Chapter 435: Visit

Stepping onto the Li River, Li Qi chartered an entire ferry.

Of course, it wasn't chartered by him, but by the Governor of Li Prefecture. However, most of the boats on the river were more or less the same, so Li Qi didn't pay much attention.

The ferry terminal dispatched its most skilled and experienced boatmen, almost all of whom were Ninth Rank. This involved drawing upon all the best hands from an entire fleet.

Even the hidden leader of this boat gang, a Boat Master lurking in the dark underworld of Li Prefecture, personally came to steer the boat for Li Qi.

This Boat Master's Cultivation was a full Eighth Rank, and he remembered every single whirlpool on the Li River clearly.

Clearly, only the Governor of Li Prefecture had enough Information to find these people. If Li Qi had to search himself, he would probably only be able to charter any random boat.

This was why Li Qi needed to ask the local powers for help.

After Li Qi boarded the boat, the Boat Master was extremely respectful towards Li Qi, almost kowtowing.

However, as the controller of the dark underworld, he probably couldn't bring himself to kneel.

Li Qi wasn't surprised by his attitude.

Because Li Qi also knew that he had certainly stirred up a huge storm in Li Prefecture City. The problem with that quarry, Li Qi could easily ascertain through Information Stream Vision and True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

For the Governor of Li Prefecture, this was a matter of life and death. He would certainly conduct a thorough investigation, and it was likely that a major purge had already begun in Li Prefecture City.

Qianji Gate... it's probably going to be destroyed.

What was insignificant to Li Qi had already caused huge waves in Li Prefecture, and tens of thousands of people would die because of it.

The actions of Great Powers can cause countless changes, just as a single sunspot eruption could directly destroy all communication on Earth.

Of course, for Li Qi, none of this mattered, because he wasn't going to change the 'ways' of Baiyue. He was just a passerby, coming to see his old brothers and prepare a gift for them.

With the boatman's chant, this treasure boat, a Ninth Rank Spiritual Artifact of upper-middle quality, set off, carrying Li Qi towards the South Sea.

A night passed.

By the time Li Qi woke up the next day, he had already left the urban area and arrived at a wide river expanse.

Although the Li River was not a famous river in the world, it was still a ten-thousand-mile long river. At this moment, the river surface was tens of miles wide, and ships floating on it looked like small boats.

There were many other boats around, but they were all very far from Li Qi's boat, as if deliberately keeping their distance.

The reason was simple: Li Qi's boat was quite grand, and it was also a Ninth Rank Spiritual Artifact.

Boats, of course, could also be crafted into Spiritual Artifacts, and the Materials and money required were dozens of times that of ordinary Spiritual Artifacts, making them a typical luxury item.

For Cultivators who could themselves soar into the sky, delve into the earth, and cross oceans, the significance of such boats was merely to conserve physical strength and possess some special powers. However, the boat before him clearly had no special powers to speak of. If it was only for traveling on the river, it was purely a luxury item, merely showcasing status and wealth. Besides being quite sturdy and shiny, it had no other distinguishing features.

Choosing such a boat wasn't because Li Qi liked to show off.

For Li Qi, using such a treasure boat was necessary, because the place he was going was the deep sea. There, ocean currents, sea beasts, waves, and even the pressure of the Heaven and Earth themselves were a heavy burden. Only a treasure boat could bear such a responsibility.

However, this made him stand out like a crane among chickens in the inland Li River, so everyone kept their distance from him, not wanting to compete for the waterway.

Sitting at the bow, Li Qi looked at the wide and deep Li River, and began to ponder the purpose he had prepared from the beginning.

He came this time to visit the God of the Li River. As the Mountain Spirit and Water God who first established contact with him, Li Qi was prepared to thank him properly.

“Boat Master,” Li Qi called out from the bow.

A lean old man immediately stepped out and respectfully bowed to Li Qi: “What are your orders, Master?”

“We'll pause for a day on the way. I want to go to Azure Brilliance Palace to offer incense and visit the God of the Li River,” Li Qi said.

Upon hearing this, the Boat Master immediately became solemn.

The old man's expression was serious, and he stood up straight: “Is Master serious?”

“Why? Is there anything wrong?” Li Qi asked.

“Master, you are a passing Great Power, perhaps you don't know our taboos... We boat gangs all make a living on the Li River. If the Li Shui God is displeased, we might not be able to survive afterwards,” the hunched Boat Master said to Li Qi, wiping sweat from his brow.

“Oh, you're afraid I'll offend him, then just leave, leaving you to face his wrath?” Li Qi smiled: “Don't worry, I also have a connection with the God of the Li River. He has shown me kindness, so how could I quarrel with him?”

“The Li Shui God has shown you kindness?” The old man was surprised.

“That's right. If it weren't for him back then, I might have died. I've always relied on him for a living and got through those most difficult years. I've come this time precisely to repay this favor and catch up,” Li Qi said with a smile.

“Catch up? You still have old ties with him?” The Boat Master was even more confused.

“A life-saving kindness, how can it not be considered an old tie? Alright, you've asked enough. Just tell me directly how to visit Azure Brilliance Palace without being impolite. I am, after all, an outsider and don't understand the rules. It wouldn't be good if I ruined the host's mood before even entering,” Li Qi said to the Boat Master.

The Boat Master still seemed to feel something was amiss and advised again: “The God of the Li River is a well-known Mountain Spirit and Water God of Great Deer Kingdom, with a rather grand demeanor. Master, your status is also not low, so you might not accept those cumbersome rules... and learning them is also very difficult.”

“Since I'm here to see a benefactor, what's the big deal with a few rules? Besides, I've done a lot of things like offering sacrifices and worshipping gods. I'm quite clear about what's taboo and what actions have what meaning. I won't get them confused,” Li Qi said, showing no sign of backing down.

Seeing Li Qi's stubbornness, the Boat Master didn't dare to say anything more in opposition. He merely bowed respectfully, indicating that he understood and would make the arrangements.

Before long, he had arranged the itinerary and presented it to Li Qi for review.

Nothing special.

Four thousand more li forward was the fork in the Li River. North led to Song Kingdom, and south led to the滄海 (Canghai, a vast sea).

In the center of this fork was the Li Shui God Palace. The temple of the God of the Li River was built here. Anyone who took the Li River route had to come and offer some incense, hoping the Li Shui God would bless their journey.

That temple, receiving incense offerings from all sides, had already developed into a large city, and was quite famous within Great Deer Kingdom.

Li Qi agreed to the itinerary. Then, he received a booklet detailing the points to note when visiting the God of the Li River.

In addition, the Boat Master specifically came to explain to him in detail: “Master, as written in this booklet, to visit the Li Shui God, you must do everything listed here, and also present three kinds of gifts. However, the gifts are extremely precious and require sincerity... It is truly not easy.”

“My sincerity is beyond doubt. As for the three gifts, just tell me,” Li Qi said.

He understood it well.

As one of the well-known Great Water Gods of Great Deer Kingdom, the God of the Li River controlled the river transport, geographically connecting Baiyue and the South Sea. He was truly influential in this region. By merely occupying this treasured land, his promotion to Sixth Rank was just around the corner. Once he ascended in a thousand years or so, he could be considered a top-tier local power in the Baiyue region.

Such a Water God must have visitors every day. If there wasn't a threshold, people would certainly be summoning him with sacrifices every day, and he would be annoyed to death.

So Li Qi was not angry; instead, he prepared to sincerely prepare gifts and visit. He truly wanted to thank the God of the Li River properly.

Whether it was the initial river-opening ceremony, the Water Qi for Cultivating Carp Current Intent, or helping him remove the curse, although he had offered sincere sacrifices at the time, the God of the Li River had always responded.

Facing Li Qi's answer, the Boat Master naturally dared not continue to persuade him.

He had already given his advice; the rest was the boss's own business. If anything went wrong, it wouldn't be his fault.

“Then I'll tell you... I hope Master won't fall out with the Li Shui God after hearing this,” the Boat Master said with a wry smile: “Firstly, you need to prepare a grand sacrificial ceremony.”

“That's natural. I'm familiar with sacrificial ceremonies,” Li Qi nodded.

Sacrificial ceremonies, that was his main job, very familiar, no worries at all.

“This cannot be taken lightly... How can ordinary people have the ability to hold such a sacrifice? But those taboos and symbols can be maddening. You probably have to invite a specialized Shaman, and that's a considerable expense,” the Boat Master reminded him.

Li Qi smiled and said: “I have my own way for this. Tell me about the others.”

The Boat Master nodded and continued: “It's good that Master has his own decision. Secondly, you need a water-elemental spiritual item. It cannot be a man-made Spiritual Artifact; it must be a naturally formed spiritual item. As for its rank... it must at least reach the Martial Dao Divine Intent realm.”

“So that's all it is, then it's simple. What else?” Li Qi shook his head. That's it? Nothing major.

The Martial Dao Divine Intent realm was actually just an Eighth Rank Spiritual Artifact, nothing major, it just sounded very mysterious in this place.

It was only because too many people in Great Deer Kingdom Cultivated the Martial Dao, and Eighth Rank Martial Dao could condense Martial Dao Divine Intent, that this term came about. After all, here, seven out of ten Eighth Ranks were Martial Dao Cultivators.

In fact, it wasn't just Great Deer Kingdom where Martial Dao Cultivation was prevalent; throughout the world, and even the entire Void Realm, Martial Dao was the most common Dao. The reason was simple: Martial Dao was the easiest to develop and the easiest to get started with.

It didn't require any mysterious research or inexplicable contemplation. As long as you started exercising your body, you had embarked on the path of Martial Dao.

Exercising the body, using one's most primitive weapons to protect or destroy, this was the original True Knowledge of Martial Dao. It was simple, clear, and easy to understand, which is why almost all races and all worlds have, by coincidence, formed their own Martial Dao.

And in those less powerful worlds, Martial Dao was their only choice, as they temporarily lacked the ability to form another new Dao Orthodoxy. Martial Dao was the only path of Cultivation.

Broadly speaking, the more backward a place, the more prosperous Martial Dao was, but this was not always the case. There were also quite a few worlds that purely entered the Second Rank through Martial Dao.

Such existences, with their Martial Artist spirit suppressing all Heavens, were just as formidable as anyone else. After all, while Martial Dao was easy to get started with, reaching higher levels was the same as with other Dao paths, and could even be said to be more difficult.

The path of a Martial Artist, even Li Qi found it arduous, let alone others.

“It's not that I doubt Master, it's just... a naturally formed Martial Dao Divine Intent treasure is not something that can be easily obtained. If our boat is delayed for too long on the way, the South Sea won't wait for us...” the Boat Master reminded Li Qi.

“Isn't it just natural Water Qi? What's so difficult about that? I'll go get it now,” Li Qi said, standing up.

natural Water Qi, like the natural Jin Qi (Metal Energy) in Green Mountain back then, was a treasure that was born with a Rank and possessed special powers. Li Qi had encountered it when he was Ninth Rank.

Back then, it was considered a treasure.

Nowadays...

It was everywhere.

Li Qi saw him join two fingers, pull out a translucent piece of paper from the Void Realm, and throw it into the water. An unbelievable power immediately erupted, and ripples suddenly appeared on the water surface, rolling outwards in circles, creating layers of ripples.

However, just as everyone expected a fierce display of power, the water ripples simply dissipated.

Only a hand suddenly extended from the water.

That hand was purely composed of water, without any sense of the divine or a trace of magic, but it simply extended out.

The hand clenched into a fist, extending and reaching out, even wetting the clothes of many sailors, scaring them into fleeing.

Then, it bypassed the aged Boat Master and reached out to Li Qi.

Li Qi took it, nodded, and said: “Thank you.”

The hand did not respond, but simply dissipated abruptly, falling to the ground with a splash, leaving a water stain. Upon closer inspection, it was just ordinary water.

The others were stunned, unsure of what kind of method this was.

Only Li Qi himself knew what it was.

Nothing special, just summoned the local Water Spirit.

What he had just thrown into the water was a paper edict, an edict to the local Water Spirit in his name.

This was like how Great Powers could stomp on the ground and summon a Earth God, both were methods of commanding spirits.

In the eyes of a Shaman, all things in Heaven and Earth have spirits. This was the original 'Innate God,' and the two words 'God' and 'Spirit' were originally connected. It was only later that the Dao of Gods introduced things like Acquired Godhood.

Although the Li River already had a divine position and occupied the place of a spirit, the Water Spirit of the Li River naturally still existed. Li Qi wrote an incantation, commanding the local Water Spirit to find him a wisp of natural Water Qi.

He had done this before. When he was being pursued by the Song Kingdom soldier, he used this trick to borrow Mountain Qi from the Mountain Spirit, but he never returned it.

Now, of course, it was impossible to take it for free, so this time he exchanged a wisp of Eighth Rank natural Water Qi at the cost of his own Cultivation.

Thus, before everyone's eyes, the Li River itself delivered the treasure to Li Qi.