Chapter 635: Reality and voice

How many possibilities are there for the future?

Li Qi felt there should be countless.

Truly countless.

You drink a cup of water, you don't drink that cup of water, you drink water with your left hand, or with your right hand, you hold the cup with three fingers, or five fingers.

For one event, there are countless choices.

And each choice will derive countless branches, which will continue to derive, eventually becoming infinite, forming a ‘Net of Possibilities’ for the future.

Furthermore, within this Net of Possibilities, there are also existences of the same Rank.

Second Grade has Second Grade enemies, First Grade has First Grade enemies, so it's impossible to exhaust all possibilities.

Therefore, when it's impossible to exhaust, one can only ‘take it one step at a time’.

So, how to proceed?

That is, constantly reset, constantly backtrack.

Li Qi found it hard to imagine to what extent one would need to go to achieve victory in this situation?

He originally thought ‘Providence’ was an invincible existence; after all, manipulating Karma and the very essence of existence were already extremely powerful methods.

But now, looking at it, what is so-called ‘Providence’ in front of an existence that can reset reality?

Everything you manipulate, the future you meticulously planned, the other party can completely erase it.

Li Qi didn't know; he couldn't imagine how to break out of this kind of ability.

No matter what you do, I can directly reset it, so can you win? And if both sides have this ability, what exactly are they competing on? Is it wisdom? Or power?

Knowing the future doesn't mean one can change the basis of war; when both sides can constantly interfere with and reset reality, it can only lead to one stalemate after another.

He couldn't guess how such a war would be decided, and finally, he could only sit down and say, “Alright… I will stay here for three hundred and fifty years.”

Ordained Invoker then said, “It's good that you can understand. As I just said, this is not a punishment. Mistakes don't need punishment; mistakes only need correction. Only betrayal requires punishment.”

“Moreover, everything said today is a hint for you. For the next three hundred and fifty years, you can think about it thoroughly.”

With that, Ordained Invoker's avatar disappeared from here.

Clearly, the other party had many things to attend to, and spending so much time talking to Li Qi was already a favor.

After the other party left, Li Qi clutched his chest.

He had experienced many things in the future, yet all of it was now lost.

His three hundred and fifty years in the future, along with many other futures, were casually erased by Ordained Invoker.

Did he truly experience those things?

Then… did he not experience those things?

Li Qi fell into deep thought.

His mind was completely immersed in the ‘temporal paradox’.

He suddenly recalled something Empress Luofu had mentioned when he spoke with her before.

“If the future can be changed by Transmigration to the past.”

“Then it means that the current world must be the final outcome that has been changed countless times. Of course, the future may also change again, but the current one must be the final outcome that has already been changed.” (See Chapter 349)

No wonder Empress Luofu had no feelings about changing the future back then.

Because she already knew.

That is to say, his current existence is unequivocally real, the ultimate choice after countless changes.

Then… the victory they achieved also seemed understandable.

Li Qi completely couldn't understand how such a war would be fought, but he at least knew one thing…

That is, the battlefield below was indeed useful.

Their role was not just background, but to help the Second Grades test possibilities.

Countless people, using their intelligence, their lives, and all the wisdom and inspiration of their higher-intelligence beings, to help the Second Grades glimpse the possibilities of the future.

The choices made by everyone could very likely spark outcomes that even the Second Grades had not thought of, and this outcome would lead the future in a brand new direction.

This was the meaning of the existence of others in the battlefield.

But… does it truly have meaning?

Do these people truly have ‘reality’?

The so-called reality, like what Li Qi considered ‘entity’, possesses the power of self-sustenance; existence is existence.

But now, is he… still an ‘entity’?

Li Qi realized that everything about him could be arbitrarily modified by the Great Power.

He once again deeply realized the words Empress Luofu said to Shen Shuibi—

“The reason this world is this way is because the True Immortals wish the world to be this way.”

In other words, if the world wasn't like this, they would intervene… erase everything, and make everything start over.

It's almost like a player who constantly saves and loads, constantly restarting until a perfect ending is achieved.

If the Second Grades were players, then he… would be an NPC with no reality whatsoever. His existence… was completely dispensable.

For players, NPCs have no reality; their existence is but a thought away. The plot NPCs experience, the time they spend, all their memories, and even their very existence, can be overturned and restarted at any time.

So-called history, so-called future… for the Second Grades, it's all ‘now’.

Ordained Invoker clearly and unmistakably told Li Qi this outcome, filling Li Qi's heart with an… indescribable feeling.

How to put it…

Ordained Invoker told him that in the future, he would ally with the Demonic Dao due to issues with his wife and daughter, causing one-seventh of the Shaman Dao front line to be destroyed. To prevent this, he needed to be confined here for three hundred and fifty years.

So, what was he?

Li Qi suddenly fell into self-doubt.

He could understand Ordained Invoker, but… understanding aside, he still developed doubts about himself, and even about this real world.

But it was only doubt, and his Dao Heart did not collapse.

Having witnessed the Heavenly Demons, Li Qi already knew the methods of the Great Power; now he merely learned another one.

Even if his self-reality didn't exist, so what? Would he stop living?

Knowing he was under the control of the Great Power, so what?

Even people who couldn't escape Providence were still looking for their own lives, so why should Li Qi wallow in self-pity?

Just as he was sighing with emotion, a sound suddenly came from the doorway.

Li Qi looked up and gazed into the distance.

He saw some people who seemed to be busy, as if something had happened, so someone came to handle it.

Li Qi walked out, but he saw a Fifth Grade, a person similar to himself, being carried out.

Is this person dead?

There were no external injuries, but one could clearly feel that the other party's Inner World had completely collapsed, with chaotic Qi everywhere. If it were in the outside world, it would have probably exploded, causing enough destruction to annihilate many worlds.

But in this peculiar blessed land, these chaotic Qi could not stir up any waves, not even breaking out of the body, only being suppressed within.

The Inner World becoming like this… must be due to Dao Heart collapse, an inability to control one's cultivation, leading to the disarray of the Great Dao within the body, and the Inner World naturally collapsing with it.

Dao Heart collapse, huh.

Li Qi could guess why.

This area was probably prepared for people like him.

No wonder that Ordained Invoker praised him.

It seems that those who can maintain their composure and keep their Dao Heart unshaken in the face of ‘truth’ are few.

After all… this ‘truth’ is a bit too horrifying.

When one realizes that one has no reality, that one's existence is merely an illusion, that everything one has experienced can be arbitrarily altered, and has even been altered countless times, how many people can remain calm?

Li Qi looked around and found that there were many Fifth Grades in such small houses, all trying to calm their Dao Heart and persuade themselves.

These… were all people who needed to be ‘confined’.

They were all people who, in the future, had caused huge losses, to the extent that the Ordained Invokers intervened and gathered them in this place, attempting to change the future.

Li Qi was one of them.

This suddenly ignited a surge of anger within Li Qi.

They shouldn't be treated this way.

Even if Ordained Invoker said it was not a punishment, but a decision made for victory, it still shouldn't be like this.

Just being told the truth was cruel enough.

Moreover…

Li Qi suddenly realized something.

He had allied with the Demonic Dao because of his wife and daughter, Shen Shuibi and Li Shiwei. Although he saved them, it caused one-seventh of the Shaman Dao front line to be lost.

So, now that he was confined…

Shen Shuibi and Li Shiwei were still outside! And they were already involved with the Demonic Dao!

No way? Could it be—

Li Qi's heart sank. Could it be that because he was confined here, something would happen outside that he couldn't interfere with, ultimately leading to something happening to Li Shiwei and Shen Shuibi?

At this thought, his mood immediately became anxious!

He was no longer interested in watching others' affairs and returned to his room.

He had to find a way to understand the outside world and have Shen Shuibi take Li Shiwei back. They couldn't stay on the front line anymore.

However, Ordained Invoker said that he could move freely within this blessed land, but could only stay within it, could not contact the outside world, could not Breakthrough his cultivation, and could not leave written or visual records.

Ordained Invoker not allowing him to contact the outside world probably already thought of this, and Li Qi… clearly had no way to force Ordained Invoker.

He had no right to make demands at all; if the other party wanted to force him, he had no way to resist.

A sense of restraint surged through Li Qi's body, as if invisible mud covered him, making him unable to move, unable to breathe.

This was imprisonment.

This was for the ultimate victory, but not for Li Qi.

Li Qi suddenly stood up. Whether Ordained Invoker agreed or not, he had to send a message to the outside world, no matter what!

He could accept being confined, even doing things as difficult as ascending to heaven. After all, this was something he had caused, and Shaman Dao was his sect, which had given him countless help, so he should repay it.

But at the very least, he should be given a chance to send a message, to have Shen Shuibi and Li Shiwei retreat.

Li Qi immediately went to find Ordained Invoker.

He came to the door, stopped a Fourth Grade existence who was walking by, and said to him, “Senior—”

Unexpectedly, the other party replied with practiced ease, “If you have a request you wish to submit, the mailbox over there, just imprint your Qi on the envelope.”

Li Qi turned his head and looked at the place the other party pointed to; there was indeed a mailbox hanging there.

After speaking, the other party drifted away, seemingly having many other things to do and no time to lead Li Qi.

However, it was enough. Clearly, Li Qi was not the first to make such a request; there must be quite a few people who came to this place to accept confinement.

So, he immediately turned back, stretched out his hands, and some plants appeared in his hands.

These were all plants that grew in his Inner World.

He kneaded the plants in his hands, almost instantly breaking down the fibers within them, then introducing water vapor to form a ball of pulp, spreading it flat, and using a spell to control fire to dry it, quickly making a sheet of paper.

He then ground Ore to make ink, used his finger as a brush, and quickly wrote a letter.

By now, he could already create something out of nothing, conjuring almost any substance out of thin air.

After dropping the letter into the mailbox, he returned to his room and sat down, waiting for news.

Originally, he thought that since he was merely a Fifth Grade, it wouldn't be impossible for his issue to be handled several months later. Li Qi had already prepared to wait for half a year.

Compared to the future of over three hundred years, half a year was still tolerable, so Li Qi was prepared to wait patiently.

But what he didn't expect was that after only four hours, Ordained Invoker's avatar once again descended into his room.

“Regarding your application…” The avatar descended, its tone as calm as ever.

“Hmm?!” Li Qi, however, immediately stood up.

So fast?

“You applied to send a message to the outside world, but I am sorry, this request cannot be approved,” Ordained Invoker's avatar said.

Li Qi felt a bucket of cold water poured on him, but he still calmly asked, “Why?”

“When you entered this place and were informed of this matter, your Karma lines with the outside world were temporarily severed. Before the time ends, if you rashly interfere with the outside world, it will instead produce unpredictable consequences. For the outside world, your current state is non-existent, unobservable and untraceable. Your Karma is now stabilized by this place,” Ordained Invoker's avatar said.

This answer completely surprised Li Qi, but upon careful thought, it was perfectly reasonable.

Simple confinement had no effect; Shaman Dao chose to directly seal the existence of these people.

“Then… you can conceal my existence and just transfer them away from the front line,” Li Qi said.

“Understood. The order will be issued in three hours. They will be withdrawn from the front line,” Ordained Invoker's avatar said.

“Thank you, Senior. I didn't expect… you would be so accommodating,” Li Qi breathed a sigh of relief, cupping his fists in gratitude.

“You are all striving for the ultimate goal of Shaman Dao. Restricting you here is already a result of our incompetence. Your needs naturally need to be met immediately. As long as it doesn't violate the prohibitions I mentioned earlier, you are free here. I will take my leave now,” Ordained Invoker's avatar said, then dissipated directly.

Li Qi let out a long breath.

This was good.

He sat down in the chair.

However, at this moment, a voice suddenly arose in his heart.

“Are you truly relieved?”