Chapter 963: Departure

Zhu Fengdan left, very satisfied.

It was time for the next one.

Shamansan pointed to another, and the next was Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron.

This Second Rank Cultivator, whose Dao path had been cut off, came before Li Qi.

"Father-in-law, I'm sorry," Li Qi said, bowing his head in apology.

Yang Zhenqian calmly said, "There's nothing to apologize for. You've already reached a peak I never imagined. It's very difficult to gain a foothold here. Also, you might feel that everything you're experiencing now is painful, but... it's always like this."

"Just a pawn, who isn't?"

As he said this, Li Qi seemed to empathize.

A Genius Second Rank Cultivator, whose Dao path was ultimately severed, now ran around, fighting for his life, all just for the sake of his descendants and Legacy.

If one were to speak of 'misery,' Li Qi probably couldn't compare to his father-in-law.

Yang Zhenqian's Dao path was forcibly broken by others.

"Everything is born from nothingness, including this Universe itself, so nothingness is nothing to worry about. You were created by the Heavenly Demon, but just like your daughter, wasn't she also created by you from nothingness? Creation is nothing to worry about. The key is, doesn't your creation represent the existence of objective reality? Otherwise, from where would you create?" Yang Zhenqian said to Li Qi.

"Regarding that, I already have an idea," Li Qi said.

"It's what your Master said, Reincarnation, right?" Yang Zhenqian replied.

"Yes," Li Qi nodded.

"That's good." Yang Zhenqian didn't say anything more. This was also a choice, an answer.

Therefore, he also chose to leave.

Next came Senior Martial Uncle Changqin.

He came gracefully to Li Qi's side, not speaking first.

"Senior Martial Uncle, I apologize for causing so much trouble that I can't resolve myself, regarding Xiang Liu and Gonggong's matters..." Li Qi had just begun to speak.

However, Changqin interrupted Li Qi, "Those are minor matters. I'm just a little emotional that his Disciple's chosen path is exactly the same as his. Can Master and Disciple truly be so alike?"

"Did Master also Reincarnate?" Li Qi asked.

"No, but after he fell into depravity, he shattered his Dao foundation and started over at Third Rank. It's just that Shamansan and I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't listen and insisted on following his own path. Now... because of you, he still came back."

"Ultimately, what is right? Is it what one believes, or what others say? It's really hard to tell," Changqin sighed.

The Zhu Fengdan of the past was incredibly arrogant. He listened to no one's decisions but his own.

The advice of the Shamanes, the teachings of his elder brother—he disregarded it all, determined to find a path of his own.

Even after successfully advancing to Second Rank under the Shamanes' arrangement, he chose to shatter his Dao foundation, fall back to Third Rank, and walk the path again, simply refusing to believe in that evil.

After so long struggling in Third Rank, he still returned to the path suggested by the Shamanes.

Changqin and Li Qi were both thinking at this moment... what was Zhu Fengdan thinking when he chose to come back again?

Shattering his Dao foundation, then struggling until now, and finally, the Shamanes were right. But... did he truly believe the Shamanes were right? Or was it simply for Li Qi?

Li Qi merely contemplated the struggle involved, and it seemed... the things he encountered didn't feel so outrageous anymore.

Everyone has their own story; there's nothing special about it.

Yang Zhenqian and Zhu Fengdan had actually both encountered similar things to Li Qi.

No one is at ease.

Aren't the Buddhas and Heavenly Demons still entangled to this day? The Human and Shaman sides have even plotted against each other because of this, and who knows how many such things have happened.

Li Qi's experience is not special.

No one is special.

The so-called 'all sentient beings suffer' is probably like this.

"So, you are not special. Thinking this way, doesn't the burden on your shoulders feel much lighter? We are involved in too many things, so hardship is inevitable. If you think about it from this perspective, can't you discover that it is precisely because you feel tired that all things appear so real?" Changqin said.

"I will experience it myself, Senior Martial Uncle," Li Qi said sincerely.

"Reincarnation requires you to abandon substantiality, which will be very dangerous," Changqin warned.

"If there is no substantiality, there is no reality, and that is enough to explain the truth of this world, isn't it?" Li Qi said.

"Not wrong. It's good that you have an idea." Senior Martial Uncle Changqin looked at Li Qi, then said, "You don't need to worry about Gonggong's matter; he won't dwell on you, rest assured. I'll be leaving now. Oh, and also, you performed very well in the Human-Shaman War. Shamansan didn't lose out in this suppression of Buddhism; don't listen to his nonsense."

With that, Senior Martial Uncle Changqin also disappeared.

Shamansan shook his head, gave a wry smile, and then said, "Next, it's me. That Jade Rabbit over there, I'll put you last. After this, you two can talk yourselves."

Shen Shuibi naturally couldn't have any objections, and Shamansan hadn't consulted her either.

So, Shamansan sat down in front of Li Qi.

He got straight to the point, saying, "In your matter, I indeed miscalculated a step. I didn't anticipate your identity or the Heavenly Demon's plan. However, it wasn't that bad; at least I still got the Desire Realm. Although I didn't achieve the predetermined goal, I didn't lose out that badly either."

Li Qi didn't speak, just listened quietly.

"All the arrangements on your body have disappeared. In other words, from now on, you are no longer a pawn. Of course... you might become one again at any time; that depends on yourselves. Being helpless is like this, but at least it's not so desolate," Shamansan explained to Li Qi.

To this answer, all Li Qi could offer was a wry smile.

Shamansan continued as if he hadn't seen it, "The current situation, your Reincarnation, is a good thing. It can avoid many future dangers. As compensation for being a pawn, I will have Da Tu help you monitor your Reincarnation to ensure you won't become a pawn this time. But whether you can successfully Reincarnate depends on you. You should know that many Reincarnators ultimately achieve nothing, fall back into Reincarnation, and never revive."

"I know all the risks, but what about the Desire Realm within me...?" Li Qi looked at Shamansan.

Shamansan replied, "When you Reincarnate, I will help you remove it, as I need to take it. As for your Dao Resonance, are you keeping it?"

"Can I keep it? This belongs to the Heavenly Demon, right?" Li Qi asked.

"You can keep it. Consider it compensation," Shamansan replied.

"Good, then I'll keep it. Without this, I'd really be a bit unaccustomed," Li Qi smiled.

"Then, when you're ready, call me three times. I'll personally come to send you off," Shamansan said. "The rest of the matters, I'll leave to you two. You can go back to your Immortal Cave yourselves."

Shamansan nodded to Li Qi and then departed.

This Inner World also vanished without a trace, leaving only Li Qi and his wife.

Li Qi turned his head and looked at Shen Shuibi in front of him.

She still had her short, loose hair, and she met Li Qi's gaze, her eyes seemingly filled with an indescribable emotion, like resentment, yet also like helplessness.

Li Qi reached out and led her back to their Immortal Cave on Mystic Radiance Mountain.

Mystic Radiance Mountain was still the same; after all, this was the world, and the world was very safe, at least compared to outside the domain.

Arriving at the entrance of the Immortal Cave, the Jade Rabbit voluntarily said, "I don't want to talk cooped up inside. Let's just walk around here."

Li Qi nodded, and he and Shen Shuibi began to stroll around the Immortal Cave.

They walked simply, without using any Divine Ability.

The two walked silently along the mountain path, side by side, yet feeling quite lonely and out of place.

It was as if a wall was separating them.

The name of this wall was 'Separation'.

On these days of separation, the weather remained clear and pleasant, but it seemed it would rain soon. Some gloomy dark clouds were drifting from afar, as if heavy waves were rolling across the azure sky, signaling the coming of wind. The couple saw the dark clouds spreading from a distance, occasionally colliding with strong winds, breaking into splashes far away, but immediately re-forming, persistently moving towards them.

The wind blew through the mountains, and even with the sunlight, one could feel a slight chill that made one shrink back.

Just like the atmosphere between the two at this moment.

After walking for a while, the two had to stop, because they had reached the end of the path; there was no more road ahead, only a bottomless abyss.

So, the two sat down on a large rock beside the cliff. As this was a high point, the view of the rolling sea of clouds below was excellent.

It was like sitting by the sea, watching the distant waters rise, even the ground seeming to gradually ascend.

The sea of clouds, urged by the wind, slowly rolled into huge waves, seemingly the final echoes of a terrible storm happening elsewhere beyond the horizon.

But Shen Shuibi gently suppressed it, so the deep sea of clouds within her sight was forced to remain calm.

Just as she forced herself to remain calm.

However, Shen Shuibi kept her gaze fixed on Li Qi, wanting to deeply imprint the image of his form, his face, and his Qi into her memory, so that when he returned later, waiting for him at this same spot, she could recognize him from afar.

"Why suppress it? It will fall eventually," Li Qi said, then flicked his fingers, releasing the sea of clouds Shen Shuibi had suppressed.

Thus, from the edge of the sky, cloud waves began to surge, rolling in one after another in a regular pattern, ceaselessly, without interruption, continuously churning.

The sunlight occasionally penetrated these dark clouds, scattering onto the rocks and spreading across the earth, but it ultimately could not suppress the dull commotion of these dark clouds.

The collision of the sky and the atmosphere, after a long time, became very strange. The moisture in the air became dense, as if it contained too much water and wanted to overflow.

The silence continued for a while, and finally, the sea of clouds could not hold on. Like a balloon with a hole poked in it, the moisture condensed into raindrops, falling with a patter.

At this moment, chirping sounds came from all around.

It turned out to be the monkeys in the mountain forest, who had come to watch the two people sitting there.

Li Qi looked and saw that these monkeys had changed species.

He supposed that during the years he had been fighting, the monkeys had disappeared. The monkeys that used to brew wine were gone, and now these monkeys were much stronger than before.

"Before, the monkeys here would brew wine, using a very bitter fruit. When I was fishing in the mountains earlier, they would trade that fruit with me for fish."

Li Qi spoke of some irrelevant, trivial matters.

"Is that so? The little earth spirit Xiao Gou I used to raise seemed to know them, but earth spirits have a limited lifespan and have already dissipated."

Shen Shuibi also responded to Li Qi, but their voices were very low, very low, as if they were afraid of scaring away the little time they had left.

However, time slipped away even faster.

Although Li Qi could control time, even pausing time was meaningless. Nothing was urging Li Qi; he was merely being suppressed by the expanding sense of nothingness within him.

Li Qi had to enter Reincarnation before he was overwhelmed. Before that, he couldn't stop his subjective time.

Yet, it was this precious time that they used for idle chatter.

The two spoke of the most meaningless trivialities, but... when spoken by them, these platitudes seemed to become profoundly deep and significant.

Boom!

The rain grew heavier, even thundering.

Whoosh!

Whoosh...!

The wind howled, the sea of clouds trembled furiously, and thunder hid in the dark clouds, occasionally letting out a low rumble. When the wind stirred the raindrops and rushed into the canyon, it would emit a sharp, thin sound, like a wail.

The turbulent raindrops incessantly battered the cliff face, dislodging several碎石 with thuds.

In that dark, cold rain, as if carrying madness, many insects and small animals could be seen struggling in the rain. Larger animals, including the Human Race in the village below, all sought shelter.

The two talked in the rain.

"Your hair, let it grow long," Li Qi suddenly said.

"When you come back, it will be long," Shen Shuibi said.

Li Qi reached out and held the strands of hair that only reached behind her ears. This short hair couldn't be adorned with any accessories, so the hairpins Li Qi had given her were naturally useless.

As long as Li Qi didn't return, those hairpins couldn't be worn.

"By the way, although I'm Second Rank now, I won't give it to you yet. When I return, I'll give you the ninth hairpin," Li Qi said.

"That's fine. My hair is short now, so other hairpins can't be worn," Shen Shuibi said, her eyes fixed on Li Qi, unwilling to let go.

"It's alright. When I come back, I'll be able to see you wearing it," Li Qi said.

Then, he stood up and pressed his forehead against the Jade Rabbit's.

A surge of anger seemed to rise in the Jade Rabbit's heart, wanting to push him away.

But her hands, placed on his chest, softened, and she could only grasp his lapels weakly, unable to say anything.

"I'm leaving." With that, Li Qi vanished from where he stood.

The rain stopped, and sunlight poured down from the sky. The animals lifted their heads once more.