Chapter 495: Another ghost gate

Li Qi truly didn’t know what to say to the monk Jingmo.

He still held considerable admiration for the Demonic Prince; such a domineering and trustworthy individual was very charismatic. Although an enemy, he could also be a friend, someone worthy of respect.

But the monk Jingmo was different; he was a typical, taciturn charlatan, and not the adorable, clumsy kind like Zhong Minglou, but a cold, indifferent one.

Especially after he revealed his Buddhist Qi, although his tone remained gentle, combined with his robotic appearance, his behavior and concealments along the way, Li Qi didn’t feel much goodwill towards him.

He hadn’t lied, but it seemed he had hidden many things.

So, after a brief greeting, Li Qi said nothing more, merely nodding slightly before pulling Shen Shuibi away, preparing to leave.

As for the group of Rank Four cultivators, Li Qi didn’t need to bother with them; they had their own matters to attend to, and even if they wanted to leave, it would be a matter of a single thought, no need to interact with them much.

The monk Jingmo watched Li Qi depart. Since he hadn’t fallen into the Demonic Dao, that was good.

The old horse, now a demon dragon, seemed to want to say something but didn’t. Instead, his body shrunk, circling around Li Qi and nuzzling him.

This was a basic ability after transforming into a Dragon.

A Dragon can be large or small, ascend or conceal itself. Large, it can summon clouds and spit mist; small, it can hide in a mustard seed. After transforming into a Dragon, changing size becomes an instinct.

Just as other demon race creatures can cultivate smoothly after transforming into human form, this is one of the benefits of transformation.

The transformation of a demon race creature itself is for the purpose of acquiring a portion of the power of the transformed object.

Li Qi held the shrunken old horse in one hand, then, shoulder to shoulder with Shen Shuibi, left the treasure ship under the gaze of the monk Jingmo.

Li Qi and Shen Shuibi walked out. The rabbit looked around the treasure ship and then said, “Wait for me. This place is in Hell. Opening the Ghost Gate is troublesome. Wait for me.”

Saying that, she formed hand seals, preparing to act, to tear open Hell, open the Ghost Gate, and return to the Yang World.

This was the level of a Rank Five expert. They don’t enter Reincarnation and can freely travel between the Yin and Yang Worlds, whereas Li Qi, having just entered Rank Six, still didn’t possess such Divine Ability.

“No need, I recently acquired a Spiritual Artifact that can get us out of here. You don’t need to exert yourself,” Li Qi stopped the rabbit, then reached out, summoning a ghost carriage.

This ghost carriage could travel between Yin and Yang, crossing the Yellow Springs, making it an excellent means of transportation. It was given to Li Qi as a gift by that merchant guild in the Dragon Palace.

“...Good stuff. Is this from your recent gains?” the rabbit asked.

“Yes, with this, you won’t have to work so hard. Let’s go,” Li Qi said.

Shen Shuibi wasn’t pretentious, accepting the Spiritual Artifact and refining it directly with a raised hand.

Clearly, this was given directly to Shen Shuibi, because honestly, Li Qi couldn’t use this kind of thing.

To make an analogy, he didn’t have a driver’s license.

Yes, operating Spiritual Artifacts requires long-term training and familiarity, and refining itself requires breaking in. Especially for carriage-type Spiritual Artifacts, there are many operations, which are very troublesome.

A Spiritual Artifact, as a tool, isn’t just good to have; you need to know how to use it. If you don’t know how to use it, it’s better not to. What suits you best is what’s best.

Rockets are fast, but people generally still buy cars.

In fact, many Great Powers also couldn’t figure out these types of mounts, so they chose riding beasts for travel, which they could directly command.

Fortunately, Shen Shuibi knew how; she was among those who had a driver’s license.

The ghost carriage opened. The two lifted the curtain and sat inside. Shen Shuibi operated complex spells, starting the ghost carriage.

It was then that the old horse suddenly expanded his body, transforming into a Dragon body seven or eight zhang long, landing to the side and speaking in human tongue: “Oh my! Hey, hey, can you understand me?”

“You can talk now?” Li Qi looked at the old horse, laughing dumbfounded.

Now, the old horse was finally also Rank Eight. A demon dragon’s throat is not a horse’s; it can naturally produce almost all types of sounds. If it knows how to speak, it can communicate with almost any species, especially excelling at communicating with scaly creatures, but it can also speak other languages.

This is also the source of the True Dragon’s title, ‘Chief of Ten Thousand Scales.’ As the Chief of Ten Thousand Scales, if it couldn’t even speak the language of its counterparts, that would be too unreasonable.

In the world, during the ancient era, various different life forms were categorized into five types of creatures: naked, scaled, hairy, feathered, and insectile.

Dragons are scaled creatures.

This was the classification set by the earliest Inate Heavenly Gods when the world was first created. However, although the Inate Heavenly Gods are still powerful now, the Heavenly God Dao Heaven is merely one of the Nine Lands Under Heaven, and no longer possesses the absolute authority it once did. This classification has gradually faded, and only those like Li Qi, who enjoy reading obscure books, would know about it.

“Of course I can talk now, Li… uh, what should I call you? What’s a suitable way to address you? How old are you this year? We’re brothers, so we should establish who’s older, right? I’m twenty-five this year,” the old horse said.

This age was somewhat unexpected for Li Qi, but thinking about it, it was quite normal.

When the old horse met him, he was just an ordinary Dragon Steed, not the legendary divine horse that the Tang Nation Dao Resonance supposedly had to capture. A Dragon Steed unranked, being in his twenties was quite normal.

“Haha, I’m over thirty already, so you see, I’m still the elder brother,” Li Qi laughed.

The old horse, however, was not ambiguous. He immediately cupped his Dragon claws: “Then I’ll call you Big Brother.” Then, he very seriously coiled his body, bowing to Li Qi with human etiquette: “Little brother thanks Big Brother for the grace of re-creation and guidance on the Dao. From now on, I will not leave or abandon you, and I am willing to be at your service.”

To be honest, Li Qi was quite surprised.

The first time the old horse could speak formally, this was what he said.

However, he was quite relieved.

To be honest, Li Qi definitely put in a lot of effort for the old horse’s smooth journey on the Dao. Aside from the initial difficult period, where he made the old horse gallop wildly every day without giving him Spiritual Plants or anything, only hay and beans, which caused the old horse to lose two hundred pounds and become emaciated.

After that difficult period, Li Qi found a cultivation method for the old horse, and the pile of Spiritual Flowers and Spiritual Plants Jin Buhuan sent as gifts were mostly enjoyed by the old horse.

Later, after Shen Shuibi’s cultivation recovered somewhat, she would often open her furnace for Alchemy. The old horse also ate a lot of these things, and he was also given a good cultivation method.

Ever since Li Qi went to Tang Nation, the old horse stayed on Shaman God Mountain, running wild all over the mountains. As the place with the strongest Qi of Heaven and Earth, all kinds of Qi on Shaman God Mountain were stronger than outside, so his cultivation naturally went smoothly all the way.

He might have even had a bunch of foals, since he didn’t have to be responsible.

Now, he lacked nothing in terms of resources, cultivation methods, or anything else.

However, Li Qi didn’t feel this was a favor bestowed upon the old horse. In the past, when he had nothing, the old horse stayed by his side and helped him immensely.

Losing two hundred pounds in half a month, the old horse said nothing, remaining by Li Qi’s side as always, helping Li Qi avoid many dangers. Being fast was indeed useful, and even in the end, when they finally found Empress Luofu and were forced to face a Rank Six Devil King, the old horse never abandoned Li Qi to escape alone.

One person and one horse, able to share hardships and enjoy blessings together.

So, Li Qi smiled and patted the Dragon’s head: “Why speak of such things between us brothers? Having come from being unranked to now, our intentions are naturally understood. By the way, now that you can speak, we can’t always call you ‘old horse.’ Do you want to give yourself a name?”

But then, Shen Shuibi, who was beside them, spoke: “The matter of a name requires careful consideration. I think it would be better to find a Great Power to bestow a name, otherwise, if a bad name is chosen, you might suffer several extra tribulations in the future.”

Li Qi nodded; he knew this point too.

The matter of a name is no small thing. Mortals might not think it’s special, but just as words possess power, a name itself is a kind of suggestion, a hope for the beautiful and a prophecy for the future.

Having an inauspicious name, in a place like this world, can indeed bring several extra tribulations for no reason. If a good name is chosen, it can even be considered a talent.

Therefore, the concept of ‘taboo names’ also emerged. If you share the same name as a Great Power, you can easily be unable to bear the name, suffocated by the destiny it brings.

So, naming itself is very particular. To choose a good name is truly a profound art, requiring the namer to be learned in the ways of Heaven and man, to know the names of various Great Powers, to understand the meanings of various intentions, and to be proficient in rhythm and literary talent, ensuring the name isn’t too unpleasant.

For example, Shui Bi’s name is a jade name, which Empress Luofu was very particular about.

And again,

“There are five methods for names: truth, righteousness, imagery, metaphor, and categorization. One must also pay attention to rhythm. Old horse, you should be careful and not randomly choose a name. Moreover, you don’t have a family lineage. What will you take as your surname? Surnames are also very important for you. In ancient times, a Great Sage of the demon race had a very carefully chosen name.” Shen Shuibi recounted a story she had learned.

“That Devil King was a Spirit Stone transformed into a macaque, and he achieved the Dao with the body of a macaque. His Master said that if the animal radical is removed from the character ‘猢’ (hú, macaque), it becomes ‘古月’ (gǔ yuè, ancient moon). ‘古’ means old, and ‘月’ means Yin. Old Yin cannot give birth, so it was not chosen. Therefore, he was taught to be surnamed ‘狲’ (sūn, macaque). If the animal radical is removed from the character ‘狲’, it becomes ‘子系’ (zǐ xì, child lineage). ‘子’ means son, and ‘系’ means infant. This perfectly aligns with the fundamental theory of an infant, so he was surnamed ‘孙’ (sūn, grandson/monkey). It was only then that he obtained the surname ‘Sun’.”

“With a surname, there must be a given name. Then, the Master who named him established a generational character, with twelve characters: ‘Vast, Great Wisdom, True Suchness, Nature, Sea, Brilliant Comprehension, Perfect Enlightenment.’ He was the tenth generation, of the ‘悟’ (wù, enlightenment) generation, so he took the character ‘悟’.”

“And because he was born from gold and stone, he possessed the nature of the Metal element. He often resided in water and came from the sea, and his Immortal Cave was also called Water Curtain Cave. The nature of metal and water is emptiness, which aligns with his meaning of metal and water, so he was named ‘空’ (kōng, empty). The three characters combined form the revered name of this Great Sage of the demon race. Such a complicated process was required to choose his name, which shows how much attention to detail is involved. You need to pay more attention to these things.”

Shen Shuibi thus advised.

The old horse knew his sister-in-law’s capabilities, and seeing her so serious, he immediately nodded, indicating that he would consider the matter of his name after returning and would certainly deliberate carefully.

But Shen Shuibi didn’t stop. Instead, she looked at Li Qi: “The old horse’s matter is still easy to deal with, but… your situation is more troublesome, Li Qi. Your cultivation… has advanced too quickly.”

“It is a bit fast, but there was no other way,” Li Qi spread his hands, smiling wryly with helplessness.

Cultivation is not something where faster advancement is always better.

Li Qi had almost no accumulation. He ascended to Rank Six by relying on the lingering Dao Resonance from the Rank Three skull.

He only absorbed a small, very small portion, but that was a very small portion for a Rank Three, which was already enough for a Rank Six.

In other words, Li Qi’s foundation was incredibly unstable now, almost collapsing with a push. He needed to spend ten or even a hundred times the effort to solidify his foundation, and… he also had an extra great tribulation to overcome.

Once he reached Rank Three, these existing answers would completely hinder his progress. He would have to overcome countless difficulties to break free from the after-effects left today.

“There was no other way… Be careful in the future. If it happens again, there might not be a chance to make amends,” Shen Shuibi reached out and placed her hand in Li Qi’s palm.

This was not just holding hands; a few needle-like wisps of Qi emerged from her palm, flowing into Li Qi’s Meridians, clearing his blood vessels, and organizing his Meridians and internal organs.

“It’s fine if it can be remedied this time. It’s a matter for after Rank Three anyway. I’ll just be careful in the future,” Li Qi seemed not to care that much.

Mainly, there was no point in regretting now. What was the meaning of complaining? Doing things always comes with a price. How can anyone only have good things happen and never bad things?

Successfully exposing the Sun-Moon Orbit matter this time was already a huge gain, and this Rank Six ghost carriage was an unexpected bonus.

Thus, if luck was good, Mount Luofu would gain true freedom, and Shen Shuibi and Li Qi could also be freed from their hostage status.

If… luck was good.

After all, there would still be a great battle.

“Good, then it’s settled. We won’t return to Chang’an for now; we’ll go directly back to Shaman God Mountain,” Shen Shuibi nodded, then continued, “Now that these matters are handled, it’s your turn. Tell me everything that happened on your journey.”

Her tone became gentle, no longer so serious.

Li Qi naturally wouldn’t refuse and immediately began to recount.

From returning to Great Deer Kingdom, to Li Shui God, the East Sea, the Ghost Gate, Elder of the Shen Yijun, and finally the battle in the Underworld, he explained everything in detail. The old horse also chimed in, corroborating Li Qi’s words, giving Shen Shuibi a complete account of Li Qi’s experiences during his time away.

Shen Shuibi listened attentively beside him, seemingly wanting to remember it all.

After this story was finished, whether by coincidence or not, the ghost carriage suddenly stopped, and outside, a cool breeze and sunlight could be felt.

“We’re here?” Li Qi looked outside.

Shen Shuibi said, “Yes, we’ve already passed through the Ghost Gate. However, this time we said we wouldn’t go back to Chang’an, so I came out of another Ghost Gate. This one is closer to Shaman God Mountain.”

“Another Ghost Gate?” Li Qi tilted his head in confusion.

“You should know it, the other Ghost Gate, Mount Luofu.”

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