Chapter 956: Become each other's chess pieces

Shamansan was next to Li Qi, simultaneously diverting his attention to confront other First Grades and explaining the current situation to Li Qi.

As they spoke, Li Qi's cultivation also steadily climbed.

This was not a good thing; it indicated that the Desire Realm was growing vigorously and would soon break through Li Qi's control.

Fortunately, Li Qi could still control it for now.

His Divine Ability transformed into a mist, enveloping the expanding Desire Realm. Looking at his Inner World from this angle, it was as if one saw ancient, vast ice plains, with white mist constantly flowing across them like a turbulent ocean.

From time to time, gloomy wisps of mist surged up, sweeping over Shamansan like ocean waves, submerging him.

Shamansan hovered in the air, appearing unremarkable, but whenever the overwhelming mist pressed towards him, a faint, colorful halo would shimmer around him, emitting a tranquil glow.

Li Qi's demonic thoughtss also churned; sometimes these demonic thoughtss manifested as giant beasts and strange figures walking on the ice plains, and sometimes they appeared as black colossal rocks with strange peaks rising sporadically from the endless ice plains.

Combined with these, under the colorful radiance of Shamansan, they added a bizarre texture to this constantly expanding, monotonous wasteland.

Shamansan paid no attention to these, but continued to say to Li Qi, “The Human Dao this time wants to release the Devil King.”

“Release the Devil King?” Li Qi was somewhat puzzled. “Isn't the Devil King always here?”

“For you, he has always been here, but for us, it's different. The Devil King was indeed Sealed by the Heavens of the Formless Realm; he could only occasionally extend some tentacles,” Shamansan explained. “For you, as long as the Devil King comes out once, it's as if he was never Sealed.”

As he said this, Li Qi immediately understood the reason.

Clearly, the Devil King's ability to Transmigrate through time was terrifying, so much so that if he broke free for even a second, he could appear at all locations in all histories he wished to appear in during that second.

If the Devil King wished, and no one else obstructed him, the Devil King could even appear simultaneously at all time nodes for everyone.

He could inherently move freely through all realities, whether past or present, it was all the same.

In fact, these could be considered Dharma bodies; the Devil King projects his Dharma body into all histories. He could achieve this level of power by breaking free for just an instant.

“However, we can also do what he does, so he actually can't interfere too much. He only appears for a certain amount of time, and the scope of his influence is limited after all,” Shamansan said.

Li Qi nodded; this was also easy to understand.

The Devil King can project, but other First Grades cannot?

Of course they can, so if the Devil King were to interfere, he certainly couldn't make too many moves and wouldn't play a significant role in the First Grade's game.

Then, at this point, the Devil King's so-called interference was actually just a chess piece for other First Grades, who used the Devil King's hand to accomplish what they wanted.

Upon realizing this, Li Qi suddenly looked at Shamansan.

“That's right, you've thought of it, haven't you? That time with the Human Dao rebels, it was actually the result of our collaboration with the Devil King. For us, the Devil King isn't an object of deep hatred. On the contrary… the Devil King, after being suppressed by the Heavens of the Formless Realm, is a naturally excellent material, isn't he?” Shamansan easily spoke a hidden secret.

Li Qi was speechless; he opened his mouth to say something but ultimately closed it.

The Demonic Prince once told Li Qi that if Li Qi had any problems, he should just throw them at the Devil King, shifting all blame to the Devil King. (See Chapter 814 for details)

“If you want to find the culprit… then go find the Devil King. You and I both know that if there's a problem, just throw it at the Devil King.” These were the Demonic Prince's exact words. At the time, Li Qi thought the other party was mocking him.

But thinking about it carefully, the Demonic Prince rarely actively mocked people; he found it meaningless. He was giving Li Qi very serious advice.

If something happened, just shift the blame to the Devil King. After all, the Devil King was the scapegoat, and… he was even happy to be this scapegoat, even actively participating in it.

“So, does that mean the Devil King hasn't actively planned many things? He's not that hateful?” Li Qi asked Shamansan.

“That's hard to say. It mainly depends on how you define it. Indeed, the Devil King cannot bypass us to do many things, but similarly, he can also mislead us. The Dao dispute is escalating now, and who dares say it's not instigated by the Devil King behind the scenes? It's just mutual utilization,” Shamansan laughed.

Li Qi sighed.

Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

“So, the Human Dao's release of the Devil King this time is to completely muddy the waters? To expose all the scapegoats and let the Devil King turn the Dao dispute into a chaotic war? What does that have to do with me then? Is it because the Desire Realm is with me? Or because of my relationship with the Devil King?” Li Qi asked again.

Shamansan replied, “Both. The Devil King cares about you so much, so you must be kept under control. And because the Devil King cares about you, you will inevitably be involved in many things and become a crucial node that must be controlled when playing against the Devil King. This is why wars are waged against you. However, I didn't expect the Human Dao to make such a big fuss.”

“So, the Human Dao is preparing to attack the Heavens of the Formless Realm and release the Devil King. What will happen next? Should we stop them?” Li Qi asked.

“I will try my best, but the focus isn't on the Devil King. The focus is still on you. If your history is controlled, the Desire Realm will fall into someone else's hands. The Demonic Dao will cooperate with anyone for the Desire Realm,” Shamansan said.

“I understand. Leave it to me then.” Li Qi nodded. He already understood his current state.

“Don't rush. I know you made a great decision to break away from the timeline war and choose to use the Desire Realm to force the Human Dao into a direct confrontation,” Shamansan extended his hand and patted Li Qi's Dharma body on the shoulder.

Li Qi bowed his head in silence.

Indeed, it was… a great decision.

He shattered his Dao foundation and replaced it with the Desire Realm; all of this was to acknowledge the reality of all things.

Li Qi was willing, and eagerly desired, to acknowledge the reality of all things, because all things included not only numerous Mortals but also all possibilities, including Shen Shuibi, Li Shiwei, La Qi, Old Ma, and Sixth Uncle.

Li Qi was unwilling to admit that they were illusory beings derived from the ‘Ultimate Dao’; Li Qi was willing to believe… they were part of the Ultimate Dao.

So he made this decision. If he failed… he would probably die, but fortunately, it wouldn't affect Shamansan's grand plan.

Shamansan had already predicted this; Li Qi's death or survival would not affect his continued control of the Desire Realm.

However, Shamansan also did not want Li Qi to die.

So, he said, “Good luck. I will put more effort into the front lines to buy you enough time.”

“Okay.” Li Qi began his closed-door cultivation.

This would be a painful expedition.

And he had already embarked on the journey.

The Shaman God sat beside him, personally acting as his Dharma Protector, while also monitoring possible developments outside.

Thus… time advanced again.

On the ‘main timeline,’ that is, in the reality everyone agreed upon and acknowledged, time began to advance.

One hundred years passed. The Buddhist Kingdom was mostly captured, but the beings of the Buddhist Kingdom did not succumb to the Human Dao, instead maneuvering between the Human Dao and the Demonic Dao.

The Human Dao seemingly swept into the Buddhist Kingdom, but in reality, they did not control the situation in the Buddhist Kingdom. They merely drove out some Mortals and established Human Dao strongholds on the land.

This indicated that there seemed to be some problems with the Third Grade battle lines as well.

On the other hand, the Human Dao's war to destroy Buddhism truly affected the Buddhist Heavens.

The Great Free Heaven, Satisfied Heaven, Trayastrimsa Heaven, Yama Heaven, Great Brahma Heaven, Lesser Light Heaven, Immeasurable Light Heaven, Abhasvara Heaven, and other Heavens, all fell. Their Bodhisattvas scattered, and countless Arhats died or were injured.

The battlefield was not in the Mortal realm, but within the Heavens themselves.

The Devas were the target of the Human Dao's attack.

From this perspective, those high and mighty Devas, those who, by cultivating the High Grade Ten Virtues, left the Five Paths and were reborn in the celestial realm, able to “enjoy all blessings,” could not enjoy them at this moment.

Not to mention Devas, even those Dharma Protector Arhats were the same.

When the Human Dao army broke through those Heavens, the Monks collectively fled. As they ran, everyone discovered that even the Dharma Protector deities and Arhats with great Divine Abilities were running with them.

A Monk asked, “Dharma Protectors, your Divine Abilities are vast, why do you also flee?”

The Dharma Protectors sighed, “Karma has reached this point. What can I do? Let's all run together.”

For a time, these jokes spread everywhere, and the world seemed to realize that the Buddhist Kingdom… had long been corrupted.

The Human Dao felt this especially deeply after they truly began their attack.

Although the high-level Bodhisattvas and Buddhas still possessed boundless Divine Abilities, the grassroots Monks and Dharma Protectors were corrupt, scheming, and collapsed at the first touch.

All the Heavens, Devas, and Eight Legions of Devas and Dragons, which looked splendid, were nothing but flimsy under the Human Dao's military might.

There were too many Monks like Zen Master Zhi.

And these Monks, individually, might have some skill and perhaps could contend with individual Human Dao practitioners, but if they were assembled into an army, they would pull each other back, dragging their feet, and as a whole, they were simply mowed down like grass before the Human Dao army.

The Buddhist Mortal battlefield was simply insignificant, completely unable to contend with the Human Dao head-on.

The reason for this was naturally not hard to guess.

The Devil King's countless years of continuous corrosion had long since crippled the Buddhist grassroots.

When the 'Buddha-Demon Dual Cultivation' school could openly walk in the Western Paradise Buddhist Kingdom, it seemed that all this was already destined.

History continued to advance, quickly reaching fifteen hundred years.

Fifteen hundred years, this was quite long. Who knows how many struggles had to be undergone behind the scenes to compromise for such a long time.

The defeat on the Mortal battlefield also led to many Third Grades and Fourth Grades being besieged by large formations composed of low-level cultivators, resulting in damage to High Grade combat power.

Many Bodhisattvas were destroyed.

Among them, Bai Chen Fox King Bodhisattva seemed to have been targeted by the Human Dao long ago, and the Human Dao Grand Preceptor completed the execution that should have been completed in ancient times, reducing her possibilities to zero.

Bhajadeva, Vimalakirti Bodhisattva, Putamitara, Punyayasas, Jue Wang, Amritaprabha Bodhisattva, etc., were defeated, with deaths and injuries.

Nagarjuna Bodhisattva was severely wounded and his whereabouts unknown at this critical juncture, as he attempted to spread Buddhism and eliminate demons.

The Demonic Dao's plan, which had been laid out many years ago, was detonated at this moment.

The Buddhas were obstructed by the Human Dao First Grades, coupled with the covetous gazes from all sides, maintaining the current situation was already very good, but the Third Grade battlefield was clearly collapsing.

The power of the Demon of Death was beyond imagination, and the impact of the Demonic Dao's full participation in the war was equally severe.

Moreover, besides the Buddha-Demon conflict, the intensity of the Human-Shaman War was also increasing.

Regarding Li Qi's direction, Li Qi's life, due to Li Qi shattering his Dao foundation and actively expanding the Desire Realm, temporarily stopped. With Li Qi using the Desire Realm as his Inner World, the Human Dao seemed unwilling to damage the Desire Realm, as they appeared to be helping the Demon of Death lineage attack the Buddhist Kingdom.

And the Shamanes were even more so; Shamansan also prepared to use the Desire Realm as a Breakthrough point.

Neither the Human nor Shaman sides wished to damage the Desire Realm, and coupled with Shamansan's active protection, Li Qi found temporary balance in this delicate equilibrium.

Li Qi devoted almost all his energy to dealing with the collapse of his Inner World. Originally, he should have died; Li Qi in this state would have been unsalvageable if he had been besieged by the Human Dao.

But Shamansan supported Li Qi.

For this, Li Qi was very grateful.

However, he knew very well that this would not last; his life or death would not actually affect the Desire Realm itself.

Even if he died, as long as the Desire Realm was not damaged, it would not affect the overall situation.

Li Qi's current position was like holding the He Shi Bi, ready to smash it at any moment, warning anyone not to touch him, or he would smash the Desire Realm, and no one would get to play.

However, the reason everyone tolerated Li Qi was because he was about to die.

Attempting to suppress the Desire Realm after shattering his Dao foundation, perhaps the Human Dao Third Grades were already celebrating and preparing to open champagne to toast Li Qi's death.

Li Qi also felt a cold indifference unique to adults.

Just as an office worker would realize that everyone has their own things to be busy with.

Even Shamansan didn't really care that much about him. Shamansan seemed gentle and amiable, probably just due to his personality; he wouldn't give Li Qi too much special treatment, even if this Third Grade was a bit special and attracted the Devil King.

But… even the Devil King himself was an object that Shamansan could utilize. Li Qi truly wasn't that special.

However, Li Qi calmly accepted this. For him, the immediate priority was to reshape his Inner World as much as possible, which required him to reconcile the Dao dispute within his Inner World.

However, at this critical juncture.

Shamansan suddenly contacted Li Qi again: “Next, I will be leaving for a while.”

Li Qi's heart sank.

Shamansan was about to give up on him. (End of Chapter)