Chapter 770: Tian Tun reappears

In Baiyue, on a randomly chosen mountain, a cluster of palaces floated in the sky.

The Five-Rank Lords sat scattered, about dozens of meters apart, each floating outside, listening to the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain issue commands, not daring to show any disrespect.

The Young Master of Shaman God Mountain before them was their last resort; they didn't know how to survive, but this Young Master did, so they just had to listen to him.

Li Qi spoke eloquently from above, assigning tasks.

“Wen Lang Kingdom Lord, Zhenning Country Lord, Xi’ou Country Lord, you are responsible for the Zhuoyong and Tuwei steps.”

“Great Deer Kingdom Lord, you are at the forefront, so the focus of the Grand Ritual will be on you, with the nearby Stone Mountain Country Lord and Mingqing Country Lord providing support.”

Li Qi smoothly arranged all the tasks. He had already made preparations for the Grand Ritual in advance, detailing what needed to be done at each step, what each country needed to do, and even what each city needed to do.

The entire Baiyue, with hundreds of different countries, had over a hundred thousand cities, and its living beings easily numbered in the hundreds of billions. Yet, in just a few hours, Li Qi had started from scratch, calculating everything based on the different natures of each Country Lord’s cultivation method, their respective strengths, various geographical advantages, the flow of the earth veins, the characteristics of the upper Qi wind layer, and even local customs and traditions.

For example, Wen Lang Country usually preferred to use livestock for sacrifices, so blood sacrifices were arranged there. Furthermore, Wen Lang Country’s national character was independent, and its customs were warlike and fond of fighting, so the ‘Tuwei’ step was arranged there. The saying “In oneself, all things achieve their nature, hence it is called Tuwei” could better bring out this characteristic.

And there were over a hundred thousand such arrangements; each city was arranged according to its specific customs, popular sentiment, and ancient history.

But these were all minor details. What truly put these Country Lords at ease, and also terrified them, was that Li Qi was making arrangements based on the nature of their cultivation methods and their origins.

“Lingxiao Kingdom Lord, you are a Flower Goddess, your cultivation method comes from Chang'an, and the art you practice is “Wu Yu”, specializing in sacrifices with wine, fragrant fruits, and music, so the Chai Liao (fire sacrifice) will be arranged at your place.”

“Xianghe Country Lord, and the three surrounding countries, you are Senior Brothers, all from the Yuezheng lineage. You should know that Xianghe has four introductions. Xianghe is responsible for the konghou, while the other three are responsible for the Shangyin, Zhengyin, and Yuyin. I want you to use these four introductions, with sheng, dizi, jiegge, qin, se, pipa, and zheng, to play thirteen pieces.”

Li Qi called out names one by one, easily revealing everyone’s origins and arranging everything they could do within their capabilities.

There was no information on these matters; these Country Lords were all astute individuals, and most were afraid of death, so how could they reveal their origins to Shaman God Mountain? These were all improvised by Li Qi; he examined everyone with True Knowledge Dao Resonance. The current Li Qi might understand them better than they understood themselves.

This made these Country Lords both fearful and at ease.

What they feared was… the might of Shaman God Mountain and its control over information. The Young Master before them was truly terrifying. If it were peacetime, they would have certainly wanted to flee by now.

But at this moment, they wished Shaman God Mountain were as strong as possible. The more powerful this Young Master appeared, the more at ease they felt. However… these Country Lords were not fools; they could all perceive that as strong as Shaman God Mountain was now, the Human Dao Tang Nation they faced was equally strong.

The combat power of both sides was clearly highly correlated.

But what could be done?

They had to bite the bullet and go. Now, they could only put their full trust in the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain before them.

However, the moods of four Country Lords were somewhat different from the others.

First, there was Lingxiao Flower Goddess, who stared at Li Qi with complex emotions…

Who would have thought that when this Young Master came to visit her back then, he still needed to perform the Junior’s salute, begging her for help to introduce him to some connections in Chang'an.

Yet, only a few thousand years had passed, and he was already a Four-Rank.

This was simply… a monster.

It was beyond words. How did he do it? A few thousand years was but a blink of an eye for many Five-Rank cultivators.

Next was the Lord of Lilim Country, who was merely somewhat emotional.

When this Young Master passed through his territory, he was only a Nine-Rank, and the Lord was still in seclusion, unaware of the various troubles that had erupted in his country. It was the Young Master who had helped him resolve them.

At that time, he had only focused on the two Young Masters’ Dao Protectors… and hadn't paid much attention to the two Young Masters themselves.

But now, he was already a Four-Rank.

He felt somewhat fortunate that he had befriended this Young Master back then; now he wouldn't lose face.

The Green Mountain Kingdom Lord didn't feel that way; he only felt relaxed.

After experiencing such great terror, the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord had deeply understood the current situation. Originally, no matter who came, he would have gone all out, and now that it was Li Qi, there was even less to worry about.

As early as when Li Qi was a Nine-Rank, he had personally gone to befriend this Young Master. Now, the other party had made rapid progress to the Fourth-Rank, and that Moon Essence was still accompanying him, showing their relationship.

The good karma he had sown back then now seemed to be bearing good fruit, which greatly eased his fear and tension.

As for the Great Deer Kingdom Lord…

He felt a bit subtle now.

He knew the background of this Young Master, where he came from, and even how he rose from an unranked state.

But witnessing his genuine Four-Rank pressure at this moment…

One could only sigh… there was nothing much to say. Life was unpredictable, just like this.

The other Country Lords also had their own thoughts and plans.

However, Li Qi didn't care about any of these thoughts.

These petty thoughts didn't matter, as long as they were still thinking clearly. As for those who weren't… then just kill them. Keeping them would be a waste; it's better for them to die and make some contribution.

But thankfully, after all, they were all people who could cultivate to the Fifth-Rank, so they could be considered super elites. Even with endless worlds to choose from, it would be difficult to find better. At this time, no one should do anything foolish.

Even if they wanted to, they would realize… Li Qi wouldn't humor them.

Just like that, two days and two nights passed.

During these two days, Li Qi spoke non-stop, meticulously arranging the normal Grand Ritual setup. The entire Baiyue, encompassing several hundred times the area of Earth, with such a vast area and population, he nevertheless organized a complete systematic network using ‘cities’ as units, fully utilizing all resources.

Once the Grand Ritual began, it could draw upon the power of Heavenly God and Human-Ghost, empowering the Di Qi (Earthly Qi), making the various countries of Baiyue as solid as iron buckets, and even allowing them to maintain basic capabilities during Five-Rank battles.

At the same time, all residents would be mobilized, all production activities would cease, and everything would serve the war.

However, one good thing was that there was no need to worry about living supplies. Li Qi only needed a little bit of magic to feed everyone in Baiyue, so everyone in Baiyue only needed to exert all their strength.

Moreover, it wasn't just Mortals, was it? There were still many cultivators in the entire Baiyue.

However, besides the various Country Lords of Baiyue, there were actually many other forces similar to Orthodox Sword Palace in Baiyue. How to deal with these forces would depend on how the Country Lords handled them upon their return.

Li Qi didn't bother with these matters anymore; he had said enough.

Once everything was clearly explained, Li Qi concluded, saying, “Well then, that’s all I have to say. You may disperse. Act on your own; I don’t need to teach you how to do it. If anything happens, report back here. A dharma body of mine will always remain here.”

The Country Lords rose one after another, bowed to Li Qi in unison, and then transformed into a shower of meteors, scattering in all directions.

But Li Qi did not leave, nor did he relax.

Because, just after everyone had left, a figure suddenly descended from the sky and stood before Li Qi.

His body emitted a subtle, almost imperceptible gravitational pull. This pull was not charm, but a physical attraction, causing the surrounding dust and fallen leaves to draw closer to him, yet unable to truly approach him.

Looking at his face, his appearance changed every moment. He wore ordinary robes and looked at Li Qi.

“Long time no see, I trust you’ve been well, Demon Lord,” Li Qi said with a smile.

The person before him was none other than the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord.

Clearly, as the nail driven by the demon race into the Baiyue Area, it was now time for this nail to play its role.

“Haha, Young Master, it’s only been a few thousand years, and I never imagined you would reach a level I can only look up to. Truly formidable!” The Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord laughed heartily, then found a chair and sat down: “Now that the Human Dao is invading, I didn’t expect it would be the Young Master who steps forward to face them. Shaman God Mountain truly values you, Young Master.”

Li Qi cupped his hands in return: “It’s alright. Currently, there are four battlefronts opening outside the domain, and even Shaman God Mountain is a bit stretched. Although I’m not very accomplished, I can barely be presented. There really was no other way, which is why I came to preside over the overall situation, making the Demon Lord laugh.”

“Why does the Young Master belittle himself? To have reached the Fourth-Rank at such an age in cultivation, Shaman God Mountain’s重视 (emphasis) is only natural. Perhaps even a Shaman God is personally watching and protecting your Dao,” the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord quickly waved his hand, saying so.

“Let’s not talk about that. Even if there truly is a Shaman God protecting my Dao, it’s not something we two can see. What insights do you have, Demon Lord, for suddenly coming to visit?” Li Qi stopped the idle chatter and began to cut to the chase.

When this topic came up, the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord seemed a bit hesitant. He said, “I wouldn’t dare offer insights. I am still some distance from the Fourth-Rank, incomparable to the Young Master. I merely wish to consult the Young Master: now that the Human Dao’s military might is raging, how do you intend to respond?”

“How I respond, will that affect the Demon Lord?” Li Qi immediately retorted.

The Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord's主动 (initiative) to come should not be for a meal, but given his status, he wouldn't be a spy for the Human Dao. His current inquiry about Li Qi's method of dealing with the enemy was likely to assess the risk.

After all, Baiyue was visibly about to become a troubled area, and the Demon Dao also had to make some plans.

This was also why Li Qi was so polite to him; the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord represented the entire demon race.

“Of course it will affect me, after all… which side the demon race stands on this time, it all rests on us two, Young Master,” the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord said with a chuckle.

Li Qi took a deep breath: “Demon Lord, can you decide such a matter?”

“The Young Master should have recently encountered a primeval Guixu, a Great Sage of the Demon Race, named ‘Yao Wanchi’. He is my enlightener,” the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord said.

As he spoke, the gravitational pull emanating from the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord became apparent. Not just dust, but also the palace floor, the clouds in the sky, the air, and other substances around him were all attracted to his vicinity, yet they couldn't truly get close. Instead, they spun around him, eventually disassembling and transforming into an energy flow resembling an ‘accretion disk’.

This was him revealing his true nature.

One must know, when the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord fought Shen Shuibi, he revealed his true form; he was a demonized neutron star.

The term 'enlightener' carries great weight in the Demon Dao.

It is basically equivalent to 'parents'.

As mentioned before, for the Demon Dao, they don't care much about blood relations. A demonized rat demon would not have any affection for its non-demonized mother, nor would it consider her a relative. It would even just see her as a wild beast and not feel that its birth had any connection to this physical mother.

But for their enlighteners, they always show great respect. They believe their life was given by their enlightener. Without an enlightener, they would just be ordinary beasts or something else. But with an enlightener, they gain a true 'self', and this is the true 'I', not just the shell of a beast.

This is the Demon Dao’s answer to ‘I am I’; they do not believe that the body and life are ‘I’, but rather that self-awareness is the true ‘I’.

Li Qi nodded slightly, having somewhat expected it: “Senior Yao Wanchi? I did just go to the Myriad Demon Reservoir World recently. So, that means the demon race started paying attention to me from that time?”

“You’ve got it reversed. It should be said that because of the Young Master’s performance at that time, we truly took the Young Master into consideration. After consultation between Great Sage Wan Chi and Mountain-Moving Great Sage, the authority was delegated to me, for me to judge whether the forces of Baiyue could cooperate with one side of the Human-Shaman factions,” the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord said.

Li Qi sighed: “The Demon Lord is truly well-trusted… To think such a matter would be entrusted to your full responsibility.”

“The feeling is mutual, isn’t it the same for the Young Master? The Baiyue battlefield is so important, yet it’s been handed to the Young Master. Alright, let’s talk less idly, I’ll be frank. Currently, within the Demon Realm, if we consolidate our forces, we can probably muster three Five-Rank combat powers. This already includes the combined strength of our military formations. However, one of those Five-Ranks is me, and I… am much stronger than the Baiyue Kingdom Lord. If I were to stall, I could at least hold back ten or more Baiyue Kingdom Lords simultaneously.”

“Besides that, the Demon Realm also possesses a secret treasure that can at least hold back thirty Five-Rank Human Dao cultivators. One could say… the Demon Realm is crucial in this battle. Our decision might influence the outcome of the war.”

“And what we want is also very simple: after the matter is done, we hope to establish a country in Baiyue.” (End of Chapter)