Chapter 662: Parting ways

Li Qi knew that in Baiyue, there was a way to identify whether certain individuals were truly Young Misses.

That was to have the Young Miss strip naked in front of a group of maids and old women.

Then, if the Young Miss was very accustomed to it and showed no shame, she was.

You might think everyone is human and would feel shy exposing their bodies, but in reality, they don't see servants as people. Would you feel shy in front of tools?

For maids, serving the master in dressing was a skill. The master's arms and legs wouldn't move according to the servant's wishes. The servant had to accommodate the master, who could casually move his limbs or even drink tea, while the maid still had to ensure the master felt no awkwardness during dressing, perhaps not even noticing he was being served.

This was also a craft, even requiring assessment.

For the master, there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Those around him weren't people; they were just humanoid tools.

However, Li Qi was still very surprised.

Since leaving Baiyue, whether it was Shaman Dao, the Human-Ghost, or even many worlds beyond the Universe, as long as they surpassed the Seventh Grade, such situations were very rare. Only a very few special Dao Orthodoxy would have such instances of treating people as livestock.

Even the Human-Ghost only regarded 'worlds without Dao' as resources, and would not enslave their minds.

Some did it out of morality, while others did it purely out of self-interest.

Because only uncultivated worlds, worlds that suppressed the creativity of the lower classes and ignored basic collective rules, would have such things. Any world that could reach the Seventh Grade would understand one thing: the thoughts of 'people' with advanced intelligence were the greatest wealth.

To disregard such wealth, suppress them, and use them as meaningless objects would be an enormous waste, leading to a severe decline in the progress of civilization.

Even First Grade worlds and even the world itself needed to cultivate this advanced intelligence. Only by leveraging this intelligence could more paths be pioneered.

Unless their Dao Orthodoxy specifically favored such a method, any great individual with foresight within a civilization who achieved eternal life would not choose such a wasteful approach.

Therefore, after these experiences, and coupled with the fact that Li Qi hadn't encountered low-level worlds for a long time, he had almost forgotten that such things still existed in uncultivated worlds.

Even… Yao Ji in front of him still retained such an attitude.

He truly didn't know what Shaman God Mountain was thinking, to actually have him travel with such a person? Merely because the other party was very strong in the Sixth Grade?

Even if such a person embarked on the Dao Orthodoxy, their mindset would probably deviate from the peaceful state of mind of Shaman Dao, right?

No wonder Zhu Fengdan made a move. If Li Qi hadn't been timid, he would have made a move too.

This stirred a feeling of disgust in Li Qi, so he shook his head: “You resolve it yourself; I won't meddle in your affairs.”

After speaking, Li Qi ignored the other party and continued to observe the Qi.

Yao Ji, however, blinked her eyes.

Li Qi originally thought she would get angry or something, but he clearly underestimated Yao Ji.

The other party felt nothing at all; instead, she found a lake, took off her clothes, and went in.

Li Qi was too lazy to care. It didn't matter; she could do whatever she wanted. As long as it didn't involve the mission, Li Qi didn't want to bother with such trivial matters.

Through the art of observing Qi, Li Qi quickly noticed that to the south… it should be the south, right? Anyway, judging by the position of the sun, it was the southern sky. As for whether that sun was actually in the south, it didn't matter; directions were all human-defined anyway.

To the south, there was a very, very typical 'human Qi', meaning there was a city in that place.

Then, Li Qi finished observing the Qi and prepared to wait for Yao Ji to finish washing herself before they set off together.

But during this process, he couldn't help Yao Ji with anything.

As Li Qi was thinking this, he noticed that a Water God had appeared around them, with a human head and snake body, controlling water with four arms, and was washing clothes.

He was a bit puzzled. Was this a local Water God? Had Yao Ji commanded the Water God to do chores for her?

Indeed, it was something she would do.

However, when Li Qi swept his True Knowledge Dao Resonance over the Water God's body, he was astonished to discover that this Water God had no consciousness and was not the local Water God.

This was a Di Qi (Earthly Qi) that had temporarily appeared in the world, and it had spirit but no intelligence.

A god with spirit but no intelligence is a natural spirit that has not awakened. How could such a thing have subjective actions, even washing clothes? But there was clearly no method of commanding gods around.

Moreover, it should be known that this was a First Grade world. The Mountain and Water Deities here were very powerful. To command them casually, Li Qi didn't even have that ability; he would need to make preparations and perform rituals in advance.

Then, the only possibility was Yao Ji.

“This is… the First Gods?” The only possibility Li Qi could think of was this.

No wonder Yao Ji could develop such a personality.

Perhaps the First Gods are the 'Heaven' of this Universe? As the earliest beings born in the Universe, Incarnations of Chaos Qi, perhaps even higher than that, they are the 'Dao' that other beings pursue. At the very beginning of civilization, including the civilizations in the world, they all worshipped them.

Therefore, the First Gods didn't need to do anything; they only needed to 'command,' and other lower-level spirits would be forced to obey their orders, even if they only had spirit but no intelligence, they would still have to get up and work.

Is this also a kind of 'Dao'? Is it the world's favoritism towards the First Gods? Even a First Grade world cannot escape this custom when no one interferes.

Recalling how Yao Ji had just lightly waved her hand, and the world barrier opened, it was clearly also a manifestation of this authority, right?

One can only say that it was fortunate that Shaman Dao and Dao Orthodoxy had a good relationship. The three lineages of Invoker—Heavenly God, Di Qi (Earthly Qi), and Human-Ghost—even had a lineage specifically for dealing with Heavenly Gods, and they had very good relationships with the Star Officials and the First Gods.

The two major systems of Dao Orthodoxy both had very good relationships with Shaman Dao, so Li Qi couldn't say much.

He actually didn't like Heavenly Gods very much. The Di Qi (Earthly Qi) still had to bear the livelihoods within the mountains and rivers, while the Heavenly Gods were high above, imperious and bossy.

However, as a Dao seeker, he knew that respect for other Dao Orthodoxy was very important, so he wouldn't say too much.

This is like abstract painting and concrete painting. Some people just don't appreciate abstract painting and think it's trash, but it's undeniable that the abstract school holds an important place in art history, and many people do like it.

You can't just think it's trash because you don't like it.

A blind person cannot appreciate any painting, but this does not mean that all paintings are bad; it's just that everyone understands them differently.

However, every time he thought of the leader of the First Gods, the supreme Lord of the Heavenly Court of Dao Orthodoxy… “Hao Tian… are you truly ‘Heaven’?” Li Qi looked up at the sky, unable to resist murmuring.

Immediately, he shivered.

Just uttering that name, he felt a wave of ominousness, so he quickly shut his mouth.

Soon, after about fifteen minutes, the ominous feeling dissipated from Li Qi.

And over there, Yao Ji had also finished her ablutions.

Her clothes were placed there, left for the Water God to clean, while she herself calmly walked out of the water.

Li Qi immediately withdrew his perception and quickly retreated ninety miles.

Do not look at what is improper. The other person didn't treat herself as a human and didn't care at all, but he, a married man, couldn't not care.

After a while, Li Qi returned to his original spot. Yao Ji had already put on her clothes.

And throughout, she wore a veil.

This made Li Qi very puzzled.

This idiot doesn't care about her body, but her face is tightly covered. Is there something seriously wrong with her?

While puzzled, he habitually scanned his surroundings, checking for any anomalies and maintaining vigilance.

However, as he scanned, he suddenly discovered… the Spiritual Qi of the nearby mountains and rivers had been sucked dry.

The Spiritual Qi of this mountain has been depleted, and it is likely that no more demons or Mountain and Water Deities will be born here in the future.

What happened?

Was it caused by Yao Ji's 'bath'?

Li Qi immediately realized that her bath was not with water, but by drawing all the Spiritual Qi from the mountain to cleanse her body and mind, directly draining this area.

This area of mountains and rivers has effectively become an ordinary place. To restore its beautiful mountain and water appearance, it would take at least forty to fifty years of nurturing.

During this period, the monsters on this mountain would be unable to cultivate, unless they relocated.

Moreover, with the dried-up earth veins, anything planted would die. The vegetation on this mountain, though appearing lush and green, was in fact already dead. Unable to draw from the earth's Qi, once the nutrients stored in its branches, leaves, and trunk were exhausted, it would only wither and die.

Animals, of course, could only all move away, otherwise they would starve to death. It could be said that the surrounding fifty-mile radius was already a dead zone.

“What's wrong? Aren't we leaving yet? I think you've found the location.” Yao Ji still looked the same, completely unaware that anything was amiss.

Li Qi glanced at the other party.

Indeed… he still couldn't stand Heavenly God.

“We'll depart immediately, after I perform a ritual.” Li Qi said.

As he spoke, he waved his hand to set up an altar, using his own Life Qi as a guide, concentrating a portion of the Di Qi (Earthly Qi) from his small world within it, and then sacrificing it to these mountains and rivers.

This Life Qi and Di Qi (Earthly Qi) would slowly permeate this dead land. Although some plants would inevitably die, it should recover in a little over a year.

Consider it cleaning up after this Young Miss.

Li Qi had expected Yao Ji to comment on his actions, but when he turned to look, he found her completely distracted, not caring at all what he was doing… How to put it, truly a Heavenly God.

The Human-Ghost and Heavenly Court were at odds; now he could better understand the Human-Ghost.

“Let's go,” Li Qi said.

Yao Ji didn't answer, just followed behind.

Li Qi also set up his escape light and quickly flew towards the distance.

Along the way, Li Qi vaguely sensed constant gazes probing him from all around. Their grades weren't high, but some were close to the Seventh Grade, and a few had even reached above the mid-Seventh Grade in strength. However… they seemed to be suppressing their cultivation and hadn't yet achieved Breakthrough.

Yao Ji looked indifferent, simply following behind Li Qi, piggybacking on his escape light and wind barrier, saving herself effort.

But Li Qi was very vigilant, emitting his Fifth Grade aura.

Consequently, all the gazes retracted.

This made Li Qi nod slightly, a thought forming in his mind.

Clearly, this was the mortal realm.

Moreover, this attitude clearly showed that these people knew that after Ascension to the True World, they might have to mine. So they weren't in a hurry to Breakthrough, but rather accumulated strength to ensure they would mine less for a couple of days during Ascension, or at least be strong enough to rob others.

It really is… a bit utilitarian.

As he thought this, a city appeared before Li Qi and Yao Ji.

Hmm, a First Grade world, indeed a humanoid race.

The city was still about forty to fifty thousand miles away, but Li Qi could already observe the situation there, so he quickly put away his escape light, preparing to blend in silently.

“Conceal your presence, don't attract attention.” Li Qi said to Yao Ji.

Saying this, Li Qi activated his 'Body Blending with natural' mode, preparing to sneak in.

But Yao Ji seemed not to hear, still flying straight towards the distance.

“Hey, Yao Ji, conceal your presence. Don't be so ostentatious. This is a First Grade world,” Li Qi immediately transmitted.

Who knew Yao Ji only glanced at Li Qi, still not replying, and continued flying forward.

Li Qi looked into her eyes and read a message from them.

'I heard you, but why should I listen to you?'

Yao Ji didn't say it, or rather, she was too lazy to say it, but Li Qi still read that thought.

Damn it, bitch.

Li Qi really couldn't stand this Heavenly God style. He shook his head, 'If she wants to die, let her. I don't care.'

He had never seen anyone so annoying.

Thinking this, Li Qi no longer insisted on the other party following him.

He could complete it alone just the same.

Thinking this, Li Qi simply flew towards the city alone, acting completely by himself.

However… he hoped that this divergence wouldn't affect the other party's evaluation, after all, theoretically, both of them were currently under observation.

Sigh, damn it, why did Teacher Zhu leave halfway? The pressure is so great now.

Li Qi only felt exhausted, his internal monologue containing many more curses than usual. One should know that he was actually a very cultured person.

Regardless of those things, Li Qi calmed his mind and continued his work.

As a long-lived being, patience and perseverance are essential. Even the most impetuous long-lived being can calmly face unexpected situations, otherwise, living so long, they would have gone mad long ago.

Flying all the way, he arrived at the city.

To his surprise, Li Qi found that Yao Ji was gone.

Did she not come to this city? Or did she just fly away?

Forget it, he said he wouldn't care about her, so he wouldn't.

Li Qi quietly observed the city alone from outside.

This city was very tightly defended, a complete military fortress. The entire city combined should be a giant Seventh Grade Spiritual Artifact, not easily conquerable.

It covered a large area, about two thousand miles in circumference. For a mortal city, this was an extremely vast scale. It was divided into four sections, each with sixteen gates. The openings allowed for circulation in and out of the city, and flight Restrictions were set up; anything below Seventh Grade absolutely could not fly here.

Hundreds of thousands of people were moving in and out, making it very lively. Various Spiritual Artifacts and Spirit Beasts were used as means of transportation.

Li Qi watched for a while, then quickly blended into the crowd and walked towards the city gate.