The Egg Hatched

After that, Li Qi did indeed contact the Demon Prince and successfully sealed away the True Knowledge.

In that instant, Li Qi really felt like he had gone blind.

Everything in this world turned into a hazy shadow before his eyes. The information about objects that were originally clearly visible and whose essence could be read at a glance became incredibly profound at this moment.

Originally, Li Qi could clearly know the length, width, density, hardness, toughness, and other information of an object. He could easily see these things, which allowed him to quickly and conveniently calculate what he needed to do to achieve his goal. In battle, he could use this skill to quickly see the nature and weakness of the opponent's Technique Method and find the corresponding countermeasures in a short time.

But all of that disappeared.

Li Qi could only see the appearance of objects, but could not perceive any of their inherent properties.

This feeling almost terrified him.

What terrified him was not only his current state of being like a blind man, but also... the fact that the Demon Prince could really cut off true knowledge.

His Daoist aura, which he was so proud of, was actually something that could be countered by opponents of the same level.

The Demon Prince gave Li Qi a way to undo the curse, then exchanged a few pleasantries with Li Qi before leaving.

He doesn't plan to stay in this world any longer. He already has enough legends, and the title of the number one among the younger generation has firmly fallen on his shoulders. Now that he has reached the sixth rank, he is going to the outer realms.

The world is vast, but the scenery is limited. The Demon Prince is ready to roam the endless realms and witness the profound and boundless landscapes.

Li Qi expressed his respect for this friend; if it weren't for the war looming over him, he would have liked to go too.

But everyone has their own path, so let's not force it.

Saying goodbye to the Demon Prince, this is truly goodbye. Who knows how many years it will be before we meet again.

After that, Li Qi enjoyed several more peaceful decades.

For seventy years after the initial period, Li Qi continued to do his own thing at home, accumulating knowledge, laying a solid foundation, and getting used to days without true knowledge.

In the past few decades, Li Qi had suffered so much that he could hardly survive. He never imagined that his dependence on true knowledge would be so severe. He had tried more than once to break free from this feeling of being disconnected from True Knowledge Dao Charm.

Fortunately, Shen Shuibi was there to guide and accompany me, which helped me get through the most painful time.

The first few days after he went blind were probably what Li Qi experienced.

Moreover, this is far more terrifying than blindness; it can be described as the complete loss of all five senses.

But Li Qi also realized something: his five senses had long since become completely dependent on true knowledge.

He listens not to the sound itself, but to the sound that True Knowledge Dao Charm.

When he looks at things, he doesn't see the objects themselves, but rather he is focused on the flow of information that True Knowledge Dao Charm is conveying.

Li Qi never truly used his own eyes to examine the world. He relied entirely on true knowledge to communicate with the outside world. His Five Officials were completely embedded in the True Knowledge Dao Charm, and he depended entirely on true knowledge.

When Li Qi realized this, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Relying entirely on true knowledge is no different from relying entirely on the five aggregates.

Ordinary people rely entirely on the five aggregates to perceive the outside world. Li Qi thought he had broken free from the five aggregates and was not affected by the demonic path, but in reality, although he had broken free from the five aggregates, he had fallen into the prison of true knowledge.

The Demon Prince's suggestion was a great help to him.

Therefore, even though it took him more than a decade of excruciating pain, he gradually regained his perception of the outside world and stopped relying so heavily on true knowledge.

At the same time, he also truly built up some courage in the process.

This was said by Zhu Fengdan.

Seeing Li Qi recover from the blow of losing true knowledge and gain a new perspective on the world, Zhu Fengdan praised Li Qi, saying that this was what it meant to have a little bit of 'courage'.

Li Qi seemed to be deep in thought.

To become blind, then get used to being blind, and continue to explore, to continue groping for the Dao Path in this form... does that... equate to 'courage'?

So, it seems that he vaguely understood a little bit.

Because he once likened the 'Dao Path' to a dark continent, and each person was a blind Worms, struggling to crawl through the dark continent.

Now, by deliberately blinding himself to the truth, he has essentially put himself in the shoes of others and directly experienced the difficulties of the dark world.

Despite these difficulties, he persevered, re-explored the world, and regained normal sensory function, refusing to be defeated by this intense shock...

So, is this what it means to have touched the edge of courage?

If Li Qi could truly and completely abandon true knowledge and discard this Daoist philosophy, yet still find this path, Zhu Fengdan would probably call it 'true courage'.

After all, Li Qi is only simulating it now; if he wants, he can regain his true knowledge anytime, anywhere.

But Li Qi wouldn't do that, nor would he dare to. Therefore, Zhu Fengdan only said that he had gotten close to it.

But at least we've found our direction.

In short, over these seventy years, Li Qi finally had time to reflect and mature, instead of being chased by a bunch of terrifying things, where he would either charge forward or die.

One day, seventy years later—

Li Qi opened his eyes, and what came into view was a beautiful egg.

This is his child, but she hasn't been born yet. She will only hatch after she has gradually digested all the energy around her.

Li Qi hung the egg by his bedside and checked it carefully every day to see when the little guy would be born, but there was no sign of it being born yet.

After the inspection, he slowly got up, walked outside, and looked down at Xuanjing Mountain.

The villages outside have been replaced by a new group of people. The old people have all grown old and died, and now there are new people. The young people who once left the mountains have never returned.

Li Qi had begun to taste the flavor of the passage of time.

He is only a little over a hundred years old now. I wonder what color those great shamans, whose lives are measured in millions of years, must be.

Take it slow, one step at a time.

Just then, a voice came from beside Li Qi: "Boss?"

Li Qi knew without even looking that it was Old Ma.

He looked at Old Ma.

Old Ma is nearly 100 years old and looks somewhat middle-aged.

Old Ma is an eighth-rank official, and the lifespan of an eighth-rank official is limited. Although the Conglong itself has a relatively long lifespan, able to live for several hundred years, even at a hundred years old, it will show some signs of age.

"Is there still no progress on your path to the seventh rank?" Li Qi frowned as he looked at Old Ma's somewhat aged appearance.

"Oh dear, as you know, boss, I'm rather slow-witted... and I don't like to ponder Technique Method..." Old Ma grinned, saying nonchalantly.

He wasn't the type to use his brain from the start, and because he didn't like using his brain, it was difficult for him to find the right methods to get promoted.

"So, do you want to die?" Li Qi asked.

"It's still early~." Old Ma replied with a smile, wagging his tail. "I am a valiant dragon, and my natural lifespan is at least five hundred years. I've also gotten my fair share of spirit medicine by following you, Boss, so living to my limit shouldn't be a problem. I still have four hundred years left!"

Hearing Old Ma's answer, Li Qi shook his head slightly.

That's enough, there's no need to persuade him anymore. He certainly has plenty of time, let him take it slow. Seeking the Way is not something that can be done in a day or two.

So Li Qi ignored Old Ma and turned to walk in the other direction.

Seeing this, Old Ma quickly ran away, heading towards a pool of water at the foot of the mountain.

On the other side of the cave abode, Shen Shuibi was deep in thought.

She is also a person who is good at contemplation, and she is very good at it. Moreover, her own cultivation requires time to accumulate, so she spends most of her free time doing this.

However, compared to Li Qi's constant exposure to new knowledge and inspiration, she seemed much less interesting.

However, when Li Qi got closer, he saw that she was holding several Bagua plates and was trying to solve a bunch of world gravity rules.

This isn't spiritual practice; it's work.

"Are you helping Mount Luofu?" Li Qi walked over and asked her.

"Yes, the expansion over Mount Luofu is going quite well. The formation I created for them is already working. It's just that Yang Ning isn't good at these kinds of calculations, so she asked me to help. If it's successful, they and the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom will be involved in another world group, which is equivalent to doubling their profits." The rabbit nodded.

Regarding the business outside the territory, Li Qi has basically relinquished all control and left it entirely to Mount Luofu to rebuild the business. Yang Ning is in charge of the specific matters, and Li Qi only provides the identity of a young master.

The fact that it's advertised as the property of a young master from Wushen Mountain is enough to scare away many people, since the outer regions are lawless places, and you can't be intimidated without a certain status and position.

The Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom also intervened, providing a lot of manpower at the grassroots level. After all, it was a powerful force of the Baiyue Kingdom, and she could handle many things.

There are still too few people in Mount Luofu. A Baiyue Sovereign could perfectly solve this problem, which was one of the reasons why Li Qi did this in the first place.

As a result, the business outside the region is operating quite well, only occasionally needing help like this.

"It involves another world group, huh... Did it prevent Ling Xiao's side from causing trouble?" Li Qi asked.

"Yang Ning is keeping a close eye on things. Anything that goes against the natural order will be an obstacle to your Dao Path. How could she let her guard down? Don't worry." Shen Shuibi smiled and shook her head.

"It's not just obstacles..." Li Qi took a slight breath.

However, never mind, I'll trust Yang Ning. Although she has a bad temper, she's still smart.

"What's wrong?" Shen Shuibi asked.

Li Qi usually doesn't bother her, so there must be a reason why he came in this time.

"It's mainly about Old Ma," Li Qi said. "He still doesn't seem to be able to find the right opportunity to reach the seventh rank."

"There's nothing we can do about this," Shen Shuibi sighed. "The Dao Path is one's own business; no one can help with that. You've already given him very generous terms. Not many eighth-rank dragons have such opportunities. If he doesn't strive for improvement himself..."

Li Qi also sighed.

Old Ma's situation is not so easy to resolve. He was originally just an ordinary Dragon Steed. When Li Qi first met Old Ma, he thought he was some kind of warhorse or military horse.

Later I found out that Old Ma wasn't the one at all.

After all, the Dragon Steed that the Tang Kingdom general would consider a good match could not possibly be like this Old Ma.

But Li Qi didn't want to see his brother, with whom he had shared life and death, gradually grow old.

When their time is up, their life force is exhausted. Even someone like Uncle Liu, who couldn't live a continuous life, can only obediently enter the cycle of reincarnation.

"But now that you've come to me, what are your thoughts?" Shen Shuibi asked.

"Well, I was thinking of sending him to the outer realms. What do you think?" Li Qi suggested.

"You make the decision. If you want to train him, you should make plans. If you continue to let him be lazy, he might just harbor resentment instead of being trained," Shen Shuibi said.

"I don't mean he's resentful. He's just lazy, not heartless. But with what you've said, I've made up my mind." Li Qi got up and left Shen Shuibi's secret room.

This secluded room not only isolates her from investigations but also cuts off external information, allowing her to concentrate on her work.

In recent decades, since they had nothing much to do, Li Qi and Shen Shuibi have each spent a lot of time cultivating, and thus each has their own secret chamber.

As for those Sixth-Rank Grotto-Heaven, Li Qi didn't know how to use them, so he gave them all to Shen Shuibi. She is now cultivating many spiritual herbs in them to meet her needs for alchemy.

Life is just like that, ordinary and simple, but it's very comforting to live like this.

This is what life is all about. Li Qi wouldn't want to take any risks unless absolutely necessary.

But for Old Ma, this was a necessity.

Stepping out the door, Li Qi cast a Method Formula.

Old Ma had already slipped down to tease the fish demon, was startled when he saw the Method Formula. He then said, "Little sister, I have something urgent to attend to. Wait for me, I'll be right back."

After speaking, he abandoned the fish demon with a human body and a fish tail, transformed into a dragon, and swiftly darted into the wind and clouds under the other party's starry eyes, landing in front of Li Qi.

It's only a dozen or so miles, which would only take him a few seconds.

"Boss, what's up?" Old Ma appeared in front of Li Qi with a grin.

"Ma Ji," Li Qi addressed the Old Ma by his full name.

Old Ma's expression froze for a moment, then he straightened up abruptly, startled, and said tremblingly, "Boss? What's wrong?"

This was the first time Li Qi had addressed Ma Ji by his name so solemnly, which gave Old Ma an ominous feeling.

"I plan to arrange for you to go to the outer realms with Mount Luofu and the others, to explore a new world on your own," Li Qi said.

Old Ma immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, is that all? That's easy! I'm getting a bit stifled here! I'll go out into the world to clear my head. Leave everything to me!" Old Ma patted his chest and readily agreed.

"You said it yourself, so it's settled. In a while, I'll arrange for you to go with the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom to explore the land." Li Qi said this with some relief.

At least I didn't force him to go.

Just then, Old Ma and Li Qi both felt a surge of Spiritual Qi rushing towards them.

Li Qi's expression changed!

The egg broke?!