Chapter 293: Demon shouts

It was as if ants were crawling in Li Qi's Heart.

Although he knew nothing about the outside world, he had a sense of 'it's too late', 'am I going to stop here', 'will I not be able to obtain the second wisp of True Knowledge Dao Resonance', and other such miscellaneous thoughts.

These thoughts made him very irritable, wanting to smash things.

It was like a progress bar forever stuck at 99%, making one want to punch the screen in front of them.

However, all of a sudden, Li Qi seemed to realize something.

He no longer searched for the True Knowledge Dao Resonance, but instead sat down cross-legged directly on the ground.

Then, his Human Body Small Universe slowly opened, and many arcane arts unfolded simultaneously, and… they were Buddha-Dharma arcane arts!

Immediately, numerous strange phenomena appeared around Li Qi.

First, Bodhi Trees suddenly grew.

These Bodhi Trees began to emit a hundred-treasure light.

From the hundred-treasure light emerged a thousand-petal treasure lotus, and Li Qi sat upon it, seated within the treasure flower, with ten rays of hundred-treasure bright light emanating from his head.

There were also layers of precious canopies, with cranes, giant elephants, great lions, and fierce tigers as attendants, listening to the scriptures, and they also meekly descended the steps, as if they intended to listen.

Golden ropes opened the path to enlightenment, treasure rafts crossed the sea of delusion; wherever the Buddha-light reached, auspicious Qi surged, and brilliant light flickered, turning into wondrous * *, transforming with timely rain, and countless forms and appearances became empty.

All the Bhikkhu held various wonderful precious silks and colors, some with parasols, some with banners and pennants, some with pearls, and also gold, silver, conch shells, jade discs, coral, vaidurya, and so on.

Boundless treasures of vibrant color could be dyed, and from various fragrant flowers, precious ornaments, and clothes, various subtle and great Dharma sounds emerged by the hundreds and thousands.

If Chan Zhi the Bhikkhu were still alive, he would immediately realize that this was everything he had forced Li Qi to do in the past—those one hundred and eight methods for suppressing different Demonic Qi!

Unbeknownst to anyone, Li Qi had somehow combined these one hundred and eight arcane arts into the single arcane art he now wielded.

Furthermore, these arcane arts even faintly resembled Chan Zhi the Bhikkhu's 'three-inch buddha country', which was simulated through the hundred-zhang distance of the Dao Resonance between Universes.

Then, Li Qi opened his eyes, forming a mudra with his fingers, pressing his thumb against his middle and ring fingers, with his index and pinky fingers upright, and his thumb pressing down on the two bent fingers.

This was the Kīlaka Mudra, one of the Buddha-Dharma mudras.

It is also very common in daily life, often seen on wrathful Vajra statues, and is a mudra for subduing demons, destroying evil, and intimidating.

Li Qi had read many books, and this was the time for that knowledge to come into play.

Behind him, a Buddha statue suddenly rose, its skin crimson, displaying a wrathful countenance, filled with malevolence and Evil Qi, with a red face, fangs, and bulging, angry eyes, its left foot lifted, then its right foot placed on its left, in a posture resembling a floating dwelling.

Looking at its posture again, one hand held a knife, the other a bell, its face hideous, consumed by burning rage.

This Buddha statue suddenly opened its mouth and roared loudly, chanting a mantra:

“Subdue all great ghost commanders, all powerful ghost gods, cause all evil ghost gods to be utterly crushed—” The mighty Sanskrit sound, filled with rage and killing intent, echoed through the quiet world around him!

“Subdue, subdue, subdue, subdue, crush, crush, crush, crush, evil demons vanish instantly!”

“By imperial decree, all beings in Heaven and on Earth, eliminate all evils and gather inauspiciousness!”

At the same time, Li Qi opened his eyes and looked outside.

This was a demon-subduing mantra, used to resist Heart Demons.

It was as if he could hear the gurgling sound of water, like a flash flood erupting.

Around Li Qi, there was a barrier composed of countless chaotic cosmic light and shattered space, like an eggshell encasing a yolk, separating him from the outside world.

These chaotic cosmic light vortices were still, but they prevented that Sixth-Rank from approaching him directly.

Li Qi found it difficult to concentrate; his Heart was plagued by demonic thoughtss, and the True Knowledge Dao Resonance was constantly boiling, making the surrounding scenery, when viewed through the chaotic cosmic light, appear like leaves in a tornado, spinning and spinning and spinning, then gradually tearing apart, everything resembling fragments.

However, amidst the frenzy of surging Demonic Qi within his Heart, Li Qi relied on the Buddha-Dharma to suppress the Demonic Qi, maintaining his rationality and observing the outside world with a cold eye.

Through the gaps in the chaotic cosmic light, he saw a face.

Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor's face.

Behind him, Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor stood there without concealment, though his expression was somewhat surprised.

He hadn't expected that this Young Master would detect a wisp of Sixth-Rank Demonic Qi in less than a minute, and even possess the Buddha-Dharma method for suppressing demonic thoughtss!

He really wanted to directly kill him by crushing him.

But he couldn't.

If he were to act directly, it would become a murder, and with conclusive evidence, someone would surely find clues by following the traces on the corpse.

But the death of the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain had to be an 'accident'.

As long as it was an accident, Shaman God Mountain would have to endure it.

Therefore, he couldn't just rush over and twist off Li Qi's head, and he couldn't do it anyway; with Li Qi enveloped in chaotic cosmic light, he could only influence him indirectly.

In that case… let's have a magical duel.

You, an Eighth-Rank, want to duel with me, a Sixth-Rank? How ridiculous.

After Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor made up his mind, he suddenly stretched out his hand, manipulating the Heart Demon Demonic Qi to erupt within Li Qi's body!

Unconcealed resentment and poisonous Qi manifested around him as ink-black Qi.

An indescribable mist continuously spread and lingered, and the overflowing Demonic Qi corroded the surrounding world; all things seemed to sink and fall.

Since there was a demon-subduing mantra, and the Heart Demon Demonic Qi could not naturally penetrate Li Qi's Dao Heart, then he would use force!

He used the Heart Demon Demonic Qi as a medium, began to cast arcane arts, and started to contend with Li Qi across a layer of chaotic cosmic light.

As the Demonic Qi erupted, the three-inch buddha country around Li Qi, simulated with the Dao Resonance between Universes, directly collapsed!

Immediately, endless illusions appeared before his eyes.

The world was like a boundless sea of suffering, and sentient beings were sinking within it, without hope, without joy, unable to escape.

This was the Avīci Hell represented by the Heart Demon.

Those who fall into Avīci will review their lives over and over again, and the more regret they have, the more painful it will be, and it will become increasingly intense and painful over time, until they completely collapse.

Sinking into Avīci Hell, suffering without intermission, body without intermission, time without intermission, form without intermission, never to be reborn for eternity.

This was Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor's first move.

Li Qi sank into it.

The scenery before his eyes began to change.

Everything from his past immediately surged into his mind, every choice he had made in the past was vivid.

Li Qi was immersed in everything he had done, with only past scenes before his eyes, to the point of being muddled, and the Buddha-Dharma arcane arts were forced to stop.

He realized that he had fallen into an endless illusion, but he could not rely on brute force to escape, nor could he suppress the Demonic Qi through Buddha-Dharma arcane arts.

However, Li Qi immediately reacted.

He no longer tried to escape the illusion but began to earnestly examine the choices within the illusion.

Ancient texts say: “The conduct of a gentleman desires his Dao, thus in advancement, retreat, and maneuvering, he follows only the Dao.”

When a gentleman acts, he must follow his Dao, so whether advancing, retreating, or maneuvering, he follows only the Dao and never deviates.

What Avīci Hell seeks to examine is regret; it is to use these things as punishment, continuously inflicting them upon those who sink into it, making them suffer greatly.

However, Li Qi examined himself.

Li Qi had done many bad things, such as recently instigating civil war in the Holy Flame World, and previously killing people out of rage; he had not spared many people whose crimes were not punishable by death.

Therefore, these events were continuously replayed and repeated before him.

He closed his eyes, pondering the underlying causes of these events.

Was the civil war in the Holy Flame World his doing?

Strictly speaking, yes, and it was his original intention; he himself wanted it to be so.

He needed to earn money to help Shen Shuibi escape control, to help her family, Mount Luofu, out of their predicament; this was a necessary task, and he needed to take certain actions to achieve it.

Li Qi generally followed the Shaman Dao, demanding righteousness for himself and treating others with justice.

Righteousness refers to upholding oneself with integrity, not being biased towards oneself, treating others as one treats oneself, not being confined by private interests, and not constantly finding excuses for oneself.

Justice, on the other hand, refers to principles that are reasonable; the character for ‘justice’ comes from ‘sheep’s head’, which was used for sacrifices, representing rules that conform to the Heavenly Dao.

Righteousness is one word, and justice is another.

‘Zhengyi’ (justice/righteousness) is yet another word, unrelated to the previous two, meaning the most proper form of justice, similar to ‘great righteousness’.

So Li Qi's Dao was not ‘Zhengyi’, but rather upholding himself with righteousness and treating others with justice.

This has a strong connection to Shaman Dao, because a large part of Shaman Dao recognizes: “The Dao gives destiny, and things rectify themselves.”

What does this mean? It means:

The operation of this Universe, and more social order, are all natural.

People's positions are self-derived and naturally reasonable; what position does what, you can change your position, but you cannot change the fact of 'what position does what'.

This is called natural.

Just as stones fall to the ground, water forms a flat surface, massive objects naturally become spherical, and galaxies spontaneously rotate.

The Dao, as the ultimate guide, gives time to all things, and all things will naturally be in their 'correct' positions.

Just like now, this world was naturally incredibly chaotic at its birth, but after countless years of precipitation and refinement, everything in this world has already found its place.

All things are content in their own places, doing corresponding things according to their positions; wolves eat sheep, sheep eat grass, and the ecosystem naturally forms a perfect cycle; if it's not perfect, it will self-destruct and then be Rebirth in the future, eventually reaching completion.

Everything follows such rules, and this world will operate steadily without any deviation or change.

The natural that Shaman Dao pursues is this kind of thing, not the narrow 'natural' of flowers, plants, trees, birds, beasts, and fish.

Li Qi deeply pondered his position within 'natural'.

Was his pursuit of things from the Holy Flame World excessive? Was it plunder to the point of destruction? Was it destroying this perfect relationship?

Did he feel any regret about this?

He pondered repeatedly and finally came to a conclusion.

No.

He only took what was needed; although from the perspective of the Holy Flame World people, it was taking advantage of their plight, it did not violate the proper 'justice'.

This was like… a person needing to build a house, so he went into the mountains and cut down a tree.

He did not fell the entire forest or simply set the mountain on fire for his own selfish desires, but rather took what he needed and even decided to replant a tree.

Because in his subsequent plans, he had arrangements to help build the Holy Flame World; everything he did was to free the Holy Flame World from the domination of Lu Mountain God, but he also needed Sacred Flame, so he left Lu Mountain God's forces to maintain the vitality of the Holy Flame World, which at the same time had to provide him with Sacred Flame.

A vibrant, flourishing Holy Flame World with external enemy threats was the best choice for Li Qi, providing the most Sacred Flame.

There was a cause for the action, a return was provided, and there was no complete eradication; Li Qi felt he had not violated justice, and perhaps the Holy Flame World would have opinions, but that was irrelevant.

The Heavenly Dao is thus, saying that all things have their natural suitability, and no external force or action needs to be added.

The Holy Flame World's position was like this, just as sheep become food for predators.

It was just like what Li Qi did in the Earth Oil Realm in the past; he did not stop Great Deer Kingdom from preying in the Earth Oil Realm, because that was natural.

He merely told Great Deer Kingdom not to use evil human methods to strip bones and skin, and consume everything, but to leave some vitality so that the natural balance could be maintained.

He then reviewed his other actions.

Li Qi calmed his Heart and reflected on his past, bit by bit, within the Avīci Hell formed by Demonic Qi.

Thus, he forgot the other, became completely unified, equalized the noble and the humble, equated self and things, disregarded the physical body, abandoned life and death, sought the true master, illuminated with original clarity, and let his Heart wander in the infinite.

Soon, Avīci Hell was forced to interrupt.

Because Avīci Hell was no longer effective, and was even helping Li Qi confirm his Dao Heart, examine his actions, and correct his attitude, over and over again.

Li Qi also saw some things he had done wrong, such as beating the Lu Mountain God, and indiscriminately killing Jianghu people in Guangyang; these were indeed wrong, but they were not enough to make Li Qi 'regret'.

One could only say that there were better ways to handle them at the time, but Li Qi didn't seize the opportunity.

Seeing his arcane art become something that tempered Li Qi's Dao Heart, Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor unhesitatingly withdrew Avīci Hell, and then immediately changed his method again!

This time, the method was even more targeted!

Heart Demons are best at attacking a person's Dao Heart.

This time, what appeared before Li Qi's eyes was not an illusion, but another Li Qi.

Li Qi's expression tightened, knowing that this was a manifestation of demonic thoughts.

This demonic thoughts spoke, solemnly saying to Li Qi: “The Heart of Heaven is the Heart of man, the Heavenly Dao is the Dao of man, the principle of Heaven is the principle of man; the Dao is not empty talk, the Dao values practical results, how about it?”

This was Li Qi, who cultivated the Dao of man!

He was trying to preach to Li Qi, questioning Li Qi's Dao Heart.

If Li Qi recognized the Dao of man, then the Dao Heart Li Qi had just stabilized would have to be re-examined.

Because practices that conform to Shaman Dao may not necessarily conform to the Dao of man.

This wisp of demonic thoughts wanted to provoke a conflict between the Dao of man and Shaman Dao within Li Qi, thereby causing Li Qi's Dao Heart to fight against itself.

This was not something that could be denied by simply being stubborn; as soon as a slight conflict arose, it would immediately manifest in the Human Body Small Universe.

Because the Human Body Small Universe itself operates based on Li Qi's Dao.

Li Qi took a deep breath.

He could not completely refute the Dao of man.

Because when refining Guangyang, he adopted a part of the Dao of man, which also led to a change in his attitude towards the Holy Flame World.

When taking measures against the Holy Flame World, his approach was actually biased towards the Dao of man.

Shaman Dao could explain Li Qi's actions in the Holy Flame World, but did Li Qi truly completely follow Shaman Dao?

One must know, Li Qi used both Shaman Dao and the Dao of man simultaneously to construct his Human Body Small Universe!

The Heart Demon seized this weakness in his Dao Heart, directly using the conflict between the Dao of man and Shaman Dao to challenge him!

Li Qi's Human Body Small Universe began to become chaotic due to the Dao conflict!

This was what Shen Shuibi had mentioned, the drawback of an Eighth-Rank attempting to accommodate multiple Daos, which was now being exploited by the Heart Demon!