Chapter 858: The Fifth Power

“Hoo… ha.” Jing Wuzhen adjusted her breathing.

The battle had lasted too long; her stamina and Martial Dao Inner Qi were already somewhat fatigued.

“Endless… isn’t it?” Jing Wuzhen looked at the endlessly Rebirth Demonic Army.

They couldn't be killed, simply couldn't be killed completely.

They said to kill until energy was exhausted, until entropy reached its maximum, but… this basically meant a head-on confrontation.

In a head-on confrontation, it was a test of who could last longer.

Jing Wuzhen thought this was her strong suit, but she clearly overestimated herself and underestimated the Demon of Death Demonic Army.

The Demonic Army still charged wildly; this was truly an astonishing sight.

In the distance, countless warships of the Demonic Army moved silently in the sky, their fleet so vast that even at light speed, it would take months to traverse the entire Formation.

Countless Demonic Army members, in the form of a 'Formation', formed a complex, net-like structure, then filled the five-dimensional space, so complex that it was almost impossible to discern the specific situation.

Indeed, five-dimensional space; they distorted the spatial structure, adding two more directions to space itself, and then communicated through special pulses and halos.

Some of the Demonic Army were warships, some were individual powerhouses, and some were legions, but all were fully equipped, unfolding in the Void Realm of the Desire Realm, with various fluctuations emerging, different fluctuations indicating different grades and their current scale.

If seen with the naked eye, one could see colorful blocks and lights interweaving within this massive five-dimensional diagram; the seemingly chaotic Demonic Army was actually orderly, appearing completely well-trained.

However, in reality, these 'Demonic Army' had no concept of 'training' whatsoever.

They didn't even have sentience; they were merely the materialization of demonic thoughts and Demonic Qi, and the reason they displayed such a well-trained appearance was entirely because it more closely conformed to the characteristics of 'destruction'.

Matter always takes the path of least energy in space, just as water is always a flat surface, and the movement of matter without external force is always a geodesic, because a flat surface requires the least energy, and a geodesic is always the shortest path in space.

This was a 'natural' phenomenon.

The Demonic Army was also like this; they would 'naturally' transform into the 'most suitable for slaughter' form without needing coordination; this was their innate nature, their natural way of existence.

Irregular flashes flickered within the Formation, and at the front line, where the Demonic Army's flying boats and Jing Wuzhen clashed, conductive blue light exploded from the interface, sweeping through the spatial debris, emitting many light spheres.

Before Jing Wuzhen, there were irregular black patches, like cracks in space.

What a magnificent sight this was. In the vast, boundless space, countless Demonic Army members, like grotesque dwarfs in their strange enclosures, irresistibly drew people in with these peculiar sights, drifting further and further, as if the Universe itself was moving.

However, although it appeared to be a pitch-black Void Realm, this space was not empty at all; it was filled with black phantoms, spherical like molten metal droplets, and various forms and sizes of Demonic Qi.

The Demonic Army's appearance was very peculiar, not limited to human or biological shapes; multifaceted, spiky, beast-like, starfish-like, many, many forms, arrayed in various Formations throughout the vast area Jing Wuzhen could perceive, then charging at her.

Within the vast expanse, they all appeared motionless, yet the position of each Demonic Army member was absolutely precisely set; they seemed like geometric figures rather than living beings.

Of course, they were indeed not living beings, but a 'phenomenon' similar to a water surface.

Amidst the silent ranks of the Demonic Army, blue-white light pulsed, which was their brewing attack, a pulse strong enough to harm a Fourth Grade.

A large amount of debris was captured by the immense gravitational pull of this mysterious pulse from tens of light-years away by these Formations, moving so fast that it flashed with a porcelain-like blue light.

This was also one of the sources of the dazzling light around them.

These blinding blue lights made Jing Wuzhen's eyes feel phantom pain. Of course, she could keep staring at the blue light, but countless flying boats hovered around her, able to approach her within minutes, and then use that blinding blue light to fiercely pound her Martial Dao Inner Qi.

This was an attack launched by the Demonic Army at the cost of self-destruction; although it looked complex, over two thousand hits landed on Jing Wuzhen every minute.

But she wasn't just taking hits; Sword Qi continuously erupted, precisely hitting the depressions within these Formations, not even touching the edges of the hollows, instantly vaporizing the Demonic Army member inside.

Then, light scattered, bursting from the depressions of the Formation, forming ethereal cirrus clouds in the Void Realm, smoky clouds suspended in the Qi layers composed of various Qi, also blocking the light from the stars, making the light intermittent, like some kind of special effects show.

From here, it was a splendid scene.

“Hmm?” Jing Wuzhen suddenly noticed that within her body, the aura of the Buddhist Heavens began to increase.

“Li Qi's side, is it already done?” Jing Wuzhen murmured to herself.

So fast, indeed, worthy of the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain; having resolved his own situation, he quickly came to support her.

Then… with the support of a Young Master—!

The heavy sword in Jing Wuzhen's hand erupted again, displaying the same mighty power as when she fought three Demonic Lords alone!

Her Physical Body was like Mount Sumeru, with 129,600 acupoints bursting with Qi and blood, giving rise to countless phantoms.

Another sword strike, this time, the power from the Buddha-Dharma completely quelled the killing intent, causing thousands of times more damage than before in a single blow!

This efficiency was much higher.

A Dharma Protector, with the support of a Great Power behind him, can exert an effect far greater than one plus one; this is why Great Powers are very fond of having Dharma Protectors by their side.

Dharma Protectors are also happy with this, as they can receive generous rewards and also get guidance on the Dao at any time, so why not?

With an efficiency increased by thousands of times, plus the suppression of demonic thoughts by the Buddha-Dharma, the Demonic Army in front of them immediately scattered.

The Demonic Army retreated, and Jing Wuzhen continuously swung her sword, breaking the Demonic Army, attaining Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, yet all Buddhist principles did not appear before her. Thus, for one minor kalpa, or even ten minor kalpas, the body and mind remain motionless, which is defilement, which is cessation.

The heavy sword in her hand also transformed into a ceremonial sword, wielding the sword with Buddha-Dharma, a hundredth of what was shot all hit, destroying the brave and fearless Demonic Army, making them retreat.

Soon, the Demon of Death side was also resolved.

“Ah, thank you.” Jing Wuzhen let out a long breath: “In the end, I still relied on you, but thankfully, let's seal this side too.”

“En.” Li Qi appeared before Jing Wuzhen, nodding: “You leave first, I'll seal the rift.”

“Wait, your cultivation? What happened, why such a great improvement? Also, you have a dazzling feeling about you, is it my illusion? I always feel… my Inner World is seen through by you.” Jing Wuzhen's usually cold expression suddenly showed shock. How long had it been since they parted?

What happened to Li Qi? Why such a big change?

And also…

Is he really Li Qi?

The feeling he gave off was completely different; that feeling of being able to see through everything, as if the operational path of her own cultivation was seen clearly!

“Ah? You mean that, Epiphany, understand? Epiphany.” Li Qi waved his hand: “Don't worry, it's a small matter.”

“Can such a thing… be considered a small matter? Also, your progress speed is a bit frightening to me, no… not frightening, it's already fast enough to be disgusting.” Jing Wuzhen's gaze towards Li Qi involuntarily carried a sense of 'otherness' and revulsion.

“Ah… your rhetoric is quite interesting, but indeed, people often say my cultivation speed is fast. This side is resolved, let's go check on Sariputra and Maudgalyāyana first.” Li Qi chuckled, not taking it to heart.

To be honest, he also knew his progress was somewhat terrifyingly fast.

But…

What was the cost?

Another First Grade personally came to teach Li Qi and gifted him five wisps of True Knowledge Dao Resonance; if you were to say there was no cost to all of this, Li Qi could only comply.

However…

It didn't matter. To move forward, there was always a cost; to protect his family, he had to take some gambles; to progress quickly without touching forbidden powers, how could it be possible…

Just like, his daughter.

His daughter was actually the same; Li Shiwei's entry into the Demonic Dao was due to himself…

It was during the Human-Shaman War, when he was in a bitter struggle, she, in order to help, for power, desperately chose the Demonic Dao to Break through to Fifth Grade.

She might have thought that breaking through to Fifth Grade would allow her to help him on the front lines.

But in fact… Fifth Grade couldn't play a decisive role on that battlefield, and Li Qi didn't need a Fifth Grade; the method she racked her brains to come up with to help Li Qi instead brought huge trouble to Li Qi and his wife, even directly plunging them into the 'calamity' predicted by the Great Power.

If Shen Shuibi had chosen not to participate in the war and had always protected Li Shiwei, this would not have happened, right?

But what could be done? Given the circumstances at the time, Shen Shuibi couldn't stand by, and Li Shiwei naturally wouldn't either.

Ultimately, every time he went back to ponder and even re-deduce, he would only feel that everything was 'natural', as if it were destined.

Every time Li Qi thought of this, he could only feel anger mixed with some helplessness.

But no matter what, as the pillar, he had to bear all this, or rather… all of this was originally brought about by him, it was his existence that attracted the Heavenly Demons.

Li Qi thought about these things and completely sealed the connection between this Desire Realm and the world.

Jing Wuzhen stood beside him, scrutinizing the Genius she found difficult to understand.

Was this the talent of a direct Disciple of a great Dao Orthodoxy?

She had also grown up bearing the name of a Genius since childhood; after all, being able to grow to Fourth Grade, her talent was absolutely outstanding.

But compared to this monster… there was no comparison.

Just fighting a battle, he looked as if he had cultivated diligently for a hundred thousand years, his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, and the feeling he gave off was completely different.

A Martial Artist's keen senses made her feel as if she was being pricked by needles when Li Qi observed her.

Hmm, however, this was also something to be happy about.

She wondered how the two Buddhist Disciples had resolved their situations, or was it just her who needed help from others?

Jing Wuzhen was thinking when she saw two people emerge from the other two rifts, one after another.

It was Sariputra and Maudgalyāyana.

Sariputra was entangled with a large amount of demonic thoughts; Heavenly Demons were the most troublesome of the Four Demons, and the demonic thoughts they represented was also the most difficult to deal with, but fortunately, they were all shallow, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

Maudgalyāyana, on the other hand, looked much more relaxed; golden light radiated from his body, and all vexations, obstacles, and fetters were removed.

Hmm, the Divine Ability lineage of Buddhism, that's how they dealt with problems; it was indeed simple and crude, but one had to admit it was very effective.

The Wisdom lineage allows sentient beings to save themselves.

The Divine Ability lineage lifts people up with great Divine Ability.

This difference was also quite interesting.

However, they were only minor differences; in their overall understanding of the world, there wasn't a significant gap, so they still had a good relationship.

“Resolved?” Young Master, and also, Jing Wuzhen.” Sariputra took a step and came before Li Qi.

Jing Wuzhen seemed to dislike being addressed with 'titles', such as 'benefactor' or 'young lady', so the three of them usually called her by her name directly.

“It should be resolved, right? I always feel it's a bit anticlimactic; were we discovered too early?” Li Qi looked around, frowning slightly.

Are there really only four nodes in the Demonic Dao?

“Perhaps we can wait a while, let me rest, in about fifty years, I can re-examine it.” Maudgalyāyana said at this moment.

“Your cultivation?” Sariputra looked at Maudgalyāyana: “Twice in a row, the problem will worsen, right?”

“And also… Young Master Li Qi, your cultivation, because the Demonic Dao touched upon a Bottleneck?” Sariputra looked at Li Qi.

As Sariputra spoke, Maudgalyāyana also noticed Li Qi's rapid increase in power.

“Hmm, I've had some gains, so, leave the search to me.” Li Qi said.

Then, True Knowledge Dao Resonance unfolded.

Jing Wuzhen's pupils dilated, her Martial Dao Divine Intent unfolded, and she held two swords in front of her!

Sariputra and Maudgalyāyana also showed surprise, but they did not resist, instead naturally avoiding this 'observation'.

This intensity—!

What the hell is this?!

What is the concept of the fifth power?

Five to the fifth power is three thousand.

Ten to the fifth power is a hundred thousand!

True Knowledge Dao Resonance directly surged from 'silent' to an intensity that could make people feel 'pain'.

Ultrasound detection would not cause any harm to people.

But a large radar's detection could directly cook a person, no different from putting a person in a microwave oven.

This was the difference in 'detection intensity'.

At this moment, True Knowledge, just by fully unfolding, could make a Fourth Grade feel the need to 'defend'!