Chapter 527: Seal the True Knowledge

In the twentieth year, Shen Shuibi finally had a reaction.

From this time on, Li Qi no longer ran outside all day, but instead stayed home to digest the books he had read, organize his insights, and observe Shen Shuibi's condition to take care of her.

Almost the instant the Pearl Embryo formed, Shen Shuibi visibly weakened, and the fetus unreservedly absorbed her Qi and blood to nourish its body.

Although this was instinct, Li Qi still felt some annoyance towards this unborn child.

He didn't know why he had such thoughts; normally, when witnessing the process of a child's gestation, shouldn't one feel all kinds of love and joy?

But those were not important; emotions were now difficult to affect Li Qi. He immediately began to activate the Spirit Gathering Formation, which he had prepared long ago to replenish Shen Shuibi's cultivation, and then took out the Medicinal Pills he had also prepared to supplement the Qi and blood absorbed by the fetus.

Fortunately, Shen Shuibi was a Fifth Grade, after all, so this absorption would not be life-threatening for her. After all, it was just the beginning of gestation, a small matter. She even thought Li Qi was making a mountain out of a molehill.

However, now it was just Qi and blood; after a while, it would start absorbing other things.

Life Qi, cultivation, and even begin to affect the smoothly circulating Dao within her body. This small life, even before birth, was Shen Shuibi's 'Dao Injury'.

Li Qi was terribly nervous, even starting to get angry at the fetus, but Shen Shuibi smiled happily. She always felt a very strange sensation…

Even though her Qi and blood and Life Qi were constantly being absorbed, and the Dao within her body was circulating sluggishly, various 'Dao Injury' traces began to appear, to the point where she would sometimes even fail when casting a certain spell, yet she did not resist.

Failing a spell due to sluggish Dao was something she hadn't encountered in at least eight thousand years. After growing up, all kinds of Magic Arts were already well-known to her, but she didn't expect to stumble at this moment.

She had never experienced a Dao Injury, but now she was experiencing it.

Dao Injury, as the name suggests, is an injury to one's Dao. Generally, it means that your Dao has suffered some kind of severe damage, for example, someone using a powerful attack to expose a weakness in your Dao that you didn't even know about, or simply using their Dao to crush yours.

In this way, when you realize the weakness of your Dao, although there will be no unhindered circulation, you will find that the miniature heaven and earth, which used to operate perfectly, now looks uncomfortable no matter how you look at it. This influence will gradually crush your Dao Heart, and if you cannot achieve a Breakthrough and repair the Dao Injury, your Dao path might even be severed.

However, pregnancy is another reason. The miniature heaven and earth is already in a state of Perfection and completeness. Suddenly, an extra organ appears, which naturally leads to the Dao within the body being unable to operate perfectly, unless you specifically create a new method to adjust the body to accommodate the presence of an additional child, otherwise it will definitely be unbalanced.

But there is no need for that. It will naturally recover after birth. Developing a specific method for this is too costly and won't be used for long.

This pregnancy lasted for ten years.

For ten years, Li Qi was almost inseparable.

This kind of companionship deepened their relationship and also allowed Shen Shuibi to give birth to a child smoothly, a girl.

Li Qi had long expected this. Shen Shuibi was a Moon Essence, with abundant Lunar Qi, so if the child born was not specially treated, it would easily lean towards a feminine nature.

Being pregnant for ten years was indeed very, very difficult, but fortunately, they got through it.

However, the child born was even more bizarre; it had no human form at all. It seemed that the nutrition was too abundant; what was born was not an infant, but a…

Li Qi didn't know how to describe it.

Perhaps, she gave birth to a ball?

A ball of light condensed from moonlight, emitting the fragrance of sweet osmanthus and a special kind of fluctuation. Within it was the Dao fluctuation of the Lunar guiding all things, which was the product of the Fusion of Shen Shuibi's and Li Qi's Dao.

Li Qi was at a loss when facing this ball.

He did know that there was a high-ranking deity in the Heavenly Court who was pregnant for three years and gave birth to a ball, which was later cut in half by his father with a sword before he was born.

Li Qi was pondering whether he should cut it open with a sword when Shen Shuibi slapped him away, telling him to quickly go discuss with Zhu Fengdan. If he delayed and harmed the child, Li Qi would be in deep trouble.

Only then did Li Qi hurriedly summon Old Ma and gallop to Zhu Fengdan's Immortal Cave to explain the situation to him.

Zhu Fengdan personally came to understand the situation and believed that this was because the mother's nutrition was too abundant. The preparations made by Li Qi and Shen Shuibi were too exaggerated and profound, causing the child to be born before it could fully digest the inherent foundations from the mother. The surrounding light was simply various pure Qi that had directly crystallized and solidified, circulating around Li Qi's and Shen Shuibi's Dao.

This ball, in essence, was a tiny Immortal Cave, and the real child was inside it.

Therefore, Zhu Fengdan gave Li Qi two choices.

The first was what Li Qi had thought of before: cut it open with a sword, and the child would naturally come out. However, the consequence of this would be that she would lose a very large Opportunity, her future path would be much more difficult, and her talent would significantly decrease.

As for the surrounding layer of pure Qi crystals that had condensed, plus the Dao rules formed by the Fusion of Li Qi and Shen Shuibi, they would shed and transform into a Spiritual Artifact after detaching.

This is commonly known as a companion Spiritual Artifact, something the child would inherently possess from birth. Many children of powerful beings have them, such as the famous Green Lotus, or a hammer, and so on.

The second option was to let the child slowly absorb and gestate inside. Although she had no sentience yet, by instinct alone, she could still absorb and digest these things. The final result would probably be that she would be at the Ninth Grade Peak upon birth and capable of advancing to Eighth Grade at any time. Her talent would be much, much better, even comparable to many Children of Destiny, but there would also be a problem.

That is the same problem as the Children of Destiny: having digested Li Qi's and Shen Shuibi's Dao, she would have to explore her own path in the future with these 'Dao' inherently present, otherwise she would be lost in her parents' Dao, and her ultimate potential would not be able to surpass her parents.

How to choose?

Li Qi was a bit indecisive.

When Zhu Fengdan saw his hesitation, he almost kicked Li Qi out.

A tortoise's temperament, thinking twice about everything, truly hasn't changed at all.

But Shen Shuibi, on the other hand, was particularly straightforward and chose the second option directly.

Li Qi asked why, and the rabbit's answer was: "If it's a constraint, then I am also constrained by the Empress, so what does it matter? If she breaks through this constraint, her future will far exceed the first option. I don't mind her being mediocre, but I'd rather her amaze everyone."

Zhu Fengdan laughed heartily, patted Li Qi's shoulder, and told him to learn well.

Then, he picked up the ball and quickly set up a protective Formation around it. After that, the ball was fixed within the Immortal Cave, and only after the child inside had fully digested everything would it break out of its shell.

After that, Li Qi and Shen Shuibi relaxed a lot, because Zhu Fengdan said that this child would probably need several decades to slowly gestate. For now… just treat her as an egg; she will hatch herself after a while, no need to worry.

Thus, for the third and fourth decades, Li Qi became much more relaxed, neither anxious nor worried, and without the troubles of a child.

It was also at this point that the Demonic Prince's injuries finally healed completely.

He began to challenge others and invited Li Qi to observe the ceremony. This time, he no longer challenged them by coming to their door, but instead issued an open challenge, inviting people from other families to come to him. This time, he no longer designated a specific person, but would accept anyone who came to his door.

Throughout the world, many people began to mock the Demonic Prince, believing that he had been scared by the Little Heavenly Master and no longer dared to challenge the top Geniuses, only seeking something random to lay his Overlord Dao Foundation.

Some even mocked him, saying, "An Overlord Dao Foundation obtained in such a way is better not to have; it's a disgrace."

However, Li Qi had no opinion on this and did not intend to express one. Instead, he went with Shen Shuibi to the arena set up by the Demonic Prince.

Perhaps to accommodate Li Qi, the Demonic Prince's arena was set up in Annam, within the jurisdiction of Shaman God Mountain.

Many people came to challenge the Demonic Prince, including some super Geniuses from major Dao Orthodoxy, figures similar to the Little Heavenly Master. They were all eager to test the true caliber of the Demonic Prince who had defeated the Little Heavenly Master.

But there were also some who believed that the Demonic Prince had not truly won against the Little Heavenly Master, but had merely won by luck through the Demonic Dao's life-preserving methods. So they came to defeat the Demonic Prince, hoping to gain reputation over him.

Others, however, felt that the Demonic Prince was too hateful for wanting to use the failures of others as his Dao foundation, so they came to crusade, intending to defeat the Demonic Prince and completely sever his path to becoming an Overlord.

In any case, many young Geniuses from all over the world actively came to cause trouble for the Demonic Prince.

Among them were many who were as strong as the Little Heavenly Master, because, over these years, the theory of Seventh Grade combat power had undergone an update. The combat footage of the Demonic Prince and the Little Heavenly Master was spread everywhere, and everyone was studying it. The result of these studies, naturally, was that a group of people quickly broke through their previous limits and reached new ones by relying on these research findings.

It could be said that a single battle between the Demonic Prince and the Little Heavenly Master directly raised the Seventh Grade Peak of the entire world.

Of course, such things happened frequently before. After all, limits are constantly being refreshed like this, just like world records. Once a possibility is proven, someone will quickly break through.

Li Qi had no opinion on this either. Anyway, he was just there to observe the ceremony. Whether the Demonic Prince won or lost was actually irrelevant.

However, this time, Li Qi's horizons were broadened once again.

After the theoretical Breakthrough, those Geniuses who were not as good as the Little Heavenly Master in the past now all reached the Little Heavenly Master's level. The theoretical Breakthrough led to practical Breakthroughs. Over these decades, the combat power of these Seventh Grade cultivators truly increased by no small margin.

Perhaps this was the benefit of being born in the world. Those Seventh Grade cultivators from outside the domain had even less chance to compete with the Seventh Grade Geniuses of the world.

However, this was just the premise. What truly opened Li Qi's eyes was that all these people, one by one, swaggering and capable of contending with the Little Heavenly Master of yesteryear, were all utterly defeated by the Demonic Prince in just one day.

In just one day, over a hundred people. The Demonic Prince simply swept them away, even uttering words like, "All of you, come at me together."

Although the Demonic Prince was still a Seventh Grade, Li Qi felt that it might be unlikely for him to kill himself at this moment, but winning against himself would certainly be no problem at all.

Indeed, Li Qi had also made considerable progress in these decades. He had learned countless spells, at least tens of thousands, and had completed the adjustment of his miniature heaven and earth, now at its Peak. Li Qi felt that he could easily win against the former Little Heavenly Master.

However, facing the Demonic Prince after his new Breakthrough, Li Qi did not feel he could win.

Truly, there is always someone better.

This world is not lacking in Geniuses, and even less in Geniuses who are more formidable than Geniuses.

Li Qi sighed in inferiority as he personally watched the Demonic Prince brutally beat up all the challengers.

Except for one person.

That super Genius from Shaman God Mountain, the Seventh Grade one, Shaman Wushan Yao Ji.

Since this was happening in the Annam region, it was understandable that the locals of Shaman God Mountain couldn't sit still.

It was Li Qi's first time meeting Yao Ji. Unlike the Little Heavenly Master, she had no interaction with Li Qi from beginning to end. Li Qi couldn't even clearly see her Face because she wore a veil. She was simply the last one to challenge the Demonic Prince.

The result was as expected.

Yao Ji was very strong. Li Qi felt that her foundation at the Seventh Grade was much more solid than his own, but she was still not as good as the Demonic Prince.

Her methods were miraculous, her Small Heaven and Earth almost solidified, turning virtual into real. One could see the principles of Heaven circulating, with a wave of her hand, land and sea were born, with a flick of her finger, mountains and rivers formed. She had completely reached the point of 'making wishes come true', making Li Qi feel like a useless person. He quickly recorded it, preparing to take it back to observe and learn from.

Under such power, the evolved Demonic Prince still couldn't get half a step closer to her, even with all his might.

However, in the end, the Demonic Prince was severely injured several times and healed several times, wearing himself out. At a tragic cost, he broke through and reached Yao Ji's side.

As soon as he got close to Yao Ji, she decisively conceded.

She was also a Shaman. Her combat power in close quarters was almost zero. To avoid being brutally beaten and losing Face by the Demonic Prince, she simply conceded.

Thus, the Demonic Prince won again, bringing his progress to two-tenths.

Li Qi had originally wanted to talk to Yao Ji, to learn how to turn virtual into real at the Seventh Grade, but unfortunately, Yao Ji gave Li Qi no Face at all and ran away without saying a word.

Li Qi couldn't say anything either and could only give up.

After that, the Demonic Prince swiftly challenged all major Dao Orthodoxy. In these twenty years, he defeated all his opponents, even nearly shattering the Martial Dao Heart of the Martial Daoist.

He succeeded. With his own strength, he made the entire world speak his name.

Finally, he laid his Dao foundation and advanced to Sixth Grade.

Li Qi followed the Demonic Prince the entire time, observing and gaining combat experience.

He benefited greatly, feeling that his combat power had increased by at least fifty percent.

At the same time, he also witnessed the moment the Demonic Prince fulfilled his promise.

The Demonic Prince had promised him to Seal True Knowledge.