Chapter 821: The rhyme of the charlatan

Facing Li Qi’s request, Zhong Minglou was momentarily put in a difficult position.

This was no small matter.

Contacting his Master was simple; if Li Qi had merely come for a casual visit, he would have readily agreed. It would have just been a matter of Li Qi visiting an elder, chatting, laughing, and building rapport before Li Qi departed—no problems whatsoever.

But now, Li Qi had come with a purpose, and it seemed to be a significant one.

At such a time, bringing Li Qi over would be akin to him, as a Disciple, pleading with his Master to help his friend.

This was also Li Qi’s objective. After all, if he merely wanted to contact a Grand Diviner, Li Qi knew Zhu Fengdan; he could simply ask Zhu Fengdan for a Grand Diviner’s contact information. There was no need to seek out Zhong Minglou.

Having someone introduce him naturally implied this.

Li Qi, of course, could have directly asked Zhu Fengdan to take him. Both Zhu Fengdan and Li Qi knew there would be no issue, and Zhu Fengdan wouldn’t think anything of Li Qi for it. But the problem was…

Even Li Qi knew that Zhu Fengdan’s reputation wasn’t the best.

If Teacher Zhu brought him to visit a Grand Diviner, they might very well be thrown out.

Normally, Li Qi wouldn’t care about such things, or rather… under normal circumstances, Li Qi would recognize this and proactively avoid such an awkward situation.

Under abnormal circumstances, like now, he wouldn’t care about saving face. He might even beg Zhu Fengdan to go directly to their door and use Zhu Fengdan’s unique methods to threaten the other party into helping. After all, it wasn’t Zhu Fengdan’s first time doing this, and he would certainly be very willing to stick up for Li Qi.

However… Zhu Fengdan was severely injured now, so barging in was out of the question.

Therefore, seeking Zhong Minglou’s help became Li Qi’s best option at the moment.

But Zhong Minglou was also very troubled.

Normally, making such a plea wouldn’t be difficult. Even if Li Qi wanted to deduce something, it would just be like “borrowing some soy sauce from your house.”

But now wasn’t normal times; it was wartime, and Li Qi had explicitly stated that this likely involved ‘High-level Demonic Dao’. This was no longer just borrowing soy sauce.

This was a high-risk matter, roughly akin to borrowing your house, asking you to transfer the property to him so he could register for a school district, and then returning it after he finished his studies.

Such a matter, if not carefully considered, would be very difficult to agree to.

If his Master didn’t help, then he would find it hard to explain to Li Qi. After all, he knew this matter concerned Li Qi’s daughter… Li Qi had come to him, so there must be no better alternative.

Zhong Minglou lowered his head in thought, deciding what to do.

They were good friends, true, but good friends also had boundaries. Without any boundaries, a friendship couldn’t last.

Li Qi sat beside him, waiting for Zhong Minglou’s decision.

He also knew that this matter would likely put the other party in a difficult position.

If Zhong Minglou himself were a Third Grade, meaning the house belonged to Zhong Minglou, then Zhong Minglou wouldn't be so troubled. At worst, he would grit his teeth and lend it to Li Qi, trusting Li Qi’s character and his ability to repay.

But Zhong Minglou wasn’t. This house belonged to his Master. He had to ask his Master to lend the house for Li Qi; he was unilaterally lending out his parents’ house…

How could that not be difficult for someone?

Li Qi himself was very aware that this request was somewhat outrageous, but he had no other choice.

Seeing Zhong Minglou’s troubled expression, Li Qi sighed and said, “After this matter is resolved, I cannot promise anything, but I can only say that I will never forget this kindness.”

Zhong Minglou looked up and said, “I know that even if you don’t say it, but the problem isn’t about kindness; it’s about whether… I can make this decision on behalf of Master.”

“Li Qi, you should understand that the relationship between my Master and me is actually the same as the relationship between you and Great Shaman Zhu. If I ask him, he will certainly not refuse, just like when you ask Great Shaman Zhu.”

Li Qi nodded. Of course, he knew this, otherwise he wouldn’t have come to Zhong Minglou.

The relationship between the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain and a Great Shaman is actually very intimate. Even someone as unreliable as Zhu Fengdan treated Li Qi like his own child. Although he was somewhat hands-off, he was absolutely unambiguous when it came to important matters.

Li Qi had always regarded his Master as family. Although he knew Zhu Fengdan was unreliable in character, he even asked him to officiate his own wedding.

Furthermore, no matter what, Li Qi had never defied Zhu Fengdan. He was actually very respectful of his Master, so much so that Zhu Fengdan found his excessive formalities annoying and wanted to hit him.

But in return, Zhu Fengdan truly doted on this Disciple. Not to mention the many things he did behind the scenes, just the sheer amount of resources and support he provided Li Qi was unimaginable. Zhu Fengdan even personally fought and killed another Third Grade for him, which was extremely rare even among the Young Masters.

Third Grade combat was exceedingly rare. Even if Zhu Fengdan was a bit eccentric, he wouldn’t easily start a fight normally. But in Hell, for Li Qi, he even personally twisted off the head of a Human Dao Third Grade and gave the head to Li Qi.

And the reason he doted on Li Qi so much, besides Li Qi being generally likable, was primarily because Li Qi truly inherited Zhu Fengdan’s Dao.

Li Qi’s personality appeared gentle and cautious, but his Dao was exactly like Zhu Fengdan’s eccentric and peculiar one. Zhu Fengdan once showed Li Qi his Dharma form. (For details, see Chapter 506)

At that time, Zhu Fengdan’s Dharma form encompassed all phenomena, and could be described as “the harmony of all things, the ultimate depth of the ethereal.”

Li Qi’s feeling at the time was: “Beasts, hungry ghosts, creatures of land, water, and air, Heavenly Demons, external Daos, ghosts and gods of the underworld, all manner of distorted and evil forms, suffering and perversion, came rushing at me.”

Moreover, the boundless demonic thoughtss that flowed from the empty spaces of Zhu Fengdan’s Four Symbols even stunned Li Qi at the time.

But now, anyone familiar would notice how similar Li Qi’s Inner World was to Zhu Fengdan’s.

Li Qi also leaned towards the Demonic Dao, also embraced other Dao Orthodoxy with an inclusive mind, and also used Shaman Dao as the dominant force, rebelliously governing other Dao Orthodoxy.

Although the personalities of the two Master and Disciple were different, their Daos were astonishingly similar.

From this, it can also be seen that the Master-Disciple Legacy of Shaman God Mountain truly passes on the ‘Dao’. Their relationship is even more intimate than the ‘father-son’ relationship of mortal Bloodline Legacy. What connects them is not simple Bloodline, but a deeper ‘Legacy of the Dao’. In this situation, it is easy to imagine how effective the Master-Disciple relationship is and how much influence their words carry.

As can be seen from Li Qi and Zhu Fengdan, the relationship between Zhong Minglou and the Grand Diviner is also like this; most of the relationships between the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain and the Great Shamanes are like this.

When Zhong Minglou spoke, and since this matter was indeed not a joke, the Grand Diviner would never refuse.

Even someone as skilled in social graces as Li Qi didn’t know what to say at this moment, merely sitting before Zhong Minglou, awaiting his response.

After a while, Zhong Minglou looked up and asked, “Li Qi, are you a warmonger?”

Li Qi replied, “At this point, does it matter whether one advocates for war or peace? When the flames of war ignite, regardless of whether one advocates for war or peace, one can only join in. But if I must say, I am actually neither. I became a pawn back then, helping the warmongers instigate war, only to save Mount Luofu.”

“Now Mount Luofu has awakened, and even my father-in-law has recovered. Although he lost his Dao opportunity, his life was saved.”

“So, what I needed to do has been accomplished. The rest are merely the consequences I need to be responsible for, and it is only natural to bear the obligations of war.”

Li Qi’s answer seemed circuitous, but the logic was still very simple.

He truly didn’t care about war or peace; he only wanted his family to be safe. For this, he could unhesitatingly start a war or quell one. War held no meaning for him; all he wanted was for those around him to be unharmed.

For this goal, he could make any choice. However, in return, he was not someone who would hide or shrink back. Once a decision was made, he would bear the corresponding responsibility.

What is done must be borne; that is only natural.

“So, Li Qi, you will continue to firmly advocate for war, right?” Zhong Minglou asked, “Even though this war has already affected your daughter, you will continue?”

Li Qi shook his head: “You are wrong, Minglou. The war has begun and cannot be stopped. I understand you may not like war very much, but think about it, how much will the birth of a new First Grade in Shaman Dao change the upper-level structure? War is unavoidable. Even if we want peace, we have to wait until the fighting is over.”

“The former peace faction’s only thought was to delay, to delay until perhaps it could be resolved. But is delaying a good method? It’s nothing more than passing the war on to the next generation.”

“The Tribulation Fire has ignited. How can gains and losses be measured? It’s no longer something that can be summarized by war or peace.” Li Qi looked at Zhong Minglou. The other party was only a Fifth Grade, so he could probably only see his own war zone, but this war was truly too vast now.

“Is that so? Perhaps Li Qi, you can see further than I can, but I don’t quite understand your perspective.” Zhong Minglou was noncommittal.

“It is indeed difficult for you to understand, but, how should I put it? Actually, everything happening now is not real,” Li Qi suddenly said.

Yes, for some reason, Li Qi suddenly felt he could tell Zhong Minglou about this.

So, he didn’t hide it and said directly, “If all of this could start over, even countless times, then, Minglou, would you still think whether it’s war or peace is very important?”

“If all of this could start over, and even many times, then it can only be said that war is the optimal solution.” Zhong Minglou immediately grasped the key point.

“That’s right, then I’ll tell you, this war has repeated many, many times. Would you still advocate for peace?” Li Qi asked Zhong Minglou, looking intently at his face, waiting for a reply.

Zhong Minglou’s expression subtly changed. Although half of his face was covered by cloth, a strip of cloth acting as an eye patch tightly blocking it, his shock could still be felt.

Then, Li Qi saw Zhong Minglou unhesitatingly pull off the cloth strip covering his eyes.

At that instant, he opened his eyes.

They were particularly striking eyes. Although Zhong Minglou’s own appearance was ordinary, these eyes, always concealed beneath the cloth strip, appeared so beautiful.

Even as a Fourth Grade, Li Qi was captivated by these eyes in that instant. He saw the same love, the same promise, the same brilliance, as if looking into the eyes of someone gazing upon the myriad heavens.

The True Knowledge Dao Resonance subconsciously activated completely at this moment, attempting to absorb all of the other party’s information into his mind.

Li Qi’s thinking organ and True Knowledge immediately coordinated exquisitely. Almost instinctively, two people with extraordinary observational abilities simultaneously observed each other in that instant!

Li Qi, at this moment, saw a subtle object.

He saw a crystal-like sphere, a sphere with incredible ‘reflective’ capabilities. It seemed capable of reflecting the smallest states of matter.

It was so profound that Li Qi could not discern what this crystal actually reflected.

Imagine, if a mirror could reflect ‘everything’, then, when you point this mirror at the entire sky, what would you see in the mirror?

The answer is, you would see the entire Universe as it pertains to you.

Yes, the entire Universe. As long as it doesn’t exceed the light cone, you can see everything within the light cone.

Even the smallest changes in light and brightness of an object can be precisely detected, with infinite resolution, capable of incorporating all possible light.

You only need to look at the sky to see the first stars and galaxies formed in your Star Domain, to detect objects 10 billion times fainter than the dimmest stars visible through a telescope, capturing every spectrum and every pixel of a photograph.

You can easily see not only distant, dim, and ancient clusters of worlds, but also the formation and evolution of various galaxies in the vast deep space invisible to the naked eye, and the entire history of the Observable Universe.

As long as your observational ability is sufficient, you can obtain all answers within the light cone from this sphere.

This is…

Zhong Minglou’s Dao Resonance, and his was an Innate Dao Resonance, present from his birth, not like Li Qi’s Acquired one. This also meant that he and his Dao Resonance were almost one, inseparable and difficult to strip away. To strip away this Dao Resonance, one would have to kill him.

It was precisely because of this Dao Resonance that he became blind the moment he was born, because his eyes could not bear the light of the entire Observable Universe.

But the Grand Diviner of Shaman God Mountain intervened in time, saving him from being overwhelmed by the massive influx of information. He promptly used a spell to shield his eyes, then covered them with a Spiritual Artifact so he couldn’t see outside, allowing him to grow up slowly.

And now, Zhong Minglou, with his eye patch removed, could see the Observable Universe, everything within the light cone.