Chapter 191: The Pressure of the Death Mission

“Death Mission?” Meng Qi, who had previously relaxed, immediately felt his heart tighten again. For the Master of the Six Gates to reveal the time of the next cycle, the mission must be extremely difficult, with each person facing the danger of death.

The Master of the Six Gates did not elaborate further, but stated emotionlessly, “Mission evaluation: Ge Hua’en is ‘Ordinary’ with no additional reward; Zhang Yuanshan, Fu Zhenzhen, Ruan Yushu, and Luo Shengyi are ‘Medium,’ each rewarded with fifty Virtue Points; Jiang Zhiwei, Qi Zhengyan, and Zhen Ding are ‘Good,’ each rewarded with one hundred Virtue Points and one drawing chance from the lot, with the drawing range covering all things below the external realm.”

Meng Qi slightly frowned; it was merely “Good,” not “Excellent.” His hope of obtaining a cycle talisman was dashed. Thinking back, he hadn’t exceeded the scope of the main and secondary missions set by the Master of the Six Gates, nor had he explored further.

The light pillars vanished, and everyone looked at each other, still immersed in the shock brought by the Death Mission.

“Old Luo, do you know about Death Missions?” Meng Qi asked Luo Shengyi, who had the most experience with cycles.

Luo Shengyi seemed to recall something unpleasant, his facial muscles slightly twisting: “After I opened my fourth aperture, our team’s overall strength reached a limit, triggering a Death Mission. That time, we had to survive seven days while being pursued by an expert at the first stage of the external realm. In the end, only three of us remained. Two seniors whose strength was several times mine fell under that expert’s sword, and I barely survived until returning, relying on good fortune.”

“In subsequent missions, cooperating with other teams, I heard a lot about Death Missions. Some involved being pursued, others being thrown into desperate situations, and some facing factions with several experts at the half-step external realm. There are many such examples. It is said that after surviving a Death Mission with half the team still intact, the difficulty and rewards of the cycle world will increase, and one might even encounter some ancient ruins.”

Meng Qi said with a wry smile, “It sounds really difficult. This time, we’ll have to spend every single Virtue Point.”

He glanced at Zhang Yuanshan and Fu Zhenzhen, seeing them standing close with no estrangement in their expressions, and immediately felt relieved.

Seeing him look, Fu Zhenzhen immediately blushed and lowered her head. Her hair was intact, obviously repaired using Virtue Points. Zhang Yuanshan nodded gratefully.

What a lucky guy… Meng Qi thought while looking at Fu Zhenzhen’s hair, though he only thought it. Each of his Virtue Points was precious, and he couldn’t afford to waste them on repairing his hair, as it would grow back naturally anyway.

I’m just such a stingy person!

The lot appeared, landing in front of Qi Zhengyan. Still immersed in the difficulty of the Death Mission, he expressionlessly picked it up and shook it. His luck was poor, resulting in two bottles of ordinary healing pills.

Jiang Zhiwei’s expression remained normal, smiling as she glanced at Meng Qi’s short hair, then vigorously shook it. The images rotated, flashing through secret manuals, sharp weapons, pills, and strange objects, finally settling on a mask as thin as a cicada’s wing.

“A disguise mask?” Meng Qi asked with considerable interest.

“Mm.” Jiang Zhiwei picked up the mask and said, “The Master of the Six Gates mentioned that the human-skin mask can be borrowed by others, unfortunately it’s for a woman, so you can’t use it. Won’t you introduce these two?”

She pointed at Ruan Yushu and Ge Hua’en.

“Ruan Yushu, daughter of the head of the Langya Ruan Clan, and Ge Hua’en, a Confucian scholar who has opened his apertures…” Meng Qi introduced both parties.

Jiang Zhiwei smiled lightly, “I’ve long heard of Yushu’s exceptional musical talent, and she is expected to cultivate the ‘Twelve Langhuan Divine Sounds’ and the ‘Sky-splitting Earth-changing Melody.’ I never thought I’d meet her here today.”

Ruan Yushu calmly returned the greeting, “Sister Jiang, you entered the martial arts world and quickly made it into the Top Ten of the Human List. I greatly admire you.”

This guy just knows how to flatter everyone! He wasn’t this polite to me! Meng Qi muttered inwardly, picked up the lot, shook it slightly, and looked expectantly at the images flowing inside.

He wasn’t short of sword or blade techniques, and with the “Undying Seal Method” in hand, it could replace the “Shape-shifting Great Technique” as a divine-level auxiliary skill. Since there were no external realm items here, he especially hoped for pills, hidden weapons, poisons, or strange objects.

Unfortunately, fate was unkind, and what appeared before him was two hundred Virtue Points.

“At least it’s usable. Unlike other items, it doesn’t need to be exchanged,” Meng Qi thought without much disappointment.

He turned and smiled at everyone, “I wonder how everyone’s harvest is this time. With the Death Mission approaching, we must work together.”

Due to the pressure of the Death Mission and his general familiarity with Luo Shengyi, Meng Qi decided to bring him into their circle. As newcomers, Ruan Yushu and Ge Hua’en had simple backgrounds and experiences, and Jiang Zhiwei and others, whose methods leaned toward the righteous path, would naturally accept them.

Jiang Zhiwei generously said, “I had a fortunate encounter during my solo mission, and after previous wandering and tempering, I’ve opened my oral aperture, initially formed my inner world, and mastered an external realm sword technique derived from ‘Sword Without Self’: ‘Strike the Sea.'”

This sword technique was recorded in the “Supreme Sword Classic,” derived from one of the Nine Deadly Techniques, “Sword Without Self.” Mastering it indicated that Jiang Zhiwei had made progress and gained some insights into “Sword Without Self.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Meng Qi’s Evil Calamity, gave a slight nod, and tossed two sharp long swords along with three secret manuals—spoils of battle—into the central light pillar. “Combined with the previous rewards, I now have a total of one thousand six hundred and seventy Virtue Points. I intend to exchange them for the ‘Yi Sword Art,’ the Shaolin Great Rejuvenation Pill, and two Hundred Herb Pills.”

Her own Hundred Grass Pills seemed to have run out, and while wandering outside, she couldn’t easily return to the mountain to collect more. The Shaolin Great Rejuvenation Pill was a miraculous healing medicine for the Shaolin sect at the aperture-opening stage in the main world. Although it couldn’t resurrect the dead, regrow limbs, or restore flesh, after taking it, most internal and external injuries could heal within an hour. Even Meng Qi’s Golden Bell Cover, which required some time to re-cultivate after breaking, could recover within a day.

“Yi Sword Art” cost nine hundred and twenty Virtue Points, the Great Rejuvenation Pill five hundred, and two Hundred Grass Pills two hundred. Jiang Zhiwei nearly spent all her Virtue Points, leaving only fifty.

“This kind of exchange seems a bit strange…” Meng Qi, being most familiar with Jiang Zhiwei, spoke without hesitation.

“Yi Sword Art’ was something I had my eye on before. My master instructed me to strengthen my cultivation in this area. After hearing about the Death Mission just now, I decided to exchange for the Great Rejuvenation Pill and Hundred Grass Pills instead of the Heaven-Seeing and Earth-Hearing Pills. Because there’s still a year left, I plan to challenge strong enemies and open my eighth aperture on my own, not leaving myself any retreat or hope of relying on pills.” Jiang Zhiwei’s expression was firm and resolute, fully displaying the demeanor of a swordsman, radiant and dazzling.

Since she intended to hone her skills and open her aperture without leaving any retreat, healing medicines would be indispensable. Therefore, Jiang Zhiwei exchanged for the Great Rejuvenation Pill and two Hundred Grass Pills.

Zhang Yuanshan and Luo Shengyi, looking at Jiang Zhiwei like this, felt she was radiant and dazzling, making them feel somewhat inferior.

Meng Qi deeply admired Jiang Zhiwei’s choice but didn’t say much more, instead asking, “Senior Su instructed you to strengthen which aspect of your cultivation?”

He had learned the “Solitary Sword Technique” and received guidance from the Sword Emperor, so his sword skills were quite excellent. He was especially interested in the instructions from Su Wuming, the “Heavenly Sword Beyond the World.”

“My master said I have already grasped the essence of moving from complexity to simplicity, but I lack variation, always being too aggressive and fierce in my attacks. Therefore, he instructed me to refine the path from simplicity to complexity.” Jiang Zhiwei did not hide anything.

She had already grasped the principle of “Sword Without Self,” which was different from others. From the beginning, she slightly understood the principles, with each move emphasizing momentum, fierceness, speed, and strength, aligning with the unchanging rules of sword techniques, directly attacking the opponent’s weak points, overcoming skill with strength, complexity with simplicity, and slowness with speed. This could be seen from her self-created “Yama’s Note,” which was purely concentrated, exuding deathly aura, slightly containing principles, and possessing a momentum that overwhelmed the heart, advancing without retreat.

Although her techniques surpassed most peers at the same level, they were not quite in harmony with her sword cultivation realm. Therefore, Su Wuming instructed her to develop variations based on the unchanging principles, thus she set her sights on the “Yi Sword Art,” which was placed alongside the “Solitary Sword Technique.”

Meng Qi lightly exclaimed, “In a previous cycle world, I also received guidance from a senior on these principles, though he emphasized focusing on oneself.”

He roughly recounted what the Sword Emperor had said.

Jiang Zhiwei thought for a moment and said, “It’s similar to what my master taught me, with only minor differences. Could it be that all sword techniques indeed lead to the same goal through different paths?”

Neither of them, at their current cultivation levels, could answer this question, so they let it go.

Jiang Zhiwei exchanged for the “Yi Sword Art” and three pills, then turned to Meng Qi and asked, “How about your harvest? What do you plan to exchange for?”

“I gained a lot, at least over two thousand, but I used up a Thunder Scar.” Meng Qi said. His weapons and secret manuals had not yet been converted into Virtue Points, so he didn’t know the exact amount, but just from the main and side mission rewards, he had received one thousand one hundred and fifty Virtue Points. Adding his previous leftovers, he had a total of one thousand one hundred and seventy-one.

The Thunder Scar was an external realm technique; using it once was roughly equivalent to consuming one thousand Virtue Points. Therefore, Meng Qi’s actual amount was similar to Jiang Zhiwei’s.

He continued, “I also had a fortunate encounter in this mission. I successfully completed the sixth stage of the Golden Bell Cover, opened my nasal aperture, and made progress in both sword and blade techniques. Additionally, there were mission rewards like the ‘Undying Seal Method,’ collected weapons, tempered blades, and secret manuals.”

At this point, Meng Qi thought for a moment, then calmly took out the black strange paper left by the Demon Lord, unfolded it for everyone to see: “I obtained this in this mission, left behind by the Demon Lord…”

He told everyone about the Demon Lord, then described the scene of A-nan he had seen—pretending he saw it when he first received the true transmission. Zhang Yuanshan, Luo Shengyi, and others frowned, puzzled. Could it be that a powerful figure from the late ancient era was still alive? Was he still cycling through rebirths? What was the relationship between the cycle world and the secrets of the ancient times?

This matter was too strange, making their palms sweat and sending chills down their spines. Even Jiang Zhiwei, who was usually calm and composed, and Ruan Yushu, who was always cool and composed, couldn’t help but show confusion on their faces.

“It’s said that A-nan entered Nirvana at the back mountains of the current Shaolin…” Jiang Zhiwei suddenly said.

Meng Qi thought of the forbidden area at the back mountain and the words “Benevolence and kindness, do not enter this gate,” his heart suddenly startled, not knowing what to say.

After discussing for a while, they gained nothing and could only temporarily set the matter aside.

“Therefore, I should use the A-nan Precept-breaking Blade Technique less and must exchange for another external realm blade technique. I have the Thunder Scar mark and am interested in ‘Purple Thunder Seven Strikes.'” Meng Qi said solemnly, taking out the sword and secret manual, ready to throw them into the central light pillar.

“Wait a second,” Fu Zhenzhen stopped him, then slightly embarrassedly said, “I want to exchange for a sharp sword. If there’s a suitable one, I’d rather buy it directly from you, which would be more cost-effective than you exchanging it with the Master of the Six Gates.”