Chapter 719: Seal

The moment the Demonic Qi rose, Li Qi immediately realized that this was not the answer he wanted.

However… when an answer emerged, only another answer could suppress it.

It was like an equation, where an incredible answer was derived, like an imaginary number appearing in the Realm of real numbers, or an irrational number when calculating the side length of a triangle.

No matter how unbelievable it was, it was still an answer. You could throw the person who calculated it into the Aegean Sea, or tie them to a stake and burn them… but the answer had already appeared.

Only another answer could defeat an answer.

Li Qi couldn't find a second answer, at least not for now.

So, he could only collapse onto the ground, the Demonic Qi growing more and more intense. This answer… was too close to the Demonic Dao.

He couldn't understand others, and others couldn't understand him. Therefore, alienation from this world was natural, because it wasn't alienation; it was just following the natural course of things.

With a long sigh, the Demonic Qi on Li Qi's body naturally dissipated.

What good luck!

This intense Demonic Qi failed to break through Li Qi's Seal!

It was important to know that Li Qi's cultivation was still Sealed, which temporarily suppressed the Breakthrough brought by the Demonic Qi.

It was truly good luck. If he hadn't Sealed his cultivation in advance, and if he had immediately used a strong Seal, then he would have inevitably leaned towards the Demonic Dao. But thankfully… there was still a chance to remedy it now.

Before the Seal was lifted, he still had a chance to find other answers to compensate.

“This is going to be difficult now…” Li Qi checked his current state, a bitter smile on his face.

He didn't feel sad for Mo Long, because at this moment, Li Qi was unable to empathize with others. To him, the lives and deaths of these Mortals were merely fleeting clouds.

His bitter smile was because he seemed to have fallen into some kind of predicament.

Without the Seal, his cultivation would have leaned towards the Demonic Dao. This was the effect of his understanding on him, independent of his subjective will. Unless he found another answer, he would have to face this one.

However, with the Seal now, it temporarily stalled him here. His cultivation hadn't changed, but if the Seal was lifted, this transformation would continue.

But it also gave him a breathing room. As long as he could find other answers during the Seal period, using an answer to counter an answer, he might still be able to suppress this transformation after the Seal was lifted.

But before that, he had to maintain the Sealed state. If he was killed, and the Seal automatically lifted…

Although he wouldn't die, that kind of change was not what Li Qi desired.

“Sigh.” Li Qi let out a sigh.

From the divergence between Mo Long and himself, Li Qi perceived the inability of humans to understand each other, that incommunicability. Even a Fourth Grade could not fully understand an unranked individual.

After half a year of interaction with Mo Long, Li Qi realized this. Mo Long thought he understood Li Qi well, but when Li Qi told him, “You are all pretty much the same,” he realized… he didn't understand Li Qi at all.

At the same time, Li Qi also discovered that he didn't understand Mo Long either. He seemed to have understood, to be able to comprehend this person, but Mo Long's eventual death still proved one thing: Li Qi didn't know what Mo Long wanted to live for.

Li Qi could even read minds, but he now deeply understood that mind-reading might not necessarily mean understanding a person. During his mind-reading at the time, Li Qi hadn't detected that Mo Long would rush forward.

“The Dao is external. I have already come a long way, but the predicament I now face should be about the Dao being internal, which I haven’t properly contemplated…” Li Qi sat in place, thinking this.

Indeed, regarding the interpretation of this world and the operation of the Dao in the objective world, Li Qi possessed extraordinary talent. With the wisdom of his predecessors, he had gradually explored until now, achieving some success, reaching the Fourth Grade, and being able to autonomously perform some ‘creations’.

To those below the Fourth Grade, Li Qi was already like a creator, capable of creating world after world, and these worlds could be measured in ‘billions of light-years’.

To some who viewed their own worlds as ‘Universes’, Li Qi was someone who could create Universe after Universe.

However, he had come so far in this direction, yet he had overlooked another path he encountered at the beginning of his cultivation.

The Dao is within the body…

You can explain physical phenomena, but you can't explain higher intelligence.

What is higher intelligence?

Can it be clearly articulated?

When Li Qi asked himself, he could only fall silent.

Even if he could interpret a world, he couldn't interpret what true ‘higher intelligence’ was.

“Although the answer isn’t the one I wanted, it’s at least a line of thought. My current situation is that I’m too focused on the external Dao and have neglected the internal Dao, which naturally leads to a sense of detachment. A cultivator… doesn’t just live for the external Dao.” Li Qi muttered to himself.

If cultivators only cultivate for the external Great Dao, then wouldn't cultivators become ‘Savage Beasts’?

Those wild beasts that live by the Dao, their every action is completely equivalent to the Dao; they are entirely ‘the Dao is external’.

So, Li Qi at this moment was moving closer to those Savage Beasts that lived by the Dao. He was becoming more and more indifferent, moving more and more towards the direction of a ‘God’.

Because ‘Gods’ are the original, most typical Savage Beasts, pure Incarnations of the Dao.

Look at Yao Ji; Li Qi disliked Yao Ji so much, but now his attitude towards Mortals was moving closer to Yao Ji's.

Without joy or sorrow, without love or hate.

Even Mo Long's death didn't cause Li Qi any ripple; it merely made him aware of his current state.

But then again… with the Dao within, one must ultimately question the heart. However, the heart, a thing whose origin and end are unknown, how can it be answered?

What is higher intelligence?

Ultimately, Li Qi suddenly realized something strange at this point…

That is, in this material world, spirit suddenly emerged.

And spirit, in turn, can influence the material world, and even create the material world, just like Li Qi is doing now.

This is simply like lifting oneself into the air by stepping on one's own feet.

A First Grade world gives birth to multiple First Grades, and then these multiple First Grades each create a new First Grade world, which then gives birth to multiple First Grades again.

If this cycle continues, wouldn't there be infinite worlds and infinite First Grades?

But Li Qi knew that this was not the case.

First Grades are not infinite, and… First Grades also need to cultivate this world, allowing more intelligence to be born, even needing to create different environments and utilize nature to give birth to more higher intelligence.

Previously, Li Qi's conjectures included: “Countless people, exerting their cleverness and wisdom, using their lives, their entire wisdom and inspiration as higher intelligent beings, to help them glimpse future possibilities.” (See Chapter 633)

It can be seen that, for high-grade existences, higher intelligence is still not something that can be manipulated at will.

So, can Li Qi infer something? That is, despite the difference in cultivation, in terms of the essence of intelligence, there is no qualitative difference between a First Grade and a Ninth Grade?

Or, this question can be rephrased: “When we talk about higher intelligence, what exactly are we talking about?”

For example, Li Qi could very easily sense that a person was ‘hungry’.

He could detect this from many aspects: the other party's empty stomach, their superficial thoughts, hormone secretion, their shriveled body from hunger, and many other ‘clues’ all indicated that the other party was hungry.

But did Li Qi truly know that the other party was hungry?

That completely subjective feeling, experience, and all conscious ‘sensations’ accompanying higher intelligence, Li Qi could not feel.

Like a person drinking water, only they know if it's hot or cold, and only they can know.

Therefore, either treat others as walls and stones, as ‘unintelligible things,’ which would be the Demonic Dao.

If others are incomprehensible, then I, too, am incomprehensible to others.

Then, one who is isolated from others is a ‘Demon’.

But although Li Qi found this answer, he didn't agree with it, even though he knew… this answer had actually been in his heart all along.

He recalled the past and found that this Demonic Dao rhetoric had always lingered in his ears, it just hadn't formed into such a solid ‘answer’ yet. (For details, see Chapter 439, Chapter 453, Chapter 368, etc.)

Now, all these insights converged here with Mo Long, becoming the answer that troubled Li Qi at this moment.

If he didn't want to continue rushing towards the Demonic Dao, then… he had to find other answers.

As Li Qi pondered these things, time quietly slipped away.

By the time Li Qi noticed a change in the external situation and realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

He awoke from his daze and looked up.

He found that during his daze, the insectoids had already returned.

A squad of over ten Seventh Grade insectoids had returned and surrounded Li Qi.

“It was you, wasn’t it… who destroyed the breeding ground?” One of the insectoids, clearly the leader, pointed his saber at Li Qi.

Li Qi sighed.

Trouble. He couldn't die right now.

If he died, the Seal would be lifted, and then he would inevitably…

So, Li Qi waved his hand and said, “It was me. By the way, I want to go to your hive.”

“You dare to speak to me in that tone?” The captain stared at Li Qi, his long saber unsheathed.

“Seventh Grade Martial Artists shouldn't act so tough. Be honest, all of you together can't beat me.” Li Qi activated his True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

In the previous state where True Knowledge was blocked, he might not have been able to defeat these people.

But after activating True Knowledge, taking down Li Qi in his Seventh Grade mech would require at least a Sixth Grade.

However, if he took off the mech, Li Qi would only have a Mortal body, only able to dominate among Mortals. A Ninth Grade could easily crush him.

The stronger the power he could control, the larger his operational range, and the more useful his Realm-transcending techniques would be. But at the level of a Mortal, no matter how much he knew, it couldn't be converted into actual combat power.

However, Li Qi's words clearly enraged these insectoids.

The leader swung his long saber, and the Martial Dao Divine Intent behind him erupted suddenly!

The opponent's Martial Dao Divine Intent was advancement, a fierce charge, an unstoppable forward momentum!

Unstoppable, no retreat, united in effort, capturing generals and seizing banners! Even if faced with an iron wall, it would surely crumble under the iron hooves of civilization!

It seemed there was a reason he could be a leader.

With such an Aura, his long saber, as a charging weapon, shimmered with a magnificent Qi, seemingly capable of crushing all defenses. No matter if it was armor or a city wall in front, it would be destroyed!

However, Li Qi merely glanced at it.

The True Knowledge Dao Resonance swept over it.

Full of flaws.

In such a charge, all power was used for assault, neglecting all defenses, seemingly aiming to break through all resistance.

And Li Qi gently waved his hand, and the Great Sun True Fire in the engine, guided by the magnetic confinement device, shot out as a light blade.

Following that was a battle between Martial Artists.

The light blade collided with the saber blade. Due to the Saber Qi, the saber itself was not destroyed.

Li Qi processed the information in his mind, completely seeing through his opponent.

Every movement, even every twitch of muscle fiber, every time cells absorbed substances and burst forth with new power, all of this was seen by Li Qi.

A Martial Artist's body is incredibly powerful, and the power unleashed is terrifying, but ultimately it still needs to exert force from the physical body, unleashing Martial Dao Inner Qi, and then affecting the outside world.

The combined force generated by countless cells stretching simultaneously can form power. With so many cells, naturally, a lot of power will be generated.

A powerful Martial Artist can perfectly fuse the partial forces of all cells, exerting force in only one direction, without any leakage. Even when striking, the bells on their body wouldn't ring.

However, the insectoid leader in front of him couldn't do this. There were still conflicts between his cells, and forces in various directions would still conflict. Although this wouldn't affect his attacks, it was indeed present.

Then… as long as the “force was appropriate,” Li Qi could use a very small amount of power to deflect the trajectory of the opponent's attack.

Using a feather to move a thousand pounds.

He didn't even need the so-called thousand pounds of force; he just needed to be precise.

Just like now.

Li Qi effortlessly parried the opponent's attack, then left wound after wound on his body.

The insectoid leader was enraged, constantly intensifying his attacks, and the Martial Dao Divine Intent behind him gave him even greater power!

The affected ruins and building materials snapped in half, shards of unknown debris mixed with the biting Aura, fragments flying everywhere, sparks from the battle leaping, and nauseating screams echoed all around.

The battle lasted for about six seconds. Finally, the insectoid leader exhausted his strength, retreated sharply, and was panting heavily.

“Alright, I told you, take me to your superiors.” Li Qi put away his light blade and said.

The other insectoids all drew their weapons.

The leader looked at Li Qi: “You are not from the Advancement Alliance, absolutely not.” (End of chapter)