Chapter 397: The answer to ‘I am who I am’

Why am I me?

Li Qi of the past pondered this question endlessly, making conjectures and conducting experiments from countless angles, including the self-identity of his Physical Body and spirit, and the unity of his memories.

But he always remained a little distant from the answer; his experience was insufficient.

It was like how one cannot Breakthrough when their Cultivation Base is insufficient; one's foundation can only be built through accumulation.

For example, there was a question he could never quite grasp.

He and Shen Shuibi shared a deep affection, but one day, Li Qi would die. At that time, Li Qi had the ability to create a 'Demonic Clone' identical to himself, but unaware of its impending death. Would he do it?

From an external perspective, this Clone would be indistinguishable.

So, would Li Qi create such an identical Clone to replace his past self and continue to accompany Shen Shuibi?

When Li Qi pondered this question, his answer was… perhaps, but only if he was truly doomed to die.

Self-identity yielded under this question.

Li Qi was willing to abandon his self-identity to let another version of himself live on.

Then, considering the Physical Body, Li Qi received a possible answer from the Lord of Pestilence: 'Mind is useless.'

Does 'Li Qi' refer to a bipedal, thinking Cultivator, or the mind attached to this Cultivator?

The Lord of Pestilence believed it was the Cultivator, not the consciousness.

Li Qi used to think it was the consciousness, but after seeing the Lord of Pestilence, he became unsure.

However, just a few days later, Yu Zao of the Eclectic School gave him another answer.

That is, these two are a divisible whole.

It is a whole, but it can be divided. After recombination, they will influence each other, but it does not affect the self.

This was not Li Qi's answer; it was Yu Zao's answer.

But from the sum, Li Qi also gained some inspiration. This inspiration, like the final straw, pierced through the last thin mist obstructing Li Qi's vision.

Li Qi activated all his senses, including the traditional five senses, as well as Information Stream Vision and True Knowledge Dao Resonance, all maximized.

He was perceiving the surrounding world.

The surrounding world was changing due to his perception and actions; even mere observation would bring about a certain degree of influence.

Yes, this was the answer.

Influence.

When he encountered many mountain gods and those Spirit Shaman at Shaman God Mountain, he began to ponder influence.

Li Qi still remembered when he suddenly realized the words 'influence.' At that time, he sat down and contemplated for a long time.

Now, he once again realized the existence of influence…

And this time, it seemed to explain 'Karma'?

All things in the external world arise from causes, and then causes bear fruit, and fruit, in turn, becomes the next cause, cycle after cycle, forming a vast net of Karma that envelops the entire world.

Li Qi's consciousness suddenly cleared, and many obscure thoughts in his mind became lucid.

In this world, nothing is absolutely independent; everything is necessarily connected to other things to some extent.

This is also the source of influence.

If you are truly absolutely independent, without any connection to this net, then you do not exist to other things, and there is no need to discuss non-existent things.

When your existence can be perceived by other existences, you have already fallen into this vast net. You are seen, heard, and touched by other existences, and you can also see, hear, and touch other existences.

Such mutually interfering things enter this net, becoming a thread within it.

All living beings are within the Net of Karma.

All events, objects, people, and various existences connect with each other through various means. This 'means' even includes perception, meaning hearing and seeing can create connections.

These connections, once moved, pull at each other. For example, a glance at someone, or even having a relationship with someone, can cause that person to, in turn, affect you.

Such entanglements and connections are Karma.

Where there is a cause, there is an effect, and the effect becomes a new cause. Karma flows, ceaselessly.

Karma is like countless interwoven threads, forming countless 'nets' that drift, gather, and disperse.

This vast Net of Karma envelops everything. Everyone is a thread in this net. When two threads intersect due to an action or an accident, a point of intersection is created.

These intersections materialize as all things in this world. Li Qi suddenly remembered seeing these intersections in Buddhist scriptures, where the Buddha called them 'Destiny.'

What is called the arising and ceasing of Destiny is the intersection of threads of Karma, and then their separation.

Everything in this world is born of Destiny. With Destiny, all things you see, hear, and feel come into existence.

This vast net is the very fabric of the world itself. The net itself does not exist; what exists is merely the interaction between Karma, arising from Destiny, and ceasing when Destiny ends.

This was why Li Qi activated all his senses.

He wanted to capture the impact of his 'influence' on this world.

And he succeeded.

The precision of Information Stream Vision was insufficient, but the current True Knowledge Dao Resonance could clearly perceive the impact of Li Qi's every move on the outside world.

Whether it was his own pressure or the airflow generated by his movements.

These airflows then collided with external airflows, sometimes dissipating, sometimes spreading out and causing other consequences, such as making a leaf sway.

The swaying leaf, in turn, might cause an insect on it to fall, thereby affecting more things.

The butterfly effect describes this: a butterfly flapping its wings to create a breeze is the cause.

The cause of the butterfly flapping its wings becomes the effect of air movement, and the effect of air movement becomes the cause of other things.

Thus, Karma cycles, eventually stirring up a storm thousands of miles away.

Similarly, other things, they are also causes. The effects they produce will also follow this vast Net of Karma and influence Li Qi, albeit to varying degrees.

The few that can connect with Li Qi's thread are the people around him, who have the greatest influence on him.

The figures of those existences with immense influence appear incredibly grand within this Net of Karma. Their every move can pull out countless causes and countless effects.

Understanding this, Li Qi finally grasped what 'self' meant. He submitted what he felt was a perfect answer.

'I' am the 'cause' unique to the Net of Karma.

Mind, Physical Body, memory—all are meaningless things, mere appearances.

The true self is the center where countless Karmic connections converge. This center is one's own cause and the effect of others.

If there were now a Li Qi even more real than a Demonic Clone, completely identical in mind, Physical Body, and memory, one could easily find the difference by merely examining his position within the Net of Karma.

Within the Net of Karma, every position is unique; there can never be two identical Karmas in the world.

Memories can be stripped away, but the actions performed and the Karmic influence generated cannot be stripped away.

Everything can be copied, but only the actions performed cannot. Even if there are identical memories, it is merely 'thinking one has done it'; the actual copy has not performed or experienced those things.

Not only Cultivators possess Karma; objects, even a piece of information, a sentence, a beam of light, all have their own Karma and influence on the outside world.

Influence is the ripple extended by the 'cause' within this vast Net of Karma. The more influential you are, the more other 'effects' you can influence.

Thus, everything connected.

The answer had been found.

'I' am the unique, sole cause.

'I' am also the creator of countless 'effects.'

And these connections, combined, form the unique 'I.'

It cannot be replaced, cannot be copied, cannot be confused.

Having clarified this, Li Qi immediately felt that everything before his eyes became much clearer. The脉络 of many events became discernible, and his own existence was no longer虚无.

Whether it was the Lord of Pestilence, Demonic Clone Li Qi, Yu Zao, or that demon dragon, or even all things in the world, their existence was so vivid and alive, no longer illusory.

Previously, Li Qi had been tormented by the illusions of the Heavenly Demon, almost believing the world was illusory and could be modified at any time.

But now, the foundation of this world had solidified once more.

This time, even the illusions of the Heavenly Demon could not shake the reality of the world.

Li Qi let out a long breath, unable to help but sigh.

To understand these things, experience is essential. You must have seen and heard things to even conceive of them.

Thought is the fire that burns in the mind.

And knowledge and experience are the fuel for the fire of thought.

Li Qi had never felt so profoundly how correct the Sage's saying, 'Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous,' truly was.

If he had only thought, without so many events to serve as raw material for his contemplation, he would have racked his brains and still not found the answer.

Moreover, he was exceptionally lucky.

For an ordinary person, gaining this level of experience and knowledge accumulation would likely be very difficult.

Existences like the Lord of Pestilence are probably few and far between, even if an ordinary Fifth-Rank Cultivator traveled through countless worlds.

The Third-Rank Grand Invoker personally expounded the Dao to him, explaining the 'self' problem in the most suitable way for him for an entire day, telling him to go back and ponder slowly. Each of these questions probed a crucial point, and Li Qi spent most of his thinking time answering them, and the answers he derived provided considerable help.

The bowl of Five Aggregates Demonic Blood processed by Mahakala was probably the only one in the entire world in his hands. Who knew how many drops were in that bowl… but it was certainly one of the few in all the myriad worlds.

And then there was Yu Zao before him, an experimental subject of the Human Dao Eclectic School, who actively appeared and conversed with him.

Hmm, if it were an ordinary Loose Cultivator, gathering these experiences would probably require tens of thousands of years of travel through the myriad worlds, and even then, they might not encounter them.

Li Qi let out a long breath, awakening from his contemplation, and looked at Yu Zao before him.

Thus, Yu Zao's mode of existence no longer surprised him.

She was a unique individual, and through her own means, she had left her unique mark on this world.

It didn't matter if this mark was left by her mind, her Physical Body, or something else; those were all mere appearances.

This unique mark was Yu Zao. Even if she changed her name, it didn't matter. It didn't even matter if she had life, if she was born, or if she was artificial.

This was irrelevant to the foundation of her existence.

Meanwhile, Yu Zao stared intently at Li Qi's face. Even her lively personality couldn't be lively at this moment.

Because Li Qi's Cultivation Base had suddenly changed.

"What's going on with your miniature heaven and earth? Student Li Qi, you couldn't have Breakthrough, could you?" Yu Zao asked in disbelief.

How was that possible? He Breakthrough in the blink of an eye, right in front of her?

Was this the Genius who cultivated for four years to reach the Seventh-Rank?

How was this even more outrageous than herself, an artificial human? Wasn't her talent supposed to be the theoretically highest value? This was what Old Ancestor himself said!

Yu Zao was stunned, her eyes and mouth wide open in perfect circles.

She saw with her own eyes that Li Qi's miniature heaven and earth had begun its transformation 'from virtual to real.'

Li Qi's Cultivation Base had not increased; after all, Cultivation Base improvement requires gradual practice and training. Even if the blueprint for a machine is designed, the machine itself must be manufactured to exist. Neither machines nor Cultivation Bases appear out of thin air.

So, what changed for Li Qi was not his Cultivation Base, but the entire structure of his miniature heaven and earth.

The same Cultivation Base can yield different results depending on how it's utilized.

Different structures can lead to vastly different utilization rates. This is the importance of cultivation method. With the same Cultivation Base, a high-quality cultivation method can unleash dozens of times more power.

He seemed to have grasped some technique that made his originally illusory miniature heaven and earth incredibly solid, so much so that the power it unleashed could increase by several tens of percent.

For a Seventh-Rank Cultivator, an increase of several tens of percent was a truly terrifying figure.

"Nothing much, just figured out some things. Thanks to Student Yu Zao, I can agree to this transaction, but… we need to discuss the details. I still won't sell the entire Shamanic Silkworm Artifact, but for some less core technical aspects, we can resolve it through technical exchange. What do you think?" Li Qi shook his head, looking at Yu Zao, and said.

Yu Zao had filled in the last gap for him, so as a reward, some non-core technologies could indeed be exchanged.

Exchanging the Eclectic School's techniques.

Li Qi was also very interested in how Yu Zao, this artificial human, achieved consciousness transfer.

Talk, everything can be discussed.

— — — — — — — — — —

At the same time, in Boundless Outer Domain, where Amitabha's Buddha-Dharma form resided.

"Foolish child, the aspect of Karma, I have expounded it. Do you understand?" Amitabha sighed, speaking to Demonic Clone Li Qi.

At this moment, Demonic Clone Li Qi had shaved his head and donned a monk's robe, truly looking like a monk.

Demonic Clone Li Qi clasped his hands together: "Disciple has understood. So this is how things are. Thank you, Buddha, for clarifying my doubts. Disciple will no longer be troubled by the Heavenly Demon from now on."

However, as he expressed his gratitude, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

He had earnestly requested the Buddha to resolve his doubts.

The doubts were resolved, but for his future Dao, it would likely leave a huge hidden danger.