Chapter 624: Touching the fifth rank

After the old horse reached the end of its lifespan, Li Qi once again dedicated all his energy to the Formation.

Shen Shuibi also quickly returned to the battlefield.

The Zhang Lu Small Team and Shen Shuibi exerted immense power on the battlefield, especially in the current situation where the Zhang Lu Small Team could fully gather together. So many fifth-rankers attacking a city together could cause enormous pressure on the Human Dao every time, inflicting heavy casualties on the Human Dao's forces.

In such a war of attrition, the Human Dao could only be forced to continue shrinking its defensive lines.

Shrinking the defensive lines required fewer troops, allowing for more rotations and giving more people in the Human Dao time to rest.

But the cost was that, gradually, the Shaman Dao had already approached the interior of the war fortress, and the strategic depth left for the Human Dao was no longer sufficient.

Strategic depth was very important, representing the Human Dao's super-high mobility in maneuvering. In the initial stages of the war, the Human Dao relied on this move to suppress the Shaman Dao, preventing them from raising their heads.

As the strategic depth decreased, the opportunities left for the Human Dao also became fewer and fewer. Once the Shaman Dao could see The Axis of All Realms or large Golden Dais, it meant the Human Dao was about to collapse.

But surprisingly, the Human Dao's morale remained high. Although they began to shrink frantically, their fighting spirit showed no signs of waning.

This was not the 'will of desperation'; that kind of death-defying struggle of a cornered beast was discernible.

The Human Dao's performance at this moment was more like, 'I can still turn the tide.'

Yes, they seemed to have a trump card. All the concessions and retreats they were making now were to better preserve their forces, conserve their strength, and await a counterattack.

However, to be honest, Li Qi couldn't figure out what else, besides Liu Junyi, could allow them to turn the tide?

So, what they were waiting and delaying for was Liu Junyi's promotion to the fifth rank?

Then, he also had to hurry.

Li Qi could clearly sense that after comprehending the Karma threads, his cultivation had severely fallen behind the progress of his Dao. Under normal circumstances, he should be in seclusion at this moment, accumulating cultivation, and then preparing for promotion.

It was just that, since he was on the battlefield, many matters still required his personal attention and responsibility, making it truly inconvenient to go into seclusion.

However, just as this thought occurred to him—

He suddenly received a message from the 'Alliance'.

And the sender was Zhu Fengdan.

Li Qi was stunned.

One must know, this was the first time his direct superior had sent him a message since the war began.

Previously, Li Qi had been beaten to the point of spitting blood on the battlefield, and he had also learned to manipulate Karma threads, but these feats had not disturbed his venerable self.

Why would Teacher Zhu look for him out of the blue at this time?

So Li Qi hastily chose to respond.

A wisp of his consciousness was drawn out and arrived in the 'Alliance' area.

Here, a wisp of Zhu Fengdan's Divided Soul was already waiting.

Li Qi quickly stepped forward, cupping his hands in a salute: "Greetings, Lord of Warfare."

"Hmm, close to fifth rank?" Zhu Fengdan's Divided Soul glanced at Li Qi.

"Yes, almost," Li Qi nodded.

"Good. However, the opponent is also close. Have you prepared how to deal with it? After Liu Junyi promotes to the fifth rank, your current situation will immediately be reversed. It's very likely you'll lose directly. Do you have a quick victory method?" Zhu Fengdan asked again.

"No," Li Qi shook his head decisively.

He truly didn't.

The Human Dao, with its shrunken front line, had an airtight defense. Even if he micro-managed every day, he still had no solutions. The entire war fortress plus Gansong City was like an iron turtle.

Li Qi could only continuously chip away, continuously chip away, hoping to create an opening before the time bomb inside this iron turtle exploded.

But he could only chip away slowly like this, with no exploitable weaknesses. It was unrealistic to achieve a decisive victory in one go.

"Then it's probably too late," Zhu Fengdan said.

This made Li Qi's expression turn grim.

After such a hard-fought battle, were they going to lose?

"However, have you considered trading yourself for Liu Junyi? You also take this opportunity to advance to the fifth rank, then fight him. Isn't a final duel to decide victory and defeat very interesting?" Zhu Fengdan said with a smile.

Although he was smiling, Li Qi could vaguely sense a faint aura of Demonic Qi and Killing Intent emanating from Zhu Fengdan, which was dispelled before it could fully manifest.

Just a wisp of Divided Soul made Li Qi feel a chill down his spine.

Clearly, he was fighting, and it was an intense battle with someone through means Li Qi could not comprehend.

He was truly stealing a moment of leisure to come here. Wasn't he afraid of being beaten to death? Splitting his Spirit Soul at a time like this, wasn't that courting death?

However, those were not things Li Qi should consider; he was just habitually letting his mind wander.

He immediately focused his attention on Zhu Fengdan's words.

Let himself trade for Liu Junyi?

Was that even possible?

Hmm... perhaps it was feasible. If he could Breakthrough to the fifth rank, he might not be able to defeat Liu Junyi, but if he teamed up with Shen Shuibi and some of the Zhang Lu Small Team...

As long as they could hold him off for a period of time, then the Human Dao would have no chance of turning the tide at all.

As soon as this thought crossed Li Qi's mind, Zhu Fengdan raised an eyebrow.

Clearly, Zhu Fengdan saw everything Li Qi was thinking.

"Might not be able to defeat him? You're so lacking in self-confidence. You've done things this time that even I hadn't imagined. Why are you underestimating yourself?" Zhu Fengdan said.

"The Divine Ability of Karma, while powerful, consumes too much and has strong backlash. It's not a fifth-rank method. Comprehension is one thing, but using it still requires experience. Even if I advance to the fifth rank, I find it difficult to apply it directly in combat," Li Qi shook his head, stating honestly.

He truly felt it wouldn't work.

Because, he had fought Liu Junyi when he was at the eighth rank. The opponent fought three against one, making the three Young Masters of Shaman God Mountain unable to raise their heads.

Presumably, at the fifth rank, this gap would only increase, not decrease.

However, Zhu Fengdan smiled: "Indeed. But you decide these things yourself. Still, your promotion to the fifth rank should indeed be put on the agenda. I specifically came to do this. Your winning chance lies here. I've sent someone to deliver some materials to you, great tonics for cultivation. Consume them all, and they can shorten the time it takes for you to accumulate cultivation."

"Uh... my current cultivation accumulation is purely a matter of time and effort. Can treasures shorten it?" Li Qi asked, surprised.

"Ordinary treasures can't, but those things are treasures even to me," Zhu Fengdan said casually. "Alright, you understand. I'm leaving now, otherwise I'll lose. If I lose, you're all doomed. I'm off!"

Without waiting for Li Qi to speak, Zhu Fengdan vanished as suddenly as he had appeared, with a whoosh.

Li Qi was even directly ejected, his Divided Soul forcibly returning to his main body.

Uh...

Forget it, he was used to it.

As for winning or losing, it didn't matter. If Zhu Fengdan lost, he and the others could just wait for death.

And if he won, it would give Zhu Fengdan a slight advantage.

That's right, although there were so many high-level combatants, seemingly implying that only the strong needed to determine the outcome to directly decide the battle, in reality, what Li Qi and the others did was not in vain.

Li Qi winning on the battlefield was accumulating momentum and providing an advantage for Zhu Fengdan and the others.

Zhu Fengdan winning was also accumulating an advantage for those higher up.

Finally, layer by layer, these accumulations could lay the foundation for the ultimate victory.

It was just like the battlefields of the seventh-rank worlds under Li Qi's command. The individual wins and losses of one or two seventh-rank worlds might seem insignificant, but the entire battlefield was pieced together from the wins and losses in these small areas.

The concept of boundaries also existed on the battlefield.

Therefore, one must not be negligent.

As he thought this, a shooting star suddenly appeared in the world where Li Qi was located.

This shooting star directly pierced through the world barrier and flew rapidly towards Li Qi.

"So fast?" This surprised Li Qi.

Zhu Fengdan had said he would send something over, but it had arrived in just a few seconds?

Was it a specialized messenger who made the move?

Probably, right?

As Li Qi thought this, he reached out his hand, and a hand appeared out of thin air in the sky thousands of miles away, catching the shooting star.

Then, that hand clenched into a fist, swiftly came to Li Qi's side, and then opened its palm.

Dispelling the spell, Li Qi gazed at the shooting star that had been delivered.

Uh... what is this?

At first glance, this thing looked like a jade bead, of good quality, but at first glance, it was just that—nothing special.

Jade indeed had some mystical properties, but it was nothing extraordinary.

However, Zhu Fengdan had clearly told Li Qi that this item was considered a treasure even to him, so it certainly wouldn't be simple.

But... why didn't this old guy say how to use it? There was no instruction manual, leaving him to stare blankly?

Looking at the jade bead in front of him, Li Qi fell into contemplation.

He would first try the usual activation methods for Spiritual Artifacts.

Then, he tried various ways to activate the Spiritual Artifact, such as using his Spirit Soul, dripping blood, casting spells, or looking for switches.

But none of them worked. The jade bead remained completely unmoved.

Since that was the case, there was only one last method left.

Scan it with True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

This was actually very dangerous, because Zhu Fengdan had explicitly stated that this item was considered a treasure even to him, which meant that it was likely a third-rank item.

Rashly scanning this item with True Knowledge Dao Resonance could easily touch upon Dao Resonance of the third rank or higher, and might even directly confront certain terrifying Divine Abilities.

Just a glance would probably be enough to make Li Qi collapse.

But after thinking about it, Li Qi felt that Teacher Zhu would definitely not harm him.

So, he decided to scan it.

The True Knowledge Dao Resonance was unleashed, and then tentatively scanned the jade bead.

Through the characteristics of the True Knowledge Dao Resonance, Li Qi quickly perceived the internal situation and the inherent properties of the jade bead.

But at that very moment, he suddenly felt a fragrant breeze coming from behind him.

A very, very fragrant scent.

Moreover, this scent... felt a little familiar.

White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva?

This was the third-rank Bodhisattva Li Qi had encountered during his journey to the Western Heaven, who simultaneously held four identities: a member of the demon race, an imperial concubine of the Human Dao, a Yaksha ghost of the Demonic Dao, and a Buddhist Bodhisattva.

It was precisely because of the complexity of her identity that Li Qi had gone to the Buddhist sect to seek her help and reached an agreement with the White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva.

The White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva could be said to harbor deep-seated hatred for the Human Dao; her descent into the Demonic Dao was entirely due to the Human Dao.

Because of the fragrance, the face of the White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva immediately popped into Li Qi's mind.

That indescribably beautiful face, truly peerless in the world.

This made Li Qi somewhat terrified.

Because, the face of the White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva could not be imagined unless seen with one's own eyes.

Even if you had seen what she looked like, once you closed your eyes, no matter how much you tried to recall, you would only have a blurry outline, unable to reconstruct her appearance.

Because her 'beauty' had reached the level of 'Dao'; it was the objective manifestation of 'beauty' itself, the culmination of all aesthetics. Unless you could perfectly understand and master all forms of 'beauty,' it would be impossible to reconstruct her appearance in your memory.

Therefore, the mere appearance of her face made Li Qi realize that this precious bead was probably the 'help' the White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva had promised him.

Just this alone wouldn't cause terror.

The reason for his terror was that Li Qi suddenly felt... his heart was wavering.

Nothing else, simply because the White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva had smiled at him.

This smile was so breathtaking that it completely made Li Qi lose his focus, his expression dazed, as if only this existed before his eyes.

In that instant of his daze, Li Qi suddenly saw—

He saw... his past self.

And, his future self.

His past self was the one who had fallen unconscious due to the Karma lines during his blood sacrifice.

His future self was already at the fifth rank, doing something unknown, but definitely in seclusion.

He didn't know what was happening, but these thoughts just popped into his mind, and his past and future selves appeared before his eyes, and he even knew when these moments were.

He could vaguely see himself at other times, an even earlier past, or a more distant future.

But those 'selves' at those times were shielded by some power, only vaguely visible, and could not be chosen.

And at this moment, he could only choose himself from these two time periods.

Why choose?

He didn't know.

It was as if... he had been enchanted by that smile.

Li Qi, as if by some uncanny prompting, reached out and touched his past and future selves.

Thus, the past self, the present self, and the future self, merged into one.

Li Qi suddenly felt that his past self, the one who was unconscious during the blood sacrifice, had his cultivation drawn away.

And his future self, the one in seclusion, also had a portion of his cultivation taken out.

These vanished cultivations surged into Li Qi's body!

The power of the blood sacrifice, and the power of the fifth-rank Li Qi, erupted within him!

He immediately realized!

What he lacked to reach the fifth rank was the cultivation accumulated through arduous effort, which would normally take a thousand years to complete.

And now, he no longer needed to accumulate it slowly.