Chapter 562: Crossroads

The battle lasted for six days.

Almost all the Seventh Ranks in the entire world died in this battle of fate.

Li Qi didn't interfere because there was no need.

All of this was destined to happen; when facing the world's choice of destiny, the struggle was inevitable, a part of the natural operation, just like two powerful predators fighting over prey.

And no matter what they chose, this world would become more prosperous.

Yes, although most Seventh Ranks would die due to their own choices, no matter which outcome was reached, the world itself would only benefit, and their deaths were valuable.

Hmm... Li Qi sometimes wondered if these people thought about this when they fought with their lives on the line?

Did they know that no matter the outcome of their battle, it would actually be a good result?

Or, even if the world became worse, would they still insist on contending and upholding their choices?

After all, such a choice was essentially a Dao struggle.

To decide the future destiny of the world with one's own will, to transform the world into the way one desired, to die without regret—this was the most typical Dao struggle.

But... did those who struggled truly know if their decisions were correct? How could they be so absolutely certain that they were right?

What they relied on... was probably just their Dao Heart, right?

Just like everything Li Qi did.

He also didn't know if what he did was right or wrong, but if his Dao Heart pointed the way, even if it was wrong, would he just not do it? If he didn't do it, how would he know he was wrong?

Before the result was out, if he didn't even have the courage to say he was right, then he might as well go home and plant sweet potatoes; what kind of Dao was he cultivating?

Cultivation, cultivation, is about cultivating first, then acting; the 'acting' part is very important.

Right?

Witnessing a group of people fighting for the Dao they upheld, at this moment, a voice suddenly appeared behind Li Qi.

It was a man with a poker face; if Li Shiwei were here, she would probably exclaim, “Leader!”

That’s right, this was the middle-level, Seventh Rank member of the Chamber of Commerce.

His home world was here.

“Greetings, Invoker…” He bowed to Li Qi.

Li Qi nodded slightly: “No need for formalities. Did you come to contend for the future of this world as well?”

“I have already left this place, and this time I have brought back the world’s destined future of advancement. This is already enough. My Karma with this world has been repaid. I no longer belong here and will not contend for anything,” the poker-faced captain said.

“Then why did you come?” Li Qi asked gently.

“I have a question I wish to ask Invoker,” the poker-faced captain said, bowing his head with cupped hands.

“Just speak your mind; since we’re face to face, there won't be another chance like this,” Li Qi readily agreed to the request.

Actually, Li Qi was naturally a very agreeable person, provided you could talk to him.

The poker-faced captain looked at the incredibly tragic battle that was still ongoing.

It was truly tragic; more than twenty Seventh Ranks had already died, hundreds of miles were scorched earth, and the landscape was ravaged, yet they continued to display their Divine Ability, humans and beasts tearing at each other, small mountains leveled, forests burned to ashes.

“Their deaths, can I understand them as… being caused by Invoker?” the poker-faced captain asked.

Li Qi raised an eyebrow.

This question was interesting.

So, he replied: “I am the underlying reason, I suppose. Their path was chosen by themselves, but the path itself was caused by me, so it can be attributed to me, but not entirely.”

Yes, Li Qi did not interfere with their choices, but Li Qi was like a behemoth; merely passing by changed their paths.

They could, of course, choose for themselves, as their path was their own to walk, but all paths were actually just the footprints of Li Qi as he passed by; their choices didn't change, but the outcome was indeed altered by Li Qi.

That’s why Li Qi said it could be attributed to him.

“Is that so… In other words, Invoker clearly changed their choices; it was Invoker’s arrival that led to their struggle. Invoker is clearly the cause of all this, so why can you remain so composed and believe you didn’t interfere with their choices? You clearly interfered with all their choices, Invoker, distorting the future of this world, forcing them to kill each other. This Karma, Invoker… do you not bear it?”

The poker-faced captain asked Li Qi indifferently.

“Your point of view is very interesting. However, I truly did not interfere with their choices. Perhaps I changed the path before them, but you must know… in this world, there is no path that is not changed. They are like this, and so am I.”

Li Qi paused here, then looked up at the sky.

And the cold-faced captain, hearing this, froze in place, as if Li Qi had given him great inspiration, and he was momentarily stunned.

What Li Qi said... seemed to be without fault.

Indeed, for life, there have always been different paths before them, and choosing which path to take is chosen by life itself.

This choice is the so-called ‘crossroads of life.’

Li Qi brought a brand new crossroads, which then led to a change in their choices.

But...

Without Li Qi, would there be no crossroads?

No, that's not how it is.

No matter what, whether Li Qi came or not, there would always be a crossroads there, always many choices waiting for them to make.

If Li Qi didn't come, there would still be the crossroads that originally existed, and who brought that crossroads?

And such crossroads are not only for them but also for Li Qi himself.

Their every action affects the choices of others, and the choices of others also affect the choices of more people.

It's like a stone dropped into calm water; when the first stone falls, every drop of water becomes a stone for other water.

Water droplets collide with each other, creating countless changes, and countless changes give birth to countless choices.

In this world, at every moment, others are influencing other people; crossroads always exist, so what is important is the choice itself, not the the crossroads.

If the current crossroads are gone, there will always be another.

Even Li Qi is like this; he has made countless choices, and how many of them were arranged by Heaven's will? He probably doesn't even know himself.

But, it doesn't matter; who arranged it is not important at all. Even if no one arranged it, new crossroads would arise due to serendipitous Opportunity.

All a person can do is see the path beneath their feet and then step forward.

That is all.

Looking at the poker-faced captain lost in thought, Li Qi continued, “This is Karma, understand? One thing affects everything, like a vast net; once you are in it, you cannot escape. So, instead of dwelling on these things, it’s better to consider how to choose.”

“To transcend the great net of Karma… how difficult it is,” he sighed.

The captain was silent for a moment, then bowed, bade farewell, and left the place, saying goodbye to his native world.

His journey was in the outer regions; he didn't want to stay here any longer.

And finally, the last Seventh Rank beast cultivating the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution died.

The being named God Emperor survived to the end. He was covered in blood, his Dharma Idol shattered, and he lay sprawled on the ground, muttering, “I choose… a new world.”

“As you wish,” Li Qi nodded, then turned and left the place.

Li Shiwei's matter was resolved; her Dao Heart was stable, and her Dao Foundation was only a matter of time. Let her handle it herself.

Alas, the child's problem is solved.

But... Old Ma...

Li Qi shook his head.

Decades had passed, but Old Ma still hadn't made any progress. He had countless foals but still hadn't been able to Breakthrough to Seventh Rank, and he himself didn't feel any sense of urgency.

That’s why I say...

Choice is the most important thing.

Thinking these thoughts, Li Qi's figure gradually dissipated. This Seventh Rank world would be handed over to Mount Luofu, becoming a member of the Chamber of Commerce. The various Spell Cultivators Li Shiwei brought them would quickly lead them into a technological explosion.

But Li Qi didn't need to worry about these minor matters himself.

He returned to his Immortal Cave and sat down in front of Shen Shuibi.

The rabbit was dozing off, but her senses weren't shut down.

When Li Qi sat down, she also opened her eyes and asked, “Resolved? How is Shi Wei?”

“Hmm… how to put it, she’s fine, I guess. After this, reaching Seventh Rank should be no problem,” Li Qi said.

Shen Shuibi breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s good.”

Then she got up and said, “Then I can safely go into seclusion during this time. I was always worried about bad news coming out of seclusion, but now it has finally quieted down.”

Li Qi frowned: “Are you still going to refine the Five Elements Reversal Dragon Tiger Zhou Tian Golden Core?”

This is a Daoist Golden Core method, with a poem that says: “Five Elements reversed to guard, Dragon emerges from fire. Five Elements not in order, Tiger born from water. Yang Dragon originally emerges from Li Palace, Yin Tiger returns from Kan position. When the two meet, it is the root of Dao, when the Five Directions are complete, the Elixir is named.”

The Five Elements Reversal Dragon Tiger Zhou Tian Golden Core is a type of Fifth Rank Golden Core in the Inner Elixir method.

Shen Shuibi is currently a Fifth Rank Cultivator who achieved it through the Outer Elixir method, but facing a major battle, she didn't have enough confidence, nor did she want to sit idly by, so she took a bold approach and thought of this method.

Inner Elixir method focuses on cultivating one's nature and life, using one's own body as a Cauldron, refining the human body's microcosm into a perfectly integrated whole, which is called the Golden Core.

Outer Elixir method, on the other hand, involves refining a genuine ‘Golden Core’ with the help of external resources and then consuming it, using external cultivation to replace the cultivation of nature and life. It is merely a difference in path from the Inner Elixir method, with no superiority or inferiority.

Some Daoist Cultivators don't even cultivate the Golden Core, but that's another set of methods entirely.

And Shen Shuibi was preparing to completely revert to her previous Inner Elixir method, as her human body's microcosm had already recovered under the infusion of a massive amount of emperor fluid paste.

This way, although the body can only ever have one Golden Core, wasting so much effort would not increase her cultivation at all, but the previous Outer Elixir could then be freed up and refined into a Spiritual Artifact.

A Fifth Rank Outer Elixir, this thing is truly invaluable.

But Shen Shuibi didn't plan to make a Spiritual Artifact; Spiritual Artifacts played too small a role at critical moments.

She planned to refine this Outer Elixir into a Five Elements Reversal Dragon Tiger Zhou Tian Golden Core, which is mainly used for self-detonation.

“The Great Elixir Direct Pointer” says: “Five Elements reversal, Dragon and Tiger intertwine, Heaven and Earth ascend and descend, Sun and Moon come and go, one opening and one closing, advance and retreat, existence and destruction. The I Ching says: To know advance, retreat, existence, and destruction, is that not the Sage?”

This is the use of this thing.

Throwing it out at a critical moment is equivalent to Shen Shuibi herself self-detonating, serving as a trump card for herself.

However, severing the Outer Elixir and then condensing the Inner Elixir is still a technical skill, not so simple for Shen Shuibi. It requires a calm mind and careful examination to do, otherwise, it's easy to remove the Outer Elixir but fail to condense the Inner Elixir, directly losing all cultivation and regressing to unranked.

It's already very difficult to re-cultivate once; doing it again would probably directly sever her Dao path.

Therefore, previously, when her daughter was outside, her mind was restless and constantly worried, so she naturally did not proceed with this action for the time being, fearing that if she received bad news or a message from Li Shiwei halfway through, what would she do?

Would she let her cultivation dissipate or sit by idly?

So, Shen Shuibi had never dared to go into seclusion, just in case something happened to her daughter.

Now, Li Qi brought news that Li Shiwei had settled down, so she relaxed and decided to do this.

It was Li Qi, after sighing, who said, “Must you make such a preparation? We can ask Teacher for one or two life-protecting Spiritual Artifacts…”

Shen Shuibi smiled and shook her head: “If Grand Invoker would give it to you, he would have given it long ago. This front-line matter was originally for your Dao Heart; how could such a situation arise? However, there is one thing you can pay attention to: the news Yang Ning brought is that in five years, Empress Luofu will awaken. Shaman God Mountain has already agreed to awaken Empress Luofu first, and then awaken the Sect Master during wartime.”

“Empress Luofu is awakening…” Li Qi was startled; this news was indeed somewhat surprising.

“Get ready. Yang Ning should tell you about this later. At that time… you’ll definitely have to pay your respects to Empress Luofu, right?” Shen Shuibi asked.

“That is natural, as it should be. I understand. This counts as… the first meeting, I suppose,” Li Qi said.

When he said ‘first,’ he hesitated somewhat.

Because, for him, it wasn't actually the first time.

Li Qi had seen the Empress Luofu created by the Heavenly Demon in the Desire Realm, and that Empress Luofu was even killed by the Heavenly Demon.

In reality, that Empress Luofu was ‘real,’ or rather, exactly the same as the real one, with no difference whatsoever.

But this Empress Luofu, at present, should still be seeing him for the first time.

Hmm… a bit tricky.

Watching Shen Shuibi enter her Immortal Cave to go into seclusion, Li Qi walked outside the Immortal Cave.

He stretched, his bones cracking loudly.

He had been squatting in the world for decades, and he no longer needed to worry about his child.

Upon reaching Seventh Rank, there was no need to worry about such minor matters; Seventh Ranks were very difficult to kill, unless they provoked someone they couldn't afford to offend.

Empress Luofu was about to awaken, so he would go meet this elder.

Then… he would go to the outer regions to make preparations in advance.

Not just the Chamber of Commerce, but some other stronger worlds, to find some powerful extra-territorial beings.

(I had a tooth pulled these past few days, and my head hurt so much I was dizzy. Please ignore the chapter number errors.)