Chapter 980: Attack

Many, many years have passed; it has truly been a very long time.

Shen Shuibi finally sensed Li Qi's aura again. This aura was so strong, so real, she absolutely hadn't mistaken it.

Almost instantly, she moved from the summit of Mystic Radiance Mountain to the outside.

Outside stood a person who looked similar to Li Qi but whose spirit was not. His appearance was somewhat different from Li Qi's, yet one could distinctly feel a strong resemblance to Li Qi.

And his spirit was dissimilar because his temperament was completely different from Li Qi's.

Li Qi was the gentle and refined type, with a calm and steady, cautious, and even somewhat dawdling personality. No grand heroic spirit could be seen from him, but correspondingly, Li Qi was extremely intelligent and quick-witted, meticulous in his thoughts, skilled at finding clues in subtle details, and possessed strong comprehension, giving him the feeling of a wise man.

The person before her had a vastly different temperament from Li Qi.

And the other party saw Shen Shuibi.

He smiled.

Shen Shuibi was stunned for a moment; in that instant, she lost herself.

But in the next instant, the other party had already rushed in front of Shen Shuibi.

His Divine Ability unfolded like a brilliant flower.

A surge of the Observable Universe slammed onto Shen Shuibi's head, mercilessly aiming to destroy her Physical Body.

Normally, Shen Shuibi would not have been hit by such a sneak attack.

However, she had been momentarily lost in thought and failed to react.

So, with just one blow, she was severely wounded!

Bang.

Shen Shuibi was almost instantly knocked back to her original form.

She flew backward, her hands instinctively forming seals, and a layer of mist protected her. Talismans shot out, restoring her body.

She immediately realized this was not Li Qi.

Perhaps, this was Li Qi's Reincarnation.

Zhou Fang immediately pursued, and a fierce battle erupted. Zhou Fang had already gained the initiative.

Shen Shuibi could only defend; having lost the initiative, she had taken one blow, and now it would be difficult for her to withstand a second. Her margin for error had greatly decreased, forcing her into a passive defensive stage.

Zhou Fang's attacks were incredibly swift, and each carried a large amount of Demonic Qi.

This Demonic Qi could shake one's mind, affect judgment, and even induce various thoughts.

If a Mortal were to inhale even a wisp of this Demonic Qi, they would likely go mad, crying and laughing, feeling both sorrow and joy, at times singing loudly, at others wanting to self-harm.

On Shen Shuibi's newly regrown head, her expression was serious.

She saw the Demonic Qi of several First Grade Demonic Overlords!

Demon of Karma Demonic Qi, which obstructs.

Heart Demon Demonic Qi, which promotes arrogance.

Heavenly Demon Demonic Qi, which induces self-indulgence and attachment to illusions.

Good Root Demon Demonic Qi, which causes constant attachment.

Samadhi Demon Demonic Qi, which leads to prolonged indulgence.

Demon of False Guidance Demonic Qi, which incites attachment.

Demon of Bodhi-Wisdom Demonic Qi, which prevents letting go.

These Demonic Qi enveloped her surroundings, causing ripples in Shen Shuibi's heart, giving rise to love and hate, making it impossible for her to concentrate on the enemy. She was full of openings, and even her defense suffered.

Her heart… was already full of flaws. Now, she was merely enduring the fight, but with the rise of Demonic Qi, her already chaotic state of mind became an even greater mess.

If she couldn't even concentrate, how could she fight for her life?

Under Zhou Fang's Demonic Qi, Shen Shuibi was momentarily at a loss, completely overwhelmed by Zhou Fang's attacks, suffering continuous injuries. In just a few seconds, she was almost out of combat strength.

She retreated again, consuming a Fourth Grade Nine Revolutions Supreme Purity Dragon Tiger Golden Core. Even she didn't have many of these top-tier Nine Revolutions Rejuvenating Medicinal Pills, and the effect was immediate; her injuries were almost completely healed.

However, the situation did not improve, as the Demonic Qi continued to affect her, and she remained suppressed.

Moreover, Shen Shuibi discovered that it wasn't only the Demonic Qi affecting her.

Zhou Fang… was so familiar with her.

Even her small details, her habitual movements, and even her instinctive reactions, Zhou Fang seemed to have anticipated them all.

Not only that, but Zhou Fang clearly understood the Divine Ability she used and the Magical Arts she employed, and had even prepared countermeasures!

When did her origins get exposed?!

Who was it?!

While Shen Shuibi was surprised, the situation had already deteriorated to a point where she couldn't cope.

She retreated again, buying time.

This was the world; she had to at least hold out until the Patrolling Envoys arrived…

However, about a minute passed.

During this minute, Shen Shuibi's pressure was almost indescribable. Her Medicinal Pill reserves were nearly depleted, and her Divine Ability was almost completely ineffective. Rather than being 'passively beaten,' it was more like 'standing there and taking a beating.'

She couldn't win; the person before her was too well prepared.

Demonic Qi suppression, targeted Divine Ability, and completely deciphered Magical Arts—Zhou Fang was clearly here to kill her.

The Patrolling Envoys hadn't arrived, and no reinforcements were present. It seemed everything was…

However, at this moment, Zhou Fang suddenly stopped.

“Why aren't you speaking?” Zhou Fang looked at the heavily injured Shen Shuibi with a gloomy gaze and tone.

He used a Divine Ability to suppress Shen Shuibi, rendering her unable to move, then continued to ask, “You're about to die, why aren't you begging for mercy?! Why do you still have that expression!”

Shen Shuibi's indifferent demeanor infuriated Zhou Fang.

Even now, she remained expressionless, as if she cared neither about Li Qi nor about herself.

Why! Why was she so calm?!

“Li Qi destroyed everything I had! Because of Li Qi, so many things are gone!”

“Therefore, I will also destroy everything of Li Qi's!” Zhou Fang roared.

Shen Shuibi tilted her head.

She didn't understand.

What was this person doing here? Wasn't he trying to kill her? Why was he spouting nonsense now?

But she didn't waste any time. During the moment the other party was speaking, she seized the opportunity to recover her Qi, repair her Inner World, set up Magical Arts, and plan her tactics.

It seemed that upon realizing Shen Shuibi truly had no reaction to him, only doing her own thing, Zhou Fang's anger dissipated again.

Yes, that was right.

He wasn't Li Qi, so the other party couldn't be bothered with him. His previous anger was just him displacing his anger towards Li Qi onto her.

Zhou Fang let out a long breath, feeling as if some of the burden on his shoulders had lessened, and a sense of relief washed over him.

So, he stopped asking questions.

He began to focus on killing.

And Shen Shuibi gained a rare moment of respite.

However…

There would be no reinforcements for this battle, and the Patrolling Envoys would not come.

The Demonic Dao had already sealed this place, and it was personally sanctioned by a First Grade being. Therefore… even the Patrolling Envoys couldn't resist. Besides, even if they didn't resist, what could they do?

With a powerful figure making a move, there were plenty of ways to prevent them from reaching their post.

Shen Shuibi also noticed this.

But she was also relieved.

If this was the case, then Li Qi indeed had a chance to Rebirth. Otherwise, those people wouldn't be so impatient.

Their urgent move to eliminate her indicated that Li Qi was about to return.

Thinking this, her injuries seemed to lighten by two points, and her long-standing hardships disappeared without her realizing it.

However, she was still somewhat worried.

If this was the case, then Li Qi would probably be very pained after he awakened, right?

Serves him right. He truly deserved to experience this feeling too.

Thinking this, she felt a faint sense of satisfaction, as if seeing the other party live with lifelong regret brought a sense of catharsis.

But, there was still some melancholy.

Rather than seeing Li Qi live with lifelong regret, she still hoped they could be together.

As she thought this, her defense was breached once again.

However, at this very moment! A figure appeared before her.

Shen Shuibi was momentarily flustered.

But she looked closely and found that it was the heavily wounded La Qi before her.

This was very unusual, because La Qi was rarely injured. He possessed a folding and resistance ability comparable to a True Dragon, the only difference being that a True Dragon's was passive, while his required active folding, and his folding could even directly repair injuries. Thus, ordinary wounds were practically nonexistent for La Qi.

Yet now he was entangled in Demonic Qi, his injuries quite severe, and each fold required immense effort to complete, so much so that he had reverted to his original form, a translucent high-dimensional manifold.

And one more thing: even the Patrolling Envoys couldn't enter here, so how did he get in?

Shen Shuibi looked outward along La Qi's path.

Outside, countless Demonic Overlord corpses floated, and a large hole had been torn in the sky's罡风层 (罡风层).

This was truly… a rare sight. La Qi, like Li Qi, preferred to act according to rules, but at this moment, he directly violated the rules of the world. This meant that those wounds… were heavenly punishment?

“Mistress, escape.” La Qi said concisely, simultaneously blocking Zhou Fang.

Shen Shuibi didn't hesitate, immediately turning to flee, while scattering a handful of Talismans and all the Medicinal Pills she had left.

“Can you escape?” Zhou Fang lunged forward.

La Qi's form twisted, his high-dimensional manifold body reacting accordingly.

Simulating matter, simulating Divine Ability, by folding his body, he could imitate all forms in the world that La Qi could comprehend.

Chainmail could defend against slashes, blades were difficult to wound, but it couldn't defend against blunt force trauma.

Using impact-resistant Materials could defend against blunt force trauma, but it was difficult to prevent cuts and punctures.

Every substance has its own properties, and the effects it can exert vary depending on its form. Even if both are made of iron, the effects of chainmail and plate armor are completely different.

This falls within the realm of Materials and structural mechanics, and even at the microscopic level, it can reach the point of controlling fundamental forces.

And these were also part of La Qi's diligent cultivation.

When matter is heated to a sufficient temperature, and its energy level reaches a very high point, it melts into a kind of magma, which can be called 'Chaos' or something else.

In short, this is a magma that has lost all properties while simultaneously possessing all substances mixed together.

At such an energy level, the four fundamental forces unify into a single superforce.

Then, Chaos will eventually cool. When it cools, the superforce within it will expand and decompose back into the four fundamental forces. At this time, by controlling the decomposition of the superforce, one can choose the ratio between the four fundamental forces, and these ratios, in turn, control the most basic physical constants.

And La Qi didn't need the first two steps.

He could directly fold himself into a superforce creature, then decompose into different physical constants.

In other words, as long as he understood what ratios represented what properties, La Qi could directly simulate those properties, skipping the steps of increasing energy levels and controlling superforce decomposition.

In a sense, as a high-dimensional being, La Qi was a superforce life form.

Therefore, as long as La Qi's information processing capabilities and computing power kept up, he had no weaknesses. He could handle all situations in combat. From this perspective, La Qi was a natural warrior, and his combat ability was extremely powerful.

So, he endured the heavenly punishment, fought his way through the Demonic Overlords outside, and rushed all the way here.

Before him was Zhou Fang, and the raging Demonic Overlords all around.

Counting them, there were forty-six Fourth Grade Demonic Lords, with over ten thousand Fifth Grade beings holding the line behind them.

Thankfully, there were no Third Grade ones.

But there shouldn't be any Third Grade ones. If a Third Grade one came, it would be too much.

Although it's pretty extreme even now.

However, can he handle it? Although he doesn't know the attitude of the powerful figures right now, this doesn't stop La Qi from standing before the Demonic Army.

Zhou Fang looked at La Qi, who had suddenly appeared, and became irritated again!

It was about Li Qi again!

So he roared and charged at La Qi.

The Demonic Army followed suit.

La Qi took a deep breath.

His body expanded!

He became a complete high-dimensional maze, a colossal beast that couldn't be seen!

Even for Fourth Grade beings, La Qi's posture remained a mystery, incomprehensible and unknowable.

As for those special properties, including properties with obvious special uses, they were unprecedented.

High-dimensional manifolds were stacked together in a high-density integrated state, with hundreds of trillions of components dispersed and then layered one by one to form a single block.

Networks and functional paths intertwined, already surpassing the level of all Fourth Grade cultivators present. Many of these structures were absolutely revolutionary.

Amidst a collection of indescribable strange forces and a maze-like series of folds, no one could determine how this design produced its effects.

It was simply an astonishing method.

However, the Demonic Overlords began their assault.

They didn't try to decipher La Qi's properties, because they knew it was useless.

They had long since obtained information on La Qi's origins as well.

Unlike Shen Shuibi, La Qi had no obvious weaknesses and was almost impossible to target; his nature determined this.

However, there was still a way.

The Demonic Lords began to output information.

La Qi found that the amount of information was too vast; before the old information could be digested, new information continuously poured in, and the rate at which various problems appeared in his mind was a thousand times faster than his problem-solving speed.

Every time he discovered something new, more would emerge. He needed some time to detach himself and re-examine the current situation.

He needed to organize his thoughts properly, untangle the mess in his mind, and then categorize them. Only then could he see which problems had dependencies and decide which ones to solve first. However, unfortunately, these tangled messes accumulated too quickly, and his organizing speed simply couldn't keep up; he couldn't extricate himself.

Information streamed into his mind.

The tactics used against Li Qi were still effective against his disciple.