Chapter 833: Regret

Facing Li Qi's command to leave, the Shaman immediately panicked, hoping Li Qi would spare her.

Although she herself didn't know what was happening, she knew that the Senior in front of her couldn't have called her over without reason, and now calling her over only to tell her to leave, seemingly to show off power, actually had a deeper reason.

This was especially true for the Demonic Dao.

So, this Shaman immediately kowtowed for mercy; even though she didn't understand at all, it didn't stop her from seeking help.

"Mercy? Oh, you've misunderstood. I didn't intend to kill you, nor did I lay a hand on you. I merely wanted you to appear once so he could see what was going on," Li Qi said, pointing at Number One.

"Now, he has seen enough, and you may leave," Li Qi waved his hand. "Go back and attend to your own affairs."

"Senior, may I stay and observe?" At this moment, the Shaman raised her head. Although still kneeling on the ground, she spoke very decisively.

"Oh? That's fine too. You can stay here," Li Qi ignored her, then disregarded the Shaman and waved his hand at Number One.

Number One suddenly became clear-headed. His temptation was dispelled, and at the same time, the longing for this place that had been in his heart was also dispelled.

Number One indeed had a firm mind. The previous demonic thoughts had merely served as the most ordinary kind of lure, like a carrot dangling in front of a pig.

That demonic thoughts was a 'desire'.

A desire to rise above others.

So, under this desire, his 'firmness' turned into stubbornness. It clearly didn't affect his thinking, nor was there any brainwashing, and in fact, brainwashing was impossible.

demonic thoughtss originate from the inner hearts of higher intelligences, and their essence is something even Li Qi doesn't fully understand.

If one could understand what 'demonic thoughtss' are, then one could also understand what 'Heavenly Demons' are. This problem is too profound, far beyond Li Qi's reach.

But this doesn't prevent demonic thoughtss from existing widely, and only within the hearts of higher intelligences, and these hearts must be free, not hypnotized or brainwashed.

You can use education, experience, or torment to twist the hearts of higher intelligent beings and make them produce demonic thoughtss. But if you hypnotize, brainwash, or even directly alter the other party's cognition, the demonic thoughtss produced will actually no longer belong to the original person. If the distortion is too extreme, the demonic thoughtss produced might even belong to the one who caused the distortion.

A seventh-rank Demonic Dao practitioner twists the mind of a ninth-rank, alters their memory and cognition, causing them to produce demonic thoughtss, and then... these produced demonic thoughtss will belong to the seventh-rank, not the ninth-rank.

It's that bizarre.

demonic thoughtss themselves are heavily dependent on 'subjective cognition.' If you shape another's subjective experience, then according to the Demonic Dao's view, the other's subjective experience actually becomes your 'subjective experience.'

Therefore, when cultivating demonic thoughtss, the Demonic Dao does not brainwash; instead, it tries to achieve this through environment or enticement as much as possible.

Implanting demonic thoughtss into the heart to cultivate 'obsessions' is already a low-level method, and it is precisely because of this low-level method that Li Qi caught him and brought him here as a typical example.

That's right, Li Qi really just wanted a typical example; he didn't have any particular opinion of the other party.

His current focus was still on Number One.

Li Qi felt a certain intuitive stirring from Number One. The Shaman's sixth sense told him that Number One, in front of him, might be able to help him find some clues about the Demonic Dao.

So, Li Qi squatted down, facing Number One, who was sprawled on the ground, and said, "Now, I've helped you remove the demonic thoughts, and I've also helped you shield the Shaman's influence."

"You are free now. Can you tell me, do you still want to stay here?"

Number One looked up at Li Qi.

He was somewhat bewildered.

Now, he was beginning to vaguely understand a truth.

That is... this Universe, for them, is truly terrifying. He had already somewhat grasped this before; he had come to All Under Heaven, sacrificing everything, precisely because he had witnessed two Great Powers passing by and merely touching, which resulted in nearly half of the worlds in his world cluster being destroyed.

However, now he realized...

Things were far more terrifying than he had imagined.

"Don't look at me with that expression. So, what do you want to do now? This place, All Under Heaven, is not easy to enter. Do you want to return to the outer regions?" Li Qi asked.

However, Number One drooped his head dejectedly, his body losing all strength. "The outer regions are like this, and All Under Heaven is like this. Is there no way to live in this world?"

Li Qi, still squatting, said, "Although from my perspective, saying something like this can easily be misunderstood as sarcasm, I still have to say that a way out is something you fight for yourself. When you're an eighth-rank, you fight like an eighth-rank. Don't come to All Under Heaven. Coming here... the opponents you'll have to fight won't be eighth-ranks. Although the outer regions are full of crises, at least they're vast enough."

"Vast enough means enough opportunities. There aren't that many Great Powers, and not that many people will casually run around destroying world clusters. What you encountered was an accidental event."

"However, what's an accidental event in the outer regions isn't one here. All Under Heaven doesn't allow you to enter and exit freely, and it has set up Patrolling Envoys for governance, not to suppress you, but to protect you."

Yes, Li Qi now fully understood.

All the great Dao Orthodoxy basically had restrictions on outsiders entering All Under Heaven. This matter had been mentioned before. (See Chapter 816 for details)

These management measures varied, but overall, they were all aimed at limiting the large-scale arrival of people in All Under Heaven.

This was not only to maintain the ecology of All Under Heaven but also for the peace of the outer realm beings.

One can imagine how excellent the taxi driver Li Qi encountered in Chang'an, that bluebird who settled in Chang'an with her children, must have been to be promoted from the outer realm to the Human Dao.

After all, All Under Heaven isn't entirely made up of good people. Li Qi's imagination couldn't even keep up with what All Under Heaven would become once the restrictions on the outer realm were lifted.

After all, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, it would be hard for him to imagine the existence of such a 'City of Dreams'.

In City of Dreams, even these impoverished slums, where everything has been lost, have long been allocated.

Demon of Affliction, Demon of Affliction, is there anyone more distressed and troubled than these people who have lost everything?

What they encountered was not something like their entire family dying.

Instead, it was the complete annihilation of their entire world.

To be able to come here, it must be because they are all responsible Clan Chiefs, responsible Lords of the Realm.

They are full of ambition, full of dreams, and willing to strive for them.

They hold an almost infinite love for life.

Therefore, the Demonic Dao made life repay them with infinite suffering.

The Demonic Dao controlled all freedom, making these originally noble and disciplined people constantly run towards death in a self-proclaimed 'free' cage, walking in a bloody Hell, unable to stop even when covered in wounds.

From the moment they were chosen, these people were destined to fall into Hell, because their suffering and troubles were the sustenance for the Demon of Affliction lineage, their cultivation resources.

And why were these people chosen?

Because these people were all honest, positive, disciplined, and kind. They were all good people, leaders of their own worlds, and had an "almost infinite love for life."

Was Number One like this?

Li Qi believed this was beyond doubt.

He must be.

This young man, enveloped by a desperate and fearful world, both in the outer regions and upon arriving in this City of Dreams, toiled tirelessly every day, yet still maintained his love for life, even managing to consider the feelings of others.

He was considerate of others in his daily life, wanted his clansmen to live better, and after encountering trouble, still thought about protecting them.

Even in such a state, he was willing to lend a helping hand to others.

He could have abandoned his clansmen, without needing to feel any guilt, just like those outer region travelers who live perfectly well on their own, without caring about their civilization.

However, despite being unable to protect himself, a mere mud Buddha, he was still willing to use his dilapidated temple to shelter others from the wind and rain.

He was filled with an infinite love for life.

But what about "life" to him?

As a representative of such people, he was chosen.

Therefore, his experiences would be utterly heartless. Therefore, no matter what work he engaged in, he would encounter mind-destroying torment and oppression.

This oppression could even be said to be the most shocking and egregious phenomenon, artificially imposed around him, while at the same time, he had to maintain his human sanity.

Yes, you must endure such terrifying torment, and at the same time, you must maintain a firm mind and love life. Under such contradiction, amidst such entanglement, the 'trouble' produced is especially delicious.

This is why people like 'Number One' are chosen.

The bad reputation of the Demonic Dao comes from the countless evil deeds they commit. Not all Demonic Dao practitioners are like the Demonic Prince, completely self-centered and not needing to devour demonic thoughtss.

Moreover, even the Demonic Prince, he actually needs to feed on the failures of others. This is an inherent characteristic of the Demonic Dao. Although they are completely 'ego-centric,' they still need to parasitize other Dao Orthodoxy to survive.

Li Qi was not clear on how this contradiction was resolved, as he was not truly a Demonic Dao practitioner.

Back to Number One.

Being chosen by the Demonic Dao is not that simple; it also requires very high Aptitude, and such individuals are not found everywhere.

The chosen ones need to endure countless pressures while maintaining human sanity and resilience. This is not an easy task, but... fortunately, the outer regions are vast enough.

The outer regions are vast enough, so by filtering out enough people, the necessary candidates can be found.

Ultimately, everyone who came to this City of Dreams was so resolute and brave. Regardless of their temperament or whether they were kind, they were certainly resilient, able to face countless torments and never give up.

Even if they committed evil or fell, they would climb step by step.

How tragic it is that people who love life face only such an ending, and it was predetermined from the very beginning that their hopes could never be realized.

To truly climb to a high position, yes, but the prerequisite is that you must enter the Demonic Dao, grow from a leek into a harvester, and then you can harvest others, becoming a 'high-ranking person'.

If you maintain your current state and Dao Orthodoxy, you will always be a leek.

Don't think that reaching the seventh or sixth rank will free you from being a leek. The upper echelons of this City of Dreams are filled with fourth-rank cultivators; the Demonic Dao has many fourth-rank individuals here.

There's no escape, no matter what.

"Do you understand now? This is the truth of this place. I can help you leave now. Are you willing to go?" Li Qi asked.

"Thank you... Senior." The struggle in Number One's eyes disappeared; he became completely bewildered.

Saying 'thank you' was probably just a force of habit.

Because, after Li Qi revealed all this truth, Number One completely collapsed.

He didn't even know how to face it all.

If before he was deceived out of his own world and all his clansmen, now he was deceived out of everything.

His cognition, his dreams, all his passion and emotions.

Li Qi saw that after a brief period of dejection, Number One became distressed.

He roared in anger and alarm, his magic techniques flying wildly around him as he vented his power. The wind seemed to shriek, rushing and flying in all directions. His stomach began to twist into a knot, and he collapsed onto the dirty floor as if dead.

Even as he lay there, he twitched constantly, as if every muscle and sinew in his body was screaming, his heart filled with pain, fear, and hatred.

Why? What heinous crime had he committed to deserve such treatment from this world?

He tried to recall the important events of his life—both right and wrong.

Was it when he insisted on cutting a piece of wood as a child?

Or was it the slaughter he committed to rule the world?

His heart seemed to crack, as if every punishment in his life was due to his own negligence and carelessness.

Number One lay on the ground, listening to his heartbeat. He felt the blood pounding in his head, his blood vessels expanding as if they would burst.

Angry tears welled up in the eyes of this Realm Lord. He kicked his feet frantically, like a child kicking off his blanket at night, completely losing the dignified resilience a leader who had ruled billions of people and made decisions for them should possess.

In such a scene, according to his usual character, Li Qi would silently turn and leave.

He was like that, neither good nor evil, disliking getting too involved in things.

However, now, Li Qi actively walked over to Number One's side, reached out, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"So, are you going?" he asked.

There was no other reason, just mutual sympathy.

How could Li Qi himself not be the same?

This seemed to calm Number One down.

"Thank you... Senior." He stood up again, bowed, and said the exact same words as before.

Li Qi nodded, waved his hand, and sent him to a world in the outer regions.

From then on, Number One had no further connection with him.

Then, Li Qi looked at the Shaman beside him.

"You must be drooling, such delicious trouble, and you can't have any."