Chapter 440: East Island Scenery

Li Qi was still trekking, but he was finally about to leave the ‘coast’ and arrive at East Isle.

Although it was called the coast, it was already twenty to thirty thousand miles away from the actual ‘shore’.

However, it was still considered the coastline, as the Nine Lands Under Heaven were quite vast. Even though the sea here was several hundred miles deep, it was still considered ‘shallow sea’.

And shallow seas are actually the most vibrant, with large numbers of small fish and shrimp, ample sunlight, and nutrients washed down from rivers on land, all of which make shallow seas more dynamic.

As for further on, in the deep sea, there wouldn't be such a rich ecosystem.

It's just… that kind of place has already departed from the ‘Mortal’ ecosystem.

The current shallow sea, though seemingly fantastical, largely adheres to the rules of the ecosystem, with many ordinary creatures, fish, and shrimp.

However… because it’s in the Nine Lands Under Heaven, it’s not really that ordinary. If the Mortal fish here banded together, killing a Ninth-Rank should not be an issue.

But in the deep sea, the situation would begin to change.

Only Spirit Beasts, Divine Beasts, and demon dragons and True Dragons exist there.

The profound water Qi emanating from the deep sea, things like the remnants of Dragon Lord, and the most terrifying storms in the deep sea—the Qi layer from the entire Nine Lands Under Heaven—all molded that place into a zone where only the strong could survive.

Especially the Qi layer.

Li Qi knew that at the end of the East Sea, the easternmost part of the Nine Lands Under Heaven, there was a broken cliff where water constantly fell from the boundary between the sea and the Void Realm, forming a spectacular, massive waterfall stretching countless tens of thousands of miles, which was then caught by the Qi and spread throughout the Nine Lands Under Heaven, completing a water cycle. (See Chapter 337)

Therefore, it can be seen that the Qi layer is like a flattened soap bubble adhering to the disk-shaped continent of the Nine Lands Under Heaven. According to this structure, the closer to the center, the farther the Qi is from the ground; the closer to the edge, the closer the Qi is to the ground.

On the ground, there is upward-steaming Earth Qi to counteract it, so it's just ordinarily windy.

But in the East Sea… the Qi layer clung tightly to the sea surface. Such a storm would stir up giant waves hundreds of miles high, making it difficult even for a Seventh-Rank to extricate themselves if caught within it.

The great storms from the Qi layer, various gigantic sea monsters and Spirit Beasts cultivating by absorbing East Sea water Qi, and various demon dragons roaming…

That was the truly brutal part of the East Sea, and also Li Qi’s destination.

Finally, after two and a half days of travel, Li Qi at last reached East Isle.

The path indicated by the mirage Qi seemed correct.

Actually, it didn't matter if it wasn't, he could always find his way, it would just take a few more days, a minor matter.

The East Isle Li Qi arrived at this time was East Isle 4632.

The East Isle, a collaboration between the Dao of Reason and the East Sea, was essentially a large-scale mechanism. There were over six thousand such islands, distributed along the entire East Sea coast, facilitating the reception of guests wishing to visit the East Sea.

Li Qi had always been curious about the Dao of Reason.

The Dao of Reason, similar to the Martial Dao, was a second-rate Dao Orthodoxy of the Nine Lands Under Heaven. Although it didn't occupy one of the Nine Lands Under Heaven, it had its influence in various places.

For example, the Dao of Reason had deep ties with the Human Race’s Mohist school, some involvement with Shaman Dao, and an even closer relationship with the Spirit Dao. It was said that the Dao of Reason even participated in the initial development of Daoist external alchemy…

Now, the East Isle in the East Sea was also built by the Dao of Reason…

Perhaps, is there a possibility that the Dao of Reason and the Martial Dao have a core existence that controls these second-rate Dao Orthodoxys to spread their roots throughout the Nine Lands Under Heaven?

This way, even though they can't occupy one of the Nine Lands Under Heaven, they can still maintain their status and Legacy.

If there's an opportunity… to look for similar clues, it might lead to a deeper understanding of these second-rate Dao Orthodoxys.

As Li Qi thought this, ‘East Isle’ finally appeared before him, just as he had originally expected.

However, it was quite different from the East Isle he had imagined.

Li Qi’s imagined East Isle should have been a giant mechanical island, like those described in science fiction novels—a large island made of metal, like a city, floating on the sea through some means.

After all, the books he read mentioned the existence of East Isle but didn't describe what it looked like.

But when East Isle appeared before him, he was astonished.

It wasn't an island, but a Puppet.

A super, incredibly, extremely huge and towering Puppet!

The Puppet was roughly humanoid, with arms and legs, standing on two feet—

That's right, standing. East Isle… stood on the seabed, meaning this Puppet had a body at least five hundred miles long. It was stepping on the seabed and constantly walking on it.

However, although it was humanoid, it didn't look like a human, because its head wasn't a human face, but some kind of… mountain?

Li Qi didn't know how to describe it; this wasn't a face a humanoid creature should have. No… this giant statue simply had no face.

It simply had a disc installed on its neck, and a city stood on the disc.

Besides that, there were two more discs on its shoulders.

Then, its two hands were raised, each supporting two discs.

Thus, five discs, plus the countless ‘metal mountain’-like buildings inserted into them, formed the complete appearance of ‘East Isle’.

And this giant, carrying five discs, walked step by step on the seabed.

This giant had an enormous volume, evident from its several-hundred-mile-long body alone, so the five discs were also extremely large. On them, one could clearly see many people living, walking, and flying.

Spiritual Artifacts and mounts constantly traveled between the various discs, as if different discs were different urban areas, responsible for different societal functions.

At the giant’s chest, there was a super-large, active deep-water port. All the ships coming and going were made of Spiritual Artifacts, sailing into this port.

There were also flying Spiritual Artifacts, but those were clearly outsiders coming to the East Sea.

Even Li Qi, who had read travel guides, knew that flying Spiritual Artifacts were impractical in the East Sea.

As the ocean voyage progressed, the Qi layer would get lower and lower, closer and closer to the sea surface.

After all, the Qi layer has a flattened soap bubble-like structure. The closer to the outer reaches of the Nine Lands Under Heaven, the lower the Qi layer, and the more easily flying Spiritual Artifacts are affected. Moreover, the East Sea has no upward-steaming Earth Qi to counteract it, so using flying Spiritual Artifacts in the East Sea is a very foolish thing.

Looking at it this way, would diving Spiritual Artifacts be better? After all, in the water, one wouldn't have to worry about the Qi layer.

But in reality, no. Although you wouldn't have to worry about the Qi layer, you'd have to worry about underwater currents and sea beasts.

Therefore, ships are still the most practical.

Floating on the water surface, one doesn't have to constantly face sea beasts, can use buoyancy to resist the Qi, and, if necessary, a ship can actually dive, without even needing a special diving function.

Just sink down, after all, cultivators are very difficult to drown.

Witnessing ‘East Isle 4632’ before him, a thought suddenly occurred to Li Qi.

Could it be that all East Isles are these giant Puppet people? How many could this thing crush if it started fighting?

It’s a bit terrifying.

Li Qi’s mind was racing with wild thoughts, but Old Ma’s steps didn’t stop. With an explosive burst of speed, he charged towards East Isle.

Li Qi brushed past many things. He could see that as they approached East Isle, the population density rapidly increased.

Here, all Mortals had been filtered out; everyone was at least a Ninth-Rank.

Without Ninth-Rank, there was no qualification to enter the deep sea.

Li Qi could see people flying through the air, some riding various means of transport, though most were ships.

Some were rushing across the water on their own, while others rode different mounts, such as large fish, or various exotic beasts: white wolves, lions, fierce tigers.

There were also many horses, and many Dragon Steeds like Old Ma.

Of course, the most impressive was the powerful individual Li Qi had passed earlier. He actually rode a Flood Dragon, standing on its head, soaring past everyone, attracting countless times more attention than Li Qi.

Li Qi only glanced at him before immediately turning his head away.

What's so great about riding a Flood Dragon with at least a Fifth-Rank cultivation?

However, looking at it this way…

The strength of East Isle seemed very high. His own Seventh-Rank felt a bit precarious; establishing himself here would probably not be so simple.

Fortunately, he wasn't here to establish himself, just to travel and take care of some business.

Thinking about these things, Li Qi finally arrived within a hundred miles of East Isle.

However, just as he entered this range, he heard a loud bang!

It wasn’t an explosion, but a very clear human voice, Li Qi’s familiar Human Race elegant speech, and it was a vibrant female voice, just incredibly loud.

Then he heard the voice echo in his ears with immense decibels: “Newcomer! Please come here to register your identity and complete the procedures!”

Hearing the phrase “complete the procedures,” Li Qi was stunned.

Is this place part of the Human Race’s Dao Orthodoxy?

Didn’t they say the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution never bothered with such things?

Thinking this, he began to search for the source of the sound.

Looking around, no one reacted; it seemed only he had heard this voice?

But luckily, the direction of the voice was very clear. Following that direction, Li Qi saw… a giant whale.

It truly was… enormous.

The sea whale’s back was exposed, cutting across the vast ocean, dividing the coastline into two parts.

However… having been in the East Sea for a few days, Li Qi was already accustomed to such giant beasts. Although this giant whale was tens of miles long, it was just that.

But, was this giant whale the one making the sound?

Li Qi thought, and actively focused his True Knowledge Dao Resonance and Information Stream Vision. Sure enough, he saw a clue.

This giant whale seemed to be able to emit a unique sound wave that only specific people could hear.

How interesting.

Moreover, many people surrounded the giant whale, with various means of transport stacked layer upon layer, all seemingly going to register.

In that case, he would go and ask.

Ask why ‘registration,’ something with Human Race characteristics, would appear on East Isle.

Li Qi rode Old Ma towards the giant whale. The giant whale seemed to sense Li Qi’s approach, so it didn’t shout at him.

But she was still constantly emitting sound waves, and from time to time, other people covered their ears, their faces filled with pain, clearly stunned by the giant whale’s voice.

Soon, Li Qi reached the edge of the giant whale, and saw the giant whale speak again, emitting the same female voice as before: “Please come onto my back, there are people responsible for registration there.”

“People?” Li Qi was astonished, unable to resist asking back.

What about people? Are you kidding me? This is the East Sea!

But the giant whale didn’t respond.

Li Qi couldn't question the giant whale either, so he prepared to go onto her back.

Old Ma soared into the air, quickly arriving on the giant whale’s back.

Li Qi looked closely and saw that there were indeed many people there, but… they weren’t people in the usual sense.

They were indeed Human Race, and quite orthodox, from the Nine Lands Under Heaven, but their Physical Bodies had undergone a considerable degree of modification. Half of their Physical Bodies had been embedded with various parts, clearly miniaturized Spiritual Artifacts.

People of various races were conducting business before these half-human, half-Spiritual Artifact ‘people’, quite quickly. Basically, they just circulated in front of them and the process was done.

From his angle, Li Qi could tell that they were collecting the registrant’s Qi, then storing it for registration, after which they could leave.

One has to say, it was quite in the Human Race style…

However, the Human Race should not have such extreme Physical Body modifications. After all, for them, such modifications are meaningless; they have no methods that require such modifications, it's purely a burden.

Which means…

The Dao of Reason?

Is the Dao of Reason managing East Isle?

I haven't heard of that.

Thinking these thoughts, Li Qi had Old Ma stand aside while he went to queue.

The queue was quite long, about two to three miles, all on the giant whale’s body, and new people were constantly joining the queue. If he didn’t hurry and queue, he estimated it would be delayed by another half an hour.

There were many colossal beasts and other strange races in the queue, but at this moment, they all used transformation techniques to reduce their bodies, so as not to take up too much space, and queued obediently.

During his wait, Li Qi was also a little excited.

This was the first time he had seen true, pure Dao of Reason members. Perhaps he could exchange a few words and learn about the Dao of Reason.

After all, what one reads in books is not always real; knowledge gained from paper is ultimately shallow.

The queue lasted for about a quarter of an hour. Although the two to three miles of queue ahead was long, everyone was very self-disciplined, and there was no clichéd cutting in line or anything of the sort. The order was perfect, and the efficiency was extremely high. It was Li Qi’s turn in two quarters of an hour.

Li Qi walked forward enthusiastically, with his True Knowledge Dao Resonance fully open and Information Stream Vision activated, ready to analyze the pile of Spiritual Artifacts on the other party.

However, the moment he made contact, Li Qi’s expression instantly turned serious.

A special barrier repelled the power of the True Knowledge Dao Resonance!

This was the first time Li Qi had encountered something that could repel the True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

One must know, before, it was either un-scannable, like scanning Teacher Zhu Fengdan, who was directly transparent and nonexistent in the True Knowledge Dao Resonance’s eyes.

Or it was scannable, and the information would be slowly read.

This was the first time the True Knowledge Dao Resonance had been ‘rejected’ by something.

What kind of Spiritual Artifact was on the other person’s body?