"Gu Mengping? What is this fellow doing in my Di Xu Realm again?"
With a thought, Li Qi's figure vanished from the Heavenly Dao space once more, reappearing in the void outside the Di Xu Realm.
His gaze fell upon Gu Mengping, who was slowly approaching.
"Gu Mengping, what business do you have in my Di Xu Realm?"
Gu Mengping's figure also stopped in the void. He cupped his fists towards Li Qi, then broke into a smile.
"Fellow Daoist Li, it's like this. Didn't the Plane Lords of our Xiao Yan District all obtain a significant amount of Heavenly Dao Will and wealth before?"
"Therefore, this time, including Senior Xu Tianzong, the Plane Lords of our Xiao Yan District are planning to go to the Void Black Market together to purchase some items. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Li would be interested in joining us."
"Going to the Void Black Market?"
Upon hearing this, Li Qi shook his head slightly.
The only thing he wished to buy at the Void Black Market now was likely Heavenly Dao Will of the Harmonization stage.
However, such an item might be difficult to find in the Void Black Market.
As for other items, Li Qi had no need for them.
Moreover, if he truly needed anything, he wouldn't have to make the trip himself; he could simply arrange for his natal spirit puppet to go.
If there was anything that could make Li Qi go to the Void Black Market now, it would probably be if something happened to his natal spirit puppet.
"Never mind, I have nothing I wish to purchase. You all should go to the Void Black Market yourselves," Li Qi refused.
Hearing Li Qi's refusal, Gu Mengping did not press the invitation further. He bid farewell and departed.
Li Qi watched Gu Mengping's receding figure, gradually withdrawing his gaze.
He didn't pay much attention to this minor interlude.
With a flash, Li Qi returned to the Heavenly Dao space of the Di Xu Realm.
The quiet Heavenly Dao space was utterly silent.
Li Qi stood quietly.
At this moment, apart from him, the only other occupant of the Heavenly Dao space was the Heavenly Dao Will that was constantly consuming.
To be honest, if this Heavenly Dao space weren't the most spiritually abundant place, and if Li Qi himself didn't prefer quiet, and if he hadn't had many matters to attend to in the past, he might not have felt lonely.
But now, everything was progressing in an orderly and favorable direction.
He didn't need to worry about pill resources, and the matter of setting up formations was being handled by his natal spirit puppet.
At this moment, Li Qi suddenly felt idle and without purpose.
"It's been a long time since I returned to the Di Xu Realm. I wonder how things are there now, and what about my old acquaintances?"
With this thought, Li Qi's figure vanished from the Heavenly Dao space, and he returned to the Di Xu Realm, which he hadn't visited in a long time.
...
High above the sky of the Di Xu Realm, a figure stood silently.
The figure stood on the clouds, Li Qi dressed in a simple robe, looking down upon the world.
The clouds were light, the wind was gentle, and all was peaceful.
There was no war in the land; it remained under the command of the Great Wei Dynasty.
The common people lived and worked in peace, engaging in their daily agricultural tasks.
It was evident that, at least up to this point, the successive emperors of the Great Wei Dynasty over the past few centuries had learned from the lessons of history.
Therefore, no emperor had appeared who could, by himself, collapse the entire dynasty.
However, for the current Great Wei, centuries had passed.
Those whom he once knew well, and even some cultivators, had likely turned to dust. Li Qi had no intention of approaching them closely.
After all, for the current Great Wei, Li Qi himself was perhaps merely a faint stroke in the historical records.
No longer concerned with the mortal dynasty, Li Qi activated the Plane Lord's authority with a thought.
Before long, a hint of surprise flickered in Li Qi's eyes.
He had just briefly probed the strength of the cultivators within the Di Xu Realm.
He discovered that there were now dozens of cultivators in the Void Return stage in the Di Xu Realm.
Among them, the two strongest had reached the seventh heaven of the Void Return stage.
Two people? Could it be those two?
Two figures, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, emerged in Li Qi's mind.
The Plane Lord's authority was still active.
A scene appeared before Li Qi's eyes.
It was a towering peak, rarely visited by anyone.
Dense spiritual energy had solidified into a faint mist, condensing into dew on the surrounding leaves and flowers.
Two somewhat aged figures sat at leisure.
Between them, a chessboard was quietly set up.
They played chess, sometimes frowning, sometimes lost in thought.
Suddenly, one of them relaxed his brow slightly.
With a soft "pa-da," the elder whose brow had relaxed placed a black piece.
But at some point, even the two elders themselves had not noticed.
Beside the chessboard, a young figure suddenly appeared, quietly watching them play.
The young man was not a woodcutter who, engrossed in chess, forgot the passage of time.
This was not a story of "spectating a chess game and an apricot tree growing," which leads to the loss of years.
This chess game had continued for several days.
With another "pa-da," the black side completely cut off any escape route for the white pieces.
"Hahaha, Qi Youhuan, you old fool, you finally lost!"
The elder playing black suddenly burst into laughter. The other man's face showed some distress.
Suddenly, the elder playing black's laughter paused, and the elder opposite him seemed to sense something.
They turned their gaze to the side of the chessboard.
Li Qi stood there quietly, a smile on his lips.
"Li... Fellow Daoist Li."
Qi Youhuan and Chen Tu'an, seeing the young figure before them, were surprised and suddenly stood up.
"Long time no see. It's been several hundred years, hasn't it?"
Li Qi nodded with a smile, looking at the two before him.
These two were, in fact, two of the three Soul Transformation stage cultivators from the past war between humans and demons, Chen Tu'an and Qi Youhuan.
Li Qi's guess was correct; these two were indeed the only two cultivators in the Di Xu Realm currently at the seventh heaven of the Void Return stage.
"It has indeed been several hundred years."
Qi Youhuan and Chen Tu'an both nodded with emotion. Their cultivation was profound, and their lifespans were long. If they were ordinary people or low-level cultivators, these hundreds of years would have been their entire lives.
Then, their gazes returned to Li Qi, and their expressions immediately became solemn.
At this moment, Li Qi, in their perception, was like an unfathomable deep pool, profound and immeasurable.
Just how strong had Fellow Daoist Li's power become now?
They had always known of Li Qi's extraordinary talent.
But they had originally thought that with their current cultivation at the seventh heaven of the Void Return stage, they could at least see Li Qi's silhouette. However, upon looking now, they realized that they seemed to be falling even further behind.