Chapter 974: Fate of destiny

How much time had passed?

Li Qi didn't know.

Actually, he couldn't have known, because he had no consciousness.

He had already shattered into many pieces, abandoning tangibility, and throwing himself into Reincarnation to cultivate anew.

As for whether he could see through the mystery of the womb, that was purely a matter of Luck.

Those tens of thousands of beings were all 'Great Power Reincarnation'. As a Great Power who transcended eons, a legendary Second Grade, Li Qi's Reincarnation was not limited to just one.

Under his influence, these different fragments would reincarnate into different roles, and then they would be pulled by a mysterious force.

The fragments would fight each other, encounter a myriad of their own unique fortuitous encounters, and then become one sacrifice after another.

This was all for the sake of 'Many Selves Becoming One'.

The characters who were fragments of a Great Power would be forced into a struggle for Luck that carried the Great Power's memories, without even realizing it.

How many fragments did Li Qi have?

It was impossible to know. As a mythical existence who could easily Sovereign the heavens if no one interfered, Li Qi could split into many pieces, and his fragments were scattered throughout the Universe.

Every moment, they were slaughtering each other. Under some mysterious force, they were like magnets, attracting and opposing each other, constantly searching for other 'selves', then killing them so they could obtain the other's fortuitous encounters and devour the other's Luck.

This was indeed very similar to magnets. As is well known, a magnet has two poles, and if a magnet is cut into two, the two separate magnets will also have two poles.

At the same time, when they combine, they revert to having two poles.

Finally, when all the remnants merge into one...

Will the magnet that emerges still be the original one?

It was unknown, but stories like a small Reboot continued to happen.

Because these stories themselves held no meaning for him; they were the stories of other people. They had their own parents, their own lives, their own preferences, their own personalities. Aside from the ethereal concept of 'Luck', they could even be said to have no relation to Li Qi whatsoever.

But...

Was there truly no relation?

The Buddha has three bodies: the Dharma-body, the Reward-body, and the Manifestation-body.

The 'Manifestation-body' was similar to such an existence.

It was often heard that a certain Buddha or Great Bodhisattva would transform into something and appear before someone, giving them answers when they were confused and guiding them into the Buddha-Dharma.

The Buddha naturally couldn't appear in person; it was actually a manifestation of the 'Buddha' in the other person's heart. It was because that person had a demonic thoughts of Buddha in their heart that a Manifestation-body would appear beside them, guiding them towards the 'Right Dharma'.

Li Qi's fragments also had a similar effect to this 'Manifestation-body'.

The Buddha's Manifestation-body was not the Buddha himself, but the manifestation of the 'Buddha in the hearts' of sentient beings. This was also one of the reasons why the Buddha actively entered nirvana.

All of Li Qi's Reincarnations were like this.

Everything they encountered was the Li Qi in their own hearts.

Ultimately, what kind of existence would these 'Li Qis in the heart' converge into?

No one knew, because the 'Li Qi in the heart' might not be the 'true Li Qi', and these reincarnated Li Qis might not be the true Li Qi.

One could even say that no one knew what the 'true Li Qi' was.

Everything was still in a state of flux.

But all of this continued.

Under the guidance of 'Luck', these 'Great Power fragments' began to fight endlessly, openly or secretly, willingly or unwillingly, but they had no choice.

In a void Domain—

"Alright, obediently hand over your fragments. I've already found out that what we have on us is the legacy of a Second Grade," a 'Li Qi' from a higher civilization said to the other 'Li Qis' participating in the struggle.

He had already cornered the opponent, which had taken quite a bit of effort.

Of course, since the fragments were etched into the 'true spirit', to 'hand them over' naturally meant only one path: death.

In a primeval forest.

"Roar!" A huge roar came.

Two giant beasts, one with eight arms and six legs, the other with a huge mouth occupying half its body, were fighting. They had no capacity for thought and didn't know why, but they were naturally stronger than other wild beasts. Originally, they could have coexisted peacefully, each ruling a part of the forest.

But as soon as they met, an irresistible hunger and an uncontrollable rage arose within them. Thus, the two kings of the forest would decide their victor here.

On a bloody battlefield.

"I don't want to... Why must we be like this?" A young man looked at his elder brother.

"When you supported the lower city, we had nothing left to say to each other," the elder brother replied.

And before him, his elder brother looked exactly like him.

Clearly, the two were twin brothers, and even their weapons were identical.

As twins, two bodies, originally one, brothers, once like a single person.

However, who would have thought that today, love would turn to hatred, and anger would lead to mutual destruction! Each led an army, fighting to the death!

Thinking carefully, along the way, from their initial closeness to their current life-and-death struggle, it was as if fate had pushed them into the opposition of the upper and lower cities. What they represented was no longer themselves, but the things they had to fight for behind them.

That vast and indistinct fate played a huge joke on the two.

Until one person died in battle, and the other, guided, pierced the opponent's heart, the thread of fate seemed to be twisted together, becoming thicker.

The thickened thread stretched into the distance, towards the heavens.

In a death game dominated by Great Power.

Two cultivators were fighting each other for 'rewards'. They had harmed each other for a long time, deliberately arranged to be together, and had already slaughtered countless 'Reincarnations'.

They had already realized that every enemy they encountered was a 'fragment' just like themselves.

They were in this death game for the ultimate outcome.

Whether it was alliance, love, Master-servant, or kin, they were all destined, by the arrangement of 'Luck', to eventually kill the other, even if unwilling.

Sometimes, willingly dying was also an outcome. A husband would offer his fragment for his beloved wife, and the wife would cry, saying no.

It was useless. This wasn't something you could refuse.

Fragments would gather; this was the power of a Great Power, a part of seeing through the 'mystery of the womb'.

And all these stories were Li Qi's 'Reincarnations'.

Li Qi was his own brother, even his own wife, but at the same time, an enemy.

A Sovereign who dominated several Observable Universe was Li Qi, and many people slaughtered by this Sovereign were also Li Qi.

A Deity who became Acquired was Li Qi, and at the same time... his own followers, whom he feared, were also Li Qi.

Every time they fought each other, they were hurting themselves. Every time they helped each other, they were helping themselves. Every time they fell in love, they were falling in love with themselves.

All the joy and pain everyone had experienced or was about to experience, was it actually one person?

Or rather, were they not one person to begin with?

Who could say for sure?

Finally, after many, many years.

The Universe had progressed for a very, very long time, and the Human-Shaman War had ended.

Human Dao had devoured Buddhism and was currently preparing for the 'Three Teachings Unification', actively retracting and ceasing warfare.

The Human-Shaman War, such a grand war, finally ended with an unexpected yet reasonable outcome: the destruction of Buddhism, which was an ending worthy of this war.

The Demonic Dao fell silent. After the destruction of Buddhism, the devils seemed to have found temporary satisfaction, so much so that this Universe did not fall into demonic chaos due to the disappearance of Buddhism. But... did Buddhism lose?

It seemed not. Although the Western Paradise Buddhist Kingdom had been eliminated and the Buddha had actively entered nirvana, for the Buddhas and Great Bodhisattvas, they seemed not to have gained nothing. The First Grade Buddhas had all disappeared and gone into hiding, perhaps also a sign.

The Buddha's active entry into nirvana meant that for an existence of 'no substantiality', from the beginning of the Universe until now, there had simply been no such thing as 'Buddha' in this world.

There was 'no Buddha' in their hearts; perhaps this was what the Buddha wanted to pursue. The Great Bodhisattvas and Buddhas did not rebuild Buddhism, possibly due to this consideration.

The Shaman got the Sun-Moon Orbit and the Desire Realm. At first glance, it didn't seem like a loss, although no one had yet been able to fully digest the Sun-Moon Orbit.

However... the prosperity of Human Dao was already visible to the naked eye. Having devoured the legacy of Buddhism, who knew to what extent they would evolve.

As for the Sun-Moon Orbit, Human Dao probably never intended to take it from the start, right? They put on an appearance of being determined to get it, but after getting involved with the Demonic Dao, their target was set on Buddhism.

As for the Devil...

Li Qi was a major move made by the Heavenly Demon in this Dao struggle.

Their cooperation with Human Dao truly deceived Shamansan. Li Qi was never a Transmigration; he was also a 'Heavenly Demon's Son', a 'Demonic Prince'.

He and the Demonic Prince, one targeted the Shaman, the other targeted Buddhism.

The Demonic Prince's resilience was cultivated by the Heavenly Demon. Such tenacious spirit, not even giving up his path when his personality shattered. But all of this was merely to make the Demonic Prince bear the 'Retribution of Black Karma'. With that endless tribulation of demonic thoughts, he finally held back Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, causing the Buddhist defense line to fail.

As for Li Qi, he was even more significant. One must know that Shaman Dao originally had two factions: one advocated war, and the other believed in a gradual approach, that things should be planned slowly.

The two sides were still negotiating, and this matter might have dragged on for a very long time, waiting for Shaman Dao to reach an internal agreement.

But Li Qi actively ignited the powder keg, and finally used Li Qi as a bargaining chip to leverage the Zhu Rong lineage, completing the internal influence within Shaman Dao, causing the Five Aggregates Devil to help Shaman Dao. Finally, Shaman Dao chose to consume the Desire Realm and the Sun-Moon Orbit, and then stood by at the end, confirming the destruction of Buddhism.

Ultimately, the destruction of Buddhism succeeded.

It's hard to say who won and who lost. Perhaps the struggles of the First Grade were all like this; their power and wisdom were so immense that there was no absolute 'victory or defeat' between them, but rather it depended on how they compromised in the end.

But Shang Fan and Li Qi, these two Demonic Princes, undoubtedly played a huge role. The Heavenly Demon's deceptive tactics were truly superb.

Especially for Zhu Fengdan, could he really give up Li Qi?

If he couldn't, it meant that Shaman Dao would also not give up Li Qi, and Li Qi's mission as a pawn would be complete.

You see... the greatest demonic thoughts was never the black Qi-like 'demonic thoughts' displayed on the surface, but 'willingness'.

The Heavenly Demon didn't force you; you were all willing.

Just like Yunfang Great Shaman, he could have eliminated his Disciple's demonic thoughts with a mere wave of his hand, but he was unwilling to do so, which is why the demonic thoughts continued to bind him.

This was the most terrifying aspect of the Heavenly Demon.

However, after the Buddha, the greatest Devil enemy, entered nirvana, the Heavenly Demon also seemed to have lost interest. Therefore, this was an era where the Dao struggle ended, and everyone chose stable development, and the side branches also decreased significantly.

Not as many Third Grade would casually go back in time anymore, and the Demonic Dao, which loved to cause trouble, also vanished, almost disappearing from its original place along with Buddhism.

This stable time was the most serene and safest period in the Universe. In this tranquility, life flourished.

The greatest struggle in this Universe actually turned into the Reincarnation wars of the Great Power.

In this Dao struggle, Li Qi was by no means the only Great Power who fell. Only a portion truly died completely; there were other Second Grade and Third Grade who, like Li Qi, chose to directly cultivate anew when their Dao was targeted and collapsed.

This was like the aftermath of a battlefield; the main match was over, and the Great Power began their resurrection matches.

Among them... there were many who fell.

The first Great Power to gather all his fragments and awaken was named 'Liu Zheng', a Human Dao Third Grade.

However, when he gathered all his fragments and his cultivation reached Fourth Grade, he adamantly refused to admit he was Liu Zheng. He said his name was Cavalang.

He said he was not Human Dao, and that in this life, what he most detested was Human Dao.

To divide into high and low, to distinguish between superior and inferior, and to accuse others with one's own arrogant nobility.

He admitted that Human Dao was very powerful, but their own strength and self-discipline were not reasons to oppress other beings. To project one's own standards onto all things, to forcibly impose one's own standards on all creation, this behavior he absolutely could not accept.

Evidently, there was a huge schism between his Reincarnation and his previous life. What was resurrected was not his previous life, and his 'Dao' had completely changed.

His death was certainly reversed, but his Dao also changed. Was this person still the original Liu Zheng? Did he treat Liu Zheng's memories as illusions?

All of this was, of course, unknown.

But La Qi didn't think so. After so many years, La Qi had long established himself in the Fifth Grade. His power had also made significant progress, and he had his own reputation and family.

So, he prepared to ask Liu Zheng.

To ask... what he was truly thinking.

From the mouth of this first awakened one, perhaps he could find clues about his Master.