Chapter 1947 - 1947: 1946 Phantom

Tang Lei's hand seemed to have magical powers; the head that was originally in severe pain now felt nothing.

"Father, I'll go find him first. Don't worry, I'll just test the waters, and if anything seems wrong, I'll immediately retreat,"

Tang Rao assured Tang Lei.

He only wanted to tell Tang Lei that he wasn't going for a direct confrontation, at least not now. He would act only when he had the capability.

"Go, you know where he is. Be careful when you go, and in a critical moment, the Divine Stone in your hand can save your life!"

Divine Stone?

Tang Rao only knew to use the Divine Stone when escaping, as it was such a powerful tool, but he didn't realize the Divine Stone itself could save his life.

"Are you talking about this Divine Stone?"

He took out the Divine Stone, which was shimmering with colorful light.

"Yes, as long as you have the Divine Stone, you don't have to fear anything. If you truly find yourself unable to save your life, break the Divine Stone. Remember, unless you can't survive the next second, never break the Divine Stone!"

Tang Lei always left a way out for Tang Rao, which is why he could let him go find the Heavenly Dao with confidence.

He actually wanted to find Heavenly Dao himself, to join forces with Tang Rao, father and son together would be better, right? But upon thinking further, even if connected at heart, helping Tang Rao wouldn't make a difference—they weren't opponents for Heavenly Dao.

Going would be like walking into death, and the Divine Stone could only save one person, so he let Tang Rao go, and he stayed behind.

"Alright, I humbly follow my father's teachings."

Tang Rao set out on the journey with his family's expectations on his shoulders.

Heavenly Dao is called Heavenly Dao because it has always been an ethereal presence. Tang Rao also thought it was so mysterious, never showing its real face, or perhaps it was someone without a face to begin with.

Until Tang Lei told Tang Rao that Heavenly Dao was also human, fearing that people wouldn't submit to him, appearing in the form of the Dao. Ultimately, he is a person, an extraordinary person.

And the place where this person exists was somewhere Tang Rao never imagined.

Peach Blossom Land!

Heavenly Dao has always been in Peach Blossom Land, which means that many times Tang Rao might have passed by Heavenly Dao without realizing who he was.

Peach Blossom Land is on North Island, and finding the way to its entrance isn't easy. But after being led once, he has a better impression of Peach Blossom Land, and even if he can't find the way, there's Li Qi.

As a local born and raised in Peach Blossom Land, Li Qi is extremely familiar with it.

"Li Qi, how is your strength now?"

Tang Rao made an appointment with Li Qi in Illusion City, and the two met directly on the road outside Peach Blossom Land. Li Qi never thought about why he followed just because Tang Rao said one word, and when Tang Rao asked about Li Qi's strength, Li Qi hesitated to answer.

"If you don't want to say, don't say it. It's okay."

Tang Rao hadn't fought with Li Qi for a long time. According to Cha Xiangzi, though he wasn't a cultivator, just had innate divine strength, he was the hardest working one in Kao Shan Sect.

While others trained, he trained hard; while others slept, he trained hard; while others ate, he trained hard.

He wished he could spend all his time practicing. If under such diligent practice, he made no progress at all, then there was no need for him to train hard.

Li Qi had secrets in him. He was from Peach Blossom Land, so was Heavenly Dao. Could there be some peculiarity here?

If there is, what could it be?

No, as long as Li Qi hadn't done anything to harm Tang Rao, Tang Rao should never suspect those around him.

Li Qi was someone Tang Rao brought back, and since he did, he should trust him 100%.

"Boss, if, I mean if one day I had no choice but to harm you, would you forgive me?"

Li Qi didn't answer Tang Rao's question but instead asked Tang Rao one.

"I think I would. You're my brother; who else would I forgive if not you?"

Tang Rao, at least for now, still treated him as a brother.

"Thank you, Boss."

He simply said thank you, then fell silent, keeping his head down, not daring to look Tang Rao in the eye.

Was he really that frightened?

Feeling afraid even before doing anything bad?

With Li Qi around, reaching Peach Blossom Land was a breeze.

"We're here, Boss, be careful yourself."

Whether it was a deliberate reminder or just casually said, ever since doubt arose, Tang Rao became exceptionally sensitive to everything Li Qi said.

"Yes, you be careful too."

Tang Rao remembered he hadn't told Li Qi why he came to the Divine Realm, yet Li Qi called for Tang Rao to be careful, exposing himself, so it couldn't be helped that Tang Rao became cautious.

Tang Rao found an inn, which was hard to come by in Peach Blossom Land as most people were simple farmers and locals. Being able to stay in such a good inn was just Tang Rao's luck.

"Li Qi, you can stay in the room next door, I'll call you if there's anything."

With Li Qi out of sight, Tang Rao could better discover problems, and if Li Qi truly was as Tang Rao imagined, only when he had his own time and space, he could reveal more clues for Tang Rao to uncover.

"Alright, I'll head over first. You rest for now, Boss."

Li Qi left, and once he returned to his room, someone appeared there abruptly.

It wasn't entirely correct to call him a person; a more fitting description was that he was just a shadow, a wisp of smoke, without a physical body.

"Master."

Li Qi said with extreme respect.

No matter when, in front of the master, he was always an obedient slave, and if he didn't listen to the shadow, he would face punishment worse than death.

Such punishment, Li Qi had endured once.

Back when he was young and naive of human wickedness, the shadow told Li Qi that if he followed, he wouldn't have to labor for the rest of his life and would live better than others. He asked if Li Qi was willing.

As a child, what did Li Qi know? Of course, he said he was willing, and because of that one sentence, he could never escape the hold of the Demon for a lifetime.

When Tang Rao appeared, he once suggested to Heavenly Dao that he wanted his own life, not to be used by Heavenly Dao. In retaliation, Heavenly Dao tormented Li Qi for seven days and nights, during which Li Qi considered countless ways to die, but under Heavenly Dao's interference, even death seemed a luxury.

After seven days and nights, when Li Qi woke up, the injuries he sustained seemed nonexistent, but Li Qi knew, those injuries had been concealed by the shadow, invisible to the naked eye, yet they persisted.

The shadow told Li Qi, life is easy, but dying isn't simple.