Chapter 119: Go

Leaving aside the miscellaneous matters along the way, after twelve days, Li Qi directly followed the entourage of the White Snake Prefecture Governor from that valley all the way back to White Snake Prefecture City.

Seven days had passed since he arrived here.

White Snake Prefecture.

Governor's Mansion.

Li Qi was observing the celestial phenomena to the south.

Because summer had arrived.

To the south is fire, its Emperor is Yan Emperor, its assistant is Zhuming, who governs summer by holding the balance, its god is Yinghuo, its beast is Vermilion Bird, its sound is Hui, and its days are Bing and Ding.

"When summer solstice arrives, the Big Dipper points south to the Wu position, Yang Qi reaches its peak, and Yin Qi begins to sprout…" Li Qi muttered to himself as he observed the celestial phenomena.

What he was reciting meant that at the summer solstice, when the Big Dipper points south to the Wu position, aligning with the meridian, Yang Qi reaches its extreme, and Yin Qi begins to emerge.

When summer solstice arrives, fire follows, and at this time, there is no need to sacrifice to Azure Dragon, but rather to Vermilion Bird, one of the Four Heavenly Images.

Taiwei governs Vermilion Bird, Zigong holds the Big Dipper and rotates counter-clockwise, the sun travels one degree per day, circling the heavens.

The celestial phenomena were correct.

Then, the sacrifice could begin.

Sacrificing to Vermilion Bird required facing south, with red as the most honored color, and using a red jade zhang to offer respects to the south.

This meant using a red jade zhang to sacrifice to Vermilion Bird, the god of the south.

In addition, a xuán bì, or light crimson silk, was also required as an offering; both of these items were favored by Vermilion Bird.

During the sacrifice, these two offerings were placed, items arranged, prayers recited, movements performed according to regulations, chants sung, and the ritual completed.

The ritual was complete.

The 'Qi' within the offerings dissipated, the beautiful jade turned into opaque stone, and the xuán bì became rough and powdery, as if it had been weathered for a very long time.

And Li Qi also obtained the second type of the Qi of the Four Seasons.

The Divine Qi of the Southern Vermilion Bird.

Fire dominates the south, flourishing vigorously and transforming all things; at the turn of spring and summer, the Wood Qi has not fully dissipated, but Fire Qi has already emerged, leading to harmful outcomes in spring and summer; if the intense heat of mid-summer erupts, it is called the Fire of Linchen, nourished by a single wood, its Qi is strong.

At the start of early summer, its fire brightens, reaching the peak of the six yangs; the Fire Qi obtained in early summer is called the Fire of Qi Sheng.

Just from this name, Li Qi could feel the immense destructive power within it.

This wisp of Fire Qi could not be used on himself like Azure Dragon Divine Qi, but had to be projected externally.

Its power would likely not be small.

With Fire Qi entering his body, two of the four seasonal Qi within his personal microcosm were now complete.

Once all four types were complete, it would be the time to enter a rank.

"Phew, it's finally over, and it wasn't that difficult," Li Qi felt the changes within his body, sensing the intensity of that wisp of Fire of Qi Sheng.

"Young Master is exceptionally gifted, able to gain the favor of Grand Invoker; a mere matter of entering a rank naturally won't trouble you," a guard stepped forward and flattered Li Qi.

"Didn't I tell you? Brother Bai, you don't need to call me Young Master, just call me Li Qi," Li Qi said with a wry smile to the handsome man beside him.

He was truly handsome.

Though called a guard, the other party was nine feet tall, elegant and otherworldly, dressed in white, with hair like a waterfall, possessing the demeanor of fine jade, and an outstanding temperament; standing next to Li Qi, he made Li Qi seem like a mere servant.

This elegant young hero in white was named Bai Di, and he was the nephew of the White Snake Prefecture Governor.

After arriving in White Snake Prefecture City, he was assigned to be Li Qi's guard.

Li Qi could roughly understand the specific intention; it was probably hoped that this contemporary, these two young people in their twenties, could form some kind of friendship, which would certainly bring immense benefits to White Snake Prefecture in the future.

And the reason for choosing a nephew was likely because if this person's relationship with him wasn't good, they could easily distance themselves, as he wasn't a direct descendant, so he could be discarded if necessary.

Furthermore, this title of guard also served to discreetly observe what Li Qi usually did.

It wasn't surveillance, but it could at least reveal Li Qi's usual preferences.

At most, Bai Di would most likely be able to enter that Outer Realm with him, gaining a spot under the guise of a guard, which was one of the White Snake Prefecture Governor's private intentions.

After all, after arriving here, Li Qi learned that the Outer World was not solely under the White Snake Prefecture Governor's control; instead, each prefecture recommended heroes, who were then sent to the Great Deer Kingdom Lord for his decision.

After all, it was the Great Deer Country's own Outer World.

But his status was not low, and the Great Deer Kingdom Lord would most likely not dare to reject him.

This way, by recommending himself and bringing along a nephew, he could stably obtain a spot for free.

One could only say that he was indeed a Prefecture Governor, truly a shrewd individual.

Everyone helped each other, and Li Qi had no reason to refuse to bring someone along; he could understand all of this, so Li Qi felt there was no problem in agreeing, and he did.

But after arriving, Li Qi regretted it.

Bai Di was so excellent that he felt a bit ashamed…

His height was a head taller than Li Qi.

His cultivation was also at Martial Dao Ninth Rank, but it was extremely refined, only a step away from Eighth Rank; it was said that he was just a hair's breadth from condensing 'Martial Dao Divine Intent'.

Once he broke through this thin barrier, he could directly enter the Eighth Rank.

His conduct towards others was impeccable, as gentle as jade.

He could be considered a hero chosen from hundreds of millions of people in White Snake Prefecture, so excellent that Li Qi felt ashamed of himself.

Yet he was extremely respectful to Li Qi, always calling him Young Master, accompanying him in and out, without the slightest impropriety.

"How dare I address Young Master by name?" Bai Di quickly lowered his head and said.

"Forget it, let's just call each other by our names, Brother Bai, we should be setting off today, right? It's really troublesome that you all waited for me until now," Li Qi said.

"Young Master's cultivation is important; a delay of a day or two is nothing. Besides, my ability to go to the Outer Realm for training is entirely thanks to Young Master; how could I be disrespectful to Young Master?" Bai Di immediately replied.

"You really don't have to be so formal…" Li Qi scratched his head, his face full of helplessness.

Originally, the journey to the Outer Realm could have begun earlier, but Li Qi felt it would be more secure to wait until he obtained the Vermilion Bird Qi, so he delayed it until now.

This also made Bai Di wait for him until now, which made him feel quite bad.

At this moment, someone suddenly walked in from outside.

Upon closer inspection, it was Shen Shuibi. She waved her hand and said to Li Qi, "Li Qi! Are you done? So, are we leaving now?"

"All done, let's go!" Li Qi replied, then turned to Bai Di and said, "Brother Bai, then let's set off."

Bai Di cupped his hands: "As Young Master commands."

Damn it, I can't talk to him anymore!

Li Qi, helpless, could only set off first, walking out of the courtyard and heading towards the White Snake Prefecture Governor's residence not far away.

"Thank you, Governor," Li Qi bowed.

"No problem," the Governor returned the bow. "My family only gained a spot thanks to Young Master's favor, so waiting a little longer is only right."

After speaking, he took out a jade talisman and channeled a wisp of Divine Qi into it.

The jade talisman cracked open, shimmered in the wind, and transformed into a gateway, from which a shimmering light portal opened.

Seeing this, Li Qi knew this was the gate to cross into another realm.

He quickly walked in, followed by Shen Shuibi and Bai Di.

The Outer Realm training had begun.

Watching their retreating figures, the smile on the White Snake Prefecture Governor's face faded.

The butler behind him stepped forward: "My lord, is this really alright?"

"What's 'alright' or 'not alright'? It's merely mutual benefit. Besides, Bai Di is the only promising one among the younger generation; isn't it good for him to go out and gain experience?" the Governor said, looking at the butler.

"My lord should know that I don't mean that," the butler said. "I think Young Master Bai Di is also very excellent, only slightly inferior to that Young Master of Shaman God Mountain in terms of Innate Dao Resonance; he could have seized a spot on his own, without relying on Young Master. Doing this makes us seem petty, and I fear it will cause him to be looked down upon and also be a blow to his Heart-Nature."

"Normally, that would be the case, but this time is different," the White Snake Prefecture Governor shook his head and said, "This time… there's more than just one Young Master of Shaman God Mountain coming to snatch a spot."

"Bai Di is the hope of my Bai family's new generation. I don't want him to perish facing a Young Master of Shaman God Mountain. Let those children of the powerful figures have their dragon-tiger fight. I only hope he becomes a loyal guardian of our home; I don't want him to directly encounter descending fierce tigers or sea dragons," the Governor sighed with emotion.

— — — — — — — — — —

Meanwhile, with Li Qi.

He felt a sensation of weightlessness.

Then, he landed on the ground, his feet firmly planted.

He looked up and saw… uh, what the hell is this?

Li Qi clearly saw a large metropolis.

There were cars, roads, power lines, and tall buildings.

This art style seemed a bit off, didn't it?

Li Qi's face was full of astonishment.

Shen Shuibi, however, seeing these things, spoke with an experienced air: "Ah, it's this kind of resource world. Then it probably doesn't have much future. This world must be almost dug empty, right?"

"This is… what is this? Has the Dao of Reason developed in this world?" Li Qi looked surprised.

Shen Shuibi, being more knowledgeable, explained to the two: "Ah, no, it's because the cultivation Dao in this world isn't developed enough, so they can only rely on external objects. Moreover, these external objects aren't without merit; at least they're excellent at resource extraction, so many worlds have developed these things."

"Many resource worlds under the jurisdiction of our Heaven and Earth rely on these rapidly reproducible external objects for mining, which neither requires high-level Cultivators nor allows for very fast extraction."

Shen Shuibi said.

Li Qi frowned: "Then, Shen Guniang, why doesn't the Heaven and Earth over there use this technology? If they did, they should have been able to develop from that primitive agricultural stage long ago, right? So many resources buried underground…"

Shen Shuibi rolled her eyes at Li Qi and retorted, "Do you, Li Qi, think that faster resource extraction is a good thing?"

"So-called resources are the foundation and Origin of a world. Within a certain range, humans can take from it, and the Yao Race can take from it. But if extraction is unrestrained, it will only cause the world to become barren, eventually leading to the dissipation of Dao Resonance and turning into a dead land where only Mortals can survive, unable to support the existence of Cultivators."

"I said before that the grade of a world is calculated based on the highest-level Cultivators it can support. If a world can't even support Cultivators, then it's unranked; only Mortals can linger on, basically with no way out."

"Do you think True Immortals, Shaman God, and Great Sage of the Demon Race don't know how to rapidly unleash a lot of combat power? But that would come at the cost of consuming the world's Origin. It's better to maintain the status quo, allowing the world to slowly accumulate and achieve further development."

Shen Shuibi said this, then looked at Li Qi and told him, "I heard Niangniang say something."

"What?" Li Qi asked.

Shen Shuibi repeated Empress Luofu's words to Li Qi: "The reason this Heaven and Earth is the way it is, is because the True Immortals want it to be this way."

The reason this Heaven and Earth is the way it is, is because the True Immortals want it to be this way.

True Immortals, Shaman God, Great Sage of the Demon Race, and Human Dao Sages were not unaware of so-called 'advanced' societies, but they still chose to let this world remain as it was.

What kind of ambition was that?

However… through this statement, Li Qi suddenly realized.

The conflict between Shaman God Mountain and Tang Nation.

Could it be that… the Shaman God thought the world should be this way, but the Sages thought the world should be that way?

So, that's why the two sides started fighting?

This was bad; this was far more terrifying than any resource competition theory!

A conflict of philosophy and ideology, translated, wouldn't that be a 'Dao struggle,' which was a fight to the death?

"Shen Guniang, Young Master, let's discuss these things on the way. Let's first go to the designated place to rest," Bai Di said at this moment.

Li Qi nodded and said to this Young Master, "We are unfamiliar with this place, but since it's a resource world of the Great Deer Country, Brother Bai must know some things. Please tell us about them on the way."

"How dare I refuse?" Bai Di immediately bowed.

Then, the three set off, walking towards the predetermined location.

Old Ma didn't come; he went to fatten up.

He had gained over a hundred pounds in the past few days, which was terrifying; Li Qi had never seen a horse with a double chin before.

Along the way, Bai Di began to introduce this world.

In that 'Heaven and Earth,' resources were considered the foundation of the world, and there were restrictions by existences like Shaman God and True Immortals, not allowing arbitrary extraction, even limiting the development of grassroots civilization for this reason.

Therefore, to obtain a large amount of cultivation resources, one could only develop the Outer Realm.

This realm had several worlds, which were Outer Realms developed by the Great Deer Country. The Great Deer Kingdom Lord named it the Wandering Realm, and one of the worlds within it was called the Earth Oil Realm.

It was a spherical shape, roughly the size of a Great Deer Country Prefecture.

In other words… it was about the same size as Earth.

And it wasn't flat; it should be a star system?

There were also the Greater and Lesser Yin, each orbiting.

Forty percent was land, and sixty percent was ocean; the whole consisted of only one large continent, plus some isolated archipelagos overseas.

This was a resource world because it was rich in 'Earth Oil'.

This was not petroleum, but another substance, a solidified entity formed by the condensation of Earth Qi and Water Qi, resembling oil droplets, flowing within the earth's脉, like the blood of the earth.

Earth Oil could carry a large amount of Earth Qi, and with Water Qi acting as an insulating container, it would not easily disperse, making it easy to preserve. Moreover, whether for Artifact Refining, Alchemy, or direct consumption, it was useful to Cultivators, thus making it one of the Great Deer Country's most important resource sites.

Therefore, the Great Deer Country had developed 'Industrial Companies' here, using wicked methods from the human Dao to control the populace, dismantling the original nations and transforming them into large industrial companies, mobilizing all the natives of the world to extract Earth Oil as the economic lifeline of the entire world.