Choosing a Path

In the void, the master and disciple sat facing each other, drifting randomly at extremely high speeds like a shooting star undergoing Brownian motion in the universe.

But motion is relative. In a place like the void, no matter how you float, you will feel as if you are not moving in the same place, because there is no reference point for you to compare your speed.

As long as the two people are in a relatively static state, it doesn't matter how they fly in the outer void, since they will feel static.

It's like two people on Earth facing each other, drinking milk tea and talking to each other. Who would realize that both the Earth and they themselves are rotating around the Milky Way in the universe at a speed of more than 200 kilometers per second?

"How was it? How was the harvest?" Zhu Fengdan asked Li Qi.

"Thank you, teacher. It's not bad... but it was a little tough." Li Qi sighed helplessly.

Even with Li Qi's mental fortitude, he was almost driven mad by the torment. Even now, he hasn't recovered. With so many billions of rewinds, Li Qi has wasted most of his life in the Immortal Heaven.

Yes, compared to his lifespan, Xian Tian's time in this world is already much longer than all his previous lives combined.

"Look, I told you before I came that it would be very painful if you didn't erase your memories, but you wouldn't listen. Now you still have a chance to change your mind. Do you want me to help you erase these memories?" Zhu Fengdan smiled.

Li Qi shook his head decisively. "We've already suffered. To try to erase it now would just be self-deception. Let's keep it."

"Alright, then keep it. By the way, do you want to cultivate some more, or return to the starting point? I see you're already very close to the fourth rank. How about trying the special cosmic light? I'll arrange a distorted spacetime for you, where you can cultivate until you're full before coming out," Zhu Fengdan asked.

"I'm afraid that won't work. If I'm left to think alone, it will be difficult for me to make further breakthroughs. External influences and stimulation from the laws of the real world are essential." Li Qi thought for a moment and shook his head.

Take the present as an example. If he wants to truly break through the Heavenly Way Limit of the speed of light, he must constantly ponder the Heavenly Way Limit, and distorting spacetime will obviously change this thing and produce subtle effects.

This is one of the reasons why people generally don't use spacetime distortion for cultivation. It's really useless and will affect one's perception of the world. Spacetime distortion not only adds more time but also adds many interfering factors. Only cultivators at or below the eighth rank are almost unaffected.

But for those of rank eight and below... to be honest, you have absolutely no need to use this kind of thing; it's been impractical from the start.

"Give it a try. It's not to experience the Heavenly Way Limit, but to experience different distorted spacetime. You know, right? Special cosmic light, gravitationally distorted spacetime, even the strange spacetime inside the Ruins of Return, as well as rewinding, and the cosmic light in the Immortal Heaven. Although they can all distort time, their essence is different. But these are all part of 'reality.' Experience them, reflect on them, it will benefit you," Zhu Fengdan said.

Li Qi looked at Zhu Fengdan... How should I put it, it seemed like the teacher really wanted to promote his special cosmic light to him?

"Did... did the Witch God say something?" Li Qi suddenly asked.

He knew Zhu Fengdan's personality very well. If there was nothing wrong, she would have run away by now and wouldn't have said so much to Li Qi. She was the kind of parent who would give Li Qi fifty yuan to buy lunch and then go out to play mahjong all day.

All I can say is that Li Qi proved himself worthy.

Therefore, in Li Qi's view, Zhu Fengdan's recommendation was most likely not his choice, but rather something the witch god said.

Zhu Fengdan didn't hide anything, and just smiled and said, "Yes, the Witch God said that you may be more suitable for the environment of distorted spacetime than ordinary people. I think the reason may be that you are better at 'looking inward'."

Seeking answers within oneself means bringing everything into one's own mind and finding answers through one's own reasoning. Therefore, Li Qi might be able to gain some benefits from the distorted spacetime.

"Since the Witch God has said so..." Li Qi hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something.

But Zhu Fengdan interrupted him at this moment, "Stop, don't say things like 'even the Witch God says so.' This is a decision you have to make yourself. I'm just telling you about this possibility. Don't change your decision because of the influence of the Witch God."

Zhu Fengdan stared intently at Li Qi, wanting to see his choice.

"I think... it's possible, because I believe that all I'm lacking now is time to accumulate knowledge and skills to reach the fourth rank. I've grasped the basics, and I think I'm right," Li Qi said after a moment's thought.

The statement, "I think I'm right," signifies that Li Qi believes he no longer needs external support on the path to breaking through to the fourth rank. He has already completed the part where he needed external help to provide ideas.

This is actually quite demanding, because walking on the Dao Path is like walking on a dark continent.

You can't see clearly what's ahead. Is it a pit, a cliff, a dead end, or just going in circles? The practitioner doesn't know until they actually step out.

To see clearly through the darkness before you, you must hang a lamp. The name of this lamp is 'Thinking', and the oil it needs to burn is 'Knowledge'.

By using knowledge as fuel and igniting it in the fire of thought, one can unveil the terrifying veil of the dark continent and barely see what lies ahead.

Countless cultivators, each carrying their own lamp, large and small, explore the dark continent. If they are fellow practitioners walking the same path, the lamps of their teachers and others can illuminate a wider area for them, or they can help others in return.

However, the light can only illuminate a small area in front of it.

No one dares to say that they can see the entirety of this dark continent.

Everyone is capable of making a mistake.

Therefore, few people would choose to cultivate in distorted time, as that would be like cutting off the source of lamp oil, and one could only rely on the lamp oil reserves to slowly walk. Although one could walk faster, if one took a wrong step and fell, there would be no way to undo it.

Therefore, when Li Qi said, "I think I am right," he meant that he had enough oil, he could see where the fourth rank was, and he was absolutely right. He could start running at full speed and didn't need to worry or adjust his course until he reached the fourth rank.

This declaration made Zhu Fengdan stare at him a few more times.

Then, Zhu Fengdan burst into laughter.

He had never cultivated the youthful spirit he had before reaching the ninth rank, but now, unexpectedly, it suddenly resurfaced.

This spirit, coupled with sufficient confidence, is the momentum to soar to new heights.

Of course, it's also possible to fall due to overconfidence, which is common. After all, who can guarantee that they are always right?

But such spirit was enough to make Zhu Fengdan happy.

Indeed, some things cannot be forced, while others will appear without you even realizing it.

I searched high and low without finding it, but then it came to me without any effort at all.

So, Zhu Fengdan didn't say anything more, she just waved her hand.

Li Qi's body suddenly sealed off.

Time dilation.

Now, for Li Qi, time has stopped in the outside world, and for Li Qi, time has stopped in the outside world.

They were in a state where they could neither interfere with each other nor communicate.

Such extraordinary cosmic light was even enough to tear apart an ordinary fifth-rank cultivator, completely destroying his sense of time, making him unable to distinguish between the present, past, and future from then on.

But for Li Qi, this was already something he could easily handle.

He watched as he was sealed off, locked inside time dilation.

Li Qi let out a deep breath.

Alright, let's begin.

He closed his eyes and began to use the answers he had obtained to construct his own 'Tao'. Then, through this 'Tao', he used the ability of Shaman Path to create something from Creation from Nothing to generate matter to complement it, truly achieving the characteristics of the fourth rank.

In other words, it means breaking free from the constraints of other Great Daos. The Heavenly Way Limit Dao is the limit of the Heavenly Dao, not my limit. My limit is only my own Dao.

This process was bound to be bumpy. Li Qi's thoughts were still disorganized. He needed to organize his knowledge into a book little by little, build a framework, and then fill in the content.

This is about building one's own path, a path that can replace the one of this world, and it cannot be taken lightly in the slightest.

From this moment forward, any loopholes or paradoxes in what he constructs will become his weaknesses in the future.

He has deciphered the formula of the universe, and now he needs to create his own formula, a formula that can describe everything and explain the reason for the existence of everything.

This is the true formula for everything, or at least Li Qi's formula for everything, capable of explaining everything that Li Qi knows.

If this formula works, he can be promoted to the fourth rank.

If an error occurs, such as adding something like a 'cosmological constant' to make the formula valid, it will cause a crack in the Dao Path.

If a paradox arises, it will become a weakness that others will exploit later, a weakness that affects the entire Dao Path.

If the paradox is so great that the formula cannot hold true, then the promotion will fail, and you will need to continue your efforts.

Li Qi aims to create a unified theory that describes the entire universe and explains all conventional phenomena—a formula for everything.

Only this level of 'Tao' can create Creation from Nothing, producing a parallel world similar to reality, and based on this, gradually establish itself as a level 'equivalent to the real world'.

When one truly reaches a point where one is equal to the real world, that is the third rank.

As for the second and first ranks, Li Qi cannot understand them yet, but he already possesses some of the characteristics of the third rank. Manipulating cause and effect and determining reality are features of the third rank, so he can now try to understand the third rank.

All the knowledge Li Qi had read in the past, everything he had witnessed, his thoughts, experiences, and abilities—all of it would converge at this moment and be summarized by him into a unique 'Dao'.

This 'Tao' can describe all things in the world, and can summarize and explain everything that can be observed.

He has to do it, or he won't get promoted.

Fortunately... he had time and a chance to back out.

This isn't a one-time opportunity; he can start over many, many times over a long period of time.

However, some things... cannot be done by starting over.

It's like a math problem that you need to solve.

You might not understand the questions at all, but that's okay. If you can't solve them, you can't solve them. You can only study, improve yourself, and try again later.

If your skill level is barely enough, you might solve it incorrectly, which is the worst-case scenario because it will leave a permanent vulnerability.

Of course, the best scenario is that you are skilled enough to solve it smoothly.

But the problem is... do you really know whether you're right or wrong?

Whether it's right or wrong, perhaps only the future can explain.

But putting those aside for the moment, Li Qi completely put aside these distracting thoughts and began to seriously immerse himself in his own world, making good use of the abundant time brought about by the distorted time.

A truly 'world of one's own,' a brand new world independent of and parallel to the real world.

This was especially difficult for Li Qi.

Because he's a Frankenstein's monster.

Although the Shaman Dao Lineage itself can accommodate a lot of mixed elements, coupled with the conjecture of the Ultimate Great Dao of the Daoist sect, and the idea of those monks Buddha-Demon Unity to eliminate the mind of distinction through subjective cognition, which allows him to unify and utilize these Daos, in the final analysis, these Dao Lineage are still in conflict.

Fundamentally, these Dao Lineage are different, and the worlds they construct naturally have conflicts.

It's like... one world is materialistic, and the other world is idealistic.

In a materialistic world, matter is primary, and matter determines consciousness.

In an idealistic world, consciousness is primary, and consciousness determines matter.

Regardless of whether they are objective idealists or something else, they are ultimately in conflict regarding the primary nature of things.

This is the struggle over the Dao, an irreconcilable conflict, a dispute over the essence of the world, a war in which there is absolutely no room for retreat.

To construct a world, one must determine what is primary, and clearly, this is the difference between the Daoist and the demonic paths.

The Daoist school naturally acknowledges the existence of the 'Ultimate Great Dao', believing that 'something exists in chaos' and that this world is naturally formed. Cultivators simply seek to understand this world and ultimately reach the state of 'freedom'.

But the Demonic Path doesn't think so. The Demonic Path denies the existence of the Ultimate Great Dao. In the eyes of the Demonic Path, the material world and subjective cognition can go their separate ways.

The spiritual path is actually the same, except that the spiritual path believes there is no 'subjective cognition', but rather there exists another first cognition, a first consciousness. To know this first consciousness is to know everything.

Li Qi wanted to bridge this gap; he wanted to define his own 'primacy,' that is, how he believed he existed.

This is the keynote of everything.

We must confirm this before we can continue.

But if this is confirmed... the struggle for Dao will immediately erupt, and all of Li Qi's cognition and the knowledge he has accumulated will explode at this moment.

The time has come to resolve all conflicts, and Li Qi can no longer play both sides.

He needs to understand how this world is actually made up.