The Foundation of the Divine Path

What is the beginning?

The innate things are the beginning.

The Star Official lineage is 'Heaven', formed from the awakened intelligence of the Heavenly Dao itself.

The Heavenly Court lineage, as another branch, is the 'Innate' lineage, which is an existence even more ancient than the Heavenly Dao.

The earliest matter to appear in the universe, or you could say, the firstborn of the universe, the origin of all matter, all qi (vital energy) comes from their self-differentiation.

These are the gods of the Heavenly Court lineage.

The gods of the Heavenly Court lineage attained Chaos Qi; they are the 'beginning'.

The first sun, the first moon, the first mountains, the first rivers, the first light, the first lightning—even the 'first air'.

Therefore, the martial arts of those ancient times were the result of life simulating these naturally powerful gods. That's why the Martial Dao Inner Qi presents a chaotic state, because... gods themselves come from chaos.

Li Qi suddenly recalled the wisp of inexplicable energy he had encountered when he first advanced to the seventh rank and comprehended the "Creation from Nothing." (See Chapters 296 and 298 for details)

Li Qi didn't recognize that wisp of energy at the time, but he knew that his transformation from nothing to something, from the Creation from Nothing, all started from that wisp of energy.

At the time, he didn't know, so he just glossed over it, but now that he has seen the real 'god' with his own eyes, Li Qi knows the answer.

The Primordial Chaos Qi, the 'origin' of all qi.

All qi comes from the decay of the Primordial Chaos Qi, just as all atoms come from the fusion of hydrogen atoms.

Hydrogen atoms are the mother of elements, and the Primordial Chaos Qi before us is the mother of all gases.

However, the two are fundamentally different.

The hydrogen atom is the simplest atom; all complexity is built upon the stacking of simple atoms.

But the Primordial Chaos Qi was the most complex energy. It was unable to maintain its complexity and eventually gradually 'differentiated and decayed' into other energies.

However, given the right conditions, all qi can eventually reach the level of the Primordial Chaos Qi by increasing its complexity and disorder.

Li Qi felt that it could be called 'returning to the beginning'.

So, facing the descending chaos, Li Qi began to move.

True Knowledge Dao Charm had thoroughly analyzed the truth of chaos, combining it with his own knowledge, as well as the 'flow' method he had initially comprehended.

The method of circulation can already generate Martial Dao Inner Qi, but... it's still not enough.

Now he saw that the flow of Qi, which was even more sublime than the essence of Martial Dao Inner Qi, also needed to evolve.

Li Qi closed his eyes, shutting down his five senses, and used the True Knowledge Dao Charm to replace all his senses.

It's a long-lost feeling, that feeling of having everything under control.

Very nice.

In those two instants as he landed, Li Qi's Qi began to circulate.

Tai Shi refers to the beginning of form and the beginning of things. From the smallest to the most obvious, changes occur in succession. Once Yin and Yang are separated, all things take shape, and each of them has its own nature: square, round, hard, soft, still, and restless.

So, as long as you keep pushing your own little world upwards—

Before heaven and earth were separated, there was chaos and no roots. Gazing upon the beginning of the vast and boundless expanse, one's thoughts wandered beyond the boundless. One's will was boundless and expansive, and there was no formless emptiness. Before any divine beings were born.

Li Qi's microcosm, including Guangyang, the Five Sacred Mountains and Four Rivers, the Sun and Moon, the Buddhist Heavens, and even all the strange and bizarre things in Li Qi's inner world, all collapsed on their own.

But this collapse was not caused by violence, but rather by... assimilation.

Li Qi, in the dim light, had already observed the mixture before it was distinguished, and glimpsed the indistinguishable purity and turbidity.

Li Qi's inner world was in a state of reversed motion, with yin and yang in disarray, obscuring the universe and causing all the Primal Qi in the bellows to dissipate.

Ultimately, it transformed into the Unseen of primordial chaos, a vast and indistinct Chaos Qi.

At this moment, Li Qi suddenly gained some kind of enlightenment.

That was the culmination of his previous knowledge, the knowledge he had gained from reading millions of High Antiquity classics and various excellent books, which began to be elevated by a certain fact.

This knowledge was no longer just knowledge; it began to merge with Li Qi.

It's like... chaos.

Everything originates from chaos.

The essence of Creation from Nothing is chaos arising out of thin air.

This cannot explain the Creation from Nothing, because chaos itself cannot be explained, but it pushed Li Qi a step further, explaining the origin of 'qi', since he couldn't even explain 'qi' before.

In this way, Li Qi's inner world is no longer so 'rigid'.

Why be so rigid? Because every wisp of energy should have its own place. Li Qi carefully arranged these places to fit his Dao and to perfectly exert his power.

But now, it's not necessary.

If one simply aligns with 'chaos' itself, then the inner world will evolve on its own, and based on the qi that appears out of nowhere, it will begin to align itself in a more 'natural' and more 'casual' way.

With the craftsmanship gone and the Spiritual Qi increased, his inner world became even more 'naturally perfect'.

After all, he had witnessed a true 'natural being' firsthand.

In the world, there is nothing more 'naturally perfect' than a true god. The true god is the 'original' existence, and the god is completely 'naturally perfect'. This is also why the relationship between Shaman Path and the divine is so good.

However, the gods are not the 'nature' itself that Shaman Path pursues, so although Shaman Path and the gods are very close, there is always a slight barrier between them.

Li Qi's cultivation level broke through again, and he sensed it...

Having only unsealed his true knowledge for a few seconds, he seemed to have already touched the barrier of the fifth rank.

When he is able to create true Chaos Qi from Creation from Nothing, his human body and his microcosm will truly materialize.

Because the energy derived from Chaos Qi is real, he can use this energy to rebuild the inner world, ultimately making the inner world a real world.

Just then, the attack from the deity in the sky began to descend and land on Li Qi.

However, to Li Qi's surprise—

When the attack touched Li Qi, it did not harm Li Qi as before, but instead merged with Li Qi.

In that moment of merging into one, Li Qi suddenly felt a sense of "mutual understanding".

In an instant, a flood of information rushed toward him.

As he merged into the chaos, Li Qi hesitated for a moment, but then began to accept this information.

After accepting it, he suddenly realized what was going on.

These Chaos Qi were not an attack, although they did indeed nearly kill Li Qi.

These Chaos Qi are 'communication', 'invitation', and conveying information.

Li Qi was just too weak; he couldn't even withstand the other party's breath on him.

Of course, if this breath kills Li Qi Qiha...

That would be hilarious.

The gods don't care about these things. If they can't even communicate with them, what's the problem with whether someone is dead or alive?

If Li Qi had a body right now, he would definitely break out in a cold sweat.

Unfortunately, he no longer has a physical body. To be precise... his entire being, including his inner world, physical body, and even his soul, has been transformed into Chaos Qi.

But strangely enough, even in this situation, he maintained his own autonomy and did not truly integrate into the other person's life.

And this seems to be what the other party wants as well.

In this situation, all thoughts will be laid bare, the two people's thinking will be completely synchronized, and all their thoughts will be exposed to each other.

After realizing this, Li Qi suddenly noticed something strange.

That is, he did not sense any fluctuation in the other party's thoughts at all. The other party's thought process was like a stagnant pool, while countless pieces of information were surging out in his own mind.

Just after he had this thought, the other person suddenly had an idea.

"Mortals are indeed very active. A second's thought of yours is enough for us to think about for a long time," he said.

Li Qi understood what he meant, and then he began to think, his mind rippling with many emotions.

Normally, when ordinary people utter a sentence, there are actually a great deal of psychological activity behind it. Eventually, these psychological activities come together to arrive at the sentence. Moreover, after saying it, they will start to reflect on whether the sentence is right or wrong, resulting in a very intense process of information exchange.

But these gods are different; they don't seem to have a 'thinking' process. When they speak, they speak; what they say is what they think.

There was no hidden meaning or implication; their words were their thoughts, and their thoughts were their words. They had no 'inner thoughts'; they would speak out all their innermost thoughts.

Is this a characteristic of 'chaos'?

It should be because... Li Qi discovered that in his current chaotic state, all his thoughts were presented to the other party. He had actually achieved 'words are thoughts, and thoughts are words,' but he was just talking a little too much.

Li Qi's thoughts were too numerous and chaotic, making it seem as if he was constantly rambling on and on.

The other party remained quiet and silent, making it impossible for them to continue.

After all, if the other party only needs to say one sentence, Li Qi can come up with seven or eight short essays on different topics, which makes it impossible for the two sides to communicate at all.

Therefore, after those two sentences, Li Qi began to rein in his thoughts and control himself from continuing to write analytical papers and make judgments about what to do in his mind.

This is not simple.

Gathering distracting thoughts and maintaining a clear mind is something that all practitioners do, but maintaining normal thinking and communicating with others while ensuring that there are no 'inner thoughts' is a bit difficult.

Fortunately, it was only a little difficult. Although he was not used to it, Li Qi quickly controlled his chaotic thoughts and entered a state of seclusion and cultivation.

The torrent of essays that had been flowing out of his head finally stopped, but Li Qi was still unable to express what he wanted to say precisely in this state and needed to remain silent for a while.

But then, the chaos spoke again, "Have you taken control of your thoughts? Hmm... You all learn very quickly. Mortals are fleeting, and you are always fragile and ever-changing. But that's quite interesting."

Li Qi did not reply at the moment.

After about a minute, he finally got used to this slow and calm state of mind, and then replied, "This feeling... is wonderful, but let's talk about that later. Greetings, Great God. May I ask your esteemed title?"

"My name is not important. You only need to know that I am the Fire Official," the voice said.

He called himself 'Fire Official'.

Li Qi took a deep breath. Luckily, he didn't have a physical body, otherwise he would definitely have fallen flat on his face!

Fire official!

In High Antiquity, each of the five elements had an official. Therefore, the leader of the five elements was not a person, but a series of official positions. Among the fire officials, the first-ranked one was the 'Fire Official'.

Many people may not be familiar with the name Mars, but anyone in the world who observes the stars will be familiar with it.

His name is Zhu Rong.

Zhu Rong was the chief of the ancient fire officials, and under his command were other ordinary fire officials. These fire officials were the "chiefs of the five elements" and the "origin" of all the power of the five elements.

The Five Elements! Their power is beyond imagination!

Both High Antiquity Shaman Path and Human Path have stated. "Will the officials of the Five Elements follow their actions in later generations? This is something that wise and sages have known."

Later generations all followed his example—what high praise that is!

Even if the other party wasn't Zhu Rong himself, but just an ordinary fire official, he was still far beyond Li Qi's reach. Even Zhu Fengdan wouldn't be more than a few generations higher than him.

Not to mention the surname 'Zhu Rong'.

That's right, Zhu Rong, his surname is 'Zhu'.

This is the first deity that the Shaman lineage contacted. High Antiquity Shaman Path originated from communication with the gods, and Zhu Rong was the first great god to respond to the ancestors of Shaman Path.

As for Zhu Fengdan, she might actually have connections with someone else.

At this moment, Li Qi's mind was already churning out ten short essays, but fortunately he had begun to control his chaotic thoughts, so it wasn't too outrageous. He was only slightly surprised, and then cupped his hands and said, "So you are a great master of the Fire Righteous lineage. Then we really have a connection."

"There is indeed a connection, but... in my opinion, you Shaman are all pretty much the same, except that the lineage of the Shaman is slightly better," the fire official said.

Ignoring the other party's indifference, Li Qi said, "Thank you for your guidance, Li Qi. I have benefited greatly from it."

The fire official paused for a moment, then said, "Benefit... what benefit? Oh, your cultivation, is that it? You mortals certainly need it. Then I'll accept your thanks. By the way, why did you come here and even dare to communicate with an unborn deity? Don't you know that's taboo?"

"A taboo? Sorry, I really don't know," Li Qi replied immediately.

In a state of confusion and uncertainty, lying is pointless; all your thoughts will be completely exposed to the other party. So when Li Qi says he doesn't know, he truly doesn't know.

As a result, the fire official's Fire Qi subsided somewhat.

"Unborn deities are extremely fragile, yet they are also very effective tonics; you should have already sensed that," the Fire Official said.

Li Qi was stunned. It took him two seconds to realize what the other person was talking about.

Indeed, that sphere named Xinluo looked rather delicious. Such pure Chaos Qi... if one were to eat it...

No, I can't think about that. Eating people is something only martial artists do.