Path realm, then take the Earth Flow Chariot to Golden Platform, then from Golden Platform to the northeast, and then to Huliang. From Huliang 'll go straight to Penglai. The journey will take at most twenty days, fifteen days if we're fast." Old Ma patted his chest, looking like he had everything planned out.

Wushen Mountain has Liesu, the Human Path has Golden Platform, and the Daoist world naturally has a similar mechanism called Huliang.

Once you reach Huliang, you can go straight to Penglai.

"Alright, since you have already made arrangements, let's set off then." Shen Shuibi stepped onto the Old Ma's body. He was now two hundred feet long, enough to roll around on, and it was easy for two people to stand on him.

Li Qi also stepped forward, and the Old Ma suddenly surged into the clouds! It charged into the Gale Layer!

That figure was truly:

Dragons roam the heavens, their path paved with azure clouds.

Using Yin and Yang as our guide, we ride the wind and soar to the heavens.

With lightning as my whip and thunder as my wheel, I roam freely beyond the eight directions, unburdened!

Qing Lei circled around Old Ma, creating wind and breaking through the air for him. Its huge body was hidden in the clouds, seemingly just a small shadow in the clouds, but its speed was extremely fast. Riding the gale, it rushed dozens of miles away in an instant.

Fortunately, Li Qi and Shen Shuibi both possessed cultivation; otherwise, ordinary people would have been killed by that acceleration.

As you fly swiftly through the Gale Layer, you can also see other travelers.

Some rode in vehicles, some rode birds, and all sorts of mounts and magical Law Artifact were present. Everyone was running in the Gale Layer, because they could use the naturally flowing gale to accelerate, and they could run faster here.

Many pedestrians are passing through with various tasks in mind, and various Shaman are also busy in their own way. Unlike the orderly arrangement of roads planned by Human Path, there is another set of order here, which naturally creates alternative traffic rules.

This is a place exclusively for cultivators; those with low cultivation levels cannot even get up here.

Looking down from here at the ground, that's a true 'overhead' view; nothing on the ground can reach this point.

This feeling can really be quite disorienting.

However, Li Qi's current Dao heart is not so easily shaken.

The two set off, heading towards Penglai.