The Eternal Way-Chapter 201: Righteous Sword Palace

Ignoring the entreaties of Guangyang Sikong to stay, Li Qi left directly.

Everything was temporarily arranged according to his plans.

Guangyang Sikong was weak and cherished life but was not truly foolish.

Such a person would never believe him if he were to openly recruit him; neither would he contribute efforts for him.

Therefore, it was best to leave things unsaid.

Firstly, by highlighting his own confidence and attitude, while the other party would certainly look down on him, it would also lead them to imagine many scenarios on their own.

Not explaining clearly often proved most effective.

The title "Young Master of Wu Deity Mountain" alone was enough for this person to imagine numerous possibilities.

Then, telling him some truths about Monk Chan Zhi, mixed with indistinguishable lies.

For instance, Li Qi mentioned that Chan Zhi knew Guangyang Sikong's location, rendering his concealment meaningless.

Was it true?

Who knows?

Regardless, Guangyang Sikong couldn't verify it anyway. A weak, suspicious, and life-loving person feared such uncertainties the most.

Coupled with Li Qi's departure,

And the fact that Guangyang Sikong didn't know how Li Qi found him.

These two elements, combined with Li Qi's rhetoric, were enough to make a cowardly, life-loving, and cunning person scare themselves into deliberation.

Li Qi was confident that this person would eventually come looking for him.

Of course, if he didn't come, Li Qi had other methods.

Thus, out of the four factions he initially spoke of, two had already pledged allegiance to him.

Namely, the local Guangyang forces and Wang Baisan, who belonged to the human path.

The remaining two factions were Monk Chan Zhi and the Jianghu forces led by Righteous Sword Palace.

Monk Chan Zhi was an adversary, needless to say.

As for the Jianghu forces led by Righteous Sword Palace, it was only a matter of time.

Li Qi returned to the secret manor of Xiawumen.

He sat beside Shen Shuibei.

Shen Shuibei was in a daze, but upon seeing Li Qi return, she tilted her head slightly, diverting some attention: "You're back? Everything settled?"

"Just the Righteous Sword Palace left, but I left Zhang Lan a message before I left. It shouldn't take long." Li Qi nodded, then lay down beside the rabbit, stretching lazily.

The rabbit also lay down, sleeping next to Li Qi, then turned sideways, looking at him, saying:

"By the way, regarding that trace of Māra Dao Resonance, I've thought a lot and researched extensively, although I couldn't find any definitive answers. However, common people's desires often manifest in dreams; this is clear evidence of delusion and confusion."

"Be careful with dreams when you conceal that thing."

"I will be careful," Li Qi noted mentally.

Regarding the Māra Dao Resonance, one could never be too cautious.

"So, are you free now?" Shen Shuibei asked again.

"Temporarily, yes. As for Monk Chan Zhi, we can rest for now," Li Qi replied.

"If that's the case." The rabbit, hearing this, stopped talking and closed her eyes.

She prepared to sleep.

Li Qi took a deep breath as well; it was time to rest.

So, after more than ten days without sleep, Li Qi pulled a blanket over both of them and started sleeping.

Meanwhile, his main body within the Fifth Level Pagoda naturally began to rest as well.

A long-awaited break.

In the midst of drifting off to sleep, Li Qi vaguely felt his body lightening.

But this was normal.

He slept for four or five hours straight until waking up naturally.

After a good night's sleep, he felt refreshed.

Upon waking up, the rabbit had already awakened and was sitting in meditation nearby.

Her posture was quite beautiful, sitting cross-legged with hands resting on her knees.

Li Qi knew this was part of her cultivation practice called 'Bearing the Sun's Warmth'.

On a sunny day with calm winds, sitting facing south with sunlight on your back, feeling a slight warmth along the spine could harmonize the whole body. The sun, being the essence of Taiyang, strengthens Yang energy, which is highly beneficial.

Collecting Yang energy, was she preparing to condense a Yang Spirit for herself?

Forget it, he wouldn't disturb her.

Li Qi got up as well.

Calculating the time, it should be soon.

After getting up, washing up was a given. The attendants of Xiawumen had even prepared Jiliang water for him to wash with.

Jiliang water, taking its name from the preciousness of the Five Grains, mixed with high-quality incense, was brewed from the essence of the Five Grains. Washing with it could cleanse while retaining vital energy, making it superior to other substances.

It was quite meticulous.

Of course, Li Qi usually didn't care much about these details; he typically lived ruggedly, at most using plain water to wash.

However, now that he was in the city, with people starting to flatter him, there were many niceties.

Not only was the water particular, but so were other aspects.

For example, food.

In Guangyang, the preference was for sweet flavors, so daily meals inevitably included jujubes, chestnuts, maltose, and honey, all meant to please the spleen's nature, smooth the spleen's yang, and nourish the spleen's yin, serving as medicinal supplements.

Today's breakfast was no exception, featuring deer tail porridge with some side dishes.

The deer tail was top quality, dried, with fat membranes removed, containing congealed blood resembling tender liver, obviously a delicacy, finely chopped and cooked into porridge, clear yet not greasy, fragrant with a unique flavor.

Side dishes included sugarcane syrup-soaked dates, nourishing the spleen's qi, harmonizing stomach qi, moistening lungs, stopping coughs, benefiting the five zang organs, harmonizing various medicines, soft like egg whites, sweeter when boiled, also relieving thirst.

Eating so meticulously, post-meal care was equally important.

Post-meal residue between teeth was detrimental to dental health, so Xiawumen specially used willow wood picks tied with tiger whiskers, boiling concentrated tea, waiting for it to cool, then rinsing continuously to clean.

If Li Qi hadn't strongly insisted they not have someone serve him, his clothing, food, shelter, and travel would likely be managed by dedicated personnel, even toothpicking handled by several beauties.

Unfortunately, Li Qi wasn't interested in such matters.

He was too lazy to use these preparations; for instance, why use a toothpick if he didn't have food stuck in his teeth?

After eating and rinsing his mouth, he lay in the courtyard to rest.

Actually, it wasn't resting but rather focusing his energy on his main body.

Elsewhere, his main body resumed studying Monk Chan Zhi's demonic thoughts.

The more he studied, the more he understood about Chan Zhi.

Li Qi was busy preparing.

Guangyang City seemed to return to normal, people living their lives as usual.

Blood sacrifices, invasions by Swallowing Heaven Demon Nests, all seemed unrelated to these people.

This lifestyle continued for another day.

Finally, someone came looking for him.

Still in the secret manor of the Lower Nine Gates, Li Qi, who was lying as if dead, suddenly opened his eyes.

A guard rushed in, kneeling on one knee, reporting to Li Qi: "Sir! According to what you described about Old Horse, we found the person. He's waiting outside!"

Yes, over the past few days, Li Qi had been mobilizing the power of Xiawumen to search for Old Horse.

Old Horse was the marker Li Qi left for Zhang Lan; finding Old Horse made locating Zhang Lan easy.

When making this decision, Li Qi had already planned this step.

"Quickly bring him in." Li Qi's clone stood up, speaking quickly and walking out briskly without waiting for further invitation.

Waiting for so long! Zhang Lan finally arrived!

Just as he hadn't walked far, just two or three steps out the door, Li Qi heard the crisp sound of hooves on stone slabs.

Then, neighing sounds followed.

Li Qi felt a surge of joy.

That was Old Horse's voice, very familiar to him.

So, he stood still at the doorway.

Soon, he saw Zhang Lan leading Old Horse around the corner.

Zhang Lan looked surprised upon seeing Li Qi.

But Old Horse wasn't surprised; instead, he was delighted.

His large horse face lit up, breaking free from Zhang Lan's reins, speeding towards Li Qi.

Seeing this, Li Qi's smile widened.

Indeed, it was his own horse, so affectionate!

Li Qi waited for Old Horse where he stood.

Old Horse sped over, surrounded by threads of azure lightning, indicating his acceleration.

Li Qi smiled, standing at the door, waving to signal the surrounding Xiawumen people to retreat.

They withdrew.

Then, Old Horse glanced at Li Qi, not slowing down, directly knocking him aside.

Zhang Lan stopped, covering his eyes.

It looked painful.

Li Qi's golden body shattered instantly, flying out, struck by Old Horse's azure lightning, turning him completely blackened!

If it were his main body, it might have only caused embarrassment, but his clone had no resistance, directly knocked away. Fortunately, Old Horse didn't use full force, allowing recovery.

As for Old Horse, after knocking Li Qi aside, he wiggled his buttocks and went inside to find Shen Shuibei.

The rabbit woke up from meditation due to the noise outside.

She looked at the rushing Old Horse.

Old Horse braked sharply, stopping in front of the bed.

Then, from his storage bag, he produced a basket of carrots.

One for himself, a basket for Old Horse.

Old Horse raised his head happily, neighing, as Shen Shuibei stroked his mane.

Then, the horse and rabbit began munching on carrots right there.

Looking quite pleased!

Zhang Lan laughed heartily, walking forward to help Li Qi up: "Haha, Brother Li, do you rarely take care of the horse yourself? Does Miss Shen do it for you?"

Li Qi's golden body healed naturally, quickly returning to normal.

After all, it was merely formed from incense smoke, having no physical body. As long as the incense smoke wasn't damaged, minor injuries weren't an issue.

Li Qi could only laugh awkwardly: "Hahaha... Busy lately, couldn't spare the time, hahaha."

However, getting up from the ground, he cleared his throat: "Cough, cough, let's not talk about that. Brother Zhang, did you read my letter?"

Discussing serious matters, Zhang Lan no longer joked around, stating:

"The civilians have been resettled into a small world, and the White Rhino Army has been dispersed among the populace under my orders."

"Brother Li thinks thoroughly and speaks wisely, so everything is arranged accordingly. But I wonder why you didn't want me to seek out the Chief Swordmaster?"

"An opponent at the seventh rank, without recruiting an equal seventh-rank warrior, there's no chance of winning," Zhang Lan sighed.

The gap between seventh and eighth ranks was vast. Though seemingly just one rank apart, on a specific path, it could mean a difference of five or six realms.

Like the ninth and eighth ranks in martial arts, though only one rank apart, actually encompassed three major realms: practicing intent, mind, and spirit.

To transcend these three realms and refine martial spirit was necessary to reach the eighth rank.

The disparity wasn't simply one rank.

Ranks merely facilitated classification; recognizing the significant gap was crucial.

Li Qi responded: "Brother Zhang, don't ask. It's best not to notify anyone from Righteous Sword Palace now. I understand your concerns, but it's not the right time."

"Why isn't it the right time? You probably don't know our Chief Swordmaster's strength. His cultivation has reached the seventh rank in martial arts, unifying heart, body, spirit, intent, and technique. Although he's still short of the sixth rank's lesser unity of heaven and earth, he's undoubtedly strong among seventh ranks. One monk wouldn't pose a problem if he came," Zhang Lan confidently said.

"How does the Chief Swordmaster compare to Guangyang Sigu?" Li Qi asked.

"He could subdue him even holding back thirty percent power," Zhang Lan proudly declared. "If all swordmasters gathered to form the Star Array, even two Guangyang Sigus wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Let me tell you, three experts equivalent to Guangyang Sigu attacking the monk resulted in one death and two escapes, with the dead one turned into a puppet, yet the monk remained unharmed. Would you still call that chief swordmaster here?" Li Qi added.

This statement chilled the atmosphere.

Zhang Lan grew serious, pondering, shaking his head in disbelief: "Impossible, among seventh ranks, even the strongest can't be that much stronger!"

"How do you perceive my strength among ninth ranks? How many ninth ranks could I kill at once?" Li Qi asked.

Puzzled, Zhang Lan answered: "Brother Li misunderstands. Ninth rank is low, with varying strengths. There's a huge gap between orthodox practitioners and miscellaneous cultivators. But reaching seventh rank, most miscellaneous cultivators are eliminated, everyone has foundations, the gap isn't that great."

Li Qi countered: "What if what you consider orthodox is actually miscellaneous? From that monk's perspective, wouldn't your methods that only allow cultivation up to sixth or fifth rank seem mediocre?"

This question stumped Zhang Lan.

He'd never considered this.

Traveling across dozens of countries, the methods of Righteous Sword Palace weren't the pinnacle but certainly upper-middle tier, respectable anywhere.

But...

Li Qi's point seemed valid.

"That monk's lineage has been traced to Mahakala, making ordinary seventh ranks mere fodder," Li Qi stated.

Unspoken was that the terrifying feat of defeating one and forcing two to flee was achieved while Chan Zhi was severely weakened by demonic thoughts.

In other words, unless Li Qi brought a sixth-rank expert, seeking seventh ranks casually would only result in deaths.

Guangyang Sikong was involved because of his local presence and known to Chan Zhi, so whether contacted or not, he was part of the game.

But involving outsiders from Righteous Sword Palace risked alarming Chan Zhi and possibly useless assistance.

Therefore, Li Qi wasn't planning to summon external seventh ranks.

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However, Zhang Lan gritted his teeth: "What if the palace lord comes? Shouldn't that work?"