Chapter 198: Winning over

Once the tasks were decided, Li Qi began to act.

First, he set aside the sleeping rabbit.

The rabbit didn't wake up.

Li Qi's demonic thoughts surged.

There was something he had wanted to do for a long time.

So, he put his hand on the rabbit's tail.

He pulled it.

Wow, the rabbit's tail can stretch so long!

Li Qi was satisfied, and his demonic thoughts dissipated.

Then, he put these things aside and got down to business.

He first set up the alliance.

He could only manually arrange the sacrifices for the alliance, because Shen Shuibi's Formation Plate could only summon Li Qi and had no other functions at all; it was just a highly technical piece of scrap, at most with some collection value.

Of course, Li Qi still put it away.

The alliance was set up, and he called out to the person in the distance.

Then Li Qi carried Shen Shuibi out the door.

As soon as they came out of the secret room, two guards outside were startled and rushed over.

Blades in hand, they drew chilling arcs of Qi; these guards didn't even ask, 'Who are you?' before directly launching a deadly attack on Li Qi.

This was the core of Xi Jiu Men, and Ma Wang was inside; for a stranger to appear here meant they were to be killed without mercy, with no room for discussion.

However, Li Qi naturally knew this, so he took out a jade pendant and waved it.

The guards immediately stopped, looking surprised and uncertain.

This was a token personally issued by Ma Wang; seeing the token was like Ma Wang himself being present, and only the most core confidants would have one.

Who was this person? Why had they never seen him before?

However, despite their suspicions, they immediately knelt on one knee and silently saluted.

“Do not reveal my existence. Prepare a carriage and send me to the Grain Alliance’s proprietor. Tell them Ma Wang is going out,” Li Qi said coldly.

“Yes!” The two responded and then retreated.

After a short while, everything was ready, and Li Qi, riding in the carriage, quickly arrived at Wang Baiyan’s manor.

Along the way, no one saw Li Qi’s trace except for the most core members of Xi Jiu Men.

The Divided Soul of a God had a Physical Body, so there was no need to worry about those things; it was just that its combat power was relatively weak.

The combat power of Li Qi's current Divided Soul was roughly equivalent to when he was a Lifter.

Because it was a Divided Soul, it had no equipment, no blessings from the miniature heaven and earth, and its Martial Dao cultivation was also in its Physical Body.

Therefore, it could only barely fight by relying on temporary incense Qi, almost no different from a Mortal.

But now, he didn't need to fight.

Only chess pieces needed to go and fight; a chess player only needed to sit by the chessboard and drink tea.

Only when there were not enough chess pieces would the chess player personally enter the game as a piece, but that would be a loss of face.

Li Qi was not afraid of losing face; it was just that maintaining a relatively high level of prestige made things easier for him now.

After a while, Li Qi, holding the soundly sleeping rabbit, finally met Wang Baiyan.

This was a secret room in Wang Baiyan's manor, but despite being a secret room, it was quite luxuriously decorated.

Books were laid out on the table, with brushes and inkstones, and other writing implements scattered about.

The walls were made of Zhao stone, firm, clean, and lustrous, with sandalwood inlaid along their edges.

In the room, there was a large transparent glazed tank, where goldfish and water plants were kept, providing a tranquil sight that could make one forget the heat.

Li Qi looked around and saw many runes; there seemed to be a Formation here, but Li Qi couldn't quite understand this Formation; it wasn't any type of Formation he had encountered before.

While Li Qi was still observing the room, Wang Baiyan pushed open the door.

“Ah, Brother Li!” Wang Baiyan’s face was filled with joy and sincerity as he quickly walked over: “It’s so good that you’re fine! That monk—”

He didn't finish speaking when he saw Li Qi place the sleeping rabbit on the table and then punch him!

Wang Baiyan didn't dodge and was directly hit in the face by Li Qi's punch, hitting the wall with a thud.

Li Qi's temporary golden body was partially dispersed by the recoil.

Wang Baiyan rubbed his nose, basically unharmed.

He got up from the wall with a bitter smile: “Why, Brother Li? Aren’t we good brothers who have gone through life and death together?”

It was Li Qi who shook his hand, replenished his golden body with incense Qi, and sneered: “Life and death together? Why don’t you go knock on that Pagoda’s door right now, and we can both have a heart-to-heart with that monk? That would truly count as life and death together, wouldn’t it?”

“Hahaha, there’s no need for that. If I also went in, who would help Brother Li coordinate Tang Nation’s resources, right?” Wang Baiyan stood up, walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down, saying with a smile.

As he spoke, he opened his folding fan and fanned himself, saying relaxedly: “Besides, you can’t blame me, right? Everything I said was true, not a single lie, I never deceived you.”

“Even if some things didn’t align with the facts, it’s because I didn’t know myself. I was also completely fooled by that monk, so how can that be blamed on me?”

This was true; from beginning to end, from Wang Baiyan's perspective, he had never told Li Qi a single lie. Even if some words were false, it was because Wang Baiyan himself had been deceived.

“Speaking half-truths is a bigger problem than speaking falsehoods,” Li Qi said coldly.

Wang Baiyan replied innocently: “But Brother Li, you weren’t deceived either, were you? You neither went to destroy the Mountain and River Grand Formation nor fell out with Guangyang’s officialdom. Even after returning to the White Rhinoceros Army, you didn’t use more aggressive methods to stop the blood sacrifice.”

“If I were you, after recognizing the monk’s location and situation, I definitely wouldn’t risk myself to protect those disaster victims. Instead, I would decisively activate the Mountain and River Grand Formation and confront him. Wouldn’t that protect my own safety?”

“I should have guessed correctly, right? Brother Li must have left a contingency in that Mountain and River Grand Formation and can already use it for himself, right? I calculated the time; you only needed a little over two hours to get back to Zhenguan from Guangyang, but you actually took over three hours. You couldn’t have been sleeping in between, could you?”

“But in reality? Brother Li, you didn’t touch the Mountain and River Grand Formation at all. Instead, you simply followed that monk. I was very surprised when I learned of this later; it turns out, from beginning to end, Brother Li didn’t believe a single word I said.”

Li Qi, however, shook his head, his tone unfriendly: “If I had activated the Mountain and River Grand Formation then, wouldn’t that have fallen into your trap? I’m afraid after that, you would have colluded with the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest to launch an attack, taking the opportunity to gradually annex Guangyang, wouldn’t you?”

Wang Baiyan heard this, chuckled lightly, and remained noncommittal, not continuing on that topic.

He then continued to comment on Li Qi’s actions: “Moreover, what surprised me even more was that you actually buried a contingency in Guangyang City as well. That woman before, in half a day, took over the position of Ma Wang, and subsequently negotiated with me, even finding a way to rescue Brother Li from that monk’s hands.”

“Interlocking, with contingencies everywhere. Brother Li’s profound thoughts and far-reaching strategies truly impress me. As expected of a high Disciple of Shaman God Mountain. Now that you’ve escaped, and come to find me again, what thoughts do you have, Brother Li?”

He flattered Li Qi, glossing over Li Qi's mention of his own affairs, and then steered the conversation to the main topic.

If Li Qi kept dwelling on those things, it would make Li Qi seem unreasonable.

Of course, Li Qi also saw through these little verbal tricks.

But he was too lazy to care; he wasn't there to demand an explanation in the first place, that was for after the matter was resolved. So he simply got straight to the point: “I’m not hoping for a Seventh-Rank. You probably can’t produce one in Baiyue. Two Eighth-Rank, at least two Eighth-Rank combat powers, need to appear before me within a month. No problem, right?”

Wang Baiyan dropped his playful demeanor, snapped his fan shut, and frowned: “What do you want to do? You’re not thinking of using an Eighth-Rank to challenge that monk, are you? Are you looking for death? A hundred Eighth-Ranks going at him together would only lead to death. Do you think a Seventh-Rank is that easy to deal with?”

“Of course not. I know the power of a Seventh-Rank better than you. I have other uses for them; they won’t be deployed on the front lines,” Li Qi said.

Wang Baiyan’s expression was serious, and he asked again: “Why do so many superfluous things? Since you’ve already escaped, why don’t you seek help from Shaman God Mountain, and instead come to me, a Human Dao practitioner? It’s simply baffling. If you notify your Shaman God Mountain affiliated forces now, although the Chan Zhi monk is strong, he can’t challenge a national-level powerhouse. It wouldn’t be difficult to expel him.”

“You are a direct Disciple of Shaman God Mountain; can’t you even call people over?”

Wang Baiyan was very confused by Li Qi's attitude.

What was the concept of a direct Disciple of Shaman God Mountain?

There might not be many in the entire world, definitely less than a thousand, but the exact number was unknown.

These individuals were all referred to as 'Young Master of Shaman God Mountain' to outsiders, which meant their Master was a high-ranking Shaman God Mountain official of the Third-Rank or above, and the future goal of these Prodigies was to become like their Master.

Even if they were only Ninth-Rank, their status was on par with a Fifth-Rank.

As a son of a prominent Family in Tang Nation, Wang Baiyan knew that in Tang Nation, there were similar Prodigies who corresponded to them.

Those were the Tai Academy students and the Human Emperor’s Imperial Guards, both top-tier Geniuses.

Official schools were established throughout Tang Nation; people in villages went to county schools, and county school students could advance to higher levels, layer by layer, through assessments and recommendations, eventually eliminating countless people. In the entire Tang Nation, countless people competed, and only a few dozen students could join the Imperial Academy for further study every ten years.

This was the selection process for the scholarly lineage.

As for the Human Emperor’s Imperial Guards, they were the selection process for the martial lineage. The greatest honor for young martial artists was to be selected into the Imperial Guards, to serve in the imperial palace, becoming personal guards of the Human Emperor, guided by numerous top internal experts; they were 'Langs' internally and 'Generals' when dispatched externally.

Shaman God Mountain was relatively rough; they had no systematic selection methods in this regard. Most Grand Shamanes accepted Disciples based on their mood, but those who could enter the Grand Shaman's Dharma Eye could not truly be ordinary people.

This shows the difference between the two sides: Shaman Dao is loose and follows fate, adapting to nature, while Human Dao has orderly systems and strict laws.

Li Qi had never revealed his identity to outsiders, but Wang Baiyan knew because he deduced it from the Chan Zhi monk's reaction.

With a guess, and then seeking evidence, Wang Baiyan quickly followed the trail all the way to Qingwu City.

Considering the secret knowledge and the number of cultivation methods in the hands of the woman under his command, and then learning that Li Qi had directly blocked an attack from the Lu Mountain God in Qingwu City.

Combining these three aspects, he finally confirmed Li Qi's identity.

Although Li Qi hadn't told him, Wang Baiyan could infer the clues on his own.

To be able to do so many incredible things, if not a Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, his identity wouldn't be much lower.

Upon hearing this, Li Qi glanced at him.

Wang Baiyan knew a lot.

However, it was normal; this person should have some status in Tang Nation, otherwise, it would be impossible for him, with a Ninth-Rank cultivation, to preside over such a large situation, and even mobilize Eighth-Rank combat power to obey his commands.

He mobilized Eighth-Ranks from Tang Nation, and the hidden schemes involved were imaginable.

However, Li Qi still explained: “Precisely because I am a Disciple of Shaman God Mountain, I cannot arbitrarily command powerful individuals to come. Otherwise, what would I become?”

“The matter of Chan Zhi began with me, so naturally, it is best if it ends with me.”

Wang Baiyan was greatly shocked: “Brother Li!? You really want to challenge a Seventh-Rank?!”

“A son of a thousand gold does not sit under a crumbling wall; why risk your life?! A Ninth-Rank being able to fight an Eighth-Rank is already a Prodigy; fighting a Seventh-Rank, there has never been such a precedent in this world!”

Li Qi, however, shook his head: “If I can defeat a Seventh-Rank with a Ninth-Rank body, then tell me, what will happen to me?”

Li Qi spoke casually, but Wang Baiyan was unsettled by his words.

He understood Li Qi's meaning.

This made him shudder, trembling all over, and he stood up directly, unable even to suppress his cultivation. He saw the floor tiles beneath his feet crack with a bang, shattered by the overflowing Qi.

“Don’t be so surprised, Brother Wang. Do you want to add your name to this achievement? As a scion of a Tang Nation aristocratic Family, coming to the Baiyue region at such a young age, you can’t possibly be here to retire, can you?”

“I see you scheming against me, scheming against the Guangyang Prefect, maneuvering and profiting between the Chan Zhi monk and local forces, and even daring to scheme against the external invasion of the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest. You wouldn’t lack this bit of courage, would you?” Li Qi asked with a smile.

Wang Baiyan took a deep breath.

To be honest, he hesitated.

He had been maneuvering everywhere, but he had never truly entered the fray. The Wang Family's power could protect him. As a young Master of an aristocratic Family, he had multiple Eighth-Rank combat powers under his command, as well as some trump cards, basically enough to protect his life from a Seventh-Rank.

But it was only enough to protect his life; those trump cards were meant to buy him time to escape. It was simply impossible to truly confront a Seventh-Rank head-on.

As for stronger Spiritual Artifacts, the Family did have them, but even if given to him, he couldn't use them.

A Ninth-Rank being able to drive a Seventh-Rank Spiritual Artifact was already the limit. Although some ultimate treasures had no cultivation requirements for use, such items were so expensive that even selling the entire Wang Family wouldn't be enough to buy them, let alone be given to him.

So, his trump cards could only save his life.

If he interfered, although his life would be safe, he might completely ruin the network he had built in Guangyang.

Moreover, the Chan Zhi monk was not actually just one Seventh-Rank; he also had the Puppet of Guangyang Situ, which meant he effectively had the combat power of two Seventh-Ranks.

To truly clash head-on with this monk…

Wang Baiyan could only say that he found no chance of victory whatsoever.

But that was himself.

It was he who found no chance of victory.

And this mysterious man before him was the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain.

Could he do it?

No, right? No matter how great his reputation, could he cross the huge chasm from Ninth-Rank to Seventh-Rank?

Moreover, that Chan Zhi monk was not just any Seventh-Rank picked off the street. He had the authentic Legacy of the Mahakala lineage, and his strength was definitely top-tier among Seventh-Ranks. Even Guangyang Sima, who was also a Seventh-Rank, was swallowed by him and became a Puppet.

How many more Puppets did he have after devouring their hearts?

Wang Baiyan's forehead was covered in cold sweat; he hesitated in place, unable to make a decision.

He didn't have the courage to challenge a top-tier Seventh-Rank, but he also couldn't bear to give up.

If he gave up, he probably wouldn't find another Young Master of Shaman God Mountain willing to cooperate with him in this lifetime.