Chapter 559: Interception

If a native, and a very ordinary one at that, could think of something Li Shiwei couldn't, then why should Li Shiwei look down on the collective wisdom of civilization?

So, in her eighteenth year of calling herself a hero, Li Shiwei finally realized what 'a normal heart' meant.

A normal heart means not being servile when encountering superiors, and not being arrogant when encountering inferiors.

It means not blindly worshipping those stronger than oneself, nor blindly despising those weaker than oneself.

The key here lies in 'blindly.'

Strength and weakness are actually very foolish classifications; if one simply judges superiority and inferiority by killing power, then the world's foremost Dao Orthodoxy should be Martial Dao, after all, Martial Dao is famously invincible at the same Rank.

A top Martial Artist from an orthodox Martial Dao, with his Fist Intent like a great sun, can shatter all methods with a single punch, making him highly likely to be invincible at the same Rank.

Human Dao is already top-tier in combat power; holding an official position of the same Rank, coupled with his own Cultivation, makes him a rare double-Rank in all heavens, but after a Martial Artist of the same Rank closes in, he can still only hope for 'a complete retreat.'

Yet, Martial Dao can only ever be a second-rate Dao Orthodoxy, the reason being that fighting and killing are not the ultimate pursuit of a Dao Orthodoxy; although combat power is the foundation for standing, the pursuit of Dao is not about fighting.

Killing power and combat power are meant to help you pursue Dao, and they are a great help, but they are merely means, not ends.

Li Shiwei simply misunderstood this point.

She looked down on this world; it was merely a seventh-Rank world, and even those so-called seventh-Rank powerhouses, if one or two came, couldn't defeat Li Shiwei.

Purely relying on Li Shiwei herself would of course not be an opponent, but the stack of Talismans in her pocket were not for show; they were drawn by Shen Shuibi, and even ordinary seventh-Rank Cultivators would find two of them life-threatening.

Therefore, Li Shiwei felt that this world was nothing; as long as she wasn't surrounded and killed, she could fight her way through.

But after Lu De knocked her on the head and the stone reminded her, she finally realized what commonality she was looking for.

Commonality is actually the manifestation of the Great Dao among many civilizations.

And so, here she is now.

Two years passed in a flash.

During these two years, she traveled to various places, journeying between different countries, observing their customs and traditions, and searching for subtle commonalities, for the existence of the 'Dao,' within them.

As for the stone, it continued to stay with Lu De; it quite liked this child, and in these two years, Lu De, with the help of the stone's knowledge and his own efforts, became the youngest Senior Instructor in history, attracting the attention of the entire nation.

Everything seemed to be falling into place.

One day, two years later, Li Shiwei waved goodbye to some farmers, smiling lightly as she thanked them for the fruit wine they gifted.

This was a rather interesting custom: they would use young girls' feet to stomp on local fruits, then take the crushed pulp to brew wine; Li Shiwei was invited to participate in the local activity and, after stomping, received some fruit wine as compensation.

Then, carrying the fruit wine, she washed her feet, put on her shoes, bid farewell to the enthusiastic villagers, and prepared to embark on her journey again.

However, she hadn't gone far when she saw a villager carrying an ordinary iron sword walking towards her.

Li Shiwei's eye twitched.

Then, she pretended not to see him and walked past nonchalantly.

However, as they brushed past each other, the villager smiled and said, "The wine from Dolunta Winery is quite good; could I trouble you for a drink?"

"Of course, wine is indeed meant to be shared to be enjoyed," Li Shiwei was not stingy; she took out the fruit wine she had just received from her pocket and set it up on a tree stump by the roadside.

Then, she formed hand seals, and the soil on the ground flew up, shaped into cups by an invisible force; Li Shiwei then took a breath and opened her mouth, exhaling a true fire from within her chest.

As Shen Shuibi's daughter, and a Daoist Cultivator, she naturally knew the traditional arts of Dao Orthodoxy, Alchemy, and the true fire needed for Alchemy was certainly not lacking.

The true fire burned, and the soil quickly melted, not to form glaze, but directly reaching its melting point, turning into a glass-like substance.

Next, she used the water-spraying method to spray some spiritual spring water; with the quenching of fire and water, the originally unremarkable soil instantly transformed into a set of exquisite, crystal-clear wine cups.

If it were people from this world, they would recognize the profoundness of her technique; this was the water and fire methods of Dao Orthodoxy.

Water method, fire method, lightning method, the signature skills of Dao Orthodoxy; Li Shiwei used them with proficiency.

The villager, of course, lacked such insight, but his instinct sensed the extraordinary nature of this technique, so he said, "Such a method, used to make cups, isn't it a waste?"

Li Shiwei placed the cups on the tree stump and began pouring the wine, saying as she poured, "Methods are meant to be used; as long as they serve a purpose, why differentiate between high and low, noble and humble? Compared to killing and making cups, I think making cups is better."

This was her sincere thought; two years of travel had made Li Shiwei recognize and appreciate the importance of a normal heart.

"Such words... sound quite peaceful, not at all like something someone invading a world would say," the villager picked up his cup and took a sip.

Upon hearing that, the atmosphere became much more oppressive.

The wind blew past the two of them, and the air temperature seemed to drop by two degrees, making the surrounding birds shrink their heads.

"This is not an invasion, and I am not preparing to invade," Li Shiwei said with a smile, then reached out, and the surroundings began to warm up.

"I can see you have no ill will, but relations between nations are already on the verge of war because of your intrusion," the villager said.

This was indeed true.

Over the past two years, due to the Triangular Eye technology, relations between nations had rapidly deteriorated, and the 'Beasts' had also launched numerous attacks, making the world situation confusing and unpredictable; conflicts grew larger and larger, and even war seemed imminent; the new technology brought by Li Shiwei had too great an impact on the existing society.

Such drastic technological change would inevitably give rise to entirely new social contradictions, and these social contradictions were unlikely to be resolved peacefully, ultimately leading to the intertwining of iron and fire.

Li Shiwei shook her head and said, "That is your business; I have never instigated war."

The villager, however, asked, "Is it really unrelated to you? Those technologies, you brought them, didn't you? The Triangular Eye, that must also be a lie concocted by you?"

"To commit these mistakes, then pretend to be nonchalant and peace-loving, wandering through this country, oh outsider, do you truly think it's justified?"

"I've followed your footsteps for three months; I admit, you are a peaceful being, with love for everything, treating both impoverished inns and opulent palaces equally. I've inquired about every event you passed through, every person; everyone says you are a friendly and kind person, every event proves your gentleness and benevolence, which is why I can drink wine with you so calmly."

"Oh, outsider, please tell me, what is your purpose? Why do you stir up strife in this world, and then nonchalantly enjoy the peace?" the villager said.

As he spoke, he had already taken the sword from his back and placed the rusty sword on the tree stump, his eyes fixed on Li Shiwei, awaiting an answer from this extremely dangerous guest.

Li Shiwei was about to explain something, but as she opened her mouth, she stopped again.

Then, she silently took a sip of wine and said, "That was an accident; I originally intended to destroy those things, but one of you noticed me, and I had no choice but to leave."

The villager nodded, seemingly acknowledging this explanation, and then he continued, "Since that's the case, then now, I... no, not just me, we hidden ones, want to destroy these technologies; these foreign technologies are not a good thing; they have hindered the development of our original techniques and are about to bring about a world-engulfing war."

"Do you need my help?" Li Shiwei asked.

"No, we need you to die," the villager stated frankly. "This world already has a group of Triangular Eye devotees, supporters of your technologies. If I wanted to eliminate them, it would likely directly ignite a civil war, which is not what we want to see."

"But, if in battle, we eliminate you, then we can openly declare your technology flawed and fatally weak, thereby logically eliminating those technologies and returning everything to normal."

"You are a good person, but this is for the sake of all beings."

"You need me to die? Why can't you embrace such change? The technology I brought has no weaknesses; if it can be accepted and integrated, there will be many benefits," Li Shiwei shook her head.

"Benefits are not guaranteed, but the harm is obvious; if civil war breaks out now, even extinction is not impossible," the villager said.

The conversation had reached this point, and both had more or less understood the source of the conflict.

Such a conflict was not about personal vendetta; in fact, it could even be said that the other party seemed to hold some respect for Li Shiwei, but he still had to act, because without destroying Li Shiwei, he could not destroy the technology she brought.

Thinking of this, two words suddenly popped into Li Shiwei's mind.

'Dao conflict.'

Their understanding of this world was different, and thus, an irreconcilable contradiction arose.

Upon realizing this, Li Shiwei felt a bit dazed.

But in that instant of her daze, the villager gripped his sword hilt, and Martial Dao Divine Intent surged from behind him, condensing into a phantom image; this was the Martial Artist's Dharma Aspect.

Of course, it still differed from the Dharma Aspects of other Dao Orthodoxys, because this was actually the manifestation of Martial Dao Divine Intent.

But in fact, there was no difference, after all, the Dharma Aspects of other Dao Orthodoxys were also the manifestation of their own Great Dao, it's just that Martial Dao... was slightly more special.

The long sword was already unsheathed, so there was no 'drawing the sword,' but in the instant it was drawn, all the rust peeled away, and the blade instantly transformed into a bright radiance, piercing straight into Li Shiwei's body!

Qi surged and clouds churned, the attack capable of shattering mountains and splitting seas!

Li Shiwei did not resist, but was directly blasted, flying backward, her body like a leaf caught by the Qi wave and thrown, half of her body torn apart by Sword Qi!

However, her voice remained.

"Indeed, the Triangular Eye was my mistake, so I will not resist this blow, but I cannot die yet, so next, I will resist," Li Shiwei's voice trembled slightly, indicating that enduring a seventh-Rank blow was still too much for her.

She was a little scared.

Fortunately, the opponent was a Martial Artist brute; if it were a spellcaster, she might truly have died.

However, she suppressed her fear and decided to face everything.

The half of her body that had been torn apart also rapidly returned, transforming into Moon Essence Qi.

"Elemental creature?" The villager's pupils moved.

Impossible, it was flesh and blood just now, how could it suddenly become an elemental creature?

"I don't know what an elemental creature is, but... I'm not entirely made of flesh," Li Shiwei said, demonstrating her second characteristic.

She was a daughter of Moon Essence, and naturally possessed the nature of Moon Essence; she had never truly been a body of flesh and blood.

But the Sword Qi continued to prevent her recovery like a maggot clinging to bone.

She took out a box of Medicinal Pills and swallowed one, and saw that the seventh-Rank Sword Qi was easily removed, and her body quickly recovered.

The next moment, another sword strike came.

But Li Shiwei no longer passively defended; instead, with a wave of both hands, a large number of Talismans scattered!

Lightning method displayed, the sky roared!

The static and tremor of electricity suddenly erupted! A massive thundercloud formed by dark clouds instantly appeared, and lightning raged!

The dark clouds accumulated in the sky glowed with internal lightning, the air was dissociated, ozone began to permeate the surroundings, lightning streaked through the clouds, and the thunderous laughter of lightning resounded in the sky.

However, another sword.

A flash of sword light suddenly appeared before Li Shiwei's eyes!

Before the sword arrived, the Sword Qi was already there; the fierce Sword Intent was enough to instill fear in any enemy in this world, making them dare not lightly challenge its edge!

She remained calm, the Talismans in her hand flickered, and lightning fiercely struck the sword light, neutralizing the Sword Qi while simultaneously beginning to set up a great formation nearby.

And, it was the Mountain and River Grand Formation!

This was what her father taught her!

She already understood this world quite well; at this moment, using Talismans as the formation base, herself as the formation eye, plus the numerous treasures on her person, she almost instantly gathered the surrounding celestial and terrestrial advantages, strengthening herself and weakening the enemy.

But the opponent was a Martial Artist.

Martial Artists didn't have so many flashy tricks.

He simply caught the long sword and struck again.

The sun's light reflected on the pond, light bands like falling stars, and the Martial Dao Divine Intent behind the villager continued to surge, the Qi emanating from it even reaching a blinding degree.

With such dazzling light, Li Shiwei had to confront the opponent's Qi.

"...Is that, protection?" Li Shiwei looked at the opponent's Martial Dao Divine Intent; it was a guard, a gentleness hidden in the shadows, a persistence to swear to protect everything before him after gaining eternal life.

This was the opponent's Martial Dao Divine Intent.

No wonder he would actively seek out Li Shiwei to do this.

The opponent must have voluntarily taken on the role of the world's guardian.

Her arrival could even trigger a world war, so he had to make her die.

However, it's unlikely.

Li Shiwei thought, as the Talismans in her hand condensed, a virtual Dharma Aspect formed, and the Mountain and River Grand Formation activated!

One cannot measure value by strength or weakness; Li Shiwei had already learned this.

However, these natives... they were indeed very weak.

However—

The next instant, three seventh-Rank Cultivators suddenly appeared around them.

This was a coordinated ambush from the very beginning!