Chapter 436: Death Slayer

The eight-grade natural Water Qi born from the Li River was already a rare treasure for these people, but now it was personally delivered into Li Qi's hands by the Li River itself.

"Is this the thing? Can it be used?" Li Qi weighed it, then said to the Boat Master.

The Boat Master was momentarily speechless.

It took him a while before he nervously stepped forward and carefully examined the wisp of Water Qi that had not yet fully formed.

Then, the scrawny old man nodded, "My Lord's Divine Ability is vast... This is indeed a treasure of the Divine Concept, so, in that case, the second requirement is met."

"There's still a third requirement. Tell me," Li Qi urged.

When speaking of the third requirement, the Boat Master leaned in, becoming secretive, and said, "The third requirement is difficult. It requires a 'Prayer'. I wonder if my Lord knows what a Prayer is?"

Before Li Qi could react, he continued, "Prayer, in legend, is something that a Invoker specifically writes for a certain sacrifice and Deity. It is said that Invoker are extremely mysterious; they travel through mountains, rivers, and lands, and can communicate with Heaven, Earth, humans, Gods, and ghosts."

"It is said that they communicate with those mysterious existences by relying on 'Prayer'. For Gods and ghosts, Prayer can greatly benefit them. However, to obtain a Prayer, one must find a Invoker. Such people are elusive and truly difficult to find. Perhaps we will be delayed for several days before we can find one."

The Boat Master's explanation left Li Qi stunned.

However, upon closer thought, it seemed there was nothing wrong with it.

Invoker were indeed rare, but these explanations were mostly rumors.

It's not just Invoker who can write Prayer; the Invoker lineage, including Wu Yu, Prayer masters, and dozens of other types, can all write Prayer. Some宗人 who are well-versed and knowledgeable can even write them.

Prayer, in essence, is merely a method of communication. The series of obscure words Li Qi often recited before sacrifices was Prayer. Not only were the words obscure, but the pronunciation was also awkward, and it required corresponding methods and Qi manipulation techniques. It also had certain requirements for the Physical Body's microcosm, making it a very difficult thing to master.

Of course, Li Qi certainly knew how; he was, after all, an orthodox Invoker, and this was his professional skill.

However, upon hearing this requirement, Li Qi suddenly smiled.

Then, Li Qi abruptly waved his hand.

The Physical Body's microcosm unfolded!

The surrounding world immediately plunged towards Li Qi's microcosm, forming a strange scene that isolated inside from outside.

The treasure ship was directly forced to stop. Li Qi used his Domain to still the movement within, as if he had cast a wide-area immobilization spell.

Then, Li Qi stood up, cupped his hands, and said to the Boat Master, "Junior Li Qi greets the Li Shui God. Why bother pretending like this to test me? Could it be that you think Junior's sincerity is not enough?"

The other party had tested him to this extent, and with Li Qi's mind, he should have figured it out by now.

Li Qi hadn't been sure before, because his True Knowledge Dao Resonance and Information Stream Vision had both reported back that this was just an ordinary eight-grade Martial Artist Cultivator, so he hadn't suspected anything at first.

But after those three requirements were put forward, he began to have doubts.

Li Prefecture was named after the Li River.

Every year, Li Prefecture held an opening ceremony for the river, with the seven-grade Lord/Prefect personally presiding over the sacrifice to the Li Shui God.

From this, it could be seen that the Lord/Prefect of Li Prefecture and the Li Shui God had an unusual relationship.

Furthermore, when Li Qi said he wanted to visit the Li Shui God, the Boat Master's reaction was very strange. Coupled with the previous questions, Li Qi felt that there must have been something aimed at him.

Sacrifice, Prayer, and treasure—wouldn't you say this was intended to test Li Qi's identity?

So, Li Qi employed a small trick.

It was the Water Spirit just now.

Water Spirits are ignorant and unthinking, but they are naturally spiritual and extremely sensitive. For example, the Heavenly Dao of other worlds, though ignorant and unthinking, finds it difficult to conceal anything that happens within the world from the local Heavenly Dao, because the Heavenly Dao's sixth sense is incredibly strong, almost indistinguishable from precognition.

It is precisely because of this nature of spirits that many senses are named after them, such as the famous 'Spiritual Sense,' which is actually named after the feeling of spirits.

When Li Qi summoned the Water Spirit, the semi-transparent paper he threw in was actually a Prayer, expressing his hope that the Water Spirit could guide him to a method of meeting the Li Shui God and also his desire for a wisp of natural Water Qi.

In return, Li Qi offered some of his cultivation, which was the pure Qi within his Physical Body's microcosm. This was also a great tonic for the Li River Water Spirit, making it a fair transaction.

So, after Li Qi assumed such a posture and spoke those words, the Boat Master first froze, looking very confused, as if he truly didn't know.

Then, his body directly withered, and a wisp of Water Qi seemed to want to escape from his body!

Li Qi's expression changed, and he immediately acted, directly breaking apart the natural Water Qi he had just obtained and injecting it into the Boat Master's body!

His body was dehydrating on one side, while being nourished by the natural Water Qi on the other, barely maintaining a balance.

This was very difficult, because the water in his body was constantly trying to break free, and Li Qi had to ensure that every cell in his body received high-quality Water Qi in time.

Fortunately, there was True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

Li Qi meticulously adjusted his body's condition through the True Knowledge Dao Resonance. The fox spirit from Qingwu City in the past could perform cellular-level operations, and now he could do the same.

But on the other side, the Water Qi that had separated from the Boat Master's body was gradually combining with the natural Water Qi of the world, forming a Water God with a human head and a snake body.

With the appearance of this Water God, turbid waves began to ripple across the Li River.

And then the Water God was seen:

Its head bore scales and fins, and its eyes were entirely green.

Its movements were agile and swift, and its mouth was filled with jagged teeth.

Its light was like a caged candle, and its fine scales shimmered with purple.

It had a complete head and tail, no feet or hands, a body over eight feet long, its scales were exceptionally smooth and lustrous, and its entire body was semi-transparent, emanating Divine Qi.

"As expected of a Invoker from Shaman God Mountain... I thought I had hidden myself very well, and also... what are you doing?" The Li Shui God swayed its snake tail, revealing its true form.

However, as soon as he looked up, he found that Li Qi wasn't looking at him at all; instead, he was doing something with the dried corpse he was holding.

Li Qi simply replied, "Saving someone."

"Saving someone? You can't save him. I was hidden in the Water Qi within his body, making it impossible to be discovered, but when I leave, all the Water Qi in his body will be taken away by me. His Physical Body's vitality will be directly destroyed; there's no saving him." The Li Shui God shook his head, "Instead of caring about a dead man, why not talk to me? Didn't you want to talk to me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the already withered old man cough a few times, and then his skin suddenly turned red, with a large number of red blotches appearing beneath his skin. Evidently, all his blood vessels had ruptured, leading to massive internal bleeding, so much so that subcutaneous capillaries had extensively dilated, creating this effect of red blotches all over his body.

But the question was—

Where did the blood come from?

The Li Shui God was puzzled. The water in this person's body should have been completely drained; his entire body would shatter at a touch, and his Physical Body's microcosm completely withered. How could there still be a liquid like blood?

"Did you do that?" The Li Shui God looked at Li Qi.

Although acute internal bleeding was still a fatal injury for ordinary people, for an eight-grade Martial Artist, it was enough to save his life.

"Your boat should have its own doctor. Go and give him medicine to treat him," Li Qi said to the crew members he had just immobilized, then threw the Boat Master over.

The moment he threw him, the entire boat returned to normal, and the crew members could move again.

They immediately took their master, not daring to speak, and all hid in the cabin.

Only then did Li Qi finally free his hands, sighing, and looked at the Li Shui God with a human head and snake body beside him.

It was truly a human head and snake body, with only a human head, and everything below the neck was a snake body, without a torso or arms, and naturally no legs. It also had fangs, looking quite terrifying, but its expression was calm, smiling as it looked at Li Qi.

"Li Shui God..." Li Qi walked over and sat down in front of the Li Shui God.

No wonder True Knowledge Dao Resonance didn't see him; he had directly transformed into the water within the other party's body, completely integrated. What a skillful method.

The Li Shui God also coiled his body, 'sitting' opposite Li Qi. He spoke, "I have also seen disciples of Shaman God Mountain before, but I have never seen one like you, who would expend so much effort to save an ant. I wonder what you are seeking."

"I will save him, which is why I thought of visiting you," Li Qi said.

However, Li Qi's tone had become much colder.

He had imagined what the Li Shui God would be like; perhaps arrogant, perhaps righteous, perhaps cautious, but upon meeting him, he only felt... disappointment.

Suspicious, distrustful, ruthless, and... also very foolish.

Self-important probing, many meaningless actions—was he trying to show off? Or trying to display something?

It was simply a self-destructive approach.

"You will save him, so you came to see me, disciple of Shaman God Mountain. What are you trying to say? Do you mean that I and this boatman are the same in your eyes?" The Li Shui God's expression changed, seemingly displeased.

Li Qi grew even more annoyed at the sight.

He seemed to understand why the 'Dao' near the Li River was like this.

The source was here.

The God of the Li River was so ruthless, and... brainless.

"Yes, the same, no difference. Not only are you the same, all sentient beings are the same. Everything in nature only differs in ability, but there is no saying that one is nobler than another," Li Qi nodded and said to the Li Shui God.

"What a joke. I thought a visitor from Shaman God Mountain would have some profound insights, but I didn't expect a foolish and pedantic person. However, considering your sincerity in seeing me, and I even specially appeared to meet you, then present your offerings and state your demands. All you Mortals seek is this, nothing more," the Li Shui God shook his head and sneered.

In his view, Gods were like this: Gods accepted offerings and then bestowed blessings upon Mortals. For so many years, it had always been this way. Even the Lord/Prefect of Li Prefecture had to perform sacrifices to him regularly, let alone other common Mortals.

Gods were high above, Mortals prayed below.

One hand for sacrifice, one hand for blessing.

This was the Dao of Gods; Deities were high above, and Mortals were also divided into layers of high and low. How could there be no distinction between high and low, noble and humble?

But Li Qi only felt disappointed.

However, since the Li Shui God had been kind to him, he couldn't do anything here.

So, Li Qi sighed again, "In that case, then please, Water God, depart."

By now, he had no interest in the Li Shui God anymore.

However, as soon as these words were spoken, the entire boat suddenly shook with a bang, and huge waves surged all around!

"You said you wanted to see me, and you prepared sacrifices. Now you call me here, and then you tell me to leave? Are you playing with me?" The Li Shui God was furious, and with a flick of his snake tail, he shattered the table.

He glared at Li Qi, his inner rage erupting, transforming into a tangible pressure that bore down on Li Qi's shoulders.

Li Qi could feel the source of that anger.

Being equated with a Mortal.

Being enraged by Li Qi's calm expression.

Coupled with Li Qi now telling him to leave, these angers completely erupted.

But it only made Li Qi sigh again.

How to describe this feeling...

It was like a primary school student whose Hope Primary School was donated by a celebrity doing good deeds. When he grew up, he wanted to meet the person and repay them, only to find out that the person was a scoundrel who committed all kinds of evil, and the original donation was just for fame.

Li Qi was disheartened. He had lost his appetite for the entire day. He simply waved his hand, "Li Shui God, depart. Although the evils you have committed are too numerous to list, you have, after all, shown me kindness in the past. I am not at liberty to pursue you. Now, disappear from my sight. It will be better for both you and me."

The Li Shui God became even more enraged, and the surrounding river churned, producing countless water spouts!

Li Qi rose from his stool and shook his head.

He had never fought anyone in places like Tang Nation and Shaman God Mountain, which were full of hidden talents, but he had fought two battles in just two days in Baiyue.

Is it true that poor mountains and treacherous waters produce unruly people?

Well, if the Divine Position of the Li Shui God remains, then the Dao of the Li River basin will never improve. Today, I will strike a heavy blow and eliminate the scourge along the Li River.

The Li River was, after all, a crucial waterway, with countless boats coming and going around it.

Thus, the surrounding boats were all surprised to find that the Li Shui God had manifested his true form here, using the geographical advantage to form a magnificent, heaven-and-earth-spanning Dharma Idol.

As the Dharma Idol rose,

The high waves crashed down, and the surging waves rose hundreds of feet, appearing like snow-capped mountains!

The currents surged upstream, engulfing tens of thousands of acres of riverbank, rotting crops, which would likely not be cultivable for several years.

Only the roaring of the waves was heard, and the earth trembled, with surges reaching tens of feet!

However, everyone was astonished to find that it seemed to be all bark and no bite; after the Dharma Idol appeared, it dissipated in just a moment.

But, strangely, the Li River... had lost the omnipresent protection of Divine Power.

The Dao of the Li River was about to change.

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One day later.

The treasure ship continued to sail steadily on the Li River.

Li Qi was still sitting at the bow, but another hand reached out from the water, firmly holding his hand.

Li Qi smiled and said, "Alright, let go. Since you are the Li River Water Spirit, it is only natural for you to take over the Divine Position. However, you have not yet gained consciousness, so awaken slowly. I hope you, as the Water Spirit, awaken soon and do better than that water snake."

As Li Qi spoke, the hand in the water slowly receded.

Li Qi turned his head, looked at the trembling boatmen behind him, and said, "Let's go. Accelerate. Don't stop on the way; go straight to the East Sea."