The Eternal Way-Chapter 126: Suddenly Falling into a Trap

The car moved at a very slow pace.

The technology in the Earth Oil Realm wasn't as advanced as on Earth, and wireless communication had only just begun to emerge.

Thus, it took Li Qi and his companions several days to reach the territory of the Polar Industrial Company.

As soon as they disembarked, they were greeted by an icy landscape.

Indeed, this was the polar region.

Fortunately, everyone possessed cultivation and was unafraid of the cold.

However, this was still a city. Li Qi and his group had merely alighted outside the city walls. The surroundings were filled with buildings, yet there wasn't a soul in sight—likely evacuated beforehand.

The moment they landed, Li Qi sensed a massive surge of Spiritual Essence rushing toward him.

He immediately drew his willow branch and swung it through the air!

With a sharp crack, the surrounding energy that had been closing in recoiled, startled by the sound of the whip.

Li Qi naturally understood why.

His willow branch contained the aura of the Grand Diviner. Although the weapon was only at the eighth rank, for disciples of Wu Dao, such an artifact could inspire awe.

After one lash, Li Qi shouted, "Junior apprentice, why don't you show yourself?"

By addressing the other party as a junior apprentice, he gained the upper hand.

If they acknowledged each other as senior and junior apprentices, according to the etiquette of Wu Dao, the other party would have to defer to him.

"Haha, how long have you been part of the sect to dare call me junior apprentice? Why don't we compare our lineages and rankings?" At this moment, a figure appeared on the road not far away.

Shen Shuibì glanced over and said to Li Qi, "It's fake."

Li Qi turned to Bai Di and said, "Bai Di, go."

"Master's command cannot be disobeyed," Bai Di replied.

Then, he struck.

His sword unsheathed with a whoosh!

Like a white swan sweeping across the sky, graceful yet deadly, the figure that emerged was instantly sliced apart!

Only after the figure shattered could one hear the explosive sounds echoing in the air.

Bai Di was a genius Martial Dao cultivator who was almost at the eighth rank, his strength within the ninth rank reaching its peak.

He only needed to comprehend the divine intent of Martial Dao to advance to the eighth rank.

However, after the figure shattered, countless figures emerged from the surrounding buildings.

All looked identical.

They were all ordinary-looking individuals.

This place was filled with Outer Path illusions!

"Haha! Junior apprentice, attacking right away, didn't you say you wanted to negotiate? If you're afraid, just admit it, or maybe negotiation is just an excuse, and you intended to strike first? Full of schemes and tricks?" The countless figures spoke simultaneously, their voices reverberating through the buildings.

This diviner was confident.

Using Humanism to create crowd illusions and adding causal interference, a ninth-rank Wu practitioner couldn't possibly discern them.

If the opponent couldn't find them, they'd already scored a point. Either admit inferiority and fall into more traps, or resort to brute force to break the situation.

Brute force would bring disgrace and further restrictions by his other setups.

At that point, victory would be assured.

He smiled, watching everything unfold.

But unexpectedly, Shen Shuibì whispered, "Observing the texture, smooth and soft, neither rushed nor impatient, yet internally inconsistent, the overall formation resembles a spear throw, tense like a taut string, so it's clear, all are fake. In this case, follow the flow and return to the origin; this illusion array's hiding spot is there."

"All are fake, the real one is there," Shen Shuibì summarized, then marked the spot for Bai Di using Dao techniques.

Bai Di nodded in thanks, then sword shadows flew!

Suddenly, a shadow emerged in the air!

The shadow was identical to Bai Di, also holding a sword, appearing behind him and slashing down fiercely!

Bai Di deftly dodged the shadow's blade, gently deflecting the downward slash with his sword while stepping forward, kneeing into the shadow's groin, instantly closing the distance and colliding with the shadow, simultaneously tripping the shadow's calf.

The shadow was hit in the chest by Bai Di's shoulder and stumbled, but quickly reacted, wielding his sword to fend off Bai Di's attack, supporting himself with one hand, kneeling on one knee, rolling backward to stand up again, retreating and assuming a stance.

"What is this?" Bai Di frowned.

Meanwhile, the sword-wielding shadow launched another attack.

Bai Di couldn't ignore such attacks, though reluctant, he had no choice but to engage.

Sword shadows clashed, clanging continuously, both sides fighting fiercely without a clear winner.

"Shadow? Ah, this spell is called "Jing"," Shen Shuibì recognized it immediately.

"What's that?" Li Qi asked.

For now, Bai Di seemed safe, but the opponent's methods were still unclear.

"Jing means mirror. Ancient books mention it's your Wu Dao technique. The Si Xuan clan used mirrors to gather moonlight for rituals," Shen Shuibì explained.

"His spell uses projection from the moon to create a duplicate of the opponent," she continued.

"How do we counter it?" After Shen Shuibì finished, Li Qi asked.

She whispered the solution into his ear.

Li Qi nodded approvingly, then extended his hand, releasing a stream of wood qi.

This thread of wood qi came from the springtime Azure Dragon aura.

Then, he ignited it with a trace of Vermilion Bird aura.

Fiery energy, refined by wooden chimes.

The dragon star, essence of wood, appears in spring in the east. Heart governs fire, thus it forbids fire.

Late spring wood qi emerges at Chen, igniting flames.

Such fiery energy could disrupt the clear mirror.

Li Qi performed the spell, using wood qi to guide fire qi, instantly illuminating the surroundings. The shadow dissipated, and the clear mirror was disrupted.

This was the art of combat, mutually deploying techniques to counter each other's spells.

Because both Li Qi and the opposing diviner knew that once a spell took effect, the outcome would be decided instantly.

They both wielded Wu Shen Shan techniques, immensely powerful.

However, Li Qi glanced at Shen Shuibì with a smile.

With her present, combat felt like having a cheat code. Her keen insights made them virtually unbeatable.

With the shadow dispelled, Bai Di was free to act.

Seizing the opportunity, he rushed to the marked focal point, his sword gleaming like a needle piercing a balloon, breaking the illusion.

Countless figures collapsed, and the illusion vanished.

Seeing this, Li Qi shouted, "Junior apprentice, still want to fight? What other tricks do you have? Bring them all out!"

"Don't call me junior apprentice." The diviner emerged, face dark.

"Your abilities are too weak to be my senior apprentice. I thought you were at least ninth rank, but you haven't even reached a rank, relying entirely on that woman to break the situation," he walked out, looking identical to before: "Why not rely on your own strength to compete with me?"

Li Qi laughed mockingly, "Envious?"

He deliberately hugged Shen Shuibì to show intimacy.

Shen Shuibì didn't resist, but looked worriedly at Li Qi.

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Her expression truly showed concern.

But Li Qi didn't notice.

He released her and stepped forward, "So, junior apprentice, talking from afar hurts your throat. Why not step closer and sit down to talk?"

"Still fake," Shen Shuibì warned, "but this time, there's a real entity inside."

"Bai Di," Li Qi instructed.

Bai Di nodded, swinging his hand down sharply.

The sword flew out.

This time, it was a flying sword.

The sword shot forth, its qi like thunder, its intent sweeping across, transforming into a giant beast in the air, mouth containing jade, body clad in armor, activating a trace of divine aura!

This sword was a magical artifact, bestowed by the Bai family—a ninth-rank Jiezhi Sword, containing a trace of Jiezhi divine aura.

Jiezhi, a divine beast, has bright eyes capable of distinguishing loyalty from treachery, symbolizing clarity.

Its horn stands unbending, symbolizing righteousness.

This was a sword of clarity and righteousness, targeting and striking true.

Upon hearing Shen Shuibì mention 'there's a real entity inside,' Bai Di realized the complexity and attacked with the sword's qi-formed beast instead of risking personal involvement.

"Master, can't keep pretending!" The illusion shouted, bursting open. A person emerged, enveloped in Humanistic fortune, pushing back the Jiezhi Sword with full force.

The Jiezhi Sword was pushed away but curved back, aiming at the target again.

Bai Di immediately engaged, battling fiercely.

Buildings crumbled, chaos ensued.

But at this moment, Li Qi began to take the initiative.

He sensed the diviner's location.

After the illusion broke, the progress bar clearly indicated the enemy's position.

Thus, Li Qi took action.

"Tch..." The diviner spat.

"Today, you won unfairly, relying on that woman," he said, and... ran away.

Yes, he ran away.

Li Qi clearly saw a world gate open, allowing the diviner to leave the realm.

Diviners weren't suited for direct combat, especially against a Wu practitioner skilled in Martial Dao. Facing him directly was foolish, so running away made sense.

Li Qi stood stunned.

Did he win?

On the other side, the ninth-rank humanist had been slain by Bai Di's sword.

Bai Di was far stronger, equipped with a magical artifact, making the result unsurprising.

"Haha, indeed, I didn't even use my trump card and won," Li Qi boasted, looking pleased.

Even this diviner wasn't a match for him.

"Bai Di! Well done, prepare the car, let's go back!" Li Qi happily ordered.

Bai Di complied.

Soon, the world was abuzz.

Polar Industrial Company had fallen, absorbed by Zhang Industrial Company.

Li Qi and his group received grand hospitality.

Zhang Industrial Company's CEO advanced to the eighth rank, and Li Qi was treated as a distinguished guest.

Everyone in the world knew Li Qi's name.

But Li Qi paid little attention to Zhang Le's eighth rank, knowing he had limited potential, unlike himself, with vast prospects ahead.

Even the Heavenly Dao of this world was under his control.

In this world, he was invincible.

A week later, Li Qi sat atop a skyscraper.

The view was splendid, decorated lavishly, with a rooftop pool.

Having just completed his cultivation, Li Qi relaxed on a lounge chair, standing alone on the rooftop.

"Bai Di, get me some water," Li Qi gestured.

But Bai Di didn't respond.

Li Qi was puzzled.

Usually, Bai Di responded promptly. What happened now?

Feeling annoyed, he stood up, shouting, "Bai Di! What's going on!"

But no one answered.

Standing up, Li Qi suddenly felt dizzy.

Where were the servants? Even if not Bai Di, others should be attending him.

Where was Shen Shuibì? Where was the rabbit?

Wait, why was there no sun on the horizon?

Questions flooded his mind.

At this moment, a sigh echoed from the horizon.

Li Qi noticed a piece of paper suddenly appear on the nearby table.

He picked it up and read the words:

"When did you start calling Bai Di by name instead of Brother Bai?"

Reading this, Li Qi was drenched in cold sweat.

When did he start calling Bai Di by name?

When did he become so arrogant?

Realizing this, Li Qi felt like being doused with cold water.

When did it start?

Was it when he became an apprentice of the Grand Diviner?

Or after witnessing battles between demon kings?

And when did he start consulting Shen Shuibì for every issue? During the last battle, he barely used his brain, simply giving orders and asking questions.

No, this wasn't him!

Who gave this reminder?

Li Qi suddenly recalled all the oddities he had experienced.

Was it all due to arrogance?

Arrogance was his weakness.

It clouded his judgment.

He had truly started viewing himself as a high-and-mighty 'young master,' not treating others as equals.

Even Shen Shuibì, he had begun to look down upon.

How dared he? How could he have such arrogance?

Drenched in cold sweat, Li Qi immediately sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and reflected.

These weren't real.

But the looks Shen Shuibì gave him during the illusion replayed in his mind.

The current anomalies couldn't be attributed to the illusion itself.

Regardless, this technique must have targeted his recent arrogance.

Smooth sailing, adoration from various deities, beautiful women by his side, and the entire world bowing to him as 'young master.'

Hadn't these experiences made him somewhat complacent?

"This is my weakness... my recent arrogance?" Li Qi learned his lesson and began reflecting.

There was still time to correct it.