Chapter 828: City of dreams

Li Shiwei looked around, Demonic Qi boiling.

Desire, beauty, greed, malice.

All demonic thoughtss originate from this heart; when this heart is released, it becomes peace of mind, and once peace of mind arises, one can become a Demon. Its changes are boundless and reach everywhere.

Before Li Shiwei, the grotesque Jambudvipa appeared, five hundred Yojanas deep, with thirty-six kinds of Mara-garlanded ghosts, and thirty-four billion kinds of beasts.

There were also fifty-seven billion Dragons residing in Jambudvipa, bringing down turbid water, foul and cold winds, and bursts of thunder without lightning. They beat drums made of cowhide, emitting evil sounds. A thousand Dragons, sixteen Abyssal ones, were about to manifest the appearance of Abi. Upon death, their bodies would appear as eight-year-old children, faces downward, suffering for three thousand years in the wind in the sky, a torment greater than the bliss of Akanistha Heaven.

Besides these abominations, one could also see celestial maidens and celestials singing hymns, making the sound of ocean tides, raining Mani jewels from above, and the city of the World-Protectors raining delicious food. In the sea, rain poured ceaselessly like connected wheels, in the Asura Realm, weapons rained, and in Jambudvipa, pure water rained, exquisitely beautiful.

Ugliness and beauty, each intertwined.

There were one hundred thirty-six scenes of Hell, with triangular birth-and-death and neutral states, and spherical birth-and-death in various heavens.

There were seventy-two scenes of celestials: luminous forests, wish-fulfilling trees in the four directions, and supreme touches, like touching the Kanjalindhi bird. Opening one's eyes, one constantly saw light. The five signs of newly born celestials included light covering their bodies without clothes, and seeing things with a sense of rarity.

"These things feel very uncreative. Is this how you test me, Demonic Lords?" Li Shiwei looked at the many demonic thoughtss. These demonic thoughtss were not fake.

In fact, if you indulged in them, then all demonic thoughtss would instantly turn real, dragging people into boundless Hell.

But Li Shiwei was full of boredom.

These things were too terrible.

They had no creativity at all.

She quietly stood up, and the Demonic Qi behind her also began to surge!

The Chan Du Mo worms flowed in the blood, and the good-colored worms resided in the feces.

The root worms rejoiced when full, and the joyful root worms could see all dreams. There were also jaundice and other ailments. The Shepoluo people had pierced lips, people with camel faces and eyes, winged lions, and women with dog faces.

There was a forest named Zhituojia, where Rakshasas lived, their eyes blinking as they traveled thousands of Yojanas. There were red lands, black jade, copper, and white. There were seventy celestial rivers like Yudan Yue Jiduojia, and the Self-Existent, Fearless Four Heavenly Kings, like the Duck Sound Forest, Qilin Tuo Tree, and Gajiduo Na.

There was a cattle-headed sandalwood tree where celestials and Asura fought, and the wounded applied incense here. Tiluoka tree flowers bloomed at the sight of sunlight, and Kunida tree flowers bloomed at the sight of moonlight.

There were also white Dragons, living geese, and flowers of the Revolving Nose Realm, among others, with celestial flowers falling like rain.

These things covered the original demonic thoughtss.

These phenomena were more exquisite and powerful than those presented by the previous demonic thoughtss. Many of them existed only in the Desire Realm, things that ordinary Fourth-Rank Demonic Lords could hardly witness.

To put it simply, whether it was by following Li Qi or the Demonic Prince, what one could see was stronger than what these Demonic Lords residing in the world could see.

Li Shiwei certainly couldn't defeat these Fourth-Rank cultivators, but she wouldn't be frightened by a mere wisp of demonic thoughts.

However, after being covered, the surrounding demonic thoughtss flared up again.

Essentially, Li Shiwei was, after all, only a Fifth-Rank cultivator. Others couldn't scare her, and she shouldn't expect to scare others.

But such probing annoyed Li Shiwei.

She suddenly stomped her foot, and Dao Resonance erupted!

The Dao Resonance from Demon of Death appeared, instantly tearing apart everything around it!

The power of Demon of Death was almost irresistible! Wanton terror and destruction enveloped everything, and demonic thoughtss shattered.

The power emanating from this Dao Resonance was so terrifying that merely looking at it seemed to make one feel their impending and destined destruction; all things would return to death here!

Whether it was Spirit Soul or physical body, it seemed that the moment one witnessed this Dao Resonance, they had already died!

The air was filled with oppressive rage; although the weather was clear and calm, a sudden metallic, rusty smell appeared. Many explosive cracks appeared out of nowhere in the air, and many Mortals in the lower levels couldn't help but feel dizzy, with a faint buzzing sound in their heads.

The disturbance of fate was about to strike, and destined extinction would descend.

A tremendous fear seized their hearts, making all living beings almost unable to move. A trembling current rushed from their spines to the back of their heads, then spread throughout their bodies. For those not brave enough, standing was a luxury; they could only lean against walls, looking around, searching for the source of this fear.

However, not all living beings could perceive the immense pressure in the sky. If they lacked higher intelligence and the 'Innate Three Treasures,' it would be difficult to feel this pressure.

Ants live on the earth without knowing its vastness, and plankton swim in the sea without knowing its depth. This is precisely the portrayal of these lives.

But this did not hinder the expansion of the Demon of Death’s Dao Resonance.

The violent Dao Resonance began to distort space, creating an effect similar to 'gravity.' The surrounding matter was absorbed, converging into countless, immeasurable, colossal columnar structures, roaring as they raced across the sky. Underneath the hot sand wasteland, surging death instantly filled the area!

The surrounding demonic thoughtss and Demonic Qi rapidly retreated.

Because they found that even though they were already Fourth-Rank, they still couldn't eliminate the influence of this Dao Resonance.

This was, of course, to be expected.

The Demonic Qi and demonic thoughtss all withdrew, choosing to retreat.

The Demon of Death’s Dao Resonance had proven Li Shiwei's qualifications to be here, so the Demonic Lords withdrew their probes.

There was no need to continue. After all, she was brought back by the Demonic Prince, and it was better not to provoke her.

Although the Demonic Dao is ultimately self-centered, they are not fools. They are not idiots who can't distinguish the situation. Even if they truly believe they are the creators of the world and that this world is merely a 'game' within their subjective consciousness, they can still recognize that some bosses are not so easy to defeat.

Although they do not fear death, believing that death is merely another 'restart' for themselves, and even treating Reincarnation as part of 'corpse running,' dying in vain is still not ideal.

As the Demonic Lords retreated, Li Shiwei sat down in place, looking up at the sky.

The sky held a beautiful sun, illuminating the hot sand below. However, further below the hot sand were layers upon layers of stacked buildings, like a sealed, smelly can.

Inside flowed venom, pollution, and countless amounts of flesh and blood.

It was truly annoying.

"You seem very agitated," the Demonic Prince's voice came from the mansion behind her.

"Yes," Li Shiwei nodded. "This place makes me very uncomfortable."

"This is City of Dreams, how could it be uncomfortable?" the Demonic Prince asked.

Li Shiwei didn't answer, only looked down.

These past few days, she had also learned some specific details about the city below. Indeed, as the Demonic Prince said, this was a 'City of Dreams.'

How much longing did the Outer Realm have for the world? It's probably difficult to explain this question clearly. One could only say that 'the world' encompassed all fantasies of Outer Realm beings.

Invincible mighty power.

A beautiful social system.

A superior environment where even breathing improved one's cultivation, where even the air was sweet.

Among Outer Realm beings, the vast majority did not live well. After all... the Outer Realm was simply too chaotic.

Even without discussing the conflicts between worlds and world clusters, just considering a single world, even a Ninth-Rank world with merely a few billion people, there were wars between nations, hunger, massacres, and slavery often existed.

To survive, all life had no choice but to participate in this almost perpetually ongoing great war.

You must fight desperately. In a place like the Outer Realm, most places operate on the 'Dao of Heaven’s Evolution,' where all life competes to survive. Even in peaceful worlds, such as the 'Advancement Alliance' that Li Qi once visited, it was already very peaceful, yet everyone still strived for sufficient social resources.

Moreover, such efforts could very well be futile. Merely the appearance of Shou Yu caused the entire world to be destroyed in an instant, its civilization shattered.

Such an Outer Realm was entirely a jungle society.

If a civilization itself was weak in capability, or its overall cultural ambition was low, or its talent was insufficient, then no one in this Universe would likely be interested in 'forcing' you a little.

Elimination was the end.

But at the same time, you could also eliminate others.

The Outer Realm was too vast.

For these Outer Realm civilizations themselves, no matter how strong you were, there was always someone stronger; no matter how weak, there was always someone weaker.

And living in a place like the Outer Realm, unless you were willing to be like a paramecium, thinking only about what to eat tomorrow or when to get promoted, then you could find comfort.

But if you had even a little ambition, as long as you looked up at the sky, you would find that the countless stars, the radiance of endless worlds, were all enemies.

In this situation, the beings of the Outer Realm, especially those who had already achieved extraordinary success in their own worlds, becoming their world's rulers—those chosen ones who had emerged from billions of people—the moment they stepped out of their own world, they would probably perceive their own insignificance.

Their great status within their world, contrasted with their tiny dust-like existence in the Outer Realm, this comparison could easily unbalance the mentality of these 'chosen ones.'

Therefore, the world could become a place of reliance.

Because the world was invincible, the world was the strongest to emerge from the endless worlds of the Outer Realm.

In this situation, what beautiful visions would they bestow upon the world?

Li Shiwei herself couldn't imagine how deeply filtered their perception of the world would be. Being born in the world, it was difficult for her to truly understand those people.

But, the final result was this city of the Demonic Dao.

This 'City of Dreams.'

A City of Dreams, many people living here harbored hope. They all believed that they had come to the world, and then they could gain experience here, grow here, and then arduously climb out of the world to stand at the pinnacle of the Outer Realm.

This was the hope the Demonic Dao gave them.

Because of this hope, they were guided to this city.

In fact, it wasn't all an illusion; the Demonic Dao truly gave them hope.

A large number of cultivation methods and spells were widely distributed at extremely low prices below. The superior environment from the world also helped them cultivate; they were definitely stronger than their counterparts in the Outer Realm.

The 'superiority' here didn't mean their living conditions were excellent, but rather that the world itself was more suitable for cultivation. Here, the speed of cultivation accumulation would be much faster.

Therefore, an endless stream of people flocked here, eager to come.

This place condensed the Outer Realm's fantasies about the world, the crystallization of all their desires.

In the world below, from sewers flowing with toxic water to magnificent pleasure dens, to quietly maintained ecological parks, or orderly and clean cities, everything imaginable existed.

Population density indeed brought chaos, but it also brought opportunities. Coupled with the Demonic Dao's deliberate manipulation, the classes below would never solidify, and everyone had a chance to rise.

Although the chance was slim, it was a real chance.

It was for this slim chance that countless people here gave their all! They burned their lives here, using all their thoughts, all their inspiration, all their abilities, desperately climbing upwards to satisfy their ambitions!

Then, everything they burned would become nourishment for the Demonic Dao.

The Demonic Dao feeds on the heart!

Their ambition, their inspiration, their pursuit, their joy after success or frustration after failure, the exhilaration of bullying others and the pain of being bullied—every psychological activity, every emotion born from the heart, all were favored nourishment for the Demonic Dao.

Li Shiwei couldn't help but wonder, if her father wasn't the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, if she didn't know the Demonic Prince, what would she be like if she lived in the city below, or even was born there?

Every time Li Shiwei thought this, she couldn't help but deduce.

And the final outcomes were never very good.

Therefore, having experienced all this, Li Shiwei deeply disliked this.

Sensing Li Shiwei's feelings, the Demonic Prince walked out from the palace behind her. Leaning on his cane, he walked and said, "I can understand. After all, you grew up on Shaman God Mountain. Shaman God Mountain has a very remarkable point, which is that any life can be 'very comfortable' there. This is probably the meaning of natural balance." The Demonic Prince said so.

Li Shiwei agreed; this was indeed the case.

One aspect of natural balance is not leaning towards any one side, meaning that no matter what type of life it is—whether a fungal jungle, an old-growth forest, a toxic swamp, or an insect hive—they can all find their comfortable zone within a delicate balance.

Shaman Dao is not extreme, so any living being, even 'humans' or 'Demons,' can find a place they like in Shaman Dao.

However... precisely because it is not extreme, it can only be described as 'like,' not 'love most.'

The Demonic Dao could not establish such a city of delusion on Shaman God Mountain.

The Dao of Heaven’s Evolution cannot truly have free competition because there is always something providing a safety net.

Buddhists believe that Shaman Dao does not protect Reincarnation at all.

The Spirit Dao doesn't know why Shamanes are unwilling to abandon those irrelevant things of reality, believing that those are the essence of the world.

The Demon Dao believes that all things are animistic, and the 'natural blocks' divided by Shamanes are nonsense, completely unrelated to the natural state. The Human Path is also unwilling to protect the rights of non-human beings, let alone coexist harmoniously with them.

Although they could all find a decent place in the territory of Shaman God Mountain, they could not truly accept Shaman Dao.