Chapter 428: Return to Dalu

Li Qi suddenly felt a little tired.

Even though it was just the end of classes, like a high school graduation, his classmates around him were about to embark on hostile paths.

This made Li Qi realize something again—

If Dao is different, one cannot conspire together.

Different hearts cannot be resolved together.

If Dao is the same and one conspires together, there is the benefit of support and nourishment.

If Dao is different and one conspires together, there is the worry of obscurity and confusion.

This made Li Qi couldn't help but look at his own body again.

Inside his body, several Dao Orthodoxy had merged into one; it seemed beneficial now, but if, with the increase in cultivation and deeper understanding of various Dao paths, he discovered and comprehended the divergences among them later…

Then his own outcome would likely not be very good.

But it was also impossible to abandon his current human body's small heaven and earth, because that would inevitably require re-cultivation.

What needed re-cultivation was not his cultivation, but his entire Dao path; he would need to shatter his worldview and then reshape it.

How could it be that simple? In daily life, just getting people to accept new things is already incredibly difficult. For people accustomed to eating rice to eat bread every day, except for a small number of people and those who have no choice, others simply cannot accept it.

Something as simple as eating is so difficult, let alone completely reshaping one's worldview.

Modifying one's Dao is not merely a matter of changing a cultivation method; it requires changing the person himself.

In other words, many of Li Qi's current concepts are fragmented.

Many of his concepts can temporarily merge, but in the future, these concepts will inevitably fragment, leading to the fragmentation of his Dao path, for example, regarding 'rectitude' and 'righteousness'.

If rectitude and righteousness cannot coexist, how should he conduct himself?

He can only abandon one of them, which will inevitably lead to the fragmentation of his human body's small heaven and earth, and then to the loss of control of his cultivation and the collapse of his Dao Heart.

If the Dao he had always adhered to was wrong, or mutually conflicting, then he naturally would not be able to continue forward. Maintaining the status quo would be the best outcome; further progress would be utterly impossible.

If the Dao path does not advance, rashly increasing cultivation is merely seeking death; uncontrolled cultivation will blow up the human body's small heaven and earth.

This is actually a very easy thing to understand.

Suppose a person's firmly believed Dao is Newtonian mechanics, and he has built his human body's small heaven and earth based on Newtonian mechanics.

Then, as his cultivation gradually increases, enabling him to move at one-tenth the speed of light, at this point, the absolute spacetime view based on Newtonian mechanics will become invalid, his own Dao is not absolutely correct, and he is prone to encountering various unmanageable situations.

Therefore, his cultivation will lose control, the 'Dao' of his human body's small heaven and earth will be unable to support this more mysterious and profound reality, and then it will collapse, his cultivation will scatter, and he will ultimately explode and die.

To resolve this situation, he must progress, he must improve his understanding of the world, find the correct Dao to interpret this world, or simply abandon his original Dao and directly copy others'.

If he doesn't do this, he will either maintain the status quo or his cultivation will decline.

Li Qi didn't want to copy others; he wanted to forge his own path, but the problem was that he was now increasingly aware of his shortcomings and the potential conflicts between his existing Dao Orthodoxy in the future.

This crisis was not imminent, but it had already become an insurmountable chasm on his cultivation path.

If it wasn't resolved, his Dao path would be a dead end.

How to solve it?

Working in isolation certainly wouldn't work.

Li Qi became increasingly urgent about his trip to the East Sea.

He needed to see and learn more things, so that he could expand his understanding of this world, and then use these as nourishment to allow his Dao to encompass everything currently present.

The trip to the East Sea was no longer just for Mount Luofu; Li Qi suddenly felt it was necessary to find a solution during this safe period.

It must be solvable, otherwise, this world shouldn't exist.

This was the source of Li Qi's confidence.

The Great Dao of this world can allow many Dao Orthodoxy to exist, which indicates that there must be a supreme Ultimate Great Dao that can govern everything and encompass all reality.

It's just that…

This Dao is also the goal pursued by countless people, and even one of the goals of all major Dao Orthodoxy.

Could Li Qi solve it?

To be honest, he didn't know himself, but since he had already come this far, what else could he do? Unless he re-cultivated or brainwashed himself, there was no turning back.

Since that was the case, he could only move forward. If he truly reached a dead end…

Then he would deal with it then.

With his mind made up, Li Qi relaxed a little. He drained the wine in his cup and stood up, ready to leave.

However, before he could leave, he saw a big fat man huffing and puffing as he ran towards him.

Seeing the big fat man in a white short jacket, Li Qi immediately became solemn and went to meet him: “Brother Guo, why did you suddenly run over?”

This胖子, was Guo Peng Hai, the contractor of the Imperial Academy cafeteria.

“Oh, my brother, isn't the holiday coming soon? We might not see each other for the next few months, that's why I rushed over in such a hurry.” Guo Peng Hai patted his head, his fat jiggling.

“Haha, I'm not running away, why are you in such a hurry? But listening to Brother Guo, is there something? Is it about your new dish recently?” Li Qi asked curiously.

“I’m ashamed to say, there are some things I want to ask my brother for help with, but I don’t know if my brother is willing…” Guo Peng Hai scratched his head awkwardly.

“Brother Guo, just say it. As long as I can do it, I won't hesitate. It's just… Brother Guo, you are a Fourth-Rank expert after all. What is it that you can't do, but need me for instead?” Li Qi was puzzled, so he asked.

“Alas, the main thing is that I just heard you're going to the East Sea, aren't you?” Guo Peng Hai said.

“Yes, during this holiday, I am indeed planning to visit the East Sea.” Li Qi nodded. He hadn't hidden this from his classmates anyway; with his status, going to the East Sea was no big deal.

Guo Peng Hai must have overheard his casual chat with his classmates, right?

“That's right, brother, you also know that the relationship between Chang'an and the East Sea hasn't been very good recently. I'm considered a government official, with some rank, so it's not very convenient for me to go to the East Sea. Recently, I've been short of a few ingredients, all produced in the East Sea. I was thinking of buying them at a high price, but since you're going to the East Sea, how about you collect some for me locally and bring them back? How about it?” Peng Hai Cauldron said.

“So it’s just this small matter, then naturally I can’t refuse. Brother Guo, don’t worry, I will definitely pack everything you want for you. Just give me a list.” Li Qi nodded and readily agreed.

It's just helping someone pick up some goods when going out, nothing major.

“Then take this, keep it safe. The list of things inside is already written down. There are a few contracts for worlds, all Sixth-Rank worlds, and also some silver, Qi beads, Spiritual Artifact, and such. It should be enough for my ingredients, with some left over.”

“When the time comes, help me buy the items on the list, and the rest will be your hard work fee, my brother. Thank you for your trouble.” Guo Peng Hai casually handed Li Qi a mustard seed bag.

The price of a Grotto-Heaven itself is already very high, just like a large cargo truck, which is actually more likely to be more valuable than the cargo. So Guo Peng Hai still chose the mustard seed bag.

Anyway, it's in the world, and there aren't many things, so the mustard seed bag is already enough.

Li Qi reached out and took it, weighing it. This mustard seed bag was of extremely high quality, truly worthy of a Fourth-Rank; his generosity was impressive.

“Alright, I’ll take it then. I should be back in three or four months, so Brother Guo won’t have to wait long.” Li Qi said with a smile.

“I'm confident in my brother's work, and besides, it's just some ingredients. The East Sea is so far away, it's normal if you can't get them. You prioritize your own matters, and it's fine to purchase them when you have leisure.” Peng Hai Cauldron patted Li Qi's shoulder.

Afterward, the two exchanged a few more pleasantries. Li Qi chatted about Peng Hai Cauldron's new dishes, and the conversation ended on a good note.

After that, Li Qi left.

Since matters in Chang'an were settled, it was time to go to the East Sea.

However, Li Qi did not plan to depart directly from Chang'an, as that would be asking for trouble. Tang Nation was already at war with the East Sea, and even if they weren't fighting in the world, their relationship was still not good.

Therefore, Li Qi planned to depart from Baiyue.

He still remembered the poem from Great Deer Kingdom: “The Li River allows easy passage for boats, south to the vast sea, north to Song.”

The Li River, after all, flows directly south into the vast sea. Going to Baiyue, one could take a boat on the Li River in Great Deer Kingdom and travel all the way to the South Sea, which is the demon race area to the southeast. Then, one could take a sea vessel and proceed along the coastline, departing from a deep-water port, eventually reaching the depths of the East Sea.

The entire journey would take approximately one month.

If one were to use Star-Mansion Array, one could instantly cross a great distance, but it couldn't be done.

Golden Dais cannot directly teleport to Star-Mansion Array, only to within Tang Nation; similarly, Star-Mansion Array cannot directly teleport to within Tang Nation.

If internal teleportation were allowed freely, it would mean everyone exposed their vital points to each other. Who would dare to do that?

Therefore, things like Golden Dais and Star-Mansion Array have strict boundaries, only reaching their respective borders.

If Li Qi were to choose the route of using Golden Dais to reach the border, then proceeding to Baiyue, from Baiyue to Star-Mansion Array, and then using Star-Mansion Array to teleport to the East Sea border, and finally taking a boat to the depths of the East Sea…

This journey, just from Baiyue to Star-Mansion Array, would take a month or so.

It would be faster to go directly to Baiyue and then take a boat out to sea.

Having determined his travel route, and with the last class also finished, Li Qi didn't delay much and departed that very night.

Of course, this time he brought Old Ma.

Ever since Li Qi's cultivation reached Seventh-Rank, Old Ma had somewhat fallen behind, gradually losing his function as a mode of transport, as few people could keep up with Li Qi's cultivation speed.

However, Li Qi had said that Old Ma was his good friend, not a mount, so he had always kept Old Ma by his side.

This time, going to the East Sea, Li Qi was not good at swimming, but Old Ma was a Dragon Horse after all, and was about to transform into a Dragon. Walking on water and diving were both effortless for him, at least stronger than Li Qi, so Li Qi brought Old Ma this time.

Bidding farewell to his friends, with various objectives in mind, Li Qi swiftly left Chang'an via Golden Dais and arrived at the border.

Riding Old Ma, he crossed out of Tang Nation's border.

This time, choosing to go to the East Sea via the Li River, could be considered to have some personal motives.

He wanted to see the current Paibo Gang, and he also wanted to visit the God of the Li River whom he had worshipped in the past.

— — — — — — — —

Tap, tap, tap.

Old Ma's hooves clattered on the stone slab street.

It was already a day later, and Li Qi had arrived in Great Deer Kingdom.

This distance was quite fast; from Chang'an's Golden Dais, one could instantly arrive at the border, and from the border to Great Deer Kingdom, it was only about ten to twenty thousand li. With Old Ma's foot speed, they could arrive in one day and one night.

The distance that once seemed endless now felt ordinary.

Great Deer Kingdom, he was back again.

This is Great Deer Kingdom, Li Prefecture city.

Li Qi had been away for many years, but nothing here had changed; everything was exactly the same as when he first left.

In fact, Li Qi could even see his own wanted poster, but it was from several years ago, the paper already torn and yellowed.

This shows that the wanted poster, as Li Qi had thought at the time, was purely for show; the local constables had no intention of actually arresting anyone, merely going through the motions.

It was just after the holidays, meaning early winter, and all industries were starting to contract. Everyone was stocking up on winter supplies.

According to Li Qi's understanding of Li Prefecture, this period should be the peak season for river transport, because various winter supplies, coal, grain, and the like, would be transported while the Li River had not yet completely frozen over.

If the Li River froze and they still wanted to transport goods, it would require an extremely high cost for carrying. And because Great Deer Kingdom lacks mature demon beast breeding and domestication techniques, this kind of carrying would most likely rely on humans, further increasing costs.

The backward scenes he had witnessed in the past, including the lack of animal husbandry, the scarcity of cultivators, the extreme xenophobia of local small groups, and the extreme reliance on the 'human as livestock' production relationship, all remained completely unchanged.

But then again.

It hadn't changed for thousands of years, so it was unlikely to change much in these few years.

Li Qi walked to the bank of the Li River, preparing to look for the Boat Towmen gang, to see his old brothers from the Paibo Gang.

Because he was riding a horse, and his clothes, though not luxurious, were clean, the passing laborers and others quickly avoided him, fearing they might offend a great person.

Laws, in Great Deer Kingdom, were not very effective.

This was not Chang'an, where even Fifth-Rank individuals had to obediently wait for red lights, not daring to overstep a single step.

However, he rode his horse around the dock and riverbank a few times, but found that the Paibo Gang was nowhere to be found.

“Hmm? Did they not come out?” Li Qi wondered.

He decided to go to their living quarters to look. Could it be that they hadn't come out to work? But it was the peak season for river transport now; everyone should be out, except for the old, weak, women, and children.

The Paibo Gang's station was relatively remote, and horses couldn't pass through, so Li Qi dismounted, leading Old Ma, squeezing through the narrow alleys, wanting to pass through these alleys to reach the small river beach from before.

Old Ma, now a zhang tall at the shoulder, was completely a giant beast. And for the time being, he couldn't perform size-altering techniques, nor did he want to knock down walls, so he had to curl his body and squeeze through.

After much effort, squeezing through a dozen openings, Li Qi arrived at the former station, only to find that it was not the Paibo Gang living there.