Chapter 681: Choice

Seven days later, the banquet was held as scheduled.

Eight hours before that, Ling Xiao returned first.

When she returned, she was in a very bad state, her spirit listless and her expression weary.

"Senior... I'm back," she said, patting her face and forcing herself to gather her spirits, then bowed to Li Qi.

This etiquette was very rusty, not only because she was very tired, but also because she knew that this Heaven-Penetrating Realm Senior would not even look at her.

However, to her surprise, Li Qi actually looked up at this moment.

After looking up, he said, "You look very pale and unwell. Was the invitation matter not very smooth?"

As he spoke, Li Qi raised his hand, and a stream of Yang Qi emerged from his finger, then drilled into Ling Xiao's body, making her feel a shock and instantly refreshed.

Li Qi could clearly see that her Yang Qi was thin and her spirit was low, so all he needed to do was replenish it; it was very simple.

The health of a person's microcosm is determined by the balance of Qi. For a Shaman, who makes the human microcosm an open System, they only need to absorb external Qi to maintain internal balance, so they generally don't get sick or feel fatigued, except for mental fatigue.

But Ling Xiao was clearly not just mentally fatigued; she was physically exhausted as well.

If Li Qi hadn't known the reason, he might have thought this person had gone mining.

Ling Xiao felt her body gradually recover, and a warmth rose in her heart, but more doubts enveloped her mind, so she didn't suppress them but directly said, "It was very smooth... It's just that I don't understand, Senior, why did you make the invitations bearer bonds?"

Yes, the invitations Li Qi issued were bearer bonds.

There were three thousand in total, and whoever got one could attend the upper-level banquet; those who didn't would have to eat the flowing feast outside.

"Why? Isn't this very convenient? I don't know who all the people are, nor how many people want to come. Writing names one by one would be difficult for me, wouldn't it? So I simply issued bearer invitations. You enter with the invitation. Anyway, there are over three thousand; I don't think anyone will be missed, right? I think there are even more than enough," Li Qi said.

However, Ling Xiao shook her head vigorously: "No, it's not like that, Senior, you must know about this situation!"

Ling Xiao didn't believe that Li Qi truly had this thought!

Because she knew very well that Li Qi had once said, 'The quantity of resources isn't important; what's important is the percentage of resources occupied.'

Only by occupying a large percentage can one become the main body within a group, and this has nothing to do with the total amount of resources.

Just like the invitations Li Qi issued.

Three thousand invitations were indeed more than enough, enough for everyone to have one.

But if everyone comes, how is that different from no one coming?

Therefore, facing three thousand bearer invitations, a chaotic conspiracy battle erupted in the city within these seven days.

It's truly difficult to describe the level of chaos during these seven days.

Conspiracy, betrayal, purging.

Spies, loyalty, assassination.

Undercurrents surged in the city, everyone harboring their own schemes. Countless people racked their brains for a single invitation, resorting to plunder, deception, or even seduction. All sorts of unspeakable human methods were played out in thousands of suspenseful dramas within the city over seven days, each script more thrilling than the last.

Even Ling Xiao, after enduring such a seven-day period, was physically and mentally exhausted, so much so that she looked like a dead person when she arrived and needed Li Qi to refresh her.

Ling Xiao absolutely did not believe that Li Qi was unaware of these events.

She even felt that all of this must have been manipulated by Li Qi from behind, and the reason he distributed the invitations was to witness such chaos unfold.

But Li Qi merely shook his head and said, "My motive was indeed just laziness to write names. As for what happened, that was your own choice."

"You knew what would happen..." Ling Xiao's face crumpled.

"Of course I knew." Li Qi nodded calmly: "But honestly, I know even more."

Li Qi stood up and patted Ling Xiao's shoulder: "You had many choices. You could have chosen to act as you did these past few days, or you could have chosen an ordinary equal distribution, or even bidding. There are many choices, and I know how each choice should be made."

"I know many, many future possibilities, but the one thing I don't know is which future you will choose."

"So, when I said I didn't know, it wasn't that I didn't know what would happen, but that I didn't know how you would choose. I didn't interfere with your choices. It turned out this way because you chose it yourselves, and it has nothing to do with me."

After Li Qi finished speaking, he patted her head: "Rest well, don't overthink it. This matter was their own choice, and it has nothing to do with you or me."

Ordained Invoker once told Li Qi that the future cannot be predicted; once the future can be predicted, then the future becomes the present.

True prediction of the future does not exist.

So Li Qi also didn't know what would happen in the future.

He knew every path in the future, just like a crossroads. Li Qi stood high above, able to clearly see every detail of the crossroads.

Choice must be rooted in reality; as long as reality is understood, one can clearly see a person's choices, just as one can clearly see where a crossroads leads.

However, when a person stands at the center of a crossroads, Li Qi also doesn't know where he will go.

He truly didn't know how these people would choose.

Just like now.

Li Qi issued the invitations; this merely placed a crossroads before these people.

No matter how they chose, Li Qi knew the subsequent developments.

Only at the moment of choice was Li Qi unable to be certain.

Before they had made their choice, the possibilities in the four directions of the crossroads were in a superposition state, which could not be resolved.

And within this superposition state, there were also probabilities; the probability of going left might be greater than going right. Observing and confirming these probabilities is the true meaning of 'divination'.

Faced with Li Qi's answer, Ling Xiao was speechless.

She couldn't find a way to refute him.

"Don't blame me for not stopping you. My stopping you from doing bad things and forcing you to do bad things are essentially no different. You also know that I only observe and actually don't want to interfere with you," Li Qi said.

"Yes... It's just, Senior, have you gotten what you wanted?" Ling Xiao looked at Li Qi, a sense of fear rising in her heart.

This man before her—

Too distant, too lofty, to the point of instilling a sense of dread.

It was like facing—

Heaven.

The will of Heaven observes the world but never interferes.

But what Ling Xiao didn't know was that Li Qi truly could become the will of Heaven.

Moreover, there is a saying in Daoism that describes this.

Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs. Empty yet unyielding, moving yet ever-emerging. Many words lead to exhaustion; it is better to guard the center.

Better to guard the center.

When Li Qi began to try and simulate the will of Heaven, his level of thought would naturally rise to that of the will of Heaven.

But for Mortals, this way of thinking is somewhat too cruel.

However... this is Li Qi.

Shen Shuibi's influence, some Daoist thoughts from within him, plus his own Shaman nature—these ideals shaped him. The more he understood, the more he could comprehend the importance of this indifferent attitude.

Sentient beings, before truly understanding their own Dao, cannot achieve true happiness, so forcibly imposing happiness upon them is, on the contrary, a form of coercion.

Facing Ling Xiao's question, Li Qi smiled: "The things I want, you cannot give me."

"However, I can piece them together little by little myself."

Ling Xiao sighed deeply upon hearing this: "So... Senior, you wish to piece together something magnificent that even we have never imagined, through our performance?"

"You're quite poetic, but yes, it's roughly like that. I will find the answers I seek from you... at least fragments of the answers," Li Qi smiled.

"I understand, so... can I continue to paint for Senior?" Ling Xiao asked at this point.

"Of course, it was my commission to you in the first place, so I'll trouble you with it," Li Qi nodded slightly.

The conversation with Ling Xiao ended, and silence once again fell between them. Li Qi continued with his own affairs.

Eight hours later.

The banquet commenced as scheduled. As for the location, it was in the wilderness outside the city, near a mining area, smoky and with a rather poor environment.

Ling Xiao led over three thousand people, lined up in order, each displaying their own methods to arrive at this desolate wilderness in the most splendid and dazzling manner.

Some rode mounts, gigantic Spirit Beasts wagging their tails, their snorts shaking the heavens.

Some arrived by sedan chair, their carriages accompanied by clouds of servants, everyone holding an invitation as if they were free.

Some arrived in groups, adorned with Spiritual Artifacts, sparkling with jewels.

But when they arrived, their expressions were somewhat stiff.

What's going on?

This wilderness had nothing but rocks.

"It seems everyone has arrived. The banquet has been prepared, so please take your seats," Li Qi said, stepping out at this moment.

All eyes instantly turned to Li Qi as he emerged.

It was this person's invitation, a Heaven-Penetrating Realm's invitation, that had caused a series of incidents.

Ultimately, everything, all the brutal infighting among those holding invitations, was for the sake of personally meeting the other party, hoping to pry loose even a tiny bit from him.

Many had already rehearsed hundreds of times in their minds, preparing all sorts of arguments.

They were just waiting to meet this Heaven-Penetrating Realm, so they could rush forward and impress him.

However, many had planned well and thought things through, but the moment they truly saw Li Qi, they all stopped in their tracks.

Pressure.

Although the other party hadn't used any spells, nor shown any hostility, and had even deliberately restrained his aura, a terrifying sense of pressure still washed over them.

Just feeling the pressure from the Heaven-Penetrating Realm, they cowered. This was a pure suppression of status. Facing him was like facing a monster ready to strike.

So they all stopped, no matter how many times they had rehearsed in their minds, at this moment they only felt... dared not advance.

But not everyone was like this.

At this moment, the City Lord stepped forward, calmly cupped his hands in greeting to Li Qi, and said, "This humble one, Ling Hezhao, City Lord of Shuiling City, greets Senior. It has been many days since we last met; is Senior well?"

"I'm well. I quite like the person you arranged," Li Qi smiled: "It seems everyone has arrived."

"Yes, a total of three thousand people, not one more, not one less, all have arrived. It's just... where is the banquet venue?" asked City Lord Ling Hezhao.

"Right beneath your feet," Li Qi said.

With that, Li Qi took a step forward.

In an instant, a world unfolded.

The scenery of this world was blocked out, and a brand new world forcefully inserted itself, replacing the view before their eyes!

In an instant, everyone suddenly found themselves in a bamboo forest.

Clear and verdant, like the misty dreams of Kuaiji, with ten thousand acres of bamboo, the wind sweeping for a thousand li across the wilderness, fresh green covering the mountains. Rising to look, their eyes were filled with misty emerald.

Amidst their astonishment, many stood up, walking, running, and jumping, feeling only the mountain light caressing them, the frosty courtyards and moonlit railings rustling with sound. Where did their spirits wander, but among the green clusters?

The orchid wind was gentle, the orioles sang sweetly. Everyone seemed to startle and turn back, fearing the beautiful dream would not continue.

Everything before them was too dreamlike, making them feel as if they were in a dream or an illusion.

Although the scenery was beautiful and fantastical, it wasn't enough to shock them. What truly shocked them was the terrifying foundation within these bamboos, mountains, and even the very earth.

Such pure Qi, of extremely high quality, and very easy to digest! If one were to cultivate here for a year, it would far surpass ten years of cultivation outside!

Looking not far away, Li Qi had specially erected twenty divine mountains.

The divine mountains were ten thousand zhang high, with Dao resonance echoing within them. Seeing the mountains and waters condensed in beauty, the spiritual realm superior, Heaven bestowed rare treasures. Amidst the resounding Dao resonance, light dust and flying snow appeared in the air, like scattered immortal flowers falling.

This must be an illusion, right?

What kind of feat is this?

Everyone saw it; on those twenty divine mountains, there were twenty distinct Heaven-Penetrating Realm auras!

In other words, twenty or more Heaven-Penetrating Realm experts, or corresponding Spiritual Artifacts!

This—

This must be fake!!

Everyone unleashed their methods, trying to distinguish between reality and illusion.

They used all their techniques, casting various spells and Divine Abilities, but soon, they discovered...

It was real.

It was indeed real.

Some had even prostrated themselves on the ground, drawing in the earth's Qi for cultivation, and found that it truly worked.

Which means...

It's real. Both the extremely pure Qi in the surroundings and the twenty divine mountains not far away are real.

And, it truly was real.

The twenty divine mountains were formed from the twenty-odd Heaven-Penetrating Realm experts Li Qi had consumed, and there was also one from a Sword Monarch whose Martial Dao Divine Intent Li Qi truly couldn't learn, so he could only let it dissipate.

But for the others, Li Qi had indeed preserved a portion of them. Although they couldn't be used, they could serve as trophies, to be used for people to comprehend auras and such.

For Li Qi, comprehending these was meaningless, but for those of the Sixth and Seventh Ranks, comprehending the aura of a Fifth Rank was an immense Opportunity!

Everyone, including Ling Xiao, found their breathing growing heavy.

They hadn't expected that this banquet would actually present such gifts!

Yes, they immediately concluded that this Senior before them would not act without purpose.