The Long Road of Ten Thousand Paths
Chapter 522

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Having grasped the Daoist concept of 'cultivation' and the meaning of true nature and self-cultivation, Li Qi sighed as he activated the Immortal Path. Through the Immortal Path, he instantly traversed a vast distance, arriving at Penglai from Huliang.

Having learned about the situation of the Daoist sect, his expectations for Penglai had disappeared, but he still harbored a considerable degree of curiosity.

After all, this is Penglai.

The poem says: Penglai is famous throughout history, but its whereabouts are nowhere to be found amidst the misty waters. The sea is vast, the wind is strong, and the island of Penglai cannot be seen even with the eyes.

This is the most mysterious place in Daoism, and also its true core.

The book Li Qi had read recorded, "Penglai is located on the northeast coast of the East Sea, with a circumference of five thousand li. There is another circular sea surrounding the mountains outside, and the water of the circular sea is completely black, which is called the Dark Sea. Even without wind, the waves are hundreds of feet high, and it is impossible to go there."

Stepping out of the Immortal Path, Li Qi looked around.

All around was a black sea, seemingly floating with pearl palaces and shells, where demons churned and waves surged, and where the clouds were vast and the roaring of crocodiles and whales rushed into the dark sky, this was Penglai!

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept across the sky, illuminating the sun and moon. Light descended, shining upon the ethereal terraces and the clouds of the Immortal Palace. Within, one could see phoenixes soaring and dragons circling, geese and kui bowing in reverence, and bears and tigers following in their wake.

Compared to the neglected Huliang, Penglai, though still not as magnificent as Chang'an, possesses a naturally wondrous terrain. The surrounding sea, known as the 'Nether Sea,' is pitch black, its countless waves surging and crashing. The entire landscape is black, with waves hundreds of feet high, and countless sea beasts lurking within the rolling waves, making it an extremely dangerous place.

In the black sea, a pure white Immortal Mountain floats above.

Black and white complement each other, just like the yin and yang fish in the Tai Chi symbol, blending together perfectly and harmoniously.

That is Penglai, near the Immortal Mountain, where countless Flying Peak circle around. There is nothing special inside, but... there are many, many, many treasures.

There really are a lot.

The Daoist sect's various Law Artifact, palaces, formations, Yaoying Garden, precious talismans and grand plans, Pill Furnace and incense seals, feathered carriages and blue chariots on the celestial road, thousands of pearl branches shining brightly, and countless treasures seemed to have been revived from this moment.

These don't have any 'artistic flair'; they even have a bit of Zhu Fengdan's style—just piling a bunch of good stuff on top of each other.

However, unlike Zhu Fengdan, these treasures have all undergone corresponding treatments, so although their radiance can be seen, they do not interfere with each other.

It seems... Penglai is much richer than Huliang.

That's true. Huliang is just a train station with a small permanent population, but Penglai is the main base, so it must have a lot of historical and cultural significance. The core Law Treasure of Daoism might even be kept here.

It's hilarious just thinking about it.

Shen Shuibi forgot about being angry with Li Qi at this moment. Her true form pricked up her ears, widened her eyes, and looked at Penglai Immortal Island.

As members of the Daoist sect, it's impossible for them not to have any designs on Penglai.

That's Penglai! In Daoist parlance, the phrase "traveling back and forth between Penglai and Ying" is used to describe enlightened people.

In other words, only if you are very capable can you travel back and forth to Pengying and freely come and go from this place.

Peng refers to Penglai, and Ying refers to Yingzhou.

The three islands of Daoism are Penglai, Huliang, Huliang is a railway station with a small permanent population. The other two are the true core.

She attached great importance to her arrival in Penglai.

So, she transformed into human form, stopped making a fuss, and instead pulled Li Qi along, saying, "Li Qi, let's go inside."

"Mm." Li Qi nodded, and the two walked in hand in hand.

Old Ma lay quietly on Li Qi's shoulder, continuing to play dead.

You can't speak at this time, or you'll get beaten.

Li Qi and the others ascended to Penglai, intending to find a place to sit down and wait for the Demon Prince to begin.

However, to their surprise, as soon as they arrived on the island, they saw a black figure standing on the shore of Penglai, by the edge of the black sea.

Wearing a black cloak embroidered with gold thread, a dark robe with some faintly shimmering seal characters, a black jade mask, and a black jade tiger pendant hanging at the waist.

He limped slowly toward Li Qi, leaning on his cane.

It was the Demon Prince.

He walked up to Li Qi and said to Li Qi and Shen Shuibi in a familiar voice, "Hello... Li Qi, and Shen Shuibi, it's nice to see you again. I didn't expect you to actually come."

His mask completely concealed his expression, but his voice clearly revealed a hint of laughter.

The Demon Prince seems to be in a good mood.

"What do you mean 'I didn't expect you to actually come'? Since the Demon Prince specially wrote a letter to invite you, how could I not come? After all, the Demon Prince has very few friends, and I can barely be considered one. If I don't come, who else will come to support you?" Li Qi immediately cupped his hands and replied with a smile.

Shen Shuibi nodded slightly to the Demon Prince, then hid behind Li Qi. Once they entered social mode, their roles would be reversed.

Li Qi will start talking, and Tu Tu will start pretending to be dead.

"Haha, but my reputation isn't very good. To be precise, the reputation of the entire demonic path isn't good either," the Demon Prince said, then found a rock, sat down, and placed his cane across his knees.

Even though he had already reached the seventh rank, his limp still affected his movements to some extent, so he probably preferred to sit and talk.

Li Qi naturally led Shen Shuibi to sit down, and then said, "Of Nine Lands of the World, is there any place with a good reputation?"

"Human Path is domineering and warlike, the spiritual path is reclusive and detached from worldly affairs, the demonic path is a mixed bag of good and bad, the true dragon is belligerent and bloodthirsty, enjoying instigating conflict and slaughter, the Shaman is mysterious and unpredictable, the Daoist path is aloof and cold, the Buddhist path extends its reach everywhere, manipulating cause and effect, the divine path sees all living beings as ants and food, and the demonic path, being one of the Nine Lands of the World, it's perfectly normal for it to have a bad reputation," Li Qi said with great emotional intelligence.

"Hmm, that makes some sense. However, the Demonic Path is a little different from the other eight Dao Lineage. After all, our Path is based on the suffering of the world. The Heavenly Demon enjoys toying with people, the Affliction Demon feeds on the Dao heart, the Five Aggregates Demon obstructs sight and hearing and hinders Human Path's path, and the Demon of Death wants to push the world into death."

"Demons are Dao Path who parasitize other Dao Path, stealing wisdom and destroying the foundation of virtue and good deeds. That is why they are called demons. Our reputation is especially bad," the Demon Prince said without any hesitation.

Yes, this is the fundamental reason why the demonic path is viewed with hostility.

If we're talking about scandals and scandals, all the Dao Lineage are pretty much the same. So why is the demonic sect particularly resistant, and why were the Four Demons, who were the progenitors of the demonic sect, expelled from the world?

This is because the foundation of the demonic path is actually the foundation of other Dao Lineage.

The path of the Affliction Demon is built upon the afflictions of sentient beings. Damaging the aspirations of Human Path is his method of cultivation. The same is true for the Five Aggregates Demon, while the Demon of Death is even more extreme.

Even Li Qi knew that it was because the Buddhist community was spreading the terror of the Death Demon everywhere, and that those Buddhas, through Buddhist Scriptures and other preaching monks, had made public the methods for transcending the Death Demon.

The Death Demon, a method that transcends the first rank, has Great Dao Opportunity that involves destroying everything known, bringing everything to death, and even annihilating reincarnation itself.

Thus, the Path of Death can be achieved.

This was undoubtedly a declaration of war against all beings in the myriad realms. The Buddhas made it public, attempting to stifle the Dao Path of the demon, which can be considered an immense enmity.

"Obstacles to the Dao Path ..." Li Qi sighed, looked up at the sky, and remained silent for a moment.

Seeing his expression, the Demon Prince chuckled and said, "I understand. Obstacles to the Dao Path are everywhere, not just in the demonic path. Even the demonic Dao Path itself is being hindered in many ways. For example, the Death Demon was hindered by the heavens, and at the same time, he hindered the heavens. If the two sides of things can be reconciled, then we can go further. But, if the raw materials are not enough, how can we reconcile them?"

As he spoke, the Demon Prince stretched out his hand and looked at his palm, where the lines on his hand unfolded.

If someone skilled in divination and fortune telling were to observe that the earth line in his palm is snake-shaped, starting with a faint trace and gradually becoming shallower, wider, and lighter in color.

This is an ominous sign of an early death.

According to the predictions based on these palm lines, he should have died long ago.

Li Qi looked at the Demon Prince and knew what the other was thinking.

The human body is divided into Yin and Yang, which are the fundamental components of all things in the world. The way of Yin and Yang is a great path to heaven, and the Sun and Moon Path is an important part of it.

But the Demon Prince's body contains only Yang Energy and no Yin Qi at all, so he does not have 'two sides'; he only has one side.

Therefore, he doesn't have the concept of harmonizing yin and yang at all, and this will inevitably be a hurdle for him in the future.

At this moment, Li Qi said, "Why bother to reconcile? Since everything has two sides, the existence of one side means that the other side already exists."

The Demon Prince turned his head and glanced at Li Qi.

Then he nodded. "Yes, on the Dao Path, everything is an obstacle, but it can also be an aid. I didn't expect that you, Li Qi, see this more clearly than I do. Although you are timid, you are indeed a wise man."

"Since we're friends, let's give each other some advice. Your words have been quite enlightening for me. Your wisdom is indeed superior to mine. However, in terms of courage, you are weaker than me." The Demon Prince seemed unaccustomed to receiving favors, so after receiving Li Qi's reminder, he immediately offered to repay the favor.

Li Qi initially intended to politely decline, but upon hearing the other party mention courage, he immediately sat up straight and listened attentively.

This is indeed his most serious problem at present, and it is also the reason why Zhu Fengdan is pressuring him. If he can get the answer from the Demon Prince, then Shen Shuibi's problem may be solved.

"You are too intelligent, your senses are too sharp. Even now, standing in front of you, I can still feel a strong gaze on me, and everything around me sweeping around, as if trying to absorb all the information into your head. So much information makes you cautious and timid," the Demon Prince said.

His words were almost identical to Zhu Fengdan's, which made Li Qi somewhat admire him.

The fact that the Demon Prince could make the same judgment as a Great Shaman is enough to prove that his insights and advice are worth taking seriously.

"So, my advice to you is to remove your Daoist aura and experience what it's like to be 'blind,'" the Demon Prince said, then pointed to himself. "I don't have any Innate Dao Rhyme, and I found my bamboo staff myself later."

"Compared to you privileged individuals, I have nothing, I'm even physically disabled, but that doesn't stop me from climbing up step by step. Perhaps you should experience what it's like to be an ordinary person, so you'll know what courage is." The Demon Prince calmly offered this suggestion to Li Qi.

Remove the True Knowledge Dao Charm? Li Qi was taken aback.

He had never even considered such a thing.

After all, he had long been accustomed to True Knowledge Dao Charm, just as a person is accustomed to having eyes.

This habit is so ingrained that it's like how a person opens their eyes and naturally sees things; if they couldn't see, they would be terrified.

Li Qi was similar. If True Knowledge Dao Charm had disappeared, his first reaction would definitely be to be terrified. No one would think about finding a time to remove their own eyeballs, right?

As the Demon Prince spoke, he rested his chin on his finger and shook his head slightly. "Hmm, removing your Innate Dao Rhyme seems too painful for you. How about this, I know a demonic cultivator from the Five Aggregates Demon lineage who is skilled at using evil energy to obscure his mind. If you trust him, you can have him come and conceal your Dao aura."

"Concealing the Daoist aura... is that even possible?" Li Qi was somewhat surprised.

"Everything is connected. The essence of the senses is to detect and then return. As long as we can stop this process, that's fine. And the Five Aggregates Demon lineage is best at this," the Demon Prince said.

The essence of the senses is to detect and then return; for example, the eyes see photons emitted from the outside world, while the ears perceive mechanical waves.

Illusion is essentially about making you detect false information, while the Five Aggregates Demon is more advanced; it directly alters your perception, causing everything you see to appear different.

However, if the True Knowledge Dao Charm is directly blocked at the receiving end, Li Qi can indeed lose this sense.

"Perhaps, it's feasible." At this moment, Shen Shuibi, who had been pretending to be dead, suddenly spoke.

It involves Li Qi; she actually spoke to a stranger.

Li Qi turned to look at her, and the Demon Prince's gaze also fell on Shen Shuibi.

The Demon Prince recognized this woman; she was the one who saved Li Qi back in Hell.

But Shen Shuibi ignored the stares and continued, "There's just one problem: can we really trust the person you called?"

Manipulating the Five Aggregates is like having someone else perform surgery on you. If you don't trust them, who would dare to operate on someone else?

"Hmm... I do have that concern. Well then, wait for me for a while. After a while, my Dao foundation should be established. When I advance to the sixth rank, I will have the ability to manipulate the Five Elements. I should be trustworthy, right?" the Demon Prince said.

Li Qi nodded. Indeed, he had forgotten if he hadn't been reminded.

The Demon Prince actually cultivates all four paths simultaneously, possessing all the characteristics of the demonic path.

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