Chapter 494: Afterwards

Beyond the world—

The follow-up act initiated by Demonic Clone Li Qi, spread from Boundless Outer Domain to the world, like some kind of tentacle.

However, Shaman God Mountain and Chang'an simultaneously flickered with two faint lights, drawn but not released.

The tentacle seemed to hesitate for a moment, and ultimately chose to retreat.

However, as it left, this tentacle casually swatted, and countless black Qi fell into the world's罡风层, but at this moment, Buddha's light suddenly emerged from the罡风层, and most of the black Qi dissipated.

Most of it.

— — — — — — — — — —

Li Qi opened his eyes and patted his tattered clothes. Although they were Magic Robes, they were almost completely damaged during his battle with the Demonic Prince.

Then, he stood up, feeling his power.

Sixth Grade and Seventh Grade... there didn't seem to be much difference.

There wasn't the huge difference of 'creating something from nothing' like from Eighth Grade to Seventh Grade.

But the real difference lay in opportunity.

A special kind of opportunity.

It seemed to be a chance to directly touch the essence of the world. At Sixth Grade, Li Qi vaguely felt his Inner World begin to 'descend'.

It wasn't an illusion, but a tangible descent.

It was as if the clear Qi of the heavens was falling into the turbid Qi of the earth.

This was not a bad thing, but a manifestation of the entire Inner World becoming substantial. It was truly about to materialize. He had broken through the boundary between the illusory and the real. As long as he continued to accumulate cultivation, he would soon be able to turn his Inner World into reality.

At that time, he would be able to manifest his Inner World into reality, just like Great Shaman Mi Xin.

The mountains, rivers, flying birds, and beasts, and even the intelligent life that appeared within the Inner World, would all become truly existing.

Li Qi could feel that after the Demonic Dao Dao principles were suppressed by those two wisps of Buddhist Qi at their own expense, and he rebuilt his Inner World with Shaman Dao as his foundation, it seemed even more stable.

Amitabha's kindness... is hard to repay.

Today's Karma will have to be repaid in the future.

However, was Amitabha truly trying to help him? Li Qi looked at his hands. He was very certain that he was the Li Qi who had never changed from beginning to end, but to outsiders, it would probably be difficult to tell the difference.

He also didn't know how Shen Shuibi distinguished him, but for the outside world, there was basically no difference.

The reason for this question was that Li Qi, through the True Knowledge Dao Resonance after the second enhancement, saw the essence of Amitabha's Buddhist Qi. That Buddhist Qi was entirely aimed at the Demonic Qi, not to help Li Qi, but merely to eliminate the Demonic Qi.

If Li Qi had completely fallen into the Demonic Dao and transformed the other Dao paths in his body into Demonic Daos, then the one who would have died just now... would have been Li Qi himself.

The Demonic Clone would naturally also die, because he was born purely from Demonic Qi. From the moment he chose to forge his body purely from Demonic Qi instead of restoring Shaman Dao, he was already dead.

In other words, what Amitabha wanted was a Li Qi who did not belong to the Demonic Dao. Regardless of whether this Li Qi was the original one, if both fell into the Demonic Dao, then both would have to die.

The Demonic Clone, for the sake of his plans and for power, chose to fall into the Demonic Dao just like Li Qi. Moreover, he was even more extreme, choosing the Demonic Dao even after seeing Amitabha, so that he could Possess Li Qi.

While Li Qi was also forced into the Demonic Dao to advance to Sixth Grade, he still used the Human Dao and Shaman Dao to resist the complete erosion of the Demonic Qi, intending to resolve the demonic transformation issue later. He himself was unwilling to enter the Demonic Dao, only forced by circumstances.

This difference directly led to Amitabha's arrangement choosing the true victor.

In other words...

The Buddha knew the outcome from the very beginning and used Jingmo, the Great Master, as a chess piece to decisively crush the Demonic Dao's plan.

The Demonic Dao's plan was nothing more than to make Li Qi willingly fall into the Demonic Dao. This was probably what the Heavenly Demon wanted, right?

However... it shouldn't be just this plan. The Heavenly Demon's calculations wouldn't be so simple. The current Demonic Prince must also be part of the plan.

Li Qi's mind raced through these thoughts like lightning, familiarizing himself with the power after his Breakthrough, and then he opened his eyes.

After opening them, he saw Shen Shuibi still sealing off the surroundings with Taiyin Evil Qi, looking inside with concern.

"It's alright, Jade, it's over..." Li Qi sighed, tapping the protective barrier formed by the Taiyin Evil Qi.

Shen Shuibi carefully scrutinized Li Qi, confirming that his body, Spirit Soul, Dao foundation, and everything else were fine, before withdrawing the barrier and stepping forward: "Li Qi, this is..."

"Heaven's will, you understand." Li Qi pointed upwards and said so.

Shen Shuibi nodded slightly.

As a Fifth Grade, she naturally knew what this meant.

Once, when Li Qi had just entered a Grade, she had said something to him: "The reason this world is the way it is, is because the True Immortals want it to be this way." (See Chapter 118 for details)

This was something Empress Luofu said herself, and it took Shen Shuibi a long time to realize what it meant.

True Immortals, Shaman Gods, Saints—these existences decided what the myriad worlds and Boundless Outer Domain looked like. The outcome of their struggle was the current state of this world.

This world wasn't like this from the beginning. This world was a result of compromise. After countless struggles, they finally found a fragile balance point, which is the current world.

With the capabilities of True Immortals and Shaman Gods, it's possible that even the river of history was compromised. After all, both Shen Shuibi and Li Qi knew that true Great Powers possessed the ability to retrieve people from the river of history.

Even if you're completely dead, they can pull you out of the past.

Not to mention a First Grade, even a Third Grade Great Shaman Yun Fang could easily do this. Great Shaman Yun Fang's Disciple's Spirit Soul had been completely annihilated, making Reincarnation impossible, but this Great Master forcibly used his own memories as a guide and demonic thoughts as a seed to pull his Disciple out of the net of Karma.

However, pulling him out was meaningless. That Young Master of Shaman God Mountain died from a Dao Heart collapse, and pulling him out still meant a Dao Heart collapse, which is why he constantly sought death in agony.

Great Shaman Yun Fang didn't want him to die, and he didn't want to live. Thus, he became Great Shaman Yun Fang's Heart Demon, a great mountain on this kind old man's Dao path, preventing Yun Fang from making any progress.

Looking at it this way...

Being able to retrieve people from the river of history isn't without a price, after all.

Both sides understood this, so there was no need to say more, especially not here.

Li Qi embraced Shen Shuibi and said, "Go say goodbye to the people around us. Let's return to Shaman God Mountain."

"Return to Shaman God Mountain? Not Chang'an?" The rabbit was surprised.

"There's no need to go to Chang'an anymore. The Celestial Pole Golden Elixir Method has already been passed on to the True Dragon. Chang'an has no reason to keep me as a hostage. Let's return to Shaman God Mountain," Li Qi said.

Shen Shuibi fell silent.

Although she knew Li Qi came to do this, she still felt a bit lost when she actually heard it.

This meant that the great Dao opportunity of Sun-Moon Orbit was now completely disconnected from Mount Luofu. From now on, Mount Luofu would never again be able to contend for First Grade, and the Dao path of Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron and Empress Luofu... was broken.

But if not this way, what else could be done?

The entire Mount Luofu had been completely destroyed. What could a few little birds and rabbits who had advanced do? If they really dragged it out, after tens of thousands of epochs, the Legacy of Mount Luofu might be completely wiped out.

Handing over the Dao opportunity to Shaman God Mountain was the best choice; at least they could survive.

Originally, Mount Luofu would definitely not have trusted Shaman God Mountain with it, because Shaman God Mountain, to Mount Luofu, was no different from the Tang Nation imperial court—untrustworthy. There was no trust between them, and no one knew what Shaman God Mountain would do after Mount Luofu handed over the Dao opportunity.

But now it was different. With Li Qi's connection, the two sides were almost equivalent to being allied by marriage. Shaman God Mountain was almost unlikely to abandon Mount Luofu.

Because with Li Qi, they gained the support of Zhu Fengdan, and Zhu Fengdan certainly wouldn't let Li Qi and his wife be torn apart by such a matter. As a Great Shaman, he also had his own influence.

Especially—Zhu Fengdan's lineage could be traced back to a Shaman God.

Therefore, with this connection, Mount Luofu could confidently hand over the Dao opportunity without worrying about being abandoned. This was now an exchange between family members, not a business transaction.

To be honest, this was also the initial reason why Yang Ning disliked Li Qi. She felt that... the rabbit agreed to Li Qi for this very reason. Her dignity made her rather die than accept such an exchange.

However, now that the misunderstanding was resolved, there were naturally no other obstacles.

So, the task at hand upon returning to Shaman God Mountain was very clear.

Awaken Empress Luofu and Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron, and completely complete the handover of the Dao opportunity.

However, at the moment of awakening, the battle would likely truly begin.

At that time, everyone would have the Celestial Pole Golden Elixir Method, and the ownership of the Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron would be the ownership of the Dao opportunity. Then... they would just need to seize the Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron.

Thinking this, the two exchanged glances.

"Next time... if something like this happens, let me come with you too," Shen Shuibi said to Li Qi.

Li Qi, however, shook his head: "That would be dangerous. Look at this time, you were able to be the decisive factor, but if you had come with me, it might not have been the case."

Shen Shuibi was speechless.

Li Qi was telling the truth.

However, the next second, she grabbed Li Qi's sleeve and said, "You don't get to decide. You can't beat me."

Li Qi was stunned.

Then he smiled bitterly: "It will be very dangerous."

"If all the danger is borne by you, what would I become? With me by your side, there will be much more room for maneuver. It's settled then." Shen Shuibi ended the conversation directly, not waiting for Li Qi to say more.

Li Qi had no choice but to change the subject: "Then your injuries?"

"Acting in the world always comes at a price. Luckily... we didn't encounter Patrolling Envoys this time, so there's no life-threatening danger. However... given the current situation, it's more likely that the Patrolling Envoys were stopped by others," Shen Shuibi said.

Li Qi nodded and sighed.

In other words, was Shen Shuibi's arrival... also part of the plan? Really, why think so much? Just accept this good outcome.

Shen Shuibi also didn't want to discuss it further. She just took Li Qi and, in a few flashes, arrived in front of the Demonic Prince.

Li Qi had just said he wanted to say goodbye to these people, so Shen Shuibi came directly to the Demonic Prince.

Li Qi felt his Sixth Grade power and then looked at the Demonic Prince.

The Demonic Prince cupped his hands and smiled at him: "Amazing. You borrowed my Demonic Qi to Breakthrough in battle and even managed to suppress the Demonic Dao. Truly amazing, Li Qi, you are worthy of being my friend."

Li Qi looked at the Demonic Prince, unsure whether to accept the statement, but he thought about the Demonic Prince's previous battle and replied, "We can indeed be friends, after all... if you hadn't held back several times, and even deliberately given me time to prepare, I probably wouldn't have been your opponent."

The Demonic Prince wanted to see Li Qi in his strongest form, so he barely went all out from beginning to end. Only when Li Qi broke through to Sixth Grade did he truly clash with the Demonic Prince at full power. Even against a Sixth Grade Li Qi, the Demonic Prince still almost counter-killed him.

If the Demonic Prince had directly suppressed Li Qi with full power from the start, Li Qi wouldn't have lasted that long, let alone achieved a Breakthrough.

Hearing this, the Demonic Prince laughed: "It's nothing special. If you can't even see your opponent's strongest strength, then what's the point of fighting? My goal in fighting isn't to defeat those weaker than me, but... this time I lost badly. What do you say, Brother Li Qi? Did you come here to fight to the death? Or should we just let it go?"

The Demonic Prince spoke very frankly, and his inherent confidence and domineering Aura from a superior position made Shen Shuibi glance sideways.

They were simple words, but they revealed the Demonic Prince's spirit in his speech.

This young man... will likely become a stumbling block on Li Qi's Dao path in the future.

Perhaps killing him would be better.

A hint of killing intent briefly emerged in the rabbit's thoughts, when the Lijing suddenly stood up, and a vast Aura pressed down fiercely, as if another battle was about to erupt between the two sides!

However, Li Qi suddenly waved his hand and said, "Let's just let it go. What's the point of fighting back and forth? Besides, you said we're friends, but do you still think we should fight?"

"Friends are friends, victory and defeat are victory and defeat, life and death are life and death. You have to distinguish them. Friends just means... we can talk like this, without any exchange of interests or schemes involved. For me, this is the highest form of friendship," the Demonic Prince said with a slight smile in his tone, leaning on his staff.

Li Qi nodded, deep in thought.

For the Demonic Prince, if his conversation had no ulterior motive, yet he was still willing to waste time talking, then that was a friend. In other words, a conversation like this was already a symbol of friendship to the Demonic Prince.

"Since victory and defeat are victory and defeat, and life and death are life and death, why didn't you make a move to kill me when I had just achieved a Breakthrough?" Li Qi asked again.

"Because I never make a move against those who have no power to resist. It's meaningless," the Demonic Prince said.

However, before Li Qi could ask further, the Demonic Prince patted the Lijing beside him and said, "Alright, let's stop chatting here. Since we're not fighting and we've formed a friendship, there's no meaning for me to stay here. I'll leave first, but... in a while, perhaps... a few years from now, I will return to the world. My first target is Penglai. I will go to Penglai to challenge the contemporary Young Celestial Master. I hope to see you there then." The Demonic Prince said so.

Then, he turned and stepped onto the Lijing. The fierce tiger suddenly tore open the Ghost Gate and left directly.

Leaving Li Qi and the rabbit looking at each other.

"What a strange person," the rabbit said. "He's not someone you can get along with. You and he will probably have more trouble in the future."

"It's fine, as long as it's my own choice. There's still a Great Master over there, let's go find him," Li Qi said, not caring about such things.

Shen Shuibi said no more, pulling Li Qi, and in an instant, they arrived on the treasure ship, in front of Jingmo, the Great Master.

Jingmo, the Great Master, had already woken up, and his Spiritual Artifact body revealed a stiff and terrifying smile.

It was clear that he wanted to smile kindly, but his body wouldn't allow it.

"Great Master, thank you for your help," Li Qi thanked him.

The Buddhist Qi that the other party brought from Amitabha resolved Demonic Clone Li Qi.

"Not at all. Everything in the world is self-help. If the benefactor himself had not refused to enter the Demonic Dao, then this humble monk would not have been able to help you."

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