The Price

In this mysterious cave, inside Li Qi's small room, a voice echoed in Li Qi's mind.

Who is it?

Nobody.

It was Li Qi himself.

It was a fleeting thought, a moment of wild imagination.

In other words, it was his distracting thoughts, his... inner demons.

His wife and daughters were Li Qi's inner demons.

Even though Ranked Shaman made a promise, Li Qi knew that the other party would definitely keep it, and Shen Shuibi would definitely be able to withdraw from the front line later.

But... would we be safe once we were withdrawn from the front lines?

Not necessarily.

Is fate so easy to deal with?

This worry and fear began to take root in Li Qi's Dao heart, and then he asked, "Are you really at ease?"

Yes, is Li Qi really at ease?

Given Li Qi's deep and thoughtful nature, it would be a miracle if he could truly relax.

But... what can we do?

All they could do was ask the Ranked Shaman to withdraw the mother and daughter from the front lines.

Li Qi tried to convince himself that even if he went out, he couldn't do anything. After all, the power of the Shaman Path was far greater than his own, and his going out would be of no use.

Shen Shuibi is no pushover either... Oh, I think she is, but she's definitely not a kind soul, and she won't get into trouble so easily.

But even if it was futile, even knowing how powerful the rabbits were, he still needed to keep an eye on them to feel at ease...

Because, Ranked Shaman Zhuming said, three hundred and forty-two years later, the two of them got into trouble, and it was through his contact with the demonic path that he managed to save them, at some unknown cost.

It's possible that something might happen to them, or rather... they've already had something happen to them.

The thought of this made Li Qi feel uneasy.

The Human-Shaman War, and the war between humans and dragons.

Dragons and witches are simultaneously waging war against Human Path, and the demonic path is also involved. The matter concerns the Sun and Moon Path, and the Mount Luofu lineage has fully joined the battle...

Given such a complex situation, is it really possible to avoid any problems?

Li Qi knew that he was a heavy-hearted and suspicious person, so he always thought things through carefully and liked to make contingency plans for everything. This personality trait could be considered both good and bad.

The advantage is that he is cautious and always has a backup plan, so he can get out of all kinds of dangerous situations.

The downside is that I'm like this now, overthinking, restless, and even dreaming of killing people.

Then--

In the next instant, Li Qi suddenly felt the demonic thought in his heart stir.

"Ah, it's been a long time, Li Qi ~" A sweet voice came from Li Qi's ear.

Li Qi broke out in a cold sweat, his clothes instantly soaked through. Without any hesitation, he got up and ran towards the outside of the cave!

With the speed of a fifth-rank soldier, he could instantly run into a crowd in the blink of an eye!

There is a sorcerer god guarding this place, so don't be afraid!

However, while running, he suddenly felt that his body... slowed down.

No, it's not that his body has slowed down, but rather that his thought process has become faster. Even with a fifth-grade body, his thought process becomes extremely slow under such a speed.

His perceived time was at least 100,000 times slower, to the point that he felt several seconds had passed before he even got up from the chair.

But apart from that, there was nothing unusual.

But that charming, cute, and slightly seductive voice continued, "Don't worry, I can help you reconnect with the outside world. I'm here to help you."

"Look, no one can give you access to the outside world, but I can. If you go to the Witch God now, you're essentially giving up your only channel of communication with the outside world."

That sweet voice echoed in my ears.

As we all know, the most powerful aspect of the Heavenly Demon is... the 'inner demon,' not brainwashing or altering cognition.

These things can be modified, repaired, and cured, and it's not difficult. Buddhism has a lot of experience in protecting against and suppressing demonic thoughts.

Just like what the great shaman Yun Fang did back then.

Li Qi had witnessed Yun Fang harboring demonic thoughts about his disciples deep within his heart. (See Chapter 225)

The demonic thought resided in Yun Fang's heart; he could easily extinguish it with a single gesture.

But... I just can't bring myself to do it.

Demonic energy is easy to ward off, and demonic thoughts are easy to dispel, but can the things we truly care about in our hearts, the things we are truly attached to, be so easily let go of? Can they be forgotten just to eliminate demonic thoughts?

If you can really harden your heart and nip it in the bud... then it can't be considered a demon in your heart.

Unbeknownst to him, things that Li Qi, an eighth-rank official, could only vaguely understand in the past, he now truly experienced.

After his thoughts accelerated, Li Qi stopped in an instant.

"Can you let me contact the outside world? Or even interfere?" Li Qi asked the demon in his heart.

The demonic thought began to surge, then expanded, and uttered a voice. "Of course... you know, I can do anything, I am more Divine Ability than your sorcerer god."

"Is that so?" Li Qi asked in return.

Then, he suddenly quickened his pace and strode out!

In a split second, he burst through the door and charged into the crowd!

This unusual behavior almost immediately attracted attention.

The spirit of the Ranked Shaman descends.

Then it immediately vanished, so fast that even with his accelerated thinking, Li Qi almost couldn't see it clearly.

But he knew that was enough.

Almost simultaneously, a great yet gentle will descended upon Li Qi's body.

The demonic thoughts in Li Qi's heart immediately lost their 'living wriggling' and became normal, ordinary, and common demonic thoughts that everyone would have.

Li Qi's vision blurred, and in the next instant, he found himself in a dark space he had never been before.

This dark space is somewhat similar to the outer void, but here... it seems that the speed of light is infinite?

It was truly infinite. Although it was dark before Li Qi's eyes, he was able to see the entire area of this space instantly through the light he emitted.

This space is incredibly large, perhaps even larger than any other realm Li Qi knows of, but it is not infinite. Therefore... at the infinite speed of light, he can clearly see everything in this space, to the point that this space is constantly revolving, and Li Qi can even see the light on his body turning red.

That's redshift, a phenomenon where light becomes longer and its frequency decreases over long distances.

The infinite speed of light brings with it an infinite redshift. Soon, the light becomes infrared light, which is beyond Li Qi's observation limit and can only be perceived by the True Knowledge Dao Charm, but cannot be seen with the naked eye.

He was still in a daze, but in the darkness, another light suddenly appeared.

Swish, swish, swish, whoosh—

Accompanied by a light, ethereal voice, Li Qi saw indescribable... ineffable Dharma bodies appear around him.

This is not the Dharma form.

The essence of Dharma form is the sum of all the Technique Method you practice, your Dao Path, your Divine Ability powers, and so on; it is the manifestation of your power.

The Dharmakaya, similar to the Dharmakaya of a deity, is an emanation, generally used to descend to other places.

These Dharma bodies are all incredibly majestic, each one reaching a height far exceeding that of the Milky Way. The Milky Way seems to float around them like dust. Moreover... it's clear that they are even intentionally controlling their size, as they are rapidly shrinking.

Soon, they shrunk to the size of a normal person and surrounded Li Qi.

Li Qi trembled with fear.

He didn't know who these people were, but he recognized one of them as the spirit of the Ranked Shaman that had previously received him.

So, everything in front of us... is of rank two?

One, two, three, four...

Li Qi nodded.

Seventeen.

Seventeen second-rank officials all surrounded Li Qi.

I've never seen anything like this in my life.

Even though he was used to facing off against third-rank officials, the sheer number of onlookers at this moment still made Li Qi a little nervous.

But he knew why, and he knew he deserved this treatment.

The demon has descended once more.

Fortunately, Li Qi was able to distinguish between what was important and what was not.

He knew that Shen Shuibi and Li Shiwei might be in danger, but he also knew that getting involved with the Heavenly Demon would only make things more dangerous.

You must know, in the future that Ranked Shaman saw...

He caused such enormous damage because he colluded with the demonic path.

To speak with the Heavenly Demon is itself an act of collusion with the demonic path.

Li Qi is worried, he has his own obsessions and concerns, but that doesn't mean he's lost his mind.

Those who associate with the Heavenly Demon will only prove their own foolishness in the end, just like the Demonic Energy Li Qi of the past.

In all the realms and universes, who dares to say they can outmaneuver the Heavenly Demon?

Even the Buddhas, who were constantly battling against the demons, never let their guard down and dared not slacken in the slightest.

Thinking about all this, Li Qi didn't stop moving; he immediately stood up and bowed to those around him. "Greetings, esteemed seniors..."

The second-rank officials didn't speak, but merely glanced at Li Qi and communicated with him in a way that Li Qi couldn't understand before dispersing.

Then, a point of light, like a firefly in the darkness, appeared in front of Li Qi.

"Li Qi, you did a good job this time. If you had agreed to his request, eyes would probably have grown here," the firefly said.

"Boy, greetings to the Witch God..." Li Qi recognized the firefly and immediately understood what the cave outside was.

He has figured everything out.

The outer cave is the inner world of the shaman god!

At this moment, this place must be deep within the inner world of the Witch God. The second-rank beings are gathered here, processing all the information from the outside world and constantly guiding the battlefield in a direction they believe is correct.

"My name is Xian," the sorcerer introduced himself to Li Qi.

Li Qi immediately lowered his head.

He had heard of the deeds of this sorcerer.

Diviners were skilled in divination, and the method of divination was invented by Xian.

In the beginning, when the Human Race was still in the ancient wilderness, the sages of that time invented the Legalist School and Confucian schools of Human Path in order to plan time and establish rules and systems. To this day, they still use the "musical scales" and other instruments such as the Yellow Bell to determine the timing of the seasons and plan the calendar.

One of the records states: Xi created the zither and se, Wa made the sheng and huang, Xian made the drum, Ling Lun made the musical scales.

This is the ancestor of the diviners.

He was not only skilled in calculation, having formulated musical scales and planned calendars to pave the way for the ancient Human Race, but he was also one of the inventors of divination methods...

This is a patriarchal figure in the Shaman Path, and the actual creator of the divination lineage among the three branches of the Divination Sect!

The 'divination' technique in divination is his masterpiece!

"Senior Witch Xian ..." Li Qi said, but he was so nervous that he almost didn't know what to say.

Faced with such an existence, even his proud speed of thinking came to a standstill.

"You've managed to control yourself even after demonic thoughts have arisen; you've done better than many others, even those with higher cultivation levels," Witch Xian said.

"They just haven't encountered the Heavenly Demons before. Once they've encountered them a couple more times, they'll naturally become like me," Li Qi quickly replied.

"Haha... It's not that simple after a couple more interactions." Witch Xian laughed kindly.

Even the Witch God wouldn't want to have too much contact with the Heavenly Demon.

"But regardless, you have done a great job this time, and I will now remove the influence of the Heavenly Demon for you." The firefly-like point of light began to move.

Li Qi did not move.

He could feel the demonic thought that had surged out of his heart begin to shrink downwards.

But... it didn't disappear.

Witch Xian then slowly said, "Your Dao Path... is too numerous and too complicated, which is indeed a bit strange. I won't concern myself with the demonic part; you should figure out how to resolve it yourself. However, if these demonic cultivations continue to exist, your demonic thoughts will be impossible to eradicate, not even for me. If I forcibly remove them, it will alter your Dao Path, and I'm afraid you don't want to see that happen, do you?"

Li Qi understood.

It's not that the Witch God can't do it, but if he does, it means his Dao Lineage will be completely changed, and he will become a different person, since the demonic path is also a part of him.

The sorcerer wouldn't do that, so he nodded. "Thank you, sorcerer, that's enough."

"That's not enough. The Heavenly Demon's attention to you is too strange. I've placed a weight on you, and now... your causal chain shouldn't be shaken, but... there's a price to pay." Witch Xian's voice remained unchanged, and he didn't even ask Li Qi if he was willing to pay the price.

"What is this weight... and what is the price?" Li Qi asked.

"From this moment on, no one will be able to shake your causal chain, no one will be able to control your destiny, no one will be able to erase your existence, no one will be able to shake your thoughts. You will possess the 'reality' you understand, and nothing in the world can easily alter you. You will have a real and lasting mind. Unless someone can kill me, your reality will always be with me, which can prevent the Heavenly Demon from continuing to open its eyes to you," Witch Xian said.

Li Qi's heart skipped a beat.

Witch Xian continued, "But this will be extremely painful."

"Extremely painful? Why?"

"When you possess reality, everything in the world will no longer be 'real' to you. You will have the same perspective as someone at the third rank, but your cultivation level will only be at the fifth rank. This will be... very uncomfortable."

"It's very difficult, and it's a huge test of your character."