Internal Strife

Li Qi was an Outer Dao practitioner. Shen Shuibi had known that long ago.

But she did not particularly care. Outer Dao was Outer Dao; not having been born within the world was no crime.

She stood there and looked around.

To her left was the playground, where several little boys were chasing one another and roughhousing.

The sky was a deep, tiled blue, though not especially clear. There still seemed to be some haze in it, likely the thick fog from the industrial district, but it did not hinder the view.

Huge clusters of clouds piled up at the horizon, sketching out the skyline beyond the school in boundless breadth. Wind blew in from far away, yet carried no dust over the body. Leaves rustled and trembled, mingling with the distant sound of balls being struck on the playground.

A tranquil silence that put one at ease.

This was Li Qi's "state of mind," the most comfortable place in his memories.

In other words, under these circumstances, Li Qi felt the most relaxed and at peace. Every cultivator had such a place in their memories. For Shen Shuibi, this scene would have been the former cave abode on Mount Luofu.

It was where they felt safest. Usually, it was one's childhood homeland; after all, longing for one's birthplace was instinct.

Of course, some people had no fondness for their homeland. For them, this state of mind would be some other place they liked.

And if one had no such safe state of mind, that person was likely suspicious by nature, irascible and quick-tempered, lacking any sense of security and forever on guard against the outside world.

In other words, this was one's "root," the dwelling place of the True Spirit. With it, no matter where one was, much of