Chapter 741: Treasures

An hour had passed in the dilapidated Buddhist temple. Li Qi sat on a futon in the main hall. Before him were the Rank Eight Buddha statue, Er Gou, and the Rank Nine sleeping Lotus Demon, Xiao Gou.

The two demons were eating noisily, as if they had never tasted anything so delicious in their lives.

In fact, they really hadn't.

As for Xiao Gou, she was the sleeping Lotus Demon.

Her name was Xiao Gou, a name given by Er Gou.

According to the conversations over the past hour, Li Qi learned that after Er Gou first awakened her spiritual intelligence, she found many characters carved on her body, all etched onto the Buddha statue by the people who were with her. The largest one was 'Er Gou', so she took that name.

And after Er Gou cultivated for some time, the sleeping Lotus Demon also awakened.

The newly awakened sleeping Lotus Demon knew nothing. Er Gou originally intended to sell her.

After all, although Er Gou was a Buddha statue that had gained sentience, she had no Buddhist nature at all. Li Qi saw no compassion in her, nor the wisdom a Buddha should possess.

But for some unknown reason, Er Gou merely chuckled and brushed it off. From her shallow thoughts, Li Qi only read 'she didn't know herself'.

Indeed, she didn't know herself, but she chose to stay and raise this sleeping Lotus Demon, naming her Xiao Gou after her own name.

The two relied on each other, struggling to survive in this Rank Two World.

As a Rank Two World, the Realm Lord was the Rank Two Great Saint of the Myriad Demon Reservoir World. Rank Eight and Rank Nine cultivation levels were indeed too low. To survive, they had to rack their brains and exert all their strength.

But clearly, while Er Gou was shameless, it was precisely this characteristic that allowed her to survive in this world with a small flower demon, even if she didn't live very gracefully due to her abilities.

Yes, Er Gou's abilities had significant problems. She had a bit of cleverness and quick wit; her mind worked very fast at critical moments, for example, when facing Li Qi now.

However, she lacked great wisdom, had no good plans for the future, didn't know what she wanted, and didn't seek a deep understanding of most things.

One person might seem dull and slow, but if they studied diligently from childhood, took exams seriously, achieved good grades, graduated smoothly, and entered a good workplace, their life would likely not be too bad.

Another person might seem sly and cunning, but they don't study seriously, prefer to play, appear quick-witted and full of jokes, but ultimately fail to get into high school and attend a vocational school. Without any opportunities, they'd likely end up working in an electronics factory, screwing in bolts.

The difference between small cleverness and great wisdom lies here.

Er Gou seemed clever, but Li Qi saw none of the ambition a Dao seeker should possess in her. If she had been born in a Rank Nine World, she would never have been able to enter a Rank in her lifetime.

Because for her, just being alive was enough.

Great wisdom is proactive; it involves having a vision and a plan to understand, prepare, and actively resolve difficulties before they arise, and deeply understanding what one needs to do.

Small cleverness, on the other hand, is reactive; it's when setbacks and trials come, and one drifts with the current, reacting out of necessity. In reality, they don't know what they want to do; they just come up with temporary solutions when faced with problems. Perhaps these solutions are not bad, but they can never be the best choice, because the opportunity for the best choice has already passed.

Those with great wisdom will never allow themselves to fall into a situation where 'quick wit' is needed, because they have already planned what they will face from the very beginning.

Having made her judgment, Li Qi had more or less reached a conclusion.

He believed that this Buddha statue demon, Er Gou, was most likely misunderstood due to being a Buddha statue that had gained sentience.

Her demeanor, what kind of person she truly was—Li Qi felt he had understood it very clearly within that hour.

This could not be Sariputra.

This was the sixth sense of a Shaman and his professional judgment.

As a Rank Four Shaman, he used judgments based on Karma, Reincarnation, as well as experience and his sixth sense, all leading him to believe that Er Gou could not be Sariputra.

Since that was the case, Li Qi temporarily gave up on pursuing Er Gou and instead laid out some food, preparing to treat the two little demons, Er Gou and Xiao Gou.

This was the scene from before: the two little demons ravenously devouring the food Li Qi had brought.

Li Qi was a gourmet; the things he brought would never be unpalatable.

But the scene was truly hard to describe.

Xiao Gou, the sleeping Lotus Demon, was fine. Although she ate ravenously, her 'solemn' nature still made her appear somewhat graceful while eating, though her speed was indeed very fast.

But Er Gou, being a Buddha statue demon, was too boisterous. With a Buddha head, she ate with food all over herself, practically disgracing Buddhism. If there were a monk here, they might well have to cleanse the lineage.

Watching Er Gou and Xiao Gou eat, Li Qi said, "Since you both know nothing and seem to have no relation to Sariputra, then after this meal, I will leave first."

"Mm-hmm!" Er Gou's mouth was stuffed with food; she seemed to want to say something but couldn't make a sound.

In reality, she could also use spells or simply Qi to vocalize, but the food she ate had filled her cultivation to the brim, rendering her unable to do anything at the moment.

The food Li Qi brought was too good. For this Rank Eight little demon, she was truly 'stuffed,' even her Inner World was stuffed, so much so that she couldn't even vocalize spells.

"Thank... thank you, Sir." Xiao Gou, beside her, bowed her head and thanked him earnestly.

Although Xiao Gou was young, appearing only eight or nine years old, she was a flower demon after all, and still appeared very dignified and beautiful. While her plant features were also very obvious, this was a common appearance for demons.

"No need to thank me, you two keep eating, I'm full." Li Qi said, standing up.

Although the matter of Sariputra was confirmed, he still planned to thoroughly investigate the Buddhist temple itself.

After all, this was a Buddhist temple. In the Myriad Demon Reservoir World, having a seemingly decent Buddhist temple was a very peculiar thing. Perhaps the reason Chang Qiao's forces were able to find Er Gou was also because of this Buddhist temple?

Li Qi stood up, his back to Er Gou and Da Gou, looking at the most prominent large Buddha statue.

Hmm... if everything in the Demon Dao is alive...

Then, is it possible that Sariputra's Reincarnation is this large Buddha statue?

Or even, perhaps this entire Buddhist temple?

Li Qi felt it was very possible.

Thinking this, he reached out his hand and pressed it against the large Buddha statue.

However, just as Li Qi's hand touched the large Buddha statue, his pupils suddenly dilated, and he immediately mobilized his cultivation!

Li Qi's cultivation was so profound that even when compared to other Rank Four beings of the same Rank, he was among the top, even suppressing many fellow Cultivators of the same Rank by more than ten times.

If one included his Inner World, and then certain extreme conditions and the methods of extreme Cultivators, suppressing them by hundreds or even thousands of times was not impossible.

This was his characteristic as a top Shaman.

Therefore, at this moment, he mobilized all his cultivation, and in an instant, the world changed color!!

A cold current crawled up Da Gou and Er Gou's spines!

They shivered, even stopping their ravenous eating!

They even couldn't help but utter incomprehensible gibberish, even more chaotic than Er Gou's usual nonsense.

Er Gou's mouth hung wide open, shocked and speechless.

This expression only appears when a person discovers that the stable world before them suddenly disintegrates, and they find themselves plunging headfirst into an unknown madness.

Because, at this very moment, the world outside truly shattered.

The world's barrier turned spiky; originally, these delicate structures were meant to cope with intergalactic energy torrents, barriers formed to resist external forces interfering with the world's interior. Now, they directly bulged out with several spikes.

Er Gou didn't know what this was; in her eyes, it was the sky 'collapsing'.

The world barrier in the sky, the edges of those structures, had begun to emit scorching light, splashing out layers of yellow and red energy sparks, like a burning sea wave.

Besides that, below the world barrier, other things, including mountain peaks and other parts, had become incandescent. The world, which was already extremely hot, reached a new temperature at this moment.

Large amounts of matter peeled off due to the heat, but Li Qi below continued to activate his magical power, a series of spells activating, precisely controlling everything to remain within this surrounding circle.

Without such precise control, merely the energy sweeping across the irregular ground would be enough to make tons upon tons of earth and mountains uncontrollably tumble!

But even so, the leaked forces still exerted immense external pressure on the ground itself, far exceeding the ground's capacity. Visibly, the sky collapsed and the earth split! The world barrier and the ground beneath simultaneously deformed, seeming as if they would be torn to shreds!

This was still the strength of a Rank Two World!

If this were only a Rank Five World, or even lower, the entire world would have crumbled into extraterrestrial debris the instant Li Qi revealed all his cultivation.

But as a Rank Two World, the Myriad Demon Reservoir World itself possessed sufficient resistance. What Li Qi caused was merely local destruction, having less than one-millionth of an impact on the entire world chain.

Although the momentum was immense, it was like dropping a nuclear bomb on Earth; its impact on the entire planet could be said to be negligible.

But no matter what, this was a nuclear bomb.

Er Gou and Xiao Gou, witnessing all of this firsthand, clearly saw it.

A scorching pillar of light, spanning heaven and earth, spread out, becoming a vast, blurry expanse. She couldn't glimpse the full scope of that terrifying power, only barely making out a few places.

In those places, the heat from the airflow's impact hadn't yet reached the point of vaporizing the crustal structure, so one could still see melted earth, but in more places, the miles-high pillar of light had already transformed all matter into 'Qi'.

Because of this power, countless materials also began to rumble.

The air in the sky, along with the vibrations of the ground, converged into a single sound. This sound was so low and grew louder with time.

It was as if the terrifying pillar of light created by Li Qi's erupting cultivation had become an immense pipe organ. Massive amounts of cultivation burst forth, causing the air and earth's crust to resonate together, and as the light pillar spread, it plunged deeper and deeper into the atmosphere.

The further it surged towards the sky, the greater the Heavenly Dao's suppression became, so the pillar of light's spreading speed slowed, its frequency decreased, and the pipe organ's symphony gradually descended note by note.

Da Gou and Er Gou felt themselves protected by some force. They looked at the huge pillar of light outside. This rumbling pipe organ was continuously gathering power and pouring it into the Buddha statue before them.

The scene before them was something they wouldn't even dare to imagine under normal circumstances, and in fact, it could be said to be impossible—

The uneven crustal structure had been melted and smoothed by the high temperature.

But the entire earth's crust was so vast, and Li Qi controlled his cultivation very well, yet the slight leakage of his might still pressed Da Gou and Er Gou so they couldn't move, only able to roll their eyeballs.

But it was enough to show Li Qi's control; he mobilized all his cultivation, yet a Rank Eight and a Rank Nine could both survive at close range. This level of skill could be said to be truly outstanding.

Time gradually passed, and a few minutes later, the pale horizon and mountains reformed, as Li Qi's build-up of power concluded.

Soon, the beam of light that pierced heaven and earth flickered and extinguished. The dying song of the firmament, played by the pipe organ moments ago, suddenly reached a crescendo, then vanished, falling into silence.

"Sir... Sir, what was that just now?" Er Gou swallowed, looking at Li Qi with utter dread.

Just speaking those words, she had already mustered all the courage of her life, perhaps even pre-empting that of her next life.

She didn't even know how she dared to speak now; the previous pillar of destructive light had shattered not only the earth's crust but also all her bones and dignity.

Perhaps... Li Qi could ask her to do anything now, and she wouldn't object.

But she still instinctively shielded Xiao Gou behind her, even though Xiao Gou had actually collapsed to the ground, maintaining a duck-sitting posture, unable to stand up at all.

"Didn't you see? This Buddha statue you use for cultivation." Li Qi continued to touch the Buddha statue.

This thing is truly impressive.

Li Qi had mobilized all his cultivation to blast this Buddha statue, but the statue only developed a few cracks.

The cracks Li Qi made were relatively large, perhaps about one or two meters in size, if measured.

However, among these few cracks, there was also a tiny one, which was actually more of a white mark, a small dot, as if someone had scratched it with a fingernail.

But, this white mark was not made by Li Qi.

Li Qi glanced at Er Gou: "You usually use this Buddha statue for cultivation, and you're actually able to leave marks on it. That's very impressive. How long have you been doing it?"

Er Gou subconsciously wanted to gloss over it.

But the previous fear pressed upon her heart, so she instinctively retracted her desire to protect her treasure and instead said, "To answer you, Sir... I've been at it for three hundred years."

Li Qi nodded: "I previously thought you had no relation to Sariputra, but now I suddenly feel that it's not necessarily the case."