Chapter 1050: Demons are coming

The outline of the object gradually appeared, filled with color.

A certain majesty also continuously grew around, until it became a song.

That's right, a song.

Steady, magnificent music resonated all around, as if singing of all things, causing Li Qi to involuntarily close his eyes and become immersed.

It is well known that Hao Tian likes music.

In the rituals preserved by the Shamanes for sacrificing to Hao Tian, music is an extremely important part; even the Human Dao has retained a position called 'Grand Director of Music'.

Amidst the music, as things transformed from nothingness into a scene outlined by many simple and clear lines, Li Qi finally met Hao Tian.

Normally, if Li Qi were to visit Hao Tian, the latter might not necessarily pay him any attention.

However, this visit went so smoothly, with no one obstructing him outside, which shows that Hao Tian actually knew Li Qi would come.

Of course, he knew, after all, he personally stopped Li Qi's Demon Extermination.

Facing Hao Tian, Li Qi took a deep breath, then said, "Heavenly Emperor."

Hao Tian quietly looked at Li Qi.

"You know, don't you? Yao Ji, Emperor Jun, and Emperor Hundun are plotting to kill you and take your place; they want a Heavenly Emperor who isn't as overbearing as you."

Yes, Li Qi used the word 'overbearing'.

Hao Tian is gentle, there is no doubt about this; his magnanimity is so vast that he is called 'Hao', and he can even tolerate the birth of other First Grades.

If it were Li Qi, when Li Qi became a First Grade, could he tolerate others ascending to First Grade in front of him?

Forget about First Grade.

Suppose there is only one Third Grade in this world, meaning only one existence with substantiality.

Then, when the second Third Grade is born, how many would choose to concede rather than wave their hand and strike the other down?

To concede is to yield one's authority, to transform from the supreme, unique True God into an ordinary existence.

To give up half of one's power, or even actively hand over the knife that could kill oneself to the other party.

The other party will truly possess the ability to kill oneself, and will also possess the qualification to be on equal footing with oneself.

To accept this requires extraordinary magnanimity.

But at the same time, Hao Tian's overbearingness is hidden beneath such gentleness.

You can become a First Grade, but you cannot defy Hao Tian.

The Heavenly Emperor still retains the prestige of suppressing all Emperors.

Even as strong as the Human Dao, it still chose to lie low under Hao Tian's prestige, unwilling to directly face the Heavenly Emperor's wrath; they even maintained the existence of the Heaven-Sacrificing Ceremony, which is presided over by the Ministry of Rites periodically.

In any case, Hao Tian is still the only candidate to maintain the delicate structure of this Reality Universe; no one else can bear this heavy responsibility besides Hao Tian.

And Hao Tian used this authority to thwart the plans of countless people.

Huang Long... or rather, Huang Tian, the Yellow Emperor, the former Emperor Xuanyuan, after breaking free from being a Mortal, attempted to occupy the center of the heavens, and the war between him and Tai Yi was also suppressed by Hao Tian.

Li Qi's Demon Extermination plan, the Human Dao's attempt to replace Heaven with humanity, the Heavenly Gods' attempt to exterminate Mortals—all these various grand plans were suppressed by Hao Tian.

How many people, under Hao Tian's oppression, could only choose to bow their heads.

Gentle as he may be, he is nonetheless irresistible.

Li Qi was one of those who were forced to comply.

Facing Li Qi's question, Hao Tian gave his answer: "Then let them do it. That's also a possibility, isn't it?"

"You don't mind?" Li Qi asked.

"I never care about such trivial matters. This Universe has more beautiful things to maintain and create. Why dwell on these? Besides, what they want to create is also a form of beauty," Hao Tian answered calmly.

Li Qi listened to Hao Tian's answer, seemingly sensing Hao Tian's attitude from it.

It wasn't obvious, but he still perceived it.

Was this rebellion within Hao Tian's expectations?

Facing Hao Tian's suppression, some people merely sighed obediently and despaired of the future.

Others struggled for a while, then lost hope.

Still others, like Li Qi, and also those brutal Heavenly Gods, never give up.

Constantly struggling, struggling, struggling, no matter the cost of the next battle, no matter how great our losses, no matter how impossible victory seems, we must fight, fight to the very end. This isn't a matter of courage; it's an innate, unwillingness to give up.

Perhaps it's just a foolish desire for Life Qi.

But this foolishness, in Hao Tian's eyes, also seems to have a reason for existence.

"So, they won't succeed, will they?" Li Qi confirmed. "Are they so confident because of ignorance? But Yao Ji is a part of you; if even Yao Ji is so firmly involved, is it really that simple?"

"Are you so worried because you have an idea? Or are you trying to use this as leverage to exchange for the privilege of Demon Extermination?" Hao Tian retorted.

Li Qi didn't beat around the bush and nodded: "Perhaps I can help you with this matter, if you just let me eliminate the remaining insignificant Demonic Dao."

The remaining ones are all Mortals, at most Fifth Grade; they could be eliminated with a flick of a finger. If not for Hao Tian's protection, they wouldn't have survived until now.

"No need, Li Qi, you still don't understand what this world truly is like. Perhaps... you should understand the full picture before you try to shape this world; you might have different gains," Hao Tian said.

"Understand the full picture? The full picture of the Demonic Dao? Or the full picture of this world?" Li Qi asked.

"Neither," Hao Tian shook his head. "You don't need to dwell on these. The struggles among the Heavenly Gods have nothing to do with you. Go do your own thing."

Hao Tian's enigmatic behavior made Li Qi frown, but Li Qi knew that often riddles were just because his own level wasn't high enough, so he didn't get angry. Instead, he said again, "Do my own thing? My thing has already been stopped by you. Now I can't proceed to the next step, but I still haven't chosen to join those Heavenly Gods... Heavenly Emperor, you should know this."

"I know, but your choice has nothing to do with me, Li Qi. Let this matter end here," Hao Tian said, gently waving his hand.

With Hao Tian's wave, Li Qi was directly repelled. His body uncontrollably retreated, swiftly leaving the Heavenly Court, and finally returning to the Void Realm.

Looking at the surrounding nothingness, Li Qi sighed.

Evidently, Hao Tian was unwilling to accept Li Qi's 'help'; he didn't even bother to care about the internal strife among the Heavenly Gods, or the defiance from his own remnants.

Yao Ji is Hao Tian's 'remnant', or rather, Hao Tian's 'dandruff', a part of the Impurities that were expelled and then became Hao Tian's daughter.

So, how to face the Heavenly Demon now...

Wait?

Where did this thought come from? It came from—

The instant Li Qi reacted, another voice already sounded from the depths of his Heart Demon.

"Ah, how sharp, I was still wondering how you planned to face me," a calm and peaceful voice appeared, its gender indiscernible.

In just an instant, Li Qi broke out in a cold sweat.

Fear began its full assault on his consciousness, Li Qi's instincts already realizing that something was very wrong.

His Inner World, every part of it, collapsed in the way most suited to it.

A virus, gangrene, began to spread through Li Qi's Inner World and mental space.

In just an instant—

Look, Li Qi defeated himself.

Fear is merely an impression, possessing no power or Divine Ability, yet it conquered a Second Grade in an instant.

This is hard to express in words.

Because fear, true fear, the fear that fundamentally shakes a person, the fear you feel when facing your most terrifying thing, built a nest and took root in Li Qi's memory like a virus.

This virus wants everything to rot, even the language used to talk about it.

Li Qi was defeated in an instant, though he never truly fought the opponent who defeated him.

However, he didn't choose to give up, but immediately pulled himself together.

He cleared his demonic thoughts, then pushed away the heavy fear weighing on his Heart Demon, and 'looked' into his inner self.

Li Qi's Inner World was exceptionally clear.

A black sphere hung in his Inner World, its outline very distinct.

This black sphere shimmered dazzlingly and calmly; although called a black sphere, to truly describe this sphere as black seemed somewhat absurd.

But no matter how one looked at it, it was impossible to say what color it was.

This sphere hung quietly in the sky, bathed in light, a flickering, swaying black that extended infinitely around Li Qi's Inner World.

Everything around him was so abundant that Li Qi felt overwhelmed.

He felt as if he saw the entire Universe, everything, within this darkness.

Pain appeared silently at this moment, quietly emerging in this grand and solemn environment, beginning to fill Li Qi's entire body.

Under this pressure, Li Qi involuntarily sought to fuse his own Life Qi with the Life Qi of the Universe.

This was the only way.

At this moment, Life Qi became a small aperture to the outside within this 'infinity', the only small hole leading to the vast and boundless Universe.

There was a wall between the Universe and Li Qi.

And Li Qi's Life Qi was a small hole in the wall, through which one's self-consciousness could secretly glimpse the appearance of the Universe.

Therefore, Li Qi could only gaze at the fleeting and narrow scenes he could see, for this peephole was all he possessed!

But... the moment this thought appeared, Li Qi extinguished it.

To denigrate Life Qi to a peephole, to isolate self-consciousness from the Universe, to separate the self from the Universe, to view the Universe as an external landscape rather than a part of the self's composition, this is the Demonic Dao.

If Li Qi truly treated Life Qi as a small hole to suppress pain, then this would be 'entering the Demonic Dao'.

Evidently, Li Qi, already a Second Grade, would not be destroyed so easily.

Though he was trapped in a distressing circle by demonic thoughts.

Imagine being at the center of a circle, trapped by geometric shapes, struggling in constant battle with fear, anger, madness, helplessness, and indifference, caught between eerie and exhausting opposites.

There were barely any usable operations; the powerful computing ability and various Divine Abilities of a Second Grade seemed so useless here, like a chess endgame with few pieces to play with.

The environment couldn't be simpler, and winning or losing wasn't complicated; it simply brought extreme hardship, making one feel utterly exhausted.

All of this lasted for two, perhaps three seconds.

After three seconds, Li Qi forcefully opened his eyes and, amidst heavy breathing, gave the Heavenly Demon the answer it deserved: "These little tricks can't break me... Heavenly Demon."

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning to break you. I still want to have a good chat with you. You've done a lot these past few years, and honestly, you've done really well. You and Shang Fan, both of you are truly worthy of being directly created by me. Those inferior Demonic Overlords are no match for you at all," the Heavenly Demon said, with a hint of pride in its tone.

Both Li Qi and the Demonic Prince were tools created by the Heavenly Demon for its struggle against the World Honored One Tathagata, the Human Emperor, and Shamansan.

In a sense, Li Qi's and the Demonic Prince's talents were entirely bestowed by the Heavenly Demon.

However...

Li Qi held a different view: "If a First Grade could casually create a Second Grade, then why would anyone else need to cultivate? Don't flatter yourself, Heavenly Demon, our power has nothing to do with you."

If a First Grade could truly create Second Grades with the potential to become First Grades at will, then the Second Grade itself would lose all meaning, and everything below it would no longer have any reason to exist.

Therefore, Li Qi did not believe that all of the Demonic Prince's and his own abilities were given by the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon couldn't give that much; it couldn't provide it. The Heavenly Demon is not omnipotent.

"None of that matters. Let's return to the present. How about it? Hao Tian rejected you, and you rejected those Heavenly Gods. Now things are stuck here, and you can't proceed to the next step. What will you do?"

"These are my affairs, you don't need to trouble yourself. I'm just curious about something else. When I was confronting my Heart Demon, I sensed the presence of an observer. I've always been curious what that observer was. Was it you?"

"It was me. In fact, that entire place was mine," the Heavenly Demon did not hide, but admitted it directly.

Perhaps he had another purpose, perhaps he only told half, but he did admit it.

Li Qi exhaled deeply and nodded.

That is to say, that world back then was the Heavenly Demon's illusion. Although he didn't know exactly what it was, the Heavenly Demon indeed had such a real memory, and the Heart Demon used this memory to target Li Qi, making Li Qi experience the strong emotions within that memory.

Now, many things make sense. (End of chapter)