Chapter 1010: Superiority of the Spirit

Li Qi tentatively tried to 'perceive' the being named Ming Leshan.

Then, he immediately felt it.

A concept, something… indescribable.

Li Qi sighed, then said, “The Spirit Dao, it really is…”

“For someone like you, who views matter and spirit as equivalent, it must be difficult to accept,” Ming Leshan said.

In fact, it wasn't 'speaking'; accurately speaking, it was a conceptual exchange.

In this place, there were no 'senses' of any kind.

It was even more extreme than the Desire Realm.

The Desire Realm still had various mental phenomena and sensations, but here, even those had disappeared. Everything was pure 'concepts'.

This was what Ming Leshan meant by 'difficult to accept'.

It was like a debate between someone who thought 'money is important' and someone who thought 'money is not important'.

No matter how they debated, they couldn't reach a conclusion. The difference in their valuation was simply too vast, to the point where both found the other utterly bizarre.

Li Qi felt that a world consisting only of concepts couldn't be called a qualified world, while the other felt Li Qi was fussing over a bunch of trivialities, which was utterly meaningless.

But it didn't matter; both were well aware of this difference and wouldn't conflict over it.

Agree to disagree, after all.

“So, why did you come looking for us? Few people come to us,” Ming Leshan asked.

“I have that question too. Why did you proactively contact me?” Li Qi countered.

“That's why I asked you. Because of curiosity. I was very curious why you came, so I came to ask you,” Ming Leshan replied.

“Hmm… I came to find something comparable to the Desire Realm,” Li Qi said.

The instant he finished speaking, Ming Leshan disappeared.

His curiosity was satisfied, the answer obtained, so there was no longer a need to communicate with Li Qi.

This even left Li Qi a bit stunned.

This was somewhat outrageous, indeed.

The Spirit Dao really was… unique.

But perhaps it was just that one individual; Li Qi thought, preparing to search for what he wanted in the Spirit Dao's true territory.

Li Qi began to observe his surroundings, using his 'heart' to perceive the situation here.

It was very strange here, because Li Qi discovered that there was no 'distance' of any kind. He could simultaneously perceive the existence of all 'concepts' in an instant, yet he couldn't specifically understand any 'concept'.

How to describe it… it was like looking at a menu, or clicking options on a computer screen.

Does stored content in a computer have 'distance'?

Of course not.

However, the absence of distance doesn't mean everything is piled up in front of you, because… 'being close' is actually a form of distance.

The current situation was more like everything simultaneously existing within one's 'heart', and whatever you wanted to recall or connect with had to be directly perceived through your 'heart'.

Then, without any unnecessary operations, you could directly experience it.

Between these, there was no 'matter' obstructing the way.

However, Li Qi clearly felt a barrier.

It felt as if everything was tied with sandbags, like a ship's hull tied with sandbags to cushion the impact of colliding with a dock. His giant ship could never truly reach the dock.

Everything seemed like looking at flowers through a fog, never truly clear.

Any impact or contact was tied with sandbags to reduce its reality.

Every word spoken by everyone was pre-diluted. Was it to prevent collisions? Or was it… directed at Li Qi?

Even mutual feelings became numb; some impactful emotions vanished, and perception itself was delayed here.

“Strange,” Li Qi felt about his surroundings. Was it because he couldn't completely abandon matter? Or some other reason? And what about the other Spirit Dao beings?

Li Qi displayed his excellent quality of not being ashamed to ask questions, wanting to find someone to ask about the situation.

Asking someone was clearly a better method than guessing blindly.

However, he found… no one paid him any attention.

Damn it, are you Spirit Dao people a bit ungrateful? I'm still a second-rank, and you ignore me? Is that acceptable?

So, Li Qi prepared to make a fuss, to create some commotion.

But when he started to make a fuss, he was startled to discover…

Wait, how do I make a fuss?

Outputting chaotic thoughts? That seemed to be a Demonic Dao method. In the Spirit Dao, the concepts of all things are categorized and integrated, even 'war', 'destruction', and so on.

Therefore, outputting chaotic thoughts would only have one effect: Li Qi would be 'classified' out, completely unable to affect others or other concepts.

How can you harm a 'concept'?

You can shatter a great mountain, but can you eliminate the concept of 'great mountain'?

Shatter one mountain, and there's another. Even if all mountains in the Universe were shattered, all 'mountain' existence eliminated, and everyone forgot about 'mountains', in the face of the concept of 'mountain', 'mountains' would continuously be created.

Orogeny will never stop, the uplifted ground will always exist; they are merely manifestations of the concept of 'mountain'. As long as the concept exists, matter will continuously imitate it.

So, what exactly is the concept of 'mountain'?

As an abstract concept, a concept has no intuitive manifestation. Because there is no intuition, even when using logic to trace it infinitely, one will eventually find it indescribable, only able to be 'understood'.

Therefore, to facilitate understanding, it is necessary to give it an intuitive image, and this intuitive image is the material manifestation of this concept, which is the 'mountain' itself.

Ultimately, one will find that in the world of 'Spirit', such struggle is meaningless.

Everyone's consciousness, general concepts—these things do not rely on any material entity, nor do they follow any material laws; they are completely separated from each other.

Li Qi needed to find other ways to influence others.

If it was merely for 'war', for 'making a ruckus', then for the absolutely eternal concept itself, such war itself is also motionless, eternal.

All things are externalizations and manifestations of their concepts in the process of movement and change. Therefore, when you truly come before 'concepts', you will find that the world is, in a sense, 'static'.

Thus, Li Qi 'sat down'.

Since no one came to speak with him, and he couldn't influence other things, he would just comprehend it himself.

Don't underestimate a second-rank, alright?

Li Qi released his perception, beginning to feel these eternal concepts through those sandbags.

Despite being so indistinct, so blurry, like looking at flowers through a fog, Li Qi was still, through his senses, beginning to infiltrate these 'concepts'.

A second-rank can easily define his subjective time. Li Qi began to exhaust all the 'concepts' he could access in this endless process.

How long did he spend?

Don't worry about it, no need to worry.

His insights were found in collections, questioned and debated.

Knowing his learning, he supplemented it with scholarly writing.

Li Qi read everything within it, remembered everything he read, and used his immense information processing ability to forcefully and violently understand what all 'concepts' represented.

Human Dao Sages have subtle words and profound meanings; a simple sentence requires others to think deeply and diligently, reaching the utmost. For the myriad schools and Dao, historical texts of all dynasties, the principles of right and wrong, they must be thoroughly investigated and carefully chosen.

So, when facing pure concepts, the so-called 'subtle words and profound meanings' are more like a profound summary and metaphor for the concept.

Li Qi started from this point, learning the Great Powers' ability to summarize concepts. With deep roots and flowing springs, he compiled concepts into texts, using his intelligence and insight to span ancient and modern times, repeatedly scrutinizing and returning to the classics, rather than indulging in empty words to fill his aspirations, thereby supporting the foundational texts.

Through this method, even if he couldn't truly understand what a 'concept' was, he could forcefully and violently categorize the characteristics of concepts and ideas.

And so…

After a long time, Li Qi finally discovered the flaw in 'concepts'.

Concepts are perfect, eternal.

Therefore, concepts can even be said to be 'absolute', and an 'absolute' thing, like logic itself, will continuously separate out its opposite due to its inherent negativity.

This is simple. If the concept itself is absolute, infinite, and eternal, then the concept itself must contain the negation of the concept itself.

Otherwise, it would not be absolutely infinite and eternal.

If the concept itself contains its own negation, then the stillness of the concept will be broken as a result.

Therefore, concepts are not completely static. Although the 'concept' itself is static and eternal, there is still 'movement' between concepts.

Through his understanding, Li Qi began to realize that concepts do not tolerate contradictions; on the contrary, concepts are full of contradictions.

And the mutual movement between 'concepts' produces 'contradictions', and contradictions transform into each other, ultimately giving birth to 'change' and 'possibility'.

A single concept is static and eternal; a multitude of concepts together are dynamic and contradictory.

And in this contradiction, the concepts themselves also progress.

Repelling things combine, and different tones create the most beautiful harmony.

Is this what the Spirit Dao considers contradiction?

Li Qi started from this point, combining it with his own 'contradictions', and then, from the conceptual level, gradually allowed his 'Dao' to 'permeate' into the Spirit Dao.

In a certain instant—

Suddenly, Li Qi completely immersed himself in the moment of 'thought'. The surrounding 'sandbags', or 'gloves', became thinner.

Li Qi finally established an intuitive perception of 'concepts'.

He successfully established the point that 'matter and spirit are homogeneous', and through the inherent 'contradictory' nature of concepts themselves, he incorporated the cognition of matter itself as a purely abstract empty concept into the nature of 'concepts'.

Thus, he finally regained his 'five senses' and his 'five aggregates', able to intuitively perceive the existence of 'concepts'.

Li Qi opened his eyes in the world of 'concepts'.

The world, hazy white and existing only as concepts, was so tranquil. As the first light of dawn gradually emerged, it evoked an indescribable beauty.

But Li Qi didn't care about these things; he merely paid careful attention to his footsteps.

Aside from hearing his own heart pounding, he heard nothing else.

However, though cautious, he felt no fear at all. At this moment, there was no room for fear in his heart, only the thought: Faster! Faster! Faster!

He had to be fast, before anyone noticed!

He could clearly see the existence of other 'concepts', and it was precisely because of this that Li Qi had to say he needed to hurry.

Li Qi could now see the current forms of existence of all 'Spirit Dao High-Ranks'.

If he had to describe them, the Spirit Dao High-Ranks at this moment were simply… how to put it… if Li Qi absolutely had to describe them, it would be 'arrogance'.

Fortunately, because of their arrogance, they didn't surround him, which allowed Li Qi to breathe heavily as he was now.

The Spirit Dao's arrogant trick lay in severely 'demanding' and 'restraining' oneself, tightly covering one's own existence until 'concepts' formed a self-contained transparent small sphere around oneself.

Within this small sphere sat the high-rank cultivators of the 'Spirit Dao'.

They were self-righteous, arrogant, and at the same time, self-negating.

Those high-rank cultivators of the Spirit Dao sat in their 'concept bubbles', looking down upon all things.

They believed their 'concepts' could interpret all things, so there was no need to get tainted by anything in the world.

Ultimately, external things were meaningless to them.

They believed their 'concepts' had already interpreted the world; the world itself was inferior, and their concepts explained everything. Therefore, one only needed to read 'concepts', and there was no need to bother with things in the mundane world.

They were invincible gods in that transparent world of concepts.

No one could deny that the territory of concepts was theirs. Within their territory, everything existed, and the outside world held no value, so why would they infringe upon others?

Thus, these Spirit Dao High-Ranks felt self-satisfied, even 'superior', from the bottom of their hearts.

For example, Li Qi now knew that the Spirit Dao wouldn't do anything to him.

No, that was part of the Spirit Dao's 'superiority'.

The Spirit Dao was too superior to bother with him; it only needed to be complacent in its own bubble, believing itself superior.

However, in Li Qi's view, what was the Spirit Dao superior to?

This arrogance made Li Qi frown, and it was precisely why he needed to be 'fast'.

Because… what Li Qi was about to do was 'pop the bubble'.

That's right, Li Qi opened his eyes in the world of concepts, and he was now running in the world of concepts, approaching the central concept.

Once there, he could grasp—

Li Qi's hand was caught.

There are others who can maintain materiality in the world of concepts!?

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