Chapter 693: Accurate

In the Void Realm outside the Immortal Heaven, Shamansan and Zhu Fengdan were observing the battle.

At this moment, Li Qi and Zhang Zong’s Physical Bodies had just collapsed, and they instantly fell into a life-or-death crisis.

“Alas, it’s a pity I can’t go in and warn them,” Zhu Fengdan sighed.

“You’ve already done quite well. To attract other combat powers in this way, you’re truly creative. You’ve put in a lot of effort for your disciple,” Shamansan chuckled.

“...Shaman God, aren’t you afraid he’ll lose? If he loses, the Immortal Heaven will side with humanity,” Zhu Fengdan looked at Shamansan.

“Your Master isn’t worried, so what are you worried about? Since I’ve entrusted everything to you, you must be confident. We all believe in you, just as you believe in your disciple. Even I have nothing to criticize about choosing him for the Immortal Heaven. Although he might not be the best choice, he is definitely one of the best choices,” Shamansan’s tone was steady, inspiring an involuntary sense of trust, as if listening to him speak could calm one down.

Conversely, he also placed corresponding trust in Zhu Fengdan’s choice, even when Zhu Fengdan himself began to doubt himself slightly.

As a high-ranking Official, Zhu Fengdan knew about the Immortal Heaven' matter from the very beginning.

This matter was an important task passed down by his Master, another Shaman God, directly assigned to Zhu Fengdan for handling.

Zhu Fengdan then began a flurry of arrangements. He communicated with the Immortal Heaven through a Grand Ritual, persuading the Immortal Heaven to accept a Dao Resonance observation, promising to show them a concrete comparison between the human Dao and Shaman Dao.

Then he went to the Daoist sect, and with the help of Empress Luofu’s connections and intelligence, he contacted that ‘Celestial Master’ and obtained permission to mobilize the Little Celestial Master.

Otherwise, if he were to cause trouble for the Little Celestial Master, the other party would probably appear directly behind Zhu Fengdan.

This series of endeavors was incredibly complex, involving various relationships, numerous difficulties, and finding ways to circumvent humanity. He even had to debate against many in front of the Celestial Master and persuade Empress Luofu, among others.

But fortunately, the results were generally good, achieving the basic objectives, though it required a considerable amount of effort.

However, there were also areas where he lost, for example… this battle was something Zhu Fengdan had long anticipated, but Zhu Fengdan mistook the proxy. He expended great effort to intercept the envoy from humanity heading to the Immortal Heaven. You see, the envoy from humanity never even reached the Immortal Heaven.

Zhu Fengdan was tricked. His initial killing of that Third Grade was itself a conspiracy. The Third Grade within Li Qi’s body was precisely for this very day.

Zhu Fengdan prevented humanity’s Fifth Grade envoy from coming, hoping to let Li Qi win without a fight. But for insurance, he also arranged the Little Celestial Master as a substitute. However, humanity also had a backup plan: they never intended for the Fifth Grade to come, but rather sacrificed a Third Grade in advance as a setup, with the Fifth Grade envoy merely a decoy.

The layers of arrangements behind both sides were all aimed at securing the Immortal Heaven.

However, now that the preliminary matters were all completed, the pressure had shifted to Li Qi. He worried that Li Qi couldn't bear it, so he used the method of substitution, allowing the Little Celestial Master to overlap with him.

Now it seemed these methods had taken effect, but… sure enough, such an opponent was still too difficult for young people.

Li Qi and Zhang Zong’s Physical Bodies collapsed without them even realizing it, but in fact, it had all happened long ago. That Utmost Person, upon realizing there were two enemies, began to induce their self-destruction. Their repeated tactics and transformations were all aimed at disrupting the Karma connection between them.

To the two of them, they were completely unaware of this destruction, just as they were unaware that the crisis they were in was far more than one. The current Physical Body collapse was merely the backlash from their divided souls manipulating their bodies.

That Utmost Person wove an entire set of traps, and Zhu Fengdan could only watch as Li Qi and Zhang Zong unknowingly stepped towards them.

They’ve already stepped into the first pit; how many more can they endure?

“Alas,” Zhu Fengdan shook his head again, watching the young people fall into traps and being unable to warn them. It was truly…

“No need to worry. Li Qi is a very excellent child, and Zhang Zong is no worse than him. In comparison, that Minister of Punishment has had his Dao path severed. Third Grade is his limit, far from the upper limit of those two,” Shamansan said.

“Shaman God, do you think they can win?” Zhu Fengdan looked at Shamansan.

“I didn’t say such a thing,” Shamansan said with a slight smile.

Zhu Fengdan stopped asking and looked towards the Immortal Heaven, which was observing the battle intently.

The savage beast, born of the Dao, possessed extraordinary wisdom and power, but had no desire to pursue the Dao. It was merely a Puppet of the great Dao from which it was born, just like all savage beasts, vastly inferior to Haotian, The Supreme God of Heaven, the Lord of the Divine Heavenly Court.

But undeniably, this savage beast was extremely powerful, a formidable aid. Beast-fighting was the easiest way to attract the other party’s attention, and this opportunity… could also bring Li Qi many benefits.

Provided he could survive.

It was difficult. These traps were still too tricky for the two who were previously Fifth Grade. Although that Utmost Person’s Dao path had been severed, he was still a genuine Third Grade, not diluted in the slightest.

Even in Tang Nation, he would be a person of First Grade Officials.

Go for it, disciple.

——————

In the center of the battlefield, Li Qi and the Little Celestial Master were conversing urgently.

Their thoughts flashed rapidly, exchanging and processing a vast amount of information in an extremely short time.

Most of this information consisted of battlefield intelligence and specific analysis data. Every second, several library-level data packages were sent to the other party, who processed them within a few seconds. Through this communication method, the two worked together seamlessly to handle truly terrifying pressure.

However, amidst this exchange of information, a few lines of dialogue would occasionally be interspersed.

The Little Celestial Master angrily said, “Hey! What’s going on! Why are you injured again? Haven’t you figured out the source of the injury yet? Aren’t your eyes very sharp?”

Li Qi quickly replied, “If I can’t see it, I can’t see it. Don’t complain. It’s not like you can see it either. Heal first, prepare the Grand Ritual, and try to observe the disturbance with the Grand Ritual.”

The Little Celestial Master wondered, “Can sacrifice observe disturbance? How?”

Li Qi said, “Set up a 禘祭 (Di Ji) that is easy to fail, super easy to be disturbed. If it fails, you’ll know where the problem is, and then focus on checking there.”

The Little Celestial Master immediately rejected the proposal: “Unrealistic. I can’t spare the effort. If we divert our attention to setting up a large number of these sacrifices, then it will be impossible to focus on checking.”

Amidst their words, another fierce exchange took place. The Little Celestial Master felt physically and mentally exhausted, while the Utmost Person on the other side maintained his usual calm expression.

The power of the lightning spell hadn’t changed, but the opponent was becoming increasingly skilled at dealing with it.

Not only were Li Qi and Zhang Zong making progress, but this Utmost Person also hadn’t stopped moving forward.

It’s as if everyone isn’t a Genius. Can someone who can advance to Third Grade have poor talent?

His output was stable, his performance consistent. He had no special moves, no strange bursts of power, just calm, natural, and steady attacks.

Thus, victory continuously drew closer to him.

Like a road roller, it advanced steadily and calmly, flattening everything in its path. Li Qi and Zhang Zong were now standing in front of this road roller, trying to make it stop.

“We have to do this, otherwise we’ll just die a slow death,” Li Qi said.

The Little Celestial Master gritted his teeth: “Alright, then I’ll buy you fifteen seconds, fifteen seconds at most.”

“That’s enough,” Li Qi replied.

Having reached a consensus, in the next instant, the Little Celestial Master’s protective lightning spell suddenly reversed, combining with his offensive moves, completely abandoning defense and erupting with double the power!

This power couldn’t be sustained, so that Utmost Person decisively retreated, avoiding its sharp edge.

Once this period passed, the Little Celestial Master would naturally enter a period of defensive slackness. At that time, he could seize the opportunity to once again shatter the opponent’s Physical Body.

“Oh? 禘祭 (Di Ji)? Interesting,” the Utmost Person chuckled, immediately discerning Li Qi and the others’ intentions.

The character ‘禘’ in 禘祭 (Di Ji) means both ‘heaven’ and ‘ancestor’. The object of this sacrifice is the earliest ancestor, or Haotian, The Supreme God of Heaven.

It now appears to be a sacrifice to Haotian.

Sacrificing to Haotian is extremely easy to interrupt. It’s a very precise sacrificial method. Choosing this method either means hoping for strength bestowed by Haotian, as Haotian has indeed done so before.

But that’s a small probability event, so they shouldn’t be gambling on it. Therefore, they must want to use the characteristic of ‘easy to be interfered with’ to investigate what caused their collapse.

Tsk, they still don’t understand that everything originates from within them. He actually did nothing; he just acted normally.

It hasn’t even reached the point of using trump cards yet.

The former Third Grade and the two who were just Fifth Grade, even with one rising and one falling, are both Fourth Grade now, but the gap is still too large.

He leisurely retreated, giving Li Qi fifteen seconds of space.

It doesn’t matter. What can happen after fifteen seconds? It will only cause the one using the lightning spell to fall into a weakened state, and then they will futilely discover that they saw nothing, because the ‘dirty trick’ they imagined simply doesn’t exist. These sacrifices won’t uncover anything useful.

As for Haotian personally responding? Don’t even think about it.

Sure enough, fifteen seconds later, Li Qi’s sacrifice was already set up.

The sacrifice proceeded as scheduled.

Very good, as expected… Haotian did not respond. After all, that is a First Grade great deity, the ancestor of all ‘heavens’, the Heavenly Emperor of the Divine Heavenly Court. If he responded to everyone who called him, then—

Just as he was thinking this, the Utmost Person’s pupils suddenly dilated.

From above the sky, a single word came: “Granted.”

Granted!

This was a kind of approval, a kind of permission, allowing someone to perform a certain task in a certain place, indicating that this task and action had received Haotian’s nod of approval!

Why? Why would Haotian personally respond to these two people!?

Moreover, what was Haotian granting permission for?

What exactly were they sacrificing and requesting from Haotian? It shouldn’t be related to the battle itself, otherwise it would surely be intercepted by the Immortal Heaven.

The Utmost Person’s heart instantly tightened. Things were a bit unexpected.

At the same time, in the Void Realm outside, Shamansan suddenly burst into laughter. The old man threw his head back and laughed heartily, then looked at Zhu Fengdan: “You little rascal, you’re truly cunning! You even managed to see Haotian with this?”

“Alas, I can’t take a beating for nothing,” Zhu Fengdan touched his face.

That really hurt.

A Third Grade acting wouldn’t be without purpose… Well, that sentence can’t be said like that for now, because Zhu Fengdan indeed did many things without purpose, purely on a whim, but it’s clear that he is still very reliable on major matters.

Just like this moment.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yao Ji, who had been captured by Shamansan and removed from the battlefield, couldn’t help but look up at the sky, then at Zhu Fengdan.

It seemed that the beating she received was this great Shaman ‘knocking on the door’.

So be it.

That Mortal, Li Qi, should have already seen her Dao Resonance, at that time… did he already make a decision in his heart?

These Mortals… they have so many tricks up their sleeves.

But, if the other party truly understood her Dao Resonance, then the permission he wanted, could it be—?

As Yao Ji was pondering, in the center of the battlefield, Li Qi let out a long sigh of relief.

He had been truly nervous earlier, because he had even kept it from the Little Celestial Master, precisely fearing that the other party might have the ability to pry into their conversation. But unexpectedly, the Little Celestial Master actually managed to buy him fifteen seconds. For these fifteen seconds, for some unknown reason, the opponent didn’t attack, but instead honestly chose to avoid them.

Thus, the sacrifice succeeded.

Li Qi quickly deduced two conclusions.

If you say the opponent couldn’t see the reconnaissance purpose of the 禘祭 (Di Ji), Li Qi would absolutely not believe it; that would be deceiving himself. The insight of a Third Grade is absolutely trustworthy.

So, that means he wasn’t afraid of his reconnaissance. The frequent Physical Body collapses that occurred before… weren’t necessarily caused by the opponent; it was very likely an internal issue with the body.

However, the good news was that because the opponent felt it didn’t matter, Li Qi’s second layer of plotting yielded results. He pulled a fast one, successfully communicating with Haotian.

When communicating with Haotian, Li Qi’s sacrificial text read as follows:

“Reverently to Haotian, The Supreme God of Heaven, I humbly present, using the musical rhythms of the Shaman God, to express the divine wisdom of the Utmost Person. We two, each having cultivated and purified ourselves, have rushed forth, one after the other. Though we lack fat and plump sacrificial animals, and our jade and silk offerings are not perfectly exquisite, yet in this time of great difficulty, our implements are simple and elegant, our wine and pure offerings fragrant, and our music and dance performed fully. Both the imperial heart and the external form are complete. The times are not propitious, heaven and earth are at odds, and the Grand Bell does not resonate. Therefore, we sacrifice to the Imperial Spirit, to pray for blessings and auspiciousness. May the Utmost Person accept our offerings and graciously listen to our humble petition.”

This passage was an opening statement, essentially explaining that the current situation was dire, but they still managed to put together a 禘祭 (Di Ji) for the venerable elder. He asked him to accept it as it was, as the matter was truly urgent. He assumed Haotian probably already knew about it and could ponder on it himself. Oh, and the rules and music for the sacrifice were directly stolen from what the Shaman God wrote, so if there were any mistakes or shortcomings, he shouldn’t be blamed, as he didn’t understand them either.

None of that was the main point. The main point was the following words.

“Humanity is in chaos, governance is lawless, military and common folk are rampant, and all realms resent it. It is said that only virtue moves heaven, and only sincerity touches the gods. What is sincere within will surely manifest externally, and cannot be concealed. When Haotian descends, he sees the Qi of resentment, twisted into conflict and slaughter, and stirred into disasters and calamities. What is effective below, responds to Heaven above. Whose fault is this, alas?”

“They boast of their tyrannical heroism, widely spreading enmity, plundering and killing in various regions, and frequently engaging in conflict, filling the fields with corpses. For a hundred years, they have harmed the harmony of heaven and earth, with dead bodies and flowing blood, bones forming mountains. The pain of their cruelty, the cries of the innocent, the extermination of all living beings, the disasters of all realms, may not be unrelated to this. They repeatedly rely on their power to invade and usurp, and the people dare not defy them, thus they speak of it as a great harm.”

“The rampancy of humanity has reached such a point. Is it the Utmost Person who has allowed it to be so? If the laws are not rectified soon, I fear that humanity and those who spread this word will breed contempt in their hearts. Not to deal with it in time is a great fault.”

When he said this, Li Qi was somewhat apprehensive, but he still said it.