Chapter 736: Creepy

The True Dragon named Chang Qiao… was once a demon dragon. Before transforming into a Dragon, her true form was a water Yao.

Her sudden visit to him probably had no other meaning; she likely just wanted to chat.

However, Li Qi also happened to have a need to chat.

He had always wanted to find a settlement to easily search for Sariputra’s existence.

After all, Celestial Eye showed that Sariputra had reincarnated in this very place.

So, it was a perfect match; they could chat and exchange information.

Just like the meeting with Shou Yu, it was just a simple meeting and a simple exchange, yet it brought great benefits to both sides. Li Qi even managed to resolve a major worry because of it.

Communicating with people is still very important.

The local sea monster dove deep underwater, descending tens of thousands of miles to the seabed. The water pressure was almost enough to crush everything around it. Large amounts of rock had been compressed, Spiritual Qi concentration was skyrocketing, and the power of living beings was gradually increasing.

Li Qi could sense that everything in this place—yes, everything, including the tiny insects in the water, all forms of life, even the underwater mountain ranges, and the water itself—was negative entropy.

Li Qi was very surprised by this.

If everything was negative entropy, where did the high-entropy matter being expelled go?

For an object to maintain a negative entropy state, meaning to become increasingly ordered, it must expel excess entropy. Generally, this is done in the form of heat radiation.

It should be noted that this is actually very terrifying; a normal human, as a negative entropy structure, emits more heat per unit volume than even the sun.

In terms of energy released per unit mass of matter per unit time, the consumption of the environment by a living being itself surpasses that of a star of the same volume.

Therefore, the water and various creatures in this world, including mountains, are all self-luminous. This directly leads to the extremely high temperature of this world. The reason is that they are all negative entropy structures, and they must expel their entropy to the outside world, and the essence of entropy is chaos, which manifests as heat.

That is why this world is so hot and so bright.

Li Qi nodded slightly, looking at the bright water around him. These were essentially due to the unique structure of this world.

Then he looked up at the dark sun, illuminated by the Chain of the World, in the sky.

Li Qi suddenly found it very interesting.

If this deduction was correct, everything here was the opposite of an ordinary world.

In an ordinary world, there is cold silence, and the sun provides light and heat, giving energy to the silent world.

But here, it is the opposite. The world itself has an extremely high temperature and is in a state of high negative entropy. To maintain its negative entropy, it needs to expel a large amount of heat.

And so much heat even illuminates the darkness beyond the realm.

All this heat energy was not wasted; it was all swallowed by the black dark sun in the sky.

The Return to the Ruins can contain all energy and matter, regardless of whether it is ordered.

What an interesting ecosystem.

Soon, Li Qi arrived at the seabed tens of thousands of miles deep.

The water here had been compressed into a crystalline state, making it impossible to survive or move under normal circumstances. All the creatures here were uniformly Yao, and at least Rank Seven.

It was here that a Dragon Palace was located.

Made entirely of transparent crystal, calling it a Crystal Palace was no problem at all; it perfectly suited the True Dragon’s interests.

It seemed that True Dragons all over the world liked to make their Dragon Palaces out of crystal; it was unclear what unwritten rule dictated this.

“Senior, we’ve arrived.” The sea monster pushed aside the surrounding solid water, bringing Li Qi to the side of the Crystal Palace.

Li Qi stood up, the water around him naturally parting: “You’ve worked hard. I’ll go in and pay my respects to your master first.”

With that, Li Qi walked into the Crystal Palace.

The Crystal Palace appeared transparent, but in reality, it was layered, with light constantly being reorganized. Entering it was like entering a mirror maze, making it impossible to see inside or out, and difficult to distinguish paths, very easy to get lost.

The transparent Crystal Palace, under the constant refraction of light, instead became completely opaque from the inside. Without some skill, one couldn’t even walk into it.

But it didn’t stump Li Qi.

Without even thinking much, he simply scanned it, and the entire layout of the Crystal Palace appeared in his mind.

Moreover, at the center of the Crystal Palace, there was a ‘Perception Black Hole’.

He couldn’t sense that place. Both True Knowledge Dao Resonance and Li Qi’s own perception clearly sensed that it was a ‘black hole’; nothing could be seen there.

Just like the dark sun in the sky.

Using this as a marker, Li Qi quickly moved through the Crystal Palace.

There was no one inside, or to be precise… there was no living being at all, including the Dragon Palace itself, none of the ‘negative entropy structures’ he had sensed before.

What did this difference represent?

Li Qi pondered these thoughts as he entered the void.

The void was a flowing river of light, spanning about four or five li within the Crystal Palace.

Although it was underwater, there was still a river.

A peculiar spiritual liquid, immiscible with water, formed a river several tens of meters thick.

And within this spiritual liquid, a humanoid creature was comfortably soaking.

It was a beautiful woman clad in light attire.

Or rather… a beautiful Dragon?

She had Dragon horns on her head and hints of greenish-gold scales on her body. She was slender and beautiful, naturally exuding an aura of perfect being.

She was immersed in the water, playing a Jade Flute, but no sound could be heard.

Yet, Dragon Qi coiled in the air, transforming into illusory bright pearls and white jade, cloud shadows graced the eaves, and silver mist steamed.

The True Dragon named Chang Qiao, from this long river of spiritual liquid—

After Li Qi arrived, she moved, putting away her Jade Flute, and then, with a flick of her sleeve, her originally light clothing transformed into formal attire. She then glided through the river of spiritual liquid, and in the blink of an eye, she was already before Li Qi.

Then, Chang Qiao said happily, “Young Master Li Qi, I’ve thought of you for a long time… I never expected to meet such a renowned Young Master of Shaman God Mountain in this small place. So, on a whim, I invited Young Master to come for a chat. You don’t mind, do you?”

Her tone was lively, her eyes bright, full of vitality.

Li Qi didn’t reply immediately but looked into her eyes.

They were greenish-gold vertical pupils, revealing a strong curiosity, as if she truly had great interest in Li Qi.

“Miss… have you heard of me?” Li Qi cupped his hands, stepping back to maintain a respectful distance, and said.

“Of course, I’ve heard of you! Your name is very famous now. The Human-Shaman War caused quite a stir, and the True Dragons also have additional intelligence, such as… you narrowly defeating a Utmost Person! I’ve long heard of your reputation!” Chang Qiao took a step closer, saying to Li Qi with great joy.

Li Qi took another step back: “Miss… please speak properly and stop moving forward. Also, why would you have information from the True Dragons? Shouldn’t you be a part of the demon race?”

The question Li Qi posed was a very practical one.

True Dragons are essentially a race. Although this race has its own Dao Orthodoxy, the peculiarity of the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution means that the True Dragons’ cohesion is not strong.

The core of the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution lies in ‘the most suitable will survive’.

And this ‘most suitable’ thing doesn’t necessarily have to be a True Dragon, does it?

No matter which Dao Orthodoxy, as long as it can survive and live until the very end, it could be the ‘most suitable’, and this most suitable Dao Orthodoxy must conform to the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution.

Therefore, True Dragons cooperate very closely with other Dao Orthodoxy.

The Human Dao has its own Dragons, the Daoist sect has its own Dragons, the Shaman has its own Dragons, the Demonic Dao has demon dragons, the Buddhist sect has the Eightfold Heavenly Dragons, the Divine Dao Heavenly Court also has various Dragon Kings corresponding to rivers, lakes, and seas, various spiritual Dragons, and there are also quite a few demon dragons, and there is even a Great Sage of the Demon Race, whose name is ‘Great Sage Overturning Seas’, who is a demon dragon.

These True Dragons support other Dao Orthodoxy, but they fundamentally still endorse the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution, believing that the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution is superior to all other Dao Orthodoxy. No matter who ultimately wins, it is a victory for Heavenly Evolution.

Because as long as there is a victor, there must be competition, and all competition is inevitably a victory for the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution.

Therefore, True Dragons generally tend to go out and join various Dao Orthodoxy that they deem ‘suitable’, believing that these Dao Orthodoxy might achieve ultimate victory.

Chang Qiao, in front of him, had clearly joined the demon race, believing that the demon race had a competitive advantage.

Under such circumstances, how could she obtain information from the True Dragons?

“Hmm… I’m quite special, I suppose. I am both a Yao and a Dragon, not some mere demon dragon. If I had to say… I’m probably similar to you, Young Master. Aren’t you the same? Both a demon and a Shaman.” Chang Qiao stopped when she heard Li Qi’s words, and then said.

As she spoke, she gently waved her hand, and a table, chairs, and wine appeared before them.

She sat down and then gestured for Li Qi to sit as well.

Li Qi no longer tried to evade but sat down and continued the conversation: “Dual Cultivation? At Rank Four, can you afford to be so reckless?”

“If we’re talking about recklessness, how could I compare to Young Master? Shaman and demon are just the largest proportions in you.” Chang Qiao pulled up her sleeve, revealing her wrist, and poured wine for Li Qi: “It’s precisely because I know about Young Master’s affairs that I invited Young Master to come for a talk.”

“I can tell.” Li Qi looked around and admitted this point.

The place before him was clearly the other party’s boudoir.

Generally, it would be impossible for people to enter, indicating that this place should be the other party’s private retreat.

“So, it seems you know a lot about me,” Li Qi said.

“That’s natural. Didn’t I say earlier? I’ve thought of Young Master for a long time, so this chance encounter, I specifically sent my servant to invite Young Master for a chat,” Chang Qiao said.

“A chat… about what?” Li Qi was a little puzzled.

He could feel that she had something more to say, but… he really couldn’t think of a topic.

What was there to talk about?

There was no overlap in their Dao Orthodoxy. Whether it was Yao or Heavenly Evolution, Li Qi wasn’t that interested, but he could sense that the other party was very interested in him and had a lot to say.

This made Li Qi somewhat confused.

At this Rank, and with a stranger, what could there be to talk about?

“Wait, you’re not thinking that we have nothing to talk about, are you?” Chang Qiao leaned closer, frowning at Li Qi.

Being directly called out, Li Qi was slightly embarrassed, so he said, “Uh… Miss, you see, there’s always a topic for pleasantries, but—”

But Chang Qiao nodded knowingly, then clapped her hands together lightly and said, “Oh, that was my oversight, making Young Master awkward. I should have initiated the topic. Then let’s start with me!”

“Young Master, I have collected many anecdotes about your life, as well as some items you’ve used. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not. Would you like to see which ones are genuine?”

With that, she pulled her hands apart, and suddenly many things appeared behind her.

Li Qi glanced at them and was immediately stunned.

First, there was book Qi. These book Qi were compiled into volumes and stored in Jade Slips. One look and you knew they were valuable.

Li Qi did not know the content of the book Qi; the Jade Slips were sealed and had to be opened to read the information within.

But the pile of broken junk behind them was even more mysterious.

These items included some broken chairs, clothes, a few low-Rank Spiritual Artifacts, some common sacrificial items used by Shamanes, several garlands, a set of Formation for research, a few pieces of gold used by Mortals, and a set of Shamanic Silkworm Artifact along with the Spiritual Artifacts it produced, and most ridiculously, there was even a house, dilapidated and completely mundane, but its state was fixed by a spell on it, making it never decay.

Li Qi recognized this house.

When he was a Lifter, he lived in this small wooden hut, which was very crude, just made of wooden planks and straw. The planks were salvaged from the water, probably discarded from upstream cargo transport, and the straw was begged from someone’s cowshed; he had no money to buy it, so he helped people move things.

Was this a joke? All these things were brought over?

And those few low-Rank Spiritual Artifacts were all things Li Qi had used before, such as two Yin and Yang Jin Qi (Metal Energy) that Li Qi himself didn’t know when they disappeared, never expecting them to be collected by her?

Looking at that garland again, it seemed to be something he used to perform a ritual to drive away a plague when he was in Guangyang.

The gold used by Mortals was even more mysterious. Li Qi had gotten involved with the God of the Li River because of these few pieces of gold. This gold had already been given away as a sacrifice, and she managed to get her hands on it too?

The research Formation Plate should be what he and Liu Canzhi used to research the properties of the Shamanic Silkworm Artifact when they were in Chang'an.

But there were also other random things, such as Spiritual Artifacts other than the Yin and Yang Jin Qi that Li Qi didn’t recognize, and some mundane items that Li Qi had no impression of, probably not his.

For some reason, seeing these things, Li Qi suddenly got goosebumps, and his gaze towards Chang Qiao involuntarily changed.