Chapter 696: Choose a path

In the Void Realm, master and disciple sat facing each other, drifting randomly through the Universe like a meteor in Brownian motion, at an extremely fast speed.

But motion is relative. In a place like the Void Realm, no matter how you drift, you will feel as if you are not moving from your original position, as there are no reference points for you to compare your speed.

As long as two people are in a state of relative stillness, then it doesn't matter how they fly in Outer Void; they will always feel as if they are still.

It's like two people drinking milk tea face to face and talking on Earth—who would realize that Earth and they themselves are rotating around the Milky Way in the Universe at a speed of over two hundred kilometers per second?

"How was it? What did you gain?" Zhu Fengdan asked Li Qi.

"Thank you, Teacher, it wasn't bad... but it was a bit of a torment," Li Qi sighed helplessly.

Even with Li Qi's mental fortitude, he was almost driven mad by the torment; even now, he hasn't fully recovered. With so many hundreds of millions of regressions, most of Li Qi's life was spent in the Immortal Heaven.

Yes, compared to the length of his life, this period in the Immortal Heaven was already much longer than his entire life before.

"You see, I told you before I came that it would be very painful if you didn't erase your memories. You insisted on not listening. Do you still have a chance to change your mind now? Do you want me to help you erase these memories?" Zhu Fengdan smiled.

Li Qi shook his head decisively: "The bitterness has already been tasted. Erasing it now would merely be self-deception. I'll keep them."

"Good, then keep them. By the way, do you want to cultivate more, or return? I see you are very close to Fourth Rank. Do you want to try the unique time-space? I can arrange a distorted time-space for you, and you can cultivate there until you are ready to come out," Zhu Fengdan asked.

"I'm afraid not. If I'm left alone to ponder, it will be difficult to make further Breakthroughs. External influences and the stimulation of Dao from the real world are necessary," Li Qi thought for a moment and shook his head.

For instance, to truly Break through the Heavenly Dao's speed limit, he must constantly contemplate the Heavenly Dao's limit. Distorted time-space would obviously alter this, creating subtle influences.

This is also one of the reasons why people generally don't use distorted time-space for cultivation; it's quite useless and can affect one's perception of the world. Distorted time-space doesn't just add time; it also adds many interfering factors. Only cultivators of Eighth Rank and below are almost unaffected.

But for Eighth Rank and below… frankly, you don't need to use such a thing; it's impractical from the start.

"Just try it. It's not to experience the Heavenly Dao's limit, but to experience different distorted time-spaces. You know, don't you? Unique time-space, gravitationally distorted time-space, even the strange time-space within the Return to Nothingness, as well as regression, and the time-space within the Immortal Heaven—although they can all distort time, their essences are different. But these are all part of 'reality.' Experiencing them and letting them settle will benefit you," Zhu Fengdan said.

Li Qi looked at Zhu Fengdan... how should he put it? His Teacher seemed very eager to sell him on the unique time-space?

"Did... the Shaman God say something?" Li Qi suddenly asked.

He knew Zhu Fengdan's character very well. If there was nothing going on, he would have definitely run off and wouldn't have said so much to Li Qi. He was the kind of Parent who would give Li Qi fifty yuan for lunch and then go play mahjong all day.

It could only be said that it was fortunate Li Qi was self-reliant.

Therefore, Li Qi believed that Zhu Fengdan's recommendation was most likely not his own choice, but rather something the Shaman God had said.

Zhu Fengdan didn't hide it, merely smiling: "Yes, the Shaman God said that you might be more suited to a distorted time-space environment than ordinary people. I think the reason might be that you are better at 'seeking within'."

Seeking within means taking everything upon oneself and finding answers through one's own deliberation. Therefore, Li Qi might gain some benefits in a distorted time-space.

"Since the Shaman God has said so..." Li Qi hesitated, wanting to say something.

But Zhu Fengdan interrupted him: "Stop, don't say 'the Shaman God has said so.' This decision must be yours. I'm just telling you about this possibility. Don't let the Shaman God's influence change your decision."

Zhu Fengdan stared intently at Li Qi, wanting to see his choice.

"I think... I can do it, because I believe that what I lack to reach Fourth Rank is merely the accumulation of time. My comprehension is sufficient, and I believe I am correct," Li Qi pondered for a moment and said.

'I believe I am correct'—this sentence meant that Li Qi believed he no longer needed external assistance on the path to breaking through to Fourth Rank. The part that required external help to provide ideas, he had already completed.

This was actually quite demanding, because walking on the Dao path was like walking on a dark continent.

You simply cannot see what lies ahead. Is it a pit, or a cliff? A broken road? Or a detour? Before truly walking it, the cultivator himself does not know.

To see through the darkness ahead, one must carry a lamp. The name of this lamp is 'thought,' and the oil required for the lamp to burn is 'knowledge.'

Using knowledge as fuel, burning in the fire of thought, one can lift the terrifying veil of the dark continent and barely make out what the path ahead truly is.

Countless cultivators, each carrying their own lamp, some large, some small, explore the dark continent. If they are fellow Daoists, walking the same path, the lamps of teachers and others can help illuminate a bit more, or you can help them too.

However, the lamp can only illuminate that tiny bit in front.

No one dares to claim they can see the entire dark continent.

Everyone has the potential to make a single wrong step.

Therefore, few people would choose to cultivate within distorted time, as that would be equivalent to cutting off the source of lamp oil, forcing one to rely on stored oil to move slowly. Although one might move faster, if a wrong step is taken and one falls, there's no way to go back.

So, when Li Qi said, 'I believe I am correct,' he was saying that his lamp oil was sufficient, that he had already seen where Fourth Rank was, and that he was absolutely not mistaken. He could now run at full stride without worry until he reached Fourth Rank, and he wouldn't need to adjust his path.

This declaration made Zhu Fengdan stare at him for a moment longer.

Then, Zhu Fengdan burst into laughter.

The youthful spirit he hadn't cultivated before Ninth Rank, unexpectedly, he was now suddenly displaying it.

This spirit, coupled with sufficient confidence, was a momentum that would soar straight up.

Of course, it was also possible to fall due to overconfidence, which was common. After all, who could guarantee they were always right?

But such spirit was already enough to make Zhu Fengdan happy.

Indeed, some things cannot be forced, while others appear unknowingly.

Seeking something far and wide, only to find it effortlessly.

Thus, Zhu Fengdan said nothing more, merely waving his hand.

Around Li Qi, a sudden enclosure.

Time expanded.

Now, for Li Qi, external time had stopped; for the outside world, Li Qi's time had also stopped.

They were in a state where they could neither interfere with nor communicate with each other.

Such a unique time-space could even tear apart a typical Fifth Rank, completely destroying his sense of time, making him unable to distinguish between present, past, and future.

But for Li Qi, this was already something he could easily bear.

He simply watched himself being enclosed, locked within the time expansion.

Li Qi exhaled deeply.

Well then, let's begin.

He closed his eyes and began to construct his own 'Dao' using the answers he had obtained. Then, through this 'Dao,' and utilizing Shaman Dao's ability to create something from nothing, he would generate substance to cooperate with it, truly achieving the characteristics of Fourth Rank.

That is: breaking through the limitations of other Great Dao. The Heavenly Dao's limit is the Heavenly Dao's limit, not my limit. My limit is only my own Dao.

This process was bound to be bumpy. Li Qi's thoughts were still very disorganized; he needed to gradually organize his knowledge into a coherent structure, build the framework, and then fill in the content.

This was constructing his own Dao, one that could replace the Dao of this world, and he could not be careless in the slightest.

From now on, any loophole or paradox generated by what he constructed would become his weakness in the future.

He had already deciphered the Universe's formula; now he needed to create his own formula. This formula must be able to describe all things and explain the reasons for the existence of everything.

This was the true formula of all things, at least Li Qi's formula of all things, capable of explaining everything Li Qi knew.

If this formula could operate, then he could advance to Fourth Rank.

If an error occurred, such as adding a 'cosmological constant' to make the formula valid, it would cause cracks in the Dao path.

If a paradox appeared, it would later become a weakness for others to exploit—a flaw in the entire Dao path.

If the paradox was so great that the formula could not be established, then the promotion would fail, and you would need to continue working hard.

Describing the formula of all things in the entire Universe, a Grand Unified Theory that can explain all conventional phenomena—this is what Li Qi had to do.

Only this level of 'Dao' could create something from nothing, producing a parallel world similar to reality, and using this as a foundation, gradually establish itself at a Rank 'equivalent to the real world.'

When one truly reached the point where one's self was equivalent to the real world, that would be Third Rank.

As for Second Rank and First Grade, Li Qi could not yet comprehend them, but he already possessed some Third Rank characteristics. Manipulating Karma and determining reality were both features of Third Rank, so he could now begin to understand Third Rank.

All the knowledge Li Qi had read in the past, everything he had witnessed, his thoughts, experiences, abilities—everything would at this moment coalesce into one, summarized by him into a 'Dao' unique to him.

This 'Dao' could describe all things in the world and summarize and explain everything that could be observed.

He had to do it; if he couldn't, he wouldn't be able to advance.

Fortunately... he had time, and a chance to change his mind.

This wasn't just one chance; he could retry many, many times over a long period.

It's just that some things... can't be achieved by simply redoing them.

It's like a math problem that you need to solve.

You might not understand the problem at all, but that's relatively good; if you can't solve it, you can't solve it. You can only study and improve yourself, then come back to it later.

If your skill level is barely enough, you might solve it incorrectly, which is the worst outcome, because it will leave a permanent flaw.

Of course, the best outcome is that your skill level is sufficient, and you solve it smoothly.

But the question is... do you truly know if you are right or wrong?

Right or wrong, perhaps only the future can explain it.

But leaving those aside for now, Li Qi completely cast away these distracting thoughts and began to seriously immerse himself in his own world, utilizing the abundant time provided by the distorted time.

A truly 'own world,' a new world existing independently and parallel to the real world.

This was especially difficult for Li Qi.

Because he was a patchwork monster.

Although the Dao Orthodoxy of Shaman itself could accommodate many miscellaneous Qi, coupled with the Daoist sect's conjecture of the Ultimate Great Dao, and those monks who integrated Buddhism and the Demonic Dao, using subjective cognition to eliminate discriminatory thoughts, allowed him to unify and wield these Great Dao, ultimately, these Dao Orthodoxy were still in conflict.

Fundamentally, these Dao Orthodoxy had distinctions; the worlds they constructed were naturally in conflict.

It's like... one world is materialism, and another is idealism.

In a materialistic world, matter is primary; matter determines consciousness.

In an idealistic world, consciousness is primary; consciousness determines matter.

Regardless of whether they were objective idealists or something else, they were ultimately in conflict regarding the attribution of primacy.

This was the Dao conflict, an irreconcilable conflict, a dispute over the fundamental nature of the world—a war that absolutely could not be conceded.

To construct a world, one must necessarily determine what the primary nature is, and clearly, the Daoist sect and the Demonic Dao had such a difference.

The Daoist sect naturally acknowledged the existence of the 'Ultimate Great Dao,' believing that 'something existed in a chaotic state,' that this world naturally existed, and that cultivators merely sought to understand this world, ultimately reaching the Realm of 'freedom and ease.'

But the Demonic Dao did not think so. The Demonic Dao denied the existence of the Ultimate Great Dao. In the eyes of the Demonic Dao, the material world and subjective cognition could go their separate ways.

The Spirit Dao was actually like this, except the Spirit Dao believed there was no 'subjective cognition,' but rather another primary cognition, a primary consciousness. To understand this primary consciousness was to understand everything.

Li Qi had to reconcile this difference; he had to define his own 'primacy,' that is, how he believed he ultimately existed.

This was the keynote of everything.

He had to determine this before he could proceed.

But if he determined this... the Dao conflict would immediately erupt. All of Li Qi's cognitions within him, all the knowledge he had accumulated, would explode at this moment.

The moment to resolve all Dao conflicts had arrived. Li Qi could no longer straddle multiple boats.

He had to clarify, how was this world ultimately composed? (End of this chapter)