Chapter 292: Secondary demon

We must quickly call the Officials to handle this!

They rapidly reported it upwards, then frantically began constructing defenses.

Danger!

Too dangerous!

A Third Grade bomb was actually hidden in the city center of Chang'an!

If it exploded, the consequences would be unimaginable!

— — — — — — — —

However, at this moment, Li Qi was completely unaware of everything happening outside.

He was enjoying himself.

Yes, enjoying.

He could feel the three lives ancient mirror constantly moving forward, constantly moving forward, for an unknown duration.

Even the cosmic light became chaotic, and space began to fracture, breaking into pieces.

At first, he could still feel starlight, but now there was no starlight at all, as if he had already ventured to the edge of the Universe.

But…

He felt an increasing sense of satisfaction.

It was like… a hungry person smelling a delicious aroma, then getting closer and closer, as if about to taste it.

More and more satisfied, more and more enjoying, just waiting for that moment it entered his mouth for ultimate pleasure.

However, Li Qi did not notice that the energy carrying him forward was gradually failing.

Too far.

Too far.

So far that the three lives ancient mirror, even absorbing more than ten times its usual energy, couldn't reach it.

The three lives ancient mirror had no intelligence; it only knew to operate according to its original logic once activated, like a computer that wouldn't give up even if it had to run Crisis on max settings with integrated graphics.

Even if memory overflowed, even if video memory exploded, even if the machine directly caught fire, it would forcefully execute the activation command.

This led to the current situation.

The three lives ancient mirror was supposed to trace Li Qi's past and present lives, but contrary to everyone's expectations, this Third Grade Spiritual Artifact failed to do so even when overloaded.

As it went further and further, Li Qi could also feel that he was getting closer and closer to the 'delicious' scent he detected.

Time continued to pass, and Li Qi became increasingly anxious; he even began to accelerate voluntarily.

Because he felt what was stirring.

True Knowledge Dao Resonance!

He felt it, the aura of another wisp of True Knowledge Dao Resonance!

Dao Resonance is the remnant of a complete 'Dao'; when a Great Dao is shattered, a piece of the puzzle fragment is Dao Resonance.

In the world, there are many Dao; some are naturally born in other worlds, some are condensed by cultivators themselves, and the highest Rank is the Great Dao, something that all things in the world must follow.

These 'Dao', as a form of rule, are not eternal.

In the infinite worlds outside the domain, the rules of each world, which are 'Dao', are not entirely the same, and when many worlds are destroyed, these remaining fragments are the greatest source of Dao Resonance.

Dao Resonance has various wonderful uses, but essentially, these rules are at play, capable of temporarily modifying surrounding rules, replacing currently effective rules with themselves, thereby producing other effects.

Therefore, every Dao Resonance is unique; theoretically, if you can collect all Dao Resonance, you will possess a complete Dao.

However, although a complete Dao is precious, it is not particularly rare; Li Qi knew that sometimes, Great Powers would directly crush a world and extract all the Dao within it.

Piecing together Dao Resonance is too troublesome; it's better to directly forcefully shatter a world and refine a complete Dao.

However, Li Qi was very clear about one thing.

True Knowledge Dao Resonance, even for the Great Shamanes, had a rather peculiar nature; although its intensity was not high, it indeed had its unique qualities.

Zhu Fengdan's evaluation of True Knowledge was: 'The Dao Resonance you obtained by Transmigration through the Major Thousand Worlds.'

Li Qi only now knew how far this 'Transmigration' actually was.

Anyway, twenty minutes had passed, and it still hadn't been traced.

But it was getting closer and closer, so much so that Li Qi even discovered the second wisp of True Knowledge, which was the second remnant after that Great Dao shattered!

This was also the source of his 'enjoyment' feeling.

The True Knowledge Dao Resonance boiled, and Li Qi also boiled with excitement.

He hadn't expected that just one exam would allow him to gain a second wisp of True Knowledge!

It was just a bit strange.

Logically speaking, Dao Resonance, once shattered, would not have aggregation properties, meaning they wouldn't merge even if they touched, much less attract each other to such a boiling state.

But True Knowledge Dao Resonance just did.

But it didn't matter; he'd get it first.

Only Li Qi himself knew the help True Knowledge Dao Resonance provided him.

Whether it was memorizing books, studying, fighting enemies, or even just strolling around, True Knowledge had played countless roles, becoming his sixth sense besides his five senses.

He secretly rejoiced in his heart, ready, waiting to continue tracing back.

However, while Li Qi was secretly rejoicing, the people outside were going crazy.

It's ruined!

The three lives ancient mirror had already absorbed more than twenty-five times the energy of a Third Grade Spiritual Artifact's activation!

The power outage had already expanded to a radius of three hundred twelve li!

The two department heads were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, sweating profusely, and stomping their feet in panic.

They couldn't handle it alone anymore; although they had reported it to the court long ago, they still couldn't stop their panic.

Why haven't the Officials arrived yet!

This kind of matter required the personal intervention of the Crimson and Purple Officials, and even one or two might not be enough.

Now, a bomb with twenty-five times the energy of a Third Grade was in Chang'an!

If this thing exploded, even in a world as stable as this, the destructive range would not be small.

Preliminary estimates suggested that one-tenth of Chang'an could be razed to the ground!

This matter had escalated!

And the Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor, the instigator, was already dumbfounded.

He slumped to the ground, his heart filled only with despair.

He had never imagined the current situation.

Just activating the three lives ancient mirror had caused such a thing!

Moreover, countless chaotic cosmic light enveloped the surroundings, preventing him from leaving; he could only wait for death inside with Li Qi.

When the three lives ancient mirror could no longer sustain itself and exploded, both of them would probably die without a burial place.

They couldn't even be saved; devoured by chaotic cosmic light, even the Officials would likely find it hard to save them, because even tracing back wouldn't be able to revive them.

Chaotic cosmic light would erase all traceable clues; even if traced back, it would only trace back some chaotic fragments, and whether a person could be pieced together would depend on luck.

Moreover, with such a big commotion here, the Heavenly Supervision Bureau would probably personally inquire, and by then, all the behind-the-scenes incidents would likely be exposed.

However, the Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor was a Sixth Grade, after all; he was not a fool, his plans were meticulous, and his mind was quite firm.

After an hour of panic, he sorted out all the matters in his mind.

He gritted his teeth and stood up.

He had thought it through; the matter had escalated to this point, and although he didn't know the reason behind it, the investigation would surely reveal everything in the end.

However, this kind of matter would definitely not be exposed to Shaman God Mountain; it would only be stated as an accident, and although he himself would die, the information would only be internally sealed, never leaked.

In other words, no matter how the situation developed, the court would not yield to Shaman God Mountain on this matter; in the official statement, he and this Young Master would both die in an accident.

The court was extremely strict in governing Officials, but it would not implicate families; his family was safe.

So, since things had come to this, how could he sit idly by and wait for death?

The person who assigned him this task was from the Nanshan faction of the court, whose origin was Nanshan Academy; high-ranking Officials who passed the imperial examinations from this academy, though not forming factions, would still form political forces based on their origins.

Being from this academy basically meant acknowledging the academy's philosophy, and forming a faction was also natural.

Even within Tang Nation, there were ideological disputes; in the past, there were a hundred schools of thought contending, and now there were various factions in the court.

Among those killed by Zhu Fengdan was a Protector of the Army, an official of the Third Grade.

There was also a Left Vice-Minister of the Board of Rites, also of the Third Grade.

This Left Vice-Minister of the Board of Rites was an Official from the Nanshan faction; they harbored extreme disgust for Shaman God Mountain or the Eastern Sea barbarians and were the absolute main combatants in the court.

Last time, when the Director of the Secretariat personally wrote a letter, Shaman God Mountain did not back down but directly acted to kill people, which had already filled Nanshan Academy with suppressed anger.

Therefore, he and the Tai Xue Siye discussed and carried out this action targeting the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain.

The Tai Xue Siye was a fellow Daoist from Nanshan Academy; although he did not graduate from the academy, he had received the Siye's favor and also recognized the Nanshan faction's philosophy, so he took on this matter.

The purpose was to make Shaman God Mountain lose a Genius and also to give Zhu Fengdan a warning.

This kind of thing could be done, but not spoken of.

Now that it had caused such a big stir, it was equivalent to telling the court the whole story; at this point, death was inevitable.

It might as well be made even bigger, and he would take all the blame, allowing Lord Siye to escape, in return for his past guidance in his studies.

The Tai Xue Siye had been like a half-teacher to him; he owed his current position entirely to him, and today was the time to repay that kindness!

Having sorted out the cause and effect in his mind, he took a deep breath, preparing to act according to the original plan while Li Qi's entire mind was occupied by the three lives ancient mirror, and then take all the blame.

But he couldn't directly kill him; if he did, it would be investigated.

However, he was a Sixth Grade; he had a thousand ways to kill an Eighth Grade without directly acting.

Demonic Qi of the Heavenly Demon brewed in his hand!

His Sixth Grade cultivation was fully unleashed, and he began to control the Demonic Qi of the Heavenly Demon.

Indeed, the three lives ancient mirror hadn't revealed Li Qi's weakness yet, but it didn't matter; did he need a weakness to deal with an Eighth Grade?

He wanted to personally control the Demonic Qi of the Heavenly Demon, to make Li Qi 'die during the assessment,' giving the court an 'answer.'

With this answer, the court could use it to negotiate with Shaman God Mountain internally, ultimately pushing all responsibility onto him, the examiner; this Genius Young Master of Shaman God Mountain must die.

Even if they traced further back, they would only trace to the Heavenly Demon of Enjoying Others’ Emanations!

Because the true perpetrator was the Nascent Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon of Enjoying Others’ Emanations was a First Grade in this era, the Demonic Dao ancestor who dared to obstruct the Great Sun Tathagata's enlightenment in the past.

Would Shaman God Mountain really dare to involve a First Grade for this matter?

Even for the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, it was impossible! There would be no way to investigate.

The Heavenly Demon of Enjoying Others’ Emanations was like an abyss, from which various Heavenly Demons constantly emerged.

These Heavenly Demons were Nascent Heavenly Demons, and it was impossible to trace a Nascent Heavenly Demon.

The lowest unranked Nascent Heavenly Demons were as infinite as the ocean, easily producing countless numbers.

The highest could reach Fourth Grade; these Nascent Heavenly Demons were like Clones of the Heavenly Demon of Enjoying Others’ Emanations, sharing thoughts and often collaborating, so who would you look for?

The one in his hand was a Sixth Grade, neither high nor low, but it was quite a precious item for him; Nascent Heavenly Demons were extremely difficult to capture, as they were formless and intangible, lurking within the Dao Heart, dormant during normal times, and appearing when the host's emotions fluctuated greatly, subtly influencing the host as demonic thoughts.

When a Heavenly Demon parasitizes the Dao Heart, when a person's emotions fluctuate violently, many 'unresolvable' thoughts arise, such as killing, suicide, or 'just this once, never again'; these are demonic thoughts.

Many people mistakenly believe these are 'their own thoughts,' but in reality, these are all demonic thoughts transformed by the Heavenly Demon.

Even if you suppress it once, suppress it twice, you will definitely become more and more extreme.

Because some thoughts, once they appear, a person cannot erase them.

Ultimately, the Heavenly Demon will deceive you away from your own Dao, make you do things that violate your nature and go against your Dao Heart, eventually leading to complete loss of Dao and falling into the Demonic Dao.

This was the Heavenly Demon's method.

Now it was to be used on Li Qi!

A wisp of Demonic Qi emerged from the Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor's hand.

Immediately after, the surrounding air seemed to dance.

The blood vessels on the Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor's arm seemed to slowly蠕动.

This Demonic Qi seemed to emit a strange fluctuation, subtly mysterious, even producing a 'illusory' feeling.

It was as if it shouldn't exist in this world, merely a phantom.

These black Demonic Qi slowly pulsed, like… a heartbeat.

As if blood vessels contracted and expanded with each beat of the heart.

Then, the Demonic Qi wrapped around Li Qi.

At this moment, Li Qi was completely immersed in the three lives ancient mirror, unable to react to the outside world, only allowing the Demonic Qi to approach.

Then, the Demonic Qi suddenly expanded! It transformed into more than a dozen ropes, like more than a dozen pythons, firmly coiling around Li Qi!

Li Qi, in his inner world, suddenly heard a sound.

"Dong!"

"Dong!"

"Dong! Dong dong!"

One after another, knocking sounds echoed in the silent world of consciousness, jolting him awake from the pleasure of almost touching the True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

He seemed to feel something… something wandering in his head.

The air seemed to solidify at this moment; Li Qi immediately came to his senses, fully concentrated, trying to suppress his wildly beating heart, holding his breath, and listening intently to the strange movement.

But the source of the sound seemed to know it was being spied on, and it didn't sound again for a long while.

Li Qi focused on finding the source of the sound.

"What is it?" He frowned, a feeling of annoyance rising in his heart.

He was still sensing another wisp of True Knowledge, and being suddenly interrupted made him feel incredibly irritable, somewhat wanting to hit someone.

However, Li Qi was still very cultivated; perhaps it was an accident, and he quickly suppressed the irritation in his heart, continuing to immerse himself in the work of searching for True Knowledge.

The three lives ancient mirror still carried his perception, traversing through the gaps of time and space, getting closer and closer to the other wisp of True Knowledge.

He could feel it, getting closer and closer.

However, Li Qi felt another surge of anxiety and irritability.

Why isn't it here yet!

Why isn't it here yet?

"Wait… don't rush, it's coming, it's coming." Li Qi took a deep breath, and immediately felt he was too anxious.

Suppressing his impatient mood, looking at the boiling state of the True Knowledge Dao Resonance, it would be there in two or three minutes at most.

However, even as he told himself not to rush, he felt as if ants were crawling in his heart.