Chapter 168: Aftermath

Li Qi and the others, of course, were not idle either; everyone tacitly agreed, not saying much, but simply cleaning up the battlefield.

After surviving the disaster, most people were still very grateful, though some had lost brothers, but life and death are impermanent on the battlefield, and these soldiers naturally accepted it.

Initially, they collectively cleaned up the demons.

After there were no more living demons on the scene, they began to clean up the corpses.

The corpses were sorted and laid out; those of the Human Race were gathered together for burial, while those of the demons were sorted, useful parts were disassembled, and the rest were burned.

Some soldiers also went to comfort the common people; despite fighting desperately, several hundred people still died.

Most of them were trampled to death after being frightened and running around frantically.

A minority were scared to death by the Eighth-grade demon.

A very small number were executed by military officers because they led others to run wildly, disrupting the Formation.

Only a handful of people truly died from being affected by the aftermath.

Almost all of the aftermath was blocked by the army.

The army, originally over ten thousand strong, had now lost almost a third of its numbers; the remaining soldiers were almost all wounded, their eyes filled with sorrow, but they did not stop their work, and there were even dedicated personnel to comfort the families of the deceased common people.

Even though their own brothers had just died, and they themselves had no one to comfort them, they still had to undertake such a task.

It was not until evening that the battlefield was cleaned up.

However, cleaning up was not the end; there were still many other things to do.

The casualties here were too many to just leave; otherwise, this place would become a future 'ancient battlefield.'

Various ghosts would run rampant, Yin Qi would gather, and it might even lead to the establishment of a ghost city, harming the surrounding areas; if some ghost kings were born, it would bring countless troubles to future generations.

Therefore, the army decided to encamp here for a night to eliminate the Evil Qi and Death Qi, to deliver the Yin souls, and send them into Reincarnation.

The Shaman in the army who originally performed this task had already died in battle, so Li Qi volunteered to take on this responsibility.

And at this moment, Li Qi stood upon the altar.

Below the altar were thousands of soldiers participating in the sacrifice.

Zhang Lan, who was not skilled in sacrifices, stood by, serving merely as the stabilizing force for this sacrifice; under Li Qi's arrangement, he used his own righteous Qi to suppress evil spirits.

Li Qi stood upon the altar, holding an incense burner, chanting true words, while the military Qi gathered below, cheering him on.

This was the method of sacrificing the spirits of the war dead.

The ghosts on the battlefield, before their death, carried strong Killing Intent and Evil Qi, not being ordinary; now, they were mostly demon spirits, most of them extremely violent, so it was necessary to first summon the souls of their own fallen soldiers and deliver them first.

When only the tens of thousands of demon ghosts remained, they would then be suppressed; those who obeyed would be delivered into Reincarnation, and those who did not would be dispersed on the spot, to prevent them from harming the human world.

Li Qi struck the golden gong on the altar.

Below, the soldiers began their martial exercises.

They saw horses galloping and soldiers marching, vast and expansive; Formations shifted, banners waved to the beat of drums, moving left and right, swift as wind and rain, demonstrating the rhythm of war drums.

The cavalry was high-spirited, the spear teams were perfectly aligned, full of vigor.

As the Formation emerged, military Qi gathered, and thousands of deceased souls, drawn by the military Formations they knew in life, joined in, performing martial exercises as if they were still alive.

Some soldiers, seeing their deceased comrades, even shed tears of excitement, yet dared not make a sound, only holding it in, performing their exercises with even greater effort.

But Li Qi could not allow those souls to contribute their strength; although they had no consciousness after death, gathering military Qi still required their effort, and souls are like rootless water, once exhausted, they would Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

So Li Qi immediately summoned the ferry bridge, and a heavenly light descended; a ghost official was summoned by Li Qi.

As the ghost official appeared, a chilling wind swept through, and his Aura was terrifying, even stronger than Shen Shuibi and Zhang Lan combined.

But that ghost official did not do anything superfluous; instead, he stepped forward, bowed respectfully to Li Qi, and then made no other movements, but marked the souls, leading them out of the darkness, sending these deceased heroes into Reincarnation.

The first round of sacrifice was completed.

In the second round, Li Qi no longer struck the gong, but beat the drum.

The drumbeats rumbled, shaking thirty li around.

Then, he picked up the prepared axe and halberd, and slammed it down hard into the battlefield.

The soldiers, who had already received orders, immediately let out a loud roar, and Evil Qi erupted; they saw the valiant wings, the distant scorpions, capturing魑 and extracting魅, fire burning fiercely, and even the military Qi was stained with a layer of blood-red, like flowing blood.

The army's Killing Intent and Evil Qi, under Li Qi's command, took large strides, raising their spears and swinging their swords, heads held high, walking towards the battlefield.

The army stomped on the ground with heavy steps, like an earthquake, directly stepping on the ground where a large number of demon corpses were buried.

Immediately, ghost wails and wolf howls erupted from underground; something seemed to be stirring beneath, and even blood, broken flesh, and shattered bones began to Breakthroug the ground, trying to crawl out.

However, Li Qi struck the drum again, and the Heaven and Earth Qi of the human body's small universe merged, spewing forth lightning, shaking the surroundings.

A rumbling sound echoed, like a continuous drumbeat.

The soldiers also shouted loudly, their strong Yang Qi and Evil Qi mixed together, scaring back the Yin souls and ghostly beings emerging from underground.

Li Qi raised his hand again, his left hand guiding the drum, his right hand gripping the hammer, poised to strike, producing sound by striking, using Qi to cut down ghosts.

Li Qi struck again, the drum echoing with thunder, and the soldiers below shouted loudly, their cries merging with the thunderous drum.

This was repeated three times.

After three times, the demon Yin ghosts underground dared not cause trouble again, obediently suppressed within the earth.

After the suppression was complete, Li Qi overturned the altar, discarded the axe and halberd representing slaughter, and also threw down the drumstick, loudly proclaiming to the demon Yin souls, ordering them to return to Reincarnation and not to linger.

Countless demon Yin souls dared not disobey, gathering together to leave; they saw countless Yin souls converging into a Yin wind, howling away, obediently leaving this place and heading to the underworld.

However, what awaited them was not Reincarnation, but punishment.

If one accumulated too much Karma during life, upon going to the underworld, good Karma would be rewarded, but evil Karma would require repayment for one's sins before being able to re-enter Reincarnation; this is the rule of the underworld.

When everyone reincarnates, they are alone, with absolutely no Karma whatsoever; therefore, good Karma is rewarded, and evil Karma is punished, all must be completely cleared before one can enter Reincarnation.

This is the natural principle of the earth.

Of course, all of this assumes you go to Reincarnation.

If you don't go, ghost officials will come to apprehend you.

If you are so strong that even ghost officials can't do anything to you, then Reincarnation is just that for you.

It's just that at that time, if someone comes to punish you, then that person is definitely not as simple as mere Reincarnation.

After doing all this, Li Qi let out a long breath and collapsed to the ground.

To be honest.

This was his first time presiding over such a grand ceremony.

A series of arrangements, including the actions of the soldiers, what he needed to do, what Materials were needed, and what rituals to use, all required him to meticulously plan and arrange, which was not something an ordinary person could do.

However, it was considered a Perfection completion.

As soon as Li Qi fell, Zhang Lan and Shen Shuibi immediately came forward.

However, Zhang Lan stopped when he saw Shen Shuibi approaching.

Let her own person help him up.

He watched as Shen Shuibi helped Li Qi up, then stepped forward, first bowing respectfully, and then said to Li Qi, "Sir is formidable; although your Cultivation is shallow, you possess both courage and strategy, not only saving the lives of a hundred thousand people here, but also being able toide over a sacrifice of ten thousand people; some Eighth-grade Shamanes I know cannot do it, yet you can, which is truly astonishing!"

Li Qi quickly waved his hand, signaling the other party to stand up: "It's good to be of help, Senior, you don't need to be so respectful; my Cultivation is still shallow, it's not worth—"

"Of course it's worth it! Not to mention the life-saving grace, Sir also delivered thousands of our comrades, which makes Zhang Lan extremely grateful, and even suppressed these tens of thousands of demon Yin souls, preemptively preventing the birth of a ghost city, saving who knows how many future people. With such merit, what does Cultivation matter? Sir's merit and virtue make Zhang Lan bow in admiration!" The Eighth-grade Cultivator bowed and said respectfully.

Li Qi struggled to stand up, only to see all the surrounding soldiers bowing in respect, treating him with reverence.

Seeing this, Li Qi raised his voice and said loudly, "There's still more to do! The common people haven't been settled yet, and the future itinerary hasn't been determined. All you brave men don't need to gather around me; go and do your own tasks!"

At this moment, a military officer from the army was pushed forward by the crowd; he walked in front of a group of soldiers, knelt on one knee, cupped his fists to Li Qi, and respectfully said, "Lilim Frontier Guard, White Rhinoceros Army, thanks Sir for your righteous benevolence, for saving my comrades, protecting my common people, and even delivering the souls of our brethren. May I ask Sir's name? The White Rhinoceros Army will engrave it in our hearts and never forget!"

Then, he immediately added, "The army acts without a tiger tally, so we dare not promise to serve Sir under the name of the White Rhinoceros Army. But after we all lay down our arms, we are willing to be Sir's arms! Please accept our token, we dare not say we will come at your beck and call, but if within a thousand li, we will surely arrive within three days."

After speaking, he condensed military Qi onto an arrow; the arrow was inscribed with characters, presumably, once activated, it would whistle into the sky, sending a message to the holder of this military Qi.

"I'll accept the token, and I appreciate your kindness. All of you have duties to attend to, so there's no need for this. The common people are important, so please go and uphold your duties." Li Qi walked forward, limping, and took the arrow.

Refusing was not good, but he also didn't seek repayment from these people; it was better to accept it to put the other party at ease, and then not use it later.

As for limping...

There was no other way; presiding over such a grand sacrifice had left him weak.

Sacrifices also consume energy; after such a ceremony, it was somewhat tiring.

The military officer offered the token, bowed again, then turned and said similar words to Zhang Lan.

Zhang Lan, however, directly declined, firmly refusing to accept it.

The military officer had no choice but to thank him again, then led the other soldiers away to fulfill their respective duties.

By this time, the moon was already rising above the treetops, and Li Qi finally sat down to rest.

However, even while resting, he wasn't idle; he looked at Zhang Lan: "Senior Zhang, what they said to you makes it seem like you have no connection with this army. Aren't you their commander?"

It was only now that Li Qi had the leisure to carefully observe this Eighth-grade Cultivator.

This person had a somewhat ugly appearance, not even plain; his nose was sunken, his forehead bulged, and he had some pockmarks, an unremarkable appearance. He wore an ordinary yellow robe and carried a sword box on his back, but it seemed to be empty, as he never took anything out of it, so it should be empty.

But Li Qi, of course, would not judge people by their appearance.

Hearing Li Qi's words, Zhang Lan shook his head: "Of course not, like you, I was just passing by."

"Senior, your righteousness is profound; seeing injustice, you were willing to fight to the death." Li Qi said with solemn respect, immediately cupping his hands in praise.

"Why such pretense? Aren't you the same?" Zhang Lan laughed, somewhat curious about Li Qi's reaction.

"There's a big difference. I never do things I'm not confident about. If I were Senior, seeing such a scene, I would definitely silently remember the demon's appearance, then retreat, and seek revenge later." Li Qi said frankly.

He had always been like this; when it didn't endanger himself, doing good deeds was fine.

But if it meant fighting to the death, he would have to consider whether it was worth it.

If fighting to the death was useless, a situation of 100% certain death, Li Qi would definitely run away without hesitation.

Where there's life, there's hope. Li Qi would not easily bury himself; doing good deeds also required acting within one's capabilities. He still had a great future ahead of him and couldn't die in such places.

Li Qi always believed that if he was alive, no matter how much he lost, he could earn it back.

When he first arrived in this world, he was illiterate, couldn't speak, his body hadn't practiced any cultivation method, and he was extremely weak, but he still fought to survive. Besides luck, it was this belief that he relied on.

"Hahaha, Master also said that I was indeed a bit reckless, but since things have come to this, where is there time to think too much? If I were to stop and observe and ponder, I'm afraid more people would die." Zhang Lan replied.

"That's why Senior's conduct is so admirable. Compared to my cautious and timid approach, it seems more straightforward and open, truly a righteous person." Li Qi said.

Zhang Lan repeatedly shook his head and waved his hand: "It's just the act of a brute; I'm only capable of fighting and killing. How can I compare to Sir's resourcefulness? With one move, you resolved the crisis and even handled all the subsequent troubles perfectly. These are all things I could never do."

Li Qi repeatedly demurred: "Deliberating again and again is merely a lack of courage, nothing more than indecisiveness."

Zhang Lan was about to speak again.

But at this moment, Shen Shuibi, who was beside them, spoke, interrupting the two men's conversation.

The rabbit's expression was somewhat puzzled; she tilted her head and said in a questioning tone, "That... do you two find it fun to belittle yourselves and praise each other? Or is this part of a ritual?"

It was clear that she was genuinely puzzled.

At these words, the two men who were still pretending immediately fell silent, their faces awkward, their expressions subtle.

"Hahahahaha—"

"Hahahaha..."

Then, both of them laughed awkwardly at the same time.

Halfway through their awkward laughter, they noticed the other person doing the same, and so they had to stop sheepishly.

Shen Shuibi, standing by, frowned tightly, her watery eyes full of confusion.

What were these two doing?

Seeing Shen Shuibi's expression, this time, the two men were truly amused, and so they genuinely burst into laughter.

"Alright, you don't need to call me Senior. Since we hit it off, let's address each other as equals!" Zhang Lan said decisively after finishing his laugh.