Chapter 583: The Foundation of Shinto

What is the Beginning?

Innate beings are the Beginning.

The Star Official Lineage is 'Heaven,' formed by the Heavenly Dao itself Awakening its spiritual intelligence.

Then, the Celestial Court Lineage, as the other lineage, is 'Innate'; they are existences even more ancient than the Heavenly Dao.

They are the earliest matter to appear in the Universe, or one could say, the firstborn of the Universe, the Origin of all matter, from whom all Qi originates through their self-differentiation.

These are the Gods of the Celestial Court Lineage.

The Gods of the Celestial Court Lineage achieved Dao from the primordial Chaos Qi; they are the 'Beginning.'

The Beginning Sun, the Beginning Moon, the Beginning Mountains, the Beginning Rivers, the Beginning Light, the Beginning Lightning—even the 'Beginning Qi.'

Therefore, the Martial Dao of ancient times was the result of life imitating these naturally powerful Deities, which is why Martial Dao Inner Qi appears in a chaotic state—because Gods themselves originated from Chaos.

Li Qi also suddenly recalled the inexplicable wisp of Qi he encountered when he first advanced to Seventh Rank and comprehended 'Creation from Nothing.' (See Chapters 296 and 298 for details)

Li Qi didn't recognize that wisp of unknown Qi at the time; he only knew that his transformation from void to substance, his Creation from Nothing, all began from that wisp of Qi.

He didn't know then, so he just lightly passed over it, but now, having personally seen a true 'God,' Li Qi knew the answer.

The Primordial Chaos Qi, the 'Beginning' of all Qi.

All Qi 'decays' from the Primordial Chaos Qi, just as all atoms are formed by the Fusion of hydrogen atoms.

Hydrogen atoms are the mother of elements; then the Primordial Chaos Qi before him is the mother of Qi.

However, there is a fundamental difference between the two.

Hydrogen atoms are the simplest atoms; all complexity is built up from simplicity.

But the Primordial Chaos Qi is the most complex Qi; it cannot maintain its own complexity and eventually 'differentiates and decays' into other Qi.

However, once conditions are right, all Qi can increase its complexity and chaotic nature to eventually reach the level of Primordial Chaos Qi.

Li Qi felt it could be called 'Returning to the Primordial.'

Thus, facing the descending Chaos, Li Qi began to move.

True Knowledge Dao Resonance had thoroughly analyzed the truth of Chaos, combining his knowledge with the 'Circulation' method he had initially comprehended.

The Circulation method could already produce Martial Dao Inner Qi, but... it wasn't enough.

Now he saw a Qi even more sublime than the essence of Martial Dao Inner Qi; the Circulation method also needed to evolve.

Li Qi closed his eyes, sealed his five senses, and used True Knowledge Dao Resonance to replace all his senses.

A long-lost feeling, that sensation of having everything in all directions within his grasp.

It felt good.

In those two moments as it descended, Li Qi's Qi began to circulate.

The Primordial is the beginning of form; the beginning of things, from the subtle to the manifest, changes follow each other; once Yin and Yang are separated, myriad things take shape, and then squareness, roundness, hardness, softness, stillness, and agitation each have their nature.

So, as long as he continued to push his Human Inner World upwards—

Before Heaven and Earth were separated, Chaos was rootless; observing the initial vastness, contemplating the boundless, his will expansive and at ease, empty and formless, divine beings yet unborn.

Li Qi's Human Inner World, including Guangyang, the Five Mountains and Four Rivers, the Sun and Moon, the Buddhist Heavens, and even all the strange and wondrous things within Li Qi's Inner World, all actively collapsed.

But this collapse was not caused by violence; rather, it was... assimilation.

Li Qi vaguely perceived the unseparated mixture and glimpsed the undivided pure and turbid.

Within Li Qi's Inner World, the stars moved in reverse, Yin and Yang were in disarray, Heaven and Earth were obscured, and all the Origin Qi within the bellows completely dissipated.

Ultimately, it transformed into a boundless, obscure, vast, and dim mass of Chaos Qi.

At this moment, Li Qi suddenly gained a certain enlightenment.

It was the accumulation of his previous knowledge; he had read hundreds of thousands of ancient texts, and the knowledge from various excellent books began to sublimate with the reminder of a certain fact.

This knowledge was no longer just knowledge; it began to fuse with Li Qi.

Just like... Chaos.

Everything originates from Chaos.

The essence of Creation from Nothing is the spontaneous generation of Chaos.

This cannot explain Creation from Nothing, because Chaos itself cannot be explained, but it allowed Li Qi to take a step further, explaining the source of 'Qi,' as he couldn't even explain 'Qi' before.

As a result, Li Qi's Inner World was no longer so 'rigid.'

Why rigid? Because every wisp of Qi should have its own place, and Li Qi meticulously arranged these positions to align with his Dao and perfectly exert his power.

But now, it was no longer necessary.

It only needed to align with 'Chaos' itself, and then the Inner World would evolve on its own, based on the Qi appearing out of nowhere, and then begin to align in a more 'natural,' more 'unrestrained' way.

The artificiality disappeared, and the spiritual essence increased; his Inner World became more 'naturally formed.'

After all, he had personally witnessed a truly 'naturally formed' being.

In the world, there is nothing more 'naturally formed' than a True God; a True God is the 'Beginning' existence itself, and God is completely 'naturally formed,' which is also why Shaman Dao and God Dao have a very good relationship.

However, God is not the 'natural' essence that Shaman Dao pursues, so although Shaman Dao and God Dao are very close, there is always a slight barrier between them.

Li Qi's cultivation broke through again; he felt...

He had only unsealed True Knowledge for a few seconds, yet he seemed to have already touched the barrier of the Fifth Rank.

When he could 'create from nothing' true Chaos Qi, his Human Inner World would truly materialize.

Because the Qi derived from Chaos Qi is real, he could use this Qi to reconstruct his Inner World, ultimately turning his Inner World into a real world.

Just at this moment, the attack from the Deity in the sky also began to descend, landing on Li Qi.

However, to Li Qi's surprise—

When that attack touched Li Qi, it did not harm Li Qi as before, but instead fused with Li Qi.

In the instant of this Fusion, Li Qi suddenly felt a sense of "mutual understanding."

In an instant, a multitude of information surged towards him.

Integrating into the Chaos, Li Qi hesitated for a moment but still began to accept this information.

After accepting it, he suddenly understood.

This Chaos Qi was not an attack, although it did beat Li Qi half to death.

This Chaos Qi was 'communication,' an 'invitation,' conveying information.

It was just that Li Qi was too weak; even if the other party just 'breathed on him,' he couldn't bear it.

Of course, if that breath killed Li Qi...

Then he would just be dead.

Deities wouldn't care about such things; if you can't even communicate, then what's the problem with dying?

If Li Qi had a Physical Body now, he would definitely break out in a cold sweat.

Unfortunately, he currently had no Physical Body; to be precise... his entire being, including his Inner World, Physical Body, and even his Spirit Soul, had all transformed into Chaos Qi.

But strangely, in this state, he still maintained his subjectivity and did not truly merge with the other party.

And this, it seemed, was what the other party wanted.

In this situation, all thoughts would be laid bare without reservation; the thoughts of the two would be completely synchronized, and all inner workings would be exposed to the other.

Upon realizing this, Li Qi suddenly discovered something strange.

That was, he felt no fluctuation in the other party's thoughts; the other party's thinking mechanism was like stagnant water, while his own mind was brimming with an endless flow of information.

Just as this thought arose in him, the other party suddenly had a thought.

"Mortals are indeed active; a second of your thoughts is enough for us to ponder for a long time," he said.

Li Qi felt this sentence, and then he began to think, many ripples appearing in his mind.

Normally, when Mortals utter a sentence, there are actually many, many psychological activities behind it; these psychological activities eventually converge, and only then is that sentence produced. Moreover, after speaking, they will begin to reflect on whether the sentence was appropriate, leading to intense information flow throughout the process.

But these Gods were different; they seemed to have no 'thinking' process. Speaking was just speaking; whatever they said was what they thought.

There was no hidden meaning, no insinuation; language was thought, and thought was language. They had no 'inner thoughts'; all inner thoughts would be spoken.

Is this a characteristic of 'Chaos'?

It should be, because... Li Qi discovered that in his current chaotic state, all his thoughts were laid bare before the other party. He, too, had achieved 'language is thought, thought is language,' it was just that he was a bit too verbose.

Li Qi's thoughts were too numerous and too chaotic, making it seem as if he was constantly rambling.

The other party, however, was quiet and silent, which made it impossible for the conversation to continue.

After all, if the other party merely spoke one sentence, Li Qi's side could churn out seven or eight short essays on different topics, which directly made communication between the two impossible.

Therefore, after these two sentences, Li Qi began to rein in his thoughts, controlling himself from writing analytical essays and making judgments in his mind about what to do.

This was not simple.

Calming distracting thoughts and maintaining a clear mind is something cultivators do, but to simultaneously maintain normal thinking, communicate with others, and also ensure there are no 'inner thoughts' at all, that becomes a bit difficult.

Fortunately, it was only a bit difficult. Although unaccustomed, Li Qi quickly controlled his chaotic thoughts and entered a state of secluded cultivation.

The torrent of essays finally stopped, but Li Qi was temporarily unable to precisely articulate what he wanted to say in this state, requiring a period of silence.

But at this moment, that expanse of Chaos spoke again: "Have you already controlled your thoughts? Hmm... you all learn very quickly. Mortals are fleeting; you are always fragile and changeable, but that is also very interesting."

Li Qi did not reply for the moment.

After about a minute, he finally completely accustomed himself to this slow and serene way of thinking, then replied: "This feeling... is very strange. However, let's discuss those things later. Having met a great God, may I ask for your Divine Venerable title?"

"My name is not important; you only need to know that I am the Fire Official," the voice said.

He called himself 'Fire Official.'

Li Qi took a deep breath; thankfully, he had no Physical Body, otherwise, he would surely have stumbled badly!

Fire Official!

In ancient times, all Five Elements had officials, who were the chiefs of the Five Elements. This was not a single person but a series of official positions. The highest-ranking among the Fire Officials was the 'Fire Master.'

Many might not be familiar with the name Fire Master, but when his name is mentioned, any world with celestial phenomena would be very familiar with it.

His name is: Zhu Rong.

Zhu Rong was the chief of the ancient Fire Officials; his subordinates were the other ordinary Fire Officials. These Fire Officials were the 'chiefs of the Five Elements,' the 'Beginning' of all Five Elements power.

Five Elements! How powerful this is, one probably doesn't even need to think too much!

Ancient Shaman Dao and Human Dao both once said: "The officials of the Five Elements, will later generations all follow their ways? This is what the wise and sagely have known."

Later generations all follow their ways—how high a praise is that?!

Even if the other party was not Zhu Rong himself, but just an ordinary Fire Official, he was far beyond what Li Qi could aspire to. Even Zhu Fengdan would not be several generations higher in seniority than him in front of him.

Not to mention, the surname of 'Zhu Rong.'

That's right, Zhu Rong, his surname is 'Zhu.'

This was the Deity that the Invoker lineage first connected with. Ancient Shaman Dao itself originated from communication with the God Dao, and Zhu Rong was the great God who first responded to the ancestors of Shaman Dao.

And Zhu Fengdan, perhaps, could actually be related to others.

At this moment, Li Qi's internal mental activity had already started writing ten short essays, but fortunately, he had begun to control his chaotic thoughts, so it wasn't too outrageous. Thus, he was only surprised for a moment, then cupped his hands and said: "So it is a great God of the Fire Master lineage. Then this junior truly has a connection."

"Indeed there is a connection, but... in my opinion, you Shamanes are all quite similar; the Invoker lineage is merely slightly better," the Fire Official said.

Li Qi ignored the other party's indifference and said: "Thank you for the great God's guidance; Li Qi has benefited immensely."

The Fire Official paused for a moment, then said: "Benefited... what benefited? Oh, your cultivation, right? You Mortals truly need that. Then I shall accept this thanks. By the way, why did you come here, and why did you presumptuously communicate with an unborn Deity? Don't you know this is a taboo?"

"Taboo? I apologize, this junior truly did not know," Li Qi immediately replied.

Under conditions of chaotic Fusion, lying was meaningless; all your thoughts would be completely exposed to the other party. So if Li Qi said he didn't know, then he truly didn't know.

Thus, the Fire Official's temper subsided a little.

"Unborn Deities are extremely fragile, and they are also very effective supplements; you should have already felt it," the Fire Official said.

Li Qi was stunned. After two seconds, he finally realized what the other party was saying.

Indeed, the spherical object named Xin Luo just now seemed a bit delicious! Such pure Chaos Qi, if eaten...

No, can't think about that. Eating people is something only Martial Artists do.