Chapter 851: Dialogue with the Secondary Heavenly Demon

Inside an Immortal Cave on Mystic Radiance Mountain, was Shen Shuibi’s secluded cultivation chamber.

A Nascent Heavenly Demon was circling the Immortal Cave, and Shen Shuibi inside felt endless demonic thoughtss assailing her.

The Nascent Heavenly Demon was actually a tendril of the Heavenly Demon, naturally possessing some of its characteristics; as it spun, one could see myriad illusions of transient life constantly emerging from the surrounding demonic thoughtss.

All living beings have countless forms—beautiful and ugly, intelligent and foolish, righteous and evil, good and bad, and even various perverse and inverted thoughts, with countless facets, which are manifestations of the essence of these psychologies, encompassing all good and evil, righteousness and wickedness, good and bad, greed, delusion, anger, strife, resentment, cursing, harboring grudges, impenitence, and unforgiveness.

And all of this was manifested within the demonic thoughtss all around.

In this state, Shen Shuibi actually withdrew her Purifying Heart Divine Mantra, actively facing the Nascent Heavenly Demon.

“Talk… you actually want to talk to me? Don’t you know I’m a ‘Demon’?” The Nascent Heavenly Demon seemed very surprised by this attitude.

“What, a dignified Fourth-Rank, yet you can’t even face a Fifth-Rank like me?” Shen Shuibi retorted.

“Interesting… Alright, then let’s talk.” The Nascent Heavenly Demon’s form shifted.

Then, it took on Yang Ning’s appearance.

No matter how one looked, it was identical to Yang Ning, even the aura of her cultivation method was exactly the same.

A hint of disgust flickered in Shen Shuibi’s eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re more comfortable talking like this, aren’t you, Elder Sister?” The Nascent Heavenly Demon chuckled.

“I’m starting to regret this. Do you really have to be so disgusting?” Shen Shuibi sighed.

“Exactly the same, oh. If you want, her speech habits, voice, little quirks, and subtle understandings from childhood to now, can all be the same,” the Nascent Heavenly Demon said.

“Change to someone else,” Shen Shuibi frowned.

“Alright.” The Nascent Heavenly Demon was very obedient. The next moment, it transformed into a new appearance—

Li Shiwei’s appearance, specifically Li Shiwei as a child.

“Mother, will this make you more relaxed?” Li Shiwei displayed a bright smile, just like when she used to act spoiled as a child.

The next second, this body was directly shattered by a spell.

Shen Shuibi’s hand had lifted at some point, her five fingers entwined with Five Elements lightning magic, and five bolts of thunder struck down, blasting the young ‘Li Shiwei’ into fragments.

“Oh dear, how annoying. Nothing satisfies you. Then let’s stick to this.” The Nascent Heavenly Demon turned into a black mist, formless and intangible, without features or a body: “Is this better?”

“It should be,” Shen Shuibi nodded.

The Nascent Heavenly Demon’s cloud-like and misty body circled Shen Shuibi, asking, “Then let’s begin. No, before we begin, I have a small personal question I’d like to ask you, Shen Shuibi. A long time ago, you thought only of Empress Luofu, Yang Ning, and Mount Luofu, but now, your mind is full of Li Qi and Li Shiwei. Do you have nothing else to do? You can have your own life, can’t you? Why must you always revolve around others?”

Shen Shuibi shook her head: “That’s a truly clumsy statement. My relationship with my family is harmonious, and my husband and I are loving. This is my life. Do I have to go out and mess around just because you say so for it to be considered living? Is what life is, for you to decide?”

“Tsk, my point is, aren’t you willing to live for yourself? Isn’t it good to consider yourself?” The Nascent Heavenly Demon said.

Shen Shuibi replied, “Too many people consider me, both my husband and Empress Luofu. And I will also consider them. It’s that simple. The Demonic Dao likes to devour human hearts; you should understand that, right? Aren’t people like me your best sustenance?”

“Indeed, people like you brew the most delicious demonic thoughtss, but… they are also the most dangerous. However, being only a Fifth-Rank, you still don’t catch my eye.”

“So your target is still Li Qi, is that right? Ah, you really distinguish clearly, even though I’ve already used myself as bait,” Shen Shuibi sighed.

“Haha, don’t be so dejected. Daring to remove the Purifying Heart Divine Mantra is enough to explain many things. This kind of determination, at least the power that has infiltrated now, cannot pierce your mind. Don’t underestimate us! Although in the eyes of outsiders, we are synonymous with madness and chaos, but… we are very clever, otherwise, we wouldn’t have caused so much trouble,” the Nascent Heavenly Demon laughed as if proud.

The laughter was somewhat eerie, devoid of any genuine mirth. What seeped through was only indifference, as if it ‘should laugh,’ and so it produced laughter, rather than genuinely wanting to laugh.

“Let’s get to the point,” Shen Shuibi urged.

“Alright.” The Nascent Heavenly Demon stopped laughing and said, “Shen Shuibi, you should know Li Qi’s situation.”

“He’s already Fourth-Rank and is progressing towards Third-Rank. And when dealing with the Demonic Dao, although he might vent some emotions, he should be able to control himself very well. I’m not worried about him,” Shen Shuibi said.

“No, no, no, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about his Inner World and his entire Dao situation,” the Nascent Heavenly Demon said.

As it spoke, a ‘phantom’ seemed to appear before Shen Shuibi’s eyes.

It was a phantom concerning Li Qi’s Inner World.

In Li Qi’s Inner World, a large number of Dao concepts were mixed together.

With sorcery as the foundation, the Human Dao and Dao of Heaven’s Evolution harmonized within it, as part of ‘natural’ order, the Daoist ‘Supreme Dao’ suppressed chaos from above, the conflict between Buddhism and demons was within his heart, and he even dabbled in the Spirit Dao.

If there was anything truly unrelated, it was only the demon race, with which he had no involvement.

Such a multitude of mixed thoughts and Daos were like a rickety, makeshift machine forced into operation, with creaks, groans, and clangs incessantly, a chaotic and noisy mess, working urgently.

However, with the Heavenly Demon’s urging from behind and the push of various events, he had no time to breathe. Many things were urgent, such as Li Shiwei’s current situation, so the machine had no chance to be repaired and was forcibly started, running for a period of time. The various creaks and screeches seemed to have diminished, and the various parts seemed to still be barely usable.

But, if you listened closely, you could only hear a heavy object rumbling. Yet this was even more chilling; the floorboards were bending more and more, bolts were loosening, and everything before their eyes was about to turn to dust in an instant.

Why was this? Because everything was chaotically mixed together.

Li Qi himself couldn’t even clearly see the direction ahead. From a higher perspective, he was actually just drifting with the current.

Yes, Li Qi would look at the people in City of Dreams and feel they were like headless flies, stumbling along.

But in the eyes of even greater beings from a higher level, wasn’t Li Qi the same?

That’s why Li Qi felt a sense of “sympathy for a fellow sufferer” with Number One. (See Chapter 831 for details)

Just sympathy for a fellow sufferer.

Number One was like that, and wasn’t Li Qi the same?

Number One was chased by the Demonic Dao, forced to run, and jump into the abyss.

Li Qi was also the same, chased by the Demonic Dao, with the Heavenly Demon itself pushing everything from behind.

Therefore, Li Qi had no leisure to stop and properly organize his Dao.

He had completely fallen into a dense fog that made those new to the journey lose their way, barely assembling a broken tractor from all the scrap metal and screws he could find, stumbling forward.

His Dao was a mess like this, barely moving forward, loose and unstable, capable of shattering into pieces at any moment.

The Nascent Heavenly Demon’s voice carried a hint of temptation: “You see? This is all because of you! You, and Li Shiwei, are Li Qi’s weaknesses. Because of you two, the Heavenly Demon can constantly whip Li Qi.”

“If these weaknesses could be removed, it might be better for Li Qi. Look, during the war between Baiyue and the Human Dao, he even chose to burn the daylight for you, which goes against his ‘righteous’ stance.”

“For you, it’s because of your existence as a weakness that Li Qi is so toiled. Have you considered lightening his burden?” The Nascent Heavenly Demon revealed that scene and asked.

What the Nascent Heavenly Demon said was an undeniable truth.

Shen Shuibi knew that the Heavenly Demon was using her and Li Shiwei, the mother and daughter, as whips, constantly lashing Li Qi with them, forcing Li Qi, this already panting, exhausted, broken tractor, to move forward relentlessly.

He couldn’t stop for a moment, even a few hundred years of leisure time would be extremely rare.

And what the Nascent Heavenly Demon said, ‘he even chose to burn the daylight for you, which goes against his ‘righteous’ stance’—

Yes, at that moment, everything Li Qi did undoubtedly went against his own Dao.

Although it ultimately failed, this trend was terrifying.

Thinking of such things, she felt her heart almost ache with pain.

It was all because of their existence.

All of this was true, and the truth hurts the most.

Then, she clutched her chest.

Her heart was beating violently, thinking of the difficulties and hardships Li Qi faced, and the future her daughter would encounter…

Even though she always appeared calm and composed in front of Li Qi, even hugging him every time and comforting him that everything would be alright, how could she not know what Li Qi was facing and her own position?

In the eyes of outsiders, Li Qi was high above, with great talent and strong Comprehension Ability, the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, a destined high-ranking existence in the future, capable of easily reaching the very top among the myriad realms.

For someone of that caliber to constantly complain about ‘how difficult life is’ would indeed seem a bit pretentious, after all, compared to him, there are countless Mortals with no way up or down.

However, while it might seem pretentious, this doesn’t mean Li Qi is truly carefree; in fact, quite the opposite, the worries he faces are beyond the imagination of these Mortals.

He had to face the Heavenly Demon directly.

At this thought, Shen Shuibi felt her back and heart begin to ache.

However, Shen Shuibi did not dwell on this pain but immediately and unhesitatingly interrupted him.

She immediately said, “Absurd. Without us, there will always be other weaknesses. Li Qi will always encounter this and that. Perhaps… even the ‘weaknesses’ themselves were bestowed upon him by the Heavenly Demon. My encounter with him was also meticulously planned by you behind the scenes.”

“Ultimately, this is what the Heavenly Demon itself desires. And if Li Qi truly cares about nothing, losing all of what you call ‘weaknesses,’ that would probably be what the Heavenly Demon wants to see, wouldn’t it?”

“Li Qi, having lost everything, is not far from the Demonic Dao. Your words… are merely using me to whip Li Qi, and then using Li Qi to whip me, employing the same trick on both sides.”

“You will not succeed. My husband and I are of one heart and mind. Ultimately, the Demonic Dao is the enemy.”

Shen Shuibi knew how strong the Great Powers’ control over Mortals was. Under the Heavenly Demon’s initial gaze, it was highly probable that everything Li Qi experienced before Shaman God Mountain’s interference was arranged by the Heavenly Demon.

Which meant… she herself was very likely part of it.

Li Qi falling in love with her, and she falling in love with Li Qi, wasn’t quite right in itself. She was a Fifth-Rank, after all… This matter was indeed a bit strange.

But it didn’t matter. Since it had happened, the pounding of her heart when she thought of Li Qi was certainly not fake. That was enough.

The Demonic Dao rarely uses methods like brainwashing, so even if the process was arranged, the one who ultimately fell in love with him was undoubtedly Shen Shuibi’s own consciousness.

Even if the encounter was arranged, it was ultimately two free wills loving each other, not emotions produced by manipulation and brainwashing. Therefore, there was nothing to regret; she even felt very fortunate to have had such an encounter.

But one could also glimpse a hint from this. For example, if it truly was arranged by the Heavenly Demon, then it also meant… the Heavenly Demon believed that she and Li Qi would definitely end up together.

This could be considered an official endorsement in some sense, couldn’t it?

While Shen Shuibi was thinking these things, the Nascent Heavenly Demon clearly sensed the ease in Shen Shuibi’s mindset.

Clearly, facing this state of mind, anything more would be useless.

“Hoho… You differentiate very clearly, then it seems there’s no Breakthrough point with you here. I can only go find Li Shiwei. Sorry for the disturbance, please forgive me,” the Nascent Heavenly Demon lost interest, stepped back, and said politely.

However, despite its politeness, mentioning Li Shiwei in its words made Shen Shuibi’s eyes sharpen.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that! You know, I can’t control it~ It’s instinct, instinct, understand? So, since you, Madam, have no flaws, I can only go seek out someone who does. Farewell.” The Nascent Heavenly Demon bowed very politely and then vanished from the spot.

Shen Shuibi took a deep breath.

“Troublesome, ah. Is it urging me to speed up? Or is it hoping I make a mistake in my haste? Dealing with these strange things is truly…” Shen Shuibi sighed.

What exactly did the Demonic Dao want to do?

Unlike the Human Dao’s grand, crushing dominance, the Human Dao never concealed its goals.

But the Demonic Dao… no one ever knew what their bizarre minds were thinking.

She hoped Li Qi and her daughter would be alright.

All she could do was Breakthrough as quickly as possible while ensuring her safety.