Chapter 872: Dead demon wreckage

The Desire Realm exhibited perplexing characteristics.

Deep crimson, calm blue, overly fervent emotions, and the melancholic mystique of sorrow spread, a constantly seeping Chaos, manifesting the unique flavor of that primal power.

Within the Void Realm, a sense of steepness surprisingly emerged; various colors rapidly formed whirlpools, but if one only looked at the surface, these powers resembled vast waters, with rapids converging into giant waves, vying to pour out and transform into gaping mouths that swallowed abysses.

These colors even evoked an indescribable unease; the turbid hues constantly churned, like an overturned palette, shimmering with layers of light in extreme precision.

Unpredictable, mysterious tremors sometimes even brought to mind mountains of decaying flesh, simultaneously eliciting waves of nausea while seemingly revealing a flickering Desire.

Both great and indifferent, both beautiful and captivating yet cruel and merciless, floating above the misty waves, these torrents first swirled into a gigantic cylinder, then unfurled to form a curtain of snow, fully displaying their vibrant colors.

But if you were to gaze intently at this falling colored waterfall, your mind and vision would suddenly plunge into terrifying darkness, like being swept into an abyss by a Great Flood. This feeling was truly bizarre; Li Qi knew he was merely being overly sensitive, but before long, a fear spread through his heart, gripping him tightly.

Although before him, thousands of rainbows still intertwined, the colors struck the wavering rocks, splashing up spray and foam, swirling and rising, and the pervasive mist, like the rolling smoke of a Great Fire or the myriad water mists created by a falling waterfall, and some ‘solids’ like craggy rocks within this torrent, further adorned and highlighted this scene, yet even these solids were inevitably caught in the airflow, spiraling down into the abyss, intertwining and contending with each other, finally gradually dissipating into waves of chaotic fluctuations.

This is the vortex of the spirit, where infinite imaginations mix together, then stewed into a rolling thick soup using all the elements derived from these imaginations and thoughts as Materials.

Here are the ‘Four Greats’ of Buddhism, distorted space-time, the ‘natural’ revered by Shamanes, and occasionally, the order of humanity, or under the control of natural evolution, these collide with each other, plus many areas with ‘autonomous capabilities’ floating around, and even more other chaotic areas, some even beyond description.

Purely lawless, beautiful and primal Chaos, filled with both decadent carnal Desire and noble sacrifice, passion and decadence coexisting, both belonging to the Mortal World and transcending it, seemingly allowing one to faintly perceive the primal nature of humanity within.

Within this intertwining of carnal Desire and passion, nobility and baseness, love and hate, there also lurked a terrifying factor, as if merely pursuing it could lead to the discovery of certain secrets that appeared beautiful but were in fact horrifying.

Terrifying, the most primal colors and emotions, it was simply like magic where beauty and evil coexisted.

Or rather… this itself was ‘magic’.

However, there were still ‘solids’ around that these torrents could not destroy, and coincidentally, Li Qi was also a part of these ‘solids’.

Although the environment of this place was bizarre, it seemed to change according to certain powerful wills, meaning Li Qi could form a stable cluster around his will and senses, like a ‘stone’ in the flood.

The stronger his will, the larger the cluster he could maintain, and the more solid that stone would be.

But he must not be distracted, for once he stopped concentrating, the cluster would revert to a chaotic state, transforming back into the torrent of colors that scoured everything.

However, for Li Qi, his existence was the ‘most solid rock’ within this torrent; he could easily maintain an island, not just a stone.

But he did not do so; he merely solidified the area around his perception, allowing him to observe all the surrounding conditions more conveniently.

Is this another layer of the Desire Realm? Or are they coexisting?

They should be coexisting.

The Desire Realm does not merely imitate the Reality Universe; its existence is a collection of all desires. Since there is a perception of ‘reality’, then naturally, purely chaotic thoughts will also exist.

Li Qi did not linger here for too long but continued to expand his perception.

After a full seven hundred and fifty years, Li Qi’s spirit also began to feel somewhat fatigued.

This did not mean he had reached his limit, but rather that he was tired from processing so much information, and furthermore, the intelligence he had gathered was already sufficient.

Yes, his perception covered a Universe with a radius of at least trillions of light-years; all information had been encompassed. He could even, after deduction, state the name of every world within it.

At a certain location in the Desire Realm, there indeed existed Demon of Death remnants, and this was widely known in many places. After Li Qi’s cross-verification in different worlds, the existence of the Demon of Death remnants was confirmed.

And many worlds knew of the existence of these Demon of Death remnants, it’s just that… no one was willing to go there.

It was a hidden and dangerous ‘spectacle’; although not in the Reality Universe, it couldn't be called an ‘extra-territorial spectacle’, but in essence, it was not much different from one.

It's hard to say whether the Demon of Death caused its danger, or if its danger allowed the Demon of Death remnants to persist there.

Of course, it could also be mutually reinforcing; not only was it dangerous, but the addition of Demon of Death remnants caused its danger level to super-double, to the extent that no one has been able to take treasures from it to this day.

However… calling it a treasure, it should actually be called a ‘bomb’, right?

However, according to the intelligence Li Qi uncovered, that place had once repelled many Great Powers; they all went there, but ultimately chose to give up.

Below Fourth Rank, sometimes just ‘looking’ would lead to Death.

This was also the reason why no civilization with Void Realm navigation capabilities was born around that extra-territorial spectacle.

They were born, then observed the outside realm, looking at the sky with telescopes.

The moment they first looked at the sky, the entire civilization would be annihilated.

It was like an ancient god lurking in the dark Void Realm, chaotic, disordered, and dangerous; as long as you perceived its existence, you would die.

For the civilizations born in that star sector… do not look up at the starry sky; the starry sky represents Death.

Either remain ignorant, perpetually stuck at Eighth or Ninth Rank, lying in their own world, never gazing at the starry sky a single step.

Or… die.

“This is truly…” Li Qi awoke from his perception.

Then, he decided to investigate and see the situation of the Demon of Death remnants.

However, he planned to test the waters first.

The next instant, Li Qi arrived at the area covered by this spectacle.

There was no scenery to speak of, just pure darkness.

Occasionally, some specks of light could be seen; those were the lights of worlds.

“Let’s go in and see if I can preserve a world,” Li Qi thought, randomly selecting a world and entering it.

He would use this Eighth-Rank world for an experiment.

— — — — — — — — — —

Holy Capital, that should be its name.

It was the religious center of this world.

Of course, it wasn't just a religious center; it was practically the center of everything—politics, economy—almost all important products and institutions were located in this city.

This was a city… with almost no light.

In fact, the life forms here didn't need light; they used other sensory organs. This place wasn't like the Reality Universe, where there were ‘Star Officials’ to arrange the starry sky and raise the sun, moon, and stars.

In the Reality Universe, all this seemed natural; every world naturally had a ‘starry sky’, and ‘sun and moon’ would rise. Various shapes would be arranged between the stars, portending the world’s destiny through celestial phenomena, or using the arrangement of stars to signify the changes of the Four Seasons, then the Yin and Yang Qi would cycle, the sun and moon would alternate in Reincarnation, and every day the sun would rise…

These were all ‘everyday miracles’!

In the Desire Realm, there were no ‘Star Officials’ to manage the operation of these things, so if a world had no sun around it, then that world would face perpetual darkness.

Since that was the case, the creatures would also make corresponding adaptations.

For example, the cities here…

This Holy Capital…

This city was not some primitive tribe; in fact, although the technology here couldn't be considered advanced, it had certainly entered the industrial society.

Taut metal wires stretched across the river and eaves, humming like bass strings.

These were ‘power lines’, spanning various parts of the city, the source of its basic energy, and this electricity came from ‘power plants’ in various places, constantly burning coal and emitting thick black smoke.

Besides that, there were also many trains, large, crude gears, and the like.

If it weren't in the Desire Realm, this should have been an ordinary technological civilization that had entered the industrial era.

But unfortunately, they were in the Desire Realm.

Therefore, ‘诡异’ (bizarre) events often occurred here.

People's thoughts also possessed ‘power’.

Mysticism and psychology were not just topics of conversation here, but actual hidden powers; every wail, every brewing of negative emotion, could generate certain ‘monsters’, or even many ‘evil gods’.

Of course, these were all Ninth-Rank level things; in Li Qi's view, they were merely abnormal fluctuations, and could even be resolved with local firearms.

However, in the eyes of these people, this was the dark side of the city.

Therefore, religion held a particularly significant position here; only the power brought by religion could soothe people's minds and reduce the occurrence of bizarre events.

However, what was indispensable in the industrial era was oppression, and… religion was not solely benevolent; secret cults and even evil cult organizations were also widespread in this world.

It was almost like London during the Awakening of an ancient god.

Li Qi appeared on a street in this city, looking around.

He had fully understood the basic situation here before coming down; in fact, no native in this world understood it better than he did.

He could even now tell the name of every person in this world.

The life forms here were generally ‘humanoids’, but their eyes perceived not visible light, but infrared light.

Yes, although this world was pitch black in the eyes of ordinary humanoids, in the eyes of the locals, they lived in a world of light, and everyone even glowed themselves, each person having thermal imaging.

So, Li Qi began to walk and move forward in this place; the crisscrossing power lines above his head gradually thinned. Narrow streets appeared before him.

Ahead, a train whistled, crossing the river above on ever-rising tracks.

Li Qi's gaze followed it, looking south and east, watching the tracks continuously extend into the distance in the dark city, then entering the land covered by this night. This enormous beast, containing countless workers within its belly, was silently swallowed by an even more terrifying darkness, just like a food chain.

Li Qi was about to pass through the factory district; in the dark night, various industrial equipment were still working.

Many workers were busy; overburdened chains spun and swayed, like useless limbs, clattering with the rhythm of a zombie's stride as they rolled into meshing gears and spinning governors.

Because there was no distinction between day and night, the work here was even more demanding; there was no ‘naturally designated rest time’; every minute of rest required serious negotiation with the boss, otherwise, it was year-round work.

But compared to the plight of these workers, Li Qi was more concerned about the progress of this civilization; he hoped to confirm the state of the Demon of Death remnants through this.

Thinking these thoughts, he quietly entered a state of ‘Body Integration with natural’, walking towards a ‘secret cult temple’.

— — — — — — — —

In a hidden basement, a leader of a secret cult was giving a sermon.

“We are a species that has lived on the earth for generations, starting very early, but today, we can say that we have already taken control of the world, becoming the rulers of the earth.”

“Therefore, it is time to go to the heavens!”

“It seems absurd, utterly ignorant, even blasphemous. Those arrogant Orthodox Church believe that heaven is where gods reside; how can humans become masters? This is contempt for the gods, an unforgivable sin. Countless Seniors who wished to explore the sky have already been burned to Death by them.”

“These statements are a manifestation of their incompetence! We have specialized disciplines, superb skills. We are now advancing step by step; what cannot be done today may be done tomorrow! The earth has been occupied; we need a new era of the sky!”

“Now—this is our achievement! We only need to verify, only need to glimpse the sky!”

He pulled back the curtain, revealing countless ‘conjectures’ about the Universe.

Yes, just conjectures, because the sky was actually polluted by industrial waste, making it impossible to observe the starry sky at all.

Li Qi watched from the side, but no one noticed him.

Very enterprising, indeed.

Unfortunately, if it weren't for The Orthodox Church stopping them, they would all be dead.

The moment they gazed at the starry sky, they would die.