Chapter 733: Ox-headed and horse-faced

Yes, it was Li Qi's coincidence.

The encounter with Monk Xin Ming was not supposed to happen.

However, Li Qi chose the future; he calculated that he could do so, and thus, he followed the direction of Karma and arrived here smoothly.

Thus, what seemed like a coincidence, a low-probability event, happened.

Monk Xin Ming would not detect it, but Li Qi had already undeniably mastered this power.

In fact, Li Qi had no idea where Monk Xin Ming was; he was just trying to deduce the existence of the Celestial Eye.

After that...

It was simple: just follow the Karma connections.

Li Qi knew nothing and didn't understand how to start, but by simply following the 'guidance,' he arrived at this place.

This was the rogue aspect of a fourth-grade practitioner.

No clues were needed; anything he had seen, heard, or felt could form a web of Karma, which could then be combined to create future scenes.

This was the essence of 'divination.'

For Li Qi, a fourth-grade practitioner, to do something was this mystical, even beyond the understanding of Mortals.

If a Mortal were here, they would probably feel terrified.

To do something could be like this...

No planning was needed, nor was it necessary to investigate intelligence beforehand; as long as Li Qi began to advance, the 'destined future' would gravitate towards Li Qi.

He only needed to actively move towards this future, and countless lines of Karma would pave his Dao, helping him reach the desired outcome.

This was 'choosing the future.'

Monk Xin Ming, before him, was one of the Karma lines paved by Li Qi from his own lines of Karma.

And he truly could be useful; the Celestial Eye's vision could indeed pierce through the Yellow Springs, directly seeing inside Reincarnation, and by merely seeing one person, he could even see their previous three lives.

Li Qi exchanged pleasantries with Monk Xin Ming for a while, then bid farewell.

Let the other party stabilize his cultivation, and besides... bringing him out of here would have to wait until winter.

By winter, when the grass withered and flowers faded, Monk Xin Ming would be freed from that place; before then, there was no rush, as it was only half a year away.

Half a year; it would pass in the blink of an eye.

However, by now, Li Qi could objectively examine the subjective experiences of others; in other words, he possessed a certain degree of empathy, so he would no longer experience that state of being in a daze for half a year.

Of course, if he wished, he could still meditate for hundreds or thousands of years without any side effects.

It was just that he could now freely switch between the two states.

Leaving that mountain, Li Qi returned to the Buddhist temple.

After more than ten days, bandits attacked the Buddhist temple; Li Qi gently waved his hand, sending all the bandits retreating a hundred miles without harming them, which temporarily awed many pilgrims and Monks.

Everyone thought it was the Buddha's manifestation, but only a few noticed Li Qi's intervention.

Two months later, Li Qi had become well-acquainted with many Monks, donated a considerable amount of incense money, and even guided many young Monks in Buddha-Dharma, earning him the title of 'Layman.'

Many wondered why this person always stayed here with female companions; he was proficient in Buddha-Dharma, skilled in Martial Arts, gentle and unrestrained, yet lived in a temple with female companions, which was truly strange.

Another month later, this small country was embroiled in civil war, with border rebels sweeping in.

A thousand miles without a rooster's crow, white bones exposed in the wilderness; the war consumed this small country, and refugees wandered everywhere, many of whom dreamed of becoming Monks.

After all, this temple had an eighth-grade Monk, who was already a Martial Forest expert in the small country; as long as one became a Monk, they could receive at least basic protection.

This monastery itself believed in Mahayana Buddha-Dharma.

What is Mahayana?

Buddhist cultivation pursues myriad paths, divided into countless branches, such as the Lotus Sutra School, Mantra School, and Esoteric School, each with its own scriptures and pursuits, among which is the Mahayana lineage.

What does it pursue?

Nothing but four words—

All sentient beings are Buddhas.

Everyone can awaken, enlighten, and thus, all sentient beings are Buddhas.

A Buddha is merely a wise person who has comprehended all suffering; their greatest significance is to bring this wisdom to others.

Buddha, or the enlightened one, brings his wisdom to all sentient beings, and thus this is 'universal salvation.'

Universal salvation is the greatest compassion.

Since there is already the greatest compassion, it means they will be more likely to fulfill smaller acts of compassion.

Those who pursue the Dao will never go against their Dao, so Buddhism has Dual Cultivation for Buddhas and demons, and also compassion.

The temple where Li Qi resided chose to accept the refugees.

This brought immense pressure to the temple.

Fortunately, there was a Spiritual Artifact in the temple called the Jade Bottle, a Spiritual Tool offered before the Bodhisattva, also of the eighth grade, which only the temple abbot could activate.

The Jade Bottle itself was originally an ordinary object, initially made of stone and placed before the Bodhisattva statue.

After centuries of daily offerings and chanting, it was imbued with incense and transformed into white岫玉, from which a willow branch grew, containing a bottle of precious dew that could cure all diseases and injuries, remove calamities, bring forth abundant Life Qi, and dispel Death Qi.

However, in Li Qi's view, the essence of this item was an incredibly concentrated Life Qi, capable of expelling Death Qi, healing injuries and illnesses, and, due to the presence of this Life Qi, increasing plant production and eliminating barrenness.

The precious dew could regenerate itself; if taken outside the temple, three drops could be produced daily, but if a Monk offered sincere devotion, it could produce nine drops daily.

Currently, the precious dew in the bottle was full, at least a thousand drops.

With this precious bottle, the livelihood of the tens of thousands of refugees who had come was secured.

First, thousands of acres of farmland were successively opened for these refugees to cultivate.

After planting seeds, the precious dew was used to accelerate their growth, yielding enough food for everyone for a year, after which they could cultivate their own food for the following year.

Many refugees who were disabled, severely injured, or sickly also recovered under the precious dew, becoming incredibly healthy.

This acceleration of growth and healing consumed nearly one-third of the precious dew, but the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of refugees were now secure.

However, this public display of the treasure attracted the covetousness of the rebels.

How many armies could such a treasure feed? How many logistical problems could it solve?

One must know that even ninth-grade cultivators, many practitioners still needed to eat, not to mention the miraculous healing effects.

Thus, another month passed, and a large army approached, led by two eighth-grade Martial Artist Dao Resonances and an eighth-grade Shaman, or shaman, who, with eight thousand troops, surrounded the temple.

Either surrender the precious bottle, or the entire temple would be massacred.

The abbot stepped forward, proposing no slaughter; he would fight the three in a continuous battle.

If he won, the army should retreat; if he lost, he would surrender the precious bottle.

If the other party refused, he would escape with the precious bottle, and the three might not be able to stop him.

The three deliberated and decided to accept the challenge.

The abbot fought valiantly against the three eighth-grade practitioners, defeating them consecutively, but the opponents lacked Martial virtue.

Although they lost, the three simultaneously attacked, attempting to forcibly seize the precious bottle.

The situation was critical, but then, a Layman was seen taking action.

Under the watchful eyes of all, he vanquished the three.

The crisis was averted, and the reputation of this Layman, who practiced while retaining his hair, spread far and wide, and a major disturbance in the Jianghu was once again quelled.

The rebel army lost three eighth-grade practitioners, and thus the frontal battlefield quickly collapsed, and the rebellion was soon put down.

Several more months passed, and it was deep winter; all things returned to stillness.

Li Qi brought Shen Shuibi to the mountains, where the plants on Monk Xin Ming's body had all withered, though before withering, they had flowered, borne fruit, and dropped seeds, awaiting new sprouts next year.

"Senior, this past half-year, you have truly shown great compassion," Monk Xin Ming said with a smile upon seeing Li Qi arrive.

"It was merely a matter of convenience, just minor things," Li Qi shook his head and replied.

Indeed, it was merely a matter of convenience; although it was a major event affecting a nation, to Li Qi, it was like dusting off something.

"The smaller the matter, the more it reveals one's true nature, for in major affairs, people deliberate repeatedly, but in minor matters that require no thought, people generally act according to their true heart, and the true heart and nature are the most important," Monk Xin Ming said, as the stones on his body cracked and dust fell away.

His skin glowed with golden light, and his eyes became completely bright, as if they could pierce through the ten directions of the world.

"True heart and nature? Alas..." Li Qi sighed.

What is true nature? What is inherent nature?

Li Qi, at the ninth-grade, could proudly say that he had found his Dao Heart.

Li Qi, at the sixth-grade, began to explore what 'true heart' meant; he firmly believed that acting according to one's true heart, without deviating from the Dao, meant finding one's true heart.

But now, Li Qi, at the fourth-grade, found that he simply did not understand what 'true heart' meant; once this was discussed, it inevitably led to discussions about the influence of subjective will on reality, the subjectivity of the objective world, and so on...

Li Qi simply couldn't comprehend it.

He hadn't figured it out yet, so hearing a sixth-grade Monk speak of "manifesting the true heart" at this moment seemed somewhat amusing.

But Li Qi didn't say much; each stage had its own things to ponder, and all had to be experienced.

So, Li Qi said, "Then please open your eyes."

Monk Xin Ming nodded slightly, then activated his Divine Ability.

Those who can go far on the path of cultivation often have their own talents.

Li Qi's was True Knowledge Dao Resonance, Bo Yue had the Demonic Seed Dao Resonance, Zhong Minglou had innate Karma vision, and Monk Xin Ming had the Celestial Eye.

In fact, ordinary people also have these talents, such as great strength, speed, good health, short stature, intelligence, etc., all of which can be considered a kind of talent.

Such talents are difficult to define; they vary in degree, and sometimes, high-level practitioners can break through certain talents with their own power.

For example, the most typical one is great strength; after a period of cultivation, one can surpass this talent.

More powerful talents, such as the Demonic Seed, require a third-grade practitioner to surpass them.

Li Qi still couldn't master the Demonic Seed's time reversal; he didn't have the ability to reverse time.

The Celestial Eye was also like this; Li Qi didn't have the Celestial Eye's ability to pierce through everything, so he had to rely on Monk Xin Ming's power to achieve it.

The Celestial Eye, sensing Heaven and Earth, suddenly saw lightning and thunder, great winds and heavy rain all around!

Monk Xin Ming, with his Heavenly Eye, remotely perceived myriad worlds!

In those places, myriad worlds, various lights, and sentient beings had no Heavenly Eye, and thus could not see.

Such self-mastery and wisdom, covered by the land of ignorance, and sentient beings without the eye of wisdom, thus could not see.

But Monk Xin Ming, with a clear heart and clear eyes, opened his Heavenly Eye, and thus could see!

All future scenes, distant movements, were as if before his eyes; all good actions and undefiled good in the Three Realms were within it.

The Heavenly Eye was pure, transcending the human world, seeing people come and go, their deaths and births, as if with knowledge.

Monk Xin Ming fully activated his Divine Ability; the Buddha is the root of all Dharmas.

The Buddha is the pure eye, like the moon moving in the sky, pure and unobstructed.

An anomaly also appeared around him.

Light-trees grew beside him, full of blooming flowers.

Their petals were pure, with a unique and wonderful fragrance; when a gentle breeze blew, their scent was rich, and when a strong wind blew, petals flew into the sky.

Heavenly flowers rained down, and there was also a unique and wonderful radiance illuminating myriad worlds, each with distinct colors, forms, and splendid decorations.

Monk Xin Ming's eyes saw billions of worlds, billions of sentient beings, the various Ghost Gates of the Underworld, and the different layers of Hell.

Shen Shuibi looked up for a moment, then lowered her head, continuing to immerse herself in her own world, just as... when she traveled with Li Qi, she was mostly in a daze because she was thinking about how to restore herself.

Now she was also contemplating her Dao path, basically only relying on instinct, following Li Qi everywhere.

But Li Qi felt it—

Gaze, countless gazes.

The opening of the Celestial Eye, so brazenly shining upon the Underworld!

Thus, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Black and White Impermanence, various Ghost Kings, Judges, and City Gods all cast their gazes!

"Senior, please hold them off for a moment," Monk Xin Ming said.

Li Qi shook his head.

Well, that's how it should be.

Searching Reincarnation with the Celestial Eye would inevitably draw the attention of the Underworld.

It would be fine if the Buddhist sect did this, but doing it in a private capacity would likely bring Yin Messengers very soon.

Sure enough, not long after, the Monks in the nearby temple all felt a chill throughout their bodies.

Yin Qi began to gather.

A temporary Ghost Gate suddenly opened.

Then, an Ox-Head and a Horse-Face, riding black clouds, with countless small ghosts cheering behind them, charged towards Li Qi.

The Ox-Head had human hands and ox hooves, a strong build, and wielded an iron trident.

The Horse-Face had tusks, held a spear, charged with swirling winds, and was shrouded in black clouds.

Behind them, a large iron city appeared, containing the Divine Sense of the deceased, fire snakes, fire dogs, tigers, wolves, lions, and a host of evil spirits, not a few of whom were fifth-grade, all roaring and cursing, blowing cold Yin wind, with rolling black smoke spreading out!

As for Ox-Head and Horse-Face, as the chiefs of the Ghost Messengers, they were even fourth-grade cultivators, and their foundation was solid!

Li Qi took a step, drawing a curve around him; the curve automatically extended, forming a circle ten miles in radius.

Li Qi waved his hand, and many Talismanic Incantations flew out; these were not Daoist Talismans, but Shaman spells.

The Yin Qi was blocked by this circle, unable to enter it.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face stopped outside this circle; the Ox-Head roared, pointing his steel trident at Li Qi, and shouted loudly, "Bold thief! How dare you spy on the Underworld! Surrender now and come with me to the Underworld to receive punishment!"

"Sirs, please hear me out," Li Qi stood outside the circle and said, "Do you two know who I am?"

The Horse-Face sneered, "What? Your parents didn't tell you?"

This left Li Qi speechless, but since he was in the wrong, he didn't curse back.

Instead, he said, "I am entrusted by a Bodhisattva of the Buddhist sect to search for someone in Reincarnation; I ask for your convenience."