Chapter 231: Greeting

Li Qi carried the old horse and continued to walk forward.

The distance of ten li was only a few minutes for Li Qi now, basically equivalent to being right in front of him.

A few minutes later, Li Qi could already see the other party with his eyes.

There were five people in total, and the one at the very front actively released his Qi, allowing Li Qi to sense his presence.

That was a… handsome man.

Truly handsome.

Dressed in white as snow, with a sword on his back, he sat cross-legged between two Phoenixes, wearing cloud-soled shoes and a jade-green silk sash around his waist, with a golden form and a wooden essence, appearing kind and elegant.

However, the style of his clothes was different from that of Tang Nation, so it didn't look ancient.

At first glance, the immediate impression was that this person was either a saint or a deeply hidden villain.

Behind him, there were four other people with varying appearances.

There were men and women, dressed differently.

One had long eyebrows and large ears, a healthy body, and a clear spirit; he was bare-chested, with dark red skin, twelve feet tall, and bulging muscles, very robust.

One was fresh and beautiful, lively and cute, wearing a pink skirt, pure white and bright, about six feet tall, like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old Junior Sister.

One had eyes like autumn water, eyebrows like spring mountains, appearing calm and noble; she was barefoot, with a pair of golden lotuses covered by her Xiang skirt, floating in mid-air, with lively eyes, like a quick-witted and intelligent person.

The last one was a blind person, with sightless eyes covered by a layer of grayish-white film, showing no expression, dressed in ordinary cloth, with a slight smile on his Face.

However, it was this last person who made Li Qi feel a chill down his spine, because ever since Li Qi appeared, the blind man's eyes had been staring at Li Qi, as if he could see.

The five people sensed Li Qi and came towards him.

The handsome man in white at the head rode a Phoenix forward, cupped his hands, and said to Li Qi, “Junior Brother, it's our first meeting. How do you feel about arriving at Shaman God Mountain?”

Li Qi sensed the Qi on their bodies.

Indeed, all five were Shaman Disciples...

He subconsciously stepped aside, “Shen...”

But as soon as the word came out, he realized that Shen Shuibi wasn't here.

Normally, in such situations, he was accustomed to first asking Shen Shuibi about the other party's background, because the rabbit had seen and understood a lot, and had basically never made a mistake in judging others' backgrounds.

However, she wasn't here now.

Li Qi's mood instantly dropped, feeling somewhat annoyed.

But he maintained his composure, quickly returned to his normal expression, first placed the sleeping old horse aside, and smiled as he bowed to the five people, “Greetings, Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters. May I ask why you have suddenly come here?”

Although he was asking, Li Qi had pretty much guessed why.

Master, oh Master... Can you please be more low-key in your actions and not cause trouble for your Disciple? Can you let people rest easy?

The handsome man in white at the head also very politely and kindly said, “Junior Brother has just returned to the Sect. As your peers, of course, we must welcome you. Junior Brother, why don't you have a few drinks with us to get acquainted? It will be easier to get along in the future.”

After all, they were fellow Disciples, and Shaman God Mountain was not some demonic or evil Sect that constantly incited its Disciples to kill each other. It was quite normal for them to be polite to each other.

Besides, even an evil Sect wouldn't constantly incite Disciples to kill each each other; it would have been exterminated long ago. If they kept killing each other, morale would scatter, and there would be no Sect to speak of.

Moreover, normal people wouldn't constantly shout and fight, immediately arguing and wanting to fight when they met someone.

Therefore, although both sides knew their objectives, they remained quite friendly on the surface.

Li Qi immediately replied, “Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, please forgive me. Master wants me to see him immediately. How about this, I'll come over after I've reported my affairs, how does that sound?”

The handsome man in white shook his head and said with a wry smile, “Alas, Junior Brother, I also have a Master's order that is hard to refuse. Master has commanded us to invite you to a banquet. Are you going to refuse a Grand Invoker's Face?”

“Junior Brother, this banquet is not just for one Grand Invoker. The Masters of us five will all be attending this banquet. This is a rare grand event recently on Shaman God Mountain. You'll lose out big if you don't come.” The muscular man with dark red skin walked up and said to Li Qi in a rough voice.

Li Qi was ashamed.

It seems the internal division of labor on Shaman God Mountain is very detailed...

Those Great Shamanes negotiating with Tang Nation are so busy their heels are hitting their heads, almost catching fire.

Yet, these people here still have the leisure to host a banquet.

Presumably, in their view, the matter isn't that big, after all, with Li Qi deciding to go to Tang Nation, half the issue was already resolved. If he succeeded, then the entire matter would be settled.

This place is also the Shaman God Mountain Sect gate; no matter what, nothing would go wrong here.

That's why they were so leisurely.

When the sky falls, there are First Grade and Second Grade powerhouses to hold it up. For problems outside their scope of work, these Great Shamanes probably don't care much, do they?

Moreover, Li Qi had also figured out their intentions.

Inviting him to a banquet, and it was a banquet hosted by five Great Shamanes.

Isn't this forcing his Master to attend the banquet?

If he went, his Master would have no choice but to come out to meet him and also go to the banquet, where they would certainly encounter those five Great Shamanes Face-to-Face.

Li Qi dared not imagine what would happen then.

Therefore, Li Qi immediately shook his head, “Please, Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, do not make things difficult for this junior. Master indeed has an urgent matter that requires my return, otherwise, I wouldn't have rushed back so hastily, or even had a Fifth Grade Senior specifically come to pick me up.”

At this moment, the barefoot, noble and elegant Senior Sister spoke to Li Qi, “Junior Brother, you jest. Rushing back hastily? This is the first time I've seen someone return to the mountain only after cultivating to Eighth Grade outside. You've been outside for so long, why the rush to come back?”

Her tone was gentle, seemingly harmonizing with the surrounding natural world, carrying a sense of affinity.

However, this didn't affect Li Qi. Li Qi merely shook his head again, repeating, “I still hope Senior Sister will not make things difficult for me.”

The lively and cute Junior Sister sighed and interjected, “Alas, I don't want to make things difficult for you either... But Master is making things difficult for me. You say you have a Master's order, well, so do we.”

As she spoke, she actually got angry, crossing her arms and pouting at Li Qi, “If you don't come with us, aren't you making things difficult for us? Besides, we're asking you to a banquet, not to kill you. What are you afraid of? There are many rare treasures at the banquet that are very beneficial to your body. It won't harm you at all, so why not go? Why are you so wishy-washy? It's not going to hurt you!”

Li Qi had a headache.

It won't harm me, but it's clearly meant to cause trouble for my Master. Am I supposed to just surrender?

The scene was at a stalemate for a while.

Li Qi's smile became increasingly stiff. He was already in a bad mood, and now being blocked, he became even more annoyed.

Finally, the handsome man in white at the head took the initiative to say, “How about this then? Since we all have Master's orders that are hard to refuse, why don't we have a gamble? If we win, then we'll trouble Junior Brother to come with us.”

“If we lose, then we'll let Junior Brother leave first and come to the banquet later, how about that?”

Upon hearing this, Li Qi asked, “Senior Brother, how do you plan to gamble?”

The handsome man in white said, “If we were to fight, we Shamanes do not pride ourselves on combat power, and fighting might harm our harmony.”

“If we were to compete in a single ability, none of us six are all-rounders, and we would certainly have weaknesses. And since there are five of us, there are bound to be a few areas where we are stronger than Junior Brother. I'm afraid Junior Brother wouldn't be convinced if he lost, and we wouldn't be convinced if we lost either. It would still escalate to fighting, which are not good options.”

“How about this, let's play chess?” The handsome man in white suggested.

“Play chess?” Li Qi was curious, “What kind of chess?”

He had no interest in these recreational games and had never been exposed to them. What if he didn't know how to play?

“It's not ordinary chess. I have an unranked miniature heaven and earth with a particularly fast flow of time, bestowed upon me by Master.” The handsome man in white said, “We cannot casually enter such worlds with vastly different time flows, otherwise, we could easily be torn apart by the chaotic time flow upon entry.”

“However, it is possible to project our will into it. You and I cannot interfere with our true bodies, but we can project our will, using this world as a chessboard, designating a person, telling him different goals, and each placing three pieces at different nodes. After one year in that world, let's see who can make that person's fate closer to the goal we stated. Whoever is closer wins, how about that? During this time, only wisdom and deduction can be used, no other Divine Abilities.”

“Thus, this competition will be pure, only competing in wisdom. How about it? This way, no one who loses will have any complaints.”

The handsome man in white said this, then took out a bead from his mustard seed bag.

Within that bead, there was a sun, and near the sun, there were three very tiny planets.

On the planet furthest from the sun, there was the Qi of life. This planet also had two moons, each rotating and revolving, constantly in motion.

Because the flow of time in different worlds varies, one could see that the planets moved very quickly, completing a full rotation in about ten minutes.

That is to say, ten minutes in the outside world was one year in that world.

This... this is a star system held in one's hand.

Although it's a Ninth Grade world, this isn't something an Eighth Grade should be able to touch, right?

Wait, the handsome man in white said it was bestowed by his Master, which means his Master, that Third Grade Da Shaman, gave him this thing.

This truly is...

Worlds with unique time flow are rare, and this characteristic is very valuable. Even Li Qi knew that the value of such worlds usually skyrockets.

It's just...

Li Qi shook his head, looked up, and said, “Senior Brother, could we change the method of playing chess?”

The handsome man in white was stunned, “Why? Isn't this fair? It only competes our wisdom and deduction ability. There is probably no fairer game in the world than this.”

“Though the people of the miniature heaven and earth are weak, that is not a reason for you and I to wantonly manipulate their lives for entertainment. The Dao in my heart does not allow me to do such a thing. Please, Senior Brother, let's find another method.” Li Qi straightened his back and said solemnly.

At the same time, Li Qi's Human Body miniature heaven and earth also surged with a burst of Qi, the Qi of the Myriad People.

As soon as these words were spoken, the handsome man in white suddenly fell silent.

Then, the Qi on his body suddenly became chaotic.

The other four people suddenly looked at him simultaneously, and the blind man even stepped forward directly, placing a hand on him.

After a long while, he finally finished adjusting his breathing.

Then, he slightly cupped his hands to Li Qi, “Junior Brother, what you said is absolutely right. I have other matters, so I will not participate in this dispute. You all may proceed.”

Then, he bowed to Li Qi again, “Junior Brother, your words shook my foundation of Dao. Although I don't know if you intended it or not, this method is already sufficient. I suppose I won't be able to invite you today. Farewell. However, there are still a few other Senior Brothers and Junior Sisters, so please be careful.”

With that, the handsome man in white lightly patted the Phoenix below him.

The mount let out a low cry, turned around, and flew away.

“I'll try with Junior Brother.” The twelve-foot-tall young man stepped forward, “You injured Senior Brother Yan's foundation with your words, so I'll compete with you on foundation.”

With that, without waiting for Li Qi's reply, he directly stomped his foot.

Li Qi immediately felt a huge, mountainous pressure bearing down!

However, it was merely a mountain.

He suddenly felt...

Although this person was much stronger than Zhang Lan, even stronger than the other Eighth Grades he had seen, probably capable of fighting seven or eight Zhang Lans, compared to Shen Shuibi's Eighth Grade and his own Eighth Grade, it seemed... just so-so?

It was merely a mountain.

Li Qi's Human Body miniature heaven and earth, however, carried the weight of an entire province.

He didn't dodge or evade, didn't even reach out his hand, and directly used his Five Peaks Mountain Gods Divine Qi to collide with it.

With a bang, the young man with dark red skin stumbled back several steps. Although he had a dark Face, it was clear that his complexion had turned pale green.

With a pale green Face, he looked horrified, “How is this possible? I've already refined thirty spirit peaks, and my foundation is so solid. Wasn't he only in Eighth Grade a few days ago!?”

Inside this person's body, it was as if... there was an entire continent, so resilient, making his previous attitude seem like a joke.

Noticing this, the big man was immediately overcome with shame and embarrassment. He immediately covered his Face and left, without even saying goodbye, directly escaping into the ground.

Among the remaining three, the two women stared at Li Qi, their expressions changing from their previous calm to surprise.

This new fellow Disciple...

He's a tough one.

So they immediately made a decision.

“Junior Brother has a solid foundation and outstanding strength. It seems we won't be able to keep you today, so we sisters will just have to admit defeat. We only hope Master won't be too harsh on us, alas, farewell.” The barefoot beauty sighed, and after saying farewell, she pulled the reluctant Junior Sister away on a cloud.

The Junior Sister seemed eager to try, still wanting to make a move, but was forcefully pulled away. It was unclear why.

Finally, only one blind man remained.

Li Qi frowned. What was wrong with these people? It couldn't be, were they just messing around?

Only the last blind man remained.

Li Qi could sense that this person was a Diviner.

Mainly, the aura of a charlatan was too strong.

One look and you knew he was a Diviner.

He didn't leave, but stood still, yet didn't block, and said to Li Qi very politely, “If you have an urgent matter, please go report back, Junior Brother. I won't stop you.”

“Why?” Li Qi asked.

“Because we will meet again very soon.” He said with lifeless eyes.

Li Qi frowned, his heart filled with bewilderment.

What a thing to say.

What did this Diviner know?

Forget it, I'd better go find Master first.