Aside from the mark of Thunder Scar that Meng Qi voluntarily mentioned, Zhang Yuanshan, Jiang Zhiwei, Luo Shengyi, and the others did not find it strange. Firstly, it was widely known that Meng Qi could summon heavenly thunder. Secondly, everyone had their own extraordinary experiences. At the time, it was understandable that he did not elaborate on the essence of the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Spear attaching to his body. After all, they were teammates, not spouses. Knowing each other’s approximate strength and abilities, and ensuring there was no malicious intent, was sufficient. Just like Jiang Zhiwei, who only mentioned her own extraordinary experience—opening a mouth aperture and mastering “Strike the Sea”—without revealing the specific details.
Under the circumstances of having the essence of divine thunder attached to his body, choosing the “Purple Lightning Seven Strikes” was a completely normal decision. After all, the most famous sword and spear techniques of the Thunder God lineage were the Divine Xiao Nine Annihilations, the King’s Six Cuts, and the Purple Lightning Seven Strikes. The first two were techniques for the Dharma Body, which Meng Qi was still far from being able to exchange for. However, he could now afford to acquire the last one.
Under their unperplexed gazes, Meng Qi smiled at Fu Zhenzhen: “Great, I have six sharp long swords here. Old Luo and Miss Ruan each have two. See if any of them suit you.”
He took out five sharp long swords obtained from the Fourth Prince and the broadsword from General Sword, offering them to Fu Zhenzhen for selection.
Fu Zhenzhen originally had a sharp long sword granted by her master, but its quality was not high. Therefore, she immediately set her eyes on a pair of swords, one long and one short, known as the Lovers’ Swords. With a tranquil and joyful expression, she recited the seal script on the swords: “White-Haired Companionship Sword, White-Haired Companionship…”
The “White-Haired Companionship Sword” was indeed an excellent sharp sword. The longer sword was gentle and feminine, while the shorter one was vigorous and masculine, quite the opposite of the norm. They were forged by a loving couple as a keepsake. The swords could cut through iron like mud, with entwining and lingering sword qi, possessing unique characteristics. They had been obtained by the Fourth Prince and originally valued at 350 merits. If exchanged with the Master of the Six Dao Reincarnation, they would only fetch 150 merits.
“If you like them, take them for 200 merits,” Meng Qi said, adopting the manner of a street vendor.
He did not set the price too low to avoid making Fu Zhenzhen and Zhang Yuanshan feel awkward, but he also did not overcharge. After all, they were close friends who had shared life and death.
“Alright,” Fu Zhenzhen agreed, transferring 200 merits to Meng Qi and taking the “White-Haired Companionship Sword.” She kept the longer sword for herself and quietly attached the shorter one to Zhang Yuanshan’s waist.
She casually tossed her obtained but not particularly useful mouth-opening manual and her master’s long sword into the central light column: “I still have 890 merits. Hmm, I need to repay Zhang Yuanshan 260 merits, exchange for the Heaven-Viewing and Earth-Hearing Pill for 260 merits. What’s left, I plan to exchange for a Poison Manual and some toxic materials to concoct my own poisons.”
After cycles of cultivation and missions, she had already reached the peak of the Two Orifices and was on the verge of opening the Ear Orifice. Initially, she had planned to refine her abilities through self-practice, but under the pressure of the life-and-death mission, she had no choice but to exchange for a Heaven-Gazing and Earth-Listening Pill as an emergency measure, hoping to achieve a breakthrough within a year.
She had already begun practicing the first part of the “Healing Manual,” her own true qi acting as a healing elixir. Through the “Healing Manual” and the “Medicine King Chapter,” she had initially grasped medical principles, becoming a renowned physician at the mouth-opening stage. However, whether it was the “Healing Manual” or the “Medicine King Chapter,” both emphasized the benevolence of healers as their foundation. Regarding toxicity, they mainly focused on detoxification, with only a few types of poison cultivation and poison concoction techniques, which proved insufficiently potent for the cycle tasks.
Of course, if she delved deeper into medical principles, she would naturally understand toxic principles as well, since medicine and poison were inherently intertwined. However, Fu Zhenzhen had not yet reached that level.
With 370 merits remaining, she needed both a poison manual and materials… Meng Qi glanced at her and immediately understood: “You can exchange for the ‘Wang Nangu’s Poison Manual’ for just 200 merits.”
After carefully examining it, Fu Zhenzhen’s face lit up: “This poison manual is quite good. Meng Qi, you seem to be quite knowledgeable about this area?”
“Haha, didn’t I tell you before? When my martial arts were weak, I always thought about improving through poisons,” Meng Qi casually replied.
Fu Zhenzhen merely made a passing comment without much concern. After exchanging for the “Wang Nangu’s Poison Manual,” she began selecting toxic materials. In this aspect, no one could surpass her, so they could only watch as she picked item by item: the Vermilion Yin Flower, the Corrosive Poison Powder, the Venomous Red Toad Secretions, the Deadly Hemlock… all of which made Meng Qi and the others feel a bit uneasy, realizing they shouldn’t provoke her lightly.
These were just raw materials, which wouldn’t produce much effect unless refined, so their prices weren’t high. She spent a total of 150 merits on these miscellaneous items, leaving her with 20 merits as backup.
Fu Zhenzhen didn’t choose anything else. The “Healing Manual” was her fundamental method. Besides her true qi being able to heal injuries and cultivate spiritual beings, which recovered very quickly after consumption, it also included corresponding sword techniques and body techniques.
After she had finished exchanging, Meng Qi smiled at Ge Huai’en: “Do you need a sharp long sword?”
Exchanging with companions was much more cost-effective than giving it to the Master of the Six Dao Reincarnation for both parties. And now, the only one who needed a sharp long sword and didn’t have one was Ge Huai’en.
Ge Huai’en, gentle and refined, nodded slightly: “Brother Meng, I would like the Sword of Righteous Sacrifice.”
While Meng Qi was helping Fu Zhenzhen choose, he had also unobtrusively taken a look.
The Sword of Righteous Sacrifice was a rather excellent weapon. If the user possessed a righteous and self-sacrificing heart, the sword would exude a kind of awe-inspiring presence, oppressing the enemy and making them feel ashamed and tremble. It was forged by a great Confucian scholar and valued at 360 merits. If exchanged with the Master of the Six Dao Reincarnation, it would fetch 160 merits.
“It’s also 200,” Meng Qi said generously. He was quite considerate towards newcomers, just like how Jiang Zhiwei had taken care of him when he was a rookie. Without her support, he wouldn’t have survived this long.
Ge Huai’en transferred 200 merits to Meng Qi and took the Sword of Righteous Sacrifice. Just as he was about to think about what to exchange next, he heard Meng Qi, who seemed quite concerned, ask: “What do you want to exchange for? Tell us, so we can discuss it together. One person’s plan is short, but many people’s plans are long.”
Recalling the openness of Jiang Zhiwei, Meng Qi, and Fu Zhenzhen just now, Ge Huai’en nodded with a bitter smile: “I don’t want to die yet, so I need to open my ear acupoint as soon as possible. I still have 580 merits left. I must exchange for a Tiancong Pill and two bottles of Xuxing Yihua Dan. As for the remaining merits, I have my own master’s teachings, and this time I also obtained the secret manual from the imperial palace, so I don’t lack normal martial arts temporarily. I can’t afford any ultimate moves, and I don’t know what to choose…”
Through arrangements by the Third Prince and Luo Shengyi, he had found an opportunity to infiltrate the palace and become a guard watching over the side hall, obtaining the secret manual that a guard should have, which he exchanged for over a hundred merits just now.
“Brother Ge, uh, besides martial arts, what else are you good at or like to study?” Meng Qi, with a lively personality and a love for jokes, claimed to be stingy but mostly didn’t mind, thus becoming the glue that held the team together, the bond connecting everyone, and seemed to have a good relationship with all.
In short, this was the role of a community committee aunt… Meng Qi mused to himself.
Ge Huai’en hesitated for a moment: “Among the Six Arts of Confucianism, I especially love the study of numbers and enjoy delving into the Book of Changes. Does that count?”
“Of course it does!” Meng Qi’s spirits lifted upon hearing this. Our team really needs someone like you!
Ruan Yushu, holding an ancient qin, interjected indifferently: “If you want to enter ‘calculation’ through numbers, to observe people and events, and to seek good fortune while avoiding misfortune, you can choose the ‘Wang’s Book of Changes.'”
As a prominent family, and being in neighboring provinces, Ruan Yushu’s understanding of the Jiangdong Wang family was profound.
The “Wang’s Book of Changes” only cost 300 merits. Although it was a bit more expensive than the Plum Blossom Liuren and others, it excelled in its solid and comprehensive foundation. Of course, without talent, one would not be able to understand or learn from this kind of book even after exchanging for it.
“Yes, the ‘Wang’s Book of Changes’ was written by a certain head of the Wang family while studying the ‘Book of Changes.’ Although it only covers the fundamentals of the Yi Dao, it serves as an introduction for talented descendants to begin their studies. Yet, it is also broad and profound,” Jiang Zhiwei agreed with Ruan Yushu’s suggestion.
Ge Huai’en considered for a moment, thinking that this could help him avoid some dangers, so he gritted his teeth and exchanged for the “Wang’s Book of Changes.” With the remaining seventy merits, he spent them all on various auxiliary items, such as copper coins, wooden sticks, and items that change one’s appearance.
After selling two swords and gaining four hundred merits, plus the reward of one hundred and the two hundred obtained through drawing lots, Meng Qi now had a total of one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one merits. He threw the remaining weapons and the “Yin Seizing Secret Method,” which he had reviewed and found not very useful, into the central light column.
The remaining four sharp long swords were exchanged for a total of six hundred and twenty merits, the “Yin Seizing Secret Method” for two hundred and twenty, and the six hundred refined swords for one hundred and twenty. Meng Qi’s merits surged to two thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, which, even after accounting for the consumed Thunder Scar, exceeded Jiang Zhiwei’s gains.
Thinking that everyone seemed to have gained quite a lot, Meng Qi suddenly realized that this was probably the “gift” prepared by the Master of the Six Dao Reincarnation for them before the deadly task, to increase their chances of survival.
“Did you loot the sword warehouse?” Jiang Zhiwei couldn’t help but laugh when she saw so many swords from Meng Qi.
“Almost,” Meng Qi replied with a grin. He flipped to the external scene section and found the “Purple Lightning Seven Strikes.” It was a top-level sword technique worth a total of eight thousand eight hundred merits. The core and representative general principle, the “Purple Lightning Energy,” was worth one thousand merits. The first six strikes were worth between eight hundred to one thousand merits each, while the final strike was worth two thousand four hundred merits. As for the eight and nine strikes derived from it, they were at the level of ordinary Dharma bodies.
If he wanted to use the “Purple Lightning Seven Strikes,” he must learn the “Purple Lightning Energy.” However, he could choose not to make it his main cultivation method, but rather a separate application technique. With the assistance of the “Thunder Scar” and the incomplete true intent of the “Divine Xiao Nine Annihilations,” it would not be inferior to the main method.
In other words, it would cost around two thousand merit points… Meng Qi felt a pang of distress and heartache over his hard-earned merits. Yet, he had no choice but to take this step forward. Relying solely on the “Ananda’s Blade of Defilement Breaking” was undeniably perilous. Not to mention the fact that Ananda himself might still be alive and entangled in the cycle of reincarnation—each strike he unleashed could easily turn him into a genuine monk, a thought that sent shivers down his spine.
“One thousand merits for the Purple Lightning Energy and another thousand for the fifth move, ‘Wild Thunder Shaking the Nine Heavens,'” Meng Qi made his decision. Since it was to be used as a decisive move, it had to be powerful and domineering, not something used in everyday external scenes.
With a clatter, Meng Qi felt as if he could hear the sound of money falling and his heart breaking, but he directly selected the manual.
The cost of inheriting the true intent and manual inheritance in terms of merits was essentially the same. The only drawback of inheriting the true intent was the possibility of gaining no enlightenment at all. Although Meng Qi believed he possessed the incomplete true intent of the “Divine Xiao Nine Annihilations,” he dared not take the risk of attempting it. It would be a waste of merits if nothing came of it. If the incomplete true intent of the “Divine Xiao Nine Annihilations” and the Thunder Scar could aid in cultivating the Purple Lightning Energy and the “Wild Thunder Shaking the Nine Heavens,” then within a year, he could essentially master them and achieve his own realm.
After flipping through this manual, Meng Qi put it away with a sigh and took out the fifth and sixth level manuals of the Golden Bell Cover given by his master, exchanging them for three hundred merits.
“You’re still planning to exchange for something?” Jiang Zhiwei was somewhat surprised, as Meng Qi clearly still had over eight hundred merits left.
Meng Qi looked at the misty central light column: “The ‘Bajiao Xuan Gong’ opening manual. I need to replace my main cultivation method before reaching the external scene.”
He had the “Dugu Nine Swords” for sword techniques, the “Tian Dao Essentials” for saber techniques, the “Thunder Words” for control, the “Undying Seal Method” for group battles, and the “Phantom Demon Body Method” from the “Undying Seal Method” for escape—the complete “Undying Seal Method” included the Seven Phantoms of the Undying, but Meng Qi didn’t want to be greedy or distracted, only planning to learn the method of unburdening and borrowing strength and keeping his true qi at its peak.
Additionally, the seventh layer of the Golden Bell Cover required full mastery of the sixth layer and the opening of the mouth orifice for cultivation. There was no time to consider it within a year, so Meng Qi temporarily had no particularly urgent martial arts to learn. Moreover, he had just achieved a breakthrough in essence, his foundation was unstable, and excessive use of elixirs could easily lead to internal fire “burning” his foundation. Therefore, the matter of changing his primary martial arts practice became pressing.
“The ‘Bajiao Xuan Gong’?” Zhang Yuanshan, Luo Shengyi, and others exclaimed in unison, as this martial art was among the top entries on the exchange list, and who hadn’t paid attention to it!
The Bajiao Xuan Gong, if one attains the Dao, becomes the Immortal Dao Body. If one attains Buddhahood, gains the Bodhi Golden Body, which is unsoiled and pure, neither born nor dying, achieving physical sainthood, enduring countless calamities, possessing three heads and six arms, transforming to resemble heaven and earth, with various changes, adept at avoiding disasters, possessing complete supernatural abilities, and immense strength.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage