Chapter 1044: Preparation

Li Qi returned to this planet.

Previously, Buddhism was located on this planet, and it had been invaded by other civilizations. It was Li Qi who helped them repel the invasion.

After that, Li Qi also promoted the Da Sanzang throughout the Universe, helping the lost Buddhist sect regain some popularity.

It's just… it recovered a bit too much.

Today, this Buddhist pagoda, which stores the Da Sanzang, has become one of the most trafficked places in the entire Universe.

It has even reached the point where some people are concerned about the gradual accumulation of erosion caused by hundreds of billions of tourists every day.

Therefore, regulations were finally introduced, stipulating that when visiting this planet, you need to weigh your body and luggage before entering, and then when you leave, not a single gram can be added or removed. The net difference in body weight must be removed from your body weight by Divine Ability when leaving the planet. If there is a deficit, you will be required to make it up.

If this is not done, just by everyone stepping on some mud and walking away, the mass of this planet could be exhausted. And if everyone brings a little more, it won't be long before this planet collapses due to mass expansion.

Even so, the material replacement on this planet is also terrifying. It is said that every six years, all the matter on this planet will be renewed. This is what is truly called 'stardust'.

It's also natural. This is the teaching of a First Grade being. Even if it doesn't align with one's own Dao, there's no harm in listening. If one can comprehend something, it would be a huge gain.

At first, everyone thought so.

They wanted to come here to acquire techniques, or even certain specific Divine Abilities, such as Maudgalyāyana's Divine Ability. If they could learn even a little, it would be of great help to civilization.

However… most people who came with this mindset were disappointed.

Throughout the entire Da Sanzang, within the Buddhist pagoda, there are three hundred trillion World Honored One Tathagata statues, which means three hundred trillion layers. In all the scriptures, not a single word describes specific technical details or specific Divine Abilities.

These are all about Buddha-Dharma, and nothing about practical applications.

Specific Divine Abilities can only be developed and researched by oneself after mastering these Buddha-Dharmas.

Perhaps this was also something the World Honored One Tathagata had foreseen.

From these places, Li Qi could vaguely sense the World Honored One's thoughts.

Buddhas also die, and worlds also perish. This is simply natural.

And in all of this, what you receive is the retribution for what you have done; this is 'Karma'.

Even the Buddha himself cannot change any rules of Karma and Destiny—he merely discovered these rules and strove to educate others with the wisdom and rules he had comprehended.

A Buddha is an enlightened one, not a savior. He only wishes to spread his wisdom. As long as sentient beings have enough wisdom to see through the layers of mist, to correctly understand and deal with all things, then what could make us suffer?

It's like, when the Buddha, who had not yet achieved Dao, sat under the Bodh Gaya, beneath a huge Bodhi Tree, and began to contemplate as the moon rose and set, and the tides ebbed and flowed.

When he looked up, what he saw of the Universe must have been like this.

Therefore, Li Qi could also roughly understand why the other party chose to enter Nirvana.

After those events, the Buddha was inevitably elevated to a divine altar, sculpted into various colossal and solemn Buddha statues, and various inconceivable powers were extolled.

Therefore, he had to enter Nirvana.

When he dies, and when 'Buddha' also 'enters Nirvana', sentient beings may then understand that the Buddha is not some transcendent being, unable to sustain himself, unable to destroy devils, and even unable to influence the various Destinies of this world.

The Buddha is merely a wise person who has comprehended the Dao of Karma. His greatest significance is to bring this wisdom to others, and this is what he ultimately left for the world.

However, this idea, in Li Qi's view, seemed a bit too pretentious.

Li Qi didn't think this attitude was a good thing.

Since one has power and Divine Ability, one can naturally transform the world. Isn't this immense power born for the purpose of transforming the world?

Instead of hoping that all people will awaken, it's better to create a world where one cannot survive without awakening, and then all people will naturally awaken.

The Buddha was still too benevolent.

The other Buddhas and great Bodhisattvas were also too benevolent. They would rather 'guide' people to ponder than put some pressure on them; their hands were too soft.

However, Li Qi wasn't that extreme. He didn't intend to criticize others' Dao, but he just felt that the World Honored One Tathagata's unwillingness to change this world in the end was a bit… too conservative.

The Dao within is to regulate one's own behavior.

The Dao without is the law by which the world operates.

These two can be completely interchanged.

The external Dao will naturally influence one's outward attitude. This is a typical example of the external Dao influencing the Dao within a person.

But similarly, one's own Dao can also influence the external Dao, modifying physical constants, even reshaping the entire space-time, or creating one's own heaven and earth, all stem from this.

And the World Honored One Tathagata was too benevolent, or rather… too weak. He was unwilling to influence the external Dao.

Or perhaps, he was too arrogant. He believed that the external 'Dao' had no meaning in being changed, and even if it were changed, it would have no effect. All the joys and sorrows, partings and reunions in this world, at their root, are merely instantaneous gatherings and scatterings of Destiny, disappearing in a blink, and then new ones will appear, so there's no need to change them.

“All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows.” Li Qi walked before the Buddhist pagoda and sighed.

Yes, perhaps in the World Honored One's eyes, the 'external Dao' is merely a dream, an illusion, a bubble, and a shadow, and only the Dao within the human heart can endure for a long time.

Li Qi walked on this planet. Although crowded, it was not noisy. Many people around were quietly discussing the Buddha-Dharma they could see.

Therefore, Li Qi's sigh did not attract any attention. Here, everyone was translating the Buddha's words into various different languages.

Finally, Li Qi shook his head, shaking off these thoughts.

Coming to this place, his thoughts seemed to lean a little towards the Buddhist direction.

He had arrived at the Buddhist pagoda where the Da Sanzang was stored.

This place was also packed with people, terribly crowded. Li Qi was queuing, preparing to enter the Buddhist pagoda.

Queuing here was truly a torment for Mortals, because there were too many people, enough to circle half the planet, so even at the fastest release speed, it would take more than ten days to get in.

But fortunately, everyone was a cultivator, and ten days of enduring would pass.

As for Li Qi…

He didn't queue.

Normally, he might queue with others, but now it was an emergency, and there was no time, so he walked straight in.

However, it didn't cause any commotion or protest, because others couldn't see him.

Li Qi walked straight in. Inside this Buddhist pagoda, it was also person-to-person-to-person… No, it wasn't person-to-person-to-person, it was various different creatures squeezed together. Among them were humanoids, but also a large number of not-so-humanoids, but everyone sat obediently, no one dared to cause trouble here.

Among so many people, the Demonic Prince sat among them, blending into the crowd, almost indistinguishable from ordinary people.

This surprised Li Qi a little.

Because the Demonic Prince was not an approachable person. Unlike himself, who usually dislikes making a fuss, he was extremely self-centered and basically didn't consider others' feelings.

Sitting with Mortals… was it because of the Buddha-Dharma?

Li Qi didn't know, but he just walked towards the Demonic Prince.

When he reached the Demonic Prince's side, the Demonic Prince put down the Buddhist scripture in his hand and looked at Li Qi: “Any clues?”

“I'm not sure about clues, but the Heavenly Gods seem to be planning something big,” Li Qi said.

Then, he explained what the Heavenly Gods were going to do and his entanglement with them.

As he spoke, the surrounding flow of people gradually decreased, as if their cognition was disturbed, and they unconsciously left the area.

Li Qi noticed this, but said nothing.

This should be the Demonic Prince's doing.

Earlier, he was squeezed among many people, and some even touched his shoulder or stepped on his cloak, yet he showed no reaction. This was completely unlike the Demonic Prince.

If it were the Demonic Prince in his normal state, these people should have already disappeared.

Just after Li Qi finished explaining the Heavenly Gods' matter, the Demonic Prince pondered for a moment and said to Li Qi: “So, the Heavenly Gods want you to get involved. If you help destroy Haotian, then they will help you deal with the Heavenly Demon? Isn't that a pretty good deal? Why not accept?”

“Why should I accept? I think Haotian is doing quite well. If Yao Ji and Emperor Jun's group come to power, who knows what this Universe might become,” Li Qi shook his head.

“So, compared to the Heavenly Demon, you care more about what the Universe itself will become?” the Demonic Prince retorted.

“You've got the wrong focus. The reason I want to deal with the Heavenly Demon and the Demonic Dao is to ensure that all space-time in this Universe is free from demonic disturbance,” Li Qi emphasized. “I've never wanted to target the Heavenly Demon; I've always cared about this Universe.”

“What a broad mind,” the Demonic Prince smiled, but said nothing.

Li Qi and his Dao were different.

In the Demonic Prince's eyes, there was never any 'sentient beings', only himself.

He didn't care what the Universe looked like, because to him, the external environment was meaningless; what this world was like couldn't affect him.

He was free, eternal, constant. Everything external was but fleeting clouds to him. He only had his own goals in his eyes, and the obstacles around those goals.

To the Demonic Prince, there was no scenery to speak of in the outside world.

If Li Qi was admiring the beautiful scenery of this Universe, strolling around, hoping to see more beautiful things, occasionally doing some tasks, then in the Demonic Prince's eyes, this Universe only had 'mission objectives'.

There was no scenery to speak of, only things like 'go where, kill how many'. If possible, he would even directly read the code, too lazy to look at anything related to art and textures.

“So, you're not going to help the Heavenly Gods, but do you think the Heavenly Gods will let it go? They personally invited you, certainly not on a whim. Behind it must be something only you can do,” the Demonic Prince said.

Li Qi nodded upon hearing this.

Yes, this was also what he was worried about.

If they simply wanted one more Second Grade combatant, they wouldn't have sought out Li Qi, nor would they have offered such generous terms, even revealing their plan to replace Haotian.

This indicates that their plan requires Li Qi to do something that only Li Qi can perfectly accomplish; otherwise, Li Qi wouldn't be worth it.

The Heavenly Gods wouldn't undertake such a massive endeavor on a whim.

Li Qi's single refusal clearly wouldn't deter their actions. In fact, they might subsequently resort to coercion or more arrangements to force Li Qi to do what they want.

Such arrangements might not be direct; they could also involve guiding Li Qi through certain conspiracies, making him unknowingly do what they desire.

However, Li Qi was no longer a child. Even a First Grade might not be able to arrange Li Qi without a trace, but in any case, it was better to be careful when dealing with these tyrannical Heavenly Gods.

“So I came to ask you, how much longer will it take to finish reading the Da Sanzang and the Da Zhengzang? How much longer do we have to wait? I feel that, given the current situation, if we continue to wait, there will be many, many variables,” Li Qi said.

This Universe has always been developing, something both Li Qi and the Demonic Prince were well aware of.

During the period of Li Qi and the Demonic Prince's inactivity, countless major events occurred. Just those involving First Grade intervention included the Heavenly God civil war, the demonic chaos in the Universe, and the Human Emperor's demise—three events.

Each of these events had a ferocity second only to the Nine Earth Dao dispute, on par with Li Qi's demon-slaying war, and also involved the fall of Second Grade beings.

Among them, the Human Emperor's demise caused an even greater stir than Li Qi's demon-slaying war. Li Qi's war only resulted in the deaths of two Second Grade beings, while the Human Emperor's demise involved the fall of many Second Grade beings.

Each time such an event occurs, the real Universe frighteningly disappears.

The various space-times of the Universe flashed by like various illusions. The primal light erupted in bursts, as if sticking pieces of jelly onto space. Time expanded, matter contracted, and the largest prime number quietly hid in a corner, permanently concealed.

Then, everything manifested, and all things reappeared.

Amidst these changes, Li Qi and the Demonic Prince had been preparing their own matters.

Many Second Grade beings were similar to Li Qi; many of them did not participate in these events, only intervening when matters concerned them directly.

And now, it seemed they had to participate.

Li Qi was ready, but what about the Demonic Prince?

Listening to Li Qi's question, the Demonic Prince glanced at the Buddhist scripture in his hand.

“Are we going to attack the Heavenly Demon now?”

“How could that be? If we attack the Heavenly Demon now, both of us will die,” Li Qi smiled. “But, we can't really let the Heavenly Gods drag me into this, can we?”

“So, what exactly do you want to do?” (End of chapter)