Chapter 847: Earn

The Heavenly Demon Lord didn't stop; instead, he continuously chanted Buddhist scriptures.

That's right, he was clearly a Heavenly Demon Lord, yet he was chanting Buddhist scriptures.

Li Qi actually had some research into the Buddhist school; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to understand the Purification Method, and he even relied on Buddha-Dharma to resist his own demonic thoughtss and the demonic thoughtss of the Heavenly Demon Lord.

From Chan Zhi Monk's Buddha-Dharma at that time, to White Fox King Bodhisattva explaining the Dao to him, incorporating the Buddhist Heavens into his Inner World, and then to Sariputra personally imparting the Buddha-Dharma to him, all of these deepened Li Qi's understanding of Buddha-Dharma.

At this moment, he was also using the Purification Method from Buddha-Dharma to suppress the Heavenly Demon Lord.

Therefore, the Heavenly Demon Lord did the opposite; he simply launched an attack on Li Qi's 'Buddha-Dharma'.

To contend with Li Qi on 'natural' and 'Heaven's Heart,' which would make Li Qi question Shaman Dao itself, was too difficult; he only needed to make Li Qi question the Buddha-Dharma, which he wasn't proficient in, then the borrowed Pure Land Method would naturally show flaws, and that would be his chance to escape.

The Heavenly Demon Lord continued to chant: "Sentient beings are without mind. Only because sentient beings are deluded into having a mind, there are all afflictions, birth and death, Bodhi, and Nirvana. If one awakens to being without mind, then there are no afflictions, birth and death, or Nirvana. Therefore, the Tathagata speaks of birth and death for those with a mind. Bodhi is named in contrast to afflictions, Nirvana is named in contrast to birth and death; these are all methods of counteraction. If there is no mind to be attained, then afflictions and Bodhi cannot be attained, and even birth and death and Nirvana cannot be attained."

The theory of 'no mind' filled Li Qi's ears, making him frown repeatedly, yet he found it hard to refute.

Moreover—

Buddha and demon are one.

He used Buddha-Dharma to expound demonic thoughts; unless Li Qi negated his own Buddha-Dharma, he couldn't completely negate this theory of no mind.

As expected of the Heavenly Demon Lord, he truly had a knack for finding weaknesses.

The Heavenly Demon Lord continued: "However, with the words of worldly truth, nothing can truly be attained in ultimate truth, thus the Vimalakirti Sutra says: 'Bodhi cannot be attained by body, nor by mind.' And the Diamond Sutra says: 'There is not a single Dharma to be attained.' All Buddhas and Tathagatas attain by not attaining. One should know that with mind, everything exists; without mind, everything ceases to exist."

"the Purification Method cuts off demonic thoughtss, nothing more than the words 'no mind.' One should know that with mind, everything exists; without mind, everything ceases to exist."

The Heavenly Demon Lord looked at Li Qi, awaiting his reply.

However, this level of subjective-objective debate couldn't convince Li Qi.

Li Qi shook his head and replied: "Outside the mind, there are no things; however, outside things, there is no mind either."

These words made the Heavenly Demon Lord suddenly look up, carefully scrutinizing Li Qi.

Outside the mind, there are no things; outside things, there is no mind. Things cannot exist apart from the mind, and the mind cannot exist apart from things. Subjective and objective perspectives can coexist and can be mutually transformed.

It's like the answer Li Qi once received: "My subjective is the objective in others' eyes, and at the same time, others' subjective is the objective in my eyes." This already indicates that there is no true 'subjective-objective' distinction in this world; it's merely an illusion created by different observational perspectives, just like time dilation.

In this world, there is no concept of "true time"; time is merely a physical quantity used to describe the motion of objects.

In relativity, if one moves away from another at the speed of light, then to him, the entire world will slow down.

And to others, his time will also slow down, becoming almost static.

Both sides will see the other in an almost static state.

Strange, right? Everyone thinks they are normal, watching others' actions halt, and yet this is true.

I think you've slowed down, you think I've slowed down, so whose time has actually slowed down?

No, when asking this question, the focus is wrong, because "time has no third party," and "whose time exactly" is meaningless in this context.

Similarly, the question 'whose subjective is it exactly' is the same.

So, the Heavenly Demon Lord replied: "Indeed, spacetime is relative, indicating that spacetime is subjective, and at the same time, this also indicates that objective, absolute spacetime does not exist. Everything in this world is determined by the subjective of the 'observer,' so doesn't this precisely corroborate the importance of the sole subjective?"

All things we can understand, under this theory, are not their true forms; in other words, the essence of all things is unknowable, and only phenomena are knowable, and phenomena are things processed and produced by our Innate cognitive forms.

The Heavenly Demon Lord then summarized: "Time, refers to the false establishment of time based on the continuous flow of cause and effect. Why is this? Because of the continuous progression of cause and effect, if this effect has already arisen and ceased, it is established as 'past' time; if it has not yet arisen, it is established as 'future' time; if it has arisen but not yet ceased, it is established as 'present' time. Based on the arising and ceasing of a single thought, past, present, and future are falsely spoken of, but in reality, no time division can be attained?"

The meaning of these words is that time is generated by causal connections; if the 'effect' has already appeared, then it is the 'past'; if the 'effect' has not appeared, then it is the 'future'; if it has appeared but not yet disappeared, then it is the 'present'.

Thus, for a Fourth-grade, regarding the law of Karma itself, it is the arising and ceasing of a single thought, so it can be demonstrated that, for subjective cognition, past, present, and future, no time division can truly be attained.

The essence of time is the sequence of causal connections and transformations of things, and it is naturally influenced by cognition.

Are the causal connections and transformations of things truly objective connections and transformations? Is there an objective difference between the past, present, and future of time?

This question was placed before Li Qi.

This suddenly reminded Li Qi of a small matter.

Zhu Fandan once said something to Li Qi.

The original words were: "Is the time of Reincarnation not time? We calculate based on perceived time, perceived time, understand? And at this level now, does time still have meaning for you and me? What has meaning for us is 'temporal order'." (See Chapter 795 for details)

For an individual, time never goes backward; it always moves forward, an endless one-way street.

Moreover, time is absolutely subjective; everyone has their own individual timeline, which is also the reason for the emergence of unique cosmic light.

So… Karma can be reversed, but temporal order cannot be reversed.

"The order of time, and Karma, have no necessary connection." Li Qi suddenly looked up at the Heavenly Demon Lord: "There's a loophole in your words."

The Heavenly Demon Lord was stunned, then his gaze shifted, staring intently at Li Qi.

Temporal order is unchangeable; it exists objectively within subjective consciousness and is one of the important pieces of evidence of the unity of subjective and objective.

The existence of temporal order proves that no matter how 'subjective' the entire world is, our own 'cognition,' the existence of 'I,' is 'objective.'

Since 'I' itself is objective, and everyone has an 'I' in their heart, it can naturally be argued in the same way, leading to a conclusion.

That is, "each is separate," but in essence, they are "interconnected without hindrance, all being a single thought."

You can call the present the past, and you can call the past the future. Since they are "all a single thought," they can naturally be arranged arbitrarily, so what objective difference is there?

It should be acknowledged that people's psychological consciousness can indeed take any moment as a standard, thereby distinguishing "present, past, future," and even arbitrarily reversing the temporal sequence. But will the sequence in your eyes shift accordingly?

No, it won't.

Just like the subjectivity of time—

So, Li Qi clasped his hands and chanted: "This is my true companion, riding in the same boat. He learns what I learn, that is, Dana Paramita and even all-knowing wisdom. If this is a Bodhisattva's mixed practice, separate from the Sarvajna mind, I should not learn like this. If this is a Bodhisattva's unmixed practice, not separate from the Sarvajna mind, I should also learn like this."

"Heavenly Demon Lord, if this is all there is, you won't convince me."

Li Qi's eyes gleamed with brilliance; the Heavenly Demon Lord's words had already inspired him, and he had realized the importance of temporal order to himself, but specific power still required more.

And the Heavenly Demon Lord, looking at Li Qi's gleaming eyes, suddenly felt a chill.

This person's demonic nature was even deeper than his, the Heavenly Demon Lord's! Although the other party seemed normal, he was actually a crazed Demonic Overlord!

"Young Master Li Qi, you've fallen into the Demonic Dao," the Heavenly Demon Lord said.

"Is that so? Do I look like I've fallen into the Demonic Dao?" Li Qi smiled.

"Yes, of course, you do. You are already a demon pursuing the Dao. Your demonic thoughts is deeper than mine. I was truly foolish to try to pull you into the Demonic Dao; it's impossible. Young Master Li Qi, let's end it here. You won't get anything more from me." The Heavenly Demon Lord decisively withdrew.

He had realized that with his own knowledge, it would be difficult to drag the fisherman Li Qi into the water; if he continued to entangle, he would be caught.

This shark decisively let go, no longer biting the hook, choosing to abandon the bait.

Li Qi also realized this; he didn't entangle too much, his consciousness withdrew from the Inner World and returned to the outside world.

He opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

A profit.

Temporal order, and the understanding of subjectivity, had already been obtained from the Heavenly Demon Lord.

The rest was a matter of slow, meticulous work.

"This aspect of the Demonic Dao?" Li Qi once again deeply realized the entanglement of 'Buddha and demon are one'.

He even began to doubt.

The difference between Buddha and demon was truly too small; Buddhist practitioners were truly...

They were best at dealing with the Demonic Dao, but also most likely to fall into the Demonic Dao. Buddha-Dharma and demonic thoughts were even somewhat similar in their basic rules, and almost originated from the same source in their subjective understanding of the world.

The Heavenly Demon Lord was even able to skillfully manipulate a passage of Buddha-Dharma to dig a pit for Li Qi.

What exactly was the relationship between Buddha and demon? Were they truly just Dao enemies?

This made Li Qi think of the Human Dao and Shaman Dao.

Undoubtedly, the Human Dao and Shaman Dao were absolute Dao enemies, irreconcilable, with a relationship similar to that between Buddha and demon.

The conflict between Human Dao and Shaman Dao was so sharp that it could directly lead to the Human-Shaman War. However... as a Shaman, Li Qi naturally knew that humans and Shamanes were actually one in ancient times, so many theories and Divine Abilities between humans and Shamanes were common, for example, both sides had a position called 'Grand Director of Music'.

So, was it the same between Buddha and demon?

Otherwise, how to explain the astonishing similarity between Buddha-Dharma and demonic thoughts?

This might be a line of thought, but he still didn't know the relationship between Buddha and demon, so it must be a secret.

Secrets, things unknown, are worth a thousand gold; once known, they are worthless, just like Li Qi now. As a Fourth-grade Shaman, he knew the secrets between humans and Shamanes clearly, but he had no impression of the conflict between Buddha and demon.

"If I want to understand the true nature of the Demonic Dao, this might be an entry point," Li Qi muttered to himself, then stood up.

After standing up, he prepared to go find Jing Wuzhen.

Since he had said he would help her, and his current plan also needed some time to gradually unfold, he would use this time to help Jing Wuzhen with something.

Li Qi thought this, his figure flickered, and he appeared before Jing Wuzhen.

This Martial Artist was facing a large amount of paperwork, diligently processing it. It was clear that for a Martial Artist, paperwork was still too difficult.

"Leave it to me, and also, the subsequent renovation work can also be handed over to me," Li Qi walked over and said.

"You've finished your enlightenment? And... why are you suddenly so proactive?" Jing Wuzhen was somewhat surprised.

"Didn't I just say I'd help you? It just so happens that my plan still needs a little time to wait, and I have nothing to do during this time. Originally, I wasn't going to help you, but what you just said was pretty good, and we are now companions. This kind of thing is just a small favor, no harm in helping." Li Qi spoke somewhat unceremoniously.

Yes, although he was helping, his tone didn't sound very friendly; this was also a manifestation of Li Qi's attitude.

I'm helping you because you are Jing Wuzhen. As for the things you're doing, Li Qi still doesn't approve; he still feels... that this is a waste of effort and time.

Jing Wuzhen naturally knew the unspoken meaning, but Li Qi's help was indeed a great thing, so she breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the documents towards Li Qi: "That's truly a lifesaver, but let me warn you first, these data volumes are huge, you'd best not underestimate them—"

Before she finished speaking, Li Qi had already returned the books on the table.

"Hey, didn't you say you'd help me?" Jing Wuzhen frowned. How could he just glance at it and send it back? Although the data volume was indeed large, a Shaman should be more proficient than a Martial Artist, right?

"Done. You can verify it. What about the others?" Li Qi said.

Jing Wuzhen was dumbfounded!

"No, you didn't mess it up, did you? If these data are wrong, many people will die!" Jing Wuzhen stood up, staring at Li Qi.

"That's why I asked you to verify it, but it definitely won't be wrong," Li Qi said. "Alright, anything else? If not, let me help you with the remaining renovation plans as well; the efficiency you set before was too low."

Jing Wuzhen immediately picked up the books and began to verify, while simultaneously multitasking and speaking to Li Qi: "No... are you very good at this kind of thing?"

"Hmm... when it comes to processing large amounts of data, no one at Fourth-grade should be able to beat me, right?" Li Qi said. (End of chapter)