Chapter 593: Mutual plans

For humanity, they wanted to take another step on the path of 'replacing heaven with man', and the Sun-Moon Orbit was a necessary component; this was the focus of their actions.

For this, even the human emperor sword personally intervened, shattering Mount Luofu.

But at the last moment, the Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron erupted with power beyond humanity's expectation, allowing Empress Luofu to escape with her people to the territory of Shaman God Mountain.

After that, humanity was hesitant to act directly, so it entered a stalemate. After all, it was impossible for all major Dao Orthodoxy to allow humanity to act recklessly throughout the Three Realms, or even ignite a major war.

Shaman God Mountain also did not dare to directly swallow it, and internal squabbling began. But later, under Li Qi's practical operations and the ultimate pressure from the radical faction, Shaman God Mountain chose to go to war.

From humanity's perspective, Shaman God Mountain was snatching its great Dao Opportunity, and it needed to take up the bow and arrow made of ox horn and sinew to contend with humanity for the Opportunity.

From Shaman God Mountain's perspective, humanity was plundering everywhere and ultimately reaping what it sowed.

But no matter what, war was a foregone conclusion; it was just a matter of how to wage it.

So, Li Qi said to Liu Junyi: "If humanity is willing to set up a betting rule and only compete in high-end combat power, I think Shaman God Mountain would be very willing."

Liu Junyi shook his head: "Although I am reluctant to see this war, the internal factions of humanity may not be. The Military School of Thought has long been sharpening their swords; they don't just want to win one battle, but to completely crush the Shaman Dao's arrogance. Although there are murmurs within the Confucian school, and many even think caring about ordinary worlds is too much like a woman's kindness, I am helpless. I can only go myself, and perhaps preserve some of the embers."

"A woman's kindness... tsk." Li Qi couldn't help but click his tongue when he heard the four-character evaluation.

It truly had the demeanor of humanity.

Humanity was not evil; it was just... they didn't care. They equally disdained all unqualified civilizations. A 'gentleman' like Liu Junyi, who was kind-hearted and unwilling to kill, was after all a minority.

However, even a 'gentleman' would not hesitate when it came to truly taking action.

Hearing Li Qi's 'tsk,' Liu Junyi lowered his head, sighed slightly, and said: "However, I have already preserved the world atlases of these worlds. After the war, I will personally sow the seeds. After some time, these worlds will be Reborn, and their ecosystems will be perfectly intact. It can be considered compensation."

"Rebirth...? Worlds can be Reborn, but Outer Void lives lost because of this, I'm afraid, cannot be Reborn," Li Qi said.

"Life is fleeting. My compassion lies not in life itself. No matter how much I pity life, it cannot hide the fact that life is meaningless. The reason why a person is a person is not because of simply living, but because of the light a person shines while living," Liu Junyi said, reaching for the wine pot and refilling Li Qi's cup.

These words convinced Li Qi.

Indeed, it was the usual style of humanity.

For Liu Junyi, so-called life was not important. Liu Junyi pitied civilization, the fire of pursuing Dao that collided in the Void Realm. He was in great pain at personally annihilating these potential fires of pursuing Dao that might grow in the future.

He was never pained by the killing of life; life was not important in Liu Junyi's eyes. The only useful aspect of life was that only life could produce the light of pursuing Dao.

If the preciousness of life was wasted, it would be better to die directly.

'Humans' are destined to exist for the purpose of climbing to the peak. Those who merely scramble for survival, such lives are better off simply abandoned.

Therefore, what he did was to preserve these sparks of pursuing Dao, and then scatter them one by one in the future, restoring everything to how it was before the war.

As for preserving the lives in these worlds?

There was no need for that.

"Civilizations might be beyond help, but... there are always some brilliant individuals who are also buried with them." Li Qi picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

Liu Junyi admitted: "Yes, I have tried my best to protect those individuals who can be called 'humans.' In these past few hundred years, I selected a portion and preserved them all when recording the world atlases. When I re-sow the worlds later, they will become new seeds. This way, perhaps these civilizations can go further in the future."

Now it was Li Qi's turn to be speechless.

What to say?

It was hard to say; he couldn't comment.

The perceptions of both sides differed fundamentally. If he were to criticize, it would only indicate a Dao dispute.

However... this didn't prevent Li Qi from thinking Liu Junyi was a good person.

So, he stopped asking about these things and changed the topic, saying: "Let's not talk about these. By the way, I heard from my teacher that Brother Liu gnawed through all Bottlenecks below the fourth rank at the ninth rank. How did you accomplish such a feat?"

This question could be considered probing the other party's background.

However, Liu Junyi said frankly: "Nothing special, just self-cultivation."

Nothing special, just self-cultivation.

A simple answer.

But the simpler it was, the more difficult it was.

"Brother Liu's Dao Foundation... is indestructible," Li Qi sighed upon hearing this, shaking his head.

He saw it.

Liu Junyi's Dao Foundation was his Dao Heart.

With the Dao Heart as the Dao Foundation, as long as the Dao Heart doesn't collapse, the Dao Foundation remains solid.

Working from dawn, reflecting in the evening, rectifying the mind and making intentions sincere, prioritizing self-cultivation and conduct—it sounds simple, but who can truly achieve it?

The integrity of oneself, the rise and fall of worldly fortune, the thickness or thinness of customs, the purity or impurity of human hearts—all depend on the self, all depend on the heart. To achieve what Liu Junyi has, one must wholeheartedly embody one's Dao, never deviating from the Dao Heart in any matter or situation.

There shouldn't even be any struggle or internal conflict; he wholeheartedly believes in his Dao. When effort is needed, he puts in effort. When death is required, he faces it.

Everything is so natural, so logical.

To be honest, Li Qi himself couldn't do it.

Never going against one's conscience? Isn't that ridiculous? Just as Li Qi often lamented, people in this world are always at the mercy of circumstances.

The crossroads are constantly changing, and there are always some paths you don't want to take.

However, Li Qi can take paths he doesn't want to take, just like in the Holy Flame World. He didn't want to start a civil war, but to save money to help the rabbit, he could still, after some deliberation, choose to do it against his conscience. It was just uncomfortable. If he did this often, or even got used to it, Li Qi's Dao path would change, and he might even fall into a demonic state, but those were things for later. A little wavering here and there didn't really matter.

But for Liu Junyi, there wasn't even an option to 'waver'.

For him, if he hesitated, his Dao Foundation would waver. If he went against his conscience, his Dao Foundation would collapse.

Correspondingly, as long as his Dao Heart remained firm, his Dao Foundation would never waver, and his cultivation speed would become faster and faster. As long as resources were sufficient, he could bypass the fifth rank at an extremely fast pace and directly ascend to the fourth rank.

Even within humanity, those who could be called gentlemen were few and far between.

"If everyone were like me, there wouldn't be this battle today. The war would likely be confined to duels between the strongest, rather than such a full-scale war," Liu Junyi sighed, shaking his head.

A gentleman's duel? That really fits the character.

After that, Li Qi no longer discussed cultivation matters, because after some conversation, he had already realized something.

Liu Junyi had no weaknesses whatsoever; he was a pure hexagonal warrior, just like his Dao Heart, terrifyingly flawless.

To defeat him, one could only crush him with sheer strength.

So, Li Qi simply drank wine and ate food, talking with Liu Junyi about their school days in Chang'an, reminiscing about the past.

Liu Junyi also talked about past events with Li Qi, and the two conversed happily.

About half an hour later, the wine was empty and the food was gone.

Li Qi stood up, cupped his hands, and said: "Then... Brother Liu, farewell. After this parting, it will be difficult to meet again. From now on, each will follow his own Dao, and life and death are irrelevant."

Liu Junyi also stood up and returned the bow solemnly: "Li Student, take care. The next time we meet, we will be enemies, not friends, and I will not hold back."

"Although that's true, if one of us dies, could we collect each other's remains?" Li Qi said with a smile.

Liu Junyi replied earnestly: "If that were the case... I certainly wouldn't be the one to collect the remains. However, I will write an elegy to commemorate you."

This sounded very taboo, as if it wasn't very polite, but Li Qi knew that this was already an extremely high courtesy.

"Thank you." Li Qi nodded slightly, then turned and left the area enclosed by the light band, returning to the normal Void Beyond controlled by Shaman Dao.

Liu Junyi watched Li Qi leave.

He's very strong. Even among the sixth rank, Li Qi is a very strong enemy. It's truly fortunate to have such a friend.

Not only was he strong, but in reality, only a Martial Artist would judge a person based purely on strength. In Liu Junyi's view, Li Qi was not only very strong, but also possessed a nature similar to his own.

Hmm... he's a good opponent.

How wonderful would it be if they could sit and discuss the Dao, talk about principles and doctrines? Both are lives freed from shackles, yet they are forced to contend. This is also a form of shackles.

Unfortunately, the conflict between humanity and Shaman Dao is destined to be a clash of arms, turning all differences in Dao paths into reasons for war.

Humanity's act of 'replacing heaven' must succeed.

The 'Yellow Dao' must be in the hands of humanity. Only then can all beings in the Universe have the possibility of transcendence, and all civilizations, all lives, have the possibility of breaking free from that malicious restriction.

Life must break free from its inherent shackles and enter absolute freedom. This cannot possibly be achieved by the 'Great Source' cultivated by Shaman Dao. The Great Source is a product of compromise and cannot truly end all conflicts.

It must be completely subverted; it must be 'replacing heaven with man' to achieve complete freedom and victory.

It is precisely for this purpose that the Dao of Reason and the Dao Sect chose to join, and even a branch of the Martial Dao, and even the Buddhist source of the Central Plains, some demon species, and even a portion of the 'True Dragon's, chose to join humanity.

This is for true freedom, for true transcendence.

Watching Li Qi leave, Liu Junyi's body slowly disappeared into the Void Realm.

Different Daos cannot conspire together.

When they meet again, they will be enemies, not friends.

— — — — — — — —

Li Qi's golden body dispersed, and all his consciousness returned to his main body.

It was a bit of a pity; he neither saw what the war fortress looked like nor did he find Liu Junyi's weakness.

As for Liu Junyi's background, he did find it, but finding it was no different from not finding it at all. This background was completely unusable; there were no weaknesses, nothing to target.

Liu Junyi's weakness was also his strength; it couldn't be broken through, only forcefully crushed.

His weakness and strength were both his Dao Heart.

As long as Liu Junyi's Dao Heart could be shattered, his Dao path would instantly collapse. But his Dao Heart... Li Qi felt that even if the Demonic Prince came, it would be unlikely to have any effect on Liu Junyi.

What kind of experience would it take to break Liu Junyi's Dao Heart?

Hard to say; Li Qi couldn't think of it anyway.

Therefore, to defeat Liu Junyi, he could only resort to physical means. It was just that he didn't know the combat power of humanity yet.

To be honest, Li Qi had never encountered a true human army until now.

What he first encountered in Song Kingdom was actually just humanity's vassal army, a local military force established by Tang Nation in Song Kingdom, not a true Tang Nation army.

This time, he should be able to witness it, right?

Thinking this, Li Qi manipulated the Formation. At the same time, his main body also began to fly towards the front line.

For the entire human-Shaman Dao battlefield, Li Qi's assigned battle zone was the vanguard battle.

And for Li Qi, the battlefield that Shen Shuibi was about to participate in was also the 'vanguard battle'.

For such an important battle, he planned to personally go to the front line to command and fight alongside the rabbit, and at the same time, witness the power of the human army firsthand.

As for overall control, he could also accomplish it in his mind, which wouldn't prevent him from going to the front line.

If there was any problem, it was the risk of being decapitated, which would lead to the collapse of the world cluster Formation he controlled.

However, if he could really be decapitated, then he deserved to lose.

In this vanguard battle, Li Qi even put Shen Shuibi into action. The other side must have done the same. Although they didn't commit all their forces, it was definitely a contest of high-level combat power.

If they could gain the upper hand and cause the opponent to lose some high-level combat power, the subsequent battles would be much easier.

It's just that risk and danger coexist. His own side might also lose some combat power, but in return, they could probe the opponent's true strength.

How much they probed and how much they exposed would depend on the struggle on the battlefield between the two sides.

After Li Qi made up his mind, he continued to adjust the advance of the world cluster army while rapidly passing through the Star-Mansion Array to reach the two worlds serving as the vanguard.

These were a pair of twin worlds orbiting each other, called Jia Yang Three Realms and Jia Yin Three Realms, specifically chosen by Shen Shuibi as the vanguard battlefield.

These two worlds would help Shen Shuibi gain a geographical advantage.

Li Qi quickly descended to this place and found Shen Shuibi.

The rabbit was sitting on the Taiyin of this world, gazing far into the distance at the light band.

Reaching the light band was when the war would begin.