Chapter 416: Advise you to die

The sacrifice below continued.

Profound, mysterious powers, invisible to ordinary people, continuously flew towards the sky through the sacrifice.

This Heavenly Dao, facing life and death, also exerted all its power.

The Heavenly Dao has no mind, but it has spiritual perception, and a natural tendency to seek good fortune and avoid disaster.

In fact, many Elementary 'divination' methods rely on inquiring with the local Heavenly Dao to learn about auspiciousness and misfortune, not on self-calculation, but simply on asking Heaven.

At this moment, the Heavenly Dao of this world had clearly felt that if the world barrier were to be breached, it would inevitably fall into the predicament of being refined, just like a hundred years ago.

So the Heavenly Dao also fought with all its might.

This continued for a day and a night.

The Holy Flame Clan officials responsible for the sacrifice looked somewhat fatigued, although they all had some cultivation. However, sacrifices did not allow for the slightest carelessness and required them to continuously offer some of their own Qi, and even national destiny, which led to extreme fatigue.

Just like the Grand Ritual Li Qi held in Guangyang in the past, these civil and military officials were the 'hubs' that carried and circulated various Qi, and also the positions that Shaman should occupy.

This task was not easy.

Although over a hundred people shared the burden, and the sacrifice itself was well optimized, it was still a heavy burden after a day.

"Take a rest. I'll preside over it now. You can rest for three days and four hours. You know what an hour is, right? Don't miss it," Li Qi said to the weary crowd.

The Holy Flame Clan officials thanked him one after another, bowed to Li Qi, and then exited the sacrifice center.

Li Qi stepped forward and entered it.

The pressure that had been distributed among hundreds of people now fell on his shoulders alone.

The others had just relaxed a bit when they saw this scene and were immediately dumbfounded.

This, was this actually something that could be done?

Such immense pressure, bearing down on one person, and he looked more relaxed than anyone else present!

Moreover, he bore it for three days.

Truly... unbelievable.

Li Qi, however, paid no attention to these matters.

He simply closed his eyes and did what he was supposed to do.

Another day passed. The officials had already left, each going to rest in their own way.

Li Qi stood on the altar, maintaining everything's stability, using the power of the world barrier and the Heavenly Dao itself to engage in a tug-of-war with the outside world.

However, though it was called a tug-of-war, everything was developing in a bad direction.

Even with the advantage of terrain, how could Li Qi possibly defeat the Lu Mountain God? It was merely delaying the time of defeat.

Therefore, there must be other bargaining chips.

Other bargaining chips...

Just as he was thinking this, abruptly, a limping, elderly Holy Flame Clan member painstakingly controlled his body and landed a hundred feet away from Li Qi.

"He really came," Li Qi said.

Then, he looked at the altar he had set up, which contained an 'Ancient Holy King Altar'.

It was exactly what he had arranged earlier: "Set up a sealed altar at the foot of the mountain, establish an Ancient Holy King Altar, both secondary to the Great Venerable, to the left of the seat."

A considerable portion of the energy from the sacrifice was offered to this individual.

He, like the Heavenly Dao, belonged to the part that received sacrifices.

Therefore, now, he should have enough ability to stand up and find Li Qi.

Unlike the common Holy Flame Clan's dark outer skeleton, his outer skeleton was white, a dazzlingly bright color that immediately distinguished him.

This Holy King, who had lost his Battle Intent, still appeared here.

He slowly dragged his lame leg to Li Qi's front: "You..."

"Ah, Holy King, you've come. I still remember what we talked about when we first met," Li Qi smiled. Although he bore the responsibility of being the central hub for numerous Qi, he looked completely at ease.

"This job of yours... it's not easy," the Holy King said, looking at Li Qi.

Unlike Ga Ga, he was a genuine Sixth-Rank, the strongest being that the Holy Flame World could support.

Of course, he was a native Sixth-Rank.

Therefore, despite being a Sixth-Rank, he was easily crippled by the Lu Mountain God, and even his innate 'sword' was broken.

Even his Martial Artist's heart was shattered, and he could no longer muster any Battle Intent.

That was a desperate disparity; his proud swordsmanship and Martial Skill were easily crushed by the Lu Mountain God.

Now, he only came to see after sensing the sacrifice.

"It's alright, I'm used to it," Li Qi shrugged, saying.

He was indeed used to it. The difficulty of this matter lay in arranging the circulation and operation of so much Qi, but for Li Qi, performing information calculations had almost become instinct.

"Used to it? That is indeed a very powerful strength," the Holy King replied in a hoarse voice.

"What about you? Are you used to being like this now? Is the power of habit so strong that it's made you completely unable to move anymore?" Li Qi retorted.

"Perhaps. I've almost forgotten how to fight," the Holy King found a place to sit down and said indifferently, seemingly not hearing the mockery in Li Qi's words.

"Almost forgotten, but not yet, right?" Li Qi also sat beside him.

"No need for hints. If I take one step out, I will die. This time, there's no chance to abandon my sword and flee," the Holy King shook his head and said.

Li Qi suddenly understood when he heard this.

The native cultivation methods of the Holy Flame World were generally considered Martial Dao, but a Martial Dao that developed naturally, born from their 'innate swords'.

The Dao foundation of Martial Dao is the state of mind. If a Martial Artist's heart is shattered, they naturally cannot muster strength.

But how could such a thing be so easily shattered? Many times, Martial Artists would not yield even if they died in battle, so Li Qi had always wondered how this Holy King's Martial Artist's heart was broken.

Now it seemed that he had abandoned his sword and fled to save his life.

No wonder he was so despondent.

Knowing this, Li Qi suddenly took out a pot of wine.

"I see your world doesn't seem to have anything like this. Have a taste," Li Qi said, then flicked his finger. The nearby plants suddenly grew, bearing two wooden wine cups.

Controlling ordinary plants only required manipulating the Life Qi within them; no spells were even needed, it was a basic skill for a Shaman.

However, as compensation, Li Qi imbued a wisp of wood Qi into this native Holy Flame World plant.

Its chances of becoming a spirit would greatly increase, and it wouldn't suffer any lasting damage from being forced to produce wine cups.

It wasn't kindness, but 'rectitude'. This was a fair transaction, not an offering and charity, just like a sacrifice.

Sacrifices in the Divine Dao are offerings to gods, begging for charity; such sacrifices are not righteous.

Li Qi always believed that a Shaman should be a mediator of all things, the balance among Heaven, Earth, Man, God, and Ghost. Eliminating charity was the first step, so the sacrifices he presided over were primarily based on equal communication and transaction.

A rock naturally floated over, and a strange wind blew, like a razor, carving a flat surface from it, then blowing away all the dust, making it as clean as if it had been washed.

It landed in front of them as a table for two. Li Qi picked up the wine cups, placed them in front of them, and filled each.

This wine was pilfered from the Lingxiao Flower Goddess's banquet. While not the absolute finest wine, it was certainly the best beverage in this world.

This was one of the few bottles of wine Li Qi had on him, as he didn't really drink much; he just had a squirrel-like tendency to gather a little something from the Lingxiao Flower Goddess's banquet.

No harm in taking what's free.

This wine was called 'Red Silk', named after a dancer. It wasn't strong, a mild wine commonly used in pleasure houses like Shangyuan, focusing on a sweet taste upon entry and a mellow aftertaste, allowing people to appear to have 'great capacity', easily drinking a large amount without feeling uncomfortable.

However, its after-effects were significant. The more one drank, the more muddled one became; even a Sixth-Rank would find it hard to resist the alcohol's power. Although drinking a few jars initially felt like nothing, after three rounds and a hearty drinking session, everyone would feel the effects of the wine, unable to leave the table, no longer overly reserved, and with a reason to 'act out' for a while.

Wine in pleasure houses needed to be like this; everyone had a great capacity, everyone could act out, drinking was for enjoyment, not for release.

The Holy King didn't understand these intricacies. He just picked up the wine cup and took a sip.

Then he spat it out: "It's disgusting, I can't drink it."

Li Qi was surprised: "Hmm? This isn't meant to take effect through taste. A Seventh-Rank fine wine directly acts on the human microcosmic world. How could it be disgusting if it's like sweet nectar spreading?"

Saying this, he took a sip.

Sweet and delicious, fragrant all over the body, it was a first-class fine wine. Even a Sixth-Rank could get drunk from it, and its taste transcended biological taste buds; no race would find it disgusting.

"Too sweet, too cloying," the Holy King said expressionlessly.

All Holy Flame Clan members were expressionless; their faces simply didn't move. All emotional expression relied on sound, but Li Qi could hear from his voice that he was indeed 'expressionless'.

"Is that so? You don't like this taste," Li Qi smiled, directly taking out a jar: "But there's nothing else. This will have to do. Bear with it. When the alcohol takes effect later, it'll make you feel better. Your world doesn't have wine, so that feeling should make you feel... how should I put it, very strange, right?"

After Li Qi finished speaking, he stopped talking about other things.

He simply returned to the altar and silently did his work.

He was building a new altar.

This time, he was using the Liao Sacrifice, one of the Nine Sacrifices.

The Nine Sacrifices were the nine most fundamental sacrifices mastered by Invoker, similar to horse stance in Martial Dao, the foundation of foundations.

Piling firewood to form a Liao altar, on the southeast of the circular platform on the mountain, the firewood pile was one zhang two chi high, one zhang square, with an opening facing south, six chi square. Another circular altar was made at the foot of the mountain, in three tiers, with twelve steps.

Following the system of the circular mound, according to the suitability of the land, the altar was decorated with black, with four sides in corresponding colors. Outside the altar were three walls, and firewood was piled and burned to the south of the altar, following the ritual on the mountain. Jade tablets were also made, all connected by gold ropes, each tablet one chi two cun long, one cun two fen wide, and three fen thick, with characters carved into the jade and filled with gold.

Li Qi silently did all of this, no longer paying attention to anything outside, truly ignoring the external situation.

By the time the brand new altar was completed, several hours had passed, and the sky had completely darkened.

Outside the firmament, countless evil spirits still clung to it.

Li Qi looked at the sky with the vision of observing 'Qi'.

There was red Qi like fire, illuminating the ground, blazing down, scattering like pearls. Malignant Qi sprinkled across the sky, the three luminaries lost their orbits, rivers burst their banks, mountains collapsed. Beneath it, the noxious Qi was enough to harm life, and the ominous signs were enough to summon chaos.

The world entered war, a sign of military chaos.

The divination results appeared in Li Qi's eyes.

This world was about to plunge into endless war.

There were starving corpses in the wilderness, uncollected, dogs and pigs eating people.

A few acres of land buried thousands of graves, a single family wept for two or three losses.

Dogs gnawed on soft shin bones, crows pecked at skulls with blood still wet.

Even an iron man would feel heartbroken at this sight.

This was a world-sweeping disaster. Perhaps in the myriad worlds, it was a small matter, and perhaps countless other worlds were currently experiencing such a scene, but... for the natives of the Holy Flame World, this was everything.

Li Qi suddenly fell into deep thought.

It was the question that had previously troubled him, concerning the Dao he recognized.

The 'rectitude' for the world, and the 'rectitude' for the individual... if they conflicted, then what would it be considered?

Just like now, to preserve this world, individuals must be sacrificed, and most of these individuals probably did not want to be sacrificed, but they had no choice.

Under the grand trend, who had a choice?

Li Qi had no answer.

So he simply opened his eyes, putting the question aside in his heart to ponder later.

However, upon opening his eyes, he saw that the wine jar was empty, and the Holy King had disappeared.

This was within Li Qi's expectations, so he wasn't surprised.

He simply stood up and walked onto the newly built altar.

Then, he recited the sacrificial prayer:

"The rites of the Holy King have been cultivated for a hundred generations; the meaning of suburban sacrifice truly belongs to the three spirits. It is appropriate to adapt to the times and to reform rites according to sentiment. Moreover, nothing is greater than Heaven in reverence, and no rite is more exalted than the ancestral temple. The solemn offerings ascending, how can they be different? Now, the offerings of steamed food and tasting are established as a constant practice, striving for purity."

"Indeed, the mountain peaks and ocean depths are all high mountains and vast waters. From the creation of heaven and earth until now, the essence of heroic spirits has gathered to become gods. They must all receive decrees from Heaven. Heaven bestows heroic spirits, thus stirring the profound heart, and extending the profound gaze. Deeply lamenting the defilement, greatly preserving and engraving, once suspended among the sun and stars, it will be transmitted eternally. Even if there are decaying bones and rotten flesh, they must be applied to the land, flowing into rivers and valleys, not shying away from treading through water and fire, so that the world may follow and emulate them. This is for the world to die everywhere and wish for an early demise."

The meaning of this sacrificial prayer was already self-evident.

As he recited, the entire altar burst into flames. The Liao Sacrifice itself was a one-time sacrificial method, aiming to transmit power completely.

The offering also shattered with it.

But behold the offering—

It was a closed lingxiao flower.

— — — — — — — — — —

Outside the world barrier, the Lu Mountain God, who had been presiding over the Formation with closed eyes, suddenly opened them.

"Ah, it's you. You actually dare to come out. Do you really think you can make a difference?" Jin Chi said indifferently, his expression completely dismissive.

But then, standing on the world barrier, was that Holy Flame Clan Holy King.

The demons sneered and scoffed, discussing how to use this person to strengthen the Formation.

He did not speak, but simply stepped forward silently.

He had no sword in his hand, so he clenched his fist instead.