Chapter 181: Clues

However, the true author of this matter was currently in the sky, galloping on a Dragon Steed.

Wang Baiyan followed beside him, utterly astonished, and said to Li Qi, “Wow, wow, wow, Brother Li, I thought you were a reasonable person who would go down and meticulously interrogate and calculate before finally delivering a fair judgment. Why did you just kill them directly? It doesn’t fit your usual style.”

Li Qi, on his old horse, shook his head and said, “After that imperial palace, Death Qi permeated, and everyone was in danger, trembling with fear. As we flew over, this miniature heaven and earth was in chaos, with bones strewn everywhere, nine out of ten homes empty, and traces of battlefields everywhere, which is enough to show what happened.”

“But when we arrived at the imperial palace, it was magnificent and extremely luxurious. The population of a large city outside couldn’t even compare to the palace’s eunuchs. The evidence was conclusive, so there was no need to dwell on anything. It was simply better to kill them.”

“You really have clear bottom lines. What do you plan to do next?” Wang Baiyan asked again.

Li Qi immediately arranged, saying, “I’ve already found the military granary here. There’s enough grain inside, a full million shi, which should be several months’ worth of expenses for the entire imperial palace. I’ll take three hundred thousand shi, and the rest will be left for the natives of this miniature heaven and earth.”

“Then, on the Nanyang Islands of this miniature heaven and earth, the Heavenly Dao has planned a scope for you. You can grow your grain and mine your ore there without obstruction, but you must not step outside that boundary.”

Li Qi explained the situation.

But Wang Baiyan narrowed his eyes: “Wait, how do you know?”

Li Qi replied, “I asked the wronged souls here and learned the location of the granary. As for the Nanyang Islands, the Heavenly Dao told me in the ethereal.”

Wang Baiyan fell silent for a moment upon hearing this.

After a while, he opened his folding fan and, while flying alongside Li Qi, commented with a sigh, “…As expected of a true Shaman. Is this Invoker? Communicating with all things, whether it’s the high and mighty Heavenly Dao, various Di Qi (Earthly Qi), or even ghosts who have lost their consciousness—what astonishing power.”

“Brother Wang, you’ve exclaimed ‘true Shaman’ twice now.” Li Qi turned to look at Wang Baiyan: “What are you implying?”

“Nothing, I just couldn’t help but sigh. After all, it’s my first time seeing a Shaman who isn’t a country bumpkin,” Wang Baiyan said.

Li Qi remained noncommittal, saying nothing more.

There was no need to say anything; he just needed to be careful in secret.

Li Qi had never trusted this person.

So, the next things followed naturally.

Li Qi descended, using his mustard seed pouch to store the grain he needed, while Wang Baiyan learned about the Nanyang Island where he was allowed to grow grain.

He happily named that small island “Little Penglai.”

This made Li Qi look at him twice, but he didn’t say anything more.

In later generations of this miniature heaven and earth, there were rumors of a Penglai Immortal Island overseas, where Immortals with great Divine Ability resided.

On the Immortal Island, there were countless spiritual grains, Immortal fruits, and Divine Plants, yet it was isolated overseas and never stepped half a step off the island, so the world never saw it. Only lost ships overseas might stumble upon it by luck.

However, too few people had seen it; perhaps it was just a rumor.

Although he had eliminated the tyrant, Li Qi never thought of gaining fame in this miniature heaven and earth, so from beginning to end, this miniature heaven and earth did not know of his existence.

Only the legend of the Immortal remained.

Perhaps, many world legends spread in this way.

Leaving those aside, Wang and Li didn’t delay. After finishing their tasks, they quickly exited this miniature heaven and earth and then went their separate ways.

Wang Baiyan went to handle the Jinlang Sect’s relocation and grain planting, while Li Qi rushed back to the White Rhinoceros Army without stopping.

Everything went so smoothly.

So smoothly that Li Qi felt particularly strange.

He hadn't encountered any obstacles and had returned with the grain so smoothly.

However, smoothness was a good thing; he couldn’t force himself to find trouble, could he?

Bidding farewell to the strangely behaving Wang Baiyan, Li Qi took the grain and embarked on his return journey.

— — — — — — — —

Li Qi rode his old horse, galloping through the sky.

As he went, he calculated the time.

In about three hours, he would be able to return to where the White Rhinoceros Army was located.

This trip, front and back, only took a total of more than twenty hours, which was just over two days. There shouldn’t be any problems.

But as they flew, the old horse’s speed slowed down.

“Neigh!” The old horse stuck out its tongue, looking back at Li Qi with a desolate gaze.

Li Qi understood what he meant at a glance.

For these twenty-plus hours, the old horse had been running almost non-stop, first rushing to Guangyang City, then running around searching for grain, then running for a night in that miniature heaven and earth, and then immediately continuing to run until now.

He was almost exhausted.

“Alright, alright, let’s rest!” Li Qi felt embarrassed when he saw the old horse’s appearance.

He quickly made the old horse descend from the sky to the ground to rest for a while.

The Baiyue region was mountainous. From the sky, it didn’t seem like much, and the undulations below didn’t look very high, but once on the ground, one could immediately feel the ruggedness of the mountain forests.

Even such low hills were like this; they looked flat from the sky, but once you walked on them with your own two feet, you’d know what suffering was.

In such a place, traveling on the ground was truly not easy.

Fortunately, the old horse could fly.

If they really had to travel on the ground, the distance needed to be at least doubled, or even two or three times more.

Traveling on the ground required constantly winding through mountain paths, while in the sky, one could go in a straight line.

But no matter how they traveled, the old horse had already run for twenty hours. Even an iron horse would be exhausted, and a Dragon Steed couldn’t withstand such exploitation.

Landing on the ground, Li Qi patted the old horse’s neck and said, “Let’s rest for two ke (30 minutes), then try to make it in one go, and then you can rest!”

Hearing this, the old horse thought for a moment.

Then he turned around and suddenly kicked back, hitting Li Qi squarely in the chest!

Li Qi hurriedly retreated to dodge, narrowly avoiding having his clothes torn.

After kicking Li Qi away, the old horse seriously drew a horizontal line on the ground with his hoof.

“One…?” Li Qi stabilized himself and saw the character for “one” written on the ground by the old horse. “You want to rest for one shichen (two hours)?”

“Neigh, neigh, neigh!” The old horse nodded solemnly.

“Alright, alright, one shichen it is.” Li Qi sighed helplessly and had to agree.

There was nothing he could do.

To him, the old horse wasn’t a mount but a friend.

He had already run for twenty hours, so it was only right for him to rest for a while. After all, Li Qi also knew that the old horse wasn’t being lazy but was genuinely tired.

It was just that he was a little worried.

Although theoretically, there wouldn’t be any problems with this one shichen delay, he was still somewhat concerned about Shen Shuibi’s situation.

Li Qi thought about these things, then took out the old horse’s feed from his mustard seed pouch. It was all dried beans, eggs, and some spiritual flowers and spiritual seeds kindly provided by Jin Buhuan.

Eight hundred spiritual flowers, and they still weren’t finished yet.

After mixing them in a basin, the old horse’s meal was ready. Li Qi sat to the side, waiting for the old horse to eat and rest.

Sitting down, since there was nothing else to do, Li Qi began his daily reading time.

Learning was cultivation method; one had to persevere daily to gain anything.

The old horse ate, Li Qi read, and the sunlight slanted down through the gaps in the leaves, forming beautiful light pillars due to the Tyndall effect, creating a contrast of light and shadow with the forest canopy.

In the mountains of Baiyue, Li Qi unexpectedly found a rare moment of tranquility.

However, this peace didn’t last long. After a short while, Li Qi felt a surge of Demon Qi approaching him.

It was a very fresh kind of Demon Qi.

Indeed, Demon Qi could also be very fresh. After all, demons were just a type of cultivator. Those who truly exuded the defiling sensation of Evil Qi and blood Qi were generally called devils.

Speaking of which, Li Qi had always been curious as to why so many animals could be collectively referred to as ‘demons.’ Who was responsible for this collective term?

Surely, it couldn’t have just become a convention all of a sudden?

Dragon Clan cultivators, Human Race cultivators, and even some naturally extraordinary beings or elemental spirits wouldn’t be called demons, nor would they possess Demon Qi.

But somehow, those ordinary animals and plants who cultivated would be called demons, and they would indeed possess something called “Demon Qi,” even if they practiced cultivation methods of other Dao.

This point was truly very strange, as if some existence in the ethereal had destined it to be so.

But Li Qi hadn’t read enough books yet, so he didn’t know the answer.

Enough of the digression, Li Qi stopped reading and looked towards the source of the Demon Qi.

This Demon Qi was very faint and fresh, like a small demon that had just gained sentience.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a butterfly, flapping its wings very diligently, flying towards him.

“A butterfly? This is truly rare.” Li Qi was a little surprised.

Compared to beasts, plants becoming demons were rarer, and rarer than plants were insects.

Insects generally had short lifespans. As the saying goes, a summer insect cannot speak of ice. Many insects don’t even see winter, not to mention mayflies, which are born in the morning and die in the evening, with adult lifespans of only a few hours.

Butterflies were also like this; the entire process from caterpillar to butterfly was only one or two months. Some varieties lived longer, but only for a year.

To become a demon in such a short time, one could imagine how difficult it was.

Li Qi could tell that this butterfly demon must have cultivated for some time. It had already broken free from the limitations of natural lifespan and was estimated to live for five or six years. It had already gained sentience and was about to transform into human form.

Insects generally cultivated very quickly in the early stages.

It wasn’t that they had any special abilities or racial talents; it was mainly that the slow ones had already died of old age. Only those with exceptional talent who cultivated quickly could live long enough to gain sentience.

It was merely survivor bias.

“Hmm? Why is it injured? Did this injury cut off your path to human form?” Li Qi suddenly frowned. He saw that this butterfly was flying over to seek help.

“So that’s it. Butterflies already find cultivation difficult. Since I’ve encountered you today, I’ll give you a hand,” Li Qi said.

Then, he raised his hand, inviting the butterfly to come closer and land on his hand.

The butterfly demon had already gained sentience, though it couldn’t yet transform into human form. Understanding Li Qi’s intention, it immediately landed on Li Qi’s index finger.

Li Qi examined it and found that the butterfly’s vital essence had been excessively drained.

Although he didn’t know who did it, Li Qi continued the treatment after discovering the cause.

“Early spring rain, this water carries the Qi of spring’s growth, yet it also combines with plum rain, steaming with damp heat. Humans who feel its Qi fall ill, and objects that feel its Qi grow mold. It doesn’t benefit humans much, but it’s best for insects and fungi. As the saying goes, ‘spring snowmelt water breeds insects and easily spoils,’ which is this very principle.”

“Open your inner organs. Although it is not spring now, and there is no natural plum rain from Heaven and Earth, I will combine the life force of Azure Dragon Divine Qi with the spring Qi of the human body’s miniature heaven and earth to produce spring water. This will replenish your depleted vital essence.”

But as Li Qi created the spring water, he added, “But you must be careful not to absorb too much. It’s better to leave some of the damage to heal naturally. ‘Loss’ is the image of benefiting from loss and softening. Therefore, in nature, there is no absence of loss. Only with loss in the body is there birth. In the cycle of loss and birth lies metabolism, which is also the Dao of natural rise and fall.”

The butterfly was drinking, swallowing the pure water Li Qi had created into its body.

Then, it heard Li Qi’s words.

The butterfly froze, its constantly flapping wings, which maintained balance, stopped, and the entire butterfly fell down.

“Hmm?” Li Qi was puzzled.

However, a flash of spiritual light appeared, and Spiritual Qi dispersed around. The small butterfly actually had a Breakthrough, transforming into a chrysalis, full of vibrant life, seemingly incubating something.

It seemed to have enlightened something in an instant. With sufficient foundation and Li Qi’s spring plum water assistance, this Breakthrough allowed her to successfully transform into a chrysalis.

Li Qi was first surprised, then burst into laughter: “Hahaha, a butterfly’s transformation is a renewal from old to new, a process of discarding the old and bringing forth the new. A larva transforms into a butterfly, and a butterfly then transforms into other naturally intelligent beings. It’s all the same! It seems your foundation was already sufficient, and with my single word of enlightenment, you have truly become a demon! Excellent, excellent! Then I shall help you one more time!”

Saying this, Li Qi mobilized the Qi of the four seasons from his body’s miniature heaven and earth and said, “The old body renews, just like the changing of the four seasons. One must follow the four seasons to regulate hot and cold. I will use the Qi of the four seasons to lay your foundation.”

Li Qi’s two consecutive stages of assistance were just right, neither too much nor too little, perfectly catalyzing the change. The chrysalis immediately broke open, and a small girl emerged from it.

The little girl was about twelve or thirteen years old, just at that captivatingly youthful stage, and being a butterfly in human form, she was naturally exceptionally beautiful. She also had a full back tattoo of butterfly wings, which seemed to have been absorbed into her body, transforming into this appearance.

It was just that she had just transformed, so she was completely naked, without a stitch of clothing, which made Li Qi quickly cover his eyes.

Look not at what is improper.

The little girl, having successfully transformed, was overjoyed beyond measure. She quickly knelt and kowtowed to Li Qi: “Thank you, Benefactor, for enlightening me and helping me transform! I… I…”

However, she had only just transformed; she had no name and didn’t know how to speak eloquently. For a moment, she was stuck, trembling with excitement but unable to utter a word.

“Stop, put on some clothes first before speaking.” Li Qi didn’t allow her to continue, hastily taking out his change of clothes and throwing them to the butterfly.

But at this moment, Li Qi suddenly felt something.

Wait, this butterfly, there’s a special thread connected to her body, drawing her vital essence?

The little girl, the butterfly in human form, draped Li Qi’s clothes over herself, wrapping herself up like a cloak.

Then, she kowtowed again: “Thank you, Benefactor! I am endlessly grateful. I, I don’t know what to say, I only ask Benefactor to bestow a name upon me. I vow to remember it for this life and never forget!”

But Li Qi directly interrupted her: “Wait, don’t say that yet. Why do you have this thread on your body? This is a thread from the Mountain and River Grand Formation. Have you seen any blood sacrifices nearby!?”