Chapter 674: Combat power

After one punch, Li Qi didn't stop but immediately unleashed his Divine Ability.

The surrounding world transformed into a cage.

With the right timing and geographical advantage, the Dao tilted towards Li Qi, raising Li Qi's cultivation by a notch, while his opponent's cultivation was suppressed by a notch. All those with cultivation below Fifth Grade in the vicinity immediately felt a massive force acting on them, being forcibly flung away from the battlefield.

Li Qi had no intention of harming the innocent; those unable to participate in the battle should step back.

As the Inner World-transformed cage expanded, the surrounding spirits of heaven and earth were startled, shaking the universe. Amidst the swirling Divine Ability, one could hear mountains collapsing, seas roaring, and heaven and earth crumbling!

Besides the sounds, in the sky, Buddhist Heavens even began to appear.

These were the Buddhist Heavens that Li Qi had once replicated within his Inner World with the tacit approval of Dakini Heaven, when he had journeyed to the Western Heavens.

Dakini Heaven, Vaisravana, Dhrtarastra, Virudhaka, Virupaksa, Mahasvara.

Śrīdevī, Cintamani, Virya Cakra, Prabhasa, Virya Jvalana Prabhasa, Prajna Carya.

The Heavens rotated, forming a colossal wheel of Divine Ability and Buddha-Dharma.

As the giant wheel turned, Buddha-Dharma manifested, myriad True Words appeared, tearing the world apart. The Law of the Buddha Kingdom Mandala forcibly obscured the world, locking down the Dao with the Inner World, and shielding the Laws of this world with Buddha-Dharma!

In the firmament, the giant wheel of the Heavens in motion projected infinite Buddha Light!

The Buddha Light illuminated all beings, and within the Buddha Kingdom, countless anomalies suddenly appeared.

There were Devas holding whips, Asura embracing comets, the celestial giant wheel forming a ring, suspending the Mirror of the Dharma King, turning the Wheel of the Brahma Emperor. Its mountains were lofty, majestic, and beautiful to behold, holding all species like the earth, with all flowers, plants, and trees flourishing.

Within it, there were also Dragons, Yakshas, Pisacas, Kinnaras, who frequented it, and various other types of beasts, such as lions, tigers, wolves, Qilin, elephants, horses, bears, and other such creatures residing there.

Furthermore, there were immeasurable hundreds of thousands of birds: peacocks, parrots, mynahs, ducks, geese, mandarin ducks, and jivamjivakas.

Moreover, the Pure Abode Devas put their palms together in reverence, and the Wheel-Turning Human King with his seven treasures and attendants came to that place. Sea fish emerged from the great sea to pay homage, illuminated by the bright Mani-gem, and adorned by the pure blessed Mani-gem.

All these beings resided there.

The Buddha Kingdom and all living beings manifested here.

The Vajra Realm and the Garbhadhatu Realm each reversed, Buddha-Dharma sealed, forming their own Reincarnation. At this moment, this palace complex had been isolated from the Immortal Heaven.

Starting from the Vajra Realm of Ultimate Luminous Light, the Buddha Kingdom began to rotate, and Li Qi's Dharmakaya also emitted Buddha Light, with hands pressed together.

Passing through the Three Gates of Liberation to the Threefold Knowledge, circling the Three Realms like the sun and moon.

With valiant wisdom, he traversed birth, aging, sickness, and death, entering and exiting the Five Destinies like a torch illuminating darkness.

His mind was unattached like a lotus born from mud, his actions without increase or decrease like the Void Realm without added love, transcending the eight worldly dharmas without sorrow or joy, entering the eight difficulties to transform sentient beings from danger and calamity, and achieving the irreversible wheel through wisdom.

The eighteen Dharmas of the Buddha instructed the ignorant, freeing them from the three poisons like blowing away floating clouds, crossing sentient beings with the Dharma boat, persuading the twelve oceans to escape the wheel of birth and death, traveling to the three places to save the twelve causes, resolving all chaos, and revealing the true non-existent Dharma.

As the Buddhist Heavens descended, Li Qi clearly felt that the Sword Qi brewing in his opponent was significantly suppressed.

This was what Li Qi wanted to do.

The Buddha-Dharma shielded the Laws of this world, and this Buddha-Dharma was based on the Buddhist Heavens, directly altering the celestial timing and even overturning the world's appearance, completely transforming the Inner World, thereby suppressing the opponent's ability to mobilize the power of heaven and earth.

Without the power of heaven and earth, his opponent could only rely on his Martial Dao Divine Intent and his own magical power. He would be unable to recover Qi and would also face the suppression of heaven and earth.

This was like people fighting on land versus fighting in water.

Fighting on land, one can recover Qi through breathing and is much more agile.

But in water, not only can one not recover Qi, but movement is also greatly hindered. If one cannot swim, their combat strength is reduced by at least seventy percent.

Unless he could forcibly break through Li Qi's Inner World, he would not be able to recover Qi.

But that would lead him into Li Qi's favorite fighting style, which is not to compete in combat talent, but purely to compete in the profundity of spells and magical power.

If it was about combat talent, something that relies on improvisation, Li Qi might feel a bit apprehensive, but if it was about the profundity of cultivation and spells, then Li Qi had a lot to say.

Li Qi had made his move, so it was time to wait for the opponent's response.

If the opponent delayed for half a second without responding, Li Qi would not be polite. Afterwards, he would reverse the Vajra Realm, turn the giant wheel in reverse, manifest the Garbhadhatu Realm, and completely deprive the opponent of the chance to resist with the power of life and death Reincarnation.

This was the Shaman's Inner World.

You are never fighting the Shaman themselves, but an entire world!

However, the next moment, another sword strike arrived.

As always, Martial Dao Divine Intent, coupled with Dao Sect magical power.

This Dual Cultivation method truly opened Li Qi's eyes.

This was truly rare.

He cultivated Dao Sect Divine Abilities, but what he nurtured was not the carefree Qi, but a Martial Dao Divine Intent that charged forward valiantly, unmatched in the world, never retreating a single step.

It was indeed very powerful. This kind of thing was not something an ordinary person could achieve.

Martial Dao Divine Intent manifested!

This sword strike completely ignored Li Qi! Even as Li Qi displayed his vast Divine Abilities, the swordsman merely struck with his sword. The Sword Intent stood tall, reaching the heavens, moving through the sky. The sword light sliced across the firmament, revealing a trembling blue sky and prostrating earth! The sword went halfway through the red sky, the universe indistinguishable from east or west. The azure sky shrouded by the giant wheel was split in two. If Li Qi was the firmament of heaven and earth, then this sword seemed to shatter the jade cage, break the prison, and open up a new world!

As the sword light flew, Li Qi clearly felt a tremendous threat to his Inner World!

This sword light was incredibly powerful!

It was indeed irresistibly sharp, especially that Martial Dao Divine Intent that seemed to want to shatter everything; there was simply no way to restrain it with spells!

However—

Not being able to restrain it with a spell doesn't mean it can't be dealt with.

Li Qi wanted to block this sword, so the power of heaven and earth began to condense. Within the cage, the Star Officials began to compress their size, delivering a punch towards that sword light.

At the same time, the Karma lines around Li Qi's Dharmakaya began to writhe.

Determining the future.

For a Fifth Grade, physical problems or Inner World disturbances are extremely low-probability events, basically quite unlikely.

But, unlikely means 'possible'.

The Karma lines began to follow the 'effect' to find the 'cause'.

Following the 'effect' of the opponent's 'sword strike', they traced back to find the 'cause' of the 'sword strike'.

The cause of the sword strike came from the coordination of Martial Dao Divine Intent, from the idea of protecting this palace complex, from responsibility, from anger towards Li Qi, and from his own cultivation method and cultivation.

After finding these 'causes', Li Qi began to pluck the Karma lines.

This was what his Divine Ability transformed into.

Following Karma, interfering with existing reality.

Then, combined with the Shaman's 'curse'.

Thus, the sword light returned to the instant before it was 'struck out'.

The eyes of the person who struck the sword widened!

Impossible!

This is absolutely impossible!

Time had not rewound, and his memory still existed, but reality seemed to have been erased for that one instant; his sword light returned to before he struck.

Moreover, in that very instant, his Qi Circulation was disrupted.

Impossible! Absolutely impossible! His sword strikes were extremely practiced; having lived until now, he had struck swords no less than hundreds of billions of times, and only in his youth had he made such a low-level mistake as disordered Qi Circulation!

But no matter how low the probability, in any case... reality had already been determined. No matter how low the possibility, as long as it wasn't zero, it would happen.

This was the reality chosen by Li Qi as the observer.

Disordered Qi Circulation wasn't a major issue. Even if it happened to a low-level cultivator, it would just mean a period of soreness and inability to practice, and a rest would suffice.

But whether it's a High Grade or a Low Grade, as long as they are still using Qi to fight, then the attack during which Qi Circulation is disordered must be withdrawn, otherwise, it will cause self-injury.

What Li Qi wanted was for the opponent to withdraw his hand.

All brave and sharp Qi in the world must strike with one breath, then decline, then exhaust. There is no such thing as courage that can last forever.

Sword Qi is like this, and Martial Dao Divine Intent is also like this.

One must know, the power of this Sword Qi was simply terrifying. The first sword shattered Li Qi's Dharmakaya, breaking all his spells. The second sword wounded his Inner World. This was far, far stronger than those Fifth Grade outsiders, even more powerful than some Young Masters of Shaman God Mountain.

Fortunately, the consequences of the second sword had been reversed by the determined reality, but time had not rewound, so for the swordsman, it was already the second sword drawn.

Then, there was no need for the third sword to be drawn. The third sword would not be able to harm Li Qi.

"A good strategy," the swordsman stood up.

The Sword Qi was exhausted, so the blade should be revealed.

With a crisp clang of a sword, a precious sword was drawn. The entire palace complex, along with heaven and earth, and even the towering mountain below, all broke in response, splitting into two halves from the middle.

Even Li Qi's Inner World, Dharmakaya, and the Star Officials formed by the Inner World behind him, were cut apart by a faintly glowing thin line, directly severed into two sections!

What a fast sword, what a sharp sword!

Li Qi's Physical Body was directly cut open, and along with it, the Star Officials of his Inner World were also severed. The circulating Qi was forced to stop, and all Divine Abilities could not be used!

A Shaman's cultivation inherently emphasizes seamlessness and fluidity. Now that he was cut into two pieces, how could there be any talk of seamlessness? Naturally, most of his Divine Abilities were lost.

The next moment, a white-clad swordsman walked out from the palace complex. His entire being was like a drawn sharp sword, his Sword Qi piercing the vastness: "To force me to step out, you are worthy of pride, intruder, state your name."

He did not pursue, but confidently said this to Li Qi.

Li Qi's Dharmakaya and Inner World had both been severed. Logically speaking, he had completely lost his combat capability, and even escaping alive would be a luxury.

However, the next moment, the swordsman suddenly realized something was wrong.

Li Qi's body began to mend.

The sea below, on the other hand, was cut into two sections.

Yes, the sea below, although water, was cut open by a mysterious force, and even after being cut, it did not rejoin, but became two separate seas, with an invisible force in the middle preventing the water from restoring itself.

They say that drawing a knife to cut water only makes it flow more, but clearly, for a powerful Fifth Grade, this saying does not hold true.

Draw a knife to cut water, and the water simply stops flowing.

But that wasn't right, he hadn't cut towards the sea.

He immediately drew his sword and took a stance.

Meanwhile, Li Qi's injuries had completely healed.

It was nothing, a common Shaman technique: substitution. Normally, a small straw Puppet would die in one's place, but there was no small straw Puppet now, was there? So, just ten seconds ago, Li Qi crushed countless demons, turning them into a ball, and threw it into the sea.

This crushing was not done casually. At that time, the demon remains had already become Li Qi's substitute, and it was precisely because of this that Li Qi dodged that attack.

This made Li Qi somewhat excited.

The Immortal Heaven, as expected of a First Grade world that prioritizes combat power above all else.

It was truly, truly powerful.

Although the distinctiveness and functionality of its Divine Abilities weren't strong, in terms of destructive power, it was absolutely terrifying!

Seeing Li Qi recover, the opponent no longer wasted words. He immediately held his sword. This time, it was hand-to-hand combat!

Li Qi immediately put away his Dharmakaya and Star Officials.

During close combat, such large things are not easy to use. Even true Star Officials wouldn't use their Physical Body to fight. For a person to fight a virus, they cannot exert their full strength.

Therefore, as long as all power is compressed within the body—

This was the move Li Qi had been practicing during his years as the head of the Doctrinal Canon.

The Star Officials formed by the Inner World, plus his own cultivation, were all condensed onto his body.

Highly concentrated power of heaven and earth, plus the array formed by the Star Officials—

Yet, only the starry sky covered Li Qi's hands.

Then, he threw a punch at the opponent!

A torrent of energy roared out! Its destructive range was enough to engulf a star!

Another sword light flashed.

The energy torrent was split in two, just like a supernova explosion being cut open by someone.

"Your methods are many and varied, but unfortunately... none of them are effective. I, with just one person and one sword, am enough to cut through all your Divine Abilities," the swordsman said.

Li Qi had to admit that the opponent was right.

After all, he was a Fifth Grade from a First Grade world, and the Immortal Heaven placed extreme importance on combat power. This first encounter was truly eye-opening.

Despite using cultivation methods similar to the Dao Sect, he possessed a terrifying Sword Intent close to Martial Dao Divine Intent. Despite having no Martial Dao Inner Qi, he unleashed remarkably horrifying destructive power, so much so that none of Li Qi's Divine Abilities could withstand a single blow.

If he didn't know that the opponent's swordsmanship and Divine Intent attainments were quite high, and that each sword strike had completely different characteristics, Li Qi would have wanted to shout 'one sword breaks all spells'.

However...

Shamanes were never known for their destructive power, nor did they need to pursue it.

So, Li Qi replied, "Is that so? Then look behind you."

As Li Qi spoke, the swordsman looked back.

He was startled!

He didn't know when, but his back had been pierced by invisible threads.

What kind of threads are these? Does he want to refine me into a Puppet!?

He immediately reacted, and his sword light flashed again!

But the threads were unaffected, and moreover, these threads seemed not to be physical, unaffected by attacks from the real world.

This was certain.

These were virtual Karma lines; there were no visible Karma lines existing in reality.

This was also Li Qi's Divine Ability.

The Karma method he manipulated during the Pioneer War was precisely this.

The effect of this Divine Ability was simple and clear—

Becoming the will of heaven, a net-like spell, unfolded.