At this moment, Shen Shuibei sat in her cave residence.
Around her were several Taiji discs, surrounded by countless yin-yang trigrams.
These formed a Dunjia configuration with Jiazi Wu in Li, Jiaxu Ji in Kan, Jiaxin Geng in Kun, Jiamao Xin in Zhen, Jiachen Ren in Xun, and Jiatong Gui in the central palace, forming a pattern of six instruments arranged in sequence.
Yi Qi was in Gen, Bing Qi in Dui, Ding Qi in Qian, with three oddities arranged in reverse order.
If someone knowledgeable were present, they would recognize this as a Qimen disc.
It was based on the Luo Shu Nine Palaces as a framework, establishing an information processing system that created a scaffold for information to rely upon.
The three oddities and six instruments, representing heavenly stems, are the basic structure of Daoist five-element techniques. In the Qimen disc, earthly branches are also distributed among the nine palaces, serving as markers for temporal and spatial information.
In other words, it was a computational center integrating symbolic mathematics and the five-element system, capable of handling large amounts of information processing.
Shen Shuibei was manipulating this device, with the constantly shifting yin-yang trigrams around her recording the information she inputted.
This was what she intended to do.
To organize the Daoist principles in her mind to offset and repay part of the karma.
This work had just begun, so she appeared very focused and busy, continuously rotating and tapping the Taiji discs, outputting information in the form of eight trigram symbols.
Until now, she was unaware of what was happening outside.
After all, events unfolded suddenly, and no one informed her.
True combatants were dealing with the Kunpeng.
As for the remaining weak and injured, they either stayed at their posts or went to intercept Li Qi.
Luo Fu Mountain had few remaining hands, even fewer combat-capable ones. Now, only a few hundred weak and injured individuals remained, making it hard to spare more people.
So, she was temporarily unaware.
But she still had keen perception.
After processing some data, she sensed something... quite noisy outside.
This puzzled Shen Shuibei. She paused her work, stood up, patted her skirt, and walked out of her cave residence.
"Wait, that voice is... Li Qi's?" Her ears twitched.
Rabbits have sensitive hearing, after all.
But upon hearing this voice, her first reaction wasn't to rush out but to shrink back, taking a few steps backward.
She didn't know why.
Perhaps because...
She dared not meet Li Qi.
What would she say? How could she say it?
Ask him to leave?
No, impossible.
She couldn't do it.
Shen Shuibei had always been a soft person, gentle and timid, afraid to speak, introverted and socially anxious, preferring to retreat into her own world to quietly do what she liked.
Deciding to shoulder many burdens was already the extent of her courage.
If Li Qi truly came...
To ask him to leave.
Absolutely impossible...
Just thinking about it made her terrified.
Shen Shuibei felt extremely panicked, stepping back and sitting on a chair.
If Li Qi really came, how should she speak to him?
Tell him not to associate with each other anymore?
She couldn't say that; she herself didn't want to say it.
But besides that, what else could she say?
If she continued associating with him, how would Luo Fu Mountain position itself? Should she actively side with Luo Fu Mountain? Or simply join Wu Deity Mountain?
If Luo Fu Mountain had its own foundation, like a tree with complete roots, standing firm, there would be no fear.
But now it wasn't the case.
A dilemma.
She began to resent her weakness.
"Useless... Jade, you're really useless..." she muttered, grabbing her hair in frustration.
Then, shaking her head, she stood up abruptly, pacing back and forth in the room, then sat back at the Taiji discs, attempting to continue her work.
But her previous smooth flow of thoughts wouldn't return. Her mind was filled with fear, cowardice, self-reproach. Her hands on the Taiji discs couldn't input any information.
Thus, she stood up again, pacing around her cave residence.
She didn't understand why she did this; she didn't want to search for anything—she merely wanted to engage in some superficial activity to dispel her troubled thoughts.
After pacing for a while, she sat down again, covering her face with her hands.
She couldn't control her wandering thoughts, becoming increasingly agitated, almost losing her sanity.
For a few seconds, she hated being born into Luo Fu Mountain.
But immediately realized it had nothing to do with Luo Fu Mountain.
She blamed Li Qi.
Without Li Qi, there wouldn't be such a dilemma.
However, she knew this choice was purely hers, unrelated to Li Qi.
Ultimately, she could only blame herself.
Fortunately, she could blame herself.
Luckily, she could blame herself.
In this situation, solitude was better; suffering alone was easier.
The more she felt this pain, the more she understood her current weakness.
Weakness was the root of everything.
Only mortals were troubled by such distress; she was thoroughly mortal, unable to control her own thoughts.
Long ago, she often fell into such pain.
But later, with Lady Luo Fu, she no longer felt distressed.
Her unease, her agitation, the tight anxiety that twisted her heart, all relaxed when Lady Luo Fu was beside her.
Only when Lady Luo Fu watched her, spoke to her, did her heart remain calm.
Now... Lady Luo Fu was asleep.
Two years ago, she similarly fell into fear.
Back then, appearing before her... was Li Qi.
Just as mentioned before, the rabbit never realized she was never alone.
Once in Luo Fu Grotto-Heaven, there was Lady Luo Fu.
Before, there was Li Qi.
In Guangyang, she left Li Qi for a period, feeling similar anxiety.
But Shen Shuibei never realized this.
Her Dao heart was already disordered.
At that time, knowing she could find Li Qi, she searched desperately, then contentedly leaned on him, doing what she loved, entering a state of blissful numbness, almost falling asleep.
If Lady Luo Fu awakened and watched her now, she would see Shen Shuibei's current state.
Since childhood, this girl was weak, like a dodder plant, unable to live independently.
Now, she relied on two incompatible trees.
Luo Fu Mountain and Li Qi were in conflict, requiring time to reconcile.
Wu Deity Mountain thoughtfully planned to wait a century before communication, reducing the sharpness of the conflict.
Unfortunately, Li Qi's premonition was correct.
Letting Shen Shuibei, who only knew research and record-keeping, spend a century alone, would certainly lead to her demise.
How much would her true spirit decline? How long could her lifespan last?
Deadlock.
Like a key locked inside a door.
To open the door, you need the key.
But the key is inside the door.
Allowing Luo Fu Mountain to slowly lower its guard requires time.
But Shen Shuibei had no time; waiting for Luo Fu Mountain to lower its guard would be too late.
Unless, the severely wounded Luo Fu Mountain could sincerely believe Wu Deity Mountain had no ill intentions.
How simple could that be?
For example, Luo Fu Grotto-Heaven is like a weak woman knowing the location of a great treasure, being pursued.
Wu Deity Mountain took her in, everyone knowing Wu Deity Mountain's goal was the treasure, saving her for that reason.
Under such circumstances, what could convince Luo Fu Grotto-Heaven not to be wary?
Impossible, trust can only be built over time.
Frightened birds need time to calm down.
Thus, the Great Elder stopped Zhu Fengdan from coming, suggesting waiting a century.
From both Luo Fu Grotto-Heaven and Wu Deity Mountain's perspectives, waiting a century was best.
But from Li Qi's perspective, it wasn't.
Li Qi didn't care about the bigger picture.
A century later, everything would be too late! His intuition told him Shen Shuibei might encounter trouble in a century!
That's why he decided to take action.
Various reasons aside, let's focus on Shen Shuibei's anguish as time passed.
A quarter of an hour passed.
Shen Shuibei's ears twitched.
Outside...
Silent?
Did Li Qi leave?
Feeling a mix of loss and relief.
Perhaps... this was for the best.
Standing up, patting her face, pretending to be nonchalant, she lightly tapped to deactivate the cave residence's restrictions.
Opening the restriction, opening a path to the outside.
Shen Shuibei walked out, her heart skipping a beat.
The silence wasn't due to the noise stopping but because her cave residence was surrounded by 'Youkun Du Yun'.
A commonly used technique, meaning "a lone kund bird enjoys solitude," isolates all sounds and shields the surroundings to achieve tranquility.
Without sound, things weren't truly over.
Instead, Li Qi set up 'Youkun Du Yun' around her cave residence.
Yes.
Li Qi stood seventy meters away from her cave entrance.
Looking... very painful.
Bearing heavy shackles, even magical artifacts pierced into his body, stuck in his bones.
Behind him, dozens of Daoists performed various techniques—Mountain Sealing Imprints, Soul Binding Locks, Demon Binding Fly Whisks—all kinds of restraining methods covered his body, leaving almost no exposed skin except his head.
He endured countless Luo Fu Mountain attacks without harming anyone, climbing forty miles under heavy suppression.
Yet, he wore a satisfied smile.
Because Shen Shuibei came out.
He knew this foolish rabbit would be lured out by this trick.
Li Qi ceased resistance, throwing all the proposal letters toward Shen Shuibei, then gave up fighting.
Relaxing, he was dragged down the mountain by the Daoists.
Dragged twenty miles away by chains and fly whisks!
Then, slammed onto the ground.
A seventh-rank Daoist flew over, angrily chanting: "Heaven as image, earth as appearance. Transforming pavilions, summoning jailers, setting eyes, turning iron beds, thousand-jun locks, ten-thousand jun rods, imprisoning demons, swiftly as law commands!"
A golden tower rose.
With vermilion pillars and purple walls, violet beams adorned with dragons.
Green carvings, yellow beams.
Gold and jade decorations, splendid rooms.
Twelve stories high, thirty meters tall.
Pressing Li Qi firmly beneath it!
This Daoist exorcism spell, meant to restrain evil, was used on Li Qi.
Another eighth-rank Daoist hurriedly flew to Shen Shuibei, anxiously asking: "Lady Mid-Month! Was the villain able to harm you?!"
He seemed very worried, despite his own injuries.
Everyone knew Shen Shuibei was severely injured and bore the responsibility of organizing documents.
But his old wounds weren't inflicted by Li Qi.
In fact, Li Qi hadn't harmed anyone in Luo Fu Mountain.
All sixth-rank and above faced the Kunpeng, while others tried to intercept the young master.
Enduring heavy pressure, he advanced forty miles in a quarter of an hour.
Hard to imagine how he did it, evident from the shocked expressions of all Daoists present.
Holding the red letter, Shen Shuibei didn't look at it, instead asking hoarsely, "What... happened just now?"
"This brat bullied us, intending to humiliate Luo Fu Mountain, forcibly marrying... Lady Mid-Month, claiming she already knew, utterly absurd! We've captured him, though he was incredibly stubborn, nearly defeating several seventh-ranks, barely restrained until here, disturbing Lady Mid-Month."
Saying this, he angrily complained to Shen Shuibei, "Lady, Wu Deity Mountain covets our treasures, harboring ill intentions, humiliating us now. Why should we stay here?"
Shen Shuibei ignored the latter part, asking, "How is he?"
The Daoist, confused, answered, "Being a Wu Deity Mountain heir, seniors likely didn't kill him—"
Before finishing, he saw Shen Shuibei suddenly speed toward the exorcism tower.
Unusually urgent, unlike her usual elegance, confusing the reporting Daoists.
Twenty miles away, Shen Shuibei needed some time to reach.
Before she arrived, fire erupted from another peak, smashing into the exorcism tower where Li Qi was.
"You! Scoundrel!" Yang Ning's furious voice echoed sixty miles, shattering the exorcism tower, then stomping on Li Qi's back.
Well-known,
Solar essence Yang Ning has an extremely fiery temperament.