Chapter 398: Returning

Why do many Dao Orthodoxy know the answers to many questions, yet they specifically hope their Disciples will seek the answers themselves, even if it means many Geniuses perish in the process?

It is because, in some matters, the answers one thinks of oneself are different from the answers heard from others.

When you hear someone explain, you may understand at the time, but that will always be someone else's understanding.

Always.

"Foolish child, do you know that by listening to me today, you have averted the threat of the Heavenly Demon. In the future, your path to Breakthrough to the Third-Rank will be a thousand, even ten thousand times more difficult."

"Li Qi understands, but… I have things I cannot let go of," Demonic Clone Li Qi said calmly, kneeling before the Buddha with clasped hands.

Of course, he knew the consequences of this.

Information itself is polluting; people can only think based on their own level of cognition, which is the sum of all their experiences from birth to the present. People cannot understand things beyond their cognition.

If you have to explain it, it's probably like… if you understand, you understand; if you don't, no explanation will make it clear.

Forcing an explanation, leading to a superficial understanding, is more likely to cause a cognitive barrier.

What is a cognitive barrier?

You must know that once a person's knowledge reaches a certain height and breadth, merely re-cognizing even their own past knowledge in a new way requires immense effort, and may even be impossible.

This situation, where one is bound by one's own knowledge, is called a cognitive barrier.

The stronger you are and the more extensive your knowledge, the stronger and more extensive your cognitive barrier will be.

Countless Great Powers are bound by it, and in their helplessness, they chose to widely establish Dao Orthodoxy, cultivating the younger generation, allowing these young people without cognitive barriers to set out unburdened and Breakthrough the barriers that their predecessors could not.

"Things you cannot let go of… Yes, your beloved, your friends, everything you once possessed, you think they are yours, but they have never truly belonged to you," Amitabha said.

Demonic Clone Li Qi exhaled deeply upon hearing this.

Yes, Amitabha's words saw through what Demonic Clone Li Qi could never let go of.

Whether it was Shen Shuibi, Zhu Fengdan, or even his Sixth Uncle, the Paibo Gang, Bo Yue, Liu Canzhi… they were all clearly present in his memory.

He clearly remembered his past with them, their expressions during conversations, and his deep affection for them.

But… those things never belonged to 'him'.

He was born less than ten days ago; what he thought he experienced never belonged to him.

From the perspective of his true 'Self', he merely experienced an illusion; he is another person, another 'Karma', and simultaneously the result of other 'Karma'.

His relationship with Li Qi is no relationship; they merely have 'affinity'. They are two different Karma intertwined; both are unique, not one being a copy of the other.

From the perspective of time and Karma, Demonic Clone Li Qi… has never even met Shen Shuibi.

It's just, he's unwilling…

How could those memories be false?

The Buddha told him to let go, to let go of everything, and enter the empty gate.

But… he can't let go.

How can it be that simple? Just let go? Ask the 'true Li Qi', can he let go?

Whatever the 'true Li Qi' feels, Demonic Clone Li Qi feels the same now.

Beneath his calm exterior lies indescribable pain.

This pain drives him, even if his Dao is bound by a cognitive barrier and he might face a dead end in the future, to quickly escape the threat of the Heavenly Demon and then pursue his own affairs.

"Foolish child, your next step is to leave here and fulfill your worldly obsession, isn't it?" Amitabha said to Demonic Clone Li Qi.

"I dare not deceive the Buddha, this junior indeed has this intention," Demonic Clone Li Qi replied respectfully, hands clasped.

"That is good. You are merely an infant who unexpectedly gained memories, born less than ten days ago. If you have not entered the Mortal World, how can you leave the Mortal World? Go ahead and try, go talk to the true 'Li Qi', go do what you want to do," Amitabha said kindly.

The Buddha does not force anyone to do anything; everything follows the heart, and the Buddha-nature is found within.

Tathagata has a Great Power, named 'Awakening the World', to make all beings in the world become Buddhas, become enlightened ones.

And as a firm supporter of Tathagata's Great Power, Amitabha has always believed that all sentient beings need to experience everything they should experience to truly awaken.

Demonic Clone Li Qi, naturally, is no exception.

"Thank you, Buddha. Then… this junior will depart. It's just troublesome for the Buddha to have shaved my head for nothing," Li Qi said apologetically.

As he spoke, he stood up, and his formerly bald head regrew a head of thick, dark hair.

For a Seventh-Rank, limb Rebirth is common, so growing hair is naturally effortless.

"If the heart's hair remains unbroken, what use is it to shave the head's hair? Go, break free from worldly thoughts, break free from the Karma of all beings, only then can you 'escape the sea of suffering'," Amitabha's Buddha-sound resonated with a hum.

Demonic Clone Li Qi bowed again.

He was about to depart.

—————

Chang'an, Shangyuan.

Yu Zao watched Li Qi leave.

Everything was settled; both parties had reached an agreement for cooperation.

Li Qi successfully sold the first batch of Shamanic Silkworm Artifact, and it was directly a Seventh-Rank production line. The price was quite good, neither too high nor too low, within the acceptable range for both sides.

The Eclectic School provided two Seventh-Rank worlds, one of which had a unique specialty called 'The Chanter', a special individual of the local world's race that appeared probabilistically, with an average appearance cycle of about two hundred years for one to be born.

The Chanter possessed an excellent talent for music, naturally able to hear sounds across almost all wavelengths. This special individual was the 'specialty' of that world.

A specialty doesn't necessarily have to be material goods or Cultivation Techniques; local special social forms, or even the natives themselves, can be called specialties.

The Sacred Flame of the Holy Flame World is also a bodily product of the natives.

There's no way around it.

Chang'an would not grant 'fairness' to those worlds; beneath the prosperity of humanity lies great cruelty.

Leaving Yu Zao, Li Qi returned to the literary gathering.

However, he hadn't arrived yet; while walking halfway, Li Qi saw the oppressive feeling emanating from within.

"Hm? Are they fighting?" He looked up and noticed something was off inside.

Just then, he saw Liu Canzhi rushing out from inside, heading directly towards Li Qi.

From his appearance, he seemed to have been looking for Li Qi, and now that he found him, he rushed towards him without hesitation.

He was an Eighth-Rank after all; with acceleration, he reached Li Qi in almost an instant.

"Li Qi! Where did you run off to! Why weren't you around just now? Never mind that, let's hurry inside, it's about to get chaotic in there," Liu Canzhi rushed over, pulling Li Qi, wanting to go inside.

"Wait, don't rush me in. What happened inside?" Li Qi held Liu Canzhi, preventing him from pulling him.

He dared not go in casually; he had to first ascertain the situation.

When Li Qi asked, Liu Canzhi also realized that rushing in like a headless fly would indeed be useless.

So, he stopped and began to tell Li Qi what had happened inside.

"It's like this, after that small test to select the calligraphers just now—"

Liu Canzhi began to narrate, and Li Qi listened carefully.

It turned out that things were like this.

The Lingxiao Flower Goddess indeed did as she said before.

Based on the results of the competition, she selected a calligrapher to copy the text alone.

Although only a Divided Soul of the meaning was copied, it still proved the existence of this grand essay to everyone.

However, this didn't make the Hanlin very happy.

According to Liu Canzhi's observation and speculation, the reason was probably that they originally thought the Lingxiao Flower Goddess had only accidentally obtained a genuine piece, and the words within were at most beneficial to herself, which was why she came out to show off. They had already prepared to refute the Lingxiao Flower Goddess.

However, when the essay came out, everyone present was dumbfounded and speechless.

This was actually an 'Ode to the lingxiao flower' written specifically for her!

The praise and beautiful words within far exceeded everyone's expectations.

It was then that everyone realized that the Lingxiao Flower Goddess wasn't trying to get even after obtaining a treasure; she had genuinely connected with Liu Donghe!

So, the scene immediately exploded.

Of course, everyone remained rational and didn't cause a commotion; there was just a slight disturbance in the Qi, and the crowd quickly dispersed.

Some of the Hanlin wanted to retreat, while others flocked to Liu Canzhi's side.

Liu Donghe had personally expressed his stance. If one were to say that Liu Canzhi had no involvement, no one would believe it, as Liu Canzhi's presence at the gathering was enough to explain many things.

And all of this was within Liu Canzhi's expectations.

Liu Canzhi said to Li Qi: "The Lingxiao Flower Goddess played a trick on me, so naturally, I wasn't willing to let her have her way, as if only she knew how to scheme against others. So, I also set a trap for her."

Liu Canzhi began to explain his actions.

It turned out that before the literary gathering began, Liu Canzhi had intentionally or unintentionally spread news of the Shamanic Silkworm Artifact in the vicinity, and when the Lingxiao Flower Goddess was dancing, he also mentioned his intention to promote the Shamanic Silkworm Artifact.

These matters, when connected, although Liu Canzhi didn't say anything outrageous, or even anything suspicious, easily pointed to a deductive conclusion—

That Liu Canzhi wanted to instruct the Lingxiao Flower Goddess to promote it, and therefore requested this essay from Liu Donghe.

In reality, this was also the truth.

Liu Canzhi himself would absolutely not admit this; if asked, he would say he was foolish and accidentally seen through by others.

Thus, the nature of the matter changed.

The remaining Hanlin sneered twice and said no more, returning to continue participating in the literary gathering.

A literary gathering, naturally, the next step is to write essays. With Liu Donghe's brilliant example preceding them, everyone was also striving to catch up, to write a good essay to achieve their goals.

Some wanted to make a name for themselves, some wanted to show their face before the Flower Goddess, some came to socialize with the Hanlin, some just wanted to get used to such an occasion, and some came to suppress the Lingxiao Flower Goddess, but no matter what, it always came down to writing essays.

The Lingxiao Flower Goddess also announced the prize at this time.

She said that the essay most beloved by the crowd could take Liu Donghe's genuine work as the prize for this literary gathering.

With this, everyone exerted themselves even more, only those few Fifth-Rank Confucian Scholars seemed to be deliberating something.

Liu Canzhi also understood at this time why the Lingxiao Flower Goddess deliberately damaged the paper: besides making it more valuable and shedding suspicion of collusion, it was also because she intended to give this item away from the start, so she didn't care about it at all.

The benefits of giving it away were also obvious.

The only criterion for judging the winner of the literary gathering was the Lingxiao Flower Goddess's own opinion.

In other words, others unrelated to those Hanlin who wanted to obtain Liu Donghe's genuine work would naturally need to oppose those Hanlin who were causing trouble; their essays would be in conflict.

One had to admit, the Lingxiao Flower Goddess's scheming was indeed profound.

At this point, Liu Canzhi added: "Things were smooth until this point; the unexpected happened afterwards."

Then he continued to narrate.

After that, the literary gathering began.

Everyone started writing essays.

However, basically, everyone had already written their essays beforehand and brought them; few wrote them on the spot, as that couldn't guarantee quality or allow for careful word choice.

After everyone finished writing, the feasting could begin.

The Lingxiao Flower Goddess personally accompanied them, and many people played drinking games, discussed literary essays, debated Dao and Cultivation, drank fine wine, and ate delicacies, creating a harmonious and lively atmosphere for the literary gathering.

It wasn't until after three rounds of drinks that everyone began to present their essays for appreciation—

At first, it was fine; they were all humble works presented by young scholars. Although they had some talent, they were still immature. Everyone offered brief comments, praised their talent, and occasionally made slight revisions, and then moved on.

For particularly outstanding young scholars, the Lingxiao Flower Goddess would even personally serve them wine. There was even one who didn't write an essay but instead described the beauty of the lingxiao flower through poetry. Because his poetry was exceptionally beautiful, though slightly ornate and insubstantial, its sincerity won him a dance performance from the Lingxiao Flower Goddess on the spot. The atmosphere became joyful, reaching climaxes, and everyone was happy.

This was the rhythm and atmosphere of a normal literary gathering.

However, unfortunately, today's was not a normal literary gathering.

As time progressed, some essays criticizing, and even insulting, the Lingxiao Flower Goddess began to appear.

Initially, the Lingxiao Flower Goddess merely smiled, and it quickly passed. Although the atmosphere cooled somewhat, she was skilled at handling such situations and quickly reignited the enthusiasm.

But… another round of drinking games passed, and this time, it was the turn of a Fifth-Rank Confucian Scholar from among the Hanlin.

His essay began with: "Although the snowy mountains are pure white, with layers of peaks, and cool in summer, they lack flourishing vegetation for people to gather."

The meaning was simple.

Although the snowy mountains are born pure white and beautiful, appearing as layered peaks and cool in summer, they lack lush flowers and plants for people to gather, and there is no vitality.

The meaning within was already very clear.

But the Lingxiao Flower Goddess still smiled, not taking offense, and continued to read.

Then, it said that in the snowy land, there were many withered trees and flowers.

Among them grew two kinds of flowers, snow plum and lingxiao flower. The snow plum bloomed against the snow, while the lingxiao flower clung to withered branches, trembling and not daring to peek out.

At this point, Li Qi had already guessed what the essay was about.