Chapter 817: Tracing (end of this volume)

After the war in Baiyue ended, some rejoiced while others worried.

Those who worried were naturally on the side of Humanity—

At this very moment, inside the Heavenly Supervision Bureau…

A Daoist priest in a purple robe was reviewing messages from all the worlds.

This purple robe was a symbol of a ‘Noble of High Rank’.

“Has the Disaster Dog entered the fray…? Heh, then losing Baiyue was worth it. The Grand General of the Southern Command didn’t die, so the losses are within control… With the Demonic Dao making a move, Li Qi and Zhu Fengdan won’t be able to spare their hands for a while. This means we can gain an advantage in the next twenty-four war zones.”

Although the Baiyue battlefield was lost, it also exchanged for other resources and provided insight into the Demonic Dao’s movements. It could be said that the loss wasn't too great.

After all, Shaman Dao didn’t actually obtain the Holy Emperor Relic. This was essentially a lose-lose situation.

The only one who profited was Li Qi. Shattering the Holy Emperor Relic made his capacity even greater.

Unfortunately, he was troubled by the demonic thoughts and wouldn’t be able to act for a while.

He muttered to himself, then continued to process other information.

The Baiyue battlefield was just one of many vast war zones. Although it was somewhat special, it only involved Third Grade and Fourth Grade cultivators.

He had many such battlefields to deal with.

—

And the most joyful ones were undoubtedly the beings of Baiyue.

How heavy the world was.

One would think that if one didn't live in a free world, if one's own power wasn't enough to secure even a tiny bit of freedom, but was instead completely oppressed by the world, then how painful it would be to live.

This has been proven by countless people and countless worlds.

In this Universe, in countless worlds, even in the most remote corners, as long as you are oppressed by the world and forced to do things, you will surely feel pain.

Beings feel joy when they act or labor out of their own desires, because it is their natural inclination. When they labor, the joy of transforming the world and creating things envelops their entire being.

But if this labor turns into ‘work’, even if they are doing something they once loved, a sense of aversion will quickly sweep over their bodies.

It's the same thing, the products are indistinguishable, but doing it for oneself and doing it for work feel completely different.

And what the world did was turn every single thing into this.

Free, conscious activity is the natural inclination of highly intelligent beings. These beings are instinctively capable of exerting their physical and intellectual strength to create in the world, even without compensation.

Because the product after labor, and the labor itself, are the best rewards.

However, when the purpose of labor is not to satisfy one's own needs, but is forced by the world, to labor for others, it becomes a kind of pain, a kind of torment.

In this way, the process of labor brings not happiness, but misfortune. One cannot freely exert one's physical and intellectual strength in labor, but is instead directed by others, causing one's body to be tormented and one's spirit to be ravaged.

Moreover, it's not just one person who is oppressed by the world, but everyone.

Even those who consider themselves ‘free’ superior beings are actually suffering from the world’s oppression.

Landlords are freer than serfs, but they must accept the competition from other landlords and the oppression from higher-level great landlords.

While you enslave others, you are also being enslaved by others.

When the world encourages people to enslave each other, then people will fall into mutual recrimination. You attack me, I attack you; you enslave me, I enslave him, an infinite loop. Everyone radiates competitive malice towards others, and everyone wants to devour others.

In such circumstances, even the highest existence must worry about the rebellion of subordinates and the secret schemes of other high-ranking individuals, using all means to protect themselves. As for those at the very bottom, needless to say, they have long become powerless, cowardly, and numb in their enslaved lives, having completely forgotten that they possess high intelligence—the same high intelligence as a First Grade mighty figure—and have become like donkeys, mindlessly dragging heavy chains, living like beasts, completely forgetting their dignity and losing their reason.

The world oppresses everyone, leaving no one truly free.

But now, it was different.

The world of Baiyue, the heavy history of Baiyue, was completely shattered. With the help of the Baiyue beings and Shaman Dao, they completely broke free from everything of the past.

The former world of Baiyue had received its final judgment.

All the past shadows were like slain ghosts; ghosts, once annihilated, cannot be resurrected, and history cannot turn back. This was an undeniable fact.

History had once again proven that no matter how stubbornly one tried to cling to the old ways, objective circumstances and the power of living beings would ultimately change it.

“Not just Baiyue, but the entire Universe,” Li Qi said, gaining insight as he spoke.

The emperor fluid paste flowed through his body, nourishing his physical form.

At the same time, as Li Qi lectured, he also recounted everything that Baiyue had experienced along the way.

Although Li Qi didn't know what each person below had gone through, he knew it must have been… very difficult.

For Baiyue to reach this point, the efforts of these people behind the scenes were indispensable, and it was precisely they who found Baiyue’s ‘Dao’.

What is ‘Dao’?

A Daoist True Immortal once said: “Dao is formed by walking.”

A path is walked by people. The path you have walked, that is your Dao.

Humanity also has a mighty figure who said: “That by which one proceeds from here to there is called Dao.”

This means that Dao refers to a path from here to there.

Dao should have an aspiring ideal and goal, and combined with human actions and activities to achieve this ideal and goal, it is called: Dao.

Therefore, Dao must be determined by our ideals and completed by our actions.

The actions of sentient beings must have a purpose. By practicing the entire process to reach this purpose, if one looks back, this entire process is the Dao.

Therefore, Dao is truly the condensed essence of countless lives. It is necessarily progressive, active, and must have its inherent purpose and ideal.

Thus, by extension, Dao is formed by walking.

Whose path is walked, shall be called whose Dao.

And so, the current Baiyue had ‘attained the Dao’.

Although their Dao was still very nascent, they indeed found their Dao amidst the clash between humans and witches. Although it is very likely to integrate into a major Dao Orthodoxy in the future, that does not mean they lost their Dao. They merely found ‘fellow Daoists’. Integrating into a Dao Orthodoxy is not losing oneself, but rather like high mountains and flowing water.

Li Qi could see Baiyue breaking through its own history, forging its own path, and like a newborn infant, peering out at the vast expanse of the world.

This remote corner of the land, previously occupied by the Baiyue Kingdom Lord, was now finally going to integrate into this world with its own steps.

Their unique Dao had already established its foundation.

This was their Dao foundation, but… they would probably have ‘Dao disputes’ with others in the future, right?

There can be many kinds of Dao.

For example, the current classifications: Divine Dao, Shaman Dao, Humanity, etc.

Even within Humanity, since Dao is that by which one proceeds from here to there, then from here to there, there can be many different and opposing paths. And from here to there, and from there to here, can all be called Dao. Thus, there can be opposing and contradictory Daos, hence the saying of a hundred schools of Humanity.

Among them, the Great Dao, the Small Dao, the Dao of the Gentleman, the Dao of the Petty Person, the Dao of Yao and Shun, and the Dao of Jie and Zhou, can all be called Dao.

And so, in this world, you walk your path, and I walk mine.

Amidst the crisscrossing paths, some Daos are like parallel lines; you can see me, I can see you, but we never intersect.

But some collide, sometimes developing into friendship, sometimes into Dao disputes; that depends on the specific situation.

A Humanity Sage said: “Those whose Dao differs do not conspire together.”

The Doctrine of the Mean also says: “The Daos proceed together without contradicting each other.”

And sometimes the Dao can also be impassable, as in: “If the Dao cannot be practiced, I will take a raft and float out to sea.” This refers to the Great Dao.

It also says: “Even in small Daos, there must be something worth observing, but pursuing them too far might lead to stagnation.” This refers to small Daos.

The I Ching also says: “The Dao of the gentleman flourishes, and the Dao of the petty person wanes. The Dao of the petty person flourishes, and the Dao of the gentleman wanes.”

Because there are opposing Daos, if everyone vies to walk a certain path, that path may temporarily become impassable. However, Dao is formed by walking; that is, a path only exists if people walk it. If no one walks it, it doesn't become a path. Therefore, Dao can be chosen. For example, if I like to walk this way, and you like to walk that way, if a certain path is easier to walk, then everyone walks that path. Over time, this becomes the Great Dao.

A great Dao Orthodoxy is not powerful because it has many people, but because the path itself can accommodate so many people walking together.

And now, Baiyue has taken its first step.

As for how their Dao will fare in the future, that is a matter for later.

The emperor fluid paste gradually depleted, the moon was setting, and the sun was about to rise.

Li Qi faced the gradually gathering native Fifth Grades of Baiyue, concluding his sermon.

“So, from today onwards, you will face the world. This might feel somewhat strange, after all… you have always lived under the suppression of the Kingdom Lord.”

“However, don't worry. In this world, there are beings just like you everywhere. Baiyue… is a minority, at least in the world, it is a minority.”

After Li Qi finished speaking, his Dharmakaya and true body completely merged, and he and Shen Shuibi disappeared from their original spot.

The many newly promoted Fifth Grades of Baiyue bowed individually, respectfully seeing off the Invoker of Shaman God Mountain.

Not all of them were good people; in fact, many had advanced through various sinister means. But at this moment, Invoker didn’t care about these things. Regardless of good or evil, they were all part of natural. This world couldn't have only wolves, nor could it have only sheep.

This Universe was meant to have a bit of everything to be truly spectacular.

These newly promoted Fifth Grades joyfully faced the brand new Baiyue, a brand new world that revealed its true face to them.

A new era had begun.

As the driving force behind all this, Li Qi, however, was not in a good mood.

Returning to his Immortal Cave, he quickly walked to Li Shiwei’s old room, pushed open the door, and looked around, searching for things Li Shiwei liked when she was little.

Perhaps relying on something filled with childhood memories could make her regain consciousness.

Wasn't this a common occurrence? Such things had happened in many places. She was just deluded. As long as her memories were awakened, everything could start anew.

But…

Li Qi himself knew the answer, and his mind was so quick that even this fantasy couldn’t linger in his thoughts for even a second.

He just walked into the room and sighed deeply.

He knew.

Li Shiwei was perfectly clear-headed. The Little rabbit didn't need to be ‘awakened’ at all. She made her decision in a completely conscious state.

She wasn't bewitched, nor was she deceived.

She wholeheartedly accepted the Demonic Dao… No, it wasn't that she accepted the Demonic Dao, but that the path she chose happened to perfectly align with the Demonic Dao.

She was clear-headed and rational. She had grown up and chosen her own way of perceiving the world, and this was something Li Qi could not interfere with.

He could forcibly interfere. He could capture her, wash away her memories and perceptions. Li Qi’s Demonic Dao methods were very profound; he could absolutely do this.

When it came to the Demonic Dao, this little girl was still a bit green. Her father, Li Qi, had personally faced demonic thoughts multiple times, and his understanding of the Demonic Dao was completely beyond her imagination.

Or, more simply, instead of washing away her memories and perceptions, he could imprison her, make her ‘reflect’, force her to change her Dao, and use a long period of time to completely distort her cognition.

But would that be useful?

It was meaningless. If Li Shiwei’s mind was twisted, then she wouldn't be Li Shiwei anymore.

What Li Qi wanted was never a daughter who was ‘obedient’, ‘submissive’, and ‘well-behaved’ like a Puppet. He hoped Li Shiwei could grow up on her own, become the person she wanted to be, walk her own path, find her Dao, and then run down it without regret, all the way to the end, even if it meant martyrdom.

This was the greatest hope of a parent.

Li Qi would never interfere with this hope, even though he knew Li Shiwei had already embarked on some unspeakable, terrifying path.

“Sigh.” Li Qi sighed deeply, feeling his temples throb.

At this moment, he heard a creak, and Shen Shuibi also pushed the door open and entered.

“Still worried?” the rabbit asked, walking up to Li Qi.

“How can I not worry? Can you not worry?” Li Qi looked at his wife.

“What good does worrying do? I plan to Breakthroug to Fourth Grade within a thousand years. Since the calamity has arrived, we just have to face it. After I Breakthroug to Fourth Grade, we’ll have enough ability to deduce, won’t we?” Shen Shuibi said.

“Not enough. Two Fourth Grades are far from enough.” Li Qi shook his head: “I need to find a way to Breakthroug to Third Grade, to truly gain the ability to control all things, to completely master the Karma law, and to be able to reshape reality from its foundation. Perhaps then it will be enough.”

“Don’t rush. How long has it been since you Breakthrouged to Fourth Grade? Don’t be too anxious and fall into it yourself. You know, compared to Shi Wei, your own demonic thoughts… is not light either,” Shen Shuibi comforted him.

Although she herself was terribly worried, at this moment she was still advising Li Qi to be careful.

“Don’t worry. I plan to visit Yunfang Great Shaman. Perhaps that Senior can help me feel more at ease,” Li Qi said, forcing a bitter smile: “After all, we are in the same boat.”

Shen Shuibi had heard about Yun Fang Great Shaman. His Disciple had fallen to Demonic Dao, and it wasn’t a choice of Demonic Dao like Li Shiwei’s, but was completely devoured by demonic thoughts, his Spirit Soul utterly extinguished.

He used the demonic thoughts in his heart as a guide, and his own memories and Karma to Rebirth his Disciple within his own heart, but this also caused demonic thoughts to proliferate within him, preventing him from advancing further.

His Third Grade cultivation and Dao Heart allowed him to easily dispel these demonic thoughtss, but he was unwilling to do so.

This was the terrifying aspect of the Demonic Dao.

Falling to Demonic Dao wasn't because demonic thoughts controlled you, but because you yourself were willing…

“Going to the Great Shaman is good. Then I will also go into isolated cultivation and won’t come out until I Breakthroug. It should be about a thousand years, there shouldn't be any problems.”

“But… before that, hug me.”

Li Qi didn’t wait for her to finish, and had already turned and embraced the rabbit.

His daughter’s matter wasn’t something only he cared about.

(End of Volume Six, Scenery Beyond the Domain)

(Next Volume — Volume Seven, The Path of Exorcising Demons)