A chill inexplicably arose in the hearts of several people.
If it were as Li Qi said, wouldn't it mean that on some future day, all the human race's powerful experts outside the encirclement would also die for certain reasons?
Until the demon race could catch its breath, then both sides would recuperate,
and finally, after an unknown period, one side would be utterly defeated?
In an instant, Feng Dengxian and the others all thought of the blurry immortal figure in the sky that day, the one who had drawn a circle while pursuing the demon race.
A suffocating feeling surged from their hearts.
On that day, they had all felt the dense aura of death emanating from that figure. Even peak Transformation God experts like Feng Dengxian might have been reduced to mere ants.
If, one day, that so-called immortal were to reappear and brandish a blade against the human race's strong cultivators,
perhaps... it would truly be as Li Qi said, and all human race experts would perish.
Feng Dengxian, somewhat dazed, looked at Li Qi and asked,
"Then, when will that immortal make their move..."
"How should I know?"
Li Qi rolled his eyes.
"This is all my speculation. What if I'm just overthinking things?"
But no one believed that Li Qi's words, "I'm just overthinking things," were merely him being overly worried.
According to history,
what Li Qi said was highly probable.
The atmosphere at the scene once again became utterly oppressive.
And just then, Li Qi stretched lazily and headed straight out of the Scripture Repository courtyard.
"Daoist Li, where are you going?"
"Where else would I go?"
Li Qi's face held a hint of laziness as he turned to look at the four troubled Transformation God cultivators.
"Of course, to cultivate. You're not planning to give up just because you know we might face a great calamity in the future, are you?"
"Even if we can't win when the time comes, if we can improve our strength a bit, to hold on for a few more seconds, to bite off a piece of their flesh, that would be good too. What do you say?"
With that, Li Qi's figure disappeared into the Scripture Repository courtyard.
...
Fei Sha Sect.
"Martial Uncle Li, you've returned."
Zhang Yinjun watched Li Qi's figure gracefully descend from afar, waiting respectfully.
But suddenly, Zhang Yinjun noticed Li Qi's exceedingly grave expression.
Zhang Yinjun's heart skipped a beat.
Although she hadn't seen Li Qi many times in her life,
she had never seen him wear such a solemn expression.
In Zhang Yinjun's memory, Li Qi had always been leisurely, his demeanor unchanged by any circumstance.
"Martial Uncle Li... you...?"
Zhang Yinjun asked cautiously.
Li Qi waved his hand.
"Do not disturb me unless it's a matter of utmost importance. I am going into seclusion."
With that, Li Qi headed directly towards the back mountain of the Fei Sha Sect.
And the back mountain of the Fei Sha Sect became a forbidden area from that day onwards.
And it wasn't just on Li Qi's side.
After that day, a heavy atmosphere seemed to spread throughout the entire human race of cultivators.
Some even noticed with astonishment that,
apart from those guarding the demon race's encirclement and those pursuing demons across the land,
all cultivators above the Golden Core stage seemed to have practically vanished, as if they had disappeared overnight.
It was an unprecedented calm.
But many people seemed to sense that beneath this calm lay the truth, like the prelude to a storm.
Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.
Under the rule of the Great Wei Dynasty, the world was peaceful, and nothing unusual occurred.
Li Qi, in seclusion, broke through to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage.
Twenty years. The world was peaceful, and nothing unusual occurred.
Li Qi's cultivation broke through to the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage.
Thirty years. The world was peaceful, and nothing unusual occurred.
Li Qi's cultivation reached the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage.
Time flew by.
In the sixty-fifth year.
Li Qi's cultivation had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.
At the same time, his Strength attribute points broke through the 20,000 mark, though there were no special rewards.
However, it's worth mentioning that Li Qi had gone out once during this period.
News arrived that Feng Dengxian's realm seemed to have reached the peak Transformation God stage, and several more Transformation God cultivators had appeared in the world.
Eighty years later.
The Great Wei imperial family had changed hands twice.
And on this day.
The back mountain of the Fei Sha Sect.
The small hut had long since rotted and fallen into disrepair.
The vegetable patch not far away was overgrown with weeds from years of neglect.
In the chicken coop beside it, only the skeletal remains of Ge Ge were left.
And at this moment.
Li Qi, who had been in seclusion, suddenly opened his eyes.
Thunderclouds churned and rolled in the sky, vaguely condensing a terrifying power, from which an immensely dense pressure was transmitted.
He stood up and glanced at the commotion that had erupted in the Fei Sha Sect not far away.
"This is not a good place to break through to Transformation God."
With this thought, Li Qi's figure shot into the sky, instantly disappearing from the Fei Sha Sect.
In just a moment, Li Qi appeared in a vast, open space.
And the Heavenly Tribulation above Li Qi's head closely followed, locked onto him.
Innumerable powerful cultivators from across the land briefly awoke from their seclusion, noticing Li Qi undergoing his breakthrough.
"Another Daoist friend is breaking through to Transformation God?"
"If this Daoist friend can also break through, our human race will have nine Transformation God cultivators. Perhaps the extinction-level disaster Senior Feng spoke of decades ago can be averted."
"No more talk. Hurry and return to seclusion. Every bit of strength added is an improvement."
"Rumble."
A terrifying thunderous roar erupted from above Li Qi's head, and streaks of blue-purple lightning flickered within, exuding an immense pressure.
Unfortunately,
most cultivators at this time were too busy to witness this. They were all in seclusion, improving their cultivation to prepare for the potential extinction-level disaster.
Otherwise, if they had come to observe, they would have been astonished to discover that
the power of Li Qi's Transformation God Heavenly Tribulation
seemed to be more than ten times stronger than that of other cultivators.
But if anyone were to come and find that Li Qi was the one undergoing the tribulation, they likely wouldn't be overly surprised.
After all, Li Qi had already demonstrated the feat of killing a Transformation God level Demon King, so a stronger Heavenly Tribulation was only natural.
And at this moment, a burst of energy exploded within the thunderclouds.
Immediately after.
"Boom!"
An incredibly thick bolt of blue-purple lightning descended from the clouds with a roar.
Li Qi, standing on the ground, didn't even raise his eyelids. He remained motionless.
Passive talent, Unwavering as a Bell.
Li Qi, whose defensive power already far surpassed that of cultivators of the same level, now had his defense amplified a hundredfold.
The terrifying lightning completely engulfed Li Qi.
The next moment, the lightning dissipated.
Not even Li Qi's clothes showed any signs of wrinkles, let alone any injury to Li Qi.
"Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom..."
Continuous bolts of lightning descended again, lasting for several days.
Unfortunately, this seemingly terrifying lightning was all show and no substance. Li Qi didn't even need to resist; his body's innate defense alone couldn't be breached.
At this point, Li Qi was even bored enough to continue cultivating within the Heavenly Tribulation.
He didn't want to waste a single moment.
The last time Li Qi had worked this hard was before he obtained the Lazy System.
After that, Li Qi had always cultivated in a leisurely manner.
And while Li Qi was still in seclusion, the Heavenly Tribulation in the sky seemed to have reached its end and finally dissipated.
The aura of a Transformation God cultivator surged from Li Qi's body, everything happening naturally, as if it were a smooth progression.
After that day, Li Qi returned to the Fei Sha Sect to continue his seclusion.
And three years later, on a certain day.
The originally clear sky instantly turned dark...
An immensely terrifying pressure descended from the sky.
Simultaneously, Li Qi's eyes in the back mountain of the Fei Sha Sect suddenly opened.
"It's here."
The shadowy figure who had been controlling the war between the human and demon races from behind the scenes.