Chapter 538: Intercept

To be honest, touring the Heavens was merely for broadening my horizons and accumulating experience; it didn't involve anything else. Li Qi's true objective had already been achieved.

Of course, the Heavens mentioned here are actually only the Buddhist Heavens. In reality, there are also Heavens in other places, otherwise, the saying 'All Heavens and Myriad Realms' wouldn't exist.

The Heavens are the Heavens, and the Myriad Realms are the Myriad Realms. The world clusters outside, along with these Heavens, form all that is known.

The famous Three Pure Ones Heavens of the Daoist Path are collectively known as Yu Yu Heaven, Da Chi Heaven, and Qing Wei Heaven.

There are also collective terms like Great Luo Heaven and Divine Firmament Heaven, as well as specific place names below them, such as Crimson Bright Yang Heaven, Primordial Bright Wen Ju Heaven, and Manifest Fixed Extreme Wind Heaven.

And the Heavenly Court of the Divine Path, especially the various Star Officials of the Divine Path, also have their own Heavens. For example, the 'Primum Mobile Heaven' which is formless yet bears the Three Enclosures and twenty-eight lunar mansions. Beyond the Primum Mobile Heaven, there are also Yuan Ji Heaven, Chang Jing Heaven, Moon Wheel Heaven, and so on.

Shaman Dao also has them: the four layers of Heaven corresponding to the four seasons—Cang Tian, Haotian, Min Heaven, and Shang Heaven.

The Demonic Dao certainly has them as well; that would be the famous Desire Realm, also known as Heaven of Others’ Emanations, or Demon Heaven.

Of course, Li Qi couldn't go to any of these.

He only visited the Buddhist Heavens, starting from Dakini Heaven, and passing through Vaishravana Heaven, Dhritarashtra Heaven, Virudhaka Heaven, Virupaksha Heaven, Great Freedom Heaven, and Śrīdevī.

Then, he ascended further, touring Ru Yi Heaven, Wei De Lun Heaven, Guang Ming Heaven, Wei De Yan Lun Guang Heaven, and Wisdom Practice Heaven.

The celestials in each layer of Heaven experience different joys and have their own interests and hobbies, but joy itself remains constant. They enjoy the blessings they accumulated in the past, until the day their blessings are exhausted, at which point they completely fall into suffering. After enduring their suffering, they enter the world below, as Mortals, to determine whether they will have blessings in their next life, thus cycling endlessly.

Alternatively, in this endless Reincarnation, they can awaken and choose to cultivate, using cultivation as a means to escape this boundless sea of suffering.

The Tathagata has a great undertaking, its name is 'Awakening the World.'

The Tathagata wants all people to awaken, to spontaneously develop the desire to cultivate, no longer content with the joys and sorrows of the human world, but instead to pursue a higher goal, for everyone to become a true, unyielding pursuer of the Dao, possessing great wisdom, courage, and unwavering perseverance.

People strive desperately for all sorts of empty fame, for meaningless pieces of metal, but do the 'lives' they risk, and those metal pieces or empty fame, truly possess substance?

Therefore, through Reincarnation, all people are made to realize the illusory nature of temporary joys and sorrows, and the emptiness of their own lives, thereby tempering them, so that all Buddhist cultivators possess an unshakeable 'Dao Heart.'

No longer constrained by worldly Destiny, not blinded by illusions, not controlled by demonic thoughtss, not affected by emotions and delusions, step by step, forever progressing—this is their goal.

With these thoughts, Li Qi surveyed the Heavens. There were places he couldn't go, so he didn't. His main focus was observing the operation of the Heavens and the lives of the celestials.

This was actually the most important thing, just as he once told the Merfolk.

"What kind of rare scene could compare to the traditions passed down by the Merfolk race for tens of millions of years?"

If the traditions of one race are so profound, what about the seemingly eternal Heavens and the celestials within them?

The Dao exists within these ordinary things!

He stored all these things in his mind. Following the cultivation methods of Shaman Dao, he began to 'carve' out the various Buddhist Heavens within his own miniature heaven and earth.

This is a form of Shaman cultivation, deepening one's miniature heaven and earth by deepening one's understanding of the external world.

The principle is also very simple.

Since the Dao exists within these ordinary things, I will directly transplant them. Although I may not necessarily comprehend the Dao within them, I can at least imitate them and replicate some supernatural phenomena.

Of course, Li Qi's replication of these Buddhist Heavens was still not perfect.

In the past, he had integrated the entire Guangyang into his body. That was because after that Grand Ritual, he already knew Guangyang like the back of his hand. Its mountains, rivers, and common human scenes had all materialized within his body, becoming part of his miniature heaven and earth. Therefore, he could unleash the full power of Guangyang.

Now, after repeating the Guangyang operation with the Buddhist Heavens, his understanding of the Heavens is certainly not as thorough as his understanding of Guangyang. Therefore, the replicated Heavens are definitely not fully restored, and many supernatural phenomena cannot be reproduced. Perhaps 99% of it is incomprehensible.

However, how can Guangyang compare to the Heavens? Even if Li Qi cannot reproduce 99% of the power, the remaining 1% is enough for him to benefit from.

Now, Guangyang is just a small part within Li Qi's body, no longer the vast area that almost filled his entire body. But the replicated Heavens, even just these fragments, already make Li Qi feel incredibly bloated, almost unable to bear it.

However, being able to be full means there's something to eat, which is better than having nothing to eat.

However, all these replication actions could only be completed with the tacit approval of Dakini Heaven.

If any Shaman were to come to the Western Paradise and try this, do they truly believe that the Buddhist Vajras have no wrathful demon-subduing forms? Look at the Shaolin Eighteen Bronze Men; if you want to descend the mountain, you have to break through the Bronze Men formation.

Although Li Qi actually didn't know if there was a Bronze Men formation in the Heavens, he didn't want to try.

After surveying the entire Heavens, two years had passed.

This took more time than Li Qi had imagined. Although he had tried to be as quick as possible, it still took a long time.

If he had been more leisurely, spending four or five years would have been quite normal.

His celestial neighbors found it very strange. They thought he was an odd person and couldn't understand why Li Qi would still strive so hard, rush for time, and even not rest at all, despite having a long life.

However, Li Qi was too lazy to explain and simply continued doing his own thing.

After surveying the Buddhist Heavens, Li Qi prepared to pack his bags and go home.

He didn't go to bid farewell to the White Fox King Bodhisattva, because he knew that, according to the time perception of the long-lived, they would meet again before long.

Li Qi quickly left the Heavens and returned to the Mortal realm.

Along with meditation and green smoke, he opened his eyes and found himself in the Western Paradise region of the world, right in front of the Dakini Heaven Bodhisattva statue where he had previously sat.

Hmm...

That's great, the journey was safe. So, in at most half a month, he would be able to return to Shaman God Mountain. At that time, he wouldn't do anything else and could continue living a peaceful life.

He quietly got up, not disturbing the life of the Mortal temple, and left the place, preparing to embark on his journey back.

However, just as he walked out the door, he saw a 6th Grade Lama with a chicken-crest hat and dark skin staring directly at him.

Hm? He can see me?

He was currently in a state of being one with natural.

Li Qi was a little curious, but he didn't provoke the other party proactively. Instead, he chose to take a detour.

There was no need to cause more trouble. He was almost home. If someone could see him, then so be it. Was he not allowed to be seen? He had cultivation method, and his Dharma Eye was open, so it was normal for him to be seen.

Li Qi didn't mind these things. He took a slight detour, crossed the temple, walked through the streets and urban areas, and arrived in the wilderness.

Many places in the Western Paradise Buddhist Kingdom are wilderness, completely undeveloped. In reality, there is no need to develop them, as the Mortal realm is only a part of the 'Western Paradise,' belonging to one of the six realms of Buddhism, merely one-sixth of the entire Western Paradise.

As soon as Li Qi stepped into the wilderness, he heard a voice by his ear: "Benefactor, please stop. May I ask if Benefactor came from the Southwest?"

As the voice faded, Li Qi saw the figures of two 6th Grade Lamas emerge from a distance.

One of them looked exactly like the 6th Grade Lama he had just seen in the temple. He guessed it was the same person, but Li Qi no longer had True Knowledge and couldn't directly probe their inherent attributes, so he didn't dare to speak with certainty.

Without True Knowledge, he was almost like a blind person, only able to make judgments based on his remaining senses, far from the convenience and speed of using True Knowledge.

The other 6th Grade Lama was wearing a black robe, draped with a human skin thangka, and held a skull in his hand. The skull was made into a bowl, and a foul, fishy smell emanated from it.

That was a smell Li Qi was quite familiar with; he had killed many Monks who made such things on his journey.

In this bowl were the five nectars.

They were made from the feces, urine, brain marrow, young male essence, and young female red dragon (menstrual blood) of a Great Achievement Guru, supplemented with Solomon's seal root, asparagus flower, marvel of Peru, Angelica sinensis, and caltrop, plus the five great meats: human flesh, elephant meat, horse meat, dog meat, and peacock meat.

These were extremely evil and defiled things. They held them in skull bowls, using them as Spiritual Tools.

This was because these Monks who practiced Dual Cultivation of Buddha and Demon liked to command Demonic Overlords, hungry ghosts, Yaksha ghosts, and other illusory manifestations. These evil beings loved to eat the most defiled things in the world, such as excrement and urine, as well as the fresh blood and flesh of living beings. Therefore, Monks who practiced Dual Cultivation of Buddha and Demon had to offer them the five meats and five nectars as payment for commanding them.

Moreover, just as Chan Zhi Monk directly drank the five nectars when he desperately fought Li Qi and the others, drinking them directly could also grant immense power. Although the side effects were enormous and would affect the consequences of multiple Reincarnations, even leading to defilement and falling into the three evil paths, it was still a good item to use in desperate situations.

But drinking it directly represented an imbalance between Buddha and Demon, which was something they needed to carefully consider.

Are those 6th Grade Lamas? Chan Zhi Monk's Senior Brother and Junior Brother, have they come looking for him?

They even directly asked if he was from Baiyue, which showed that they had already investigated his origins.

Even if Yunfang Great Shaman had obscured his heavenly secrets, the most basic physical investigation was still useful.

These thoughts flashed in an instant, and Li Qi's mind quickly turned. He immediately responded, "I am from the Southwest. What can I do for you two Great Masters?"

"We can't be called Great Masters. We just want to ask, does Benefactor have a Dao dispute with our Tsongkhapa lineage? Why have you killed countless Junior of our lineage along the way, always bullying the younger with the older, using your 6th Grade cultivation method to bully them? Isn't that a bit improper?" the 6th Grade Lama holding the five nectars said.

"I have never bullied them. The matter is simply that they provoked first. Bullying the younger with the older is despicable, but disrespecting a Senior, and even plotting to ambush them, that is probably inappropriate, isn't it? My actions of punishment are reasonable and justified, so what is so special about them?" Li Qi said to the two 6th Grade Lamas.

At the same time, he was also carefully observing the two 6th Grade Lamas.

One 6th Grade, one 5th Grade.

Neither of them were useless. Both had legitimate Legacy and came from the Tsongkhapa lineage...

He had heard of this. Tsongkhapa, a former Buddhist Son, was a disciple of the Bodhisattva of Faith and Wisdom, who was Manjushri Bodhisattva.

The Bodhisattva was very fond of him. From then on, Tsongkhapa became the Bodhisattva's attendant, thereby receiving much Buddha-Dharma. When the Bodhisattva even led him to bow before the Sakyamuni Buddha, Tsongkhapa developed Bodhicitta and offered a string of pure, flawless white crystal beads before the Buddha, comprehending the meaning of 'wisdom.' His Dharma name was 'Good Wisdom.'

Tsongkhapa later wrote scriptures, including the 'Great Commentary on the Stages of Tantric Path,' which detailed the uses and production methods of the five nectars.

And now, Tsongkhapa had separated from the original Manjushri Dao lineage, advocating 'first exoteric, then esoteric,' and had become quite close to the Mahakala lineage.

The 6th Grade one was the one Li Qi first saw in his natural state in front of the White Fox King Bodhisattva temple, wearing a red chicken-crest hat and a cloth kasaya.

The 5th Grade one was the one holding the five nectars, draped in a human skin thangka, which replaced the kasaya.

A 5th Grade and a 6th Grade, this is troublesome.

The 6th Grade 6th Grade Lama said, "Punish them? But from what I see of Benefactor's skill, the spells you cast could have made them unable to see you. You could have clearly avoided them, allowing these Junior not to provoke you. Even if you had directly displayed your cultivation method, they wouldn't have troubled you. But Benefactor deliberately chose to hide your cultivation method and walk up to provoke them. This isn't offense, this is fishing."

Li Qi smiled upon hearing this, and said in a gentle tone, "What? They tried to kill me, and now it's my fault? I already hid my cultivation method and appeared as a Mortal, posing no threat to them. You have no reason to blame me for not indulging them. I'm not their father, why should I cooperate with them?"

The 5th Grade 6th Grade Lama, however, was not at all anxious. He simply nodded and then said, "Oh, so Benefactor has this kind of temperament. No wonder you killed my disciples. However, it was their own fault. Offending a strong person, they deserved to die. I came to Benefactor for another matter, please don't misunderstand, and I trouble Benefactor to tell the truth. After all, I am worried about my Junior Brother, and indeed anxious. Everyone has feelings, Benefactor can understand, right?"

Worried about his Junior Brother?

Li Qi's heart sank.

Then he heard the 5th Grade 6th Grade Lama continue, "I have a Junior Brother named Jing Buyan, and a grand-nephew, whose Dharma name is Chan Zhi. After they went to the Southwest, there has been no news of them. I observe a demonic Qi of my sect's lineage on Benefactor, so I presume you have interacted with them. Moreover, on Benefactor... there is even the shadow of my sect's cultivation method."

"Having the shadow of my sect's cultivation method, plus coming from Dakini Heaven, and my Junior Brother happens to have some connection with the Dao lineage of Dakini Heaven, I was wondering if Benefactor has some connection with my Junior Brother?"

"May I ask, can Benefactor tell me the truth?"