The Unreturning Disciples

In the outer void, there floats a dead zone of the world.

After the world dies, the world barrier will gradually melt away, exposing the matter inside. If there is enough of this matter, the resulting gravity will be enough to hold it back, preventing it from being diluted by the infinite range of the outer void.

This would create a region similar to the asteroid belt, known as the 'world dead zone'.

At the same time, because there was no world barrier to begin with, these dead zones of the world have not been affected by the Human Path method of dissolving world barriers. They remain exactly as they were originally.

This characteristic makes these dead zones around the world gathering places for 'Unreturning Disciples'.

"The Unreturning Disciples" —that's the name they gave themselves.

Having wandered far from home, I turn back and yearn for my old hometown.

A heart-wrenching scream, a sorrowful cup of wine in hand.

Human Path destroyed countless worlds in an instant. Most worlds had little ability to resist. Some worlds had only two or three Rank 9 cultivators in total. These Rank 9 cultivators were enough to be called 'Grandmaster' or similar titles in this world. They were the founders of the world's cultivation system.

However, there are still many worlds, some of which are sixth-grade, some of the fifth-grade, and some of the Fourth-Rank World. These worlds may have been torn apart and turned into raw materials, but before they died and cried out in agony, these powerful beings protected a portion of their people from the civilizations and helped them leave, becoming wanderers in the endless outer realms.

Only a few worlds of the third rank are qualified to protect their home world from being torn apart in the face of Human Path.

But for these fourth and fifth grade powerhouses, they will never have a home again, no 'homeland' they can tell others about, their ancestral land has been completely destroyed.

Initially, these people all found the dead zone in the world and prepared to find a new place to settle down.

They have no hatred of Human Path, nor dare they harbor hatred.

They really didn't dare, not even to harbor hatred.

The difference is too great. That is Human Path! Extraterrestrial beings may not know much about the other eight places in the Nine Lands of the World, but as long as it is an enlightened world, they must have heard of Human Path.

Because Human Path has never stopped its conquest, and the endless worlds are being swallowed up by the expanding Human Path every moment. Every moment, some worlds are fighting desperately, some succeeding and some failing.

Indeed, there are worlds that have defeated Human Path within their own world through their own efforts. Generally speaking, Human Path will not make a second move, and there is even a very small chance that they will send out an invitation to the other party to join Human Path, because the other party has already proven that they are qualified to have the personality of 'human' in the endless realm.

After all, Human Path generally doesn't go to great lengths to destroy a world. Usually, it's Fifth Rank General who conquers a fifth-rank world, and a ninth-rank squad that conquers Ninth Rank World; the difference isn't that great.

Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? This has always been the way of Human Path. They are very good at controlling costs. The purpose of conquest is not expansion, but resources. To destroy a Ninth Rank World and consume an Eighth-Rank Magic Treasure is a waste. If everyone does this, what is the point of conquest? That would be charity.

Only the Death Demons would destroy for the sake of destruction. Human Path has little interest in destruction; the reason they wage war is simply to obtain resources.

However... even in competition among equals, few worlds can survive.

Rare, but not nonexistent. So, through the propaganda of these worlds that have survived by sheer luck, or perhaps out of a sense of shared sorrow, the infamous reputation of Human Path is enough to terrify even the most powerful beings in the outer realms.

Therefore, this time, these world lords didn't even have the thought of revenge. There was absolutely no need for them to hide in a dead zone and think about what to do next.

Once upon a time, when Human Path first embarked on its journey of conquering beyond the borders... there were many, many worlds that thought they could hitch a ride on Human Path's great ship.

They are so naive, wanting the world to be strong and hoping for Human Path help, while also wanting to be treated equally by Human Path, and even wanting to manipulate the Dao Lineage at will.

Later, these people discovered that Human Path did not regard them as "one of our own" at all, but rather as "resources," as trees planted in the forest, as minerals buried in the soil, as pigs frolicking in the wild, and as wild fruits and mushrooms waiting to be picked.

It doesn't matter when you don't need it, but when you do need it, tonight we'll have roasted wild boar belly.

Therefore, the concept of 'revenge' never even crossed anyone's mind; it simply didn't exist from beginning to end. It was already a stroke of luck that they survived.

However, after some time, they realized that... there was still a possibility of revenge.

Because the Shaman Path sent them some information.

They then realized that this time, the Human Path wasn't for resources, but for 'war'.

A war of equal strength, a great battle between Human Path and Shaman Path.

By the way, the news came from Li Qi.

Li Qi keenly sensed the presence of this group of people, so he resorted to some underhanded tactics.

He first observed Human Path actions.

Those special operations detachments could evade Li Qi's observation, but the actions of the Human Path rights legions were almost impossible to conceal. Therefore, Li Qi could clearly see that the Human Path did not care about these 'stray dogs'.

They are indeed homeless dogs; their home has already been demolished by Human Path.

From Human Path perspective, these things are no longer of concern, but for Li Qi, they are a vital force, a usable guerrilla force behind enemy lines.

Therefore, Li Qi found this group of stray dogs through the 'alliance' and told them that this time, they could stop being stray dogs.

Li Qi gave them a new option: to become a bargaining chip in the Human-Shaman War, helping the Shaman Path to seize the opportunity for victory for Human Path.

This could very well lead to their deaths, or even extinguish the last spark of their civilization.

But...

Many people still joined in.

One of the fifth-rank officials said this to Li Qi, replying in the alliance, "Can a civilization that only has me left still be considered a civilization?"

Of the strongest members of their races who were alone, nearly 60% chose to join. The remaining 40% had no interest in civilization to begin with, and many were wanderers who had left civilization in pursuit of the Dao. Li Qi did not force them to join.

Some who managed to protect the last of their people chose to retreat. They needed to plan for the future and didn't want the flame to be completely extinguished; they wanted to leave the war zone.

Others chose to have it both ways: they settled their people and then joined the 'Unreturning Disciples'.

All because of a personal promise Li Qi.

Li Qi promised them that he could let them join his chamber of commerce and become one of his direct subordinates.

Since we're fighting for Wushen Mountain, why not give them a place within it?

Those who settled their people and then joined the 'Unreturning Disciples' knew that the world had been destroyed, and a civilization without a foundation was like duckweed, which would immediately dissipate with the slightest breeze or rain.

However, it was still worth it to risk my life to ensure that the rest of my people would receive the protection of a young master, giving our civilization a chance to develop steadily in the future.

In short, Li Qi did manage to recruit a group of people through these means.

Then, he revealed the location of his scouts to the 'Unreturning Disciples' group.

This can be considered a test, and also a collaboration.

These scouts will be found by the Unreturning Disciples, and then they will be able to see for themselves the Unreturning Disciples' sincerity.

Just as Li Qi had predicted, the reconnaissance team he chose carefully considered the matter and quickly agreed to meet.

Logically speaking, Human Path should have already discovered these clandestine exchanges by now, since all exchanges inevitably involve Technique Method. In the outer void, even the slightest movement is very conspicuous, just like a leaf falling into a calm body of water will cause ripples.

However, Li Qi had already started a war not far away. Light-years away, a Sixth-Rank World launched an attack on an army of Human Path.

The turmoil of war turned the surrounding calm waters into waterfalls.

A leaf falling into calm water is easily noticed, but if there's a waterfall nearby, it's much harder to spot.

Human Path understands these things, so many battles in the war are serving this purpose. At this moment, while Li Qi's reconnaissance team is active, Human Path's reconnaissance team is certainly also searching around within the Shaman Path.

Both sides are fully aware of this, but also know that it's beyond their control.

Then it all comes down to who has the better skills, who makes fewer mistakes, and who earns more battlefield benefits.

Putting all that aside, the reconnaissance team's movements were concealed, and then they quickly crossed over to a dead zone in the world.

Inside the dead zone of the world, stood a fifth-rank official.

It has a very strange appearance, somewhat like a humanoid creature, but not quite. It has four limbs and a head, but the limbs are very thin and long, and the skin is grayish-blue, like a strange four-legged octopus.

However, it is quite clear what grade this four-legged gray-blue octopus is of.

This was a fifth-rank cultivator, one of the 'Unreturning Disciples' who chose to personally venture into the dangerous place to welcome this reconnaissance team.

"Jiayin Three Realms, the Jizhong Westward Third Squad, you are the captain, Xun Dongxing, right?" the octopus asked.

The reconnaissance team leader looked at the situation in the World Dead Zone and still chose to believe it. So he nodded and said, "That's right, it's us."

The reason this captain chose to believe him is because... that's his personality; he's always been the more radical and adventurous type, which is why Li Qi exposed him to the Unreturning Disciples.

He himself didn't know, but that was 'Heaven's Will'.

His presence here is an arrangement of 'Heaven's Will', so he thinks his reaction is his own decision, but in Upper Heaven had already anticipated that he would make this decision.

However, Li Qi was unaware of what was happening at that moment. He didn't have the attention to focus on each individual; just keeping an eye on the situation on the world-class battlefield had already exhausted him.

However, it wasn't just Xun Dongxing who was affected by Li Qi; at this very moment, Li Qi was manipulating many people, guiding them to the right place.

Why did Li Qi place the right people in the right places even without paying any attention to the context?

Nothing more than letting nature take its course.

This is a method that Li Qi gradually developed after cultivating in the divine way for a long time and comprehending the transformation of Chaos Qi into a microcosm within the human body.

Going with the flow is the true Heaven's Will.

Water will naturally flow to a lower place where it can stop, but for water to reach its destination, it does not need every careful arrangement along the way. Even a god could not arrange it for everyone.

In a world with such vast variables, even a small error can lead to a huge mistake. You can't possibly control everyone. Trying to approximate Heaven's Will and control everyone with computing power is a mistake.

Just like Li Qi's previous inner world, he wanted to turn the illusory into the real. The way he came up with was to observe reality and then use the parameters of reality as much as possible to approximate and correct the parameters of his inner world, and to accurately calculate the movement of every wisp of qi.

However, this approach can only 'approach' infinitely, but can never truly 'turn the virtual into reality'.

Just like a circle, Li Qi his computing power to forcibly approach the limit of pi in an attempt to create a perfect circle.

But he could never achieve perfection, because pi is infinite, and it is impossible to pursue infinite perfection with a finite life.

If you want to be the Heaven's Will, you can't use this kind of thinking to arrange everyone. Otherwise, no matter how high Li Qi's calculation ability is, he won't be able to calculate it all.

To control the water flow to a specific lake, Li Qi only needed to dig a ditch, without needing to control all the water flow.

Water only needs a channel to flow into the lake; everything happens naturally.

Therefore, he doesn't need to control everyone; he only needs to change the overall environment of the entire world group, including everyone in the Unreturning Disciples, Xun Dongxing, the captain of the reconnaissance team of the Jiayin Three Realms, and countless others like them. They will all follow Li Qi's wishes and carry out their own actions.

This method works very well.

Li Qi doesn't need to pay attention to so many people or exhaust his computing power to still control the overall situation.

For example, right now—

Xun Dongxing, they joined the Unreturning Disciples and arrived behind enemy lines.

Soon, guerrilla units operating behind enemy lines will be formed.

Furthermore, Li Qi attached great importance to this.

He took it seriously and made a point of sending a message to Shen Shuibi through the 'Alliance'.

"Yu'er, I have a task that only you can do. If you succeed, it may be the key to victory."

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuibi, who was fighting on the front lines, chose to leave.

A few days later, she returned from the front lines and stood before Li Qi.

However, she had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Could it be... that this mission is very dangerous?