Chapter 228: Putting blame on others

Calamity means to seize, to seize from outside.

Water's exhaustion is at Si, and Shen-Zi-Chen takes Si as the Calamity Sha. The Wu earth in Si seizes the water.

Fire's exhaustion is at Hai, and Yin-Wu-Xu takes Hai as the Calamity Sha. The Ren water in Hai seizes the fire.

An ancient song says: “When Calamity Sha strikes, it’s unbearable; one runs in vain, achieving nothing. If a malevolent star aligns with the celestial plate, life is like a lamp in the wind, soon to be extinguished.”

Shen Shuibi used water and fire to complement Yin and Yang, and with the Heavenly Stem within Li Qi as a guide, Gui water seized the Bing fire, drawing in the calamity.

Working together, Li Qi provided pure Yin and Yang Qi, while Shen Shuibi used the Daoist method of water and fire complementing each other, combined with the Heavenly Stem within Li Qi, to form two disasters: water and fire.

The water disaster and fire disaster, combined with the Yin Sha and Yang Sha formed by the condensation of Taiyin and Taiyang Qi, became the 'Calamity'.

Of course, this was not a true Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth; if that descended, even an entire world's ecosystem would change, and not even cockroaches would survive.

This was merely a simulation created by Shen Shuibi through Daoist magic.

But it was already enough.

Calamity is one of the few things that can directly affect a Fifth-Grade Physical Body. As a former Fifth-Grade, Shen Shuibi was very clear on this point.

Fifth-Grade mighty figures already have endless Lifespan and are impervious to myriad spells, much like Shen Shuibi's immaculate body, truly unstained by a speck of dust, and external attacks are the same.

As for the opponent's corpse, its magic power was ordinary; its only reliance was its Fifth-Grade Physical Body.

If they were to truly engage in a head-on battle, even if two or three Seventh-Grades attacked together, they would most likely be beaten to death by the opponent.

Li Qi's Jin Qi (Metal Energy) slash only left a white mark on the Fifth-Grade Physical Body.

This was probably why the opponent felt at ease.

With top-tier disguise first, and then a Fifth-Grade Physical Body as a backup, how could anything possibly go wrong?

What a pity.

Li Qi had a double insurance.

As an outsider, his data did not exist in this world. To deduce his information, one would have to trace it all the way back to Earth.

God knows how far Earth is; in any case, Young Master Zhu was too lazy to trace it outwards.

Divination, by nature, relies heavily on past big data. Without data, it is naturally difficult to deduce. Li Qi's data is stored on Earth, and Earth is too far, making the difficulty of tracing back too great.

As an outsider, ordinary divination simply cannot find him.

This was the first layer of insurance.

The second layer of insurance was Yun Fang, a Third-Grade Grandmaster, who had just cast a spell to conceal Li Qi's Karma and whereabouts, ensuring that anyone with cultivation lower than his would definitely not find clues about Li Qi.

With two layers of confidentiality measures, it was already astonishing that the opponent could locate Li Qi. Did they still want to target Li Qi's weaknesses?

Li Qi hadn't even made a move since reaching Eighth-Grade, so where would he have weaknesses? Who would know?

Combining all these reasons, even a Fifth-Grade Physical Body and an Eighth-Grade Demon Qi still fell here.

The Calamity Water and Calamity Fire descended, penetrating the Physical Body and directly striking the Spirit Soul.

The Spirit Soul within wailed loudly.

However, Li Qi was unmoved and immediately escalated.

He immediately drew out a willow branch and fiercely whipped it towards the opponent!

The willow branch given by his teacher had broken in Qingwu City, so this one was one he had just made temporarily.

Willow branches have the effect of whipping the Spirit Soul, and he had now infused Divine Qi into it. The opponent was only Eighth-Grade, so this thing could still be effective!

The willow branch extended, transforming into streaks of whip shadows, striking the corpse. Black smoke billowed from the wounds.

The corpse felt fear and wanted to flee.

But Li Qi stretched out his hand, and an altar appeared out of thin air.

This was his Seventh-Grade altar for presiding over Grand Ritual, the one Guangyang Sicheng made.

The opponent was first struck by disaster, then whipped in the Spirit Soul by the willow branch—this was the fate of a disaster star.

Since the disaster star had arrived, and he was also Eighth-Grade, then it was time to try the Shaman's signature skill.

Li Qi ascended the altar, cupped his hands, and shouted loudly: “When malevolent stars and evil constellations descend, the great limit is like treading on thin ice! Where else do you, the rogue, think you can escape to? Can you escape water and fire? Can you escape the will of Heaven?!”

This shout was not just a casual one.

It was a curse.

After shouting it out, Li Qi suddenly felt a power being mobilized by himself.

In the ethereal, it seemed to be... fortune?

But there was no movement outside.

The corpse seized this time, taking the opportunity to flee in a flash.

It seemed to have successfully escaped.

But Li Qi knew that the opponent was already dead.

He didn't understand how he knew, but he just had that feeling.

However, the corpse had already flown far away, quickly escaping dozens of li.

But at this moment, something suddenly fell from the sky.

Was it... a meteor?

From outside the heavens, a meteor suddenly fell.

With a boom, it struck the corpse directly on the head.

Heavenly fire descended, and calamity befell it. The corpse's Spirit Soul immediately turned to ash, dying right there.

A corpse that could resist the siege of several Seventh-Grades was thus killed here by the combined efforts of two people.

However, one was the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, and the other was a former Fifth-Grade. Although neither of them was skilled in combat, their commonality was their immense knowledge.

If they found a weakness, it would indeed be very difficult to find a way out.

Old Ma was dumbfounded at the side.

What's going on? How could a meteor suddenly fall?

Such things actually happen?!

But before he could recover, Li Qi flipped onto the horse, kicked its leg, and said: “Go, let's see what's going on.”

“I'm coming too!” Shen Shuibi immediately raised her hand.

“Shen Guniang, you can't go. You should quickly use your methods to contact Shaman God Mountain and Yang Ning to see what's happening over there. You're better at remote communication. I'll go retrieve that corpse, and then we'll see.” Li Qi immediately arranged.

...“Okay, I'll listen to you.” Shen Shuibi pondered for a moment, nodded, and understood that it was indeed the case, so she obediently followed the arrangement.

She immediately set up a spell, attempting to contact the distant place.

Li Qi, meanwhile, urged Old Ma, heading straight towards where the corpse had fallen.

However, before they even landed, Li Qi felt Old Ma's legs trembling.

“What's wrong?” Li Qi was surprised, patting Old Ma's neck, asking him.

“Neigh, neigh, neigh…” Old Ma whinnied softly, hesitating, circling in the sky, seemingly afraid to go any further.

But despite his fear, a hint of longing showed in his eyes, only to be suppressed by something, unable to be fully displayed, so he just circled in the sky.

“Is there something over there that makes you scared, yet also makes you long for it?” Li Qi frowned.

However, he immediately relaxed his expression, stroking Old Ma's mane: “What are you afraid of? I'm here. The person has already been killed by me. What could possibly suppress you now? Don't worry, I've got your back.”

Upon hearing this, Old Ma seemed to reluctantly calm down, gathering his courage, and tried to fly further forward.

Although he flew a bit shakily, he managed to fly all the way there.

Until they reached the place where the corpse had fallen.

Upon arriving, Li Qi immediately understood what Old Ma feared and longed for.

It was... a Dragon Soul.

The remnant soul of a True Dragon.

It was already shattered, but it existed as the core of the corpse's actions.

It had been concealed before, but now that it had died here, there was no longer any concealment.

The Dragon Soul was at the corpse, wandering unconsciously.

When facing the Dragon Soul directly, Old Ma was paralyzed with fear; all four of his legs lost strength, and he directly collapsed onto the ground, unable to move.

Li Qi, however, felt nothing.

He walked forward and investigated.

“It's a Dragon Soul... but a remnant soul, only at Eighth-Grade level. Is it a young True Dragon?” Li Qi examined the situation around the corpse, muttering to himself.

True Dragons are born as Eighth-Grade. Occasionally, premature babies or those whose egg Qi has been disturbed are Ninth-Grade. There is no such thing as being unranked.

As they grow, they become Seventh-Grade after reaching adulthood, meaning they have endless Lifespan and will not die of natural causes. In many worlds, they are called 'Immortals' or 'Gods'.

This is a race born without Lifespan limits, with terrifyingly high racial stats.

Reaching Seventh-Grade upon adulthood is the minimum; they are Seventh-Grade even if they do nothing but sleep all day.

But in reality, most adult Dragon Clan are Sixth-Grade; they can reach cultivation levels that other races find hard to even imagine with just a little bit of cultivation.

But similarly, good things cannot all be given to True Dragons. Corresponding to their extremely high racial stats is an extremely low fertility rate.

True Dragons basically need to be extremely lucky to give birth to a single offspring, so they naturally value their young dragons immensely.

And now, the remnant soul of a young True Dragon is here?

What does that mean?

Framing himself to incite conflict?

Li Qi finished recording the scene, holding the ball of Dragon Soul in his hand, his expression fluctuating between cloudy and clear, pondering how to deal with it.

However, at this moment, he suddenly noticed something else.

The surrounding Dragon Qi and Dragon Blood were moving.

And the direction of movement...

He looked up and realized that the Dragon Qi and Dragon Blood were all surging towards Old Ma.

Was Old Ma actively absorbing these things?

Li Qi didn't interrupt Old Ma. The person was already dead, and he had recorded everything he needed to. He was just surprised that Old Ma would suddenly start absorbing Dragon Qi.

Does the Buqun Song have a method for absorbing Dragon Qi?

No, it doesn't, right?

Although Dragon Steed are said to have some True Dragon Bloodline, they are not the same species after all. Absorbing it rashly like this is not a good thing.

Not everything can be absorbed into the body casually.

Without the corresponding method, absorbing it would only cause problems for oneself.

Gasoline has much higher heat than meat, but no one eats gasoline. Nuclear fuel has an energy level far exceeding ordinary matter, but eating it only leads to death.

Because the human body, a small Heaven and Earth, cannot digest it.

Not everything can be crammed in; be careful not to kill yourself.

Generally speaking, cultivators know what to use and what not to use.

In his impression, Old Ma should not have been able to digest Dragon Qi.

But Old Ma actively absorbed it; was there something he didn't know?

After thinking for a moment, Li Qi ultimately did not speak, but instead let Old Ma absorb the Dragon Qi.

Old Ma was not a child; he must have known what he was doing.

So, Li Qi simply packed up his things, preserving the remaining corpse and Dragon Soul.

Some Death Qi, Dragon Qi, and some other Qi whose cultivation method was unknown, that had dispersed—those that could be preserved were preserved, and those that couldn't were simply allowed to dissipate.

The Dragon Qi and Dragon Blood were absorbed by Old Ma, who lay on the ground.

After that, Old Ma fell into a deep sleep.

“Seriously, are you the mount or am I the mount?” Li Qi felt helpless, but he could only carry Old Ma all the way back.

Shen Shuibi was skilled in medicine; he would let her take a look when they got back.

As soon as he returned, he saw Shen Shuibi in a state of spiritual wandering.

Her Yin Spirit was wandering; she must be contacting someone from Shaman God Mountain, right?

Li Qi put down Old Ma and sat beside him, waiting.

After about a few minutes, Shen Shuibi emerged from her spiritual wandering state, opened her eyes, and frowned: “Shaman God Mountain said that the people they are sending are still on their way and nothing has happened. Yang Ning is also in seclusion in an affiliated Grotto-Heaven of Shaman God Mountain, everything is normal. That Fifth-Grade corpse is not from Shaman God Mountain.”

Li Qi breathed a sigh of relief.

Good thing nothing happened inside Shaman God Mountain.

“Then what's the deal with this person? I just went there and saw that this is indeed a Fifth-Grade corpse, but all its essence is gone. Besides an empty shell, there's nothing left. What filled it was Death Qi, Dragon Qi, and a Dragon Soul.” Li Qi then displayed the corpse he had just retrieved.

As expected of a Fifth-Grade corpse, it was fine even after being struck by a meteor; only the Eighth-Grade Spirit Soul inside had dissipated.

“And Old Ma?” Shen Shuibi tilted her head, seeing Old Ma who had fallen into a deep sleep nearby.

“Old Ma absorbed the Dragon Blood and Dragon Qi that seeped out from inside, and then he fell asleep. He should be digesting it,” Li Qi said.

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuibi walked forward to examine these things.

She was very knowledgeable, having truly seen and experienced many things, unlike Li Qi who mostly learned from books. So, Li Qi immediately handed all the clues to her.

The rabbit first looked at the scene Li Qi had recorded, then examined the corpse and the Dragon Soul.

Then, a puzzled expression appeared on her face.

“It's a Dragon Soul... but not Dragon Blood, nor Dragon Qi. This thing... is a patchwork monster?” Shen Shuibi's tone was a bit strange.

“Not Dragon Qi? Nor Dragon Blood?” Li Qi was surprised.

“Yes, this is Demonic Blood and Demon Qi that has transformed into a Dragon, but the Dragon Soul is real, it's a real young True Dragon. That's why I said it's a patchwork monster.”

Demonic Blood and Demon Qi that has transformed into a Dragon.

Li Qi suddenly understood; so that's what it was.

Demons can transform, meaning they choose their second form, which can bring them many benefits.

This transformation target doesn't have to be human. As long as it's a race with innate spiritual intelligence, and the demon has a deep understanding of it, then it can be chosen.

On land, most demons choose to transform into humans, which makes it easier to interact with humans and allows them to gain many human characteristics, eventually developing towards a human form, even truly becoming human and joining human society, thus living out their lives.

In contrast, many sea demons choose to transform into Dragons.

Many types of 'Dragons' come from this. These demons will go further and further in the direction of a Dragon, to the extent of becoming a subspecies of Dragon, such as the Hui Dragon and Jiaolong (Flood Dragon).

This has even given rise to many rumors, such as 'Dragons are inherently lustful,' claiming that these strange Dragons are products of cross-breeding.

But in reality, it's not like that at all; they are just demons after Dragon transformation.

True Dragons are extremely arrogant beings and are not that casual.

Understanding this, Li Qi asked: “Then what kind of demon is this? It's so similar to Dragon Qi that even I didn't recognize it.”

Shen Shuibi shook her head and said: “I don't know, I haven't seen it either... It's just that the Demon Qi inside is very faint, mixed with Dragon Qi, making it hard to distinguish. Do you think this matter might be... a frame-up?”

At these words, the two looked at each other.