Chapter 520: Talk

Having comprehended the ‘Cultivation’ of Dao Orthodoxy, and what True Nature is, and what it means to be self-sufficient, Li Qi sighed with emotion as he activated the Sun-Moon Orbit. Through the Sun-Moon Orbit, he instantly Transmigrated a vast distance, arriving at Penglai from Huliang.

Knowing the situation of Dao Orthodoxy, his anticipation for Penglai had vanished, but he still held a considerable degree of curiosity.

After all, this was Penglai.

The poem says: Penglai, ancient and modern, is only heard of by name; its misty waters are vast, with no place to find it. The sea is boundless, the wind is mighty; one’s eyes strain but cannot see Penglai Island.

This was the most mysterious place in Dao Orthodoxy, and also its true core.

The books Li Qi had read recorded: “Penglai is opposite the northeast shore of the East Sea, with a circumference of five thousand li. Outside, there is another circular sea surrounding the mountain, and the circular sea water is black, which is called the Nether Sea. There is no wind, yet the vast waves are a hundred zhang high, making it impossible to traverse.”

Stepping out from the Sun-Moon Orbit, Li Qi looked around.

Around him was a expanse of black seawater, seemingly adorned with shell palaces and pearl mansions, with groups of Demons churning, Feng Yi stirring the waves, clouds of Qi vast and roaring, giant salamanders roaring and whales surging, darkening the sky—this was Penglai!

Suddenly, a Heavenly wind blew, illuminating the Sun and Moon, and a ray of light descended, shining upon ethereal layered terraces and immortal palaces shrouded in clouds. Within, Phoenixes soared and flew, Yuans and egrets lingered, Gaos and Kuas bowed, and bears and tigers followed.

Compared to the unsupervised Huliang, Penglai, though still not as magnificent as Chang’an, already possessed sufficiently wondrous natural terrain. The surrounding sea area, known as the ‘Nether Sea’, had incredibly black water, with thousands of waters and myriad waves filling it. The world was a uniform black, its waves a hundred zhang high, and countless sea beasts surged within the rolling tides, making it extremely perilous.

And amidst the black seawater, a pure white, flawless immortal mountain floated above it.

Black and white supported each other, just like… the Yin and Yang fish in a Taiji diagram, perfectly and harmoniously integrated.

That was Penglai. Near the immortal mountain, countless flying peaks circulated around it. There was no special decoration inside, but… there were many, many, many, many treasures.

It was truly a lot.

Various Spiritual Tools, palaces, Formations, beautiful gardens, precious talismans and grand maps, Pill Furnaces and incense seals winding, feathered carriages on the sky road, myriad pearl trees with shining branches—countless treasures seemed to awaken from here.

These had no ‘artistic sense’ whatsoever, and even had a bit of Zhu Fengdan’s flavor, which was just piling a bunch of good things all together on it.

However, what was better than Zhu Fengdan was that these treasures had all been properly treated, so while their precious light could be seen, they wouldn't interfere with each other.

It seemed… Penglai was much richer than Huliang.

Well, Huliang was just a station, and its permanent population wasn't large. But Penglai was the main base, so it must have a great deal of heritage. The core Magic Treasures of Dao Orthodoxy were probably all stored here.

Just thinking about it was terrifying.

Shen Shuibi had forgotten her pique with Li Qi at this moment. Her true form pricked up her ears and widened her eyes, gazing at Penglai Immortal Island.

As a member of Dao Orthodoxy, it was impossible for her to have no thoughts about Penglai.

That was Penglai! In the common sayings of Dao Orthodoxy, the phrase ‘traveling to Peng and Ying’ was used to describe those who had attained the Dao.

This meant that if you were very powerful, you could travel to Peng and Ying, able to come and go from this place at will.

Peng refers to Penglai, and Ying refers to Yingzhou.

The three islands of Dao Orthodoxy were Penglai, Yingzhou, and Huliang. Huliang was a station, with a small permanent population, while the other two were the true core.

Having arrived at Penglai, she also took it quite seriously.

So, she transformed into her human form, no longer making a fuss, but instead pulled Li Qi and said, “Li Qi, let’s go in.”

“Mhm,” Li Qi nodded, and the two walked in hand in hand.

Old Horse lay quietly on Li Qi’s shoulder, continuing to play dead.

Now was not the time to speak, or he would be beaten.

— — — — — — — —

Li Qi and the others landed on Penglai, originally intending to find a good place to sit down and wait for the Demonic Prince to begin.

However, what they didn't expect was that as soon as they set foot on the island, they saw a black figure standing on the shore of Penglai, by the edge of the black ocean.

A black cloak embroidered with gold threads, a dark robe, with some arcane talismans faintly flickering, wearing an ink-jade mask, and a dark gold-tiger jade pendant hanging from his waist.

He limped, leaning on his staff, slowly walking towards Li Qi.

It was none other than the Demonic Prince.

He walked up to Li Qi and said to Li Qi and Shen Shuibi in a familiar voice, “Hello… Li Qi, and Shen Shuibi, we meet again. I’m very happy, I didn’t expect you to actually come.”

His mask completely covered his expression, but his voice clearly revealed a smile.

It seemed the Demonic Prince was in a good mood.

“What do you mean, ‘didn’t expect you to actually come’? Since the Demonic Prince specifically wrote to invite us, how could we not come? After all, the Demonic Prince has very few friends, and I barely count as one. If I don’t come, who else will come to support you?” Li Qi immediately cupped his hands and replied with a smile.

Shen Shuibi nodded slightly to the Demonic Prince, then hid behind Li Qi. Once they entered social mode, their roles would reverse.

Li Qi would become talkative, and the little rabbit would start playing dead.

“Haha, but my reputation isn’t very good. To be precise, the reputation of the entire Demonic Dao isn’t good,” the Demonic Prince said, then found a reef and sat down, placing his staff across his knees.

Even though he was already a Seventh Grade Cultivator, his limp still affected his movements, so he probably preferred to speak while sitting.

Li Qi naturally also brought Shen Shuibi to sit down, then said, “Among the Nine Lands Under Heaven, which place has a good reputation?”

“Human Dao is strong and overbearing, constantly waging war; Spirit Dao is reclusive and detached from worldly affairs; Demon Dao is a mixed bag, good and bad intertwined; True Dragon is belligerent and bloodthirsty, fond of instigating conflicts and massacres; Shaman is secretive, strange, and unfathomable; Dao Orthodoxy is proud and indifferent, acting independently; Buddhism extends its reach everywhere, laying out Karma; God Dao views all living beings as ants and sustenance; Demonic Dao, as one of the Nine Lands Under Heaven, having a bad reputation is only natural,” Li Qi said with great emotional intelligence.

“Indeed, there is some truth to that. However, the Demonic Dao is a little different from the other eight Dao Orthodoxy. After all, our Dao foundation is the suffering of the world. Heavenly Demons enjoy toying with Mortals, Demon of Affliction feeds on the Dao Heart, Demon of the Five Aggregates obstructs sight and hearing, hindering others’ Dao path, and Demon of Death even wishes to push the world into death.”

“Demons are a Dao path that parasitizes other Dao paths, seizing wisdom, corrupting Dao methods, Karma, and good roots. Hence, they are called Demons. Our reputation is particularly bad,” the Demonic Prince said without any reservation.

Yes, this was the fundamental reason why the Demonic Dao was hostile.

Speaking of scandals and misdeeds, all major Dao Orthodoxy were pretty much the same. So why was the Demonic Dao particularly resisted, and why were even the Four Demons, the progenitors of the Demonic Dao, expelled from the world?

It was because the Dao foundation of the Demonic Dao was essentially the Dao foundation of other Dao Orthodoxy.

The Dao foundation of Demon of Affliction was built upon the suffering of sentient beings, and corrupting others’ Dao Heart was his method of cultivation. The Demon of the Five Aggregates was similar, and the Demon of Death was even more extreme.

Even Li Qi knew this, because Buddhism widely propagated the horror of the Demon of Death, and those Buddhas, through Buddhist scriptures and other preaching Monks, had made public the Demon of Death’s method of transcendence.

The Demon of Death’s method of transcending the First Grade, his great Dao opportunity, was to destroy all known existence, for all things to enter death, even for Reincarnation itself to be completely annihilated.

Thus, the Demon of Death’s great Dao could be achieved.

This was undoubtedly a declaration of war against all existences in the myriad worlds. The Buddhas directly publicized it, attempting to stifle the Demon of Death’s Dao path, which was a tremendous feud.

“Hindering the Dao path…” Li Qi sighed, looked up at the sky, speechless for a moment.

The Demonic Prince saw his expression and chuckled, “I understand. Things that hinder the Dao path are everywhere, not just in the Demonic Dao. Even the Demonic Dao itself has its Dao path hindered at every turn. For example, the previous Demon of Death, he was hindered by the heavens, and at the same time, he hindered the heavens. The two sides of things, if successfully reconciled, can lead to further progress. But if the raw materials are insufficient, how can they be reconciled?”

As he spoke, the Demonic Prince stretched out his hand and looked at his palm. In his palm, his palm lines unfolded.

If there were someone skilled in divination and fortune-telling, they would see that among his palm lines, the earth line was snake-shaped, starting with a faint trace, then gradually becoming shallower, wider, and lighter in color.

This was a sign of premature death and danger.

According to the prediction of these palm lines, he should have died long ago.

Li Qi looked at the Demonic Prince, knowing what the other party was thinking.

In a normal person’s body, there is Yin and Yang. This is the basic composition of all things in the world. The Dao of Yin and Yang is a great Dao that reaches the heavens, and the Sun-Moon Orbit is an important part of it.

But the Demonic Prince’s body only had Yang Qi, completely lacking Yin Qi, so he had no ‘two sides’; he only had one side.

Therefore, there was no such thing as reconciling Yin and Yang for him, which would inevitably be a hurdle in his future.

At this moment, Li Qi said, “Why reconcile? Since all things have two sides, if one side exists, it means the other side already exists.”

The Demonic Prince turned his head and glanced at Li Qi.

Then, he nodded: “Yes, on the Dao path, everything is an obstacle, and it can also be a help. I didn’t expect, Li Qi, that you see this point more clearly than I do. Although you are timid, you are indeed a wise man.”

“Since we are friends, let’s give each other some advice. Your words have given me a lot of inspiration. Your wisdom is indeed superior to mine. However, in terms of courage, you are weaker than me.” The Demonic Prince seemed unaccustomed to receiving favors, so after receiving Li Qi’s reminder, he immediately offered a return.

Li Qi originally wanted to decline, but upon hearing the other party mention courage, he immediately sat up straight and listened attentively.

This was indeed his most serious problem at the moment, and also the reason Zhu Fengdan wanted to force him. If he could get an answer from the Demonic Prince, then Shen Shuibi’s matter might be easily resolved.

“You are too intelligent, and your perception is too strong. Standing in front of you, I can still feel a strong gaze sweeping over me and everything around, as if it wants to absorb all information into your mind. So much information makes you overly cautious,” the Demonic Prince said.

What he said was almost identical to what Zhu Fengdan had said, which made Li Qi admire him somewhat.

Being able to make the same judgment as a Grand Invoker was enough to prove that the Demonic Prince’s insights and advice were worth taking seriously.

“So, my advice to you is to remove your Dao Resonance and experience the feeling of being ‘blind’,” the Demonic Prince said, then pointed to himself: “I don’t have any Innate Dao Resonance. My bamboo staff was also something I found later.”

“Compared to you favored ones, I have nothing, and I’m even physically disabled, but that doesn’t stop me from climbing up step by step. Perhaps you should experience the feeling of a Mortal; only then will you know what courage is,” the Demonic Prince calmly advised Li Qi.

Remove the True Knowledge Dao Resonance? Li Qi was stunned.

He had never even considered such a thing.

After all, he had long been accustomed to the True Knowledge Dao Resonance, just as a person is accustomed to having eyes.

This habit was already ingrained in his heart, just as a person opening their eyes naturally sees things. If they couldn't see, that person would surely be scared half to death.

Li Qi was much the same; if the True Knowledge Dao Resonance disappeared, his first reaction would definitely be terror. No one would think of finding a time to remove their own eyeballs, right?

As the Demonic Prince spoke, he propped his chin with his finger, shaking his head slightly: “Hmm, removing Innate Dao Resonance seems too painful for you. How about this, wait for me for a while. After some time, my Dao foundation should be established, and then, after advancing to Sixth Grade, I will have the ability to manipulate the five aggregates. My words should be trustworthy, right?” the Demonic Prince said.

Li Qi nodded. Indeed, if he hadn't been reminded, he would have forgotten.

The Demonic Prince, in fact, cultivated all Four Demons simultaneously; he possessed all the characteristics of the Demonic Dao.