Chapter 479: Off-the-board moves

The Binding Realm unfolded, and the Heavenly Principle Protective Wall transformed into a Buddha-Dharma Protective Wall, clear as water, without a speck of dust, within which thirty-two auspicious signs and eighty excellent characteristics emerged, adorning its form.

Like vast green lotus leaves, like the great Brahma sound, thunderous and resounding.

His body light shines like gold, its subtle brilliance hard to describe.

All kinds of fragrant flowers are offered, and Karmic Obstruction and Demon of Afflictions are all vanquished.

The Buddha-land is pure and inconceivable, saving sentient beings from the sea of suffering.

As the Buddha's Crown Light Binding Realm unfolded, Moro Yan's Demonic Qi was directly repelled and simultaneously shattered!

Even with a Demonic Lord's Cultivation, he couldn't withstand the Buddha's Crown Light drawn by First Grade Buddha Qi, especially with Cang Hou, also a Fourth Grade, actively sacrificing his own Heavenly Principle to transform it into Buddha-Dharma. Such immense power was beyond his ability to resist.

Indeed, Cang Hou wasn't feeling well either; afterwards, he would likely need a long time to reconstruct his Heavenly Principle Protective Wall. But he also knew that only by surviving this time would there be an 'afterwards'; otherwise, he would perish and everything would be over.

However, on the other side, Li Qi suddenly froze.

Demonic Prince?

This title made Li Qi's heart skip a beat.

Demonic Prince, does that mean a role similar to the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain?

This title is also thought-provoking. The Young Master of Shaman God Mountain is called 'Young Master' because the title 'Gong' (Duke/Lord) is extremely noble. The Great Shamanes, in terms of礼制 (ritual system), were called 'Gong,' and their Disciples were called 'Young Master.'

And now, this Demonic Prince should also be a similar title.

A Demonic King is probably a title for a high-ranking Demonic Dao practitioner, and a Demonic Prince is a Disciple of a Demonic King.

Then it seems I've truly provoked a formidable individual. Looking at the situation, it appears that a high-ranking Demonic Dao practitioner has indeed made a move, but likely out of fear of Shaman God Mountain's retaliation, they haven't acted directly but instead sent their Disciple to target Li Qi.

In a contest between the younger generation, if someone dies, there's nothing to say, and Shaman God Mountain would find it difficult to pursue accountability.

And the current situation was probably designed.

Two Fourth Grades, at most, can achieve a stalemate with each other. It's very difficult for Cang Hou and Moro Yan to determine a winner. The outcome of their entanglement was just the 'Mortal World,' which required something beyond their respective Dao paths to become the 'variable' in their battle.

The Young Master of Shaman God Mountain and the Demonic Prince, whose name was just called out, are this 'variable'.

Therefore, two young people must use their knowledge to participate in the Fourth Grade battle, and also become the backbone of this battle, becoming the key to victory or defeat.

This is very difficult.

In a Fourth Grade battle, a Seventh Grade being able to understand it is already extremely challenging. Simply comprehending every action and grasping things like 'Heavenly Principle' would already eliminate ninety-nine percent of Seventh Grades.

They also need to discern the flaws of the opposing Fourth Grade, provide their own Fourth Grade with helpful knowledge, and gain a sufficient advantage in a life-and-death battle...

For a Seventh Grade, this is an almost impossible task, far more difficult than Seventh Grades fighting each other.

Fighting each other is a contest of Cultivation and Divine Ability.

But in a contest using a Fourth Grade battle as the medium, the Seventh Grade's Cultivation and Divine Ability play no role. What can be compared is only wisdom, insight, their respective foundations, and knowledge.

For the inheritors of the Great Dao Orthodoxy, only these are useful.

The Great Dao Orthodoxy doesn't need your mere Seventh Grade Divine Ability, but it needs you to demonstrate superhuman wisdom and foundation at the Seventh Grade so that you can have a sufficient foundation to advance to the true high grades.

Li Qi seemed to understand—

This is a...man-made arena.

It's a place for him and this Demonic Prince to fight to the death.

If that's the case, everything seems to make sense.

The Dao of Reason's ship, the Dao of Reason's people, Li Qi's whereabouts, the Ghost Emperor's approval—everything had someone behind it making moves.

Ao Guangxiao, on the other hand, was the timer for this battle, a limited hourglass.

If Ao Guangxiao were to break free from the giant spirit god puppet, Li Qi would immediately be declared defeated and die without a burial place.

Before Ao Guangxiao could break free from his entanglement, Li Qi and this Demonic Prince had to determine a winner.

Almost simultaneously, Moro Yan, Cang Hou, Li Qi, and the unseen Demonic Prince all realized this and immediately took action.

You have Buddha Qi protecting you, then... the Demonic Prince also has his trump card.

Below the sky, a heavy black light suddenly descended.

A Dharma Idol unfolded, filled with hostility and Evil Qi, extremely violent! It landed precisely beside Moro Yan.

Li Qi and Cang Hou simultaneously looked up, observing the Dharma Idol.

It appeared entirely in a wrathful state, over ten thousand miles tall, several thousand miles wide at the waist, with a blue face and red hair, golden face and fangs, its Killing Intent soaring to the clouds! The Dharma Idol glared with angry eyes, its left foot raised, then its right foot placed on its left, standing upright without leaning left or right, or bending forward or backward, with its skull joint fixed. Its right hand held a fire wheel, its flickering light shining like daylight, and its left hand held a wind wheel, the wind and thunder wheels rotating and flashing like the wrath of heaven!

This descending Dharma Idol was very illusory, like nothingness. Although it could be seen, the power it contained was not like a true Dharma Idol; instead, it resembled an illusion, a projection.

However, even if it was just an illusion, its essence would not change.

Li Qi immediately transmitted a message through the sacrifice: “This is a Demon of Death Incarnation! The wind and fire wheels in its hands are the Wind Disaster and Fire Disaster, two of the Three Disasters! This thing must be formed from Demon of Death Demonic Qi. This Demonic Prince has the Demon of Death's foundation!”

The so-called Demon of Death is a Demonic Overlord that brings death and destruction to all living beings.

To bring true destruction, one certainly cannot use knives and axes for slaughter; that would be too inefficient. Of course, there are also the 'famine disaster, plague disaster, and war disaster'—the minor three disasters—that the Demon of Death can use.

But—to truly destroy this world, one must use the Great Three Disasters.

That is, the Water Disaster, Fire Disaster, and Wind Disaster.

The Fire Disaster burns this world, from the Avici Hell below to the first Dhyana Heaven of the Form Realm above, completely incinerating everything.

The Water Disaster submerges this world, from the Avici Hell below to the second Dhyana Heaven of the Form Realm above, submerged by water.

The Wind Disaster completely annihilates everything, turning all things into dust in the wind, scattered by the wind.

The day the Three Disasters appear simultaneously is the time when the Demon of Death destroys all things.

This Demon of Death Dharma Idol in front of them was not complete; it lacked the Water Disaster, meaning it was still some distance from being a true Demon of Death Incarnation.

But it was already enough.

The power Li Qi invoked was also only at this level.

As the Dharma Idol formed from Demon of Death Demonic Qi descended, Moro Yan immediately felt as if he had divine assistance. Without hesitation, he integrated his own Dharma Idol into this Demon of Death Dharma Idol, making this phantom-like Dharma Idol gradually solidify.

Just as Cang Hou transformed his Heavenly Principle Protective Wall into Buddha-Dharma, Moro Yan, as a practitioner of the Demon of the Five Aggregates Dao Orthodoxy, also actively shattered his own Dharma Idol and completely embraced the Demon of Death's Dharma Idol, becoming one of the Demon of Death's Incarnations.

Similarly, the sacrifice was immense, and naturally... the power would be equally great.

Outside the Binding Realm, Wind Disaster and Fire Disaster immediately appeared.

The wind wheel turned, crushing everything in its path, uprooting mountains and sending them flying, its rotation disorienting. In an instant, flags fluttered in the heart, thousands of swirls, transforming in a flash, all things instantly destroyed!

The fire wheel turned again, flames blazing, a thousand fiery streams rolling, ten thousand rays of red light. In an instant, a chaotic red glow erupted, dazzling and brilliant, flames soaring, a thousand mountains completely incinerated!

Wind fueled the fire, and fire borrowed the wind's might. Where the wind touched, there was fire, and where it destroyed, everything was scorched. Tongues of flame shot out three hundred thousand miles, the earth melted, and even the Yin Fire of Hell was extinguished, giving rise to countless hailstones of fire disaster, which forcibly blasted a huge hole in the Binding Realm. Countless flames, carried by the strong wind, rushed into it, and even the Buddha-Dharma was incinerated!

The power of the Demon of Death, unlike the previous magical battle where each restrained and extinguished the other, was pure destruction, a pure power to annihilate everything!

Pure destruction restrains nothing; similarly, it is not restrained by anything.

To defeat destruction itself, one can only suppress it head-on!

Of course, such a person does not currently exist, so, unlike the suppressed Heavenly Demons, the Demon of Death still exists openly and brings death to living beings.

The formation, abiding, decay, and emptiness of the world, the decline of human lifespan, and the gradual decay of all things—behind all of these are the shadows of the Demon of Death.

This is the Demonic Overlord that brings death to all things, and also the symbol of the essence of all decay.

Li Qi and Cang Hou immediately reacted to this wave of attack.

Cang Hou clasped his hands together, sealing the Binding Realm once more. This time, he directly used the power of the Buddha's Crown Light to summon the Two Realms Mandala, inserting it into the world in sequence, reversing the Vajra Realm manifested in the sky and the Garbha Realm manifested on the ground. By doing so, he used Buddha-Dharma to shield the Laws of this world, thus being able to prevent the arrival of death by leveraging the cycle of the two realms.

Reincarnation, in itself, is a rejection of death.

This action was not guided by Li Qi; clearly, Cang Hou himself had his own understanding of Buddha-Dharma.

The Wind and Fire Disasters descended, and the Two Realms Mandala blocked them. Upon collision, the surroundings collapsed again, and endless power surged through. The hundred-thousand-mile void was forcibly expanded to a degree Li Qi could no longer see, already tens of thousands of miles wide!

Li Qi's vision could no longer see the distant red wall; he felt as if he was completely suspended in the Void Realm, with the surroundings entirely floating, no sky above, no ground below, no myriad things in all directions, just like drifting in the outer reaches.

Fortunately, Li Qi was protected by Cang Hou's power and was unharmed. The treasure ship also benefited from Li Qi's presence and was protected as well.

The battle continued, with the clash between the Two Realms Mandala and the Wind and Fire Dual Disasters sweeping across the surroundings.

At this moment, Li Qi noticed something.

While the other two were fighting inextricably, Ao Guangxiao's speed in dismantling the giant spirit god puppet slowed down.

Li Qi nodded slightly. As a Fourth Grade, Ao Guangxiao naturally wasn't a fool; he had clearly realized that he was the timer for this battle.

As a timer, he had bargaining power.

Li Qi had no solution for the Demon of Death. This move by the opponent truly struck Li Qi's vital point. Li Qi understood Heavenly Demons well because of the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood, and he also understood Demon of the Five Aggregatess.

But he truly didn't understand the Demon of Affliction and Demon of Death much.

The knowledge gap was evident here; sometimes, not knowing simply meant not knowing.

But... Li Qi was not a pedantic person.

It's okay not to understand, but... has anyone said that one can't use outside tactics?

Li Qi started the sacrifice again, moving his body, and began to sacrifice to the Dragon using the Wu Yu method.

This time, it wasn't sacrificing to the old horse, but to a True Dragon.

Ao Guangxiao!

Anyway, on the ship, all the Materials prepared for the Great Wu Yu were readily available. The Materials prepared for the previous sacrifice to the old horse could be used on the spot, without any trouble at all.

Such a coincidence was a good thing, but Li Qi was truly a bit afraid of coincidences now.

The sudden appearance of the old horse's visualization diagram on his back, and the fact that he himself couldn't see it... only Li Qi could see it, which in itself was very strange.

As for visualization diagrams, unless one saw the original with their own eyes, they wouldn't be able to perceive the divine essence within them.

To replicate one, unless a specialized calligrapher or painter expended great effort, pouring their heart and soul into replicating the divine essence, only then could a copy be made, and it might not even be a perfect replication.

So even if the old horse used clouds to refract light and shadow, he couldn't see the true visualization diagram. He also didn't have true transformation techniques, so naturally, he couldn't grow an extra neck to look backward.

Aside from illusions, true transformation techniques are very difficult. It is rumored that Dao Orthodoxy has the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations, which are exclusive to Great Powers. What they transform is not just the Physical Body, but also the entire Inner World of the human body, and even one's conceptual essence changes together. It is a Divine Ability that can avoid disasters through transformation.

Similarly, there is the transformation of demon beasts, but the method of transformation is only once in a lifetime. If one transforms into a Dragon, they cannot transform into a human; if they transform into a human, they cannot transform into a god.

Transformation, for demon beasts, is the most important choice in their lives.

As for simply changing the Physical Body, that kind of transformation technique is imperfect. It can easily cause the body and the Inner World to lose their correspondence, leading to a disconnection of the Inner World and leaving sequelae. It belongs to unorthodox paths, and usually only some small Schools or people who Cultivate charm techniques practice it.

It can be seen that the existence who imprinted the visualization diagram considered all of this; they absolutely wanted Li Qi to see it.

Li Qi saw it, and performing the Great Wu Yu sacrifice to help the old horse transform into a Dragon was also a matter of course.

Everything was so natural, as if it were just a simple coincidence.

That's why Li Qi hated coincidences.

Alas, but there was no other way.

Coincidence be coincidence. Since all the items needed for the Wu Yu sacrifice were already laid out before him, he couldn't just not use them.

If he didn't use them, how would he solve the Demon of Death problem?

So, in fact, Li Qi had no choice.

The Wu Yu sacrifice began, and the target of the altar was—Ao Guangxiao.

The communication formed by the sacrifice began to emerge.

As for how to persuade Ao Guangxiao, in fact... Li Qi had already rehearsed it thousands of times in his mind months ago.

Because this was his original reason for coming to the East Sea.

The sacrificial communication was successfully established.

Before Ao Guangxiao could speak, Li Qi went straight to the point.

Li Qi said:

“Ao Guangxiao, I have a deal, a deal that a True Dragon cannot refuse. It concerns the Sun-Moon Orbit. It should be more important than the Demonic Dao at hand, right?”

Ao Guangxiao seemed to have something to say originally, but upon hearing Li Qi's words, he froze directly.

It concerns... what?

Sun-Moon Orbit? Did I hear that right?

The moment Ao Guangxiao froze, Li Qi spoke again: “I can provide the East Sea with a complete Celestial Pole Golden Elixir Method.”