Chapter 841: The person who is hated

In the outer domain, inside a small flying boat.

The flying boat was very simple, but its simplicity only applied to its decor; in reality, its performance was terrifying, having reached the Peak of a Fifth-Grade Spiritual Artifact, which was also the limit the Demonic Prince could control.

A Fourth-Grade Spiritual Artifact was beyond his control; even if a Fourth-Grade Spiritual Artifact could Breakthrough the Heavenly Dao's limits, the Demonic Prince himself still couldn't Breakthrough, so flying with a Fourth-Grade Spiritual Artifact would kill him. He still needed to slowly adapt to it.

That's right, adapt.

The Demonic Prince had fully comprehended the power of the Fourth-Grade. He had made all preparations for his own advancement, but given the nature of his Demonic Dao, he still needed to slowly change his '观念' (Dao Resonance concept).

For the Demonic Dao, this required ample psychological preparation to transform one's subjective '观念' (Dao Resonance concept).

This is very difficult, similar to how we all know about the wave-particle duality of particles, and that matter itself is a 'wave,' but at the same time, it possesses stable properties on a macroscopic level.

However, it is still difficult for everyone to get used to perceiving matter as a wave; in daily life, they even subconsciously ignore the 'wave' attribute of matter, treating it directly as a stable particle state.

This is a case where the knowledge exists, but the '观念' (Dao Resonance concept) has not changed.

The Demonic Dao relies extremely on the cognition of subjective will, so even if the Demonic Prince had already recognized some clues of the Fourth-Grade, he still couldn't truly overturn his inherent perception of the world.

After all, this inherent perception was accumulated by him bit by bit over many years. He might need an equally long time to change this 'habit.'

After all, not everyone can Breakthrough so easily. For most people, scoring a perfect hundred on an exam is as difficult as ascending to Heaven. The textbook clearly states everything, and that knowledge is from hundreds of years ago, yet they just can't understand or apply it.

Breaking through the Dao is very difficult. For many people with poor talent, even learning existing knowledge is extremely difficult, let alone breaking through themselves and creating new knowledge.

To create new knowledge, incorporate it into one's Dao, and thereby update one's perception of the world, synthesize the value structure of the Universe's matter, and then use this perception as a guide to 'invent' techniques and Divine Abilities that can genuinely change one's strength, advancing one's cultivation to a higher level.

Only after this entire process is completed can it be considered a 'Breakthrough in Grade.'

It's very difficult, its difficulty is no less than a Level 1 civilization upgrading to a Level 2 civilization, requiring an all-around Breakthrough.

First, correctly perceiving this world, then using one's perception to summarize and transform this world, and making one's state consistent with one's perception—this is the entire 'Breakthrough' process.

Countless people are stuck in the middle, unable to move, because they neither know what this world is truly like nor can they creatively transform it.

If you ask someone from a feudal era to understand that matter is a 'probability wave,' even if you tell him the answer, he may not be able to comprehend it, because his entire worldview does not support such a conclusion.

The Demonic Prince is like this; he has already reached a conclusion on his own, but he cannot accept this conclusion. He is currently struggling with his subjective will; in other words, his '器量' (Dao Resonance capacity) is not yet sufficient.

His '器量' (Dao Resonance capacity) cannot accommodate this conclusion. At present, he cannot accept this 'fact' that is completely incompatible with his former '观念' (Dao Resonance concept).

It's like a baby who can't accept that 'unseen things still exist.'

For a child, something only exists if they can see it. Once it disappears, the baby will believe it no longer exists.

Because the concept of objects has not yet fully formed for infants, for children at this stage, the existence of objects is not independent; the world is connected to the child's own actions and perceptions.

In other words, children believe that objects only partially show because they are disappearing, not because they are covered by other objects.

Therefore, when a baby starts trying to play peek-a-boo, it is a training to increase their '器量' (Dao Resonance capacity), indicating that their cognitive ability has developed to a new level.

When he completes the training, the child's understanding of objects will gradually shift from the infant stage of "if an object disappears, it no longer exists" to "even if an object disappears from my sight, it still exists."

This is the typical cause of Karma: "the object remains unchanged."

In other words, life must be able to understand that when a certain 'object' disappears, it still exists, and also understand where the 'object' goes. This fact will form the basis of Mortals' perception of the world, meaning: the schematic construction of object permanence is closely linked to the entire spatio-temporal organization and causal relationships of the real world.

And now, the Demonic Prince needs to break this perception of object permanence, returning to the infant stage of 'if I don't see it, it doesn't exist,' where the world is void and his own cognition is also void. He must completely overturn his solidified perception.

He also needs some time to increase his '器量' (Dao Resonance capacity), to accommodate these completely different, conflicting '观念' (Dao Resonance concepts).

He still needs to live longer, see more; this adaptation time might well be as long as his lifespan.

However, considering the Demonic Prince's age, in reality, this so-called change doesn't require much time; ten thousand years would be more than enough.

Out in the world, if someone said they Breakthrough to Fourth-Grade in ten thousand years, it might scare a lot of people to death.

In the outer domain, there are many people who have lived for ten thousand years and are still in the Seventh-Grade.

Even the infamous Demonic Prince is actually putting in his own effort for cultivation. He doesn't just wait for cultivation to fall from the sky. In fact, even with top-tier talent and the Dao Resonance from 'Earth Mother,' if he didn't put in the corresponding effort, he wouldn't have reached his current level.

Li Shiwei watched the Demonic Prince training nearby, just like a baby playing peek-a-boo. A baby will hide something, then reveal it, constantly trying to verify 'object permanence.'

And the Demonic Prince is constantly trying to train himself to make things outside his subjective consciousness 'disappear,' and then 'create' them, thereby training his perception of the void nature of things, to achieve a state where his subjective will completely replaces the existence of 'Karma,' and from then on, he no longer needs objective things to support himself.

Both the Demonic Prince and Zhong Minglou have recognized the possibility of the Fourth-Grade, but they are employing two completely different methods. This shows that even if they are both Fourth-Grade, the paths they take can be entirely different.

Although all roads lead to the Dao, the 'different roads' themselves are their biggest difference, and this difference is the source of all conflicts in the Dao.

Watching the Demonic Prince's training, Li Shiwei was puzzled. She stepped forward and asked, "Uncle Mo, why are we leaving the world?"

"No reason, I just came as I pleased," the Demonic Prince replied casually, cutting off Li Shiwei's question.

It was that simple: coming as one pleased. This was the most shameless and common 'reason' for the Demonic Dao.

"That's impossible. Is it because of my father? I heard Li Qi came to Resha, repelled four Demonic Lords, refined one of them, and then swaggered away," Li Shiwei said.

"Is that so? He's quite capable, one against four," the Demonic Prince replied noncommittally, perfunctorily, continuing to focus on his training.

"It wasn't one against four. He also brought a Martial Artist. It was two people working together. It seems they are determined to target the Demonic Dao," Li Shiwei said.

"Oh," the Demonic Prince responded.

"Uncle Mo, you must know something, right?" Li Shiwei persisted.

At this point, the Demonic Prince stopped his training, turned around, and looked at Li Shiwei.

Li Shiwei's hair immediately stood on end! A chilling cold, like being targeted by a fierce beast, swept over her. Her Qi and blood and bones were almost instantly frozen, and her heart slowed down.

But corresponding to the feeling of cold was that she began to sweat profusely, cold sweat quickly soaking her clothes.

With just one glance, Li Shiwei fell silent.

"Be quiet. I am not your father. If you think there's a problem, you can go back now," the Demonic Prince said indifferently, then turned his head back to continue his training.

Li Shiwei stopped talking, merely sitting behind him, watching the Demonic Prince's practice.

The Demonic Prince did not avoid her; his training method was clearly visible. In his hand, he held a Fifth-Grade treasured pearl, which could be used as a Spiritual Artifact raw material, but here it was merely an object for him to toy with.

This treasured pearl would disappear when the Demonic Prince closed his eyes, and reappear when he opened them.

Then, he held the treasured pearl in his hand, and it vanished from his sight. When he removed his obstructing hand, the treasured pearl reappeared as if by magic.

Within my sight, it exists.

Beyond my sight, it will disappear out of thin air.

Everything depends solely on 'me'; these things have no substantiality and are entirely dependent on 'my' observation.

Flowers bloom when eyes open, and wither when eyes close.

The real world bestows the foundation of existence upon all things, and now the Demonic Prince can also bestow or even strip away the foundation of existence from things.

Yes, Li Qi is completely different. Li Qi's Fourth-Grade cannot strip away the foundation of existence of others. Although he can determine the future, rewrite reality to a certain extent, and achieve a state where he is equivalent to reality, allowing himself to self-perpetuate, the existence of others is also bestowed by the real world, and he cannot easily strip it away.

The Demonic Prince, however, is different. Not only has he bestowed substantiality upon himself, but he can also strip away the foundation of existence of insubstantial things, making them completely disappear, achieving 'existence erasure.'

Truly a terrifying ability.

Li Shiwei witnessed all of this, then closed her eyes, no longer watching.

Whether it was Uncle Mo or father, they were all like this.

The things they touched were absolutely beyond her reach; she could hardly keep up with their pace even if she tried her best. Even the things they usually discussed, the things they came into contact with, everything—she couldn't help, and wasn't even qualified to understand.

It was precisely this feeling of powerlessness that led her to choose the Demonic Dao, and thereby Breakthrough to the Fifth-Grade.

Though... after her Breakthrough, she found herself to be a hindrance again.

Father didn't need her help at all and could still win. Her seeking power from the Demonic Dao instead caused Li Qi to fall into greater trouble.

Li Shiwei therefore fled from her father's side.

Yes, escape. She couldn't bear the fact that she was useless, couldn't bear the fact that even after abandoning her original persistence and falling into the Demonic Dao, she could still only cause trouble for her parents.

For this, she came to the Demonic Prince's side, seeking a foothold.

Unfortunately, how long has it been, and the Demonic Prince has already fully demonstrated one fact.

He doesn't need Li Shiwei; Li Shiwei needs him.

In other words, even by the Demonic Prince's side, Li Shiwei was still the one causing trouble.

Thinking about it carefully, she hadn't been very popular since she was a child. No one had ever praised her as a 'charming' person, and basically no one liked her. Yunfang Great Shaman might have been the kindest to her, but that was because Yunfang Great Shaman was especially kind to everyone.

In the end, she still wasn't accepted by anyone. Her parents cared for her out of their duty to raise her, but this protection only made her more aware of her own situation.

She lived in this world because of 'her parents' pity'; besides that, she had no value whatsoever in this world.

She depended on others, but no one depended on her.

She craved power, because power could make her independent, allow her to help her parents who had raised her, or help Uncle Mo in front of her. But even though she had obtained power she couldn't have imagined before, she found that the power she had exchanged for so much sacrifice was not even worth a single one of the other's fingers.

From beginning to end, she was like a clown, pulling herself apart, moving herself.

No one cared about her efforts and sacrifices, nor did her help matter.

Some people are indispensable, while others are expendable.

These two can be converted; a person can be expendable in one place and indispensable in another.

For example, a father with ordinary abilities might be expendable at his workplace, but he is the indispensable pillar of his family.

Therefore, for this father, his family is where his value lies, his spiritual pillar. Although he may not be good at his job, for his family, he can endure many difficult situations.

But Li Shiwei was different.

She deeply realized that she belonged to the expendable kind, and that was true everywhere.

No place needed her; she simply couldn't find her value. She wasn't anyone's pillar.

She wasn't likable, and some people even wished she wouldn't appear at all, finding her annoying to see.

Facing the Demonic Prince, who completely ignored her, Li Shiwei stood up.

She subconsciously touched the jade pendant at her waist.

But realizing this, she let go of her hand again.

The stone talked too much and wasn't pleasant to hear, so she had Sealed it, just carrying it on her, but she didn't want to hear the stone babble.