Chapter 1003: Discussion

Li Qi looked at Ink Tiger, stretched, and said to Shen Shuibi, “Then I’ll be going now.”

Shen Shuibi looked at Li Qi and sighed, “Go.”

Ink Tiger bowed his head and saluted Shen Shuibi as well, but did not say much.

This scene was indeed not suitable for much conversation.

Li Qi and Ink Tiger left, passing through the large gate to the location of Hell.

Shen Shuibi watched them leave, and finally could only shake her head.

What could she do? Cry and make a fuss to keep Li Qi bound here, absolutely not letting him do dangerous things?

No, Shen Shuibi would never do that.

So, for now, she would wait for him to return home, at least it seemed he had returned every time so far.

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Meanwhile, on the other side.

Li Qi followed Ink Tiger to Hell, where he met Demonic Prince again.

Theoretically, he and Demonic Prince should be considered brothers.

They were both created by the Heavenly Demon during the process of destroying Buddhism, and in the outside world, they were generally referred to as ‘Heavenly Demon’s Kin’, from which Demonic Prince’s title also originated.

At this moment, the scenery of Hell was terrifying.

Below, countless Yin souls ran in panic, seeking self-preservation, but driven by their past Karma, they suddenly found themselves in Hell.

Hot winds rose, blowing hot black sand that clung to their bodies, making them entirely black, like black clouds. The hot sand burned their skin, consuming flesh and reaching bone. Black flames arose within the sinners’ bodies, swirling around them and re-entering their bodies, causing them to suffer various torments, burning and charring them.

Other sinners lay in iron mortars, pounded by iron pestles from foot to head, their skin and flesh mashed, pus and blood flowing out, suffering bitter pain and myriad poisons simultaneously.

Furthermore, in Hell, the jailers threw the sinners into large iron cauldrons, where boiling hot soup cooked them, causing them to wail and scream in bitter agony.

This cycle seemed endless, life after life.

This was ‘retribution’.

To be precise, this was part of settling Karma during Reincarnation.

Before everyone’s Reincarnation, they had to repay Karma, making their life’s Karma spotless before they could be unburdened and peacefully Reincarnate.

Good Karma and good results, bad Karma and bad results, all ended here.

Of course, there was actually no such thing as good or evil, because what you received was what you had previously created.

Everything you did in your life would receive an almost perfect feedback here. If you treated people kindly while alive, you would also be treated kindly here.

If you engaged in endless slaughter in your life, you would also experience endless slaughter here, except this time the object of slaughter became yourself.

The good and bad of it, of course, depended entirely on oneself. A completely genuine pervert who believed that being tortured was enjoyable and being treated kindly was a form of torture, would therefore treat people kindly his entire life.

Then, after he arrived in Hell, he would also receive friendly treatment.

It was judged by actions, not by intent. No matter what you thought, here, you would only receive the retribution for everything you had done in your life. This was a manifestation of ‘Karma’.

In Hell, all the Karma on your body would be eliminated. As for how it was eliminated… of course, it was by making you consume all the Karma yourself.

Whatever you did, it would perfectly reflect back on you, regardless of what you thought.

Whatever you did, you would receive. Because Karma was essentially directional. When the ‘net force’ of Karma was zero, it meant you had settled it completely and could Reincarnate.

And controlling all of this were the various Dao Orthodoxy that cultivated Karma, such as Buddhism, Hell Dao, Ghost Dao, and the Demon of Karma lineage, all masters of controlling Karma. They were also responsible for maintaining the normal operation of Reincarnation.

Now that the Demon of Karma was dead and the Dizang Wang Bodhisattva was nowhere to be found, the operation of Hell had effectively ceased, leading to the concept of ‘post-death retribution’ being largely invalid.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long, and soon someone came to take over.

The one who took over was Demonic Prince.

Li Qi saw Demonic Prince presiding over Reincarnation, and the Karma he controlled was eliminating all Karma for every true spirit undergoing Reincarnation.

This more clearly revealed a fact—

The reason this Universe was the way it was, was because the Great Powers wanted it to be this way.

This included Reincarnation.

Li Qi was a leisurely person, but in many places, including the sun in the world, there were people on duty working. Evidently, this also came with remuneration, which was the corresponding ‘authority’.

If you didn't care about this authority, then it didn't matter, but if you wanted it, you had to come and work.

Just like the sacrifices of the Shaman, many symbolic things possessed miraculous power. The ‘authority’ derived from the existing order of the Universe was naturally the same. Therefore, for many Great Powers, they were very happy to take on such a job, and it even led to competitive hiring.

For example, the Five Directions Ghost Emperors, the Ten Yama Kings, and so on.

But there were also those who were unwilling to work and were forcibly brought in. There was a Spiritual Artifact called the ‘Investiture of the Gods’ which was responsible for this. Many Great Powers unwilling to work would be captured and made to work, depending entirely on the specific situation, it could not be generalized.

Li Qi walked to Demonic Prince’s side and saw him busy.

So he reached out and offered some help.

Although Li Qi, as a Second Grade, was not proficient in the method of Karma, he knew a thing or two, so helping Demonic Prince with odd jobs was very simple.

Thus, this batch of people was quickly dealt with. Demonic Prince then split off a Dharma Body, and while his main body continued to handle Reincarnation matters, he had the Dharma Body speak with Li Qi.

“Thank you,” Demonic Prince nodded slightly to Li Qi.

Li Qi’s eyes widened! !

He was shocked!

Could it be that Demonic Prince actually knew how to say ‘thank you’?

Having Demonic Prince express gratitude was truly a rare occurrence.

Indeed, it was so rare that Li Qi felt he should, in turn, thank Demonic Prince for that ‘thank you’.

He had to thank Demonic Prince for letting him witness such a rare scene.

Seeing Li Qi’s expression, Demonic Prince’s face turned cold. He flicked his sleeve and went straight to the point: “I have basically mastered Karma. Now, my authority among the Second Grade is considered superior. It’s time for the next step, isn’t it?”

“It’s not enough yet. The situation in the Heavens of the Formless Realm is still not good; it can’t maintain the state of ‘nothingness’,” Li Qi said.

“Regarding this, there are some things that need to be clarified,” Demonic Prince said, beginning to explain some of the issues.

As they spoke, Li Qi looked up at the dim sun in Hell’s sky.

Was that also a sun?

Hell had now also undergone changes, transforming from its original ‘plane-like’ state into individual planets.

These changes were all to align with the changes in the Universe.

Initially, the outer domain Li Qi knew consisted of various independent worlds and world clusters. What the interior of a world looked like depended entirely on its evolutionary process, and the entire world completely lacked isotropic properties.

However, the current outer domain was composed of various galaxies, and Hell was no exception.

When Li Qi looked at the sun, he was actually assessing the current operational state of Hell.

This could be inferred from the sun’s trajectory.

If there was a circular orbit around the sun and the Earth’s axis had no tilt, the sun’s path would be a single point.

If the orbit around the sun was circular and the Earth’s axis had a tilt, the sun’s path would be a symmetrical figure-eight.

If the orbit around the sun was elliptical and the Earth’s axis had no tilt, the sun’s path would be an ellipse, appearing as a straight east-west line at the equator.

If the orbit around the sun was elliptical and the Earth’s axis had a tilt, the sun’s path would be an asymmetrical figure-eight.

Just a quick glance was enough to determine what kind of operation Hell was pretending to be at this moment.

Li Qi could also scan it with True Knowledge, but using True Knowledge in this place was impolite and seemed offensive. It would be bad if it attracted the attention of other Second Grade individuals.

One should know that although Dizang Wang Bodhisattva was no longer present, the Reincarnation continued to operate. The Mount Tai Prefect was not someone to be trifled with, and even the Yama Kings had to bow their heads before them.

The Golden Monkey was able to cause such havoc in the past, with none of the Ten Yama Kings able to control him, precisely because the Ten Yama Kings were only Third Grade, and Dizang Wang and the Mount Tai Prefect did not directly intervene.

Li Qi quickly got his answer: this was a stationary planet, and the sun would also not move. Both were in a static state, with perpetual twilight, and a dim red glow would last forever.

“Are you listening?” Demonic Prince suddenly asked at this moment.

“Oh, I know. They’re all minor things, no big deal,” Li Qi regained his focus and said, “Compared to these, how to obtain the Desire Realm from Shamansan is a bigger problem.”

“That can only depend on you,” Demonic Prince said. “With the entire Reincarnation, the cultivation plan for the Heavens of the Formless Realm is not difficult, but I can’t get involved with the Desire Realm… I don’t have any connections in Shaman God Mountain.”

“Alright, let’s divide the work that way,” Li Qi expressed his understanding, then said, “Is Hell as it is now entirely your doing? There are only three Second Grade individuals in Hell now, right?”

“I haven’t done anything,” Demonic Prince shook his head. “I’m only responsible for handling Karma. This part was originally handled by the Demon of Karma. To be honest, I have no intention of taking over Hell.”

“When you took over Hell and began cultivating the Heavens of the Formless Realm as the destination for all true spirits of Reincarnation, you were already taking over Hell. It might cause disputes, so be careful,” Li Qi reminded him.

“So, it’s all settled then. You go get the Desire Realm, and I’ll continue cultivating the Heavens of the Formless Realm,” Demonic Prince seemed unwilling to waste too much time on this topic.

“Good,” Li Qi nodded, then turned and left.

Li Qi quietly left Hell. Now he was about to begin his new chapter of demon extermination, joining forces with Demonic Prince… to acquire both opposing Heavens.

The Heavens of the Formless Realm and the Heaven of Others’ Emanations.

From now on, all Third Grade individuals of Qi Palace had been temporarily set aside by Li Qi. The plan for Demonic Prince’s promotion to Second Grade was complete, and he temporarily didn't need Qi Palace, so he could let them continue to operate.

This made Li Qi feel a bit wistful.

His approach was actually very much like… the Shaman God.

The Shaman God’s attitude towards Li Qi should also be like this, right?

When needed, they would personally meet Li Qi and have him join one of their plans, and when not needed, they would leave him be, waiting until he could be used again when needed.

As for how to get the Desire Realm… this was actually a bit troublesome.

The value of the Desire Realm was well-known. It was an important trophy of Shaman Dao from the Human-Shaman War, and currently in Shamansan’s hands.

Li Qi walked through the Universe space.

To be honest, halfway through, Li Qi even had some doubts…

He doubted whether Shamansan, when he took the Desire Realm from him, had already foreseen this day.

Shamansan had foreseen that Li Qi would want to reclaim the Desire Realm, so he had taken it in advance under the guise of a war trophy, leading to Li Qi now having to ask Shamansan for it if he wanted it.

To get it back… it might not be that simple.

Thinking this, Li Qi had already returned to Shaman God Mountain, and this time, he went straight to Shamansan’s residence.

As the de facto leader of Shaman God Mountain, Shamansan’s residence was no secret. In fact, he himself was not so aloof; he often lectured on Shaman God Mountain and would occasionally research and disseminate some methods when he had nothing else to do.

Many rural wild Shaman, those Shaman who did not belong to Shaman God Mountain, were born this way.

Shamansan was very approachable. He even studied medicine and music. His medical skills were also famously excellent. In ancient times, when humans and Shaman had not yet separated, Shamansan created the musical instrument ‘drum’. Drums were played to please the Haotian.

It was well-known that the Haotian loved music; there was even something called ‘the lingering sound of creation’. And Shamansan was once the chief priest of the Haotian.

From these aspects, one could see that Shamansan was actually not a difficult person to get along with.

However, being a First Grade, no matter how easygoing, it was based on the premise of ‘the other party willingly cooperating’.

Like all Shaman, Shamansan was not a pushover. His easygoing nature did not mean he would help you, nor did it mean he wouldn’t plot against you.

In fact, both Shamansan and Wu Geng, the two Shaman God, made great contributions to the art of divination.

The divination invented by Shamansan was a form of metaphysical fortune-telling, called ‘Bu’. Wu Geng, on the other hand, invented ‘Suan’, which involved predictions through mathematical calculations. The combination of the two formed the origin of the Diviner lineage.

It was said: “The name of divination, one is Wu Geng, the other is Shamansan.”

And Wu Geng was the Shaman God who ascended from the Diviner lineage, and also Zhu Fengdan’s teacher.

It was quite strange that Zhu Fengdan, a Invoker, had a Diviner as her teacher.

However, considering Zhu Fengdan’s consistent unconventionality, this was quite normal, and for a Shaman God, they were no longer bound by Dao Orthodoxy.

While thinking about Shamansan, Li Qi arrived at Shamansan’s location.

He could see a group of young people, gathered around Shamansan, asking questions in an orderly manner.

Li Qi glanced around. These young people were all Young Masters of Shaman God Mountain.

These young people were full of vitality and vigor, and clearly all had an imposing appearance, full of confidence regardless of gender.

If Li Qi had not gone to Chang'an initially, but had returned directly to the Shaman God Mountain headquarters, he might have become one of them, with a group of people surrounding the Shaman God, asking questions, cultivating, and growing.

So, Li Qi walked to the back of this group of young people and quietly watched them attend class.