Chapter 1008: Follow

Li Qi and Chang Qiao strolled on the terraced fields.

Li Qi had seen many different kinds of automated equipment, such as large automatic seeders, or small cultivation Formations or seedling transplanters.

However, none of these worked in this place.

The land here was very strange; almost every inch of land had different properties, coupled with the demon beasts that bred there and the surging of the Earth Veins, which made ordinary automated facilities ineffective.

Only automated facilities with 'intelligence' could operate normally here.

Because they possessed 'intelligence', they could judge these complex choices and decide what to do; ordinary automated facilities would only cause trouble or be damaged.

Therefore, 'intelligence' was also used for farming in this vicinity.

It seemed that the wealthier ones used artificial intelligence, similar to a Formation Spirit like a strong AI, while the poorer ones naturally used intelligent life itself.

After all, intelligent life itself was actually the cheapest 'strong intelligence'.

However, by the same token, intelligent life was also the most precious treasure in this Universe, depending on the perspective.

Just like trees.

In this Universe, the reserves of trees were far lower than gold; trees were the truly precious wealth for this Universe, while gold was just an element.

But on Earth, one gram of gold could buy a lot of wood, all because of the different perspectives.

Li Qi and Chang Qiao walked for a while and could see that these terraced fields receded, widened, sank, and rose with the slope of the mountain and the boundaries of cultivation.

Many different crops were planted on these small terraced fields, never stopping all year round; the people here had long since developed a method of continuous farming throughout the four seasons, which was necessary to feed so many people in the city.

This naturally required very complex methods: how to regulate the Earth Qi, how to control nutrients, and which plants had less risk to plant; all these needed specialized research. If one planted randomly without research, the plants would surely die, wasting labor was one thing, but the most unbearable part was that if they died, there would be no food, and many people would starve to death.

Agriculture, as one of the means of production, occupied a considerable proportion in any civilization, as agriculture represented a civilization's ability to control life and species.

The Farmer family, one of the Hundred Schools of Human Dao Orthodoxy, specialized in these matters. The seeds and planting methods they developed, and their Earth Qi regulation techniques, were very famous throughout the world. The Spiritual Rice commonly eaten in the world was also their masterpiece.

This Spiritual Rice was almost unpicky about the terrain; it could even grow in Baiyue, with a yield of over three thousand catties per mu, and an astonishingly high energy density, even allowing a Martial Artist to practice martial arts by only eating rice.

If there was enough of it, reaching the Eighth Grade was not a problem, but higher grades would require other high-end varieties.

“Looking at it this way, the dietary richness here is quite good,” Li Qi observed the growth of the crops and made a judgment.

One could see that gray branches, similar to olives, were faintly growing by the fields; they didn't take up much land and were planted to be pickled as side dishes.

Some shelves were set up by the wall, with many fruit vines hanging on them, which should be something like cucumbers or grapes.

One could see some 'intelligent machines' and 'domesticated savage beasts' moving forward step by step; these intelligent things were the automated facilities here, and only they could plow these narrow fields.

A narrow edge was left for them by the field, with long grass on it. This grass would obstruct the path, but there was no way around it; it was hard to control what grew in this place. Managing the fields was already very troublesome, so there was probably no energy left to manage these small paths. The terraced fields were very narrow, and in many places, even demon beasts couldn't withstand them, so many farmers were seen digging with hoes, piling up the excavated soil to build walls, which helped protect the terraced fields from being washed away during rain.

To be honest, if it weren't for everyone here having cultivation, Li Qi would have thought he had come to an agricultural society outside the domain.

“Isn't it interesting? High technology, low performance. Clearly, the technical content of these things is not low, and some even include top-tier术法 developed by Fifth Grade cultivators, but the manifestation is like this.” Chang Qiao, as a tour guide, introduced the situation here to Li Qi with great interest.

“It is indeed very interesting,” Li Qi said, then stepped into the grass by the field ridge.

On the edge of the terraced fields, in the stone corners of the terraces, many weeds and flowers sprang up.

No one disturbed Chang Qiao and Li Qi, because Li Qi had that wooden plaque hanging at his waist.

“It's very peaceful here. Is there no conflict in this place? Or is it just because we can't see it?” Li Qi said, sitting by the field ridge.

“I don't know, it's a tour, why bother with those?” Chang Qiao didn't care much: “By the way, you said you came to eat, why are you still sitting by the field? I'm hungry!”

She urged with her hands on her hips, speaking with righteous indignation.

Li Qi smiled: “Okay, let's go eat first.”

Thinking so, Li Qi and Chang Qiao left this series of farmlands, entered the city, found a shop, and sat down.

“It's interesting that there's even commerce in a place like this.” Li Qi sat in the chair, surveying the city.

Chang Qiao said: “There are many tourists, all serving people like you and me. As for the locals, they don't need these.”

As a local Dragon, Chang Qiao was very familiar with these places.

Li Qi watched the shopkeeper here present the menu, order dishes, and eat.

The taste was actually good; Chang Qiao ate with relish, and driven by hunger, Li Qi also found it quite delicious.

Then, they finished eating.

So…

What else could they do?

Li Qi asked Chang Qiao: “What about after that?”

“After that? There's nothing after that. This place probably only has this use, right? The selling point is to experience the five senses more deeply, understand?” Chang Qiao said.

Li Qi frowned.

But he didn't say much.

After that, Li Qi and Chang Qiao began to travel through Bei Jia again.

They traveled from one city to another, from one place to another.

The natural scenery changed again and again.

There were flower fields, forests, canyons, bays, snowfields, and glaciers.

All kinds of scenery made Bei Jia exceptionally beautiful.

But…

The people living around were pretty much the same.

These stowaways rarely caused trouble; they were rational, quiet, liked to cultivate, took root here, and quietly worked hard for their future, without much conflict.

Their habits were a bit too docile.

Of course, this might also be because this place was simply too harsh.

The suppression of the natural environment, and the fact that even cultivators of the Fifth Grade had to work for their daily meals, plus there was nothing enjoyable here, made even time seem to slow down.

The plows moved slowly between the remaining tree roots; Li Qi had been here for less than twenty years, but it felt like a very long time had passed.

It was hard to imagine that there was such a place in the world.

Chang Qiao didn't feel bored, but this was mainly because of Li Qi; she spent every day playing with her Mirage Pearl, filming her travel life with Li Qi.

Li Qi was curious and had also looked; through their interconnected Formation, one could easily log onto their network, and Li Qi was surprised to find that his popularity was not low.

Perhaps it was because the 'gimmick' was too big; after all, Chang Qiao's title was: “Challenging the first person in the world to travel with a Second Grade cultivator, Year Twenty-Six!”

Although Li Qi usually didn't use these popular interconnected forums much, everyone was clearly very curious about the daily life of a Second Grade cultivator.

Many things feel different from a different perspective. In Li Qi's view, his past was merely a puppet, always at the mercy of fate, long displaced, hitting walls everywhere, and facing numerous disasters. But in the eyes of others, he lived a standard Dragon Aotian life.

Many people were very interested in this, and the things Chang Qiao filmed satisfied their curiosity. For this, she even pulled Li Qi into several Q&A sessions.

Logically, finding a Second Grade cultivator, asking about cultivation matters would certainly be the most important, just like inviting an academician, one would definitely ask about academic matters.

But to Li Qi's surprise, most of the questions asked were about trivial daily life, and some even asked about his views on love.

He really didn't understand the young people nowadays.

They had invited a Second Grade cultivator to talk, but all they cared about was gossip.

But since Li Qi was already there, he naturally bit the bullet and answered the selected questions, which unexpectedly made Li Qi even more popular, and Chang Qiao's popularity also rose along with his.

Some even said that Chang Qiao and Li Qi were a perfect match, which made Li Qi emphasize repeatedly that he had a wife, and even a daughter, and that his daughter was about the same level as Chang Qiao, and his son-in-law's cultivation was also similar to Chang Qiao's, forbidding them from spreading such groundless rumors.

However, everyone said they knew, but what did knowing matter? The Li Qi they wrote about was not Li Qi, and Chang Qiao was not Chang Qiao.

Li Qi couldn't possibly rush to their homes and beat them up over such matters, although he certainly could, it wasn't necessary.

So, for these past twenty-odd years, Chang Qiao was full of enthusiasm, while Li Qi remained as calm as ever.

However, Li Qi began to feel…

A bit 'bored'.

This didn't mean Li Qi had lost patience; twenty-odd years was not enough for that.

He felt bored because he began to realize that there was nothing new in Bei Jia anymore.

The travel itself could no longer bring him more information; he felt like he was just circling around Bei Jia.

This led Li Qi to finally choose to open his eyes, scan the entire situation of Bei Jia, and begin to make calculations.

If he couldn't experience things, then he could only observe them himself.

However, something that surprised Li Qi happened.

The entire Bei Jia… was indeed exactly as he had experienced it.

There were no high-grade existences, no special arrangements; Bei Jia was empty, said to be where Spirit Dao resided, but in reality, not a single Spirit Dao cultivator was seen.

There was no spread of Dao Orthodoxy; people's 'peacefulness' occupied the vast majority. In such a vast area of Bei Jia, there were countless archipelagos, many continents, and intertwined ocean water systems, but almost all places were largely the same.

“Tsk,” Li Qi clicked his tongue in displeasure.

“What's wrong, what's wrong?” Chang Qiao, who was fiddling with her Mirage Pearl camera nearby, asked.

“Nothing, I just feel that the journey through Bei Jia is coming to an end. I will go into seclusion and observe for a period of time; the tour will be temporarily suspended,” Li Qi said.

“Oh…” Chang Qiao seemed a bit dejected, but she didn't say much, only asking: “Are you starting now?”

“Yes, I plan to start now. As for you, find something to do, or you can just leave,” Li Qi said.

Chang Qiao was a bit disappointed, but she still packed her things obediently and left.

And Li Qi began to expand his perception.

Since Spirit Dao was unwilling for people to experience it firsthand, he would directly begin long-term observation.

Li Qi began to quietly observe the entire Bei Jia.

Every person, every gust of wind, every cloud, every blade of grass, and even every speck of dust, was now under his surveillance.

If he couldn't experience it firsthand, then he would take all the information into his eyes.

Soon, Li Qi's observation continued for over three hundred years.

During this period, Li Qi focused on one person.

Bei Jia.

This was the little boy Li Qi had given guidance to when he first arrived.

Actually, he didn't guide him much; Li Qi just said some common sense about cultivation and taught him some breathing techniques, which was nothing special; a Fifth Grade cultivator could do the same as Li Qi.

Whether an academician or an elementary school teacher tells you the multiplication table, there is no difference.

So Li Qi didn't pay much attention to it.

However, in these three hundred years, Li Qi saw that Bei Jia seemed to have been looking for Li Qi's whereabouts.

Unlike others in Bei Jia, Bei Jia was not 'peaceful'.

He had a clear purpose and was willing to act on it. He searched everywhere for traces of Li Qi's travels, trudging arduously, looking for Li Qi in the dangerous Bei Jia wilderness.

Li Qi traveled in Bei Jia for twenty years because he and Chang Qiao could easily cross the dangerous wilderness of Bei Jia, but Bei Jia could not. Each time he crossed these uninhabited areas was a huge adventure.

For this, he made great efforts, asking for local records everywhere he went, looking up historical data, constantly improving his cultivation, and using every imaginable method to pursue Li Qi's traces.

In this process, his knowledge gradually broadened, and his age gradually increased.

As of today, more than three hundred years have passed.

He was still pursuing Li Qi's footsteps.

However, his state of mind also seemed to have gradually become peaceful.

Perhaps… Li Qi had already left Bei Jia long ago?

Thinking so, Bei Jia couldn't help but look at his disheveled and scarred self.

What exactly was he pursuing?

His backpack contained many clues about Li Qi, many legends about him, for example, that Dragon named Chang Qiao had always followed Li Qi.

Bei Jia began to examine his own heart. (End of Chapter)