Chapter 294: Struggle within body

The struggle against Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor was far more difficult than Li Qi had imagined.

He understood Li Qi very well, even more than Li Qi himself realized.

If the opponent could exert his full power, Li Qi probably wouldn't last a second.

Li Qi's current achievements were only possible because the opponent found it difficult to exert additional influence through the chaotic cosmic light.

In fact, Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor hadn't even tried to use other methods.

The opponent was constrained, and this confrontation was not a fair battle at all.

As the initiator of this struggle, Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor not only suffered a severe backlash from the chaotic cosmic light before making a move, which reduced his cultivation by half.

Moreover, when he actively manipulated the Demonic Qi, he had to overcome the influence of the chaotic cosmic light and suppress the backlash from the eggshell-like layer around Li Qi, resulting in half the effort for twice the work; out of a hundred points of power, at most five could be effective, with the rest wasted on the journey and resisting the backlash.

Li Qi felt that the opponent must have other tricks, but he didn't know why he insisted on using Demonic Qi to fight.

This was like two armies fighting: one side had to trek through mountains and rivers, cross vast oceans, send out a hundred people, and ninety-five would die on the way; bring a hundred catties of provisions, and ninety-five catties would be consumed on the way.

However, the other side, himself, was waiting at ease, exerting all his power to Perfection, with an overwhelmingly huge advantage.

Normally, no one would choose such a brute-force head-on confrontation; even if they did, it would only be asking for trouble.

But Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor did exactly that, because he was strong enough, strong enough that even half a percent of his power was sufficient to crush Li Qi.

A sixth-rank, even when constrained and only using half a percent of his power to manipulate Demonic Qi against him, was not to be trifled with.

For example, now.

What he did in the Holy Flame World, if viewed from the perspective of Shaman Dao, was partially in violation of Shaman Dao's tenets.

Therefore, the opponent used Demonic Qi to manifest a Human Race Li Qi, questioning Li Qi whether he identified with the Human Race.

There was no need to say 'yes' or 'no' verbally; that wasn't important.

People can deceive others, but they cannot deceive themselves.

As long as Li Qi's Dao Heart was shaken by this questioning, the 'Dao' he used to bind the countless strands of Qi within him would fall into conflict.

His inner Human Body Minor Universe would fall into a struggle between Human Race and Shaman Dao.

Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor understood his Dao path too well; Li Qi's foundation was seen clearly by him, so he went straight to the root, intending to make Li Qi fall into a Dao struggle with a single question from the Demonic Qi.

Human, or Shaman?

Or… there was an even simpler method.

Fall into the Demonic Dao.

Once he entered the Demonic Dao, these disputes would no longer have any effect on him.

The Demonic Dao follows one's desires and doesn't need to care about these tenets at all.

This was also the most common reason for falling into the Demonic Dao: one falls into a conflict of Dao, and finally gives up completely, choosing the Demonic Dao, which resolves all disputes.

This was also Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor's goal!

After Li Qi fell into the Demonic Dao, his intervention would become natural.

Perilous!

To have one's foundation seen through was to be so passive!

Li Qi, once again, fell into deep thought after that question.

His current Dao path was primarily Shaman Dao, combined with some methods of the Human Race, which he used to refine Guangyang, making it the foundation of his cultivation.

Cultivation was the Qi accumulated in the Human Body Minor Universe, and Dao was the ultimate rule that supported the operation of this Qi.

If the Dao was chaotic, the Qi would also become chaotic, and cultivation would conflict on its own, with unimaginable consequences.

If no solution could be found, the most straightforward method was to fall into the Demonic Dao and use the Demonic Dao to control this Qi.

But using the Demonic Dao was not as simple as just saying it; it meant you recognized the values of the Demonic Dao, because values themselves are also a manifestation of Dao; if you don't recognize the Demonic Dao, you can't use it even if you want to.

Dao is not a method.

Technique is a method; Dao is the rule you recognize and practice from within, not something that can be changed just by saying so.

That's why it was troublesome.

After being questioned, Li Qi fell silent.

Human? Shaman?

From the perspective of the Human Race, plundering these extraterrestrial worlds was simply natural; if humans needed wood for cooking, did they need to ask permission to chop firewood? No one would think this was wrong.

If there were no resources, they would take them; mineral veins growing underground were meant to be used; forests growing out were either cut down for firewood or kept to block wind and sand; rivers must be used for hydraulic engineering; animals and plants, of course, if useful, were raised, if not, ignored, and if harmful, eliminated.

Everything was prioritized with 'human' as the highest; if protection was mentioned, it must be because protection was more beneficial to humans, essentially to maintain human interests, even for natural things.

It was certainly right for rivers to flow naturally, but what was the problem with building hydraulic projects on them? You say it's not natural? Nature must also change for humans!

But from the perspective of the Shaman Dao, one should only take what is needed; humans, and all other beings, are part of nature.

As mentioned before, this nature is not about flowers and trees, but about all positions of all things in the world, the place where all things in this Universe should be.

The stability of the entire environment must be maintained; all things in the world have their own positions; you can change your own position, but you cannot destroy a certain position, because that would cause the long-stable world to change again.

This world was initially a mess, and only 'Dao' was unchanging; after such a long time, all things in the world, guided by 'Dao,' had already harmonized to a state of Perfection, just like building blocks that had already been assembled.

You can replace parts, but there's no need to overturn the entire structure, because that would only lead to chaos again.

The Shamanes maintained the stability of the entire world, and what they pursued was perfect eternal existence.

Heaven, Earth, Human, God, and Ghost each performed their duties, each in their place; Dao as destiny, all things rectify themselves.

A person or other life can change their own state, elevate themselves to another position, but the position itself cannot change; this structure itself is perfect, and any modification to it is destruction.

This represented two completely different sets of values, and Li Qi's actions in the Holy Flame World were a leap between them.

Just like his current Dao path.

How to reconcile?

Li Qi fell into deep thought, and spoke the answer he had come up with when he refined Guangyang:

"The Dao of Heaven, by which all things are born: in spring and summer, they grow; in autumn and winter, they decay; in strength, they are mighty; in old age, they weaken; they contend in power, vying for supremacy; different in Qi yet same in merit, all by which Heaven completes the year."

"The Dao of Man, by which all things are governed: in spring, they plow; in summer, they cultivate; in autumn, they harvest; in winter, they store; they cut wood and pierce mountains, smelt metals, establish rituals and laws, distinguish between elders and youngsters; different in affairs yet same in merit, all by which Man forms himself."

"What Heaven can do, Man cannot; what Man can do, Heaven also has its limits."

Li Qi said so.

Upon hearing this, Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor's expression changed.

Li Qi was trying to explain the Dao of Heaven and the Dao of Man, and then attempting to find his own place within them!

He was only eighth-rank! How dare he?

If he made a mistake, his cultivation would instantly collapse, and the Dao struggle would directly enter an irreversible stage!

However, though unexpected, Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor quickly calmed down.

This actually aligned with Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor's plan; if Li Qi's actions failed, then the Demonic Dao was almost his only retreat.

He also understood what Li Qi said.

Li Qi's meaning was simple:

The Dao of Heaven, which is natural law, lies in choice; it is realized through the transformation of strength and weakness or the competition of the strong preying on the weak, through natural selection, everything will naturally tend towards Perfection.

Trees can become extinct, but without trees, there will certainly be other producers; what is important is the 'Dao' behind it, not the trees themselves, those are just superficial manifestations.

Heavenly Dao had long arranged perfect positions through natural laws, all positions had been laid out, it just depended on who could sit in their rightful place.

As for who could sit, that was naturally chosen through the competition of the strong preying on the weak.

And the Dao of Man lies in the legal system; it establishes tenets through rituals and laws, where ritual is the upper limit of morality and law is the lower limit of morality, not through natural selection, but through human selection, achieving the desired Perfection through human arrangement.

Heaven's arrangement is Heaven's Perfection, which is fair to all things in the world.

Man's arrangement is Man's Perfection; Man does not want to be fair to other things.

This was Li Qi's meaning just now.

If Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor were to evaluate it, he would say Li Qi was talking absolute nonsense, speaking utterly rebellious words!

However, it wasn't for him to judge.

Li Qi said this to the Heart Demon.

Essentially, Li Qi had to overcome his own doubts.

Li Qi had to prove he was right; he had to convince himself, otherwise, it would be a Heart Demon devouring his body, his Dao Heart collapsing, and his Human Body Minor Universe falling into a Dao struggle.

So, after the initial shock, Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor immediately calmed down.

Since Li Qi had begun attempting to resolve the Demonic Qi, he couldn't just stand by.

Then, he controlled the Demonic Qi and unleashed his next move on Li Qi.

Li Qi was drenched in sweat, yet he was completely unaware.

His brain was working at high speed, constantly pondering his 'Dao,' a 'Dao' that could not be eroded by the words of the demonic thoughts.

However, before he could find an answer, he saw the Demonic Qi within the chaotic cosmic light rotate again, transforming into a second Li Qi.

This Demonic Li Qi began to expound on Dao and question again:

"If the legal system is complete, what is public is right, what is not is wrong, those who follow the Dao will be rewarded, those who violate it will be punished, rewards and punishments are clear, and people know the causes of fortune and misfortune, then they will not thank Heaven, nor resent Heaven; the Heavenly Dao will be a passerby, only having the effect of natural law."

"If the legal system is partially damaged, rewards are not perfect, and punishments are not perfectly evil, people are prone to doubt the relationship between Heavenly Dao and Human Dao."

"If the legal system is completely destroyed, right and wrong are inverted, the treacherous are rewarded, while the upright are punished, righteousness cannot control their tyranny, and punishment cannot deter evil; people lose self-confidence and can only entrust their lives to Heaven."

"Is that so?"

This question immediately left Li Qi dumbfounded; the thoughts he had previously tried to clarify were completely scattered by this single question.

This was not questioning Li Qi, but simply posing a question.

Since Li Qi had proposed the positions of man and Heaven, then, at this moment, the Heart Demon asked: Is this current position of man and Heaven correct? This is the position of man and Heaven as you understand it, right?

The Heart Demon seemed to know Li Qi's Dao and directly presented its viewpoint in a targeted manner.

In reality, this was exactly what Li Qi thought.

When he distinguished between the positions of man and Heaven, he held this view and used this understanding to balance the differences between Human Race and Shaman Dao.

The Shamanes considered themselves Balancers between Heaven, Earth, Human, God, and Ghost, but humans scoffed at this view.

However, before Li Qi could continue pondering, the Heart Demon began to speak eloquently, expounding on Dao once more!

"To be trusted without speaking, that is the Dao of Heaven; Shang Shamansan, Zhou Shi Yi, all those who impart it, are their fathers, and those who receive it, are their sons; they always use their fathers to command their sons, for human nature is human; the human heart is power. Establish the Dao of Heaven to settle man."

"Its division of the principles of Heaven and the power of Heaven are all for human use; therefore, sincerity is the Dao of Heaven; to seek sincerity is the Dao of Man!"

"The inherent principle of Heaven, the natural course of human affairs, a harmonious Heavenly principle, true and unwavering, without needing thought or effort, yet spontaneously hitting the mean, that too is the Dao of Heaven—"

The Li Qi transformed by the Heart Demon spoke endlessly, one sentence after another, but the main arguments he expounded were two.

He was supplementing the content of the relationship between Heaven and Man that came before, and it was very detailed.

Though referred to as a Heart Demon, it was actually Imperial Academy Vice-Chancellor expounding on Dao.

He categorized the relationship between Human Race and Heaven into 'Principle' and 'Power'.

"Principle" refers to the laws of development of things, and "Power" is the objective trend of development of things.

Both are inherent properties of objective things; things "must have numbers contained within them," and "Principle" exists, giving rise to "Power."

All changes in myriad things and affairs cannot be separated from "Principle" and "Power."

The measurable rotation periods of the changes in the heavens, earth, and stars, and the measurable lengths of day and night, are all due to the existence of "Principle."

Heaven is high and does not collapse, it operates ceaselessly, because it has its own trend, and this is the 'Power of Heavenly Principle's operation'.

Then, he further divided the understanding of things into "Principle Enlightenment" and "Principle Obscurity."

"Principle Enlightenment" means that when people understand and grasp objective laws, they can conquer nature and not attribute everything to the Heavenly Dao.

"Principle Obscurity" means that people do not understand objective laws, do not trust themselves, attribute everything to the dominion of "Heaven," and believe in fate.

Shaman Dao, then, was Principle Obscurity.

The Human Race, naturally, was Principle Enlightenment.

In practice, this was manifested in the laws and rituals of the Human Race; this was the convergence and manifestation of the Human Race's Dao: laws could restrain human arrogance, and rituals could resist human cowardice.

Laws made violent people disciplined, and rituals allowed timid people to become brave; not everyone could understand the original meaning of 'Dao,' so these two things were used to regulate all people, and thus the Human Race's Dao could spread throughout the world.

Therefore, the Dao of Reason was willing to follow the Human Race's Dao, because the Human Race's Dao could help the Dao of Reason explore the Heavenly Dao, rather than merely making the Dao of Reason submit to the Heavenly Dao.

Under Shaman Dao, the Dao of Reason could only be a follower of the Heavenly Dao, not an explorer.

The ancient Human Race split into Shaman Dao and the Human Race's Dao for this very reason.

The more Li Qi listened to the Heart Demon's exposition, the more he broke out in cold sweat.

Because he could not refute these words; these theories were all things he recognized, and he could not go against his Dao Heart to say they were wrong.

Even more so! These principles he recognized had already been implemented by him in the Holy Flame World.

However, these things were contrary to his Dao foundation!

His Dao foundation was the Shaman Dao he had been learning all along, but he also could not refute the Human Race's methods that had been incorporated.

Li Qi's Human Body Minor Universe thus began to become chaotic!