“A?” Hualun blankly withdrew his gaze from surveying the surroundings, doubting if he had heard correctly.
How could he just say he’s leaving? Could it be that the precious extraterrestrial stone they cherished so much held no allure for him? Or was Meng simply demonstrating extraordinary integrity?
Of course, he didn’t know that the person opposite had already “absorbed” the most valuable residual essence from the stone. Although the remaining traces could still be contemplated, they were utterly meaningless to Meng Qi.
Meng Qi replied earnestly, “I originally had urgent matters requiring a night journey, which enabled me to meet you, Master Hua, in that desolate temple on the mountain. Now that this matter is resolved, I cannot afford any further delay.”
He casually tossed the extraterrestrial stone back to Hualun.
Hualun caught the stone and truly realized Meng Qi indeed had no desire for it. Deeply moved and admiringly, he said, “Master Meng, in my entire life, you are the only one who truly deserves the title of ‘chivalrous.’ Valuing righteousness over profit, you traveled through the night to help a complete stranger, facing ferocious evil with ten steps into battle, displaying boundless heroism. Yet after accomplishing your task, you simply leave, concealing your identity and fame.”
You’re welcome, just call me a Young Pioneer… Upon hearing the familiar phrase “concealing your identity and fame,” Meng Qi couldn’t help but inwardly quip, “Master Hua, your praise is excessive.”
Hualun solemnly performed a deep bow, “Thank you, sir, for aiding our sect in retrieving the stone and clearing our unjust accusation. In the future, if you have any need, our sect will be at your service.”
Meng Qi calmly accepted the bow and added thoughtfully, “Since Luo Sect believes this extraterrestrial stone holds further secrets, they certainly won’t give up easily. Experts will surely come again; you must be extra cautious.”
“The Luo Sect is mysterious, ruthless, and has many experts, making them almost impossible to guard against,” Hualun sighed, his face showing worry. “Unless we can request an elder from my sect to personally oversee matters.”
For the Luo Sect, dispatching an expert at the Outer Scenery level was effortless, and no one among the “Three Mountains and Four Rivers” could stop them.
This was exactly what Meng Qi wanted to hear. Smiling, he said, “The Luo Sect is one of the nine heretical sects. Every righteous sect should unite to eliminate them. Although Zhen Yi Sect is cautious due to the sect’s powerful leaders like the Dharma King and Divine Envoys, the Zhenwu Sect fears them not. If they learn that Luo Sect experts are coming here, they will certainly wish to eradicate evil and defend justice. Then, setting a trap to catch them would serve as a lesson to the Luo Sect. This would also strengthen the relationship between your sect and the Zhenwu Sect. With their protection, you won’t have to fear retaliation from the Luo Sect in the future.”
Seizing the opportunity, he wanted to set a trap for Gu Xiaosang.
“Your words make sense,” Hualun nodded thoughtfully, but then furrowed his brows. “In three days, the contest will be held, and I have no confidence in defeating Huang Yun.”
Meng Qi comforted him, “Actually, there’s nothing to worry about. The martial arts you’ve learned from the extraterrestrial stone are already enough for you to digest for years. Greed will only lead to indigestion. In the future, if the Qinshan Sword Sect ‘loses’ the stone, you can demand compensation from them.”
Choosing Zhen Yi Sect was also an option, but it would violate the agreement between the two sects.
Hualun nodded slightly, his worries fading, “Indeed, I was too greedy. If we act this way, the Qinshan Sword Sect, concerned about their reputation, would be reluctant to let the stone ‘disappear.’ If it truly does go missing, they will have to give us an explanation.”
“Therefore, you should cast aside your worries and anxieties, and fully enjoy your battle with Huang Yun, giving your utmost performance,” Meng Qi encouraged.
If Hualun could let go of his burdens and be free of mental vulnerabilities, facing Huang Yun, who was already burdened by failed schemes and filled with concerns, he might still have a chance to win.
Anyway, Meng Qi would let matters develop naturally without forcing outcomes. If he could trap Gu Xiaosang, that would be great. If not, it wouldn’t matter much. Above all, he must not get himself entangled.
After bowing again in gratitude, Hualun said, “I won’t delay your journey any further, Master Meng.”
Meng Qi pushed off with his feet, flying sideways onto a boat, laughing loudly, “Till we meet again, Master Hua. Remember to buy the boatman his fare.”
The small boat floated downstream. Standing at the bow, Meng Qi gazed at the undulating waves ahead. Recalling the events of the night, he felt cheerful and heroic, reciting aloud, “The vigor of youth, befriending the bravest in the land. With open hearts and bristling hair, in an instant, life and death become one. A promise worth a thousand pieces of gold…”
Standing at the dock, watching Meng Qi drift away on the boat and hearing the distant poetry, Hualun murmured to himself, “With open hearts and bristling hair, in an instant, life and death become one. A promise worth a thousand pieces of gold…”
A surge of heroism arose in his heart, and he couldn’t help exclaiming, “Master Meng is truly a great hero!”
…
The cold moon hung high, its glow spilling onto the river surface, creating silver undulations and rippling water, a breathtaking sight.
After expressing his heroic feelings, Meng Qi was about to admire the beauty before him when suddenly, a distant and melodious flute sound reached his ears. It was winding and sorrowful, like weeping and lamenting, thread by thread, seemingly drilling into the heart.
Surprised, Meng Qi turned back and saw a small boat emerging from the darkness by the riverbank. Standing at the bow was a white-robed girl. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, her demeanor ethereal and distant, her clothes fluttering in the wind. In her hand was an emerald jade flute, her pink lips pressed against its mouthpiece, producing a melodious and mournful tune, as if narrating her inner grievances and emotions.
The scene was like a celestial fairy descending into the mortal world, gentle and tender, as beautiful as a painting.
Yet Meng Qi’s expression shifted abruptly. His right hand darted out, seizing the hilt of his sword. With a sharp tearing sound, he ripped open his bundle, pulled out the Red Sun Exorcism Saber, and raised his left hand, brandishing the Ice Gate Sword as he assumed an offensive stance. Golden light swirled around him like a descending Vajra, utterly devoid of any ethereal grace, leaving only an overwhelming and indomitable aura.
Oh no, the atmosphere is off again! Good thing no one else saw! Meng Qi gathered his essence and energy, speaking calmly, “Miss Xiaosang, it’s been a while, are you well?”
The white-robed girl was none other than Gu Xiaosang, the Holy Maiden of the Luo Sect, ranked fourth on the Human List!
If she was here all along, why didn’t she act?
Thinking thus, Meng Qi assessed his significantly improved strength and the vast river surface, feeling confident in escaping if needed.
Gu Xiaosang removed her pink lips from the flute, casting a starry gaze filled with grievance at Meng Qi, “Husband, you came all the way here but refused to see me. How could I be well?”
Husband… Every time we meet, the title gets more intimate. Next time, will she call me the father of her child? Meng Qi’s face twitched slightly. This psychiatric patient was truly hard to understand!
Without waiting for Meng Qi’s reply, Gu Xiaosang sighed, “Upon learning that the extraterrestrial stones obtained by Zengxian Sect and Qinshan Sword Sect contained traces of Thunder God’s blood, I immediately traveled across mountains and rivers to come here, dispatching my subordinates to seize the stone to please my husband. I didn’t expect you to come here as well. Well then, if you want to take it yourself, go ahead. I won’t interfere. But husband, why leave in such a hurry, unwilling to see me even once?”
Although she had neither revealed herself nor acted, remaining unknown even to Huang Yun and others, her personal presence indicated the stone’s great significance to her, possibly related to the Nine Heavens ruins. Yet she allowed him to obtain the Thunder God’s inheritance without any hint to her subordinates along the way, which was extremely abnormal… Meng Qi’s mind raced with questions.
Could it be that only those bearing the Thunder God’s mark could obtain the inheritance? Was Gu Xiaosang’s seizing of the extraterrestrial stone merely a plan to “give” it to him subtly?
Only this could explain her strange behavior of not acting before and now approaching… Perhaps opening the Nine Heavens ruins required the heir of the Thunder God, the former chief among the gods under the Heavenly Emperor, and even reaching a certain level or mastering a specific move…
Meng Qi’s thoughts solidified, yet his vigilance and fighting spirit remained. In front of Gu Xiaosang, any carelessness could lead to death. He was already prepared to unleash his full power, attack as defense, and seek an opportunity to dive into the river and escape.
“The Nine Heavens ruins require someone bearing the Thunder God’s mark and inheritance?” Meng Qi directly confronted the issue.
Gu Xiaosang’s lips curved into a smile, her dimples faintly visible, the grievance instantly vanishing, as if a bewitching demoness had appeared, “This extraterrestrial stone contains only a drop of Thunder God’s blood, with incomplete true essence, probably not even a complete move. Indeed, how easily could a divine martial art at the Dharma Body level be obtained?”
Regarding Meng Qi’s question, she neither denied nor confirmed but shifted to another topic.
“A divine martial art at the Dharma Body level?” Meng Qi’s eyes sharpened. Although he had previously guessed, hearing Gu Xiaosang confirm it still filled him with shock.
“Do you not know ‘Shenxiao Jiulie’?” Gu Xiaosang asked with a smile.
Among the redemption lists of the Master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, there were many divine martial arts at the Dharma Body level. When would I have time to read them all? Meng Qi shook his head, “No.”
“‘Shenxiao Jiulie’ is the ultimate martial art of the ancient Thunder God, unparalleled in its ferocity. Even in the Mythical Era, it ranked among the top,” Gu Xiaosang inserted the jade flute at her waist and continued, “Especially the last move among the nine, where extreme destruction gives birth to a trace of creation, leading to endless life and self-contained transformation, rivaling the Heavenly Emperor’s Jade Book or the Tathagata’s Divine Palm, fully deserving the title of a supreme martial art.”
“However, the Thunder God was a natural deity. From his initial birth until the Ancient Mythical Era, all his divine abilities and powers originated from nature. Even when he eventually returned to simplicity, merging everything into one to create ‘Shenxiao Jiulie,’ it was merely a set of moves, lacking a true method for self-cultivation. Thus, even if you fully mastered ‘Shenxiao Jiulie,’ without possessing the ancient Thunder God’s body, you couldn’t unleash its full power. Hence, the Master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation placed ‘Shenxiao Jiulie’ among the Dharma Body martial arts.”
Meng Qi remained silent, inwardly thinking that the excessively fragmented “Heavenly Five Thunder Strike” he had just comprehended should be one of the moves from “Shenxiao Jiulie.”
Gu Xiaosang sighed softly, “In fact, the true Thunder God inheritance was obtained during the Middle Ancient Era by an unnamed person who discovered the ancient Thunder Pool and the Thunder God’s body, acquiring the complete ‘Shenxiao Jiulie.’ Using the former two, he forged a terrifying Thunder Blade. It was the only supreme divine weapon born after the Mythical Era.”
“He comprehended ‘Shenxiao Jiulie,’ creating his own supreme martial art, self-proclaiming as the Overlord, going against the world, challenging sects and aristocratic families alone. Those who followed him would flourish; those who opposed him would perish. He dominated an entire generation.”
“Unfortunately, he was eventually tricked by the head of the Jiangdong Wang Clan of that generation, who used his beloved as bait, gathering all the Dharma Body-level experts and above from sects, aristocratic families, orthodox, and heretical factions at the time, setting a trap to kill him.”
“The Overlord, knowing the trap, still went alone for the sake of his beloved. This battle killed off most Dharma Body-level experts of the Middle Ancient Era, leaving only a few survivors and casting a shadow for millennia until the Demon Buddha emerged. The Overlord self-destructed, leaving only the World-Annihilating Thunder Blade, which his beloved took and named ‘Overlord’s Final Blade.'”
“Husband, if one day I am trapped by others, would you still come to save me like the Overlord, knowing the extreme danger?”
Meng Qi, still filled with excitement, imagining the Overlord’s heroic figure, was caught off guard by Gu Xiaosang’s final question, his mouth twitching. What kind of question was that!
“So, to obtain the complete ‘Shenxiao Jiulie,’ besides redemption, one must find the ‘Overlord’s Final Blade’?” Meng Qi asked gravely.
The Master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation’s records also mentioned missing characters!
Gu Xiaosang smiled faintly, “The Overlord’s beloved was the ‘Xuannü’ of the Suzhen Sect at that time, so naturally, the Overlord’s Final Blade is within the Suzhen Sect.”
The Suzhen Sect, one of the nine heretical sects! Meng Qi’s eyes sharpened. Was this woman inciting him?
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