When it came to sword techniques that did not involve cosmic changes yet approached the Dao’s principles, the first that came to Meng Qi’s mind was the “Heavenly Blade!” The “Heavenly Blade” Song Que, having grasped the technique yet transcended it, had reached the ultimate mastery of blade art, effortlessly manifesting exquisite moves. Occasionally, an apparently ordinary slash would contain indescribable variations, as if merging with heaven and earth, akin to the realm of the Solitary Saber’s Sword.
The difference was that the Solitary Saber’s Sword focused on exploiting an opponent’s openings, unpredictable and divine, while the “Heavenly Blade” emphasized the user’s own momentum, dominating and terrifying.
Each fully expressed certain characteristics of blades and swords, yet with completely different styles, much like the complementary pairing of yin and yang in a broader sense, and could even transform into each other at any time.
This realization became especially significant to Meng Qi after his duel with Yao Xiaogui. If he truly wanted to master both blade and sword in the future, he would have to consider his choices carefully. Of course, if he fully grasped the principles of both blade and sword, he could wield them freely and effortlessly. Unfortunately, he was still far from such a realm. Even his master Jiang Zhiwei and Su Wuming would not dare to boast such confidence.
“I’ll go with the Heavenly Blade!” Frankly speaking, Meng Qi didn’t know many blade techniques—most were worthless, and only a few were powerful and fierce, belonging to the Outer Scenery level. Among the techniques suitable for the Qi-Opening stage, only a handful impressed him, and compared to techniques like the Eight Methods from the Well, the “Heavenly Blade,” which transcended form, method, and even the blade itself, better suited his current needs.
Thus, he directly looked up the entries related to the “Heavenly Blade.” The strongest was the “Nine Cuts of Heavenly Inquiry,” but it already belonged to the Outer Scenery level. His Virtue Points weren’t sufficient, and he had another technique he urgently needed to exchange for.
Scrolling down, he found the “Heavenly Blade” manual, worth 980 Virtue Points, including its core principles, the Eight Decrees of the Heavenly Blade, and the Nine Cuts after transcending form, method, and even the blade itself.
In Meng Qi’s estimation, the Heavenly Blade Song Que should be on par with the Demon King Shi Zhixuan. As he understood it, this meant all nine orifices were opened, the three hidden treasures of qi, blood, and spirit were unlocked, with only the ancestral orifice between the brows remaining to be awakened—crossing the threshold of life and death to connect heaven and earth. Moreover, his blade techniques had already approached the essence of the Dao, transcending his physical form. Thus, it was no wonder the “Heavenly Blade” manual held such immense value.
(Note: “邪King” was translated as “Demon King” for natural flow, while maintaining the original meaning. “Shi Zhi Xuan” follows the provided pinyin format. Key terms like “九窍 (nine orifices)”, “精气神三秘藏 (three hidden treasures of qi, blood, and spirit)”, and “眉心祖窍 (ancestral orifice between the brows)” were translated with Daoist cultivation context in mind.)
Meng Qi did have 980 Virtue Points, but the problem was that he still needed to exchange for a control technique. The “Heavenly Blade” was similar to the Solitary Saber’s Sword in that it was divided into two parts: the Core Principles and the Total Decree were each worth 400 Virtue Points, while the remaining cuts and sword techniques were bundled together as a single item worth over 500 points.
After some thought, Meng Qi decided to exchange only for the Core Principles. After all, he wasn’t lacking in blade techniques; what he lacked was a higher-level perspective and the realm of returning to the origin. If he could truly understand and internalize the Core Principles, he could still develop the Nine Cuts that existed between Song Que’s techniques.
A flash of light passed, and Meng Qi now held a medium-thick manual. It looked plain and unremarkable, yet it exuded a powerful aura.
He casually flipped through it before tucking it into his robe and immediately resumed his search for a “control technique.”
Originally, he had planned to choose the “Lion’s Roar” from the Shaolin Seventy-Two Supreme Techniques. It had both a Qi-Opening and an Outer Scenery section—after all, it wasn’t a physical move. The Qi-Opening part focused on the circulation of true energy and the use of specific orifices, while the Outer Scenery part emphasized the merging of one’s own Chan wisdom with the external cosmos, borrowing the power of various pure lands.
At the Qi-Opening stage, the Lion’s Roar could shake an enemy’s auditory orifices within a wide range, causing dizziness, delayed reactions, and even causing weapons to drop or unconsciousness. It was a highly effective control technique in Meng Qi’s mind.
However, since he had left Shaolin, he should try to use fewer Shaolin techniques—not because he feared trouble, but to avoid putting his master in a difficult position. Therefore, Meng Qi began browsing through techniques similar to the Lion’s Roar. Without wasting time or considering cost-effectiveness, he quickly scanned through and chose whichever seemed suitable.
In this mindset, Meng Qi soon discovered a technique perfectly suited to him: “Thunder Words!”
It consisted of nine syllables, with thunder erupting from the mouth. Its effects were similar to the Lion’s Roar, with the added ability to strike at yin ghosts and resentful spirits. It was worth 420 Virtue Points.
Considering that he already bore the Thunder Scar and had inherited part of the Thunder God’s legacy, Meng Qi felt this technique might provide additional enhancement and could even evolve in the future.
Without hesitation, he exchanged for “Thunder Words.” The manual was thin, mainly detailing the circulation of true energy, the application of orifices, and the coordination of the nine syllables.
He exhaled deeply. At this point, the most urgent exchanges were complete, just before the mission began. Just moments ago, he had felt like a man who had suddenly come into wealth, spending extravagantly. Now, he had only 321 Virtue Points remaining.
After a moment of consideration, Meng Qi decided not to hoard too many Virtue Points. After all, he was no longer a favored disciple of a major sect with abundant resources. The more he exchanged, the better his chances of surviving the cycle missions.
This time, he chose the “Left Hand Mastery” for 200 Virtue Points, laying the foundation for future ambidexterity and dual-wielding both blade and sword. Of course, for now, without being Yao Xingliu, he couldn’t coordinate blade and sword together, only using them one after another. With the remaining points, he exchanged for two bottles of the “Formless Nourishing Splendor Pill,” planning to use them in this mission to begin cultivating the nasal orifice after entering the sixth stage of the Golden Bell Cover.
Once the cultivation was complete, he still had one “Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing Pill” unused, which he could attempt to use to refine the nasal orifice. In an emergency, he could forcefully break through with the pill.
Looking at his remaining 21 Virtue Points, Meng Qi suddenly felt a pang of regret, deeply experiencing the feeling of falling from great wealth to poverty, from the ninth heaven to a swampy mire.
Composing himself, Meng Qi quietly took out the mysterious black pelt and inserted it into the central beam of light, requesting an appraisal.
Suddenly, the voice of the Master of the Sixfold Cycle rang directly in his mind, grand and solemn:
“A chain task is triggered: uncover the mystery of the fall of the True Martial Emperor. Rewards will be given based on completion progress. First step: the ‘Tomb of the True Martial’ world. Either wait for the cycle to reach it, or use a Cycle Talisman to enter.”
“This is the map to the Tomb of the True Martial, along with partial internal structure.”
Meng Qi’s mouth hung open in shock. He had actually triggered a chain task, and it involved the True Martial Emperor, one of the great emperors of the Daoist sects from the mythic age. It was said that, in the absence of the Dao Patriarch and the Buddha Ancestor, he had been second only to the Celestial Emperor, rivaling the Demon Sovereign. He had mastered three of the “Seven Heavens-Cutting Strikes.”
The True Martial Sect, one of the three major Daoist sects, was founded when its patriarch accidentally obtained part of the True Martial Emperor’s legacy, including the true meaning of the “Dao Perishes, Dao Reborn” technique from the “Seven Heavens-Cutting Strikes,” allowing the sect to be established thousands of years ago.
Thus, he named his sect after “True Martial,” declaring the continuation of the Dao’s lineage.
However, before the great battle between the Celestial Emperor and the Demon Sovereign, the True Martial Emperor had mysteriously vanished. It was rumored that, nearing the end of his lifespan, he had established his immortal tomb, seeking the path to eternal existence after death. Yet from that day on, the True Martial Emperor had never reappeared and was believed to have failed in his attempt, ultimately passing away silently.
But according to the chain task given by the Master of the Sixfold Cycle, the fall of the True Martial Emperor was not as simple as commonly believed. Meng Qi was deeply shocked, unable to recover from the revelation for a long time.
“Uncovering the mystery of the True Martial Emperor’s fall… the final steps will likely require the strength of an Outer Scenery cultivator to complete. It’s like Gu Xiaosang’s mission to the Ruins of the Ninth Heaven. One can only enter after reaching the Outer Scenery level, otherwise, getting involved in matters concerning such a great being would be too dangerous. Also, it would be best to have allies, or else one might be overwhelmed alone…” Meng Qi didn’t have a Cycle Talisman and could only think wistfully, his heart slightly stirred. Still, he was rational enough to know that the early stages of such a chain task wouldn’t offer high rewards.
He calmed his thoughts and looked around, noticing that Jiang Zhiwei, Qi Zhengyan, and Zhang Yuanshan had not yet appeared, deepening his suspicions.
If they had met with misfortune and perished, thus failing to enter the cycle, Meng Qi wouldn’t have believed it for a moment. Setting aside the improbability of them all dying simultaneously, he had just sent Zhang Yuanshan to the nunnery. Even if Fu Zhenzhen had impulsively poisoned herself out of love, there wouldn’t have been enough time for the poison to take effect.
“Brother Luo, this mission feels a bit strange,” he said, looking at Luo Shengyi, who had already finished exchanging, and decided to ask this teammate, who had more cycle experience than himself.
He believed that someone like himself, who had encountered rare opportunities in three consecutive worlds, was exceptional, advancing at a speed unmatched by most cycle participants. Luo Shengyi came from an ordinary family, had never joined a major sect, and had no reputation for plundering the Jianghu. Yet he had risen to the Human List, meaning he must have experienced far more cycle worlds than Meng Qi.
Luo Shengyi stood there simply, yet like a mountain peak, exuding an imposing presence and an air of self-assured boldness, clearly having grown stronger. He smiled and said, “It should be a solo mission combined with a novice-guiding mission, and by coincidence, our solo missions are in the same world, so it became a cooperative mission.”
Meng Qi nodded. Without Luo Shengyi, he might have also thought of it as a solo mission plus a novice-guiding mission, since Qi Zhengyan and Zhang Yuanshan had already experienced such before. However, the addition of Luo Shengyi had confused him slightly: “Thank you, Brother Luo, for the explanation.”
“Zhen Ding, I never expected you to have also made it onto the Human List. Truly astonishing,” Luo Shengyi naturally saw the Human List and knew who the Shaolin outcast was.
Meng Qi replied stiffly, “Luck, just luck.”
Does he know about my nicknames, Thunder Saber Mad Monk and Savage Vajra?
Though unfamiliar with each other, the two exchanged casual, meaningless pleasantries. But soon, white mist rose, beams of light descended, and three unfamiliar figures appeared.
Meng Qi’s eyes lit up instantly, drawn by normal aesthetic appreciation. The middle figure was a girl of fifteen or sixteen, with a straight fringe, big eyes, and an average height. Her features were already very delicate individually, but combined, they exuded a cold and refined beauty, rivaling Jiang Zhiwei and Gu Xiaosang. She wore a simple white dress and held an ancient seven-stringed qin, appearing aloof and refined.
Her expression slightly changed, but she was not frightened. She glanced around and finally fixed her gaze on Meng Qi and Luo Shengyi.
The other two were men. One was around seventeen or eighteen, wearing a green robe and a silk headband. Though his appearance was ordinary, he exuded a gentle and calm scholarly aura. At the moment, he was quite startled but still managed to control himself, avoiding any rash actions.
The other man was in his thirties, with sharp eyes and a clever expression. He was first taken aback, but his face quickly turned calm and serious as he stared intently at Meng Qi and Luo Shengyi.
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