It had been half a year since Li Qi left the Flying Sand Sect.
As for where Li Qi intended to go, he himself didn't know.
In short, wherever his thoughts led him, he would go.
However, the situation outside was not optimistic.
With the demon calamity becoming increasingly frequent, there were very few people encountered on the roads.
Even if they did meet others, they were in small groups of three to five, or even large formations of a dozen or so people rushing along, not daring to stop.
It had been about thirty years.
At that time, Li Qi had not yet obtained the咸鱼 System and was diligently earning spirit stones.
Li Qi remembered that back then, he could still see quite a few passersby on the roads, both cultivators and ordinary people.
Although they were not leisurely in their travels, they were not as hurried and panicked as they were now.
Along the way, Li Qi occasionally encountered some demons, but their strength was generally not high. The strongest only possessed the strength of four visceral organs in the body refinement stage, and were easily crushed by Li Qi.
One day, Li Qi was walking through the wilderness.
At this moment, not far away, a young man dressed as a scholar, carrying a basket on his back, slowly approached.
At first, the two did not speak.
After walking for several days, the scholar noticed that Li Qi's direction of travel was the same as his own.
Gradually, the scholar began to converse with Li Qi, exchanging a few words from time to time.
In the evening, the scholar and Li Qi sat by the campfire.
The firelight cast a ruddy glow on their faces.
It also provided some warmth on this somewhat cold evening.
Over the past few days, according to the scholar's own introduction,
The scholar's surname was Ning, and his given name was Ning Caichen.
He was going to the capital to take the imperial examination, hoping to achieve fame and not waste the more than ten years of arduous study since childhood.
When Li Qi heard this name, his eyelids twitched involuntarily.
Ning Caichen, could it be such a coincidence? It must be a coincidence.
At this moment, Ning Caichen, sitting by the campfire, suddenly asked.
"Brother Li, are you also heading to the capital?"
Li Qi had no intention of going to the capital; he had no particular goal.
The reason he had been following Ning Caichen's direction these past few days was simply because he didn't know where to go, and seeing Ning Caichen, he simply followed him.
In response to Ning Caichen's question, Li Qi merely smiled faintly.
"I am but a carefree wanderer. I have no particular purpose in coming out this time. I will go wherever I end up, and I just want to see other places within the Great Jing."
"Is that so? Then why don't you accompany me to the capital, Brother Li? The capital is prosperous, and it's my first time going there, so it would be good to have a companion."
Li Qi thought for a moment and did not refuse, but then asked.
"However, with demons proliferating so frequently, aren't you afraid, a mere scholar with no strength to even bind a chicken, to travel alone?"
Hearing this, Ning Caichen was silent for a moment, then chuckled bitterly.
"Afraid! Of course, I'm afraid. But my mother worked tirelessly to raise me since I was born, and supported my studies. After more than ten years of arduous study, if I were to be afraid to go out simply because of the proliferation of demons, wouldn't that be a waste of my mother's many years of hard work?"
After that day, Li Qi and Ning Caichen embarked on the road to the capital.
Dark clouds obscured the sun, and thunder rumbled. One evening, a storm suddenly broke out.
Drizzles gradually fell, then intensified.
Ning Caichen tightly held an oiled paper umbrella.
"Brother Li, hurry over under the umbrella. There seems to be a dilapidated temple ahead. Let's quicken our pace and go there to take shelter from the rain."
Soon, Li Qi and Ning Caichen arrived in front of the dilapidated temple.
And when Li Qi saw the indistinct name on the temple gate, he fell completely silent.
His gaze towards Ning Caichen beside him became even stranger.
Lan Ruo Temple.
"Brother Li, why are you still standing there? Let's go in quickly."
Ning Caichen grabbed Li Qi's hand and hurried into Lan Ruo Temple.
Lan Ruo Temple seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. Cobwebs were everywhere in the corners of the temple, the ground was cracked, and dense weeds grew through the gaps.
The Buddha statue in the center of the temple was also dilapidated. Due to prolonged corrosion, even the specific contours of the Buddha's face were difficult to discern.
Rainwater dripped from the eaves.
Ning Caichen patted his damp clothes. Even with an umbrella on the road, he was still soaked in many places.
Looking at the pouring rain outside, Ning Caichen was quite distressed.
"Brother Li, the rain is so heavy. It looks like we'll have to spend the night here today."
Li Qi nodded. His original intention was to travel around Great Jing, so it made little difference where he stayed for the night.
The two of them tidied up a clean space in the dilapidated temple and sat down on the ground.
A campfire was rekindled. The firewood for the campfire was found during the cleaning, perhaps left by travelers who had stayed here before.
"Brother Li, eat this cake."
Ning Caichen took out a somewhat dry and yellow rice cake from his basket, skewered it with a branch, roasted it over the campfire, then tore off half and handed it to Li Qi.
Grains were of little consequence to Li Qi; the spiritual energy flowing continuously within him was sufficient to maintain his state of not needing to eat.
However, Li Qi accepted Ning Caichen's kindness.
While eating the rice cake, Ning Caichen's gaze was fixed on the continuous heavy rain outside.
"With this weather, I wonder when the rain will stop."
As he spoke, Ning Caichen reached into his basket, took out a somewhat yellowed scroll, and began to read it intently.
As expected of a scholar, he didn't forget to read even while eating.
Li Qi did not disturb Ning Caichen. His fingers traced figures in the air of their own accord.
During this period, the various landscapes and mountains and rivers he had seen had given Li Qi many insights into the art of formations.
And at this moment.
With a creak.
The dilapidated temple gate of Lan Ruo Temple was pushed open again.
Li Qi and Ning Caichen looked up slightly.
The first thing they saw was a woman in plain white, exuding a charming yet delicate aura, holding a paper umbrella.
A timid and melodious voice sounded.
"Gentlemen, is it convenient to take shelter from the rain here?"