Chapter 243: Deadlock

At this moment, Shen Shuibi sat within her Immortal Cave.

Around her, several Taiji Discs were arranged, encircled by countless Yin and Yang hexagrams.

These formed the Dun Jia, with Jia Zi Wu in Li, Jia Xu Ji in Kan, Jia Shen Geng in Kun, Jia Shamansn in Zhen, Jia Chen Ren in Xun, and Jia Yin Gui in the central palace, creating a forward arrangement of the Six Instruments.

Yi Qi was in Gen, Bing Qi in Dui, and Ding Qi in Qian, also forming a reverse arrangement of the Three Wonders.

Anyone knowledgeable would recognize this as a Qimen Dunjia formation.

It was an information processing system built upon the framework of the Luoshu Nine Palaces, establishing a scaffold for information to rely upon.

The Three Wonders and Six Instruments, which are the Heavenly Stems, form the basic structure of Daoist Five Elements techniques.

In the Qimen Dunjia formation, the Earthly Branches are also distributed among the Nine Palaces, serving as scales for time and directional information.

In other words, this was a computing center that integrated the two numerology systems of Xiangshu and the Five Elements, capable of performing large-scale information processing calculations.

Shen Shuibi was manipulating this device, and the constantly flashing and changing Yin and Yang hexagrams around her were recording the information she input.

This was what she intended to do.

To organize the Daoist pháp mạch in her mind and use it to offset and repay a portion of Karma.

This work had just begun, so she was still very focused and busy, constantly rotating and tapping the Taiji Discs, continuously outputting information in the form of Bagua hexagrams.

Until now, she had no idea what was happening outside.

After all, it happened suddenly, and no one came to notify her.

All the true combat power had gone to deal with that giant Roc.

As for the other old, weak, sick, and disabled, they were either performing their duties or had gone to intercept Li Qi.

Mount Luofu had few remaining personnel, and even fewer with combat strength. Now, with only a few hundred old, weak, sick, and disabled, it was truly difficult to spare any more hands.

Therefore, for the time being, she still didn't know.

But she still possessed keen perception.

After processing some data, she suddenly felt that outside... the commotion was very loud.

This made Shen Shuibi somewhat puzzled. She stopped what she was doing, stood up, patted her skirt, and walked out of the Immortal Cave.

"Wait, that sound is... Li Qi's voice?" Her ears twitched.

Rabbits have very sensitive hearing, after all, they have long ears.

However, when she heard this sound, her first reaction was not to run out, but to shrink her head and retreat a few steps.

She didn't know why.

Perhaps because...

She didn't dare to see Li Qi.

What would she say after seeing him? How would she say it?

Tell him to go back?

No, no.

She couldn't do it.

Shen Shuibi had always been a weak person, gentle and timid, hesitant to speak to others, introverted and socially anxious, so she preferred to shrink into her own world and quietly do what she liked.

Her decision to shoulder so many burdens was already all her courage.

If Li Qi really came.

And she had to tell Li Qi to go back.

She really couldn't do it...

Just thinking about it made her afraid.

Shen Shuibi's heart was in turmoil. She retreated a few steps and sat on a chair.

If Li Qi really came, how should she talk to him?

Tell him it's best not to get involved with each other anymore, like that?

She couldn't say that; Shen Shuibi herself didn't want to say that.

But besides saying that, what else could she say?

If she continued to associate with him, how would Mount Luofu position itself? Should she actively side with Mount Luofu? Or simply join Shaman God Mountain?

If Mount Luofu had its own foundation, like a tree with complete roots that could stand on its own, then of course it wouldn't be afraid.

But it wasn't like that now.

A dilemma.

She began to resent her own weakness.

"Useless... Jade, oh Jade, you're truly useless..." She muttered to herself, clutching her hair in distress.

Then, she shook her head, stood up abruptly, paced back and forth in the room twice, then sat down in front of the Taiji Disc, trying to continue her work.

But the smooth flow of thoughts from before could no longer be found. Her mind was filled only with fear, cowardice, and self-reproach. Her hand rested on the Taiji Disc, unable to input any information.

So, she could only stand up and pace back and forth in the Immortal Cave.

She herself didn't understand why she was doing this; she wasn't looking for anything—she just wanted to do something superficial to distract herself from her troubled thoughts.

After pacing for a while, she sat down again and covered her face with her hands.

She couldn't even stop her mind from wandering. Her emotions grew more and more agitated, and she even began to lose her composure.

For a few seconds, she started to resent her birth on Mount Luofu.

But she immediately realized that this had nothing to do with Mount Luofu.

She then began to blame Li Qi.

If it weren't for Li Qi, there wouldn't be such a dilemma.

However, she also knew that this was purely her own choice, and had nothing to do with Li Qi.

Ultimately, she could only blame herself.

Fortunately, she could blame herself.

In this situation, it was better to be alone; the pain would only be borne by one person.

The more she felt this pain, the more she could perceive her own weakness at this moment.

Weakness was the root of everything.

Only Mortals would be troubled by such distress, and she was now a complete Mortal, unable to even control her own thoughts.

In fact, a long time ago, she often fell into such pain.

But later, with Empress Luofu, she was no longer distressed.

Her unease, her agitation, the tense distress that made her heart twitch, all eased when Empress Luofu was by her side.

Only when Empress Luofu was by her side, knowing that she was watching her, when speaking, her heart would not be in turmoil at all.

Now... Empress Luofu was in a deep sleep.

Two years ago, she was similarly filled with fear.

At that time, the one who appeared before her... was Li Qi.

Just as it had been said before, the rabbit had never realized that, in fact, she had never been alone.

Once, in Luofu Grotto Heaven, there was Empress Luofu.

Before that, there was Li Qi.

When she was in Guangyang, she had left Li Qi for a period of time, and the anxiety she felt then was just like this moment.

But Shen Shuibi had never realized this.

Her Dao Heart was already in disarray.

It was just that at that time, she knew she could find Li Qi, so she desperately searched for him, and then felt at ease relying on Li Qi, doing what she liked, and felt like she entered a state of joyful numbness, almost drifting off to sleep.

If Empress Luofu were to awaken now and look at her, she would likely be able to discern Shen Shuibi's current state.

This girl had been a weak person since childhood, like a dodder vine, unable to live independently.

And now, the two trees she relied on could not coexist.

Mount Luofu and Li Qi were in conflict, and this conflict had to be resolved over time.

Regarding this, Shaman God Mountain had considered it thoroughly, planning to communicate after a hundred years, so that the contradiction would not be so sharp.

Unfortunately, Li Qi's premonition was correct.

Leaving Shen Shuibi, this foolish rabbit who knew nothing and thought of nothing beyond research and record-keeping, alone for a hundred years, she would absolutely destroy herself.

To what extent would her True Spirit decay? How much longer could her Lifespan last?

A dead end.

It was like a dead end where the key was locked inside the door.

To open the door, a key was needed.

But the key was inside the door.

To slowly make Mount Luofu lower its guard required time for a buffer.

But Shen Shuibi had no time; by the time Mount Luofu lowered its guard, it would be too late.

Unless, the heavily damaged Mount Luofu could be made to genuinely believe that Shaman God Mountain truly harbored no ill intentions.

How could such a thing be so simple?

For example, Luofu Grotto Heaven was like a weak woman who knew the hiding place of a great Spiritual Artifact and was being pursued.

Shaman God Mountain took her into their home, and everyone knew that Shaman God Mountain's goal was this great treasure; saving her was for this purpose.

In such a situation, what could you do to convince Luofu Grotto Heaven not to be on guard?

You couldn't. Trust could only be accumulated slowly over time.

A startled bird still needed time to calm down on its own.

That's why the Great Sect stopped Zhu Fengdan from coming, saying they had to wait a hundred years.

From the perspective of Luofu Grotto Heaven and Shaman God Mountain as two forces, waiting a hundred years was indeed the best.

But from Li Qi's perspective, it was not so.

Li Qi didn't want to concern himself with the big picture.

After a hundred years, the damage would be done! In his vague premonition, Shen Shuibi would likely encounter trouble after a hundred years!

This was why he decided to brave the challenge.

There was no need to dwell on the various reasons, but as Shen Shuibi was in distress, time slowly passed.

A quarter of an hour went by.

Shen Shuibi's ears twitched.

Outside...

No sound?

Did Li Qi leave?

A wave of disappointment washed over her, but then she immediately felt some relief.

Perhaps... this was for the best.

She stood up, patted her face, feigning indifference, and with a light touch of her finger, opened the Immortal Cave's Restriction.

The Restriction opened, revealing a path to the outside world.

Shen Shuibi walked out, and then her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Because the reason there was no sound was not because the sound had stopped, but because a 'Wandering Kun's Solitary Movement' had been set up near her Immortal Cave.

This was a commonly used spell, originating from the phrase 'The wandering kun moves alone, dwelling in solitude, silent and desolate.'

A kun is a type of bird that prefers to live alone and has an aloof nature. The meaning of this phrase is that the caster can live apart from others, spend their days idly, and not discuss right or wrong, how peaceful!

Its effect was also simple: to block all sound and to some extent shield the outside world, to achieve the effect of 'Wandering Kun's Solitary Movement.'

Outside, where there was no sound, it hadn't truly ended.

Instead, Li Qi had set up the spell of Wandering Kun's Solitary Movement around her Immortal Cave.

Yes.

Li Qi was seventy zhang in front of her Immortal Cave.

He looked... very pained.

He bore heavy shackles, and several Spiritual Artifacts were even impaled into his body, stuck in his bones.

Behind him, dozens of Daoists each cast spells: there were Mountain-Suppressing Seals, Soul-Binding Locks, Demon-Binding Whiskers, and various other restraining techniques applied to him. Aside from his head, almost no skin on his body was exposed.

He had endured countless sieges from Mount Luofu, harming no one, and had forcibly charged forty li from below, climbing up step by step.

However, at this moment, he revealed a triumphant smile.

Because Shen Shuibi had come out.

He knew that this foolish rabbit would surely be lured out by this move.

Li Qi no longer struggled to resist. He simply waved his hand, throwing all the betrothal letters towards Shen Shuibi, then gave up resisting.

As soon as he relaxed, he was directly dragged down the mountain by the Daoists.

He was dragged out a full twenty li by chains and whisks!

Then, with a thud, he slammed onto the ground.

A Seventh-Rank Daoist flew over, his expression indignant, muttering, "Heaven is the image, Earth is the form. Transform into a tower, summon a jailer, establish a prison eye, change into an iron bed, a thousand-jin lock, a ten-thousand-jin staff, imprison the evil, as urgent as the law!"

And then, a golden tower emerged.

With ornate pillars and ethereal walls, purple columns and rainbow beams.

Carved with insects and green patterns, coiling dragons and winding rainbows.

Rafters and purlins of vermilion and green, rafters and purlins of dark yellow.

Carved with gold and jade, the chambers were magnificent.

Twelve stories high, reaching thirty zhang.

It firmly pressed Li Qi beneath it!

This Daoist spell for suppressing evil, unexpectedly, was used on Li Qi.

Yet another Eighth-Rank Daoist quickly flew towards Shen Shuibi, anxiously asking, "Moonborne Daoist Master! Did that rogue injure you?!"

He looked very anxious, even though he himself was wounded.

Because everyone knew that Shen Shuibi was severely injured, and she also bore the heavy responsibility of organizing the archives.

However, his old wounds were not inflicted by Li Qi.

In fact, throughout Mount Luofu, Li Qi did not injure a single person.

Everyone above the Sixth Rank had gone to confront the great Roc, and all the remaining people had come to intercept the Young Master.

But he endured heavy suppression, enduring for a quarter of an hour.

In a quarter of an hour, he advanced forty li.

It was hard to imagine how he managed to do it; the terrified expressions of all the Daoists on the scene were enough to show what had just happened.

Shen Shuibi held the red letter in her hand, but she didn't look at it. Instead, she spoke, her voice a little hoarse, asking, "What... just happened?"

"This fellow, relying on his power, tried to bully Mount Luofu and forcibly marry... forcibly marry the Daoist Master! He even said the Daoist Master already knew, which is simply absurd! He has now been captured by us, but he was... too stubborn, fighting against several Seventh-Rank cultivators, almost getting killed, yet still charged here and disturbed the Daoist Master."

Saying this, he angrily complained to Shen Shuibi, "Daoist Master, this Shaman God Mountain covets the Cave Lord's treasure and harbors ill intentions. Now they even want to humiliate us like this. Why should we still stay here?!"

Shen Shuibi, however, didn't listen to the latter part of his sentence. Instead, she asked, "How is he?"

The Daoist was puzzled, but still replied, "After all, he is the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain. The Seniors should not have resorted to killing—"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Shen Shuibi suddenly accelerate, rushing towards the Evil-Suppressing Pagoda.

She was completely devoid of her usual graceful demeanor, instead appearing very anxious, which left the informing Daoists bewildered.

But a distance of twenty li, in Shen Shuibi's current state, would still take a little while to cover.

Before she could arrive, a burst of fire light surged directly from the spiritual peak on the other side, and then directly slammed into the Evil-Suppressing Pagoda where Li Qi was located.

"You! Bastard!" Yang Ning's furious voice echoed for sixty li around, directly shattering the Evil-Suppressing Pagoda, and then she stomped on Li Qi's back.

It was well known.

Yang Ning, the essence of the sun, had a very violent temper.