Chapter 244: Human relations

Suppressed under the Evil Suppressing Pagoda, Li Qi was trying to break the Restriction.

Although all the flaws of this thing were clearly visible in his eyes, it looked like a solid block tower that seemed able to withstand a lot of impact, but just by pulling out a few load-bearing pillars, it could collapse on its own.

This was why he didn't reveal his background; Li Qi had the Celestial Pole Golden Elixir Method in his mind, which directly led to him being intimately familiar with Mount Luofu's cultivation method.

Even so, this was actually forcing the other party to continue acting.

After all, if he was suppressed, there would be no danger, and if he still thought about breaking the Restriction, that would be impolite.

But he didn't care, because he had already handed over the letter of engagement, although there was no betrothal gift; he came in a hurry this time, so he would make up for it slowly later.

Li Qi was a smart person.

This point was personally stamped and certified by many Grand Diviners of Shaman God Mountain.

When he forcefully broke into the half-dead Mount Luofu, he had already sorted out the whole story, but those were just his own conjectures.

However, when he rushed to the Immortal Cave, enduring countless attacks, and saw Shen Shuibi, everything became clear.

He rarely used True Knowledge Dao Resonance to look at Shen Shuibi normally; that would be very awkward and not good.

Li Qi was the kind of person who, even if he had X-ray glasses, wouldn't use them except when necessary.

But this time, due to the urgency, he focused all his attention on observing the other party with True Knowledge Dao Resonance, and then combined the observed facts with his own conjectures.

This allowed him to directly grasp the full picture of the incident and also know where his subtle premonition came from.

Shen Shuibi's Spirit Soul was aging.

Just like his own.

Although it sounds a bit pretentious, her Spirit Soul had actually only aged for a little over two years, which, converted to human years, would be about ten years old.

However, she should not age; lifespan, for them, naturally did not exist.

Generally speaking, the sturdier the ship, the less impact the passenger receives, meaning the slower they age.

The extension of life during the Eighth and Ninth Ranks is based on this principle: by strengthening the ship, the aging speed of the Spirit Soul slows down; one year passes, but only half a year of aging occurs, thus doubling the lifespan.

But Shen Shuibi was the opposite.

Her ship had basically sunk halfway; after two years, she had aged ten years!

If this trend continues, after a hundred years, will she... die of old age?

Unacceptable!

Did Li Qi come here for this?

Even if it meant falling out with Mount Luofu, he had to take Shen Shuibi back.

However, what Li Qi didn't expect was that when he was only halfway through deciphering it, this Evil Suppressing Pagoda was directly breached from the outside!

Flames descended from the sky, smashing onto the ground like meteors, directly destroying the Pagoda and landing beside Li Qi.

Before Li Qi could speak, another kick landed directly on his abdomen.

With a loud bang! He was directly kicked flying, like a cannonball, hundreds of meters away, smashing several rocks before stopping.

But Yang Ning still didn't stop.

Her original black hair ignited into flames, turning a dazzling golden-red, and then she rushed to Li Qi's front again at an extremely fast speed.

Kicked flying, Li Qi felt stars in his eyes and couldn't speak at all; the severe pain only allowed him to make grunting sounds, clutching his stomach, his body curled into a shrimp, constantly twitching.

This kick was far more severe than the damage the Evil Suppressing Pagoda had inflicted on him earlier!

However, Yang Ning was not prepared to let him rest.

He was indeed a Genius; an Eighth Rank Cultivator, forcefully breaking through the blockade of several Seventh Rank Cultivators, even if they were all old, weak, sick, and disabled, being able to persist for a quarter of an hour and rush out twenty li was already an extremely absurd achievement.

But it was useless.

Yang Ning's injuries had not healed, but she had already recovered to the Fifth Rank with the help of Shaman God Mountain.

Killing Li Qi was but a flick of her finger.

But such power was built upon the 'favor' of Shaman God Mountain.

If Shaman God Mountain hadn't given her a great sun and an Immortal Cave to slowly recover, she would probably be no better than Shen Shuibi right now and would not be able to defeat this Young Master at all.

It was precisely because of this that Shen Shuibi adamantly refused to accept Shaman God Mountain's 'favor' like her.

Thus, things developed to this point.

Therefore, Yang Ning was extremely angry.

She was angry at Li Qi for coming to their door, and also angry at herself.

She hated herself, that she was too useless, unable to solve these problems, and had to let Shen Shuibi face the possibility of dying of old age in the future.

Shen Shuibi said there was still a hundred years, and they could slowly figure out a way.

But it was only a mere hundred years.

However, she was also angry at what this Young Master of Shaman God Mountain had done.

This complex emotion quickly condensed into raging fire in Yang Ning's heart.

But what if the rage was even greater?

She didn't even dare to kill Li Qi.

She wanted to burn this scoundrel in front of her to ashes, but she knew that the other party had already got her by the neck.

As long as he still held the identity of the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, she could absolutely not kill him.

Yang Ning now deeply understood a saying.

'All anger comes from one's own powerlessness.'

Resentful, yet unable to act.

Because she was now under someone else's roof, even if the other party humiliated them so, she still couldn't do anything, and even because of this kick, she would have to apologize to the other party later.

What kind of...

Humiliation.

I really want to kill him...

Her fingers trembled, but in the end, she stopped her murderous intent, seized the throat of the powerless Cultivator lying on the ground, and lifted him up.

Yang Ning gritted her teeth, spitting out each word: "Young Master of Shaman God Mountain... why have you come here?"

"Cough, cough, cough... Ugh!" Li Qi coughed while dry heaving.

His stomach was churning; he had indeed been hit hard.

However, Li Qi had already prepared himself mentally; coming here like this was startling a startled bird, and being kicked was already considered light.

He had been prepared for serious injuries, which showed that Yang Ning had still held back.

After all, circumstances were stronger than people.

Yang Ning was very good at fighting, but what if she was good at fighting?

To get by in the world, you need influence.

Shaman God Mountain stood behind Li Qi; even if it was Li Qi's fault, it wasn't Yang Ning's place to hit him.

The subsequent punishment would also have to be handed over to Shaman God Mountain.

Your Mount Luofu is not qualified to touch me.

This was also why Li Qi dared to risk his life.

I dare to risk my life, do you dare to take it?

No, you don't.

Li Qi still cherished his life; he had planned everything before acting.

"Cough cough, Yang Guniang, do you still remember me? In the past, in the Great Deer Kingdom of Baiyue, it was I who summoned the Grand Diviner." Li Qi wiped his face, then forced out these words.

He didn't call her Senior, after all, she was Shen Shuibi's sister.

"Yes, I remember you. I didn't expect you to have such intentions from that time? I actually risked my life to protect you then, I truly regret it." Yang Ning's face was cold, she gripped Li Qi's throat and flew up.

Her golden-red long hair grew brighter and brighter because of this, even gradually turning white.

Li Qi's windpipe was completely choked, and although breathing wasn't necessary for him, he couldn't speak at all like this. Helpless, he could only expand his belly, attempting to use Qi to vibrate his belly externally to produce sound.

Fortunately, he succeeded.

"Yang Ning! I have a way to save Shen Guniang!" he struggled to shout.

Yang Ning frowned at his words.

Then, she threw Li Qi down.

Li Qi fell straight down, immediately controlling the cloud Qi to float in mid-air, finally landing steadily.

Then Yang Ning waved her hand, and layers of Restrictions suddenly appeared around them.

There were flame essences condensing into long stars, purple radiance glowing and falling, and cinnabar scenes illuminating, reflecting the southern pavilion.

The stars had three gates, and from the gates came three sharp points, the sharp points glowing three hundred zhang downwards, guarding the three gates, transporting crimson light and flying clouds.

Li Qi was trapped within, discovering that all his perceptions of the outside world were blocked!

Then, Yang Ning landed in front of him, looking down.

Actually... she wasn't that tall.

She was much shorter than Li Qi, only reaching his chest, but that aura could only make people feel like she was looking down on him.

Even though she was the one looking up, it felt as if Li Qi was a head shorter than her.

"You just said you could save Shen Shuibi, what do you know?" Yang Ning asked, narrowing her eyes, though the constantly flickering light from her hair indicated that her mood was not calm.

She was so easy to read; she started with ordinary black hair, then it turned golden-red, and now it was so bright it was turning white.

"I know the difficult situation Mount Luofu is currently in, and I can also see Shen Shuibi's physical condition." Li Qi immediately said, "It's not difficult to mend her injuries, it's just that the current Mount Luofu is unable to do so."

"Ultimately, there's only one conflict: you don't want to owe too much Karma now, so she's stubbornly refusing treatment."

It was a simple truth: it wasn't that it couldn't be cured, it was just that they couldn't afford the cure.

Ultimately, there was only one problem.

That is, the current Mount Luofu has lost all its foundation and has no way to repay these things.

It was the disease of poverty.

"I will ask someone to treat her." Li Qi immediately said.

Yang Ning's eyes showed disappointment.

Her hair turned back to ordinary black long hair, and she shook her head: "I thought you had some profound insight, but it's just the words of a child. You wait here. I cannot kill you, but what you did today will surely be severely punished by your sect. Stay here and wait for people from Shaman God Mountain to come and take you."

In her opinion, Li Qi had just spoken nonsense.

He himself was the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, and his Master was a Grand Diviner of Shaman God Mountain. Ultimately, how could the things they provided not be tainted with Shaman God Mountain's Karma?

This was what Mount Luofu was most worried about right now.

Shaman God Mountain was very likely to slowly pressure them, constantly creating accidents, making Mount Luofu face difficult choices again and again, and reaching out for help again and again.

Reaching out until the Karma was too heavy and could not be repaid.

Then Mount Luofu would only have the Dao opportunity of the Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron left.

Only this could be repaid.

Who knew if Shaman God Mountain would do this?

Who knew... if Shen Shuibi's injury wasn't because Shaman God Mountain wanted it this way?

Even if Li Qi proposed a perfect solution here.

However, no one from Mount Luofu would dare to believe anything he said.

Because every time they reached out to Shaman God Mountain for help, they were forming a bond of Karma that had to be repaid.

Constantly bestowing favors until you can no longer repay, and then Mount Luofu would only have the Dao opportunity left.

Only this could be repaid.

Moreover, the Grand Diviner's elaborate plans, stretching thousands of li, who wouldn't be afraid?

Could anyone clearly explain whether the current situation was an accident or a deliberate scheme by Shaman God Mountain to force Mount Luofu to continue borrowing?

If there was truly a Grand Diviner manipulating things behind the scenes, then Mount Luofu would be walking into a trap.

However, didn't Li Qi know about these things?

Of course, he knew, and he had also thought of a solution, a way to gain Mount Luofu's trust.

Li Qi bowed and said steadily, "The cost required to heal her Spirit Soul will not be charged to me, nor to my Master, but to the Qing of the Honglu Temple of Tang Nation. With the Karma connection between Mount Luofu and Tang Nation, surely there's no need to repay it?"

Yang Ning suddenly turned around, staring at Li Qi!

Honglu, originally meant to praise loudly and guide rituals.

Honglu Temple, the institution in Tang Nation responsible for foreign guest rituals, one of the Nine Temples.

It had one Qing of the Honglu Temple, a Third Rank official.

And two Vice Qings, Fourth Rank officials.

"How did you connect with someone from the Honglu Temple, how did you establish contact, and how did you get them to pay this bill!" Yang Ning walked back, asking loudly.

However, her tone wasn't harsh; it wasn't an interrogation but an outburst of shock.

"How did I connect? I'm about to go to Tang Nation to study, as a hostage to be a Imperial Academy student. How do you think I connected? I've already inquired beforehand; this is the official document between Tang Nation and me."

"I specifically asked, 'I have a wife, can she come along?' The Vice Qing of the Honglu Temple replied, 'Yes.'"

"I also asked, 'If my wife and I fall ill, could Tang Nation provide some treatment?' The Vice Qing of the Honglu Temple replied, 'Yes.'"

"All with official documents as proof!"

Li Qi pulled out the official document from the Honglu Temple, speaking with conviction!

This was the solution he had pondered over.

Yes, the relationship between Mount Luofu and Shaman God Mountain was irreconcilable; only time could heal the rift between them.

So, wouldn't introducing a third party be better?

The wisdom of Invoker lay entirely in this.

Everyone thought that Mount Luofu and Tang Nation had a blood feud, and Shaman God Mountain and Tang Nation also had a subtle antagonistic relationship, so their power couldn't be borrowed, and their wool couldn't be fleeced?

Absurd! How could borrowing power be so inconvenient?!

Tang Nation prided itself on being a celestial empire; healing a Fifth Rank Cultivator's injuries was nothing to them. What if they gave it?

Li Qi was a hostage from Shaman God Mountain.

Directly taking out the official exchange document, Li Qi said, "Everything else has been resolved, we just need Shen Guniang to agree."

Yang Ning, however, replied impolitely, "Isn't this still coercion? If she doesn't agree to you, do you intend to use force?"

Hearing this question, Li Qi smiled.

These people still didn't understand why he dared to rush in, risking his life.

Why?

Because Li Qi understood Shen Shuibi very well.

He knew that the rabbit was actually very indecisive, and even Yang Ning in front of him was the same; these two sisters were identical in terms of decisiveness.

Without Empress Luofu in charge, both of them were at a loss, helpless; even if they reached the Fifth Rank, they couldn't stand up and lead a mountain.

They were still afraid, and couldn't even make a decision.

For example, between Shaman God Mountain and Mount Luofu, the weak rabbit simply couldn't make a decision; she could only silently suffer in distress.

Very foolish, but also very cute.

And now, Shen Shuibi had arrived.

Would she refuse?

Sorry, Li Qi, who had served as Shen Shuibi's external brain for over two years, could say with certainty.

She absolutely would not.

And just then, Shen Shuibi finally arrived.

— — — — — — — —

At the same time, in the Outer Heavens of Shaman God Mountain.

In the Void Realm, three Grandmasters and Zhu Fengdan sat together, with a small square table in front of them, on which sat several cups of tea.

There was still air around them; it seemed the rules had been modified.

Authentic penglai immortal tea was placed on top, with white smoke curling up and tea fragrance wafting everywhere.

The Grandmaster sipped the tea, squinting his eyes and saying, "Zhu Fengdan, this time, for helping you conceal this matter from the Ordained Invoker, you owe us a favor."

"Owe, owe, owe! Damn it, you make it sound like such a big deal."

Let's take a vote. Tomorrow's two-in-one big chapter ends directly, entering Tang Nation, but I'll be overloaded for a day and won't update the day after tomorrow (A).

Normal update (B).