Chapter 182: The Interaction Between Heaven and Humanity

Ahem, Meng Qi regained his composure and deliberately changed the topic, looking up at the sky with a sigh: “The continuous autumn drizzle and the weather with thunder and lightning are becoming rarer.”

In recent days, there had been occasional rainy days, but all were just drizzles, seldom accompanied by thunder.

What Meng Qi truly wanted to say was that if there was a thunderstorm tomorrow night, he wouldn’t fear the Demoness turning hostile or setting traps. Of course, such situations were rare and couldn’t be sought deliberately.

Ruan Yushu, holding her guqin, replied indifferently: “Tomorrow night there probably will be.”

“You’ve mastered the supreme skill of Fenghuang Divine Calculation or something similar?” Meng Qi asked in surprise, filled with anticipation.

Ruan Yushu shook her head: “Not yet.”

“Then why do you say there might be a thunderstorm tomorrow night?” Meng Qi asked, puzzled.

Although such weather could happen every day, Meng Qi felt that Ruan Yushu wouldn’t speak carelessly. Could she be trying to comfort him? That didn’t seem like her!

Ruan Yushu pursed her lips and said calmly: “The Demoness and the Right Chancellor have reached a mental cultivation level close to the External Scenery. Their physical cultivation is also only a thin veil away from the Half-Step External Scenery. At this stage, they stand at the intersection where internal and external energies meet. If they unleash their full strength, it will inevitably cause a resonance between heaven and humanity, triggering changes in the weather phenomena. Although they cannot slightly harness the weather phenomena like true Half-Step External Scenery cultivators, their power will still be akin to gods and demons. At that time, the most likely weather phenomena will be gathering dark clouds, lightning flashes, and torrential rain.”

This was the first time Meng Qi had heard Ruan Yushu speak so much since they had known each other.

“How do you know this? Can you be certain?” Meng Qi asked in astonishment. Although according to his understanding of External Scenery and Half-Step External Scenery, if the Demoness and Right Chancellor unleashed their full strength, it would likely cause a heaven-human resonance, resulting in rain falling over the palace and lightning striking the imperial city, such matters still required careful verification.

Ruan Yushu calmly replied with a few words: “The Essentials of Martial Arts.”

“What is that?” Meng Qi felt somewhat confused.

“It’s a secret record kept by the imperial court regarding martial arts affairs, containing many examples of battles between Grandmasters. It clearly documents the phenomenon of heaven-human resonance and torrential rain soaking the streets.” Ruan Yushu spoke as if the matter were very straightforward.

Meng Qi’s lips twitched slightly: “When did you read The Essentials of Martial Arts?” How come I didn’t know about this?

Ruan Yushu glanced at him: “When you went to visit those princes, I asked Marshal Lu to help me borrow it.”

In a world where the imperial court and martial arts world influenced each other to such an extent, it would be strange if the government didn’t keep records of martial arts affairs!

Meng Qi slightly blushed with slight embarrassment: “You said you didn’t go because it was boring?”

“What do you think?” Ruan Yushu slightly lifted her head.

Haha, Meng Qi let out a dry laugh: “Quick, let me see The Essentials of Martial Arts.”

Ruan Yushu nodded gently and turned to walk into her chamber.

Watching her graceful figure sway and disappear through the doorway, Meng Qi suddenly broke into a silly grin: “If there really is a heaven-human resonance, then no matter who sets traps or attacks me, I’ll be able to say coolly: ‘Tonight, I’m so powerful that even I scare myself!'”

Of course, even if the Demoness and Right Chancellor unleashing their full strength would cause heaven-human resonance, lightning might not necessarily kill them. However, at the very least, it would be an attack they couldn’t easily resist.

Soon, Ruan Yushu came out holding a thick volume and handed it to Meng Qi.

Meng Qi suppressed his smile, calmed his mind, and earnestly and attentively began flipping through the pages. Sure enough, he found key sections marked: “The Battle Between the Demon Lord and the Monk Longxiang,” “The Battle Between the Demon Lord and the Taoist Master Tianhe on Yudao Street,” “The Battle Between the Demoness and the National Preceptor at the Imperial Mausoleum,” “The Battle Between Sword Emperor and Right Chancellor Pei He in the Central District,” “The Battle Between the Right Chancellor and the Living Buddha at Xiaolun Mountain,” “The Battle Between Sword Emperor and the Living Buddha at the Great Snow Mountains,” and so on…

Without exception, all these battles had triggered the phenomenon of heaven-human resonance. In over a dozen engagements, seven or eight out of ten times were accompanied by lightning flashes, thunderclaps, and torrential rains. Two or three out of ten times were marked by dark clouds obscuring the sun, rainbows spanning the sky, or snow mountain fog dissipating…

The more Meng Qi read, the more solemn his expression became. In other words, when the Demoness fought him, she indeed hadn’t unleashed her full strength. No wonder she was so confident in saying that if she truly wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t escape. Hmph, if she had unleashed her full power, triggering heaven-human resonance, he wouldn’t be without countermeasures either!

Of course, it might also be that only when facing a Grandmaster of the same level, with their energies entangled and mutually stimulating, could they touch a higher realm, thus triggering heaven-human resonance. When fighting him, she might not have been able to do so even if she wanted.

At least according to these battle records, all instances of heaven-human resonance phenomena occurred during battles between Grandmasters, without exception. Except for the battle between the Demon Lord and the Monk Longxiang, none of the other Grandmaster battles were truly life-or-death confrontations. Usually, one side would retreat after being placed at a disadvantage. Otherwise, Meng Qi suspected they would have already taken an important step forward, achieving the transcendence of soul, body, and life, and breaking through the void.

“Perhaps it’s because the Evil Monarch repeatedly escaped from the Demoness, who was nearly unleashing her full power, that his true strength must surpass what he displayed during our battle…” Meng Qi pondered. During the confrontation in Peihe’s central district, the Evil Monarch had been cautious upon encountering an utterly bizarre sword technique and retreated without fully revealing his capabilities. If it had been a life-and-death struggle, Meng Qi feared he would have had to resort to the Sacrificial Decree to repel or wound him. “Hmm, his repeated escapes might also stem from the unique and formidable nature of the Deathless Seal Technique…”

Closing the book, Meng Qi was filled with longing, wondering when he would see entries in such secret records as “The Duel Between Jing Shen Jian (Thunderous Sword) and the Evil Monarch in the Imperial City,” “The Duel Between Jing Shen Jian and the Sword Emperor at Baiyi Lu,” “The Duel Between Jing Shen Jian and the Demoness in the Misty River…” He also pondered when he might witness entries in the Human Rankings like “The Battle Between Thunder Saber Crazy Monk and the Great Luo Fairy in the Ruins,” “The Clash Between Mangan (Fierce Vajra) and Sword Qi Changhe (Long River) Midstream…” Wait, why am I thinking about Thunder Saber Crazy Monk and Mangan (Fierce Vajra)? Tsk tsk tsk!

Meng Qi rubbed his temples with a sense of “afterthought” and suddenly remembered something, looking at Ruan Yushu with confusion: “Why did you specifically emphasize gathering dark clouds, lightning flashes, and torrential rain?”

Ruan Yushu had her guqin strapped to her back, her hands behind her, slowly walking toward her chamber, and transmitted her voice into his mind in a crisp, clear manner: “During a thunderstorm, summoning a bolt of heavenly lightning to slay ‘Qing Yu Shou’ (Jade Hand) Yuan Mengzhi—I’m sure you must be looking forward to a thunder and lightning-filled night.”

I… Meng Qi was momentarily stunned. Oh my! The Human Rankings really aren’t anything good! The Six Ministries are indeed suspicious!

“Wait a second,” Meng Qi suppressed the galloping thoughts racing through his mind like ten thousand horses and said.

Ruan Yushu turned around lightly, her eyebrows slightly raised, looking at Meng Qi and waiting for him to speak.

“Let’s scout the Imperial Palace tonight and figure out the surrounding arrangements. Don’t rush into action tomorrow without preparation.” Given the time, Meng Qi preferred to prepare thoroughly in advance.

Ruan Yushu nodded in agreement with Meng Qi’s decision.

The two of them sneaked out of the inn again and headed toward the Imperial Palace, moving up and down, following the shadows. After a while, they had already reached the outer perimeter of the Imperial Palace.

Hiding atop the canopy of a roadside tree, Meng Qi looked at the Imperial Palace and frowned.

The area around the Imperial Palace was a white stone-paved plaza extending for a hundred meters, with no trees at all, completely open and visible at a glance!

The city walls of the Imperial Palace were brightly lit, illuminating the plaza as bright as day. Not only a large living person, but even a rat or bird flying across the plaza would be spotted by the palace guards on the walls.

It would be very difficult to sneak in… Meng Qi and Ruan Yushu had already circled the entire Imperial Palace, discovering that every three steps along the walls there was a guard, all skilled in martial arts with sharp eyes. Outside the walls, the plaza was a hundred meters wide, offering no hiding or concealing places. They also couldn’t use trees to jump over the city walls, which were three or four zhang high.

Indeed, this was a court experienced in dealing with martial artists… Such arrangements made Meng Qi feel like a mouse trying to catch a tortoise, with no place to start, yet he also found it understandable. If the martial arts world were full of powerful experts, it would be strange if the court didn’t take precautions!

Without considering the Demoness and others, in a world where there were peak human experts like Ruyi Monk and Ghost King, if the court were completely unguarded, allowing them to enter and leave the Imperial Palace as if it were their own courtyard, Meng Qi would really doubt how this dynasty had survived!

“By targeting a weaker spot and employing the Morphing Technique, it’s not impossible to cross the plaza. But how do I scale those three or four zhang high walls—I don’t know the gecko wall-crawling technique…” Meng Qi mused thoughtfully.

The Illusory Transformation Technique, when directly applied to individuals, could disrupt their senses, inducing hallucinations and spatial disorientation. If it enveloped the entire body, those with weaker cultivation would, from a distance, be more susceptible to mental interference, their perceptual “feedback” becoming disordered and instinctively disregarding the affected area. Even those with higher cultivation might “overlook” it if they weren’t fully attentive. Meng Qi intended to rely on the latter effect, but the guards on the walls were too distant for him to accurately assess their strength, leaving the choice of breakthrough point somewhat to chance.

“It’s truly impregnable…” Meng Qi sighed and returned to the inn with Ruan Yushu, deciding to leave this problem for the Demoness to handle. He then focused on stabilizing the sixth stage of the Golden Bell Shield and contemplated the incomplete variations of the first move of the Nine Heavens’ Demise, “Heavenly Thunder and Five Lightning Strikes,” hoping to derive one or several awakening sword techniques from the nine saber principles explained in the Essence of the Saber.

The next day, Meng Qi went to visit Lu Guan early and asked sideways: “Marshal Lu, do you know how the emperor’s health is? Have you seen him?”

“I saw him from afar; he is still unconscious.” Lu Guan sighed sincerely, feeling quite melancholy. He had been promoted by the old emperor from humble beginnings. During the deteriorating situation in the northwest, he gradually built the Iron Mountain Army, recaptured lost territories, and drove out the invaders, truly embodying the harmonious relationship between emperor and minister. He always wanted to repay the emperor’s kindness and the grace of being treated as a national hero. However, later on, due to his talent, he was falsely accused by the treacherous chancellor of accumulating too much military power, which led to the old emperor’s suspicion. As a result, he was demoted to Yuexi.

Meng Qi nodded and said no more, made an excuse to take his leave, and went with Ruan Yushu to find Luo Shengyi. This mission was dangerous, and having an extra hand would increase their chances of escaping unscathed. Moreover, Luo Shengyi had clearly been excluded from the core circle by the Third Prince.

After hearing Meng Qi’s account, Luo Shengyi narrowed his eyes slightly, smiling faintly: “The Third Prince is truly a heroic ruler… Zhen Ding, when are we going?”

“Wait for the Demoness to come for us.” Meng Qi replied.

By the time the sun was high at noon, the Demoness appeared before the three of them.

“Follow me,” the Demoness said, her face once again veiled.