Chapter 493: Buddha's spirit manifests

In the Hell of the Underworld—

The sky was still crimson, but the earth and the souls on it were gone, cleared away by the aftermath of the Fourth-Rank battle. Tens of thousands of miles around had become a complete void, no different from the outside world.

But just then, a furious rabbit burst out of an open gate!

Her eyes were bloodshot, her willowy brows furrowed, her face like cold frost, emanating a surge of Evil Qi. The Evil Qi of the Taiyin enveloped her surroundings, and her Dharma Aspect was incomparably grand. It wasn't the common human form, but a rabbit.

This kind of Dharma Aspect represented another meaning, different from her usual cold and clear Taiyin Moon Shadow.

This Dharma Aspect took the Mao from the Twelve Earthly Branches. She presented the hexagram of Liusan Yimao with her Dharma Aspect. The I Ching records that Liusan Yimao is the Ghost Official of Kun. At the same time, Mao is the wood star, and its body is insidious, hence it is called 'Compared to a non-human.'

By adopting this form, she could so easily Transmigrate through the Ghost Gate and arrive here.

At the same time, Mao was also a method of execution. In ancient times, the Human Race was still forced to sacrifice living people to ghosts and gods to please those inherently powerful deities. One such sacrificial method was 'Mao Sacrifice.'

'Mao Sacrifice' primarily involved hollowing out the internal organs of a person or other sacrifice, then cutting them in half and hanging them separately on two sides.

This is also the origin of the character 'Mao.' The left and right sides of Mao symbolize the two separated halves of a body, a rather cruel method of execution.

Therefore, Shen Shuibi took Mao as her core, extended the Ghost Official of Kun from the Mao of the Earthly Branches, and accumulated Evil Qi with Mao. This was equivalent to transforming her state, from her usual calm state to a murderous state enveloped in Yin Evil Qi!

As Shen Shuibi descended into the Underworld, her Dharma Aspect stood behind her. Although it lacked much majesty, it exuded the chilling aura of a Yin ghost.

The usual Shen Shuibi was the Taiyin hanging high in the sky, silent and cold. But at this moment, she was as if a layer of blood had covered the bright moon. Under the blood moon, it seemed as if the entire world had gone mad, starting to slaughter each other wildly under the blood moon's illumination, then offering the incomplete 'Mao' with both hands to the high-hanging red moon.

Moreover, she was still injured, with blood soaking her shoulders and back, which, combined with her current expression, made her look even more terrifying.

As soon as she landed, she stretched out her hand. When she flattened it, an invisible cage appeared in the center of her palm.

The mountains and rivers in her palm formed a cage. There was a small world in her palm, which transformed into a cage, trapping a... demon dragon.

"Lord Tianhong, the Underworld has been reached. Where is Li Qi?" Shen Shuibi looked around, asking as she surveyed.

"I... I don't know either. I've already brought you through the Ghost Gate as promised. If it weren't for me, Mount Dushuo would have stopped you for a lifetime. According to our agreement, you should let me go," Lord Tianhong said weakly, like a loach, his body less than the size of a palm.

Apparently, in this state, the rabbit had been killing all the way, rushing from Chang'an to Mount Dushuo in the East Sea, and then from the Ghost Gate all the way here. She probably hadn't held back at all.

"Alright, there are other people around, so I'll give you a way out." Shen Shuibi shook her head, lightly squeezed the mountains and rivers in her palm into a lump, and casually tossed it into the Ghost Gate.

Then, she looked at the Demonic Prince beside her.

The Demonic Prince was leaning against the Lijing's body. Seeing Shen Shuibi looking at him, he coughed twice: "Senior, looking for Li Qi?"

"Mm, you have his scent on you. The Qi is strong, and there's blood. Did you just fight?" Shen Shuibi slowly floated forward, saying this.

As Shen Shuibi approached, the Lijing also opened its eyes, staring at Shen Shuibi, slightly emitting pressure.

The Demonic Prince, however, reached out and pressed down on the Lijing, then stood up on his own, holding his bamboo staff, and said: "Senior is right, there was a good sparring match just now. Originally, I wanted to kill him, but halfway through the fight, I increasingly felt that he was someone I could befriend, so I am currently acting as his Dharma Protector."

"You fought, and then you became his Dharma Protector?" Shen Shuibi frowned.

"Mm, he just had a Sixth-Rank Breakthrough, and someone needs to watch over him, so I'll sleep here for a bit and keep an eye on him, lest he be eaten by something passing by," the Demonic Prince said with a smile, then waved his staff.

The Lijing exhaled a breath. A transparent curtain in front of them seemed to be blown open, revealing Li Qi sitting cross-legged and floating in mid-air.

The Demonic Prince had indeed created an illusionary shield for Li Qi, preventing him from being affected by anything passing by.

However, it was clearly useless, as the surroundings had already been cleared by the Fourth-Rank battle; there would be nothing.

But just having this thought was enough to dispel Shen Shuibi's hostility.

Shen Shuibi's Evil Qi slightly receded. She bowed her head in return and said, "Thank you, sir, for protecting my husband. However, what is his current situation?"

"What's his situation...? My words don't count, see for yourself." The Demonic Prince retreated a few steps and leaned back against the Lijing.

Shen Shuibi didn't stand on ceremony and rushed straight over.

And at this moment, on Li Qi's side—

"She's here," the Demonic Clone said.

Li Qi also nodded in agreement: "She's here."

Shen Shuibi was here, so now was the time to reveal the truth. This was also the method the two of them felt was most suitable.

Let's make a move now and seize the body!

Suddenly, Li Qi's body opened its eyes, but it was as if he had gone mad. Different expressions flickered in his two eyes, appearing extremely disjointed.

Shen Shuibi noticed this: "Possession...?"

Immediately, she was enraged, her hair standing on end from the surge of Qi. She flashed instantly to Li Qi's side, forming hand seals. A set of soul-capturing Yin techniques was ready to extract the Spirit Soul of the Possessing fellow!

Then! Cast him into Hell, never to reincarnate!

At this moment, Li Qi suddenly spoke: "Yu... you finally—"

But the instant she heard Li Qi speak, Shen Shuibi's expression changed. The Life Qi in her hands instantly turned into Evil Qi, striking directly at Li Qi's head!

At this moment, Li Qi's expression changed, and he quickly sent a message: "Wait! Don't!"

After saying this, Shen Shuibi suddenly withdrew her hand and then flashed ten feet away, her face filled with bewilderment, looking at Li Qi with uncertainty.

What's going on?

She clearly sensed the aura of Possession, but... it also seemed not to be. Yet, the two consecutive sentences just now were spoken by one person, but they gave her completely different feelings.

But if she used her own perception, Li Qi had no problems at all. The Qi on his body was completely normal, except for a slight trace of Demonic Qi, which must have been from forced use of Demonic Dao techniques. But Li Qi himself knew these, so it was normal.

This indicated that this feeling wasn't self-generated; someone was giving a hint?

Shen Shuibi's vigilance rose.

"Li Qi, you are..." But she still couldn't help but ask.

But at this moment, Li Qi stood up: "Yu, come help me... I'm a bit dizzy."

Shen Shuibi scrutinized Li Qi, her expression wary: "No, you're not Li Qi."

...Li Qi didn't speak, his eyes on Shen Shuibi, his expression radiating a sense of helplessness.

"Wait, you seem to be, to be again?" Shen Shuibi's expression grew more and more confused.

"I am. I can't move right now. Come and help me," Li Qi immediately said.

This time, Shen Shuibi didn't continue speaking. Instead, she circulated Qi with both hands and pulled sharply. The Taiyin Qi descended, sealing Li Qi within it.

"You wait a moment. I need to figure this out first. Why is every sentence you say different?" Shen Shuibi locked Li Qi down, staring at him intently.

At this moment, Li Qi suddenly closed his eyes.

Where his mind resided, the fontanelle on his head opened, and two Spirit Souls and minds intertwined.

One of them was extremely furious, roaring: "This is impossible! She doesn't have the ability to observe Karma! She can't tell the difference!"

The other was very calm: "Can't tell the difference? Isn't she telling the difference now?"

The furious Spirit Soul rebuked: "How do you know!? Did you know all along that she could tell? But that's impossible, what I don't know, you don't know either!"

The quiet one answered simply: "I don't know. It's just that, like you, I also believed she would recognize me. You thought so, and I thought so too. But... it seems I won."

Demonic Clone Li Qi was speechless.

Indeed, 'he' was also convinced that Shen Shuibi would choose 'him.'

The two were originally indistinguishable. Before she truly arrived, both Li Qis were equally convinced of this.

If Shen Shuibi had recognized 'him,' then 'he' would also be mocking the other with a calm tone, and their rage and calmness would be reversed.

After all, they were one person.

Thinking of this, both Spirit Souls calmed down.

Because the thoughts of the two Spirit Souls were almost synchronized, both knew that the one who lost definitely had a backup plan.

Of course, there was still a slight difference in their synchronization at this moment. Due to asymmetrical information, Li Qi didn't know what backup plan the Demonic Clone had prepared in advance. But based on his understanding of himself, he knew that if it were him, for such a matter, he would definitely prepare many, many layers of arrangements in advance, ensuring absolute infallibility before making a move.

Thus, after only a few seconds of calm, the Demonic Clone's Spirit Soul suddenly burst forth, seemingly activating something!

And at the same time, without the interference of the Demonic Clone, Li Qi completely gained control of his body. He opened his eyes, ignored the confused Shen Shuibi beside him, and let out a whistle.

The whistle was sharp; it was the whistle he often used to call Old Ma. Once upon a time, when he had no cultivation to transmit messages, he used this whistle to call Old Ma.

This whistle directly woke up Old Ma, who was still sleeping below.

It had been mentioned before that Old Ma needed to sleep for a period during the sacrifice.

And now, whether by coincidence or not, the time... had come, and Old Ma was startled awake.

Old Ma, startled awake, stretched his body. He was no longer a horse, but a Dragon body, though without Dragon horns. It was clear he was a winding, coiling demon dragon!

At the same time, the visualization diagram on his body rapidly disappeared.

When he was a horse, he couldn't look back, so it wasn't visible on his back.

But now, the demon dragon could easily look back, so the visualization diagram also had to disappear.

However, it didn't just disappear directly, but quickly transformed into a wisp of Buddha Qi.

Amitabha's Buddha Qi.

That Spiritual Artifact monk, the Buddhist Son Jingmo, Li Qi had judged back then that he had something bestowed by Amitabha.

And just then, Monk Jingmo suddenly opened his eyes.

This monk had not been deluded by the Demon of the Five Aggregates Qi at all!

Monk Jingmo chanted Buddhist mantras. In his hand, a wisp of Amitabha's Buddha Qi actually emerged.

Initially, Li Qi had judged that he had Amitabha's Buddha Qi on him, but later Monk Jingmo said that he was a Buddhist Son taken in by Medicine King Buddha.

Li Qi still had doubts in his heart at the time, but he didn't ask, as everyone has their secrets.

However, when the Demonic Clone appeared, Li Qi completely understood.

Thus, this matter became his backup plan.

Both Li Qi and the Demonic Clone knew that everyone liked to keep many, many backup plans.

The Demonic Clone had one, so why wouldn't Li Qi?

As the Demonic Clone activated something, the Buddha Qi from the visualization diagram on Old Ma's back and the Buddha Qi taken out by Monk Jingmo merged into one, silently flickering into Li Qi's forehead.

Suddenly, around Li Qi, the phenomenon of the Ten Directions Buddha Land unfolded.

In the Buddha Land, there were Seven-Jeweled Pools, filled with Eight Meritorious Waters.

The bottom of the pools was purely paved with gold sand, and the steps on all four sides were made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and crystal.

Above were pavilions, also adorned with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, tridacna, red pearls, and agate.

The lotus flowers in the pools were as large as carriage wheels, with blue light from blue ones, yellow light from yellow ones, red light from red ones, and white light from white ones, exquisitely fragrant and pure.

When the wind blew the lotus leaves, subtle sounds were emitted, and the Dharma sounds flowed forth, like a hundred thousand kinds of music playing simultaneously.

Such Karma and adornments enveloped Li Qi's body.

The Demonic Clone's backup plan hadn't appeared yet when it suddenly saw the emerging Buddha Qi.

'His' face suddenly turned pale.

The backup plan left by Amitabha was also Li Qi's prepared backup plan.

Indeed, did this Buddha know everything...?

Did the Buddha know about 'his' final choice to wash away his body and reconstruct it with Demonic Qi...?

The Demonic Clone didn't even reveal what it had hidden and suddenly... melted away.

Truly melted, as if dissipated.

Only, it left behind a wisp of... True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

Li Qi's eyes widened, but before he could react, the True Knowledge Dao Resonance belonging to the Demonic Clone merged into Li Qi's existing True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

The True Knowledge Dao Resonance was strengthened again; this was the third wisp of True Knowledge Li Qi had obtained.

Where did the Demonic Clone get True Knowledge?

Given by the Heavenly Demon?

Li Qi frowned.

But before he could ponder this question, he suddenly felt that his Dao foundation was being transformed.

The surrounding Buddha Land, after melting the Demonic Clone, did not end but drilled into Li Qi's body, becoming a part of his miniature heaven and earth!

Li Qi's Sixth-Rank Dao foundation was being transformed, gradually purified by Buddha Qi from a purely Demonic Dao Sixth-Rank.

Thus, Buddha and Demon once again reached a balance.

Li Qi was overjoyed! He immediately seized the opportunity, activating his original Dao foundation, allowing Shaman Dao and Human Race to expand again!

In this way, he did not fall into the Demonic Dao but continued to advance with Shaman Dao as his core!

Was this also within Amitabha's calculations?

Was this also... destiny?