Chapter 269: Talisman

Li Qi’s reaction seemed to surprise the Great Shaman and the Qing of the Honglu Temple above, but since the banquet had already begun, they didn’t say anything more.

Everyone still remembered what had happened before, and there were even video records, but everything was 'reset.'

Except for memories, everything was as if it had never happened.

The banquet officially began, and everyone ate normally.

Everything from before had already been recorded, and Li Qi had already seen the corresponding news in the terminal.

The news headline was: “Young Master of Shaman God Mountain and Imperial Academy Students Have a Friendly Spar, Both Sides Draw, Demonstrating Gentlemanly Demeanor.”

There were also videos and photos of him and the others, but none of the three against hundreds; only the moment when Liu Junyi and the three of them clashed, equally matched.

The scene of three against hundreds only existed in text records; this segment was cut from the video.

Although the truth wasn’t hidden, there was still a bit of selfishness involved.

They began to eat, putting other matters aside for the time being, as this was, after all, a diplomatic state banquet, and the Qing of the Honglu Temple had personally appeared, so there was no need to worry about other minor issues.

However, while eating, Li Qi was also using some methods to contact Yan Ke and Bo Yue, who were sitting not far away.

The three of them ate and chatted with expressionless faces.

“Have you felt anything special?” Li Qi asked first.

“Yes, I felt a peculiar Spatial-Temporal Flow, but… it’s different from what I control,” Yan Ke replied.

His tone was somewhat confused, as if he didn’t know how to explain.

Bo Yue also said at this point: “It’s a peculiar Spatial-Temporal Flow, and it’s different from Yan Ke’s; it’s a bit similar to… me?”

“You?” Li Qi was surprised.

But he immediately recalled that Bo Yue also had similar methods.

Bo Yue’s Dao Heart, ‘Demonic Seed.’

“Wait, if it’s similar to your Demonic Seed, then it’s a temporal regression?” Li Qi recalled for a moment, realizing what he had felt.

Bo Yue’s Demonic Seed could ‘prune’ a period of possibilities and then allow for natural development within it. If the development aligned with Bo Yue’s hopes, he could confirm that this period was real, and then everything that happened within the Demonic Seed would become real.

If the development didn’t meet his expectations, he could cut away everything that happened, turning it all into an illusion, as if nothing had ever occurred except for memories.

Li Qi had once been struck by a Demonic Seed, and if not for Shen Shuibi’s reminder, he almost hadn’t woken up.

“In other words, the refresh just now was a method similar to the Demonic Seed, and we were all regressed?” Li Qi sought the opinions of the other two.

“I wasn’t. I felt very dangerous at the time and opened the world barrier of my miniature heaven and earth. This thing cannot regress peculiar Spatial-Temporal Flow, it’s just… the arrangements on it are somewhat damaged, and it will probably take half a year to recover,” Yan Ke replied.

“I was regressed, but what’s the big deal? I regress myself every day when I use the Demonic Seed,” Bo Yue said.

Li Qi also said: “I also used some methods to prevent myself from being regressed. I always felt it was very dangerous.”

“It’s a personal feeling. We’ll ask the Great Shaman later and see what he says, since it should be their doing,” Bo Yue responded while chewing on meat.

“Oh, by the way, that Liu Junyi, did you use the Demonic Seed on him?” Li Qi suddenly remembered another thing.

The activation of the Demonic Seed was instantaneous, and its conclusion was also instantaneous. Others would not feel anything special, and there would be no traces except for memories.

“I did, but it was ineffective. His Dao Heart was flawless. He didn’t detect the existence of the Demonic Seed, but he remained steadfast until the very end, and even after it ended, I couldn’t regress him,” Bo Yue said, his tone somewhat helpless.

“There are still such people? I’ve heard of your Demonic Seed; can someone be this strong?” Yan Ke was surprised.

“Heard of it again? How do you hear of everything? Please don’t do things that are unworthy of your face, okay? Always acting like a busybody,” Bo Yue said angrily.

Yan Ke smiled awkwardly and said no more.

Li Qi chuckled, then stopped speaking, merely committing Liu Junyi’s appearance to memory.

This should be the true Genius of Tang Nation.

All of this happened in their thoughts; in reality, the three of them sat in their respective seats, enjoying the delicious meal.

It was indeed a feast; this meal was extremely luxurious.

There were five types of staple foods alone: millet, broomcorn millet, rice, foxtail millet, and yellow millet.

Lips of ape, roasted badger.

Jade of swift, stewed fish.

Pledge of yak, sinew of True Dragon.

Numerous rare delicacies were laid out on the table.

Seasonings included pickled sauces, dried and roasted meats, mustard paste, real knotweed, ginger, pepper, salt, fermented black beans, malt syrup, honey, and so on.

It was much more impressive than the things Li Qi bought himself.

However… Li Qi didn’t quite understand.

Humanity seemed to have a particular fondness for enslaving or tormenting True Dragons.

Whether it was the Dragon carriage they rode in or the Dragon sinew they were eating, it was all the same.

Is it because of the war with the East Sea?

But even if they were fighting each other, why would they hate each other to this extent? Shaman God Mountain and Tang Nation also had conflicts, but they didn’t eat each other’s flesh.

Moreover, these things reminded Li Qi of something.

About… the young Dragon soul on the attacker after he was ambushed in Baiyue.

Is there a connection?

Let’s just make a note of it for now.

As he pondered these thoughts, the banquet time flew by.

After eating and drinking to their fill, various rituals proceeded normally until late at night, when the banquet dispersed.

Everyone left separately.

Li Qi and the other four also reunited with the Great Shaman and then followed him away.

They returned to their carriage.

Inside the carriage, the Great Shaman naturally opened his miniature heaven and earth, blocking all possible prying.

Then, without waiting for Li Qi and the others to ask, he nodded: “Gongzi Qi, Gongzi Ke, you two did well.”

Li Qi and Yan Ke exchanged glances, then both cupped their hands and asked in unison: “May we know what it is?”

“You two used methods to resist today’s Spatial-Temporal Flow regression. That’s good,” the Great Shaman found a place to sit down and said to the four of them.

Bo Yue’s expression immediately became solemn.

Was there something unusual about this Spatial-Temporal Flow regression?

“Don’t worry, it’s harmless to you, and even more so to Gongzi Yue,” the Great Shaman said casually, then reached out and grabbed something from Li Qi and Yan Ke’s bodies.

Li Qi and Yan Ke immediately felt something being extracted from their bodies!

While extracting, the Great Shaman explained: “This kind of Spatial-Temporal Flow regression should inherently be very dangerous, just like Gongzi Ke’s peculiar Spatial-Temporal Flow. If you don’t adapt and get caught in it, many extremely bizarre things will happen to you, and it’s easy to get into trouble. So, when encountering such things, you should try your best to avoid them or resist them as you did today.”

“However, this is after all a Divine Ability performed by the Qing of the Honglu Temple, so it’s within a controllable range and won’t cause you any harm. As for Gongzi Yue, he himself frequently regresses himself using his Dao Heart, so he already has resistance and won’t be affected.”

Li Qi was confused and interjected: “Then why do you say we did very well?”

“Maintaining vigilance is a very good quality, so I want to praise you.”

“Especially Gongzi Yue, even if your own Dao Heart is like this, if you encounter an unknown Spatial-Temporal Flow regression, you must take it seriously, otherwise you won’t even know how you died.”

“Moreover, this can prevent that fellow’s Divine Ability from being fully effective, leading to incomplete regression and leaving Karma clues, allowing me to trace back and understand the origin of his technique.”

“He had to show his hand, but he didn’t expect that even you, these eighth-rank Juniors, would have methods to resist, which caught him off guard and will allow me to gain the upper hand when I face him later,” the Great Shaman said with a smile.

The three immediately understood.

So, this was also part of the struggle between the big figures above?

Were they, the Juniors, also a means for the Great Shaman and that purple-robed Official to contend?

At this moment, the Great Shaman continued: “There’s one more thing, which can be considered a reward for you.”

As he spoke, his extraction ended, pulling out two… half-damaged Dao Hearts?

Then, he took out two Divine Talismans, introduced the two Dao Hearts into them separately, and then cast a spell to Seal and carve them.

One could see profound fluctuations faintly emanating from them.

Unknown, yet dizzying, characters left their marks on them, finally transforming into two brand new Talismanic Incantations.

He handed one of them to Li Qi: “Since it’s only a remnant of a Divine Ability, it can only be used once. However, after using it, you can regress yourself by about a quarter of an hour while retaining your memories. The effect is equivalent to that performed personally by the Qing of the Honglu Temple. I’ve set two trigger modes on it: one is active triggering by you, and the other is triggered when you are on the verge of death.”

“It’s a life-saving item, just right for the two of you,” the Great Shaman said, distributing the two completed Talismanic Incantations.

Li Qi got one, and Yan Ke got one.

“What about mine? What about mine?” Bo Yue raised his hand.

The Great Shaman ignored him.

Bo Yue awkwardly put his hand down, acting as if he hadn’t said anything.

But Li Qi held the Talismanic Incantation and examined it for a few moments, then asked: “Great Shaman, was Zhong Minglou regressed?”

As he spoke, Li Qi glanced at Zhong Minglou beside him.

He still had that charlatan smile and hadn’t said a single word all night.

The Great Shaman, however, spoke for him: “Don’t worry about him; he has his own methods.”

After saying that, the Great Shaman produced three iron tokens: “Oh, and besides Gongzi Qi, the three of you come over. I’ll give you the human terminal. Its introduction is already included, so take it and use it yourselves. Gongzi Qi should already have one, so I won’t bother with you.”

“Then, there are still more than twenty days until Imperial Academy starts. During this period, you can move freely. I have something to do and will be away from Chang’an. If you need anything during this time, contact me through the terminal. Anyway, it uses Dragon Vein power, so use it freely and don’t save it for them,” the Great Shaman said casually, handing out the terminals.

However, Li Qi, who was listening in the back, suddenly jolted.

Wait, Dragon Vein.

His previous thought patterns had prevented him from realizing anything special about the term Dragon Vein.

But now he had just eaten a Dragon sinew, seen the True Dragons pulling the carriage, and recalled the young Dragon soul he had encountered.

All of this was the doing of humanity.

Now, one of the foundations of humanity’s Dao is called the Dragon Vein?

Why isn’t it called the Human Vein?

Is there some deeper meaning?

Fortunately, a Great Shaman was standing right in front of him, so Li Qi waited for him to finish distributing the terminals, then immediately stepped forward and said: “Great Shaman, this Junior has a question.”

The Great Shaman had originally finished his instructions and was about to attend to his own matters, but seeing Li Qi step forward to ask, he paused and said to him: “Hmm? What’s the question? Speak.”

To the Great Shamanes of Shaman God Mountain, all Young Masters were their Juniors, so unless two Masters had a grudge, they generally wouldn’t be too distant.

“This Junior wishes to ask why one of the foundations of humanity’s Dao is called the Dragon Vein,” Li Qi asked with cupped hands.

The Great Shaman was stunned upon hearing this, then laughed heartily: “Haha! Good question, it seems you noticed. Very good, very good.”

However, after laughing, he shook his head: “But this matter cannot be explicitly stated. You are still too young, and knowing too much is not good. You only need to know that the name of such a thing will certainly not be wrong.”

Li Qi’s heart trembled upon receiving this answer, and he immediately nodded in affirmation.

Although he didn’t explain what was going on, it had already made Li Qi guess many things.

After saying this, the Great Shaman pondered for a moment, clearly deep in thought.

A few seconds later, he seemed to have made a decision and then said to Li Qi: “However, since you’ve thought to this extent… then in that case…”

“Tonight, don’t move freely with them. Come with me. I’ll take you to a place to broaden your horizons. I see that you are well-versed in classics, have almost memorized all kinds of strange tales and miscellaneous discussions, and your thinking is agile, skilled at summarizing intelligence and information. Letting you see more things should be helpful for your growth.”

“Yes.” Li Qi immediately bowed and agreed.

If the Great Shaman said it was helpful, then it must be helpful!

There was no need to consider anything else; Li Qi agreed without hesitation.

“Good, that’s all. Go do your own things. Li Qi will follow me shortly, and the others are free. Find your own lodging. As for money, you won’t be short, will you?” the Great Shaman asked.

In Li Qi’s opinion, it was unlikely that the others would be short of money, as they seemed quite readily agreeable.

Except for Zhong Minglou.

Zhong Minglou merely nodded slightly, not explicitly agreeing to anything.

To be honest, Li Qi was somewhat curious about this charlatan’s daily life. How did such a person handle their daily needs?

However, since he was going out with the Great Shaman tonight, he decided to put it aside for now and check it out later if he had the chance.

After a while, the Dragon carriage arrived at its destination.

After arranging some trivial matters, everyone bid farewell and prepared to find a place to stay in Chang’an, as Imperial Academy didn’t have dorms; students had to find their own lodging.

The four separated.

Only Li Qi followed the Great Shaman.

The Great Shaman waved his hand: “Let’s go, follow me. I’ll tell you the details on the way.”

“By the way, Gongzi Qi, Senior Yun Fang mentioned you to me, saying you are very much like his Disciple.”

Upon hearing that name, Li Qi immediately remembered who it was.

Senior Yun Fang, the person who came with Master to pick him up in Baiyue back then.