Chapter 447: I Know Him

Most people probably find it hard to imagine that Li Qi, a legitimate Shaman, is actually proficient in Demonic Dao methods, and can even use them.

This isn't just mere research; it's a genuine ‘fall into the Demonic Dao’.

In fact, Li Qi has already fallen into the Demonic Dao; he is deeply troubled by a Heavenly Demon, but others simply don't know it.

Who would have thought that a legitimate Young Master of Shaman God Mountain would be hiding so many messy secrets?

However, putting aside the principles, just looking at the effects, Demonic Dao methods are truly very useful.

But… if we talk about the principles, then it becomes quite terrifying.

demonic thoughtss grow in everyone's heart, and from the perspective of the Demonic Dao, all of this is one's own psychological projection; there is only ‘I’ in the world, so these demonic thoughtss are naturally ‘I’ as well. All demonic thoughtss, memories, and even consciousness itself, are formed by the self-projection of the Demonic Dao Cultivator.

Since they are my self-projections, it's normal for me to be able to manipulate and guide them, right?

This is completely absurd logic; one can see at a glance that this idea is unrealistic…

But in reality, they have achieved it.

The meaningless operations performed under this absurd logic have genuinely worked. The Demonic Dao can indeed manipulate the demonic thoughtss in others' hearts, even using these demonic thoughtss to give rise to Demonic Overlords, thereby controlling memories, influencing consciousness, or even directly performing Possession, completely destroying a person's consciousness and sitting in the victim's body.

Of course, the Demonic Dao also has different schools, just like the Hundred Schools of Human Dao and the Three Branches and numerous sub-branches of Shaman Dao.

The Four Demons are, of course, the main schools of the Demonic Dao.

The Demon of Affliction: This branch of the Demonic Dao can afflict the body and mind of sentient beings with greed, anger, and ignorance, focusing on negative demonic thoughtss. This is also the most notorious branch of the Demonic Dao. These Demonic Dao Cultivators are skilled at inciting negative emotions in others, leading them away from desire and into depravity, transforming them into another person, ultimately losing their Dao Heart, becoming unable to Cultivate, and only able to fall into the Demonic Dao.

The Demon of the Five Aggregates: This branch doesn't target the Dao Heart, but can control the five aggregates, blurring the boundary between consciousness and the physical body. It can make what you see, hear, or even touch no longer real, making it impossible to distinguish illusion, ultimately leading to degradation.

This is not merely an illusion, because what the five aggregates perceive is real. Therefore, ordinary methods of breaking illusions are meaningless, and even True Knowledge Dao Resonance cannot discern what is wrong after the five aggregates have been altered.

Cultivators of the Five Aggregates Demonic Path can even completely distort a person's senses, turning beauty into ugliness, good into bad, and black into white.

If Li Qi had to describe it… it would probably be like Saya no Uta?

The whole world has gone mad; everyone is eating filthy, decaying flesh and turning into monsters, but only I am normal…

Or perhaps, only I am abnormal?

In short, the Demon of the Five Aggregates is terrifying.

Then there is the Demon of Death. This branch can probably be seen as the Demonic Dao in the usual sense, which most people can normally understand.

The core idea of the Demonic Dao is extreme solipsism: everything besides oneself is meaningless. So, the Demon of Death branch believes that everything is meaningless, everything is their own self-projection, so… let it all be destroyed.

It is said that all sentient beings, from all sentient beings, perish and die.

The Demon of Death is the most common type of Demonic Overlord, one who burns, kills, loots, acts as they please, and commits all manner of evil.

Finally, and what Li Qi learned, is the Heavenly Demon. These are the methods Li Qi currently uses to manipulate demonic thoughtss, which can later even develop into manipulating reality. It is a highly respected, rare, and aloof position within the Demonic Dao.

Li Qi, who directly observed and learned these things from a Heavenly Demon, can be said to be a second-generation Disciple of the Demonic Dao, comparable to a direct Disciple of the Shaman God, though he himself is not pleased about it.

The power of the Heavenly Demon lies in its recognition and manipulation of the entire reality. That is to say, the Heavenly Demon understands this reality better than anyone else. It is precisely because of this understanding that it can more profoundly grasp the mapping relationship between reality and its own mind, thus achieving control and influence over reality.

So, Li Qi reached out his hand.

Reality became even clearer.

He enhanced his senses through Demonic Dao methods, and the entire real world became even more vivid.

Incredibly vivid information began to rush into Li Qi's sensory organs at an accelerated rate.

Old Ma waited quietly nearby, knowing that when Li Qi started using Demonic Dao methods, it meant he was getting serious.

However, the current Li Qi cannot yet ‘manipulate reality’, because he himself doesn't believe in the absurd logic of the Demonic Dao. Although the Heavenly Demon did achieve it… Li Qi felt that the Heavenly Demon must have done it by force of cultivation, and must have used other methods.

His own beliefs simply cannot convince him to believe in such absurd idealistic solipsism; it goes completely against his Dao.

Therefore, Li Qi's current application of the Demonic Dao is still limited to the application of demonic thoughtss and self-application.

Self-application is also easy to understand.

It's self-hypnosis, and it's self-hypnosis in a conscious state, which allows the body to perform at a higher level.

This is Li Qi's current stage of Demonic Dao application, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn't apply it.

He absolutely cannot accept the idea of solipsism.

Through this method, Li Qi began to investigate.

Reality became clearer, and thus, the clues became even more distinct.

Li Qi began to gather all nearby information.

First, information about the Merfolk girl.

Li Qi concealed his figure and quietly followed Lei Fang as she left, confirming that she had indeed gone five hundred li away and was still under the control of demonic thoughtss. Then he began to analyze Lei Fang's aura, using True Knowledge Dao Resonance and Information Stream Vision to check if anyone else had tampered with her mind or body.

After confirming that there were no other auras on her, Li Qi decisively left, continuing to conceal his figure, and began searching for clues of the Bai Zhu Family in the pearl field.

Li Qi was going to use Demonic Dao methods to search for the clue he had envisioned—

He wanted to find the aura of a Flood Dragon.

——————

In a sense, the Heavenly Demon does not deny the existence of objective facts. However, purely objective facts are meaningless; only objective facts that are perceived by people have meaning.

A supernova explosion millions of light-years away has no meaning whatsoever, because before its light reaches Earth, it does not exist for Earth.

Something that cannot be perceived by others simply does not exist.

A thing exists because it is perceived; if it is not perceived, it does not exist.

The entire world is merely constructed by one's own perceptions. From this premise, besides oneself, there is no need to acknowledge the existence of others. This is the purest form of solipsism.

Objective facts only have meaning when perceived by the mind, and so—

“Then… Buddha Son, is this the perspective after Awakening? Does the Buddha's Awakening of the World mean to grant everyone such a vision? Such a view?” A black Flood Dragon was speaking these words to a monk.

The monk was about twenty years old, but he wore a thick face covering, obscuring his features, revealing only a bald head.

“Yes, the enlightened one will gain greater power and also receive the approval of Buddhism. Thus, when you embark on your water journey from the West, you can reduce nearly half of the challenges, because the West will not hinder your journey. You only need to focus on Shaman God Mountain, and Shaman God Mountain is not opposed to Flood Dragons embarking on water journeys. You only need to deal with the obstruction from the righteous warriors. In this way, your chances of success in your water journey will increase from half to sixty percent.” The monk said to the Flood Dragon.

“So, for such immense benefits, you only ask me to do some flawed things to that Young Master of Shaman God Mountain? Do you think he is a fool, or do you intend to use me as bait? Buddha Son, the grievances between you seventh-rank Cultivators should not involve a fifth-rank, especially a fifth-rank Flood Dragon.” The black Flood Dragon gradually rose, emitting immense pressure.

And on the surface of the sea, a Dragon shadow ascended.

The sea began to boil, dark clouds gathered, wind and thunder raged, and as night fell, heavy rain and lightning struck. Fire erupted from the sea surface, stretching seven hundred li without end, creating a spectacular sight of fire on the sea.

A small figure floated on this sea fire, with lotus flowers blooming around him.

Hot and thick with oil, the sea seemed to have turned into a cauldron of oil, with fierce flames burning brightly within it.

The monk, amidst the raging fire, set fire and performed a ritual, bowing to the Dragon, his face scorched.

Repeating this bow, his body fell onto the fire, and as the firewood burned out and the fire extinguished, his bones and flesh all turned to ash, yet only his heart remained, red and moist, with his liver, intestines, spleen, and stomach still connected.

Then, from his five organs and his Buddha Heart, a golden body was reborn.

His crown held a verdant topknot, his body shone with purple gold, and spiritual light pervaded, revealing heavenly flowers like snow, falling in abundance, reflecting light downwards. The flowers were shaped like seven-inch plates, all shimmering, displaying the rarity of five colors and the unique appearance of six hues.

Thus, the heavenly flowers fell into the sea, and the Dragon's fire gradually extinguished. The young monk stood unharmed in the sea, only his body had transformed into a Buddhist golden body, completely unblemished.

“What the gentleman says, I naturally know. This time, borrowing the gentleman’s power is not to threaten anything, but merely for us to exchange what we have. Does the gentleman know that among my Buddhist Heavenly Dragons and Eight Legions, the Heavenly Dragon is the second legion, and there is also Nagarjuna Bodhisattva who can access the Dragon Palace, open the Seven Treasures Treasure Trove, and bestow them upon all sides.”

“Buddhism also has ten Dragon Kings: first, Virūpākṣa, the Guardian of Sight Dragon King; second, Sāgara Dragon King; third, Cloud-Voice Wonderful Banner Dragon King; fourth, Flaming Mouth Sea-Light Dragon King; fifth, Universal High Cloud-Banner Dragon King; sixth, Virtuous Meaning Dragon King; seventh, Boundless Step Dragon King; eighth, Pure Color Dragon King; ninth, Universal Movement Great Voice Dragon King; and tenth, No-Heat Brain Dragon King.”

“Just beneath the East Isle, there is the Sāgara Dragon King's Palace, eighty thousand Yojanas in width and length, with seven layers of palace walls, seven layers of railings, seven layers of nets, and seven layers of trees, all adorned with seven treasures.”

“Sāgara Deva, along with Mahābrahmā and Mahakala, is even one of the Devas, which shows the status of the Dragon Clan within Buddhism. Why must the gentleman be hostile towards me?” The monk said.

“When a Flood Dragon embarks on a water journey starting from the West, the chances of success increase from half to sixty percent. Is this not the beginning of friendship between both sides? The gentleman is too suspicious, but should not lack strategy.”

The monk smiled thus.

The black Flood Dragon, however, twisted its body in annoyance, looking at the monk before him.

He knew that what the other party said was true. After humanity had slain Dragons, Buddhism had indeed actively accepted a large number of Flood Dragons, helping them embark on water journeys, leading to a large number of True Dragons becoming Buddhist Dharma Protectors, and even giving rise to powerful beings like Virūpākṣa, the Guardian of Sight Dragon King and Sāgara Dragon King.

But what did that have to do with him? The monk before him was indeed a Buddha Son, but a Buddha Son with such a demeanor… could he truly represent Buddhism?

Yet, those methods could not be faked; they were absolutely genuine Buddhist methods, and there was even an aura from a True Buddha.

That was a True Buddha! It was absolutely impossible to be mistaken or faked anywhere under heaven. This must be the means and foundation only a Buddha Son could possess, which was also why the Flood Dragon had to believe him.

There was no choice. If someone claimed to be rich and then showed you their private jet, and even took you on a flight around the world, no matter how much you disbelieved, they were still rich.

The plane couldn't be faked, and the flight around the world couldn't be fake. Even experiencing the meaning of the Buddha's Awakening of the World, that was even less likely to be fake.

If even this could be faked, it would mean the faker had reached an unresistable level of power, far beyond imagination, in which case there would be no difference from it being real.

“Alright, Buddha Son, I admit you are right, but I still don’t believe your clumsy methods can deceive that Young Master of Shaman God Mountain.”

“I instructed those local landlords in East Isle, and then used a mirage to alert him, and even deliberately arranged for people from the Dao of Reason to make him feel suspicious. But all of this combined… clearly exposes our existence. I don’t know what you are trying to scheme against him, but with such actions, he will definitely make several preparations behind the scenes. Preparing the fish means you won’t catch any fish.” The Flood Dragon stared at the monk and said.

Yes, in his understanding, such a haphazard arrangement was simply beating the grass to startle the snake, deliberately making the other party leave.

But the monk put his palms together and smiled slightly: “He will. You don’t understand this person. The more meticulous and flawless your arrangements are, the more cautious he will become, and he might even leave directly.”

“Precisely by making such flawed arrangements will he actively follow the clues to investigate. This is his weakness; he has a strong curiosity and wants to explore everything.”

“Curiosity needs bait to be hooked. What is your bait? Unknown danger? Even the dumbest turtle knows to avoid danger.” The Flood Dragon couldn't help but say.

“Dao of Reason.” The monk said solemnly: “The knowledge of the Dao of Reason and the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution are the bait. Coupled with this flawed setup, even if he is vigilant, he will definitely take the bait.”

But the Flood Dragon was persistent, wanting to know the reason: “I don’t understand the connection here. A flawed setup and the knowledge of the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution and the Dao of Reason—what is the connection, what change can it produce to make him willingly enter the trap? This is scheming against a Young Master of Shaman God Mountain. I still have a chance to withdraw now. You had better explain things clearly to me, otherwise, if I leave now, even a Buddha Son won’t be able to do anything to me.”

Seeing the Flood Dragon's attitude, the monk sighed.

So, he said:

“Because I understand him, I know his every thought…”

“Just like… I understand myself.”