Mountain Gate

Li Qi observed the flickering expression on Ou Xianqing's face, trying to decipher his superficial thoughts.

He was somewhat surprised.

Originally, Li Qi did intend to spread his teachings, but he did not intend to spread Shaman Path; rather, he intended to spread a worldview and set of values from all over the world.

In the eyes of cultivators throughout the world, nothing is important except the 'Tao'. They can even give up their lives in order to pursue that ethereal yet supreme dream.

The mortal realm of the immortals is clearly different; they have a different set of values, a different 'way' that belongs to them.

Li Qi wanted to turn them around.

He wanted to preach to the lower classes of the Celestial Realm, so that they would abandon the rules of the Celestial Realm and pursue something else.

But Li Qi also knew the difficulty, so he planned to take it slowly, first making the other party aware of the existence of 'Tao', and then teaching him.

However, despite it being just a bowl of noodles, the other party had extremely profound thoughts.

Indeed, someone who can cultivate to this level in a world where people eat each other cannot be a fool.

The other person remained rooted to the spot, savoring the noodles bite by bite; this state of sudden enlightenment might continue for some time.

After all... this thing is said to be noodles hand-kneaded by a fourth-grade master, just like the Sea Cooking Pot.

Zhu Fengdan's takeout order was very expensive, extremely valuable.

Seeing the other person's engrossed expression, Li Qi walked over and said to Ju Ye, "Alright, we don't need to pay the bill. Let's go. You should be full by now, right?"

"I'm full, I'm full!" Ju Ye immediately stood up, afraid that Li Qi would be angry. Some chaotic energy surged from his body because he had eaten too much good food at this meal, and his inner world was a little bloated.

"Take it all to go. There's too much food to finish. You can take it home and eat it." Li Qi smiled.

"Thank you, sir!" Ju Ye immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.

This had almost become his habit. In this world, this was how subordinates should treat superiors. They didn't feel inferior; on the contrary, they considered it a matter of course.

Just kowtowing like that is already an honor bestowed upon them by those in power; ordinary people wouldn't even have a chance to do so.

Li Qi didn't stop him. Instead, he found a place to sit down and said, "You can pack it up. If there's anything you want to eat, you can order a few more dishes. It'll be a good meal for your senior sister. After that, we'll go to your sect."

Ju Ye was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, and kowtowed repeatedly.

He wanted to say something, but felt he couldn't say anything. He even felt that he hadn't done anything, but the old man in front of him was kind-hearted, so he accepted it.

Well...

Perhaps this is a common trait among celestial beings and mortals.

The strong give alms, they rejoice, and then accept.

The strong plunder, they grieve, and then choose to accept it.

Because accepting all reasonable or unreasonable demands from the powerful has become a tacitly accepted fact, almost everyone has accepted it, regardless of whether the powerful are right or wrong.

Here, might makes right.

Therefore, Li Qi ignored Ju Ye. He didn't care at all whether Ju Ye was grateful to him or not. He had his own reasons for choosing to help Ju Ye.

Li Qi closed his eyes and began to rest, waiting for Ju Ye to prepare the food.

It wasn't entirely about calming the mind; he still devoted some of his energy to analyzing the Cultivation Method.

He has already scanned many things and many people through the True Knowledge Dao Charm, and has gained a relatively systematic understanding of the basic cultivation system of this world. Now, by analyzing it again, he can see the roof from the foundation and deduce the possibility of the Immortal Heaven True World.

After all, Li Qi was also a fifth-rank official, and with his superior perspective, he could always analyze things logically, regardless of whether they were right or wrong.

Ju Ye finished tidying up quickly, his movements swift and efficient, as if afraid of delaying Li Qi's business.

Li Qi glanced at Ou Xianqing beside him, who was still in a state of enlightenment.

As for the others around them?

He glanced around; they were just onlookers, nothing more. There was no need to strike up a conversation.

So he stood up and said to Ju Ye, "Let's go, we'll leave the city. You lead the way to your sect, which is called... Tiger Slaying Gate, right?"

"Yes," Ju Ye replied respectfully immediately.

Having received an affirmative answer, Li Qi went downstairs and followed Ju Ye on their journey home.

Throughout the journey, Ju Ye remained silent, only quickening her pace and running with all her might.

Li Qi simply followed the other man, figuring that no matter how fast he was, he couldn't possibly be faster than him.

After running for about a day, Ju Ye stopped at a hidden mountain gate about three thousand miles away from Bailu City.

"My lord, we have arrived. This is the mountain gate of Tiger Slaying Gate. There is a Primordial Spirit Realm formation outside the gate, so it will probably be difficult to break in head-on. I will act as an inside agent and sneak in quietly—" Ju Ye offered a suggestion, wanting to devise a spy plan.

Li Qi didn't say anything, he just raised his hand.

Without a sound, the grand formation at the mountain gate ceased to function.

No, it didn't stop operating, but... it changed hands, and control fell into Li Qi's hands.

Then, Li Qi gently twisted the formation, and the formation immediately reversed, changing from sealing off the outside to sealing off the inside.

The security door has become a cage, and no one inside can get out.

Because Ju Ye saw that the formation had clearly become stronger.

Countless runes, and even the surrounding mountains and rivers, absorbed spiritual energy, Array Enhancement. This formation... is probably beyond the Primordial Spirit Realm.

A grand formation for the Ascension Realm?

Is this kind of formation something that can be set up with just a wave of the hand?

Ju Ye was filled with doubt; he couldn't understand it, but he was deeply shocked.

However, precisely because he couldn't understand it, he couldn't truly comprehend just how terrifying this method was, which was perhaps a good thing for him.

Li Qi lightly stomped his foot.

Just then, a Demon Beast appeared, whipping up a strange yellow wind in the sky and hurriedly falling down. It was a demonic bird with golden feathers, three or four zhang long, and its claws could easily slice through a cow.

"I have seen him—" The demon bird landed and spoke in human language, wanting to pay its respects to Li Qi, but it got stuck as soon as it opened its mouth.

Who have you met?

Why did we need to meet?

It didn't know; it had just been foraging for food, but just a second before, it sensed a strong call, as if fate was forcing it to meet someone.

You must go see it, otherwise something bad will happen.

This summons even surpassed his instincts, causing him to fly over involuntarily, but once he landed, he had no idea what was happening to him.

However, he knew for certain that the person who had summoned him was the one standing before him...

How should I address him/her?

A great being? That seems like an exaggeration, but that's the impression this mountain god got.

The opponent is far stronger than someone in the Ascension Realm.

Is this a... immortal?

However, their inner thoughts were meaningless to Li Qi, and he had no intention of communicating with them. Li Qi simply instructed, "Keep an eye on the outside and don't let anyone in."

After saying this, Li Qi left behind a wisp of divine energy as a reward, and with Ju Ye, stepped into the mountain gate.

Inside the mountain gate, the moment the formation reversed, the experts inside had already sensed the problem and immediately launched a counterattack.

The counterattack was simply somewhat weak.

I feel powerless.

Ju Ye saw many secret techniques that he had never encountered before, powerful techniques that only True Disciple could learn and access.

A robust woman gathered her power, her magic swirling, and a phantom spear stretched across the sky, containing destructive explosive power that seemed capable of crushing mountains.

Then another young swordsman in yellow leaped into the air, his hands Hand Seals. Behind him were two flying swords, one white and one black, their sharp edges gleaming and emitting large amounts of golden energy. Just looking at them made his eyes sting and brought tears of blood to his eyes.

Below, another person manipulated the array plate, unleashing eighth-grade power that covered an area of dozens of miles. This power transformed into invisible tentacles, splitting into different forces, like different clones, piercing into the array, trying to take back control of it.

The Tiger Slaying Gate actually has three eighth-rank officials.

An eighth-rank is already quite powerful; it can easily destroy mountains and split rivers, and its attack range can easily cover an area of dozens of miles.

To be honest, this level of attack is equivalent to a 'natural disaster' in the eyes of ordinary people.

Ju Ye was no ordinary man, but when he saw that terrifying spear, which stretched for over ten miles, almost reaching the sky, and capable of piercing through mountains, fear and shock still filled his heart.

Primordial Spirit Realm, Primordial Spirit Realm.

Everyone says that, and they all like to joke about it. Ju Ye herself often tells jokes about the Primordial Spirit.

However, when he truly faced the full power of the Primordial Spirit Realm expert, he felt as if he could not breathe, and his inner world basically stagnated.

Ju Ye subconsciously glanced at Li Qi beside her.

We can only rely on him.

To be honest, this gentleman... doesn't seem like a kind person.

His demeanor was very gloomy, giving the impression of someone who would stay at home for decades reading ancient classics.

Always lost in thought, rarely speaking, almost never explaining his actions, completely indifferent to the opinions of others, gloomy, rigid, cold, and mysterious, utterly ignoring the life and death of others—this was Ju Ye's entire impression of him.

However, this kind of person always manages to do some inexplicable things, such as... promising Ju Ye to come and rescue his senior sister, and doing so with such a grand display.

He only wanted to secretly rescue them and then run away, but he never expected that Li Qi would openly declare war on him.

However, at this moment, Li Qi suddenly said calmly, "Declare war? How can this be called declaring war? I just came in to let you experience a feeling."

Ju Ye was already used to having his thoughts read aloud; perhaps this was the Divine Ability of a great being. So he immediately replied respectfully, "My lord, how does it feel...?"

"The feeling of having control over power," Li Qi said.

Then, Ju Ye suddenly felt that her body was being covered by a special aura.

These energies began to connect with his inner world.

His body did not become stronger.

However, he can control a Gundam with his own body, a Gundam that is incredibly powerful and as easy to control as his own arm.

He could sense that the techniques linked to his body were far more powerful than those of the Primordial Spirit Realm experts above him.

This is--

The power of the Ascension Realm!

"Go ahead, settle your scores and grievances. No one can escape." Li Qi smiled, found a rock to sit on, and gestured for the other person to go.

Ju Ye was stunned for a moment.

Why, sir?

What kind of thinking is this?

After gaining power, Ju Ye's first reaction was not to go on a killing spree, but rather... confusion.

But Li Qi wasn't going to give him any reason to doubt. Li Qi simply said, "Aren't you going? Then I'll have to change my mind. Your senior sister won't have a chance then."

Upon hearing this, Ju Ye gritted her teeth, turned around, and kowtowed to Li Qi again. "Thank you, sir! From now on, even if you want my life, I will give it to you!"

After saying that, he didn't linger any longer and rushed straight towards the three Primordial Spirit Realm experts!

Li Qi watched from a distance.

The outcome of the battle is not a concern.

This was a complete rout, with no suspense whatsoever.

However, he wanted to see how Ju Ye would do it.

Li Qi wanted to preach here, and he felt that Ju Ye's experience was quite suitable, so he might as well give it a try.

Ju Ye rushed forward.

The swordsman wielding two swords was the same expert who wiped out the Ju Ye Leaf Sect.

Now, his twin swords are even sharper, yet they cannot withstand a single move from Ju Ye.

Ju Ye couldn't keep up with the opponent's speed at all. Before he could even react, he was stabbed 493 times by two flying swords. Each strike could kill a thousand Ju Ye.

However, in the present situation, none of them could break through his defenses in one go. Even though he didn't have time to react, these attacks still didn't hurt him in the slightest.

So, Ju Ye reached out and began to fight back.

His counterattack was extremely crude, crude in technique, and wasted a great deal of energy. He couldn't even muster any useful spells because he lacked the ability to control the high-purity energy within him.

But we don't need those.

With just one punch, an immense amount of energy surged forth—

The three eighth-rank soldiers on the opposite side immediately joined forces to set up a defense and relieve the pressure.

This works.

If Ju Ye's attack was like a flood that poured out aimlessly, then the three of them working together were like a floodgate, using minimal force to deflect a great weight, easily neutralizing or even absorbing a large amount of power.

It must be said that the combat techniques in this world are indeed very impressive; these techniques are extremely powerful even among those at the eighth rank.

But... how can you use minimal force to achieve maximum effect?

What about 10,000 jin? 100,000 jin? 1 million jin?

Seeing that her attack was blocked, Ju Ye panicked and increased her output.

In the next instant, the surging power expanded a thousandfold!

In just a moment, the three eighth-rank officials were completely submerged.

But Ju Ye cried out in surprise.

Wait, that's not how it works!

With that force, no one could have survived or saved the mountain gate below. He was too heavy-handed!

Oh no, something's happened. He didn't want to kill everyone; he just wanted to kill those eighth-rank officials who wiped out his entire family, as well as those who usually bullied him and his senior sister.

But he has already made his move.

The torrent swept away the three eighth-rank officials and continued rushing towards the mountain gate.

Among them, more than 100,000 practitioners showed different behaviors: some cowered, some went mad, some were fearful, and some were at peace.

But the next moment, a figure stood in the way of the torrent.

It is Li Qi.