Chapter 827: Directions

The dense Demonic Qi began to permeate the surroundings the moment it was taken out.

No matter what, Li Shiwei was a Fifth Grade Demonic Dao Cultivator; although she posed no threat to those present, in reality, just a drop of a Fifth Grade Demonic Overlord's blood, if it accidentally fell into certain worlds, could form an boundless Demonic Domain, teeming with monsters and completely altering the surrounding ecosystem.

However, Li Shiwei's Demonic Qi was not that kind of dense, malicious black smoke.

The Demonic Dao is the ultimate 'Egoism,' meaning: no matter what, one must uphold their own will.

Li Qi, who is often influenced by external factors and then subtly adjusts his behavior based on external feedback, is viewed with disdain by the Demonic Dao.

Even though this behavior is so common, all beings naturally adjust their Dao based on external feedback; Li Qi, for instance, likes to absorb useful parts from other Daos to adjust his own Dao principles.

But the Demonic Dao is very dismissive of this.

In this world, I am certainly right, I must be right; if the world doesn't conform to my views, then the world is wrong. Adjusting oneself based on external feedback?

Nonsense!

From this, it can be seen that the Demonic Dao, which maintains such a belief, is actually 'without good or evil.'

Although this extreme ideology is far more efficient at producing extremely bad people than good people, it cannot hide the fact that the Demonic Dao itself is indifferent to good and evil.

However, extreme self-centeredness will inevitably lead to ignoring the feelings of others. For the Demonic Dao, if I, with good intentions, want to help you, then you must be helped.

I don't care if I'm doing more harm than good, or if this help actually made you better; it doesn't matter, that's not what I consider. I just want to help you, so I acted. How you feel is your business.

Similarly, when I want to act for my own sake, I cannot consider your feelings. Empathy does not exist for the Demonic Dao.

And empathy is the root of kindness. Kindness without empathy is very difficult to accomplish.

Only by truly understanding the other person's suffering can you get to the core essence, and only then will your help be useful, rather than just helping for your own sake, or 'being kind' for your own sake.

Therefore, in this situation, even if there are good people in the Demonic Dao, they are not liked, and there are far more evil people.

In any place, any group, people who absolutely prioritize their own feelings, are self-centered, and do not consider anyone or anything else, can never be popular.

Therefore, most Demonic Qi appears as unsettling black, which is a manifestation of the Demonic Dao's rejection of others and the world.

However, Li Shiwei's Demonic Qi was completely different.

Her Demonic Qi had a translucent hue, from which faint glimpses of mountain and wilderness scenery could be seen.

The Demonic Qi was permeated with the rich, earthy scent of mushrooms from the forest.

Mixed with the fragrance of lush vegetation growing along the riverbanks, it was refreshing and invigorating.

Water birds skimmed across the long river, startling the sleeping baboons on both banks, causing them to roar angrily, stomp their feet, and violently shake tree branches, trying to drive the water birds away.

Wild boars grunted and snorted, running into the bushes to hide.

Thousands of pelicans, cranes, egrets, herons, storks, terns, and spoonbills perched on the muddy banks stopped foraging, anxiously watching the commotion caused by the baboons.

Smaller birds like turtledoves, skimmers, rails, and pike were startled, flapping their wings and circling in the air, emitting sharp, piercing cries until the baboons' sounds completely disappeared.

A scene of tranquility and harmony.

Li Qi recognized this scene.

It was Mystic Radiance Mountain.

The place where Li Shiwei grew up.

"This kind of Demonic Qi is rare. It shows that your daughter did not fall into the Demonic Dao due to selfishness or stubbornness. Interesting. Then why did she fall into the Demonic Dao?" Chongnian looked at Li Qi.

"To be honest, it was because of... me," Li Qi said, lowering his head.

"Oh, alright, no need to say more. If you keep talking, I'm afraid you'll resent us, Master and disciple," Chongnian waved his hand. As a Diviner, even without divination, he could easily understand what had happened.

Speaking of which, since Li Qi arrived here, he hadn't used divination once.

As a Diviner, his attitude towards divination seemed particularly cautious; he wouldn't casually use this ability for deductions like Bo Yue.

Even Li Qi's attitude towards divination and deduction was more relaxed than his.

After all, Li Qi enjoyed using deduction to assist in daily life and combat.

"How could that be? After all, this matter started because of me; it's my responsibility to explain it truthfully," Li Qi said.

"Alright, I don't like to open old wounds. So, because of you, your daughter fell into the Demonic Dao, and you want to find her, which is why you asked Zhong Minglou to ask for my help. But you know, don't you? The things contaminated by your daughter's Demonic Qi are not that simple," Chongnian said.

"Yes, I understand. I once personally met a Devil King, and the Devil King said... he would personally deal with me," Li Qi showed a bitter smile but still spoke truthfully.

Many people knew about this, but Chongnian seemed not to have paid attention to it; instead, he showed a very surprised expression.

"To be personally warned by a Devil King, you truly have some skill. No wonder your promotion speed is so fast. However, if what you say is true, if I personally deduce this, I'm afraid I'll have to face many Demonic Overlords directly," Chongnian said.

"Indeed," Li Qi lowered his head again. "From my position, I probably don't have the face to ask Senior for help, but... as a father, how can I let my young daughter stray further down the wrong path because of my own pride?"

Li Qi clasped his hands together, raising them above his head: "So, call me shameless if you will, but I calculated and pushed Zhong Minglou to visit Senior in this way. I hope Senior can give me a reply, even if it's a refusal."

Zhong Minglou sensed Li Qi's current state. Although he couldn't see, he could still understand the current tension through his other senses. This atmosphere also affected him, causing him to exhale deeply.

Li Qi in this state...

It truly was unprecedented.

"What, feeling distressed?" Chongnian looked at Zhong Minglou and asked.

Zhong Minglou, who was drinking tea, spat out a mouthful of tea upon hearing this, then awkwardly said, "Master, what nonsense are you talking about—"

But Chongnian was serious: "Nonsense? Do I look like I'm joking? You can see it too, can't you? Your Master, if I really go to deduce this, I might have to face a Devil King directly. Do you not understand what a Devil King is? But you just stand by and watch, not speaking up for me. As my disciple, you should now fully consider your Master's difficulties and then bang on the table and tell this kid to get out."

Zhong Minglou was speechless. He was originally a charlatan who wasn't good with words, and asking him to say anything flowery would probably be impossible. Now that Li Qi was begging him because of his young daughter, even racking his brains to find a way to guide him, just to exchange a favor for a few good words, he didn't know how to refuse.

But now that Master was saying this, he didn't know what to do.

So, Zhong Minglou simply chose to give up. He already had a cloth strip wrapped around his eyes, and now he wrapped another one, lowering his head as if waiting for death, indicating he would help neither side.

However, this attitude was actually very clear.

Helping neither side actually meant helping Li Qi. As long as he sat there, it was unlikely Chongnian would fly into a rage and kick Li Qi out.

As long as Li Qi was thick-skinned enough to endure Chongnian's harshness, he could sit there and beg for the Grand Diviner's help. Even if it wasn't direct intervention, Chongnian would likely casually give Li Qi something to send him away.

The Grand Diviner's help, even if just a casual dismissal, would be extremely important assistance for Li Qi.

These were also within Li Qi's considerations. With this, then going to seek help from Zhu Fengdan and Yunfang Great Shaman, he should still be able to gather enough chips to find Li Shiwei.

Probably...

Seeing Zhong Minglou's expression, Chongnian Great Shaman shook his head helplessly, then said, "People who come into this Universe are all lonely. The so-called soul connection inevitably means one side is deliberately accommodating. Don't be too emotional."

Chongnian Great Shaman spoke with exceptionally cold words, seemingly trying to educate Zhong Minglou.

No... you, a disciple-obsessed person, have no right to say that, do you?

Li Qi couldn't help but think to himself.

Seeing Zhong Minglou like that, Chongnian shook his head, then looked at Li Qi: "Ahem, alright. Since you've prepared so thoroughly, from favors, attitude, shamelessness, and your own future value, you've done it all. It's quite impressive. Although I know that your guidance to Zhong Minglou was essentially to bestow a favor, if it failed, he might even suffer. If it weren't for the fact that it succeeded and Zhong Minglou also pleaded for you, I would have already beaten you to death."

His words were heartfelt, and he was clearly not pleased.

To persuade him, Li Qi specifically targeted Zhong Minglou, thought of a method to guide him, and then came here, demonstrating his future value and attitude. All of this was actually to persuade Chongnian to act.

Favors, his disciple, Li Qi's future returns, and the investment in Li Qi's potential—all these things were urging Chongnian: agree to it, there are many benefits to agreeing, and if you don't, it will not look good.

Chongnian saw these arrangements very clearly. He perfectly understood Li Qi's tricks. In front of a Third Grade, even without mind-reading or divination, he could completely guess Li Qi's actions.

This was a gap in wisdom.

However, Chongnian didn't dislike Li Qi for doing this.

Just as he had just said.

People who come into this Universe are all lonely. The so-called soul connection inevitably means one side is deliberately accommodating.

What Li Qi was didn't matter; he didn't care about Li Qi either.

But his good disciple Zhong Minglou had gone this far, so helping him out of goodwill was fine. He just needed to teach Zhong Minglou a lesson later, telling him not to associate with Li Qi anymore.

So, Chongnian said, "Alright then, stand up. No need for formalities. I will perform one divination for you. But let me say this first: my duty is to guard the Heavenly River, and this duty requires me to maintain my combat power. Therefore, as long as I don't actively engage in combat, I will help you. But if something blocks me during the investigation, I will immediately withdraw and will not engage in battle."

"That is natural. Thank you, Grand Diviner!" Li Qi immediately bowed.

The Grand Diviner said nothing more. Since he had agreed to do it, he would simply do it.

He placed his hand on Li Shiwei's blood and hair.

The next instant—

Several large Spiritual Artifacts emerged around him. These Spiritual Artifacts resembled bright pearls, yet also moons, subtly spaced apart, floating at the Lagrange points between the Heavenly River's critical boundaries.

Thus, these two co-orbital objects rotated with the same period, and the gravitational pull and centrifugal force of the two celestial bodies balanced at the Lagrange points, causing the third object to remain relatively stationary with respect to the first two. There were five such points, all now occupied by the suddenly appearing large Spiritual Artifacts.

This construct was truly colossal, almost as large as a world, like those world-class giant ships, but even more dazzling and brilliant. It was annular in shape, interweaving with starlight, like bright jewels.

Fault lines in space appeared here. From Li Qi's angle, there was only a faint light, echoing the surrounding stars, its beauty undiminished.

Stepping forward to gaze at the Heavenly River, long facing the rotating starry sky of outer space, it was less a divination and more a beautiful journey through the stars. As these constructs rotated, scattering fragments of celestial bodies across billions of kilometers of space, there was a sense of rushing motion. Even with the naked eye, one could discern the chaotic gases and entangled vortices. At this moment, the surging Aura of the nebula was profoundly awe-inspiring.

Li Qi watched all of this... in a daze, he suddenly felt drowsy.

He couldn't resist and momentarily sank into the vortex of the starry river, as if drunk, falling into a deep slumber.

— — — — — — — — — —

Meanwhile, in the extreme south of the world, at the center of the Demonic Dao...

At the very top of these dozens of layers of endless stacked nests, within the Demonic Prince's residence...

Existences above Third Grade in the Demonic Dao, especially the Four Demons themselves, hardly ever resided in the world.

There were many reasons for this. One was that the Demonic Dao itself didn't particularly like being in the world; they disliked being suppressed by the Heavenly Dao of the world, feeling a sense of unfreedom.

However, besides that, the lack of high-end power was also a reason.

Of the Four Demons, two were gone: the Demon of Death was killed in ancient times, and the Devil King was Sealed in the Heavens of the Formless Realm.

As for the other two, the Demon of the Five Aggregates had gone off somewhere, and the only First Grade, the Demon of Affliction, had a very bad temper.

How to put it... even the Demonic Dao itself didn't particularly welcome this Demon of Affliction, because he fed on Dao Hearts, not even sparing his own people within the Demonic Dao.

Of course, for the Demonic Dao, the classification of 'one's own people' was also very vague.

However, all in all, the highest grade in the Demonic Dao within the world was Fourth Grade.

So, Fourth Grade was already the peak in this area.

However, the Demonic Prince's residence surpassed many Fourth Grade Demonic Overlords.

The Demonic Overlords lived on the uppermost layers, oppressing the Mortals below, yet the Demonic Prince, with his Fifth Grade cultivation, lorded over numerous Fourth Grades, who dared not say anything against him.

Li Shiwei was now sitting in the Demonic Prince's residence.

Around her, demonic thoughtss surged.

The Fourth Grades seemed very interested in her. (End of Chapter)