Chapter 994: Destroy the Dream City

City of Dreams, in a sense, is a special kind of enjoyment.

Here, you can taste the endless desires of all beings.

Intense pain, unrestrained intoxication, the bloody smoke from hundreds of gallows, and the food below dipped in human blood.

Joyful spasms, boundless greed, countless pairs of shoes, treading the dust of many worlds, rush here, all to fulfill dreams.

The shoes of murderers, the shoes of usurers, the shoes of prayers, the shoes of hard workers—millions of different people walk in with different shoes.

This is a crowd whipped by fear and joy, emitting a warm, decaying stench, inhaling happiness and ecstasy, squeezing out the remaining strength from their bones, and then spitting it out from their mouths.

They plan war after war, cultivate indescribable creations, fanatically decorate brightly lit cities, seek pleasure, and indulge in debauchery.

They rise anew from the outside with hope, only to sink again into the city as walking dead.

The crystal-clear, brightly lit city is where they reside; here, there is no day or night, no gender, no age, everyone is categorized as one.

Everyone's sins, everyone's joy, everyone's murders, everyone's happiness, are like plays, like a spinning sun.

Only in such a place can the most intense emotions be brewed, with countless young people pouring their youth here, young men and women flocking in like trash.

In the nocturnal metropolis, buildings stand tall, traffic flows endlessly; even at night, the crowds do not diminish, still bustling and rushing about.

This is a sleepless city; under its brilliant lights, there is no distinction between day and night, work never stops, the city never rests, but precisely because of this, the city is a city.

Countless people, like ants, are drawn to this city by sugar balls, struggling, wanting to earn what they consider a lot but is actually insignificant, sacrificing their youth, vitality, and health for it, and then together building this glorious city.

Then, another group of people arrived.

They wanted to destroy this city.

The war began.

It was another war.

And it ended quickly. Even if a Demonic Dao Third Grade appeared, Li Qi would immediately project his Dharma Body over, so without a Second Grade making a move, the Demonic Dao had no way to stop it.

However… this time, there was a slight variable.

The battle was stopped, and a Third Grade appeared.

Immediately after, Li Qi also appeared.

But the situation didn't stop; the moment Li Qi appeared, another Demonic Dao Second Grade also showed up.

Li Qi recognized the other party; it was the Demon of False Guidance.

It is said that one who clings to the Dharma they have obtained, and is unable to guide others, is called a Demon of False Guidance.

A practitioner who is stingy with the Dharma and unwilling to teach others is acting like a Demon of False Guidance; the retribution for being stingy with the Dharma is obstructing Bodhi, making one unwilling to be a Good Knowledge for sentient beings.

Good Knowledge is beneficial knowledge, and seeking such knowledge is quite arduous and troublesome. Not only does it require a lot of time and effort to search the entire world, but it also takes up a lot of one's own cultivation time.

The Demon of False Guidance, on the other hand, will transform into various kinds of false good knowledge, or use those with obsessions or heavy karma, making them propagators of false good knowledge to mislead practitioners.

He loves to spread all sorts of knowledge, transforming into the appearance of a Great Practitioner, making you mistakenly believe you've met a good person, thus causing you to blindly follow his words, and thereby luring sentient beings onto wrong paths, dangerous paths, and dead ends, hence he is called the Demon of False Guidance.

The Demon of False Guidance appeared before Li Qi.

“Li Qi, isn’t that enough?” the Demon of False Guidance said to Li Qi.

“What? Enough? I thought you were going to keep enduring,” Li Qi said, smiling at the Demon of False Guidance.

As they spoke, the Dao Resonance between them began to collide.

Countless hundreds of billions of Nayuta Great Demons, free from evil deeds, ego, and ignorance, enter all Dharmas and all arts with wisdom, speaking the Dharma to sentient beings, causing them to be deluded.

Sentient beings are not separate from delusion, and delusion is not separate from sentient beings.

Sentient beings are not within delusion, nor is delusion within sentient beings.

Neither is delusion sentient beings, nor are sentient beings delusion.

Delusion is not an inner Dharma, and delusion is not an outer Dharma.

Sentient beings are not an inner Dharma, and sentient beings are not an outer Dharma.

All Dharmas are illusory and unreal, arising and perishing quickly without permanence, like dreams, like shadows, like illusions, deceiving the foolish.

It was merely a conversation, but the surrounding world had already begun to change; various kinds of information were constantly emanating from around the Demon of False Guidance.

He revealed his true form, from which 'paradoxes' continuously spread.

Contradictory and incompatible knowledge is engraved on his true form; merely by observing it, one will be washed over by this information.

This amount of information is not large; even a Ninth Grade can read it normally. However, the same proposition contains two or even more opposing conclusions.

Intricate, chaotic, a thousand possibilities await all observers, and this knowledge attracts such possibilities. All who look directly at this live in this strange, magical atmosphere of possibility.

Chaos, falsehood, and indistinguishable facts are presented before them.

Ignorant sentient beings, without knowledge or insight, without faith or understanding, without intelligent conduct, stubborn and greedy, wander through transmigration.

Lost and mistaken, they enter dangerous paths, hearing the conflicts of various Dharmas, their hearts greatly terrified, abandoning the smooth path and entering difficult and perilous paths, following demonic intentions, clinging firmly to all existences.

And Li Qi, amidst these endless 'answers', stood lightly in the center of the 'contradiction'.

Let paradox be paradox.

Many things cannot be proven or disproven; this is the incompleteness of logic, and it is natural. There is no universally applicable truth in this world to begin with.

If someone believes there is a single truth in this world, the moment they see the Demon of False Guidance, it is estimated that the Dao struggle within them will be ignited. In a sense, the Demon of False Guidance can be said to be extremely restraining to those Dao Orthodoxy that believe in the existence of an absolute noumenon.

Unfortunately, it had no effect on Li Qi. Li Qi had an excellent compatibility with the other party; if they were to fight, Li Qi was confident he could determine the victor.

Not to mention, there was also Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, who, like Li Qi, believed the world to be contradictory.

Two against one, the Demon of False Guidance had no chance of winning.

However, the Demon of False Guidance had no intention of fighting. Instead, he said, “I didn’t come here to fight, Li Qi. You’re looking for the Immortal Heaven, aren’t you? I have clues to the Immortal Heaven here. Do you want them?”

Li Qi frowned.

His search for the Immortal Heaven was no secret; it was normal for the other party to know, as he had visited many places in search of it, but found no clues.

And now the Demonic Dao suddenly appeared, saying they would give him clues to the Immortal Heaven? One must remember that Li Qi was looking for the Immortal Heaven precisely to deal with the Demonic Dao.

“Demon of False Guidance, you enjoy spreading evil knowledge the most, don’t you? Why would you think I’d believe your words?” Li Qi asked the Demon of False Guidance before him.

“You don’t have to believe me, but do you want it? I might be the only one in the entire Universe who can tell you the current state of the Immortal Heaven. My knowledge is wrong, but even wrong knowledge has value, doesn’t it?” the Demon of False Guidance said.

Li Qi chuckled softly.

Indeed, this was a demonic thoughts.

The power of a demonic thoughts never lies in concealment, but in 'willingness'.

Even if they don't hide, don't deceive, and simply stand out openly, there are still plenty of people willing to accept that dark future, all believing themselves to be lucky.

Just like Mephistopheles to Faust.

Since so many Mortals would sacrifice their immortal essence for some meaningless metal blocks and red and green paper, then cultivators, for knowledge, could naturally sacrifice even more.

Moreover, Li Qi also fell for this trick.

“Alright, then tell me, where is the Immortal Heaven?” Li Qi replied.

The Demon of False Guidance laughed, then reined in his ineffable true form, transforming into a human shape, a beautiful young boy.

“This is where the Immortal Heaven is currently located.” He took out a Jade Slip. “Just be warned, don’t say I didn’t remind you, the Immortal Heaven is not easy to deal with.”

Li Qi took the Jade Slip and examined it. It was indeed just ordinary book Qi, containing information: a special coordinate of the Heavens.

It wasn't within the many Observable Universe, but located at a special coordinate point, unable to be defined by 'distance', and could only be reached by means similar to spacetime travel.

“Compared to the Immortal Heaven, I’m more worried about you all, but I don’t need to worry anymore.” Li Qi put away the book Qi and then unfolded his true form.

The Dharma Form ascended, chaotic and disordered.

Countless fragments fluttered up, spiraling upwards like charred paper rising from a bonfire, then circling above the heads of sentient beings, cawing loudly.

Strange, melancholic noises filled the Universe Void Realm; the chaotic din of endless fragments brought a strong impact to the mind, similar to the effect produced by the hooting of owls and the faint cries of seagulls heard from afar at dawn.

Li Qi fully embraced the paradox, because the reason a paradox is a paradox is that two conclusions contradict each other, but this is perfectly natural; contradictory things are everywhere, and there is nothing special about them.

Li Qi lunged forward.

The Demon of False Guidance retreated quickly, disappearing from the spot.

“Is this… a counterattack?” Li Qi weighed the scroll in his hand.

The Demonic Dao's counterattack had arrived, but it wasn't violent; it was in the form the Demonic Dao was most skilled at.

Unfortunately, Li Qi wasn't planning to go.

What did it matter whether he went or not? If the Demonic Dao had no solution, and with the Demonic Dao First Grades unwilling to act, then Li Qi, with eight Second Grades working together, could almost be said to be one of the strongest forces outside of the Nine Lands Under Heaven.

Li Qi possessed not just eight Second Grades, but these eight Second Grades were all extremely powerful ones.

Li Qi himself aside, as his level among Second Grades is hard to say, but Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva and the others are famous Great Bodhisattvas, all top-tier Second Grades. Taizi Changqin and Yang Zhenqian are also veteran Second Grades, with extraordinary strength.

Therefore, only those top-tier Second Grade civilizations could possibly rival Li Qi's current power, so… he could absolutely continue to target the Demonic Dao.

Searching for the Immortal Heaven? Is it urgent?

Li Qi copied the item in his hand a hundred billion times and casually tossed them throughout the Universe.

Whoever is fated to obtain this coordinate and has the ability to go to the Heavens, let them go and see for Li Qi.

After doing all this, Li Qi continued to push forward with the process of eradicating City of Dreams.

Time slowly advanced again.

In Li Qi's tireless battles, the Qi Palace's progress was incredibly fast.

Approximately seventy-five million years passed.

This Universe has experienced many wars; people deceive each other, kill each other, and everything is done to enforce one's own ideology, to eliminate the ideology of others.

Li Qi had ample reasons to launch such a war, for example… it was for the welfare of more people, and indeed it was, but… that was only the purpose, not what was actually brought about.

No matter the reason for war, war ultimately brings only destruction.

The means of war are neither glorious nor just. What can people truly gain through war? Peace? Let's not even talk about it. People usually have different narratives before, during, and after a war. Of course, these are all lies.

Regardless of the reason, war cannot bring anything good. Fortunately… it wasn't entirely without gain.

War is destruction; although it cannot bring anything good, it treats bad things equally. They can destroy everything, turning the world into a blank slate, upon which new things can be built.

What are these new things? Perhaps good, perhaps bad. Li Qi felt that what he built was good.

The impact of leveling City of Dreams on the Myriad Worlds, even if there was temporary pain, was ultimately worthwhile. Otherwise, the Demonic Dao would only incite more wars.

The wars incited by the Demonic Dao are truly cruel wars, because they incite not wars between nations or factions, but wars between people.

Every person's war against every other person, a great melee of all against all, and in such a melee, no one can escape.

Forced and beyond one's control.

And throughout the hundreds of millions of years since the entire Qi Palace was established, this is what Li Qi has been doing.

And he succeeded.

As the last City of Dreams collapsed, all the Dream Cities where the Demonic Dao gathered throughout the entire Universe had been completely razed and flattened.

During this process, the high-ranking Demonic Dao only made one move, the Demon of False Guidance, and he didn't even engage in combat, merely providing Li Qi with some intelligence.

Now, the Qi Palace has completed its goal of eradicating City of Dreams.

Li Qi's expression, therefore, darkened.

So, what’s next… to do?

Did the Demonic Dao really just sit by and watch all the Dream Cities be destroyed? Now the Qi Palace has nothing left to do; the next step is probably just to let everyone rest.

But if such a distant expedition were to stop… it would be difficult to reassemble it later.

Was this the Demonic Dao’s objective?