Chapter 946: The Secret of the Ancient Times (Part 1)

Li Qi's body was currently in Chang'an.

The Li Qi in Chang'an was at the Eighth Grade of cultivation.

However, for Li Qi, the moment he became a Third Grade, all his selves across all time and space had already reached Third Grade; he could even go back in time and completely alter his life.

Though there wasn't much meaning to that.

It couldn't mend regrets, nor could it make him feel better; for a Third Grade, their life itself was already part of the Dao.

If a Third Grade was willing to compromise on everything, willing to not interfere with every decision regarding reality, willing to bow their head to whatever happened, completely unconcerned about their past, and simply lay flat, then they would absolutely never die.

As long as there was no contention, there was no death.

Unfortunately, those who could cultivate to Third Grade usually had some points they absolutely could not concede, and even reasons to force others to concede.

If neither side could yield, then only life and death could be decided.

Therefore, when he had just arrived in Chang'an, Zhu Fengdan's mount, the Great Phoenix, had just departed, and Li Qi stood alone on the street, already surrounded by a crowd of people.

"Hey, Li Qi," a grinning old man in plain clothes walked up to Li Qi.

As he arrived, the surroundings filled with people.

About ten people.

All of them were Third Grade, and Li Qi even recognized one woman.

She looked very much like Yu Zao, likely the Eclectic School Third Grade he had fought a few days prior.

In other words, everyone standing here now was an Eclectic School Third Grade, right?

"Greetings, Senior, may I ask who Senior is?" Li Qi cupped his hands in a salute, looking at the leading old man.

From the deference of the others around him, and Li Qi's probing investigation of the opponent, it was clear that the other party was actually a Second Grade.

He was surrounded.

"Me? My surname is Jiang, you can call me Jiang Lü, or simply Senior, as I am indeed a bit more powerful than you, and can barely bear the title of Senior," he made a gesture, his smile gentle.

"Senior, aren't you going to make a move? So many people surrounding me, this is a good opportunity," Li Qi said.

The surrounding streets were of the Human Race, but they had been cleared, with only a few of them present.

"If you weren't carrying Changqin's lingering aura, I would definitely make a move, but now, it's useless to act anyway, so why not chat more with you, we can probe each other for information, and have a battle of wits, what do you think?" Jiang Lü said.

"That is natural, is it here?" Li Qi asked.

"Let's do it here, I also have some of my home-brewed turbid wine, which will help liven things up, sit," Jiang Lü extended a hand, and several chairs appeared around them.

Everyone took their seats, and Li Qi also performed a half-bow, then found a seat to sit down.

Seeing Li Qi's half-bow, Jiang Lü asked, "Why the sudden bow?"

Li Qi replied, "Wine completes the ritual, I dare not not bow."

"Then why only do half?"

Li Qi replied again, "Forcing someone is impolite, so I do not bow."

Jiang Lü laughed heartily, but did not answer or argue, instead he directly skipped the topic and poured Li Qi a cup of wine: "You said we'd have a battle of wits, but you, young man, are quite unyielding. By the way, you could have not come, why did you choose to enter this dangerous place alone? Even with Changqin's protection, this isn't 100% safe, is it?"

Li Qi picked up the wine cup, took a small sip, and then said, "How can one catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den? I came here, and look, over a dozen Third Grades and a Second Grade came to greet me. Can you get this kind of treatment by hiding somewhere?"

"Moreover, you don't dare to make a move, probably because you can't make up your minds, right? Even as a Second Grade, you don't know whether acting here is good or bad. Since that's the case, why not come and see? Besides, it can make me appear both wise and brave, courageous and resourceful, with extraordinary daring. Isn't that good?" Li Qi said.

As he spoke, the wine was fragrant and rich. This wine must have been brewed by a Flower Goddess; the floral scent and wine aroma blended into one. The liquid, though called turbid wine, was actually as clear as a mirror, resembling beautiful jade, radiating light.

"Peony fragrance, is this the Peony Flower Goddess's craftsmanship?" Li Qi asked.

"Your tongue is good. This wine, it's not inferior to Chang Xi's, is it?" Jiang Lü said with a smile.

"Each has its own flavor. The wine brewed by Grand Shaman Chang Xi is not truly wine, but rather a longing, thus it intoxicates. The wine brewed by the Peony Flower Goddess is truly wine, but it seems to contain many things I cannot discern. However... it tastes very good, and it doesn't intoxicate," Li Qi commented.

As he spoke, the other Eclectic School Third Grades nearby weren't idle either; they were doing their own things, some drinking, some arranging dishes, chatting and laughing among themselves, showing no signs of tension.

Li Qi also relaxed, picking up dishes as he pleased. When others rotated the table, he would pick up dishes; he was simply showing off.

At this point, he might as well eat more.

Unfortunately, while the wine was good, the dishes were rather lacking.

Perhaps they didn't want Li Qi to eat too well; after all, good dishes were expensive, and giving them to Li Qi would be a waste. Giving him some rotten vegetable scraps would suffice.

Although in reality, they weren't rotten vegetable scraps; in the eyes of Mortals, they would be considered delicacies, but for a Third Grade, they were a bit meager.

However, Li Qi didn't mind.

He could eat anything. Li Qi naturally enjoyed tasting all kinds of food, and this meal was quite satisfying; he didn't feel at all that he had been treated poorly.

During this time, the conversation with the Eclectic School Old Ancestor named Jiang Lü never stopped.

"Although it's on par with Chang Xi, there's still a difference in level compared to 'Xi,' isn't there?" Jiang Lü said.

"Senior is joking, I've never met Xi, how would I know? If there's an opportunity in the future, I'd certainly like to taste it," Li Qi said evasively.

Jiang Lü seemed unconcerned and said, "Do you know? Xi is good at brewing wine mainly because of the good water. She has a spiritual spring, from which both the Sun and Moon emerge."

"I've heard of it. That place is called Fusang Valley, right? Also known as Warm Spring. In ancient times, when there were ten Suns in the sky, they would descend into Fusang Valley to bathe when they rested each day."

Since ancient times, there has been the saying, 'The Sun bathes in Fusang Valley, Chang Xi bathes the Moon.'

"And not just the ten Suns, the twelve Moons were also like that."

Xi's twenty-two children, ten sons and twelve daughters, all bathed in that place, and even Xi herself bathed there.

The water there was sweet, so it was also called 'Sweet Spring' or 'Sweet Abyss.'

With good water, naturally there would be good mountains. That mountain was called 'Nie Yao Yu Di,' and on it grew a divine tree called 'Fusang Tree.' Emperor Jun and Xi's home was there, and the ten Suns and twelve Moons were also in that place.

However, nine of the ten Suns have now been shot dead.

Xi has also been split into two, Chang Xi and Xi He, and Emperor Jun has almost been removed from the ranks of the Emperors, with no new movements heard from him for many years...

Only the twelve Moons still exist in this world, but... they are no longer 'Moons.'

The current Moon is 'Taiyin,' not the 'Twelve Moons.' They are no longer the Moons of the world; they have become free.

It's hard to say whether it's good or bad, but it's certainly better than being shot dead.

But...

What was Jiang Lü saying all this for?

Li Qi didn't know, but he had to respond. He also wanted to know some things about the Human Race; the so-called battle of wits was evident now.

Hearing Li Qi say he had heard of it, Jiang Lü seemed very pleased, and then said, "I heard you want to revive Xi recently. Do you know that for Xi He and Chang Xi, this is equivalent to killing them?"

Li Qi's expression was a bit subtle.

Actually, he didn't know or understand, but he could imagine it.

For Chang Xi and Xi He, both of them are individual existences, and attempting to revive 'Xi' would require killing both of them and using their remains as sacrifices to complete the resurrection ritual.

This is probably why Emperor Jun has been hesitant to act.

With Emperor Jun's ability, reviving Xi should be a matter of course, but if he did so, he would have to kill Chang Xi and Xi He. But for Emperor Jun, he couldn't bring himself to do it?

So, Li Qi said, "Why kill them? There's no need for that, is there?"

Li Qi also wasn't planning to curry favor with Emperor Jun. In fact... this might even anger Emperor Jun. Judging from Li Qi's own perspective, Emperor Jun himself was probably very conflicted, unsure whether Chang Xi and Xi He counted as his wives.

If he rashly killed the two of them and fused them into Xi, Emperor Jun would probably smash his head in.

As if anticipating Li Qi's response, Jiang Lü's expression brightened: "But, think about it, Li Qi, if Xi isn't resurrected, what will you use to seize the Sun-Moon Orbit?"

"Look, the Sun-Moon Orbit, this thing, is inherently the most suitable path for Xi, isn't it? Think about it, Xi, as the Goddess of the Sun and Moon, who also established the calendar, and is the mother of the Sun and Moon, and Emperor Jun's wife, if she were to be resurrected, the Divine Dao would have ample reason to participate in the war, and Xi could also contend for the Sun-Moon Orbit, couldn't she? Wouldn't the waters become even muddier, which would be beneficial to you?"

"I see," Li Qi nodded, noncommittal to this statement.

Say what you will, but he certainly wouldn't kill Grand Shaman Chang Xi for this reason.

"However, Senior, I have another question: the objects of the Sun and Moon are simply too weak. In today's world, the Taiyin and Taiyang are merely thus, and as for various other worlds, they don't even have Taiyin and Taiyang. For them, the Sun and Moon are merely star-like objects, hardly to be considered powerful entities."

"So, why can the Sun-Moon Orbit, and even things like the Sun God and Moon God, rank so high in power?"

Hearing Li Qi's question, Jiang Lü scanned him, but he didn't seem to intend to conceal anything, instead saying, "Ha~, youth has this disadvantage, you haven't seen things from before, have you?"

"In the past, the Universe wasn't this big. At that time, there was only one continent in the world, that was... many, many times before the Universe reopened."

"Only one continent in the world?" Li Qi heard this sentence and couldn't help but glance down at his feet.

Was it 'All Under Heaven' (the world)?

Jiang Lü directly admitted, "Yes, it's here. At that time, the First Grade was only 'Hao Tian,' and Hao Tian was neither willing to backtrack nor would he easily interfere with all matters. So, there weren't such abstract battles as there are now."

"At that time, it was very simple. All races rose together on the continent, contending with each other, mostly using techniques and martial arts. The fighting was also very simple; moving mountains and overturning seas was already considered a great Divine Ability."

Jiang Lü seemed to be lost in some memory, actively narrating to Li Qi what the world used to be like.

In that world... where other First Grades had not yet been born, and the Universe had never reopened.

At that time, there was only one 'Heavenly Emperor,' the Sovereign of all living beings and things. He had no name.

The gods called their leader 'Emperor.' Gods also had many factions and tribes, so the leaders of these factions and tribes were the 'Group of Emperors.'

Emperor Yao, Emperor Gaoyang, Emperor Shun, Emperor Jun, and so on, were all leaders of the gods. Some of them were Heavenly Gods, others were Di Qi (Earthly Qi).

And the 'Heavenly Emperor,' as the supreme existence, was the leader of the Group of Emperors.

Later, Mortals were born.

After development, Mortals called their leaders 'Huang.'

For example, Empress Wa, Emperor Xi, Sui Huang, Emperor Nong, Ancient Emperor, Demon Emperor, and so on.

Among these 'Huang,' some were also Deities, because humans themselves revered gods, and some gods were willing to lead them.

For example, 'Emperor Nong,' he was also 'Emperor Chi' or 'Emperor Yan,' a Heavenly God.

But there were also some 'Huang' who were purely Human Race, such as 'Sui Huang,' who was a pure-blooded Human Race.

And some were mixed-bloods, such as 'Emperor Xi,' although he was not an Emperor, he was also the son of the Thunder God, a human-god hybrid.

Even Tai Yi once led the Mortals and was respectfully called 'Tai Huang,' of course, he could also be called 'Tai Di' or similar.

At that time, there were no Taiyin or Taiyang stars.

There were ten Suns in the sky and twelve Moons at night, all of them Emperor Jun's descendants.

Ten thousand races stood side by side, walking upon the sole continent. They eventually referred to the ultimate Sovereign, the 'Heavenly Emperor,' with their greatest reverence, as 'Hao.'

Hao meant vastness, because Hao was the vastest thing in this world; even the Universe itself seemed so small compared to 'Hao.'

All beings called him 'Hao,' and he gladly accepted this appellation.

Then, he gently watched all beings, observing them create various new things.

He saw all beings invent all sorts of novelties, witnessed the contention of ten thousand races. At that time, there was no such thing as 'Dao'; everyone toiled and fought, all for the survival space and interests of their ethnic groups.

For a hunting ground, for a mountain producing herbs, for a large lake with water, the ten thousand races contended for living space on that continent.

Various beasts, demons, humans, and even different kinds of life, together created the initial harmony and turmoil of this Universe.

Compared to the Dao contention, the wars of that time seemed so friendly, like children playing. As long as there was enough food and enough cultivation resources, everyone would stop quarreling.