Chapter 844: Illusion

Meanwhile, on Li Qi’s side—

Unbeknownst to him, more than ten years had already passed.

During these ten-plus years, Li Qi’s record was pretty much zero.

That’s right, zero. Aside from some Fifth Grade Demonic Lords, he hadn’t found a single Fourth Grade Demonic Lord.

There was nothing he could do. To hunt Fourth Grade Demonic Lords, a few decades was truly too short. Furthermore, Li Qi had already released the news, which directly led to many Demonic Lords simply withdrawing from City of Dreams.

That’s right, they directly withdrew, not caring about Face at all.

To them, this was completely irrelevant; it was just a temporary retreat. Since Li Qi liked to meddle, then let him. Anyway, places similar to City of Dreams, where the Demonic Dao thrived, existed throughout the Universe.

Could Li Qi manage them all? Or was he only prepared to manage the current world?

If he was only prepared to manage the current world, that was also fine. It was merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause. If you stayed in the world for a day, then let you have that day. If you wanted to rectify this city, if you wanted to be benevolent, then do as you pleased.

Anyway, you couldn’t change the demonic thoughtss in their hearts. Once you left, everything would return to normal.

It was completely useless, meaningless.

So Li Qi never thought of occupying this place, because he knew it was completely useless.

However, Jing Wuzhen was different.

With Li Qi’s assistance, Jing Wuzhen had been dedicated to improving the city’s condition over the past decade.

As she put it: “If you don’t treat the symptoms, how can you talk about treating the root cause? You might be aiming for eradication, but for me, the superficial issues here are precisely why I came.”

Yes, she hadn’t come to treat the root cause. She also knew that she couldn’t possibly cure the Demonic Dao. She was simply here to treat the symptoms; at least in her presence, such things shouldn’t happen.

It was like fish, after the tide came in, were washed onto the shore, struggling painfully on the beach. One person picked them up and threw them back into the ocean, while another watched with cold indifference.

The person watching with cold indifference believed that if they picked them up today, more would be washed ashore tomorrow. It wouldn't solve the problem of tidal forces, and throwing a few fish back was completely useless.

But the person who picked them up believed that even if it was just one, it still had meaning.

Li Qi had no intention of interfering with this difference in philosophy.

So, today was no different.

Li Qi stood by, watching Jing Wuzhen treat people.

While it was called treating people, it was actually just distributing medicinal materials and teaching recuperation methods.

She was a Martial Artist and didn't have any medical skills. However, surprisingly, she was proficient in various medicines and recuperation methods, with corresponding approaches for every grade, from unranked to Fifth Grade.

This was a relatively large ecological pod, originally an ornamental mansion, but its former owner had fled, and now Jing Wuzhen was using it.

Inside this ecological pod was a small World Tree. This rare giant tree could make all life around it coexist harmoniously. Even if their natures were incompatible, they would still grow peacefully under the World Tree's shade.

This kind of World Tree could catalyze plants, making it an excellent place for cultivating medicinal herbs, and it was considered a decent Spiritual Artifact among Fifth Grade items.

It was filled with all sorts of plants, trees, and herbs, exuding a green aura. The fragrance of various flowers and leaves wafted through the air, refreshing the mind and spirit. Any plant could find a suitable terrain for its survival here.

It was here that Jing Wuzhen was carrying out her work.

In front of her stood several hundred people, all of them Fifth Grade, lining up.

“Twenty-fifth floor, right? This is the next batch of medicinal materials. Your last work report said that your industrial zone exploded. Was it because of the people who withdrew earlier?”

“Yes…” a humanoid creature replied. Although he was Fifth Grade, he was somewhat disabled. His knees bent inward and slightly backward, his feet were pigeon-toed, his joints were deformed and thick, and his spine was often bent forward or sideways.

Clearly, these were old ailments.

“I’ve prepared a bit more for you this time. Pay attention. Also, give me a report on the learning progress of the recuperation methods that were distributed. Compile a report on the work situation of your subordinates. I hope to popularize it within this year,” Jing Wuzhen said, then handed the other party a mustard seed bag, and waved her hand, “Next.”

The next person immediately came forward.

Jing Wuzhen began to explain the situation the other party encountered, what to do, and how to improve afterward, and then the next one.

This continued for about two days until all several hundred people were dealt with.

All several hundred people were Fifth Grade; in reality, they were all the ‘local bosses’ here.

Don’t let their timid appearance in front of Jing Wuzhen fool you, but in reality—

Jing Wuzhen gathered their strength by dealing with these local bosses, and then, through them, united other forces to finally popularize her plan to the lowest levels.

The idea was good, and it seemed to be working, but—

“Is it useful?” Li Qi asked at this moment.

Then, he continued, “You must have noticed it too. Look at these people. They are definitely not receiving this kind of help for the first time.”

“Before you and I, many people did similar things, but they didn’t cause any change in this city.”

“You are doing this in vain,” Li Qi said.

However, Jing Wuzhen didn’t even turn her head, busy organizing the numerous reports, and then said, “When I was in the Eighth Grade, I practiced punching ten thousand times and swinging my sword thirty thousand times every day. Looking at each instance, I was doing it in vain, but combined, it helped me lay the foundation for the Seventh Grade Dao.”

There were many reports. After all, they concerned hundreds of billions of people, so even if they were very brief, the total amount was quite astonishing.

But for a Fourth Grade, it was acceptable, as they were very brief, mostly expressed in percentages, only needing to understand an overview.

Soon, she finished processing these reports, understood the general situation below, and then handed Li Qi a wisp of scholarly Qi: “Then, I’ll trouble you. I can’t make calculations.”

Li Qi nodded, taking the scholarly Qi she gave him.

Inside was the ‘conclusion,’ and as a Shaman, he was skilled in divination, so he could divine whether this conclusion was reliable.

This was a small matter for Li Qi. He got the answer almost instantly, so Li Qi said, “It’s generally reliable. The bone correction recuperation method you sent is very useful.”

“It’s definitely useful,” Jing Wuzhen said.

Martial Dao cultivation emphasized diligence, but while suffering was necessary, recuperation was also indispensable, otherwise one would ruin oneself.

That’s why she had mastered so many recuperation methods and prescriptions.

Having received Li Qi’s reply, she walked over to the World Tree again, bit her finger, and dripped a drop of blood onto this treasure tree.

The treasure tree received the blood, and its life aura instantly expanded. Many plants nearby entered a state of accelerated growth.

This was the source of those medicines just now. These would later be made into potions, then diluted, and finally distributed to everyone below.

Although Jing Wuzhen, as a Martial Artist, couldn’t cultivate herbs, the power of Fourth Grade essence blood, even just a drop, could greatly accelerate the growth of these herbs. Although this would make the medicinal properties somewhat violent and unruly, causing many side effects, it was still better than nothing.

Li Qi had already experienced the effects of these medicines and recuperation methods.

When they first arrived ten years ago, the industrial zone was full of deformities.

Large numbers of deformed people, and the reason for their deformities was entirely due to excessive working hours. The most common deformities were curved spines and legs, while worse cases were everywhere, even including the transformation of human bodies into mechanical servant Puppets.

Nothing else, these illnesses were caused by overwork.

Long hours of labor caused these chosen ones of heaven—at least, the great beings who were chosen ones of heaven in their own worlds—to hunch over, or their bodies, weakened by the overly harsh environment, were unable to withstand this intensity of labor. They all had various injuries and illnesses to varying degrees.

All sorts of deformities and diseases were very common: knees bent inward, ligaments in the joints often loose and lacking elasticity, various bones twisted. The thick ends of these long bones were particularly curved and overdeveloped. These patients all came from assembly lines with excessively long working hours.

Some of these injuries were even extremely severe, persisting into the Fifth Grade and becoming part of their physical characteristics, just like the Demonic Prince’s limp.

For example, the Fifth Grade controller of the twenty-fifth floor just now.

He could no longer climb stairs due to his bodily deformities; his spine and pelvis were both deformed.

Excessive labor also caused other deformities, especially limping.

Even someone like him, who had the qualifications and talent to advance to the Fifth Grade, was like this. One can imagine what the new young people would encounter. They had no talent to begin with, nor strong bodies, good cultivation methods, environment, or other conditions. It was completely impossible for them to endure such a torturous workload.

Furthermore, even if they did… that Fifth Grade controller was already an outstanding talent, yet he still couldn’t avoid back pain, waist pain, leg pain, swollen joints, and large, persistent ulcers on his thighs and calves, eventually developing into deformities.

These were old injuries, etched into the Inner World, very difficult to treat, unless it was a treasure similar to emperor fluid paste.

All of these were almost universal phenomena in the lower levels of ‘City of Dreams.’

Of course, it was only limited to the lower levels.

After breaking through to the Eighth Grade and reaching the Seventh Grade, things would become much more ‘decent,’ and it wasn’t impossible to grow to the level of a ‘controller’ at a certain stratum.

For example, the beautiful ecological pod in front of them, supported by a Fifth Grade World Tree. In the industrial park outside, where sewage flowed everywhere and foul odors permeated the air, it was no exaggeration to call this ecological pod a ‘paradise.’

This was the enjoyment of the high-grade existences in this City of Dreams.

Seventh Grades were actually quite decent already, while Sixth Grades were sufficient to leave this place and return to the outer regions. Fifth Grades could even become controllers of a certain stratum, becoming the oppressors.

Although everyone would be controlled by the Fourth Grade Demonic Lords, staying in the world and oppressing countless people was clearly far more efficient for accumulating resources than being in the outer regions. Therefore, after they made it big, they didn’t necessarily have to leave this place.

To put it bluntly, the ‘Dao’ is the natural law of the Universe’s operation. They naturally joined the ‘Dao’ here, and thus, they didn’t want to leave.

Li Qi understood these things and had observed them for ten years.

So, at this moment, he suddenly spoke to Jing Wuzhen: “Even if you know it’s useless, you still do it… Hmm, you truly have the demeanor of a Martial Artist.”

A Martial Artist, isn’t it all about being reckless? If successful, it’s iron-blooded bravery; if failed, it’s a brainless brute.

And Jing Wuzhen looked at Li Qi: “Finally decided to help? Don’t you still have a plan to be busy with? Although I don’t know what you’re busy with.”

“It’s not really busy, at this stage, deduction is still the main thing, but how to say it… I was influenced by you? It’s very troublesome for a Martial Artist like you to do these things, so let me help,” Li Qi said, walking towards Jing Wuzhen: “Using your essence blood like this is too wasteful. I have a method that can dull the violent Martial Dao Inner Qi within it, which can increase the effect of your essence blood by twenty times and also remove the violent Qi after it’s made into medicine.”

As Li Qi spoke, he used his method to draw back the essence blood that had just dripped down, and processed it using Daoist methods in the form of Chaos Qi.

Martial Dao Inner Qi itself was the product of all Qi entering a ‘chaotic and disordered’ stage, a degraded version of Chaos Qi.

It is said that before the Taiji was divided, the three powers of heaven, earth, and man were contained within it, called Chaos.

Chaos means that heaven, earth, and man were浑然 (浑然) undivided. After the Taiji was divided, the light and clear became heaven, the heavy and turbid became earth, and the clear and turbid combined became man. The light and clear is Qi, the heavy and turbid is form. The combination of form and Qi is man.

The ‘man’ here does not refer to the ‘Human Race,’ but rather to all ‘observers’ who possess high-level intelligence and subjective consciousness.

Therefore, all manifestations of Qi, seen in the heavens, are the natural principles within the Taiji. They move to become the sun and moon, divide to become the five planets, arrange to become the twenty-eight lunar mansions, and guard to become the Big Dipper. All exist.

The Daoist method transforms this Chaos Qi into the three powers, and then further divides it into all things. Then, using this, the essence blood is broken down and transformed into various types of Qi, which are then applied to the World Tree’s body accordingly.

Li Qi lightly tapped with one hand, and tens of thousands of threads emerged from the essence blood, then pierced into the World Tree. Each thread corresponded to a different type of Qi. The broken-down essence blood and its immense life force immediately made the World Tree vibrant with life.

The World Tree, this kind of thing, needed balance the most, and Li Qi, as a Invoker, was especially skilled in this method.

However, seeing Li Qi’s methods, Jing Wuzhen was a bit annoyed, rubbing her head, and said, “You had such methods, yet you watched me make a fool of myself earlier?”

“It wasn’t making a fool of yourself. It’s just that I hadn’t decided whether to help, as in my opinion, everything being done now is futile,” Li Qi replied.

“Even if you saw those people get better with your own eyes, you still think it’s futile?” Jing Wuzhen asked.

“What does it matter if they get better or worse?” Li Qi retorted, “I only need to choose the future, and I can easily change the lives they experience. They are all illusions; good and bad are but a single thought.”

“According to your logic, then what’s the point of the Human-Shaman war? And why did you save your daughter? Aren’t they all illusions?” Jing Wuzhen sarcastically retorted.

However, this sentence suddenly made Li Qi’s eyes widen.

Yes, why?