Chapter 961: Empty (end of this volume)

Li Qi was stunned.

Suddenly hearing what the Heavenly Demon said, he was instantly astonished.

Li Qi had always thought that he was somewhat special, for example… he was a Transmigrator.

For example, he knew a lot of True Knowledge, and he had all sorts of strange ideas.

Things like that, all sorts of things.

But now, the Heavenly Demon declared that he was actually unremarkable.

“Oh my, why that expression? Don’t you believe it? Haven’t you noticed yet? Your life cannot be traced back to the moment before you ‘came to this world’.”

“Because you were born at that time, I created you at that time.”

The Heavenly Demon’s expression was full of playfulness.

See, no matter what Li Qi becomes, I always have a way to invade your closed heart.

The Heavenly Demon’s enchanting smile, her angelic eyes, embraced a blood-red heart, thumping, as if its rhythm matched Li Qi’s.

Her eyes seemed to say: “My dear Li Qi, those plots were all designed for you, fictional acts, all illusions. Only by letting me stay by your side forever is real.”

“What? Don’t you believe it?” The Heavenly Demon sat on Li Qi’s shoulder and gently placed her hand on his head.

At this moment, Li Qi’s Inner World was reshaped.

“Do you still remember? The inner body spirits in your Inner World are Demonic Lords, and there’s even one from the Heavenly Demon lineage.” The Heavenly Demon thus revealed the mystery. (See Chapter 861 for details)

“Desire Realm, Demonic Lord, plus you… you are my child.”

“Lies…” Li Qi struggled to speak.

“Is that so?” The Heavenly Demon said nothing more, just touched Li Qi’s head, then looked at the surrounding First Grades.

The Desire Realm expanded from within Li Qi’s body!

However, at this moment, a sudden change occurred!!!

A Golden Rod suddenly appeared from the Void Realm, then struck the Heavenly Demon’s neck!

Infinite space-time and world lines were disturbed.

The Universe was no longer precise; this strike blurred the world into a single mass. This was an inexplicable dense substance and intense radiation, constantly expanding, and even consciousness infinitely separated within it.

The Universe was compressed; every component of it was contracting while simultaneously being pulled apart.

Each fundamental energy center initially aligned with the precise Universe, yet they separated from each other, creating Universal space.

Universal matter units contracted, and light wavelengths shortened.

Although the volume of the Universe is finite, relative to matter, these spaces are boundless and centerless, just as an expanding sphere has no boundaries or center. This constantly expanding mass of world lines that is the Universe is also boundless and centerless.

However, just as the surface of a sphere has an external “three-dimensional” point as its center, this mass of Universal matter also has an external “four-dimensional” center point.

But at this moment, the Universe was ‘pierced through’. In the middle of the centerless sphere, the Golden Rod pierced a hole.

This hole began to collapse, which was also why the Universe became shaky.

Both explosion and collapse occurred at this instant.

This crowded, exploding Chaos Qi continuously expanded, initially the size of a planet, then the size of a star, then the size of a galaxy, and finally the size of tens of millions of galaxies.

So much so that it completely swallowed the Heavenly Demon.

During the collapse, matter became increasingly sparse, light became increasingly dim, and it became increasingly calm.

The pressure of the Universe’s expansion and the desire of its components to combine conflicted, resulting in the re-formation of the Universe’s superforce, forming a strange substance of unknown nature.

The Heavenly Demon was shattered by this strike.

However, a material body was meaningless to the Heavenly Demon; she immediately Reborn.

The other First Grades seemed eager to move.

Li Qi was unable to move.

“Monkey, you must be very unhappy after being Sealed for so long, aren’t you? Did this strike let you vent?” The Heavenly Demon’s body recovered, and everything around her also recovered, as if nothing had ever happened.

“And you all, having lost a step, are you going to move against me now? Or are you planning to continue treating me as a chess piece?” The Heavenly Demon looked around playfully.

Completely unsealed, she seemed very excited, constantly provoking her surroundings.

The Golden Monkey fully appeared, saying nothing, only swinging a second strike.

The Heavenly Demon’s body split into a second one, deftly catching the rod, and then, along with the Golden Monkey, disappeared simultaneously.

Clearly, the Heavenly Demon was unwilling to fight here. She was still waiting to see the reactions of the other First Grades. Fighting with people was truly unseemly, so… if the Golden Monkey wanted to fight, she would accompany him elsewhere.

“Hmm? So, why aren’t you moving? I’m waiting for all of you. Now is a good opportunity, isn’t it?”

However, the Heavenly Demon quickly realized that no one seemed ready to make a move, and the reason was… World Honored One Tathagata.

The Buddha clasped his hands together and smiled, saying, “Papiyas, you control everything, but… your two children don’t seem to be in your control, and… all the excitement you experience will eventually turn into ‘emptiness’. Our outcome is already destined.”

After speaking, the lotus seat completely withered, and the Buddha entered Nirvana, thus achieving Nirvana.

There was no radiance, no movement, just like a Mortal ‘transcending’, disappearing from the spot, as if he had never existed.

He no longer prevented himself from continuing to exist, but truly entered into ‘emptiness’.

This might not be death.

Whether permanent or impermanent, whether suffering or not suffering, whether dependent or independent, whether going or not going, whether returning or not returning, whether eternal or impermanent, whether annihilated or eternal, whether sentient beings or non-sentient beings, whether existing or non-existing, whether real or unreal, whether true or untrue, whether extinguished or unextinguished, whether secret or not secret.

True transcendence, true Formless.

Neither dead nor alive, just transcendence.

From now on, the Buddha’s ‘Karma’ with sentient beings was exhausted.

When the Karma is exhausted, then sentient beings will no longer see the Buddha, and the Buddha will no longer see sentient beings.

From then on, for all things, the Buddha will no longer exist; for the Buddha, he will also be completely cut off from all things.

If ‘Buddha’ does not interact with any other things, and does not cause any influence on anything, cannot be confirmed by the senses, and can never be confirmed, then ‘Buddha’ can be considered non-existent.

True ‘emptiness’, true ‘transcendence’.

A more complete transcendence than death.

Detachment from Karma, detachment from Reincarnation, detachment from Karma.

The Heavenly Demon said that the Buddha deludes sentient beings, and sentient beings delude the Buddha.

Now, this statement is no longer valid; the Buddha no longer exists.

In fact, in some sense… the transcendent Buddha might have already surpassed ‘First Grade’.

Of course, that’s just a possibility; specifically… who knows? Anyway, it’s impossible to verify, because ‘Tathagata’ no longer exists.

At this very moment, seeing the withered lotus platform and hearing the Buddha’s last words…

The Heavenly Demon’s awakened interest was instantly doused with cold water.

She glanced at the withered lotus seat of the Buddha, and at that instant, the endless Nascent Heavenly Demons behind her withered, all the Nascent Heavenly Demons disappeared.

Her spirits were dampened.

“Then we’ll see.”

She said this, not knowing who she was talking to.

After speaking, she didn’t even bother to look at Li Qi and the Demonic Prince, and just disappeared with them.

The Buddha truly achieved ‘emptiness’.

As the Buddha’s enemy, the Heavenly Demon seemed to also feel the existence of ‘emptiness’ at this moment.

Li Qi also stayed where he was, not knowing what to do at this moment.

Confused, bewildered, these were all of Li Qi’s feelings at this moment.

He had made such a great determination, wanting to reconstruct his Inner World and completely reshape his Dao path, all for the Human-Shaman War and to fight against the Heavenly Demon.

But now…

What was that for? What was the use?

The moment the Heavenly Demon left, Li Qi also felt a sense of loss.

However, the Desire Realm was still expanding, not stopping, but it seemed as if all of that no longer mattered.

Emptiness…

Is it?

Unbeknownst to him, the demonic thoughts within Li Qi’s body had calmed down.

The expansion of the Desire Realm continued.

A vertical eye suddenly grew on Li Qi’s forehead.

That was… the Heavenly Demon’s other eye, its existence just like the three lives ancient mirror once in Chang’an.

In this eye, there were fifty wisps of True Knowledge.

Combined with the Desire Realm within Li Qi’s body, True Knowledge fused into it, and Li Qi’s power expanded at an incredible rate.

Yet he was still too lazy to pay attention to those things; he was just reviewing what the Heavenly Demon had said.

What Transmigrator…

What special existence.

What so-called ‘Third Far’ and ‘Fourth Far’.

It turned out that all of it was fabricated; from the very beginning, Li Qi’s existence was a setup.

Then… the Human Dao Grand Tutor, that First Grade who once saved Li Qi… Li Qi looked up, gazing into the distance.

The other person smiled at Li Qi.

Li Qi understood.

This operation to destroy the Buddha had begun from that time. (See Chapter 332 for details)

Li Qi’s existence was meant to make Shaman Dao stop at this time and not interfere in this war.

Shamansan appeared behind Li Qi.

He watched Li Qi, because at this moment, Li Qi’s power was expanding, and this was even unrelated to his Dao path; Li Qi was forcibly filled.

The power of the Desire Realm, and one of the Heavenly Demon’s eyes, gave Li Qi immense power.

However…

His Dao Heart was withering, and his perception of this world was changing.

This world… was meaningless, including himself, Li Qi; his very birth was a lie.

In this Universe, there were no Transmigrators, and naturally no ‘accidents’ could exist.

Li Qi himself was a setup by the Demonic Dao and the Human Dao.

It was to buy an opportunity for the Heavenly Demon.

Li Qi’s existence made the Demonic Dao and the Human Dao continuously invest effort in him, setting up a shocking lie, thereby causing the Shaman and Heavenly Gods to make wrong judgments and choose not to rescue Buddhism.

In this way, World Honored One Tathagata could see the final appearance of Buddhism.

Allowing World Honored One Tathagata to witness what is called ‘Buddha deludes sentient beings’, and thus, the Heavenly Demon was finally able to persuade World Honored One Tathagata to choose Nirvana, abandoning his final attachment and choosing transcendence.

Tathagata had a great Karma, named ‘Awakening the World’.

This ‘Karma’ itself was a huge attachment; only by abandoning this could all sentient beings become Buddhas.

When Tathagata existed, there was only one Tathagata in the world.

When Tathagata disappeared, there could be thousands of Tathagatas in the world.

Now, the Heavenly Demon had finished; her goal was achieved.

From Li Qi’s birth until now, everything was for this purpose.

Then…

Was the Demonic Prince the same? The Demonic Prince was cultivated to be invincible, and his first opponent was Li Qi.

Therefore, the Demonic Prince regarded Li Qi as a thorn in his side.

The Demonic Prince’s obsession with Li Qi could almost be described as ‘irrational’.

It was precisely because Li Qi was so important to the Demonic Prince that the Demonic Prince was able to endure endless Reincarnation.

Even the demonic thoughts that even the Third Grade Bodhisattvas dared not touch, endless death tribulations, infinite Karma, he endured all of it, even if his personality was worn away within it, he still remembered Li Qi.

Finally, when such a Demonic Prince descended upon the Buddha-land, his demonic thoughts overflowed, directly contaminating the central Saha world, severely injuring several Third Grades, forcing Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to personally bear it.

This was also a crucial move; the Demonic Prince’s appearance completely overturned the situation, allowing the Human Dao to eventually shatter the Heavens of the Formless Realm, the Heavenly Demon to escape, and persuade World Honored One Tathagata.

No one could defeat the Buddha, not even the Heavenly Demon, so they could only make the Buddha voluntarily leave the world.

Were Li Qi and the Demonic Prince both like this?

So-called chess pieces, nothing more.

Heh heh.

Li Qi increasingly perceived the Void of this Universe.

This world itself has no meaning, nor does it need meaning. No matter how much meaning you seek for yourself, you will eventually find that in the hands of higher-level existences, it is all Void.

Then… are the so-called ‘higher existences’, like those First Grades, not like this?

Is there not a higher existence, a greater existence, manipulating those First Grades?

For example, there is someone now, secretly planning, guiding these First Grades to achieve their desired outcome.

Assuming this great existence beyond First Grade is truly real—

Then, is that great existence manipulating the First Grades from behind not also being manipulated by others?

Is he not also constrained by some power, forced to do things he doesn’t want to do? Is he not also suppressed to the point of breathlessness by other higher-level powers, only able to ponder the meaning of life in between? Does he not also have to bow his head for survival?

If so, his bowing for survival, is it not because of others’ views of him, and thus being forced to plan and guide the First Grades to achieve a certain goal?

Are those existences controlling this ‘great existence’ truly free?

So, what is the difference between these great existences and Li Qi’s current situation?

Ultimately, it’s still Void, isn’t it?

Perhaps the Buddha was right.

Everything is inherently ‘emptiness’; pursuing those things ultimately only leads to ‘emptiness’.

It was precisely because he had too many aspirations for the meaning of this world that he felt particularly disappointed when he recognized more truth.

All the brilliance that life once held must eventually be repaid with loneliness.

Everything, ultimately, is ‘emptiness’.

As Li Qi thought this, his cultivation silently underwent a Breakthrough to Second Grade.

This was not because he became stronger, but because the Desire Realm had matured within his body, and he was forcibly dragged into Second Grade by the Desire Realm.

This was not his power; he was merely an appendage of the Desire Realm.

So… even cultivation is like this?

Li Qi sighed.

But at this moment, a pair of hands suddenly embraced Li Qi.

“I’m here…”

Shen Shuibi’s voice sounded behind him.

(The Path to Exorcism ends; tomorrow we enter the final volume, Beyond the Sky, Beyond the Void.)