Walking the Ten Thousand Daos

Chapter 55: Muddled Consciousness

The soldier's footsteps halted.

The man before him... his gaze was terrifying.

Most ordinary people, facing death, would likely feel fear and regret.

But rarely would someone be so fiercely malevolent.

He seemed to see a dying beast, covered in blood, yet determined to bite its enemy one last time even in death.

Indeed... only such people were the most dangerous.

The Little Banner's death was not unjust.

However,

The soldier's eyes narrowed; he wanted to avenge the Little Banner.

Gripping his long saber, he dragged his broken leg, limping towards Li Qi."You bastard... you bastard," he cursed incessantly, as if this could make him ignore Li Qi's gaze and the malevolent saber in his hand.

And Li Qi did not waver in the slightest.

In the dark mountain forest, one was exhausted and immobile, the other gravely injured from falling down a cliff, struggling to move.

A lone moon hung high, reflecting the cold gleam of two long sabers.

"Hah—!" Finally, the soldier let out a loud shout, actually charging with his broken leg!

The exposed bone fragments emitted a grating squeal, an unimaginable pain.

But this pain bought Li Qi's unpreparedness.

Li Qi had never expected the opponent to charge with a broken leg. He was already utterly exhausted; simply holding the saber took all his strength. Facing such a charge, he didn't react in time.

However, Li Qi's body had, after all, been cleansed by divine Qi. Though the suddenness of the event caught him off guard, he quickly adjusted his posture.

Not to dodge, but to hold the saber with both hands, using his trembling hands to squeeze out the last ounce of strength from his entire body, and lift the saber.

A charge could not be easily stopped.

The soldier gritted his teeth, his eyes wide, and barely managed to turn his body sideways, but still drove his long saber into Li Qi's body.

The blade pierced flesh with a thud.

It directly impaled Li Qi.

But at the same time, Li Qi's saber also pierced his opponent.

Even though he wore armor.

But the officer's saber was incredibly sharp, easily piercing through the armor.

After both men plunged their sabers into each other's bodies, they simultaneously released their long sabers.

Although Li Qi's saber was sharp, he had no strength left to twist it within the opponent's body.

While the soldier still had strength, his saber wasn't sharp enough. It was caught by Li Qi's ribs, unable to be twisted or pulled out for the moment.

So, both simultaneously let go, abandoning their sabers.

Then, they embraced each other.

They hadn't forgiven each other. Instead, they used their teeth to bite, and their only remaining, most primitive weapons, their teeth and jaws, to try and inflict even a negligible amount of harm on the other.

Li Qi bit off the opponent's ear, and the opponent savagely tore at Li Qi's neck, drawing blood.

But just then, Li Qi suddenly felt his vision blur.

With a bang, the soldier flew backward.

His face was a bloody mess, several teeth had flown out, his nasal bone was broken, and his entire face was caved in. It was clear he was no longer breathing.

It seemed... he had been kicked squarely in the face by a horse.

Li Qi, already utterly exhausted and having been stabbed, lost consciousness uncontrollably as he suddenly relaxed, his vision turning black.

Only faintly, he saw a horse and a female figure rushing towards him.

"Shen..." He had only managed to utter one syllable before he fainted.

He had only been holding on by a thread; now, with a moment of relaxation, he immediately passed out.

By the time Li Qi woke up, he didn't know how long had passed.

He only knew that he seemed to have regained consciousness.

But it was very blurry, like being half-asleep and half-awake.

Everything before his eyes was indistinct, and he couldn't feel anything in his body.

Oh, he could still feel a little bit.

He felt someone constantly walking around him, but he couldn't make out the figure.

His consciousness also couldn't focus at all. He couldn't even perceive time, unaware if only a second or an hour had passed.

There was a mysterious force, pulling him downwards.

It was as if chains bound his divine soul, wanting to drag him into a bottomless abyss.

He seemed to feel the flames of karma burning beneath him. If he fell into them, he would be beyond redemption.

However, something was holding him back.

The chains beneath the ground seemed to be composed of Qi.

And this Qi, as it approached him, seemed to be weakened.

But he could only barely discern it, never clearly feeling it.

The world before him was like looking through frosted glass. No matter how hard he tried to open his eyes, he couldn't see clearly.

This went on for an unknown period.

Li Qi struggled, exerting all his strength, wanting to shatter this frosted glass.

How to do it? He thought with his remaining consciousness.

Thinking was his instinct.

"Qi..." he murmured. This was the only viable method he recalled from his memory.

What kind of Qi could he use?

He had not a single speck of Qi left in his body.

The Azure Dragon divine Qi and Household God divine Qi were completely depleted.

These divine Qi required sacrifices to obtain.

Was there any Qi that didn't require sacrifices...?

Was there...?

Was there really?

Li Qi used his muddled mind, thinking with all his might.

Although there seemed to be a barrier protecting him, preventing those chains from pulling him down, he felt that this barrier would eventually disappear, and he would ultimately be unable to hold on.

Qi...

Qi...

Wait... what did he rely on to cultivate Wave-Breaking Force?

Wave-Breaking Force was the first cultivation method Li Qi had practiced after coming to this world.

Before, Li Qi had never thought about it.

But now, trapped in this frosted glass box, amidst his muddled state, he suddenly remembered this point.

According to the principles of this world, Wave-Breaking Force... should also have corresponding Qi.

However, it seemed... he had never felt it before.

This seemed to be the only place he might be involved with "Qi."

With this thought, even though he was still half-asleep and half-awake, Li Qi decisively tried it.

He had a premonition that if he didn't resolve this state soon,

He might die.

Wave-Breaking Force... cultivation required holding one's breath and then guiding the muscles within the body.

Wait, guiding the muscles to do what?

Inside the muscles... Shen Shuibi said there was ying Qi, wei Qi...

Wait, when Wave-Breaking Force operated, the ying Qi, wei Qi, and blood Qi seemed to flow in a different direction than usual.

Li Qi used his last bit of subconscious clarity to control his body, attempting to gather a trace of Qi using the methods of Wave-Breaking Force.

Then, he felt it.

His Innate Three Treasures seemed to emerge.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit, wrapped by ying Qi and wei Qi, surfaced.

Under the blessing of this power, the layer of frosted glass before his eyes seemed to gradually develop cracks.

Li Qi's mind also seemed to gradually clear up a little.

It was this tiny bit that allowed him to seize the opportunity, grasping that slight power gathered by Wave-Breaking Force, and fiercely push it into himself, wanting to completely wake up!

Whoosh! It was as if a loud clap of thunder exploded beside his ear. Li Qi suddenly opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

At this moment, he realized he was drenched in sweat!

On his body, Shen Shuibi was lying on top of him.

Her body was warm; this was likely the reason he hadn't suffered hypothermia from the cold.

There was just one other issue.

For example, it was a bit soft.

(Chapter End)