Myriad Paths

Li Qi did not delay for too long. After dealing with the last matters, he set off for the West. This time he went alone. After all, the planned trip did not actually take too long.

After four months of traveling, the remaining time was spent visiting the masters in the West, getting their advice, and then returning home.

It's that simple.

As for Shan Xuanyu and Li Shiwei's failure to control their emotions, Li Qi told Shen Shuibi before leaving that Rabbit would handle these matters well.

Who would have thought that a large stone that has stood for two thousand years without practicing cultivation actually has a piece of mountain jade hidden inside?

In other words, Shanxuan Jade is the real body, and it is the stones outside that cover his mind and make him look stupid.

really interesting.

But Li Shiwei was very boring. Although she was only half a year old, she still showed the characteristics of her parents who like to think, which Li Qi liked very much. However, Li Qi found that she really couldn't control her emotions.

This may be called "child's innocence".

It is precisely because of innocence that it is particularly easy to be controlled by emotions.

I'm very happy when I'm happy, and I'm very focused when I'm meditating, so... I'm also very manic when I'm angry.

The stone was her friend, but she simply forgot about it when she was angry.

Shen Shuibi had to teach her how to control it.

Li Qifei thought so in mid-air.

However, as he was thinking about it, he suddenly fell into a trance.

Li Qi realized something.

If child-like innocence is the reason why they make so many unwise actions, then what is the reason for Li Qi himself, who thinks twice about everything and is careful to speculate and worry?

Children are innocent, so Li Qi's own conservatism...is it because he is not innocent?

Li Qi was good at thinking, and he immediately thought of his daughter's actions. If being unable to control emotions is innocence, then if you can control emotions, does it mean that you are too thoughtful?

And if you are too preoccupied, you cannot let your emotions seep in? If you can’t experience emotions, will your joy, anger, sorrow, and joy become lighter? Have those sources of motivation disappeared?

Li Qi knew that emotions were the source of many things, and they might even be... the source of courage.

However, without other clues and hints, Li Qi could not continue thinking.

Thinking is fire, and the burning of fire requires firewood, and firewood is your knowledge, your insights, and your various experiences.

Thinking without experience is just fantasy, and experience without thinking is no different from dead things.

That's why the humane saints have a famous saying, "Learning without thinking will lead to ignorance; thinking without learning will lead to peril."

Li Qi is like this now. He wants to continue to delve deeper from this angle, but finds that he does not have the corresponding knowledge and experience and cannot continue to think.

So he could only give up.

"Alas, I still don't know much. My life is too short and I have seen too little." Li Qi sighed. He obviously had a good idea, but unfortunately he was limited by his own knowledge.

Then keep these in mind. Isn't it the purpose of going to Xitian to solve the problem of insufficient knowledge?

Li Qi thought about this and continued to speed up.

Xitian and Wushen Mountain are directly bordered, so most of the time is spent rushing to stay overnight.

Wushen Mountain is a place in the southwest, while Buddhism is a place in the extreme west. Which one is in direct contact?

When I came to Liesu, I started it skillfully, and then in a blink of an eye, I came to the boundary between Wushen Mountain and Xitian.

Crossing the border between Xitian and Wushen Mountain, Li Qi looked into the distance.

Wow……

Desert eh.

It's really a desert, no... I can't say it's a desert, because it's not pure yellow sand. There are actually simple grass blades and some gravel growing on it.

To be precise, it should be called...Gobi, right?

Tianxia is a roughly circular continent, floating in the boundless void. There is no world barrier to speak of. It is just wrapped by the Gangfeng layer, which maintains the tranquility inside, and has downward gravity that comes from nowhere. Outside the Gangfeng layer, there are two lunar and sun stars of equal size floating around the world.

The terrain of this circular continent is high in the west and low in the east, so the water will naturally flow towards the east, merge into the East China Sea, and then fall down into the void at the end of the East China Sea, forming a super waterfall that is rare in the world. Then it was swept up by the Gangfeng layer and circulated throughout the world.

Therefore, as the highest point of the terrain in Xitian, almost all the water flows downward and merges into the Central Plains, southwest and northwest places. It is not that there is no water here, but the water will slip away quickly. In such a Under the wash, this place naturally looks like a mixture of desert and grassland.

A thin layer of rock debris covers the ground, which is due to the traces of massive water flow. Large areas of sandstone, limestone, and chalk make up the ground. Some tenacious grasses raise their heads from the gravel with difficulty.

The scenery is desolate. If people live in a place like this, I'm afraid it won't be too pleasant, right?

This reminded Li Qi of the desolate plateau stone desert.

Buddhism... doesn't it mean to be compassionate? Shouldn't it be like humanity and directly transform the natural environment so that everyone can be happy?

For the powerful people in the world, modifying the natural environment is not too difficult, right? Humane weather forecasts are divided into years, and the weather can be seen every day.

Then...why don't those compassionate Buddhas change the natural environment of the West? Instead, let mortals suffer in this environment?

Oh, maybe I am overthinking it, maybe it is only like this outside. When you go inside, you can see the place made of seven treasures as mentioned in the Buddhist scriptures.

Li Qi thought so.

So, he stepped into the western sky.

The surrounding area is desolate, and some wild animals and vegetation can be seen, but generally there is nothing special. It is a very ordinary place, and the source of heaven and earth is not very powerful.

Li Qi walked like this in the Gobi Desert for more than a day, and finally saw a little green. That was... an oasis in the stone desert?

If there is an oasis, it should be inhabited.

Li Qi quickly moved closer, but after a while, Li Qi saw the oasis itself.

They are roughly a few lakes, not big, only three or four miles wide. In Wushen Mountain, they can only be called bathing ponds, but they are already very precious in this place.

Water is the source of life. For mortals, water is indispensable.

Therefore, in this oasis, there are several markets surrounding it, forming a settlement.

It must be a market, right? Li Qi could see that many mortals with rough skin and abnormal blush on their faces were living inside.

Li Qi fell to the ground and walked towards it in a form of blending into nature.

They were all mortals, so it was naturally impossible for them to see him. Li Qi just entered the market and observed their daily life.

This observation lasted two days.

Li Qi was like a mysterious ghost traveling through the mortal world, checking on the conditions of mortals everywhere.

However, no matter how you look at it, these mortals are... very ordinary.

This is not a farming society, but a life of living in pursuit of water and grass. Judging from their appearance, this oasis does not exist all the time, but only exists at this time.

When this oasis runs out of water, they will move to other places.

Li Qi could tell this from their houses. The houses they lived in were not permanent residences, but tents and some structures that could be easily dismantled and taken away.

At the same time, there are also many livestock, obviously nomadic people.

Among these people, there are naturally practitioners, but most of them are around the ninth level, most of them are martial arts, and only a few monks practice the Buddhist path, or...the path to enlightenment.

The strongest person in the entire settlement is an eighth-grade warrior. She is a middle-aged woman called "Mama" by others. She wields two scimitars and is very powerful among the eighth-grade warriors. But in Li Qi's view, It still belongs to the category of mortals, the kind who practice by themselves and rely solely on talent and luck to advance. If they can be promoted to the seventh level, they may be able to come into contact with the world of real practitioners in the world.

In other words, there is no truly systematic practitioner in this settlement.

Li Qi was very, very confused.

It is true that whether ordinary people can embark on the path of spiritual practice actually depends on whether the Taoist tradition is willing to preach.

Take humanity for example. Studying in their academy is completely free, and it is compulsory. Everyone must go through the academy's education, in which the concept of humanity and the corresponding exercises will be transmitted, from cultivation qualifications to exercises and then From teachers to teachers, everything was taken care of by the imperial court.

In other words, as far as humanity is concerned, these residents are inherently aware of the existence of the world of practitioners. Everyone is a part of it, and they don't think there is anything strange about it. Everyone can practice, and as for the cost and resources of practice, they are all There are people who support it through violent plundering outside the entire territory and even within the world.

In Wushen Mountain, whether you can embark on the path of cultivation depends on your luck. Wushen Mountain does not prohibit the spread of any Taoism, even the human Taoism. In theory, you can have access to all Taoisms. As long as the other party is willing to accept you, Wushen Mountain will accept you. Tao does not actively spread, but it will not stop you from practicing, so Li Qi can often see the mountain people who come out to worship as teachers.

Humans and witches are like this, and their natural attitudes are also different. The demon sect is keen on enlightening all things and turning them into monsters, while the Taoist sect is extremely harsh on mortals. It not only prevents other sects from preaching, but is also unwilling to train new people. , it is difficult for mortals living within the scope of Taoism to practice.

Li Qi is still wondering what their talent screening mechanism is. It can't be... none, right?

On the Buddhist side, it's even stranger.

Li Qi had never seen such a strange scene. No one was blocking it. There was really no blocking. Li Qi was roaming around and found that there were actually quite a lot of primitive cultivation traditions in this place.

He saw some shamans who could communicate with spirits. These were actually primitive shamans. However, shamanism had already broken away from this primitive stage and had already advanced. I don’t know how the shaman inheritance here was preserved. .

He also saw a lot of Taoism, not the Taoist kind, but a primitive technique similar to talismans. It was very similar to the prototype of talismans, but it was very different from today's Taoist magic talismans, just like single-celled organisms and blue whales. The difference is the same.

This situation reminded Li Qi of something Shen Shuibi said to him when he and Shen Shuibi first met a long, long time ago.

Preach the word to the world.

Once upon a time, many great traditions decided to spread the word to the whole world, but later a big commotion broke out and they were cancelled. However, this incident caused the fragments of many great traditions to be scattered everywhere, and became a practice that many ordinary people relied on to survive.

In places where it is difficult to access practitioners in Baiyue and Taoist sects, the productivity of ordinary people is almost entirely maintained by the fragments of this technique.

"No, Buddhism is compassionate and very enthusiastic about spreading the Dharma. It builds temples all over the world, but why is it like this on its own territory?" Li Qi muttered to himself, feeling confused.

The whole world knows that Buddhism likes to spread the Dharma. They even take pleasure in spreading the Dharma, so many people regard it as arranging cause and effect.

On the side of the demon clan, they created a Buddha, and later cooperated with the Heavenly Court to forcefully convert a demon clan great sage into a Buddha.

On the other side of the human path, the eminent monk Kashemateng walked to Luoyang alone and built the White Horse Temple. He established the famous "Buddhism in the Middle Kingdom" and spread the Dharma in the Central Plains.

On the Shinto side, Buddhism also has a close relationship with heaven. The legendary four heavenly kings, the king of state-holding, the king of growth, the king of wide eyes, and the king of hearing, are the four great protectors of Buddhism and are also the guardians of the gates of heaven. The boundless magic power will forever guard the gate of heaven, which shows the connection.

There is no need to say more about the true dragons. The Eight Heavenly Dragons are famous, and many dragon kings have become the followers of Buddhism. In the past, Li Qi had seen that visualization map, which contained the thoughts of 5.7 billion true dragons.

Not to mention these, even on the other side of the Taoist sect, they had a high-ranking Bodhisattva who went to worship the Heavenly Lord. He used the method of "Buddhas and immortals also come from the same source, hang a Muni's orb, condense the divine energy, and refine the elixir to achieve the fruition status." Let him achieve the status of Bodhisattva and Immortal at the same time.

In addition, not to mention the entanglement with the devil, the Buddhist scriptures also publicize the weaknesses of the devil and point out the weaknesses of the devil. Even the weaknesses of the four demons are pointed out, and there are methods to solve them.

This style of sowing seeds all over the world, spreading the Dharma everywhere, and wanting to blast a loudspeaker and take to the streets to shout, will they do nothing on their own territory and allow these mortals to grow normally?

Li Qi didn't know what it meant, but after observing it for a few days, he couldn't see anything wrong.

Maybe if you untie the shackles of Zhenzhiyun, you can see something else, but it's not necessary.

These things should be answered when you meet a true Buddhist practitioner.

Li Qi already knew where the Buddhist practitioners here came from. They all got it from an organization called "Ningma".

The Nyingma organization always wears red hats and spreads Buddhism everywhere. Every once in a while, monks from Nyingma will come to such settlements to teach the Dharma. If there are smart people, they can understand the Buddhism and follow the Dharma. On the path of spiritual practice.

Li Qi was not prepared to wait for Ningma in this settlement.

He was ready to take the initiative to find it.