Chapter 164: Half a year

Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

This is the disordered land within a radius of ten thousand miles, where demons gather, occupying an area as large as a country.

Although it cannot compare to the great countries, it is even more terrifying than some small countries.

The Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord, whose identity and origins are unknown to this day, is only known to possess a Divine Ability of Devouring Heaven. When he unleashes it, he devours the heavens and the sun, displaying an immensely powerful Aura. The sun darkens, the sky turns black, as if a deep abyss has descended.

It sounds very imposing, but as a characteristic move and representative Divine Ability of a Great Power of the fifth rank, it must have its unique aspects.

As the master of the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest, the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord even had the Demon Nest named after him. Under his command were the Six Heavenly Filth Demon Kings, six toad spirits whose origins had been clearly identified. They achieved the Dao by embodying the filthy Qi born from heavenly lust, reaching the sixth rank. Each possessed great might and stood around the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord, their fierce power renowned.

Under the power and prestige of these seven great demons, countless small demons were subservient to the Demon Nest, each fighting for themselves. Although nominally they obeyed the commands of the Six Heavenly Filth Demon Kings, in reality, most of them gathered their own factions, became kings of their own mountains, and lived independently.

The Baiyue Shiwan Mountains are generally peaceful and orderly. Although there are conflicts and frictions between the various countries, there are basically no major clashes. Therefore, the existence of the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest appears particularly abrupt.

However, it is, after all, referred to as 'demons' rather than simply 'monsters'.

A simple monster is merely a race, with nothing special about it. But those called demons are mostly extremely vicious and evil beings who commit all sorts of atrocities.

Furthermore, not only demons, but also many from the Demonic Dao, wanted criminals, and the like are stationed in the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest. This place has clearly become a gathering point for the dark forces of Baiyue.

The demons are stationed in the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest, and black clouds billow, plundering everywhere, causing the people to live in misery.

Yes, the people live in misery. The Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest actually has 'people' living within it.

The demons would periodically raid and compete to devour Humans. After all... Humans possess the Innate Three Treasures within their bodies.

As a race born with spiritual intelligence, the Human Race possesses the Innate Three Treasures, making them more nourishing than wild beasts. This is why most demons prefer to eat Humans.

Not only Human-eating demons, but many Human-Ghosts also particularly enjoy using Humans as Materials. For example, refining a Hundred Soul Banner often requires hundreds of living souls.

The Innate Three Treasures are truly 'treasures' and can be used in many places.

Fortunately, under the restrictions of the Orthodox Sword Palace and three other countries, the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest cannot expand.

Three countries border the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest and often engage in wars with it. The Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest frequently raids these countries for their populations, so the three parties have always strengthened their city defenses along the border to prevent demon invasions.

This was the first time Li Qi had witnessed a 'state of war preparedness' in this world. And the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest, fighting one against four, surprisingly did not fall into a disadvantage, merely being restricted from expanding.

However, Li Qi also discovered on his journey that the basic strategy of those three countries was generally to hold their ground, resolutely not venturing out. When demons came, they resisted, but they absolutely refused to enter the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest by even half a step.

The only one truly daring to charge in and slay demons was the Orthodox Sword Palace.

These were mostly idle talks Li Qi overheard while gathering information on his journey.

In fact, half a year has passed, and Li Qi has been continuously traveling towards the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest. Along the way, Li Qi has been constantly collecting information about the Orthodox Sword Palace and the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

After all, no matter what you do, you must first understand, then act.

— — — — — — — — — —

Time flew by. Li Qi left Qingwu City and hurried on his way, already nearing the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

Currently, he was on the border of Bailin Kingdom. Beyond the border, past the pass, lay the direction of the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

And now, Li Qi, surrounded by the crowd, was holding a sacrificial ceremony.

Li Qi was dressed in his usual clothes, without any special attire, but he held a spiritual wood branch in his hand, with an altar placed before him. He recited loudly towards the sky:

“The people take food as their heaven, food takes grain as its staple, and grain takes water as its foundation. Without grain, people cannot exist; without water, grain cannot grow. Since this spring, the Heavenly God has withheld rain, the Lower Realm has no flow, the great rivers have shrunk, the small rivers have dried up, the fields have cracked, and the crops have withered yellow. This situation is particularly severe in this basin. Early rice was sparsely planted due to lack of water, and middle rice suffered seedling damage due to lack of water. It is now the peak season for transplanting middle rice, yet this area remains dry and short of rain, with no water to prepare the fields. Life and death hang in the balance.”

“If the Mountain God bestows blessings upon the common people, then the common people revere the Mountain God. If the Mountain God ignores the common people, then the common people do not believe in the Mountain God. The upper and lower are related, and gods and people rely on each other.”

“I hope the Mountain God will discern clearly, do not hide the Mountain Qi!”

Li Qi read out the sacrificial text, which was very plain and did not use much flowery language, for fear that the other party would not understand.

He was muttering to the Mountain God, because, in fact, most of the rain-making is the Mountain God’s job.

Clouds are the Qi of mountains and rivers, which brings rain.

Cloud Qi is the Qi of mountain and river water veins evaporating into the sky, thus becoming cloud Qi, and not truly 'weather'.

Therefore, among the Six Qi of Heaven, there is no such thing as cloud Qi.

So, when it doesn't rain, either a Great Power can transport water, or even, like a True Dragon, directly draw endless water from the great sea. Otherwise, it's better to honestly ask the Mountain God.

After all, mountains and water are interdependent, and within the Mountain God's reserves, there must be water veins; otherwise, the mountain would not be a mountain, and it would not be able to accommodate a Mountain God.

Under the hopeful gaze of the many villagers, Li Qi waited for a while in front of the altar.

But, the rain still didn't fall.

Li Qi was a little embarrassed, and the villagers also wailed, even resentfully.

However, Li Qi turned back and said, “Fellow villagers, please be patient. I will be right back.”

With that, he blew a whistle.

Then, a strong Dragon Horse descended from the sky, covered in black scales like black armor, treading on auspicious clouds, eight and a half feet tall at the shoulder, majestic and powerful. Its mane was adorned with fine hair and carried faint electric currents. When it raised its head and neighed, it sounded like thunder. It descended from the sky, riding the wind and clouds, incredibly imposing.

When the Dragon Horse descended, the villagers all knelt, trembling with fear.

Li Qi mounted the Dragon Horse, slapped its leg, and directly charged into the mountain where the sacrifice was held.

The villagers looked at each other.

But within a few minutes, the wild beasts in the mountain seemed to be afraid, fleeing in a rush. The wind picked up, clouds and mist rose, enveloping the world, and at times, rocks and sand flew, with rumbling sounds.

After a while longer, a clear Qi suddenly rose from the foot of the mountain, even forming a radiant knot around the mountain, lingering without dispersing.

A strange wind slowly descended, circling within the mountain, sometimes intertwining with Divine Qi, moving up and down, constantly turning. And an electric light, following that strange wind, kept turning, closely pursuing it, refusing to let go.

Then, thunder rumbled, as if a mountain range was collapsing. The strange wind scattered, fleeing like waves, disappearing without a trace.

The electric light flashed again, chasing after it.

About a quarter of an hour later, black clouds descended from the sky, and Life Qi swirled, and raindrops began to fall.

First, a soft sound like beads rolling on a plate, then a great surge of wild waves, suddenly like the opening of heaven, ten thousand horses galloping into troughs. Sweet rain poured down, falling into the earth.

When Li Qi reappeared, he walked out of the mountain pass, his expression unchanged, his clothes as clean as new, and calmly returned to the altar.

The villagers were still in a daze.

“Alright, now that the sweet rain has fallen, I will take a trace of your village’s Life Qi as agreed. The Mountain God and I have agreed that for the next three years, he will not dare to withhold water Qi again. For the next three years, I cannot promise favorable winds, but there will certainly be timely rain.”

It was only after Li Qi finished speaking that the villagers reacted.

They immediately trembled, all kneeling down. All their previous thoughts vanished, and they all cried out, “Great Shaman bless us!” and kowtowed repeatedly.

“No need to bow. If the Mountain God is not benevolent, I, as a Invoker, should voice the needs of the people. But you must also remember, while gods who are not benevolent can be appealed to, you must not be disrespectful in your usual sacrifices. As I said, the upper and lower are related, gods and people rely on each other, and all things are equal.” Li Qi waved his hand.

With that, as per the previous agreement, he extended his hand and took a trace of the immense Life Qi gathered from the crowd.

Then, he turned and returned to the mountain.

Leaving behind a group of villagers, who may or may not have fully understood, still shouting “Great Shaman!” and kowtowing incessantly.

When passing through this area and temporarily resting, he heard that the Mountain God here was no longer providing rain, so he took on this matter. But as compensation, he would collect a trace of the Life Qi from this place.

Because it was collected after helping them, there was no Karma entanglement.

And the collected Life Qi was part of Li Qi’s cultivation process. His cultivation also became more profound through this process.

However, he had been suppressing the cultivation of his inner body spirits, waiting for the Opportunity mentioned by the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord to condense his Nascent Soul. This would be more beneficial for his future cultivation.

Li Qi left the crowd and entered the mountain.

As soon as he entered, the old horse came over, neighing, with a weasel still on its back.

The weasel’s expression was extremely human-like. Seeing Li Qi enter, it immediately spoke in Human language: “This Shaman, when one lives in the world, one must always be reasonable, right? How hateful are those unreasonable Mortals! I treated them with good intentions, but they repaid me with malice. Whenever outsiders came, they would only speak of their own grievances, completely forgetting how I had treated them. I merely withheld water Qi, trapping them for a year to serve as a warning, and you came knocking on my door. What kind of logic is this?!”

It turned out that this weasel was the Mountain God of this place.

Li Qi looked at the other party and calmly replied, “No matter how great your grievance, not raining for a year is unacceptable. If this area doesn't rain for a year, not to mention the lives and deaths of Humans, just look at the surrounding forests, the distant wild beasts, the fish and shrimp in the river—which of them hasn't been severely harmed by you? As a god of a mountain, do you only enjoy the incense of the Divine Dao but do nothing practical?”

“Because of your selfish desires, cutting off the water veins of a mountain is something that should never be done, no matter what. This punishment is because of that. Since you have entered the Divine Dao, you must know that gods exist because of people. A god, having received sacrifices, should also act accordingly.” (Note: The inscription for ‘god’ is ‘示申’. 示: ancient meaning is altar. 申: ancient variant of ‘电’ (electricity), extended meaning refers to natural forces like thunder.)

The weasel, who had been righteous, immediately weakened by three points upon hearing this, and whispered, “Rivers drying up, forests withering, beasts languishing… That, that is naturally my fault, but that village was truly excessive!”

The weasel grew indignant: “They used to worship me, and I naturally protected them with timely winds and rain. But later, when the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest came, I sacrificed sixty years of my cultivation to protect an area of peace. It's just that my strength was indeed a bit lacking, and the demons broke through my illusion array, plundering three or four hundred people from that village… After that, they smashed my idol, destroyed my shrine, almost cutting off my Divine Dao path. How can I tolerate this?!”

“How many people are in that village in total?” Li Qi retorted.

The weasel paused, recalled for a moment, and replied, “About a thousand.”

“A village of over a thousand people, with three or four hundred plundered, three or four tenths of the people gone, and you blame them for not continuing to worship you?” Li Qi asked again.

“But you can’t blame me! I lost sixty years of cultivation to set up that illusion array; I did my best.” The weasel was indignant, no longer even fearing Li Qi.

“Then talk to them. If you cut off the water Qi veins without a word, how can they continue to worship you?” Li Qi waved his hand and said, “You have your difficulties, and they have theirs. Humans and gods depend on each other; how can you break ties over a momentary fit of pique? If they truly cease to exist, how will your Divine Dao path proceed? Do you think you are like those Great Gods, worshipped and sacrificed to by people within a radius of ten thousand miles, so it doesn't matter if one or two villages lose faith?”

“The foundation of the Divine Dao lies in the power of ‘申’ and the trustworthiness of ‘示’. Think about it yourself. It’s not easy for the weasel clan to achieve the Dao, and you are considered honest and kind. You continue to protect them with timely winds and rain for three years, and then see what happens?” After Li Qi finished speaking, he grabbed the weasel, tossed it onto the mountain, no longer lingering there. He mounted his horse and galloped towards the main road.

There was nothing to linger about. This scene was no longer uncommon on Li Qi’s journey.

Along this path, he had done such things countless times.

Mediating between Humans and gods, mediating between Humans and Human-Ghosts, mediating between ghosts and gods. In various conflicts, as a Invoker, standing in a central position, dealing with matters justly, treating people with righteousness, resolving misunderstandings and conflicts, making fair judgments, and then collecting their corresponding Qi.

This is one of the cultivation methods of a Invoker.

Of course, if one finds this too tiring, one can also cultivate slowly in the mountains, meticulously carving out one’s Human body miniature heaven and earth, which can also lead to advancement.

But it would be slower compared to Li Qi’s method.

Every time Li Qi collected other Qi, he was filling his own Human Body miniature heaven and earth. For example, this time, he gained the Life Qi of a village. After his Human Body miniature heaven and earth is perfected, a settlement similar to this village will appear.

According to books, if your Human Body miniature heaven and earth can bear it and you obtain all types of ‘Qi’ in the world, then your Human Body miniature heaven and earth can reach a state of perfection.

However, if one directly collects Qi, one will incur Karma.

For example, if Li Qi directly took the Life Qi of that village without first establishing a balance, he would incur the Karma of that village, which would be very detrimental to his future development.

Some rural wild Shamanes, only realizing they could extract other Qi but not the consequences, saw their cultivation advance rapidly in the early stages, but in the Late Stage, they had to pay a thousand or ten thousand times more to repay their debts.

The Dao of the Shaman values righteousness, so one must always be vigilant.

Otherwise, if one cannot repay the debts, one will most likely have to change one’s Dao path, for example… joining the Demonic Dao, turning Karma into nourishment, and from then on, taking plunder as one’s mission.

Li Qi rode the old horse and quickly returned to the roadside.

By the roadside stood Shen Shuibi, who was dozing off.

That’s right, standing.

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