Chapter 347: Yang Ning will come again

Li Qi was still contemplating the various effects of his influence and how to regulate them.

But just as he began to ponder these matters, he saw a second sun rise in the sky.

At this time, in this place, this sun was most likely a Golden Crow.

Because only a Golden Crow could resemble the sun so closely.

Resembling the sun was not a simple matter; perhaps for Mortals, any glowing orb suspended in the sky was like the sun.

But for cultivators of Li Qi's not-too-low rank, to resemble the sun, one needed to be similar in terms of Dao Resonance, Yang Qi, light composition, and so on, to truly be called 'like'.

Golden Crows possessed a special talent for mimicking the sun; in many worlds, the Golden Crow itself was the sun.

Shaman God Mountain, theoretically, only had one Golden Crow.

That was Yang Ning.

Sure enough, the sun's light gradually faded, transforming into a golden-red bird that flew towards Li Qi.

The Golden Crow's true form was exceedingly beautiful, its colors a blend of gold, with flowing feathers, each adorned with several golden specks, like flecks of fire.

A rumbling sound came, but soon, the sound slowly diminished.

It turned out the Golden Crow was shrinking its body.

The enormous Golden Crow, carrying a large amount of flames and magma, gradually became smaller en route, and by the time it was three or four li from Li Qi, it had transformed into a golden-red bird.

It had a red beak, a streamlined body, and bright golden feathers with fiery red edges, making it very beautiful.

Soon, this bird gracefully landed on Li Qi's shoulder.

She looked at Li Qi with a very human-like gaze, then pecked Li Qi's face with her beak.

Li Qi didn't understand her meaning.

But after being pecked, he was sent flying directly!

He felt as if someone had punched him in the face, and it was a fiery punch!

A massive flame exploded directly on his face, sending Li Qi flying two hundred meters to the left, shattering several large rocks, before he finally managed to stabilize himself.

The main reason was that his Demonic Clone arrived and supported him.

Then, the two merged into one, using the art of cloud and wind riding to slowly float down to the ground.

There was a mark left on his face from the bird's peck, like a strawberry, but with the skin burned off, revealing the muscle underneath.

However, it was only a minor injury, and it didn't hurt much, indicating that the other party had held back.

After all, Yang Ning was a Fifth Rank, and if she hadn't held back, he would have been pecked to death instantly.

Li Qi touched the wound, and a surge of wood Qi emerged from his finger, combining with the sun Qi on the wound, producing a vigorous Life Qi, and under the massive Life Qi's blessing, the wound healed instantly.

He gave a wry smile and looked at the little bird in the distance, but just as he looked up, he saw that Yang Ning had already arrived in front of him.

That palm-sized little bird suddenly surged with flames, as if melting, and then a brand new body condensed within the flames.

A great tail like a rainbow, flying light reflecting the sky.

Red as cinnabar fire, the divine bird came soaring.

Then, she transformed into a woman, petite and charming, lightly standing and gazing, with rosy hues like flowing silk, and a jade-like glow.

Her gaze extended to the fragrant red, as if meeting her for the first time through flowers.

Her long hair was a reddish-crimson, faintly glowing, and her skirt was as lush as a sea of fire.

Indeed, it was Yang Ning.

Of course, her charm was due to her being too short; although she was Shen Shuibi's sister, Yang Ning was a head shorter than Shen Shuibi, and a head and a half shorter than Li Qi. She could only barely reach his chest.

But her Aura was not short at all; as soon as she landed, she directly grabbed Li Qi's neck and demanded with dissatisfaction: “Why have you, this brat, returned, but Moon Essence hasn’t?”

Hearing this, Li Qi understood why he had been hit.

It turned out she had sensed his Qi, thinking that the rabbit would be by his side, but when she arrived, she found only this scoundrel, so she got angry.

He spread his hands helplessly: “Little sister-in-law, I…”

The words “little sister-in-law” had just come out, and before he could continue, Li Qi was sent flying backward.

This time, he flew directly into the罡 wind layer.

Visibly, Yang Ning’s pupils had turned red.

She was already angry, and now she was even angrier.

And she was someone who couldn’t hold her temper; if it weren’t for the trouble it would cause if she killed him, and Shen Shuibi would be sad, she would have wanted to smash Li Qi’s head just for that “little sister-in-law” remark.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t.

This was Shen Shuibi’s Dao Companion, the person she chose.

She stood rooted to the spot, waiting until Li Qi landed several li away, crashing into the ground with a thud.

Then, she saw Li Qi helplessly, slowly flying out, tidying his clothes, and then flying back to Yang Ning’s side.

There was nothing he could do; Yang Ning wouldn’t kill him, so letting her hit him a couple of times to vent her anger was fine.

However, Yang Ning suddenly frowned, feeling something was off.

What was going on? With the force she exerted, Li Qi should have been half-dead, lying on the ground unable to speak; she had even prepared to heal Li Qi.

But, how was it so understated?

He could even fly over leisurely?

Her anger dissipated slightly, and Yang Ning calmed down, her hair also changing from fiery red and glowing to common black hair.

To avoid killing Li Qi, she controlled the damage to a level that would half-kill an Eighth Rank.

After all, more than half a year ago, when Li Qi left with Shen Shuibi, he was an Eighth Rank, so Yang Ning subconsciously thought that in the blink of an eye, he should still be an Eighth Rank.

But—

This person, was he a Seventh Rank?!

What the hell?! It had only been half a year!

Seventh Rank was the boundary between Mortals and immortality, the threshold for initial long life; even a Genius among Geniuses could easily fall short when facing this threshold.

Moreover, Yang Ning remembered that at that time, his Breakthrough to Eighth Rank had only been a little over a year.

Two years, from Ninth Rank to Seventh Rank?!

Yang Ning’s eyes widened in disbelief.

She even rubbed her eyes, carefully observing Li Qi’s human body’s Lesser Heaven and Earth.

Although it wasn’t a leak-free body, Life Qi continuously surged from within, protecting his true spirit; as long as he wasn’t injured, his lifespan wouldn’t decline.

He was indeed a Seventh Rank!

This stunned Yang Ning for a moment; she looked in astonishment as Li Qi floated over from a distance.

After taking two beatings, Li Qi dared not quip anymore and respectfully saluted: “Miss Yang Ning, I am truly sorry this time; Jade is currently in the Outer Domain and cannot return with me.”

Yang Ning looked at him, barely maintaining her composure, and asked: “When… when did you reach Seventh Rank?”

Her tone still carried a lot of disbelief.

Li Qi heard this, thought for a moment, and then answered truthfully: “About half a year ago?”

“Half a year ago, you were clearly still an Eighth Rank!” Yang Ning roared!

“Uh… after going to Tang Nation, about twenty days later, I advanced to Seventh Rank,” Li Qi said.

Yang Ning was choked by the rest of her words.

She could tell that Li Qi wasn’t lying.

In other words, when he left Shaman God Mountain, he had just entered the Eighth Rank not long ago, and after only twenty-odd days in Tang Nation, he reached Seventh Rank.

It was simply… unbelievable.

Yang Ning scrutinized Li Qi from head to toe.

Her expression changed again and again.

Then, she couldn’t help but say: “Your talent… is astonishing, but be careful not to advance merely for the sake of advancing, destroying your foundation, or even using unorthodox methods; the time of advancement is not important.”

This speed even scared Yang Ning.

She was afraid that Li Qi had used some external Dao method to advance, which might cut off his future path.

When one was of a low rank, taking a shortcut or being lazy would be repaid a thousandfold or ten thousandfold in higher ranks, and by then, it would be very difficult to make up for it.

Many cultivators, even without a renowned master’s guidance, might rely on their talent to brute force their way to Sixth Rank, only to find their Dao path riddled with holes, becoming a dead end, impossible to mend in this life, leading to a lifetime of melancholy.

This was all very possible.

Although she didn’t like Li Qi, he was Shen Shuibi’s Dao Companion after all, and with such talent…

If he continued to progress, Mount Luofu’s debt… might indeed have to be repaid by this outsider.

So Yang Ning’s tone changed, she put away her anger, and began to remind Li Qi not to act recklessly.

She truly couldn’t have imagined that the Dao Companion Shen Shuibi found… would be a monster of this caliber.

How exactly did he cultivate?

Did he use some time-acceleration method? Or was he the Reincarnation of a Great Power?

There had indeed been such precedents before.

A Great Power would Reincarnate and cultivate again, and although they failed to break through the confusion of the womb, remaining ignorant of their true self, their cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, and at the moment of awakening, they would instantly break through three ranks, attaining the Dao on that very day and returning to their former Peak.

Was Li Qi such a person?

Who was his previous life?

When Li Qi heard Yang Ning say this, he knew she meant well, so he first thanked her: “Thank you for your guidance, Miss Yang Ning, but my advancement is quite complex… it’s hard to explain clearly in a short time, but rest assured, I have absolutely not used any lazy or shortcut methods.”

“If you have a sense of propriety, I’ll temporarily believe you. Then why did you come back this time without Shen Shuibi?” Yang Ning nodded, accepting this explanation, and then asked her question.

“I came back this time because I need to meet the Shaman God; the Shaman God wants to see me,” Li Qi answered honestly.

Yang Ning’s forced calm instantly vanished; her expression froze.

This time, it was truly ‘Yang Ning’ (a pun on her name and ‘solidified’).

To be able to meet the Shaman God at Seventh Rank?

Was the Shaman God very idle? It must be, right? Otherwise, why would she meet a Seventh Rank?

However, although she was very reluctant to admit it, perhaps… Li Qi truly had the qualification to meet the Shaman God; putting everything else aside… his cultivation speed alone was enough.

He was undoubtedly the top Genius of the younger generation on Shaman God Mountain, without any exaggeration.

Although Shaman God Mountain didn’t have School competitions that would pit young people against each other like horse racing for scores and rewards.

Shaman God Mountain absolutely respected the free development of the younger generation and would not forcibly pull them out to compete on who was taller, stronger, or better at fighting.

That was the behavior of a fool and wouldn’t cultivate truly excellent descendants.

Yang Ning took a deep breath, though she didn’t need to breathe.

She realized it.

Although Li Qi was unassuming and appeared like an honest person, Shen Shuibi’s judgment was truly excellent.

Despite her understanding of Shen Shuibi, this was most likely a lucky coincidence, but no matter what, perhaps it was fate…

This man seemed to have some real skills.

“Alright, since it’s the Shaman God’s command, I won’t ask anything more,” Yang Ning shook her head: “However, you said she’s in the Outer Domain? What is she doing in the Outer Domain?”

“We found an ownerless Sixth Rank special world and are currently strategizing there, figuring out how to control that world without harming the world itself and its local tribes; she has remained there, responsible for handling some matters. If she were to return, it would probably take about twenty years,” Li Qi said.

He didn’t say it was to repay a debt; there was no need.

Yang Ning’s expression darkened again: “An ownerless Sixth Rank special world… I remember she still has injuries; you left her alone there?”

“Her injuries have healed. I used my identity to guarantee her treatment by Tang Nation. In that Sixth Rank world, there’s no one who can rival her,” Li Qi said.

Hearing this, Yang Ning’s gloomy expression relaxed, and she scrutinized Li Qi again.

Shen Shuibi’s injuries healed?

Yang Ning naturally knew how severe her injuries were, but now they had actually recovered?

This indicated that at least two or more Fifth Rank Human Dao healers, plus a large amount of resources, were required to achieve this.

She remembered him mentioning this before, but she hadn’t taken it seriously.

And now, it had actually come true.

This man… didn’t seem so unreliable after all?

According to what he said, in reality, this act meant he had taken out a loan to treat Shen Shuibi’s injuries.

It seemed like Tang Nation fully funded it, but this debt would have to be repaid sooner or later.

Especially with his identity as the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, this debt would multiply greatly in the future.

Later, when necessary, Tang Nation would come to collect this debt.

Successive surprises made Yang Ning re-examine the young man before her.

She had to admit that her previous attitude… seemed, indeed, not very good.

Yang Ning naturally realized her previous attitude; after all, she wasn’t some tsundere or foolish idiot.

Those who could cultivate to Fifth Rank would have their own persistence, so they would be very stubborn in certain areas and appear very individualistic, but they certainly wouldn’t be foolish.

One should know that even Yang Ning herself hadn’t fully recovered from her injuries yet; she could only exert the power of a Fifth Rank.

“Sigh,” she sighed: “Li Qi, I’m very surprised.”

“Mm, I’m surprised myself,” Li Qi said.

This was true, because this was the first time Li Qi had heard Yang Ning seriously call him by his name.

After sighing, Yang Ning said: “I apologize for my previous contempt towards you. Now that you are a Seventh Rank, I will treat you as a person in our interactions.”

“Wait, you didn’t treat me as a person before?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Alright, whatever makes you happy.”

“Alright, let’s get to the point. I came here to find my sister, but you didn’t bring her back. However, you were summoned back by the Shaman God, so I can’t force it…” Yang Ning weighed her words.

Li Qi understood: “Oh, I see. You want me to tell you the address so you can go find Jade?”

“That’s pretty much it,” Yang Ning nodded.

“No problem. It’s good that you go; it adds an extra layer of security. The address is right here.” Li Qi flicked a wisp of book Qi, inscribing the addresses of Dou Su Six and Holy Flame World within it.

“That’s good. I hope she won’t speak ill of you.”

Li Qi also breathed a sigh of relief.

He had originally intended to trick her into going.

He hadn’t expected her to go willingly.

And… he should be considered, approved, right?

However, Yang Ning immediately handed him something else.