The purple-red sword qi surged, slicing through the black wind and demonic aura surrounding the Bull Demon, severing its protective chainmail, and leaving a deep gash on its thick yellow hide, exposing bone and entrails.
Meng Qi swung his magical weapon with all his might, but it was only equivalent to a normal strike from a half-step beyond Qi境 expert. He couldn’t directly kill the Bull Demon, whose body was protected by thick demonic aura and whose hide was as tough as leather.
But he wasn’t alone. As the Bull Demon let out another shriek of pain and seemed about to regain its senses from its daze, Luo Shengyi’s right fist shot out. His entire arm seemed to swell to twice its size, the fist like a mountain peak, his qi as towering and majestic as a lofty peak.
With this punch, it was as if he had shortened the distance, rushing straight to the Bull Demon and striking heavily on the wound inflicted by Zi Shang.
That wasn’t all. As soon as the right fist landed, the left fist followed immediately, equally massive and imposing, yet the sensation it gave was completely different.
This punch was solitary and lofty, rugged and perilous—a completely different mountainous force!
“Nine Peaks Iron Fist,” an external martial arts technique imitating the power of nine different kinds of mountains.
Man follows the Earth, the Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows nature!
Bang! Bang!
Two explosive sounds rang out from the deep sword wound. The Bull Demon’s internal organs were reduced to a pulp, as if crushed by a boulder rolling inside its body.
These two consecutive external martial strikes were Luo Shengyi’s ultimate life-saving techniques, but at this moment, he had no choice but to use them. He had to seize every second—otherwise, he would be the one to die.
Meanwhile, Qi Zhengyan didn’t miss the opportunity. He swung his Dragon Pattern Crimson Gold Sword, gathering dragon might, condensing frosty qi into a thin layer over the blade, resembling a cold chih dragon, and shot out a freezing beam that pierced into the wound widened by Luo Shengyi’s punches.
“Ahh…”
The Bull Demon’s scream was abruptly cut off, as if frozen in place. But its body swelled and then exploded with a bang. The flying Bull Yellow flew straight toward Qi Zhengyan.
Fragments of flesh flew everywhere. Even in its dying moments, the Bull Demon’s self-destruction was terrifying. Luo Shengyi was blasted backward, his chest caved in, spewing blood violently, exhaling more than inhaling.
With great difficulty, he fumbled for a “Great Replenishing Pill,” hastily stuffed it into his mouth, and immediately sat cross-legged to recover his energy. If there was another attack, he could only resign himself to his fate.
The Bull Yellow was a magical treasure refined by the Bull Demon through its life and death. It moved too fast to dodge, glowing yellow with bloodlight, exuding a terrifying aura.
Qi Zhengyan’s face turned corpse-like, his eyes filled with unwillingness. He exerted all his strength, releasing waves of radiant light like blooming lotuses and burning flames circling his body, attempting to deflect the Bull Yellow.
Though fierce, the Bull Yellow could only be slightly deflected by Qi Zhengyan, avoiding a head explosion but piercing through his Mei Xia defensive aura and striking his chest and abdomen.
Snap! Snap! Snap! The sound of his ribs breaking rang out one after another as his body flew backward, trying to dissipate the force through this backward motion.
Suddenly, he felt his body halt—someone had caught him, absorbing the remaining force of the Bull Yellow.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Meng Qi sheathed his sword softly, his right hand supporting Qi Zhengyan, retreating more than ten steps, each step leaving a deep footprint with radial cracks around it.
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he finally neutralized the Bull Yellow’s force.
Thanks to Meng Qi’s assistance, Qi Zhengyan narrowly avoided being pierced through the chest and abdomen by the Bull Yellow, which would have ruptured his internal organs and broken his spine. However, his ribs were completely shattered, and his internal organs severely injured. He had no choice but to take out a Great Replenishing Pill and swallow it.
With injuries like this, Fu Zhenzhen could only stabilize him. It would take a long time to fully recover, but with danger all around, mere stabilization wasn’t enough!
Fu Zhenzhen rushed over, helping Qi Zhengyan and Luo Shengyi heal their broken bones so that the Great Replenishing Pill’s effects could fully take hold.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhiwei’s battle with the Bull Demon was also reaching its end. She feigned a weakness, luring the Bull Demon—who relied solely on brute force and lacked refined techniques—into losing its balance. Without hesitation, she unleashed “Sword of No Self.”
The blade traced a beautiful arc, as if descending from the heavens, devoid of self and others, heaven and earth, transcending time and space, piercing straight into the Bull Demon’s forehead.
Engaging a monster half a step beyond the Qi Realm, she couldn’t afford any distractions from Meng Qi and the others. She had to finish this swiftly to save her teammates, even if it meant taking a minor risk.
The Bull Demon opened its mouth and spat out the yellow Bull Yellow, its eyes turning blank as it fell backward.
With a thud, its heavy body crashed onto the ground, creating a depression and a cloud of dust.
Bang!
Jiang Zhiwei had no time to dodge. She barely managed to tap the hilt of her sword, slightly deflecting the Bull Yellow, avoiding a direct hit to her head, but it struck her left shoulder, sending her flying sideways.
Her left shoulder was completely crushed, injuring her internal organs. She quickly pressed an acupoint herself and swallowed another healing pill she had gathered over the past year.
In the span of a few breaths, all three half-step Transcendent Qi Realm monsters were annihilated. However, Meng Qi’s team suffered significant casualties—one member lost, three severely wounded, and one lightly injured. Only Zhang Yuanshan, Fu Zhenzhen, and Ruan Yushu remained fully combat-ready. Additionally, all the tools used to suppress the monsters had been completely depleted.
To be honest, Meng Qi’s team was already incredibly formidable. Apart from the two support members and Ge Huai’en, everyone else possessed strength comparable to the Human List, with Jiang Zhiwei ranking among the top of that list. Under normal circumstances, they could swiftly defeat a half-step Exterior-level monster, such as the wolf demon they first encountered. However, even with their numbers and tools, there was a limit to their capabilities. At most, they could hold their own against three half-step Exterior-level monsters. Now, after exhausting all their resources, even two would push them to their absolute limit.
No, within an hour, before the Great Replenishing Pill’s effects fully kicked in, even one Bull Demon-level monster would be difficult to handle.
After all, the main combatant Jiang Zhiwei and the secondary fighter Luo Shengyi would be unable to fight for at least an hour. Among the current team, the only three members with long-range attack capabilities—including Qi Zhengyan—would also be out of action. Although Meng Qi and Zhang Yuanshan were strong, they were still far from reaching the Half-Step Exterior level. Even with the aid of magical weapons and Ruan Yushu’s support, the situation would remain extremely challenging.
The normal strategy would be for Jiang Zhiwei to engage one monster while the rest focused on another, resolving it quickly before assisting her.
“Here, take the Great Replenishing Pill,” Meng Qi said, pulling out his own and handing it to Jiang Zhiwei.
Jiang Zhiwei’s eyebrows slightly lifted, then she smiled faintly: “No need. I have other healing herbs. Though not as good, I can recover some combat effectiveness within an hour.”
“No need to be polite. You’re the strongest in the team. The faster you recover, the better our chances of survival,” Meng Qi carefully chose his words. His injuries weren’t severe; with the Eight-Nine Mystical Art, he would recover soon. “Besides, if I were seriously injured, would you hesitate to give me your healing herbs?”
Before Jiang Zhiwei could speak, Fu Zhenzhen, having finished treating Qi Zhengyan and Luo Shengyi, walked over: “Use mine instead. A half-step beyond Qi Realm strike either won’t hit me, or it will kill me outright. Even with the Great Replenishing Pill, it won’t help. Besides, I have more healing herbs than both of you combined.”
Seeing the two about to speak, she gave a stern look, no longer as shy as before due to their familiarity: “I’m the doctor. You must listen to me.”
After a pause, she continued, “Sister Jiang, you’re the only one among us who can single-handedly battle a half-step Qi Realm monster. Without you, we’d be in deep trouble. If even I, the healer, am in danger, it means all of you are gravely wounded. Having the Great Replenishing Pill would only prolong my agony.”
Jiang Zhiwei, not one to be overly modest, gently nodded and accepted Fu Zhenzhen’s Great Replenishing Pill, swallowing it.
“We must leave quickly. The commotion earlier might attract other half-step Beyond Qi Realm monsters,” Meng Qi said warily, scanning the surroundings. He approached Ge Huai’en’s corpse, looking at his head—crushed like a watermelon—and sighed deeply. On the sixth day, the first team member had died…
He searched Ge Huai’en’s body for any unfinished wishes, but found only books related to Yi, so he gathered large stones to cover Ge Huai’en’s remains, preventing monsters from disturbing them.
At this moment, Zhang Yuanshan picked up one intact Ox Gallstone, two partially damaged ones, and an ox horn, handing them to Ruan Yushu to store in the ring—such battles at the half-step beyond the Qi Refinement realm often damaged clothing and bags, so storing them in the ring was safer.
The remaining bull horns and hides were too time-consuming to peel off (Jiang Zhiwei had used an external technique to sever one horn), and the entire bull couldn’t be stored in the ring. The group had no choice but to reluctantly abandon them, carrying the injured and accelerating their retreat, striving to create distance and completely escape the encirclement. Then, they would hide. As long as they could endure for an hour, things would improve.
Not long after moving forward, a clear bird cry suddenly echoed from the sky. Meng Qi and the others’ hearts froze. If pursued by a flying monster, things would become dangerous. Even more perilous was that this bird was a half-step beyond Qi境 monster!
If it were a scout, they might still escape by using forests and terrain. But if it were a monster with intent to kill, the injured team would have to fight for their lives.
Unfortunately, things always went from bad to worse. A monster with crimson wings flew toward them at incredible speed. It could only catch up because of its extreme velocity.
“Hand over the opportunity, and I’ll let you die in my belly!” it circled overhead.
Even if they could hand over the opportunity, pretending to be the target to buy time, Meng Qi wouldn’t do it. First, it meant completely losing control, leaving life and death in others’ hands—an unwise choice for a rational person. Second, Meng Qi didn’t even know what the opportunity was. This place wasn’t far from the temple. If captured and unable to trigger any anomalies, he’d only end up boiled or steamed.
Was this the end? A chill passed through Meng Qi’s heart as he glanced at Jiang Zhiwei, Ruan Yushu, Qi Zhengyan, Zhang Yuanshan, and others. Their expressions were resolute, though fearful, showing no sign of panic or collapse.
Damn it! If you die, you die. If you survive, you live forever! Let’s fight!
Having lived two lives, made so many friends, and learned profound martial arts, what was there to fear in death?
Meng Qi’s emotions sank, his heart calm. He thought of his dream of wielding a sword across the world, of all the things he wanted to do.
He had finally gotten the chance to learn martial arts. If he didn’t experience every level of cultivation, if he didn’t uncover the truth of the Dharma Body, how could he accept death? The world was vast, with countless landscapes, unique beauty, and delicious food. If he couldn’t see them all, how could he accept death? He had many friends and companions. If he couldn’t travel the martial world with them, seeking vengeance and justice, how could he accept death? His master took his punishment, his younger apprentice brother was in meditation. If he couldn’t meet them again, how could he accept death?
A surge of will to live arose, not contradicting his willingness to die, but instead igniting Meng Qi’s fighting spirit.
He thought for a moment, then took out the small jade Buddha left by Master Yuanmeng: “The opportunity is here.”
Upon seeing the jade Buddha, he himself was momentarily stunned. Master Yuanmeng’s final words were, “Where is the Sacred Mountain (Lingshan)?” How perfectly it suited the present situation!
The crimson-winged demon, upon spotting the jade Buddha, its eyes gleaming with greed, swooped down. Clutching a blood-red spear, its demonic aura surged overwhelmingly—this was unmistakably a half-step Transcendence Realm powerhouse.
As it neared the ground to retrieve the jade Buddha, Meng Qi moved. So did Zhang Yuanshan.
For the first time, Ruan Yushu’s expression turned serious. Her right hand continuously plucked the Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds zither, the sound like piercing soul needles, drilling into the monster’s ears and heart.
As she played, blood flowed from her eyes, nose, and mouth, dripping onto the zither, but she didn’t stop for a moment.
The monster shook its head, writhing in pain, as Meng Qi leaped high, whispering as he slashed downward.
One slash, two slashes, three slashes!
Six, eight, nine slashes!
The blades were like afterimages, like heavenly thunder punishments, one after another, continuously striking down!
Purple lightning rolled like wheels, cutting fiercely toward the monster.
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