Chapter 376: The treacherous

Li Qi felt very lucky.

Of course, perhaps it wasn't good luck, but very bad luck.

Because he found that neither True Knowledge Dao Resonance nor his physical senses could observe how this scene specifically operated.

True Knowledge Dao Resonance found it difficult to glimpse this giant demon dragon; its Rank was too high, exceeding the observation level of True Knowledge Dao Resonance, indicating that this demon dragon was at least Rank Five in its lifetime.

Li Qi did not attempt to forcefully observe; that would be suicidal. Despite constantly interacting with Rank Five beings as equals, it was precisely because of this that he could understand the power of Rank Five. Moths attempting to approach a flame were destined for destruction.

However, his physical eyes also couldn't observe. His physical eyes could only see light, along with those profound fluctuations and runes, slowly spreading from the demon dragon's body, connecting all forty-nine Grotto-Heavens' Dragon Veins into a genuine 'Earth Dragon'. But beyond that, there was nothing else; he could only see the superficial appearance, not any truth.

That's why Li Qi said he was lucky.

Three days prior, he had finally gained a portion of what might be the Celestial Eye ability, which was that Information Stream Vision capable of discerning certain essences.

Now, Li Qi discovered that among all his senses, only Information Stream Vision could observe the changes in this demon dragon.

Hopefully, this was just a coincidence.

However, those were matters for later. At this very moment, Li Qi was clearly focused on the resurrection process.

Profound runes lit up on the demon dragon's body one by one. Li Qi could see that many 'components' were piecing themselves together.

Resurrection was an extremely difficult and forbidden act.

Li Qi had heard a story.

It was about the Shaman of the Human Dao.

The book recorded: "At that time, there was a female Shaman named Cai, who misled the masses with ghost Dao, claiming she could bring the dead back to life. The city folk regarded her as a Heavenly God. The officials verified her deception and requested her banishment to the frontier. A wise person said: 'If the dead do not live, it is a demonic falsehood; if the dead do live, it is an even greater sin.'"

This was enough to illustrate how forbidden such matters were.

Almost all Dao paths had some reservations about this.

Bringing the dead back to life was not Reincarnation. Reincarnation was re-entering the Reincarnation cycle, merely maintaining one's consciousness, but your previous life had truly died and become part of Reincarnation.

Bringing the dead back to life required resisting Reincarnation, escaping from the fundamental order of these myriad heavens and worlds, just like escaping from the starry sky itself.

The starry sky, in essence, was also an order created by Star Officials.

To Li Qi, this was basically nonsense; he could never accomplish such a feat.

However, for stronger beings, there might be a possibility of exploiting loopholes.

But, only such matters could allow Li Qi to clearly see that 'boundary'.

The boundaries between large and small, between collective and individual, or between fast and slow—these boundaries, though they existed, were too subtle. Li Qi couldn't observe such subtle boundaries; he lacked the proficiency.

Only matters of the Rank of the boundary between life and death possessed such immense disparity, such a violent transformation, thus allowing sufficiently conspicuous traces to emerge for Li Qi to observe.

He was ready.

Evidently, that demon dragon was also ready.

The power of an unknown Rank erupted! The entire Imperial Academy was suddenly enveloped in a terrifying energy field!

Thunder and lightning obscured the sky, a Dragon's shadow ascended, rising with resolute fury, letting out a roar!

The Dragon's roar reverberated, its sound heard for dozens of miles, echoing through long rivers, causing the water to flow backward!

In the northwest, red Qi like crimson appeared; in the southeast, purple Qi came from the east. The two Qi roared as they surged towards Chang'an!

The heavens rumbled with thunder; male pheasants raised their heads and crowed wildly.

Within a radius of three thousand miles, all roosters proudly raised their heads, letting out their crowing calls to greet the sun, echoing the thunder and roars in the sky.

However, these were all mere appearances. The former Li Qi might have focused on scrutinizing these special effects, then tried to find the hidden symbols and secrets within them, but now he had a more direct perception.

Information Stream Vision clearly revealed the entire process of a mind reviving from a state of death.

However, it hadn't even reached the threshold of revival yet, and it had already attracted intense attention.

Not far away, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy's Dharma Body unfolded.

"What Prodigy is this?!" Accompanied by an angry female shout, a phantom of a Ruler attacked.

It seemed that the Dharma Body was not the true Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, but the Dharma Body materialized from the Ruler that Li Qi had seen earlier.

Li Qi ignored the Ruler.

It didn't matter.

It was irrelevant.

This Ruler… was not a threat.

Li Qi continued to gaze at the progression from death to life, countless information streams tracing paths through his mind.

Information Stream Vision did not rely on physical eyes or the brain, nor on the five aggregates, nor even on the Spirit Soul. This pure mental observation was the observation of the 'spiritual entity' on the material world.

This world seemed to be inherently divided into two parts.

One part was the underlying operation, similar to information streams, and the other part was the normal material entities seen.

The two coexisted, together forming this world.

Li Qi felt this particularly deeply at this moment.

The Ruler reached out but was struck back by an invisible force. A stern female figure could be seen flickering within the Ruler, appearing quite surprised.

But that was not some resistor, nor the demon dragon's power; it was another strange existence.

At the same time, the situation Li Qi had anticipated also occurred.

The surrounding space twisted.

Black mist slowly emerged, like mercury, or like sludge, engulfing the area where Li Qi was located.

Where these black mists covered, the Xuanming Mausoleum was dark and gloomy, hibernating insects covered and hid, and plants withered. A strange Yin Qi spread out.

Within this Yin Qi, an iron city vaguely appeared.

The city gates were towering, black mist rising to the sky!

There were many guards, all with ox-heads and horse-faces, green bodies and dark hair, each holding halberds and the like, either sitting or standing to the left and right of the gate.

Li Qi carefully observed this scene.

As expected, the resurrection of a high-Rank powerhouse would inevitably attract Yin Messengers.

But it was also necessary.

The Underworld, or rather, the Netherworld, Reincarnation—whatever name it went by—it must be in conflict with the Yang world.

Li Qi had never seen the Underworld, and of course, he couldn't, unless he died.

But now, it was time to glimpse a part of the Underworld's appearance.

The Underworld and the Yang world merged!

The clash of life and death!

That boundary would inevitably become exceptionally prominent in this collision, allowing Li Qi to take it all in without missing a single detail!

Li Qi was not prepared to act, nor was he inclined to help that demon dragon revive.

There was no need; its life or death meant nothing to Li Qi. All Li Qi wanted to do was observe. Whether it lived or died, it would use the last sparks and ripples of its life to illuminate Li Qi's path forward.

He remained as steady as a mountain, sitting cross-legged in place, fully concentrating on observing, recording, and contemplating.

Shaman were originally neutral beings, high above all others.

They arbitrated conflicts between heaven, earth, humans, gods, and ghosts, communicated contradictions between heaven, earth, humans, gods, and ghosts, always remaining at the center, indifferently scrutinizing other existences.

Shaman were scales, bridges; they cared about only one thing: through their arbitration, to guide this world towards a better future.

That future was a world where the Great Source of the world was immensely strong, where all life was like Innate Heavenly Gods, where everyone was a producer, capable of creating things through their own existence, rather than consuming other things to sustain their own existence.

The entire Shaman Dao Dao path was built upon such a vision.

Therefore, Li Qi also maintained this mindset at this moment, even though this resurrection was orchestrated by his own hands.

However, he merely gave it a push, giving this demon dragon a chance.

Giving you a chance to revive, in exchange for an observation.

It was so fair that no one could criticize it. Although this opportunity was forcibly given, it was likely that this demon dragon would not refuse.

If it would refuse, it wouldn't have chosen this method to maintain the possibility of its resurrection in the first place.

Li Qi continued to observe, when suddenly he saw two ghost envoys, with ferocious appearances, come directly before him. One held a chain, the other an edict, and they loudly proclaimed: "The Netherworld has ordered pursuit! Idlers, keep out!"

After speaking, they pasted the edict into the air.

An invisible field unfolded, isolating everything from the outside, but Li Qi was still within the barrier.

Li Qi was astonished.

This… wasn't this a Shaman Dao technique? He had used it a few days ago, drawing a map and then easily sealing off all surrounding paths.

Within Reincarnation… was there Shaman Dao involvement?

It wasn't entirely unacceptable, after all…

Da Tu Shaman God was the one who bore Reincarnation. Li Qi had personally seen that giant carry the entire Reincarnation, then use the Yang Sacrifice to resolve the difficult Yin Qi within it, maintaining Reincarnation's existence.

In other words… Shaman Dao actually had a hand in Reincarnation?

Li Qi maintained his observation, a slight thought emerging.

Then, he saw dozens of Yin Messengers emerge from the iron city and pounce towards the demon dragon.

There were Yakshas dissecting its chest with blades, Ox-Heads smashing its heart with hammers, and long-tongued ghosts binding the demon dragon's body.

The demon dragon was besieged, its skin peeled, blood drawn, heart gouged, eyes plucked, but the demon dragon remained unconscious. Although there were cries of pain and agony, writhing within, the sounds of torment shook the earth, but there was no other reaction.

However, the surrounding red and purple Qi also began to swarm forward.

And, the demon dragon let out a low growl.

Dragons have the ability to generate thunder.

Li Qi murmured: "Thunder is in Kun Kun, hence it is said 'thunder emerges from the earth'. Thunder, Yang Qi, is also called Dragon. After the summer solstice, Yang Qi reaches its extreme and one Yin is born. Yin and Yang clash, forming the sound of thunder…"

The swiftness of thunder was like a Dragon vigorously leaping and soaring.

A demon dragon Dharma Aspect appeared in the sky, taking shape by borrowing external wind and clouds, holding Yang Qi, and casting its life-giving light downwards.

Rolling black mist also emerged from the iron city, Yin Qi dark and gloomy, obscuring the sun's light, opposing the Dharma Aspect of the wind and cloud Dragon!

The battle began.

The contest between life and death began.

This was a tug-of-war. The Yin Messengers wanted to pull the demon dragon to the 'death' side, while the demon dragon Dharma Aspect was the exact opposite.

Li Qi could theoretically be the referee, but he wasn't qualified yet, only able to be a spectator.

He had seen enough special effects; it was time to focus on the essence.

Countless information streams were combining.

Li Qi hadn't found anything particularly special yet, but he could perceive a strange phenomenon.

It was like a jigsaw puzzle.

Forty-nine different living beings, cut themselves apart, and pieced themselves together.

This confused Li Qi.

Forty-nine different living beings, pieced together to become a dead thing, and then preparing to become a living thing again?

What was going on?

What was 'alive'?

But those forty-nine living beings, which were forty-nine Grotto-Heavens that still maintained vitality, had no consciousness, just a section of a body that hadn't completely died yet.

It was like a frog's leg cut off in a laboratory, it could twitch, it wasn't dead yet, but it wasn't alive either, it had no consciousness.

This gave Li Qi a strange feeling.

He previously believed that the Physical Body and the mental consciousness combined to form a person.

But if that were the case, what were those forty-nine Grotto-Heavens now?

According to the current situation, what was consciousness within the Physical Body?

If the consciousness of life was like a bee attached to a beehive, then consciousness for life, and even for species and the continuation of life, was like shoes to a person—just a method, a possibility.

So, one could even say that the consciousness of life was truly a narcissistic thing, clearly parasitic on the species, yet daring to claim itself as the species itself.

One could look at those savage beasts, those beasts that arose by adhering to Dao principles. They could also reproduce, and their Rank was even very high, but they clearly had no 'consciousness' to speak of; their actions were entirely based on a specific rule, everything was a reaction under this rule.

Or, to use an even more extreme example, robots with completely independent action capabilities, or as they are called in this world, Puppets.

High-Rank Puppets were almost indistinguishable from Daoist Masters. These Puppets could speak, react, and were even more intelligent and decisive than many Daoist Masters, even possessing joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, but clearly, they had no 'consciousness', or what Li Qi now considered a 'spiritual entity'.

So, what was the logical core of their reactions and judgments in daily life? They had no consciousness, no spiritual entity, yet they possessed full thinking ability like humans.

Could these Puppets be considered alive?

Watching this scene of resurrection, some of Li Qi's doubts were answered, but with them came even more doubts.

However, those doubts were matters to be resolved in the future.

He didn't even need to wait for the future; as long as the 'boundary' was clarified today, he might understand it tonight.

Li Qi raised his head and took a deep breath.

The battle between the Yin Messengers and the demon dragon had reached its climax!

The tug-of-war between life and death grew increasingly fierce.

The forty-nine Grotto-Heavens gradually merged into one, then transformed into a complete human-shaped miniature heaven and earth.

Immediately after, this human-shaped miniature heaven and earth came to life—

Li Qi immediately widened his eyes, pouring all his attention into it!

It's coming, it's coming!

Under Li Qi's gaze, that human-shaped miniature heaven and earth suddenly took shape, then flesh and blood grew, a demon dragon rose out of thin air, and the Dharma Aspect entangled with the Yin Messengers in the sky instantly solidified, full light bursting from its Dragon eyes!

And at the same time, Li Qi also saw it.

That instant from death to life!

The information flow moved, undergoing drastic changes!

In that very instant, the nature of life, the nature of the information flow, all underwent tremendous changes!

The boundary was found!