New Understanding

An ordinary garrison in a Seventh Rank World, due to a powerful being's mistake in moving supplies, experienced a shock that led them from top to bottom to understand the meaning of courage.

With this courage, they faced death without flinching and ultimately achieved victory.

Their courage was not born of grief, but rather, under the leadership of that Seventh Rank World Lord, the entire army underwent a transformation, even altering their Dao Path.

Many people have had this experience, but not everyone can transform because they were just provoked at the time and acted recklessly. They were merely manipulated by their emotions, not because they had truly understood anything.

After that, Li Qi chose to withdraw this world for repairs, while simultaneously publicizing their deeds to boost morale, and also reprimanding the sixth-rank official who had moved the world.

The person in charge of the transport simply used Divine Ability to teleport the surface civilization without even bothering to check if there was anything left below, which constitutes dereliction of duty.

Then, Li Qi would occasionally fall into deep thought.

Does he know why he's fighting? Does he have enough courage?

Li Qi felt that he actually knew, and he understood very well why he was fighting.

Because he believed he possessed, and was even stronger than these soldiers, that awareness of facing death to live, that willingness to sacrifice for something important.

Why is it that these soldiers were able to grasp 'courage' while I couldn't, and instead felt somewhat timid and hesitant?

At first, Li Qi didn't understand; he didn't know what he was lacking.

Li Qi knew very well what he wanted, and he often risked his life for his own Dao Path or for the things he cherished.

For example, going to the East Sea, or even upholding Dao heart in the face of the Heavenly Demon, is essentially the same, and is even more dangerous, more terrifying, and more difficult than what these soldiers experienced.

But why weren't these things enough for Li Qi to understand what courage is?

Li Qi had never quite understood this before.

However, four hundred years later, Li Qi suddenly understood.

This is also the "nature" that "Shaman Path" pursues.

Under the guidance of the deities of the Heavenly Court, he comprehended many things. With the accumulation of these things, coupled with the stories of this world, Li Qi finally had enough knowledge.

He seemed to realize what he was missing.

Previously, all the 'risks' and 'sacrifices' he made were essentially calculations.

He used his exceptional mental abilities, which he had maintained since he began his spiritual practice, to calculate and approach the results he desired, including 'courage'.

He calculated that doing so was the right thing to do, that it was advantageous, or rather, that he had to do it, because if he didn't, he might pay a price far worse than his life.

He weighed the pros and cons, weighed the various values between life and the Dao Path, and then he went about his business.

It was as if he risked his life for Shen Shuibi.

He still subconsciously weighed his own life against Shen Shuibi's life, feeling that the rabbit was more important, so he acted according to the weighing results.

In terms of the outcome, this is no different from courage; they are the same—both involve risking one's life.

But what if he weighs it and finds that his own life is more important?

Most importantly, how is the act of 'weighing' itself accomplished?

If the balance scale is based on gravity and mass, which can intuitively show the difference between the two sides, then what did Li Qi use to make this balance scale?

Which is more important, Shen Shuibi's life or Li Qi's life, or Li Qi's Dao Path or Li Qi's life? Why is it said that one is more important? Who decided on this "importance"?

Li Qi's previous answer to himself was, "Use the Dao to measure it."

Use the Tao to weigh things, to act as a scale, to see what is more important to the Tao.

But now, he seems to have come to a different answer.

The answer is that the act of weighing itself is actually deceiving oneself.

You think you are weighing things, but in reality you are being governed by the Tao and forcing yourself to abide by the so-called 'Tao'.

It is important to understand that it is people who pursue the Way, not the Way that binds people.

The Tao does not constrain people; people simply acknowledge and practice it from the bottom of their hearts, which is why they act in accordance with the Tao.

These are fundamentally different.

Just like obeying the law.

Evil people are forced to obey the law, while good people obey the law voluntarily.

Although both are law-abiding, they are worlds apart.

Using the Tao as a scale to weigh the importance of things, and seeing what is closer to the Tao, then that is important. This is how wicked people abide by the law. They are forced to obey the law because the law exists, and they are afraid of being punished after breaking it. Therefore, wicked people have no choice but to abide by the law.

It's not about obeying the law because it exists, but about doing it from the bottom of your heart, and then suddenly realizing: Oh, so what I did was actually obeying the law.

The wicked man was obsessed with killing, but after thinking about it, he realized that killing would be punished, so he decided not to kill.

The good man never had any concept of killing from beginning to end. He did not kill because of the goodness in his heart and because he did not want to kill, not because of the existence of 'law'.

This law can actually be seen as the 'Tao'.

Li Qi first assumed a 'way' that he should follow, and established a set of laws for himself to regulate his behavior.

Under these regulations, Li Qi performed exceptionally well; he was very self-disciplined.

But this is 'evil people obeying the law'. He didn't do it from the bottom of his heart. He just glanced at the rules and thought that doing it this way was more in line with the rules, so he did it according to the rules.

He seems to be perfectly 'upholding the Way and following the Way', but in reality, he has drifted further and further away from the 'Way'. He has only built a cage for himself called the 'Way'.

He danced in his cage, shackled and self-satisfied, thinking he had already learned that behavior should be guided by the "Tao," and that if he overstepped it, he might go astray.

Little did he know that the moment this thought crossed his mind, he had already gone astray.

Upon realizing this, Li Qi broke out in a cold sweat.

No wonder Zhu Fengdan said that he was "smart, but unfortunately too smart."

I genuinely feel it's a pity about Li Qi.

Because of Li Qi's intelligence and his circumstances, he learned about the importance of the 'Dao' in advance. Therefore, he was so eager to follow the 'Dao' that he completely went astray.

Like that Seventh Rank World that defeated the Human Way army, they didn't understand what 'Dao' was at all, and thought it was just different cultivation Cultivation Method. But precisely because they didn't understand it, they didn't deliberately follow it. In the end, they found what they wanted and what they wanted to pursue without realizing it. They unconsciously aligned with the True Intention of 'Dao', mastered 'courage', and finally defeated the Human Path army.

No wonder someone would orchestrate a scenario where he was sent to the Great Fire to experience 'chaos'; the natural evolution of chaos might offer Li Qi some inspiration.

Li Qi was very clever; he truly grasped the essence of 'nature' and, guided by it, finally discovered the shackles he had placed upon himself.

True "upholding the Way" means following one's true nature, not using the Way as a scale to weigh all things in the world. It means acting out of Dao heart, without considering gains or losses. In this way, one's actions still align with the pursuit of the Way. This is what is right, and this is what "upholding the Way" means.

Instead of setting a bunch of rules and regulations for yourself and then saying, "As long as I don't violate these rules, I'm following the Way."

This is not upholding the Way; it is merely shackles.

The same goes for courage.

Li Qi was indeed able to make a choice that was akin to courage through 'weighing'.

But does he really have what we call courage?

He made what seemed like a courageous decision, but his heart was still filled with fear and dread.

He was simply forced by the shackles he had created for himself to do something courageous, just like a soldier forced into battle by military law versus a warrior who voluntarily threw himself into the fight.

Both chose to join the battlefield and fight, and it's even possible that the soldier could achieve great merit and receive more praise than the warrior.

But in any case, the two of them were worlds apart in terms of courage.

Then, Li Qi suddenly realized his mistake.

It turns out that courage isn't the important thing.

Whether or not one possesses courage is not the real message Zhu Fengdan wanted to convey.

What he really wanted Li Qi to know was the method of upholding the Way.

With that, Li Qi made up his mind.

He stopped thinking about those things. Courage was no longer important. Even if someone was a coward, they were still a coward. Everything... was just a matter of the mind.

So, what should we do now? What's important?

The answer is to take responsibility.

Take responsibility for your own actions. You can't just do something and then walk away, leaving it to your parents, teachers, wife, or children. That's not acceptable.

In order to save Mount Luofu and awaken the Lady Luofu and the Sun Moon True Lead Cauldron, Li Qi chose to join the radical faction and then used his actions to make the moderates of Wushen Mountain accept the consequences of war.

This is what he did, his choice, and he must take responsibility for it.

Even a prodigal like Zhu Fengdan chose to take responsibility and join the battle. Could Li Qi really choose to throw everything away and let others bear the burden for Shen Shuibi's safety?

Putting aside everything else, everyone in this Seventh Rank World —the soldiers who stood up against Human Path, and the civilians who saw the soldiers who sacrificed themselves to protect them and then mobilized to support them.

They can all bear all of this, so how can Li Qi shirk his responsibilities?

Therefore, regardless of life or death, he chose a radical approach, and he must bear the consequences of that radicalism.

Only then did Li Qi understand why Shen Shuibi faced the war so calmly, even gladly joining it, completely unconcerned about the possibility of dying in the war.

The reason is that simple.

Mount Luofu has been rescued, and the Sun Moon True Lead Cauldron has probably awakened by now. Lady Luofu should also have joined the battle, but Li Qi can't see them because they are at that level.

Therefore, as a member of Mount Luofu and as Li Qi's wife, Shen Shuibi had no reason not to participate in the war.

Since we're going to fight, then let's go.

Li Qi was no exception.

This has nothing to do with anything else; it's simply what he should do. He wants to use all the power he has to contribute to the final victory.

Thus, Li Qi was finally able to face everything calmly and do what he should do.

With clear thoughts and Dao heart, free from shackles, one no longer needs to consider trivial matters like courage.

Now, all I want to do is win.

Therefore, Li Qi summoned Shen Shuibi. He made up his mind to send Rabbit to the Unreturning Disciples to seize this only possible opportunity for victory.

Once the rabbits and the Unreturning Disciples successfully force Human Path to return to defend, it will be Li Qi's turn.

The two were thinking about different things, and then they finally met.

This was the first time Shen Shuibi had returned from the front lines since the start of the war.

Li Qi was positioned near a Liesu, so that if the Tang Kingdom Decapitation Strike, he could escape through the Liesu as long as his guards held him off for a while.

However, we can't really just leave a few high-level combatants there to protect him; the high-level combatants on the Shaman's side should still be placed on the front line as much as possible.

Therefore, Li Qi placed an empty Sixth-Rank World here, and lived near the world's core, ready to detonate it at any time.

This world is now a complete empty shell; all life has been transferred away. If someone were to launch a surprise attack on Li Qi, they could simply blow this world up, buying time for Liesu to send Li Qi away.

Normally, the only living being in this world is Li Qi, who is extremely lonely and desolate. Li Qi is here, bearing the heavy pressure of the entire World Cluster Formation alone, constantly sending out avatars to deal with countless problems of the world, and constantly fighting against Human Path.

Fortunately, Shen Shuibi returned, although she was about to leave again.

"Shall we take a break?" A moonbeam gathered around Li Qi, and the rabbit reached out and touched Li Qi's ear.

"That's enough of a distraction. I can't afford to rest. If I rest for even a second, countless people will stay in their desperate situation for an extra second." Li Qi smiled, diverting a sliver of his attention to communicate with Shen Shuibi, while still focusing most of his energy on processing the countless intelligence reports from the Alliance and the World Cluster Formation.

"Hmm, you seem... much more open-minded, you've improved so quickly." Shen Shuibi sat down next to Li Qi, hugged her knees, and gazed into the distance.

The entire world was a dead land, devoid of even plants. Bare rocks and vast amounts of dust and sand made up this Sixth-Rank World. Even the sea had dried up, the Five Elements Qi were out of balance, the temperature was erratic, and it was filled with constant storms and acid rain.

This is a world on the verge of death, but the process of its death is too long. In the next 40,000 to 50,000 years, this world will not change much. It is perfect to use it as Li Qi's 'flagship'. Even if it explodes, there will be no waste.

"Yes, I'm surprised at how fast I've improved," Li Qi said with a smile.

In just a few hundred years, he has successfully shaken off his past troubles. Now, he is only missing the accumulation of cultivation to reach the fifth rank.

His State of Mind was already perfectly adequate; his Dao heart was unrestrained, allowing him to do as he pleased, letting everything flow naturally yet perfectly in accordance with his own will. Just like his microcosm within his human body, it was already perfectly complete and natural, transforming the illusory into the real, lacking only the accumulation of time.

"Hmm, what was the mission you specifically asked me to come back for?" Shen Shuibi asked.

"I've gathered some rebels on the side of Human Path, preparing for guerrilla warfare and waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the Nexus of All Realms. However, I'm not entirely at ease with that side, so I need you to take charge of this operation."

"Because the operations are all on the Human Path side, there are no supplies. I don't know what you are doing. You are responsible for everything on your own. After thinking about it, only you can take on this responsibility."