Chapter 129: Encountered

The first round of confrontation was already complete before the two sides even met.

Li Qi was slightly outmatched, but fortunately, Shen Shuibi was there, which prevented the outcome from becoming too bad.

However, Li Qi also benefited from this misfortune, making his Dao Heart clear and free from the previous fluctuations, laying a foundation for his future progress.

This was much stronger than any Dao Resonance from another realm.

And according to the rabbit, his coming here for training was also arranged by his teacher.

Then, everything made sense.

Why the Great Deer Kingdom Lord would suddenly make room for him, and why the White Snake Prefecture Prefect, a dignified sixth-rank official, would actively invite him.

He truly thought it was due to his great Face; now it seems, it was all part of the arrangement.

Since that's the case, he must perform even better.

Shen Shuibi told him that two-thirds of the purpose of this trip had already been completed, so the remaining one-third would certainly not be a Dao Resonance that could be obtained effortlessly.

What was it?

What was the remaining test, or rather, trial?

While pondering this situation, Li Qi also marveled at his teacher's methods.

For one test, he was given a world roughly the size of Earth to play around with as he pleased.

This was truly...

While he was thinking this, evening arrived, and the car stopped in a city.

"Young Master, shall we rest here tonight? That Zhang Le booked a hotel for us," Bai Di said as he opened the car door.

"You all go to the hotel. I want to take a walk by myself," Li Qi nodded and then said.

"Yes," Bai Di didn't say much more.

Shen Shuibi stretched; the rabbit wanted to sleep. She had protected Li Qi all day today, and it had exhausted her.

However, she glanced at Li Qi.

Looking at him like this.

The remaining one-third should be completed soon too.

As for why she knew?

Of course, it was because she had already been through it.

Ah, it was like an older sister who had graduated from university watching her younger brother struggle with a quadratic equation.

A bit cute.

"Hmph...!" Shen Shuibi yawned.

Let's talk about these things later.

Sleep first!

On Li Qi's side, he didn't go directly to the so-called hotel with Shen Shuibi and Bai Di to rest.

Because he suddenly felt that ever since he came to this world, he seemed to have been busy with all sorts of irrelevant things from beginning to end.

He hadn't stopped to truly look at this world.

This was something he had thought about before.

A Invoker, who presides over sacrificial rites, is someone responsible for communicating with the heavens, earth, ghosts, and gods.

So, since he has come to this world as a Invoker, does he understand this heaven, this earth, and the people, ghosts, and gods living above the heaven and earth?

If he can't even understand, how can he coordinate heaven, earth, people, and gods?

Undoubtedly, this cannot be done; without understanding, there can be no coordination.

If he can't do it, can he still be considered a 'Invoker'?

The Dao is the Law of the external heaven and earth, and also the standard for human conduct.

Then, if he fails to fulfill the duties of a Invoker and does not demand himself to act according to the standards of a Invoker, isn't this behavior 'losing the Dao'?

As a coordinator and communicator, a Invoker inherently acts in the world by leveraging the power of heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, ghosts, gods, and even all living things.

Can one who has lost the Dao obtain help?

Li Qi had heard a saying, 'one who loses the Dao has little help,' which means that if one loses a righteous stance, no one will help them.

What is a righteous stance?

Firstly, it is 'Zheng' (uprightness): upright in person and in principle, just as Li Qi once reprimanded the eighth-rank ghost-god Li Weng, one must be impartial and fair in coordination.

Then there is 'Yi' (righteousness): the answer Li Qi pondered was that Yi should conform to the principles of the multitude and the entire world.

The "Zhu" Book states that Yi is the key point of sacrifice; ancient texts say, "In the morning, establish the righteousness of ranks and titles, and lead the order of young and old."

Here, Yi refers to appropriate Laws and rituals, and this itself is the most important aspect of sacrifice.

So, is righteousness the Dao of a Invoker?

Or, to put it another way, is righteousness the Dao of a Invoker as Li Qi understands it?

Or, is this not the Dao of a Invoker, but Li Qi's own Dao?

Walking the streets of this unfamiliar foreign world, countless questions about cultivation lingered in Li Qi's mind.

But he couldn't find the answers.

The answers are actually not fixed; any choice is acceptable, but once chosen, one should act upon it and practice the Dao they have chosen.

Inability to choose an answer actually means that Li Qi himself doesn't know how to proceed with his future path.

"Alas, my experience is still too shallow," he sighed.

"Who at the ninth rank is absolutely resolute about their future? I should still observe more and learn more. As long as I always maintain reverence and vigilance in my heart, and my Dao Heart is always clear, after experiencing more things, I will natural obtain my own answer, and that will be my 'Dao'," Li Qi silently noted this in his heart.

After figuring this out, he took a deep breath, feeling much lighter all over!

But when he turned his head, he found that he had already arrived at an unknown place.

While he was deep in thought just now, he seemed to have walked too much on the road without watching where he was going, and didn't know where he had ended up.

The surroundings were no longer tall buildings and bustling cities; the prosperous city stood alone in the distant background, isolated in the wilderness.

Only then did Li Qi suddenly realize.

In the Earth Oil Realm, one city after another seemed very prosperous, but between the cities, it seemed to be all desert like where he was now?

Only cities had vitality.

However... this desert still had a human presence.

Using his Qi observation technique, he could detect a human settlement not far away.

Wherever there are human settlements, there is human Qi, and human Qi can natural form a barrier, preventing various poisonous Qi, miasma, and other wild miscellaneous Qi.

Therefore, humans need to live in settlements; most people who live alone in the wilderness will have their bodies damaged by miscellaneous Qi.

"How can there be human presence in a place like this? Are there still people living here?" Li Qi was a bit curious and walked towards that direction.

In the past few days, he had almost fallen into a trap due to his arrogance, never truly facing this world, which was why he wanted to change.

Since he had said he wanted to change, to see more and learn more, then let's start now.

The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago; the second best time is now.

Let's actively understand this world now.

Li Qi did what he said; once he made up his mind, he immediately carried it out.

He sped up, swiftly moving through the wilderness.

Soon, Li Qi indeed saw a human settlement in the wilderness.

These people didn't seem to be settled here, because Li Qi saw... a convoy.

Yes, a convoy.

It included two oil tankers, four pickup trucks, seven or eight small cars, and some motorcycles.

Most of them were shabbily dressed, emitting a foul odor, with rough skin covered in oil and dust, looking as if they hadn't washed in a long time.

Such a convoy, with about twenty to thirty people, men, women, and even children, clearly resembled a small settlement.

Li Qi did not rush over rashly, but instead used his five senses, far superior to ordinary people, to listen to the conversations of these people in the dark night.

In that camp formed by cars.

Everyone used cars to form a circle, barely managing to block the direct onslaught of the cold wind outside.

It was still very cold, but already bearable.

Because there were dead forests everywhere, they didn't lack fuel. They cut some dead branches and easily lit a bonfire.

Some canned food was roasting over the bonfire, sizzling, likely from the city.

Almost everyone held some tattered guns or rusty cold weapons.

It was like... a scene from a wasteland.

However, there was still a strong sense of life.

Women and children stayed together, chatting and laughing, looking very warm and cozy.

There were also some younger men staying here, chatting with different women, sometimes both sides would fall silent, then smile at each other, look at each other, and not speak.

On the other side, four or five strong middle-aged men were gathered together, discussing something.

Among this group of middle-aged men, a relatively robust man suddenly looked up and asked another person next to him: "Second Brother, how much water do we have left?"

"Not much, enough for two or three days," the middle-aged man called Second Brother replied.

"For washing or drinking?" the man asked again.

Second Brother truthfully replied: "Drinking. If we use it for washing, it won't even last a day. A few young men got injured a few days ago and used water to clean their wounds, so our reserves are low."

"What about food?" the man asked again.

"We have enough food. The transport truck we robbed a few days ago was full of food. The pickups are full now, enough to last a month, but we don't have many cans. It's mostly biscuits and sugar, probably for transporting sweets, but these things are hard to swallow without water," Second Brother replied.

The middle-aged men fell silent together.

Water was very precious; it only existed in places where Earth Oil had not dried up.

Wherever Earth Oil dried up, the land became desertified, forests withered, and nothing survived. For these people wandering outside, supplies were always a huge problem.

Since Earth Oil was discovered and mined over a hundred years ago, desertification had spread uncontrollably.

These ordinary people didn't know the reason, they only knew it was related to Earth Oil.

However, Li Qi, who was nearby, certainly knew.

Without Earth Oil, Earth Qi and water vapor would not exist, leading to the weakening and depletion of Five Elements Qi, ultimately turning into a dead land.

"Those companies, they truly don't care about human lives for money!" one man punched the ground, looking very angry.

The leading man waved his hand, telling him to calm down, then said: "Alright, complaining about that is useless. Let's think about how to get water. Do you dare to go to the Earth Oil excavation site?"

Earth Oil excavation sites definitely had water, and usually large lakes and rivers.

"People will die," Second Brother frowned.

"If we don't go, more people will die. In two or three days, when there's no water, who will still be able to lift a gun? Or run? It's better to go while we still have strength now," the middle-aged man said.

"That's true, but that's an Earth Oil excavation site..." Second Brother said with some worry.

Earth Oil excavation sites, those places were very dangerous. The quality and equipment of the guards there were not like the escort teams that usually traveled in the wilderness.

"Let's discuss tactics. We'll go to a smaller Earth Oil excavation site; people might not necessarily die. We can completely join forces with other convoys to attack it together," the middle-aged man decided.

Subsequently, this group, who were presumably the convoy's decision-makers, gathered together and began discussing tactics and armed preparations.

However, just as they were starting, suddenly, many people in the entire camp pricked up their ears and looked towards the distance.

Not far away, there stood a person with clean and bright clothes and an immaculate body.

Compared to the dirt and shabbiness of the crowd, he was simply too clean.

With a whoosh, a group of people immediately picked up their guns and aimed at Li Qi, and those with cold weapons instantly gripped their sword hilts, even the children were no exception.

"It's a city dweller!" the middle-aged man immediately shouted!

Then, he immediately gave Second Brother a look, and Second Brother nodded, quietly retreating to scout the surroundings.

City dwellers absolutely would not leave the city!

If they left the city, they would definitely have an escort team with them.

Was this the escort team coming to annihilate them? They had to scout the surroundings first.

Li Qi, being targeted by a pile of guns, decisively raised his hands: "Don't worry, I came alone."

"How can a city dweller come out!" the man held his gun, aimed at Li Qi, his Face full of seriousness.

As he spoke, he walked forward.

The women and children behind immediately began packing their belongings and getting into the cars.

The men all held their guns, ready, finding cover, some scouting, some providing cover.

The few decision-makers held their guns and walked cautiously towards Li Qi, ready to open fire immediately if anything seemed amiss.

"I have no ill intentions. I'm just a bit curious about you, that's all. I don't have any escorts either," Li Qi said loudly, holding up his hands.

"I just want to ask you some questions."

But the other party did not relax in the slightest, their muscles still tense, extremely vigilant.

It wasn't until a few minutes later, when the scout returned, and Second Brother also ran back and whispered a few words in his ear.

Only then did he put away his weapon, frowning as he looked at Li Qi, and asked him: "You want to ask questions?"

"That's right, I just want to ask a few questions, and if you answer them, I will give you clean water as compensation!"

As soon as Li Qi said this, those people immediately perked up.

"Water? Where's the water!"

"Where is it! Let us see it first!"

Several young men aimed at Li Qi and shouted loudly, telling him to hand over the water.

"It's certainly not on me, but I do have water. You just have to answer my questions first," Li Qi emphasized again.

Several young people became anxious and were about to rush up and beat Li Qi.

Answer questions? Dream on. If he doesn't talk, they'll beat him until he does!

No need to be polite with city dwellers!

But the leading middle-aged man reprimanded them: "Come back!"

The young men reluctantly retreated, but their expressions were still unfriendly.

However, this middle-aged man walked up, sized up Li Qi, and then said: "Are you a reporter? I've heard that city dwellers have this profession, always trying to run around asking people questions, and then taking the answers and quoting them out of context."

"Uh... I guess, a reporter," Li Qi replied with a subtle expression.