After Li Xingkong accelerated, he quickly and unstoppably stood out from the crowd of cultivators, catching up with the few who were making the fastest progress in analysis.
His analysis progressed so quickly that even the immortals who were focused on their comprehension were affected by his commotion and turned their attention to him.
"Who is this guy? I've never seen him before!"
"I never expected that besides a few of us, someone else could do this. Judging from this, I'm doomed."
"Don't rush, if you can't do it, then help your old buddy out."
Several other figures chimed in.
"Go and hold him off, slow him down. If I succeed, this milestone will be shared with you all."
Suddenly, the figure who was currently second in progress let out a shout, and as he spoke, his progress continued to climb.
"Hey, can you believe that?"
While that sounds tempting, it might be more convincing if someone else said it.
" Jidu, I believe what others say, but I can't believe a single word you say."
"Indeed, if I had believed you, all my cultivation would have been wasted long ago."
"Hehe, that's what happens when your reputation is so bad, I won't help you."
These individuals have been eyeing this node for a long time. Although it was already taken before, preventing them from acquiring it, they had been in contact with each other privately and knew a thing or two about each other's backgrounds.
Jidu was a master of intrigue and deception; it was rare to hear him speak the truth, so naturally, few people believed him.
"Gentlemen, I don't need to elaborate on how much of my reputation is genuine. We've known each other for a Nine Luminaries '?"
Jidu's words were a mix of truth and falsehood, but they managed to fool some people.
"You're quite the talker, you can't be trusted! Unless..."
After a long while, one of the figures stepped forward.
"Stop with your empty talk for now, unless you offer some benefits first."
The man was straightforward and had no intention of listening to any promises made later.
"Yes, if you want our help, then you'd better offer something substantial!"
Seeing the others' behavior, Jidu knew he had no choice but to take a piece of flesh from them, so he gritted his teeth.
"Since that's the case, how about this: I'll open up the Nine Luminaries ' knowledge base to everyone in exchange for your help?"
"Don't talk nonsense. We have so many people here. Let half of them in first, and we'll help you out once they're sure they need more people."
"That's true, but if you use my knowledge base for free and don't help me, wouldn't I be at a complete loss?"
Jidu is extremely meticulous and calculating.
"Okay, that works as you suggested, but for those who get in early, I can only grant reading access to those below the Heavenly Immortal level. Those who get in later will have the highest access level."
You should discuss this; time is of the essence.
As he spoke, he glanced at Li Xingkong's progress. Although there was still a gap between him and Li Xingkong, the gap was narrowing.
"This guy is really cunning. What use is the authority of a Heavenly Immortal to us? That highest level of authority is quite good, though."
"I want to be advanced!"
Some people are still considering whether to join later, while others have already quickly signed up.
"What's the use of that useless knowledge!"
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. You just wait and see, I'll go and see what's going on."
But then three or five people came out, received a mark from Jidu, closed their eyes to rest, and sank into the knowledge base, their figures disappearing outside this node.
Before long, the group returned one after another.
"It's true!"
"Hey, this guy's telling the truth, he really went all out."
With these individuals' affirmation, the waiting group began to have their own ideas.
" Jidu, alright, alright, I'll believe you this once!"
After leaving a few hurried words, they quickly returned to the node. However, this time they did not delve deeper into the node, but instead surrounded it in the direction that Li Xingkong was about to explore.
Before a node is fully occupied, it naturally has no exclusivity; every part of a node can be controlled by multiple people.
However, they were all talented individuals who had cultivated for many years. Although they couldn't completely block Li Xingkong, they could certainly cause Li Xingkong trouble.
Understanding a single point requires a lot of work, but it also involves observation and research. These people's approach is quite simple.
They wanted to disrupt Li Xingkong's observation process.
Just as the Three-Body Problem used Sophon to interfere with Earth Star's scientific research data, they were also trying their best to interfere with Li Xingkong's research on subsequent nodes.
This practice can only be described as vicious.
Li Xingkong's comprehension speed was immediately slowed down. He felt as if he were stuck in the mud, with something holding him back.
Li Xingkong increased his computing power, but the feeling of being pulled along did not dissipate, and it continued to change.
"Holy crap, just how high is this guy's computing power?!"
Even though he had given it his all, Li Xingkong kept breaking through people's defenses, tearing away layer after layer of obstacles as if those interferences had no effect whatsoever.
"This is impossible! I provided him with so much disguise, how could he have broken through so quickly!"
Another person was defeated, looking puzzled.
"I'm going, this job is really difficult!"
Such a scene within the node naturally did not escape the eyes of the onlookers, who had not expected to encounter such a rare sight in this small node.
Just as if they had witnessed Monkey Sun storming the Heavenly Palace, they watched Li Xingkong ahead, breaking through layer upon layer of blockades time and time again, and a sense of anticipation arose in their hearts.
They also wanted to see if this guy could actually achieve his goal.
"I'm telling you, put in a little more effort! What skills do you have? Are you all just sitting around doing nothing?"
Jidu also realized that something was wrong; the abilities of this group of useless people were so poor that he was speechless.
"If you're so good, then you do it!"
"Shut up, even if I'm a bad guy, I'm still trying to help you. You're such a jerk, barking like that!"
Clearly, Jidu's words were difficult for them to understand, and they all started hurling insults at each other.
Those who engage in cultivation practices that touch upon the realm of chaos are inherently somewhat deviant, so naturally, there aren't many truly good people among them. They might casually offer their services, but there's no need to actually sacrifice oneself for a knowledge base.
Even if Li Xingkong was incredibly stupid, he sensed something was amiss.
He initially thought the interference was due to his deeper understanding, but the level and methods of the interference varied greatly, as if they came from different people, which made Li Xingkong suspicious.
Is the interference within this node really that complex?
Is this what chaos is all about?