Chapter 897: Mind Monkey

Seven Demonic Dao Third Ranks simultaneously turned their attention to Li Qi.

Li Qi had previously caused the Desire Realm to wither and taken the Demon of Death’s Dao Resonance, yet none of the Demonic Dao paid any heed to all these actions.

But merely by giving a name, seven Demonic Dao Third Ranks actually arrived.

Are they free? There should be a limited number of Demonic Dao Third Ranks, and in this current state, shouldn't the Third Ranks be very busy?

Seeing the Demonic Dao cultivators who simultaneously turned their gazes towards him, Li Qi smiled, "What? Are you surprised that I didn't name him 'Wukong'?"

"Do you think I would misjudge? Because of the various hints given by the Heaven Demon? Or do you think I would kill 'An Xin'?"

Li Qi questioned them.

The Demonic Dao Third Ranks did not answer.

The chains had already spread to Li Qi's body and pulled him into the Seal.

So Li Qi continued, "To kill the Monkey Mind, to kill the Intention Horse, to make them like withered wood, rotten stumps, and stubborn stones—is this what the Demonic Dao wants me to do?"

To kill the Monkey Mind, to kill the Intention Horse, to make them like withered wood, rotten stumps, and stubborn stones.

Yes, killing the Demonic Monkey in front of them was killing a Great Power's demonic thoughts.

In this way, that Great Power would become 'heart-dead,' and their thoughts would become as still as 'withered wood, rotten stumps, and stubborn stones.'

demonic thoughtss are the cause of certain extreme behaviors, but they are also the source of 'vitality' within the mind.

demonic thoughtss can be hatred, greed, obsession, resentment, but they can also be inspiration, determination, and even love, and hope.

For example, in a world destined for destruction, filled with endless despair, a warrior who has steadfastly guarded the only flame for ten thousand years as if it were a single day—how else could that sense of responsibility, that determination in his heart, be described, if not as a 'demonic thoughts'?

A lifelong love, for whom everything can be abandoned, even power, responsibility, or even the entire Universe, just to hold her in his arms—what else could such love be but a 'demonic thoughts'?

If all these demonic thoughtss were eliminated, what would humans become?

"Forcibly breaking open the jade lock and golden chains, this is what can truly secure the Monkey Mind, that's the correct principle, right?"

Li Qi quietly waited for himself to be sealed by the chains.

"A body full of demonic thoughtss, like ghosts and evil spirits, are also the demonic obstacles that a cultivator should possess. However, demonic thoughtss, though myriad, can be summed up in one phrase: it's merely a matter of controlling one's mind."

"Therefore, becoming a Demon, becoming a Buddha, becoming a Shaman, becoming a Human, becoming an Immortal, becoming a Demon—all these Paths originate from this mind. When this mind is released, it becomes demon thoughts; when it is reined in, it becomes peace of mind. If the mind is not at peace, its transformations are boundless, like the Monkey Mind causing havoc in Heaven. If this mind is at peace, it can subdue demons, and its transformations are also boundless, like the Monkey Mind subduing demons and binding monsters."

"So, I named him 'An Xin.' What do you say, isn't it a good name?"

As Li Qi spoke these words, the Demonic Dao Third Ranks also descended. In the next instant, Li Qi was suppressed by the Demonic Dao and completely swallowed by the Seal.

But this was exactly what he wanted.

Li Qi, within the Seal, softly said, "From Huodou, I obtained information about demons. The essence of a demon is actually dissatisfaction with the current state, so whether it's a Demonic God or a demon, their essence is actually the same."

"I've always been curious how the 'Demon' race became a 'Dao,' because demons seem to drift with the current, lacking the completeness of a 'Dao.'"

"The Dao is a complete method of understanding the world, a philosophy that interprets the world, a system of thought, and a complete way of processing external information. No matter how you look at it, 'Demon' doesn't seem to possess such a thing."

"But the existence of the Monkey Mind 'An Xin,' and also the existence of Huodou, made me understand where the 'Dao' of the 'Demonic Dao' lies!" Li Qi exclaimed.

"The Demonic Dao is not constant; this must be the philosophy of demons, right? This is also the reason for the 'Great Havoc in Heaven,' and it is also the reason for the existence of the 'Monkey Mind' at this moment."

"The philosophy of demons is negation, saying no to all 'totalized' things, rejecting the existence of all Ultimate Great Dao, denying all 'essences,' acknowledging no 'nature,' deconstructing everything. There is no absolute answer in any sense in this world; an Ultimate Great Dao that can interpret everything does not exist."

All matters of clinging to the mind, of intentionality, of stubborn emptiness and extinction, are nothing but the Monkey Mind and Intention Horse, illusory bodies and fleshy bags. To try to discern true and wonderful principles from the formless and imageless is in itself foolish.

"But precisely because of this, one bravely creates things that do not yet exist, impossible things, and the freedom of higher intelligence lies in such freedom."

"Don't you agree, Great Sage?"

Li Qi said this.

Then, the Monkey Mind suddenly stopped, and the Seal tightened again.

This Seal, from the very beginning, was not to Seal the Monkey Mind, but to Seal another Great Power!

The Monkey Mind 'An Xin' was merely an external manifestation.

Therefore, when Li Qi named him 'An Xin,' the Seal reacted so strongly!

"That's right, that's it. You need me to help you expose the 'Heart Demon' set by the Heaven Demon, because as everyone knows, the Heaven Demon will not interfere with me, no matter what I do, it will not make a move," Li Qi said, unleashing his Divine Ability!

Buddhism had been interfering with Li Qi from the very beginning, even when he was a Seventh Rank. Even Amitabha personally intervened, all to send himself in and break this Seal!

Moreover, the difficulty of this Seal lay in the fact that one had to 'awaken' the Monkey Mind oneself.

So everything that happened before, except for the Demonic Dao of the Demon of Death lineage, was to guide Li Qi to name the Monkey Mind 'Wukong' or some other name, or simply kill the Monkey Mind.

After all... as everyone knows, 'language' has power.

The Third Rank Demonic Dao cultivators continued to approach, seemingly preparing to completely lock down and Seal Li Qi.

However, it was already useless. When Li Qi, through the hints from the Demon of Death lineage, realized 'An Xin,' everything became uncertain.

And there was one more thing.

On Li Qi's body, there was also an indestructible monkey claw.

This was also very strange.

Li Qi was now certain that at the beginning, there was absolutely no monkey claw next to the Demon of Death’s Dao Resonance.

It could be seen from the attitude of the Demon of Death lineage. After the mental fusion with Lou Neifa, he clearly knew that the Demon of Death lineage was unaware of the monkey claw's appearance.

In fact, they only learned about the monkey claw from Li Qi's mental fusion.

In other words... the monkey claw appeared later. These Demon of Death Third Ranks had been coveting those Dao Resonance for certainly not just a day or two. So, for a long time in the past, they had never discovered the monkey claw, which shows that this thing was definitely put in later by someone else.

According to Li Qi's speculation, it was probably put in by Buddhism.

After all... only Buddhism possessed such a thing.

With this thought, Li Qi released the monkey claw.

Then, this monkey claw, which was so hard that Li Qi couldn't even budge it, suddenly became soft and grabbed the chains on Li Qi's body.

The chains contracted sharply! It was like a retractable tape measure suddenly let go, pulling back violently, desperately trying to return to the Golden Mountain!

But the monkey claw remained completely still, just gently holding the chains.

Since the monkey claw didn't move, and the chains were still shortening, only the Golden Mountain used for the Seal could move.

The Golden Mountain, originally fixed in the Void Realm, was subtly pulled by this effortless grip to the front of the monkey claw.

The Golden Mountain rapidly shrunk, and by the time it reached the monkey claw, it was only two zhang long and the thickness of a bowl, a golden staff.

The Monkey Mind was locked by the golden staff and merged into it.

The monkey claw suddenly grabbed the golden staff and then swung it violently.

A horizontal silver streak suddenly erupted, and one could see flying flowers like scattered hail, spanning ten thousand ren, creating a circle over three hundred million li wide. Within it, all things inverted, and what had originally happened was forcibly 'beaten back.' The Third Rank Demonic Overlords that had surged forward flowed backward like a waterfall, a torrent rising, light separating from the staff, millions of rays flying out, dispersing into layers of clouds.

From within the monkey claw, a body extended—

Majestic and awe-inspiring, soaring to the heavens, Killing Intent surging, pressing against the Big Dipper.

Vast Qi rolling forth, like a rainbow, the Four Symbols of the Star River unfurling banners.

A body of golden fur, wearing a feathered crown, strength like the towering Mount Tai, momentum like the vast and boundless firmament. The golden staff clashed with the Demonic Overlords, all shining in the dimness. In an instant, severe cold pierced the heart, the sun and moon dimmed, the stars became faint, and the east wind rose, shaking heaven and earth.

Heaven shattered and earth trembled, billions of Demonic Overlords retreated. Li Qi felt dizzy, as if he were in a great river, a small boat tossing like duckweed, appearing and disappearing in the misty waves. He was but a speck in the sea, swaying, dizzy, and his feet cramped.

Flickering light, surging a wave of vastness, golden flames soaring, sweeping away billions of Demonic Army. There was the might of the Xun Wind, the underworld shaking, the Heavenly God's thunderous roar, the Mars's stride shaking the Universe. Fish and Dragons at the bottom of the waves, crows and rabbits in the clouds, worrying that the sea would dry up and the rivers wither, shocking souls and terrifying spirits. Everywhere the golden staff swung, it turned to dust in the wind.

By the time Li Qi finally stood firm, the Seal had also disappeared.

Forcibly breaking open the jade lock and golden chains, this is what can truly secure the Monkey Mind.

The Monkey Mind had been secured. The 'Demon' within 'Demonic Demon' was suppressed by Li Qi's 'An Xin.' Thus, the Seal was broken, and combined with the monkey claw's physical body, all of this was enough to revive a Great Power.

Moreover, before Li Qi could react,

"Yi ya ya—!" The Golden Monkey suddenly swung its great staff and smashed it violently at its surroundings.

"Wait...! Great Sage, no!" Li Qi immediately tried to stop him!

But it was too late.

This strike did not smash Demonic Overlords, nor enemies, but... the entire Desire Realm!

The golden staff swung, and the Desire Realm shattered!

It wasn't the guided withering that Li Qi had done, but a direct attack on the very essence of the Desire Realm, that 'tree of possibilities' that branched infinitely!

Thousands of anomalies, all shattered.

Various ominous signs, not just one.

Hundreds of billions of trillions, infinite power coming and going like the wind, formless and boundless, endless and limitless.

Li Qi felt this power—

Taking the Monkey Mind and Intention Horse as the foundation, and the Five Aggregates matching the Five Elements, an empty structure, it is merely a mirage. The profound principle within this can be understood but not expressed in words; what is called language and writing only captures its superficial form and cannot describe its true essence.

Li Qi didn't know how the other party did it... Perhaps this was... brute force?

Just as it was said before,

Why do we think brute force cannot break space? In the instant after the Universe was born, the Universe was completely symmetrical, manifesting as a unified form. As the temperature dropped, symmetry broke, and gravity separated first, followed by the strong force, leaving behind the electroweak unification. As the Universe continued to cool, the electroweak unification also began to break, forming the four forces we now know. Later, the Universe began large-scale changes, and various fundamental 'physical Laws' were formed due to spontaneous symmetry breaking.

Symmetry breaking and various phase changes constitute the physical Laws themselves. However, if your brute force is sufficient, the four fundamental forces will unify into a 'superforce.' When the superforce is lost and cooled, everything will break again, expand and decompose into various fundamental forces. As long as you participate in the decomposition of these fundamental forces, you can choose the ratios between the various fundamental forces, and these ratios control the most fundamental physical constants.

In this situation, 'basic units' themselves can be created.

So, with the existence of 'basic units,' a simple closed time curve appeared.

The entire Desire Realm became a 'closed loop.'

Within this closed loop, as the Universe began large-scale changes, countless 'basic units' were formed due to spontaneous symmetry breaking. These 'basic units' then combined into more complex everything due to the interaction of various forces, ultimately completing the cosmic picture observed today.

Imagine, when the entire Universe possesses infinite 'basic units,' and they all observe the same scene.

This is a 'time loop,' a closed timelike curve that will eliminate all possibilities.

Imagine, different possibilities of history are all enclosed, meaning that many basic units, at this moment, begin to observe all possibilities that have arisen since the Desire Realm began.

This is the marvelous use of 'brute force.'

Simply relying on brute force is enough to bring about all these miraculous effects, and the underlying principle is very simple, because the ability to reduce all things to simple fundamental Laws does not mean that from those fundamental Laws, the entire Universe can be reconstructed.

Who says the same physical Laws must necessarily create the same Universe?

When all possibilities converge, and everything falls into a closed loop, all possibilities will be annihilated, and all futures will be destined to become the past.

And when past and future are mixed together, a 'self-referential' problem arises.

Still the same problem.

If a book contains all the books in the world, then does this book contain itself?

If it does, then this book will infinitely recurse.

Just like the past and future are mixed together.

When the past and present can form a closed loop, a Reincarnation loop is formed.

The past determines the future, and the future determines the past. They affirm each other, interlock, and ultimately become a 'zero possibility' loop-shaped space-time.

At this point, there is no future, nor past; everything is predetermined.

When all things are 'predetermined,' the existence of the Desire Realm also loses all meaning.

Just like the existence of the Heavenly Demon of Enjoying Others’ Emanations.

If the Heavenly Demon of Enjoying Others’ Emanations loses the ability to transform, then it is equivalent to 'Death.'

After all, Death is when all change ceases.

Thus, with one strike of the staff,

The Desire Realm truly shattered. (End of Chapter)