Chapter 345: Li Qi preached

Li Qi was a bit confused; where did this sudden blood debt come from?

However, it was only a very slight amount. According to the premonition, he was merely an accomplice?

This Karma had no impact on Li Qi whatsoever; it was one of those negligible things.

It was probably like being blown by the wind while walking, completely ineffective.

But, negligible or not, where did it come from?

Li Qi was puzzled.

However, his confusion didn't last too long.

Because a bump suddenly rose from the ground, and Hua Xiu Mountain God suddenly emerged from it.

He was still in the form of that comical old man, rushing out with a grin and shouting to Li Qi, "Invoker! Invoker, we've found news!"

Li Qi stood up: "Hmm? Found it? Where is he?"

Hua Xiu Mountain God quickly said, "Your mount..."

"Friend," Li Qi emphasized again.

Hua Xiu Mountain God nodded quickly, but he didn't pay much attention to this point, only saying, "Oh, yes, yes, your friend is currently near the East Ridge Mountains. That's where a Wu Yu resides. The news we've gathered is that he traveled day and night to get there and has now stopped."

"So that's how it is. Thank you, Mountain God. What are the coordinates? Can you give me a direct marker so I can go there directly?" Li Qi asked.

Hua Xiu Mountain God nodded again like a pecking chick, then presented a piece of leather imbued with Book Qi, saying, "That is natural, we have already prepared it. However, Invoker, there is one thing..."

"What is it?" Li Qi took the leather, casually asking while looking at the information on it.

Hua Xiu Mountain God quickly said, "It's like this: the main credit for finding your friend this time goes to several Shaman. They seem to want to participate in the Shaman God Mountain outer sect assessment, so they were very dedicated to this search. This time, they also used a secret method to find the clue."

"They don't dare to hope to see Invoker, they just want to ask Invoker for a few pointers. This way, if they manage to enter Shaman God Mountain in the future, they might even have the Opportunity to serve under Invoker!"

"Oh, I see," Li Qi nodded, indicating that he understood.

There were a few Shaman who had helped find Old Ma this time, and they had done most of the work. They were now preparing for the Shaman God Mountain outer sect examination, so they hoped for a few pointers from him?

This was also human nature, to mentor Juniors.

Although Li Qi felt that these Shaman were likely older than him, after all, he was a Genius and had only cultivated for four years.

But learning knows no precedence, the accomplished are teachers. From the perspective of cultivation, he was undoubtedly a Senior.

"In that case, I will meet them. Let your other assisting Mountain Gods or whatever else also come. I will give a lecture for you."

"You said you'd reply to me in four hours just now. It's only been a little over two hours, so I will lecture for you until the four hours are up."

Hearing this, Hua Xiu Mountain God was stunned for a moment.

Then, he reacted.

The Mountain God immediately couldn't help but be overjoyed, bowing repeatedly, his head thudding against the ground: "Thank you, Invoker! Thank you, Invoker! Where will you lecture? Here? I'll go call them right away!"

Li Qi shook his head: "If it's here, how difficult would it be for you all to run? Many slow-footed ones might only have half an hour left to listen by the time they arrive. You should have a gathering place; let's go there. Lead the way."

Hua Xiu Mountain God hurried forward to lead the way, accelerating towards the Centipede Mountain they had previously visited.

He never expected that this Invoker would be so easy to talk to. He had only helped him with a small favor, yet he was actually willing to condescend to lecture for them!

Although it was less than two hours, this was a rare and precious Opportunity for everyone!

Especially for those few Shaman, if they could truly learn something, then the assessment would likely become a sure thing for them.

As for the other Mountain Gods, they would certainly gain immense benefits, at least making their Dao path much smoother in the future.

This was what Opportunity was.

Being able to encounter a powerful person lecturing was a rare and precious thing for most cultivators.

Under the guidance of Hua Xiu Mountain God, Li Qi quickly arrived at the Centipede Mountain.

Hua Xiu Mountain God was very fast, but Li Qi was already a Seventh Grade, easily keeping up as if taking a leisurely stroll.

The surroundings were thick with miasma, and poisonous insects bred there, making the atmosphere dismal. It was a very typical hot and humid place.

Li Qi looked around the mountain. There were many plants and trees, which should be economic crops actively planted by the local Mountain God to earn money and food.

To be honest, it was quite down-to-earth.

The Mountain God and the people worked together, planting economic crops. Then the Mountain God was responsible for favorable weather, and the people were responsible for daily care. After the harvest, everyone would take their respective shares.

This was a different production method from Tang Nation, but its efficiency didn't seem low either.

Li Qi looked up, observing the various crops on Centipede Mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, many Gardenia were planted. The clusters were not large, the leaves were like bitter plum blossoms, similar to hollyhocks, small and deep purple. The fruits were edible, and those who ate them had to twist off the stem, hence the name "Gardenia."

The flowers of the Gardenia could dye cloth, and the fruits tasted sweet and soft, with the effect of warming the abdomen and increasing muscle mass, which was beneficial for martial Dao cultivation, so there was a market for them.

Looking further, there were maple trees in the mountain.

Not ordinary maple trees, but maple trees deliberately cultivated with Gu worms to produce galls.

Gu worms needed to be implanted into the tree bark. The worms would eat the tree body, causing a fibrous sac to bulge in the bark, forming a gall.

When such gall-bearing maple trees encountered violent thunder and sudden rain, their tree growths would darken, which was called "maple man." The Yue Shaman had a saying: "If taken and carved into gods and ghosts, they are easily effective."

This type of tree was used to carve into divine statues or spirit tablets, which allowed spirits to easily integrate into them and be nourished.

There was also a special kind of bamboo, planted on the mountaintop, called Silaozhu.

This bamboo had thin and hollow skin, with a diameter not exceeding two inches. Its skin was rough and could be used for locks, sharp armor, and was tougher than iron.

If washed with pulp water, it became strong and sharp. If sharpened into a knife, it could cut elephant hide like butter, making it excellent Material for defense and weapons.

On this mountain, the quantity of these products was quite substantial.

However, looking at these products, Li Qi suddenly frowned. He noticed something strange.

"With so many industries, it must require many people to manage them. I sense that there are industries on all four sides of this mountain, but only three sides have villages. What's going on? Is there some special reason?" he asked Hua Xiu Mountain God.

He was indeed a bit curious.

Logically speaking, since there were industries on all four sides, there should be villages on all four sides, each handling a part, which would be just right.

But now, there were industries on four sides, yet only three sides had villages, which was a bit inexplicable.

Li Qi was a curious and sharp person, so he asked, wanting to know why this was the case. Was there any benefit or reason for such a layout?

However, this question stumped Hua Xiu Mountain God as well.

The little old man transformed into a strange wind, flew into the sky, examined it carefully, and then exclaimed in surprise, "Eh! I remember this Centipede Mountain was supposed to have a village on all four sides, namely the Bear, Rice, Shell, and Li families, four villages. How did it suddenly become only three?"

Before he came a few hours ago, there were four.

When did it become three?

However, Hua Xiu Mountain God didn't dwell on the matter too much.

After his brief surprise, he merely said to Li Qi, "It's just a village. It might have been relocated, or perhaps they encountered a mountain disaster or flood and moved away. That's quite natural. Invoker doesn't need to dwell on it. Let's proceed with the lecture first."

"Hmm, you're right," Li Qi nodded.

He wasn't familiar with the area, so it wasn't impossible that people had moved.

As for why the buildings were also gone?

There was no need to be surprised at all; everyone was a cultivator, and it was perfectly normal for them to move the entire village with them.

The Shaman God Mountain area was a land of outstanding people and spirits. Animals, plants, and humans born here were naturally stronger than those outside.

This was all thanks to Shaman Dao's cultivation of the spiritual source of heaven and earth. This was a direct strengthening of heaven and earth itself. As heaven and earth became stronger, the life within them would naturally also be stronger.

There was a natural chasm between life born in a Ninth Grade world and a First Grade world.

So Li Qi didn't think much of it. Soon, he arrived at that mountain.

Although there was some miasma, given that the Mountain God of this place was a centipede, miasma was understandable.

Li Qi sat among the mountains.

Hua Xiu Mountain God bid farewell to Li Qi and went to start sending messages to everyone.

Before long, numerous cultivators all gathered here.

Li Qi sat at the center of this Dao field. Closest to him were the few Eighth Grade Shaman who claimed to be preparing for the Shaman God Mountain outer sect assessment. They were arrogant, relying on the fact that they had fulfilled Invoker's request, and thus sat in the very front.

Behind them were the Mountain Gods.

Some were said to be transformed from fox monsters, some from python spirits, and there were also mountain imps, tigers, wolves, centipedes, poisonous bees, and other Mountain Gods, numbering around twenty. This was likely Hua Xiu Mountain God's social circle.

Besides these Mountain Gods, a circle of small demons surrounded the outer edge of the lecture hall.

These small demons were numerous and varied. They were probably well-informed, most of them lacking the ability to take human form. Each one cautiously hid three or four li outside the lecture hall, piled together in a mass, numbering several thousands.

Tigers and goats huddled together, butterflies rested on the heads of tree spirits, pushing and shoving. At this moment, they paid no heed to hunting or natural enemies. They were all gathered here, hoping to hear a word or two, perhaps to attain the Dao and transform, shedding their beastly bodies.

In the territory of Shaman God Mountain, there were too many beings that became demons.

Li Qi sat in this temporary Dao field and began to lecture on the Dao.

He began by saying, "The universe is vast, and the Dao is within it. The Dao is formless, yet it also attaches to form, like spring's birth, summer's growth, autumn's harvest, and winter's storage—all are the ceaseless flow of the Dao, visible when attached to things. If one seeks the Dao in the formless, there is no sound to hear, no smell to perceive. The ignorant believe that people do not see the Dao, but how can they know that when people exist, the Dao is present? Therefore, the Dao is within oneself; there is no need to seek it externally."

As he spoke, wild mist and flowing clouds suddenly appeared amidst the ten thousand acres of lush green, and clear Qi dispersed like rain, scattering to the east, west, south, and north.

What he spoke of were some basic concepts of Shaman Dao, roughly similar to pinyin in the Chinese language curriculum.

The first point to clarify was 'the Dao is within oneself, no need to seek it externally.' This was the foundation of Shaman Dao's concept of the human body as a small universe. The Dao was attached to external objects, and also to the human body.

Investigating external objects was too difficult, but investigating oneself was much simpler.

As soon as this was said, many Mountain Gods' bodies trembled, and their faces immediately showed an expression of 'so that's how it is.'

These simple eight characters greatly inspired many of them, and they would certainly make significant progress based on these eight characters when they returned.

And these eight characters were already written on the flyleaf of the "Zhu" Book when Li Qi first entered the sect. He had finished reading them even before he began cultivating, and at that time, he didn't even know what the words meant.

This was how the gap between people widened.

As for those Spirit Shaman, their faces were even more excited!

This was true Legacy. Those Mountain Gods were demonic beasts cultivating the Divine Dao, but they themselves were of Shaman Dao. This lecture was even more important for them, providing immense help!

Indeed, this time they had greatly profited!

However, listening alongside those Mountain Gods and small demons made these three Spirit Shaman somewhat displeased.

But Invoker was benevolent, so he let them take advantage.

As for the other listeners, they all had joyful expressions, and the small demons outside also had different reactions.

Some didn't understand and felt restless all over.

Some understood but found it useless for themselves, as they hadn't even entered a Grade, making it meaningless to them.

And some seemed to have some enlightenment but showed no expression.

A single lecture, a hundred different human experiences.

But Li Qi, sitting at the very top, paid no attention to these. He closed his eyes and continued to lecture.

On the peak of Centipede Peak, the sounds of the Dao resonated, and as Li Qi lectured, phenomena gradually began to appear.

A myriad of auspicious signs descended, bringing forth the art of eternal youth and the logic of longevity.

Forever pure and radiant light, purple ganoderma glowing, tender chrysanthemums blooming beautifully.

However, such phenomena did not last too long.

Li Qi continued to speak about the specific applications of the spell: "To use this method, two divine tablets must be made of wood, painted vermilion with green characters, two feet two inches high, four inches five fen wide, and nine fen thick. The base should be four inches five fen high, eight inches five fen wide, and four inches five fen thick. During the ritual, place them on the altar, store them in a low cart after the ceremony, and then worship them again. This can skillfully use Divine Qi to nourish vitality with Divine Power."

However, at this point, it had been less than two hours. He checked the time, and the lecture abruptly stopped.

"This lecture concludes here. The time is up. You may all disperse," Li Qi waved his hand.

The surrounding phenomena immediately dissipated, the hanging light rays scattered, the green light disappeared, and the swaying plants returned to normal.

The Mountain Gods bowed respectively.

Those who understood bowed as Juniors and then quietly left.

Those who didn't understand repeatedly kowtowed, but dared not linger. They were all eager to return and digest what they had heard today.

The small demons outside kowtowed in unison like pounding garlic, shouting praises for the great lord's mercy and gratitude for Li Qi's lecture.

For them, this was truly a great kindness.

Although from Li Qi's perspective as a long-lived being, most of these small demons would all die of old age in the blink of an eye.

Hundreds of years later, they would all be dead, but Li Qi would still be alive.

However, it could also be considered a good Karma, though like the previous blood debt, it was of little use.

Everyone else had left, but the three Spirit Shaman remained.

Li Qi cast his gaze towards them.

These three people... why did they have such a strong scent of blood on them?