Chapter 727: Gaze

For Shen Shuibi, these seventy years were nothing special; she simply stayed by Li Qi’s side as always, watching him work, occasionally offering him advice, and then quietly waiting for him to think things through himself.

When Li Qi began to fall into that ‘arrogant’ state back when he was First Grade, the rabbit had done the same thing.

Fortunately, each time, Li Qi was able to quickly find the problem and come up with his own answer.

Li Qi was a Genius, a genuine one.

He was able to draw nourishment from everything he experienced, unlike many people whose experiences merely brushed through their minds without truly being absorbed, despite seemingly going through a lot.

This was probably why he progressed so quickly.

However, even in Shen Shuibi’s calm Heart-Nature, a small ripple couldn't help but appear.

Li Qi was progressing so quickly… she had to catch up too.

But, it wasn't as if she had gained nothing.

More than two hundred years ago, she was ordered to construct that massive Yin-power defense line, and she gained some understanding of power from it, though she hadn't told anyone.

Slowly, Shen Shuibi was different from Li Qi; she wasn't in a hurry at all.

Progressing gradually, meditating on her own, moving forward step by step—this was Shen Shuibi’s pace of Cultivation, and also the mentality of the orthodox Dao Sect.

Balanced and peaceful, advancing slowly, yet seemingly unstoppable, constantly moving forward.

While the rabbit was thinking about these things, she was also taking Li Qi back to the Illusion-Reality Domain to ask Yunfang Great Shaman to help remove the Seal.

After all, Li Qi couldn't undo it himself, unless he was killed and then resurrected, but Li Qi felt that wasn't very dignified and the scene wouldn't be pretty, so it was better to go to Yunfang Great Shaman.

He could undo it with a wave of his hand.

So, they were currently on their way.

Shen Shuibi drove while spacing out, expertly multitasking.

Li Qi looked at Shen Shuibi.

Then he poked her face.

“Hmm?” The rabbit snapped back to reality, looking at Li Qi in confusion.

“Nothing, I just feel… you seem a little happy,” Li Qi said.

“I am a little, since you’re fine now,” the rabbit continued driving Li Qi’s ghost carriage, swiftly traveling through the outer Domain: “Now there’s free time with nothing to do, aren’t you happy?”

“Nothing to do at all…” Li Qi sighed with emotion.

Perhaps this kind of life was natural for Shen Shuibi.

Days like his, constantly on a rocket ride and encountering problems daily, were the minority.

Cultivation, after all, was a long journey.

“I’m quite happy,” Li Qi smiled.

So, his vacation could continue; Li Qi truly felt that he had no problems whatsoever now.

He had never been in such good condition.

No need to worry about the Heavenly Demon’s covetousness.

No pressure from the Human-Shaman War.

His Cultivation was at Perfection, his Dao Heart showed no temporary flaws, and all hidden dangers had been eliminated.

His mindset had reached a brand new stage.

His family was also safe, with no issues.

His rank was stable; Fourth Grade was already enough to establish himself in this Universe.

In this world, Li Qi seemed to have never encountered such peaceful times.

Then… he should rest well…

Soon, Li Qi and Shen Shuibi returned to Yunfang Great Shaman’s side.

The Great Shaman casually removed Li Qi’s Seal; a Fourth Grade Seal was nothing to him, but he was still a bit puzzled and asked why he had Sealed himself: “Self-sealing is not a good thing; the mismatch between Cultivation and Heart-Nature can easily cause many problems, especially for us Shaman.”

Li Qi honestly explained, also stating his current gains.

Yunfang Great Shaman listened intently.

After he finished speaking, Li Qi concluded: “That’s roughly how it is; this time it was also a stroke of Opportunity, actually, I didn’t plan to do this originally, we were just going on vacation.”

Yunfang Great Shaman seemed pleased as well, saying: “To be able to seize the Opportunity is also your skill, kid, and you seem particularly good at this skill; some Opportunities pass by, and as long as one thinks deeply, one can gain insight, but some people turn a blind eye, while others can use them to ascend.”

Li Qi smiled and didn’t reply.

Yunfang Great Shaman seemed to be in the mood and gave him a few more pointers, offering an example: “In ancient times, the demon race had an emperor named Jun, who had ten sons, all Golden Crows. When the Golden Crows soared through the sky, Dao Resonance scattered, and countless people used this to gain insight and attain immortality, but many more were merely scorched to death. The difference lies therein.”

“Opportunities are common, but few are discovered. That’s why you are valued so much. The Great Dao exists in the natural world, and everything within sight is a principle, but whether one can see it depends on the person,” Yun Fang sighed.

Li Qi bowed in acceptance of the teaching.

That was indeed the truth.

Principles were everywhere; this Universe held no secrets. When dust floated and the world shimmered, what was revealed was the most fundamental, the Great Dao of the world’s operation.

But whether one could find it depended on the Cultivator himself.

How to Cultivate one’s Heart-Nature, train one’s insight, and find the fleeting shadow of the ‘Dao’ among countless things, all depended on oneself.

“By the way, Shi Wei is practicing over there. I’ve given her a few problems that should keep her busy for about twenty years. You can go see her, but it’s best not to interrupt her thinking,” Yun Fang said, pointing in a direction.

Li Qi and his wife thanked him, but they decided not to disturb their child.

No need.

When studying, just study well. Why would a Parent visit for no reason? It would only add unnecessary pressure on the child.

With the Seal removed, Li Qi’s Cultivation gradually began to match his Heart-Nature, and he advanced another big step within Fourth Grade.

This made Yun Fang somewhat sigh with emotion.

How long had it been since he entered Fourth Grade? And he had already made progress again.

It was truly… indescribable.

After speaking, both parties bid farewell.

And so, Li Qi and his wife began their true vacation.

No pressure from Cultivation.

No worries about Dao Heart problems.

No pressing matter forcing them to prepare in advance.

This was a genuine vacation, the most relaxed and enjoyable period of Li Qi’s life so far.

However, he didn't slack off.

During this time, he still did many things.

First was helping Shen Shuibi test medicines; one of the rabbit’s hobbies was alchemy, and now she finally had ample time. However, the concoctions she made always needed someone to test them.

At this point, Li Qi, being nearby, took on this responsibility, as he wouldn't die from eating them anyway.

Although Shen Shuibi had a certain estimate of her medicine’s effects, someone still had to test them. Previously, she tested them herself or found other suckers, but now she had Li Qi.

He wouldn't die and could describe the effects, truly very useful.

Besides this, the couple would also go out periodically, mainly for travel.

The Advancement Alliance was not enough; Li Qi still wanted to witness the glory of more civilizations.

Fortunately, there were countless worlds next to the Illusion-Reality Domain.

During this time, he read about many, many civilizations; some were normal Cultivation civilizations, also possessing some technological means, not extreme, belonging to the most common outer Domain civilizations.

They had embraced industrialization but also focused on individual Cultivation, achieving a considerable balance between the two and developing quite well.

The ones Li Qi saw were all developing well, because… the ones that went wrong had all perished.

This was the cruel natural selection; above every thriving civilization lay the corpses of countless civilizations. These corpses were nourishment, providing a ‘wrong answer’ for the infinite civilizations.

Through trial and error, someone would eventually be right.

Trial and error itself was also valuable.

Even for a First Grade, this was true, after all, this was the meaning of the Universe’s existence.

Li Qi and Shen Shuibi did not have too many specific goals this time; they were truly just traveling.

They wandered between various worlds, witnessing all kinds of wonders. All worlds, all civilizations, lived in their own ways.

During their travels, Li Qi and his wife’s perspective shifted from the grand concept of “civilization” to the minute “individual,” experiencing how different customs and environments shaped the ‘individual.’

Such experiences made Li Qi’s ethereal demeanor increasingly stable, as if he himself had transformed from that empty ‘Qi’ into a solid entity, taking root in the earth from the drifting wind, and from an ethereal immortal, once again possessing the ability to seriously observe the things around him.

This also gave Li Qi some enlightenment.

Shaman Dao Fifth Grade required ‘turning the illusory into reality.’

And now, what he was doing was also turning the illusory into reality.

Through countless experiences of humanities, scenery, history, and stories, Li Qi watched these as if he had experienced them himself.

He met many people and conversed with them, offering advice on their place in the world. Some people took Li Qi’s words to heart, thanking him for his guidance, while others became furious at his suggestions but dared not act on it.

However, regardless, very few dared to act. Li Qi did not hide his identity this time; he openly displayed his extraordinary nature and demonstrated his Divine Ability. Although they didn’t know Li Qi’s grade, most people knew he was not simple.

But occasionally, the couple would hide their identities, mainly in some lower-grade worlds, and even, on one whim, Shen Shuibi voluntarily hired herself out as a sailor on a merchant ship, beginning to sail within the world, and she claimed to possess “decent Talisman” abilities as a selling point, becoming the ship’s Talisman Master.

Li Qi also played along with her, but it wasn’t without gain; Li Qi also joined this merchant caravan as an accountant, and he was even lectured by the head accountant on how to do accounting.

This greatly impressed Li Qi; indeed, everyone had their own skills. A Sixth Grade head accountant was much better at accounting than Li Qi. He truly learned from the other party how to quickly organize tables, and this small trick even helped Li Qi increase his efficiency by about half a percent when organizing the vast information brought by True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

A lower grade doesn’t necessarily mean there’s nothing stronger than you.

The Human Sage once said that among three people walking, one must be my teacher. Li Qi now had a profound understanding of this point.

Later, the merchant caravan went bankrupt, and Li Qi and Shen Shuibi didn’t even receive their unpaid wages, so they had to flee.

In such travels, Li Qi lived a full life—or rather, many lives.

Yes, he lived lives unimaginable to Mortals, wandering through different worlds, facing different civilizations with different identities and experiences.

Whether noble or base, kind or cruel, civilizations struggled for survival in this Universe in their own ways. Regardless of their methods, at least they were still alive, which meant their current methods were correct.

Li Qi witnessed many opposing Dao paths, and they also had their Dao disputes. Li Qi watched them, and his inner thoughts conceived the possibility of coexistence within these ‘seemingly completely opposing Dao disputes.’

Just like some people believe light is a wave, while others believe light is a particle.

But in reality, Li Qi knew that light possessed wave-particle duality. Those two sides were fiercely debating, but Li Qi could see the possibility of their mutual Fusion from above.

The more he understood, the more he felt why those Great Power who were stronger and wiser than him firmly believed that the ‘Ultimate Dao’ existed.

Such travels continued, with Li Qi witnessing spectacular, moving, shocking, unforgettable things, or ordinary, common, boring, indifferent things.

Sometimes Shen Shuibi would hear him murmur in a low voice about the wisdom of the ages.

At this time, the rabbit would join the conversation; her age was also considerable, enough to discuss these matters with Li Qi.

They would talk about the nightscapes common in advanced civilizations, as there were Fourth Grade civilizations near the Illusion-Reality Domain, meaning there were other Fourth Grade beings. So Li Qi would still be awed by the miracles created by these Fourth Grades, among whom were strong individuals whose Cultivation and wisdom surpassed his own.

Besides this, the couple would discuss the history behind prosperity, sometimes the topic would diverge to an old artifact sitting in a flower bed, and sometimes they would discuss an ordinary breakfast, because although breakfast was ordinary, the entire cultural connotation of the civilization it represented was not.

These were all ‘flashes of civilization,’ the beauty of this Universe.

This beauty came from the scenery of countless worlds, but even more so from awakened eyes.

Yes, countless pairs of eyes, these were ‘innumerable subjective perspectives,’ and at the same time, the ‘objective world’ in Li Qi’s eyes. These together formed this brilliant starry sky.

Li Qi could comprehend these objective perspectives and try to experience these subjective perspectives, examining the world through different eyes and drawing different conclusions.

And this time, the couple was packing up in a beautiful primeval forest.

Daylight shone through the forest, and clear springs flowed over stones.

Purple vines covered the surroundings; the sun in this world had some issues, so the plants were all a strange purple, which honestly wasn’t that pleasing to the eye, but the local residents loved it.

Li Qi’s journey here was over, and… he had already traveled for over three hundred years.

He was preparing to end all his travels.

Li Shiwei’s studies were finished; he had to bring his child back to the world.