To be honest, Meng Qi’s first reaction at that moment was to exchange the “Lamp Before the Buddha” for the Master of the Six Gates, another inexplicably connected sequel, again involving the Buddhist sect—nobody could predict what might happen! Always entangled with the Buddhist sect and Anan, it felt far too dangerous!
Had this been before the current mission, he likely would have done just that. However, his mindset had changed. He now understood that passivity was not the proper attitude toward the trials of the cycle, and that avoidance wouldn’t solve anything. If there truly was a connection tied to him, even without the Lamp Before the Buddha, he would still encounter it—perhaps under even more dangerous and precarious circumstances. Therefore, it was better to keep the lamp. After all, it was a fine artifact of treasure-grade quality, useful for both defense and offense, significantly increasing his chances of survival. He needed to grow stronger and face the issue head-on like a true man.
As long as Heaven leaves a path, there is always hope for survival!
“Good,” he said, following the Master of the Six Gates’ instructions on how to control it. He extended his consciousness outward, imprinting the lamp, shrinking it into a miniature carving the size of a soybean, then pulled out a strand of hair, threaded it through, and hung it inside his clothing against his chest.
Ruan Yushu first took out the colorful crystal-like relic and placed it into the central beam of light.
“Arhat Relic (non-perfect), left behind after the Nirvana of a Golden Body Arhat, a divine weapon-level item. However, this particular Arhat was tainted by demonic and deathly qi before his death. After centuries of degradation and purification during Nirvana, most of his power was spent in cleansing and liberation. Thus, it is worth only 7,500 Virtue Points. It can be used to enhance Buddhist martial arts, as a core component of formations to suppress evil forces, and when worn, it calms the mind, prevents external demonic influences, and wards off negative and malevolent energies, clearing away troubles and afflictions.”
“It can be crafted into a Buddhist treasure with corresponding materials, making it impervious to all evils and granting extraordinary magical abilities. The total cost of required materials amounts to 12,000 Virtue Points.”
Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu remained silent, for in their eyes, this opportunity Meng Qi obtained was earned by venturing into the Pure Land of Vulture Peak through the Jade Buddha and risking his life for the Rebirth Sutra and the Plaque of Great Thunderclap Temple.
Without hesitation, Meng Qi said, “Convert it into Virtue Points and divide them equally. Except for the Lamp Before the Buddha, which has a follow-up trigger, all the rewards from this deadly mission should be shared equally.”
Without his teammates, he would have perished long ago on this deadly mission. Without them risking their lives alongside him to retrieve the plaque of the Great Thunderclap Temple, how could he have ever entered the Pure Land of Vulture Peak? He could never bring himself to monopolize the Arhat’s relic—it simply wasn’t in his character!
Transforming it into a Buddhist treasure as a team’s ultimate safeguard would require more Virtue Points than they had. Directly using it, he had no need for any Buddhist martial arts that required activation—so far, Anan’s Precept-Breaking Saber technique had always gone against the true essence of Buddhism. Activating it with the relic would only backfire. The Golden Bell Armor had only reached the sixth stage’s culmination; even with activation, it wouldn’t reach the threshold of half-step into the external realm.
Seeing Jiang Zhiwei about to speak in protest, Meng Qi quickly added, “We are a team, having faced life and death together in this death mission. Every reward belongs to all of us. We mustn’t ruin this bond of camaraderie. Moreover, the stronger you both become, the safer I will be, and the more confident I will be in handling future tasks. Next, I have another mission I’d like to ask all of you to help with.”
Taking this opportunity, he introduced the mystery of the True Martial Emperor’s demise.
“What mission?” Jiang Zhiwei asked in surprise. When had the little monk acquired another mission?
Although Qi Zhengyan and Ruan Yushu rarely showed expressions, even they couldn’t help but show a flicker of change.
Meng Qi briefly mentioned the black fur and the mystery of the True Martial Emperor’s death. Jiang Zhiwei first looked stunned, then burst into a soft laugh: “You really do have one amazing encounter after another. Could it be the Jade Buddha’s doing? Hehe, now that it’s gone, you’ll have to rely on your own like the rest of us.”
She had encountered a couple of amazing opportunities herself in the cycle world, but nothing as exaggerated as Meng Qi’s. Hence, she teased him.
After his initial surprise, Qi Zhengyan’s expression returned to normal, seemingly already numb to Meng Qi’s extraordinary experiences.
“These encounters are entanglements, and they are dangerous,” Ruan Yushu said calmly. Being caught up in events orchestrated by others, involuntarily, such encounters weren’t necessarily blessings—just like Anan’s “Everything Makes Sense Now.”
Hearing Ruan Yushu’s words, Meng Qi sighed deeply: “That’s why I want to invite all of you to explore the tomb of the True Martial Emperor together, to help me share the burden and difficulties.”
“You have the black fur, and the Cycle Talisman can send you to the world where the tomb lies. But we can only go to worlds we’ve experienced before,” Qi Zhengyan raised a concern.
This was also Meng Qi’s worry. He hurriedly went to his room, retrieved the black fur, placed it into the beam of light, and inquired of the Master of the Six Gates.
“This linked mission can be shared by up to five people,” the Master of the Six Gates answered, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
Phew, Meng Qi exhaled deeply in relief and quickly shared the “Mystery of the True Martial Emperor’s Tomb” mission with Qi Zhengyan, Jiang Zhiwei, and Ruan Yushu.
“When do we go?” Jiang Zhiwei asked.
Meng Qi had already thought it through: “Just finished a deadly mission, I think we’re all physically and mentally exhausted. We need some time to recover and adjust. How about we wait until we’ve processed our rewards, then meet again in three months to crush the Cycle Talismans and enter the plaza together.”
“Fine,” Jiang Zhiwei didn’t hesitate. After the deadly mission, she had become more proactive.
Ruan Yushu pursed her lips but didn’t object, and Qi Zhengyan was the same.
Soon, the group agreed on a specific time to begin the “Mystery of the True Martial Emperor’s Tomb” mission.
With this distraction, Jiang Zhiwei and the others no longer objected to converting the Arhat relic into Virtue Points.
A flash of light, and Meng Qi seemed to hear the sound of countless coins dropping into his pockets—7,500 Virtue Points, an unprecedented amount.
Afterward, Ruan Yushu continued placing other items into the central beam of light:
“Black Wolf Demon’s Giant Hammer, top-tier weapon, worth 550 Virtue Points…”
“Yellow Lion Demon’s Iron Rod, made from special materials, perfect weapon, worth 800 Virtue Points…”
“Yellow Lion Demon’s Shattered Demon Core, worth 320 Virtue Points…”
“Yellow Bull Demon’s Copper Rod, ordinary weapon, but made from Red Blood Yuan Copper, each rod worth 500 Virtue Points, a total of three…”
“Yellow Bull Demon’s Gallbladder (300 years old), intact, can neutralize all poisons and stabilize the mind, worth 800 Virtue Points, can also be made into corresponding pills or artifacts…”
“Yellow Bull Demon’s Gallbladder (damaged), worth 350 Virtue Points each, two pieces total…”
“Yellow Bull Demon’s Horn (one piece)… worth 200 Virtue Points…”
“Red Bird’s Spear (broken)… worth 350 Virtue Points…”
“Benpo’s Steel Fork, nearly a treasure-grade weapon, worth 800 Virtue Points…”
“Benpo’s Gold Chainmail (fake), Phoenix-Winged Purple Gold Crown (fake), Lotus Silk Cloud-Stepping Boots (fake), and other miscellaneous items, worth a total of 1,000 Virtue Points.”
“Benpo’s Fish Scales and Fish Skin, worth 800 Virtue Points, can also be made into close-fitting soft armor…”
It was like a flood of Virtue Points pouring in, leaving Meng Qi somewhat stunned. No wonder it was a deadly mission. However, with the team intact, the share wasn’t too exaggerated after all.
Thinking of the deaths of Zhang Yuanshan and others, his mood immediately darkened. He quickly pulled himself together and said, “Let’s keep the fish scales and fish skin to make soft armor as a last line of defense. Keep one damaged gallbladder to make an antidote pill. How about that?”
That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about his clothes tearing apart during intense combat. This was Meng Qi’s first thought.
“No problem,” Jiang Zhiwei nodded.
Qi Zhengyan, still expressionless, said, “That’s only logical.”
Ruan Yushu simply sat aside and started eating dragon fish jerky without objection.
Thus, Meng Qi kept the fish scales, fish skin, and one damaged gallbladder, converting all the rest. He received 6,670 Virtue Points, plus the 7,500 from the Arhat relic, totaling 14,170—a sudden feeling of going from extreme poverty to sudden wealth.
Afterward, he spent 200 Virtue Points to craft the black fish scales and fish skin into four sets of softly glowing soft armor, thin as cicada wings and light as a feather, flexible yet impervious to blades and spears. Then he spent another 200 Virtue Points on auxiliary materials and 200 on refining, turning the damaged gallbladder into four spirit pills.
“Mind-Stabilizing and Poison-Resisting Pill, spirit medicine, neutralizes all poisons, stabilizes the spirit, and treats soul detachment…”
After putting away the soft armor and Mind-Stabilizing and Poison-Resisting Pills, Meng Qi evenly divided the remaining Virtue Points. Each person received exactly 3,380 Virtue Points, plus the mission reward, totaling 4,380. It was more than any previous reward, perhaps even more than several future cycle missions combined.
“Little monk, what are you planning to exchange for?” Jiang Zhiwei asked first.
Meng Qi smiled but didn’t answer immediately, instead asking, “Zhiwei, what about you?”
“With over 4,000 Virtue Points, I want to exchange for Sword Twenty-Three, but I also plan to upgrade the White Rainbow Through the Sun Sword to a treasure-grade weapon. It doesn’t seem quite enough, so I’m thinking of reconsidering.” Because of this mission, Jiang Zhiwei felt helpless against flying enemies without a treasure-grade sword aura, so she planned to promote the White Rainbow Through the Sun Sword ahead of schedule.
As for Sword Twenty-Three, a formidable sword technique among external realm techniques, she had long coveted it.
Meng Qi smiled: “Then let’s wait until we’ve exchanged everything, and see if we can pool together some extra points.”
Before Jiang Zhiwei could answer, he continued, “I have quite a few things to exchange for. ‘Whisper’ was destroyed, so I need a new long sabre. Choosing a good top-tier weapon isn’t as good as directly exchanging for a slightly inferior treasure-grade weapon, which can still produce powerful sabre auras.”
After returning, Zi Shang would have to return to the Ye family.
“Secondly, I need to exchange for Ambidexterity. Once I’ve mastered it, I can consider a technique that combines sword and sabre. Since I’ve only cultivated the Eight-Nine Arcane Art up to the ear acupoint and my own cultivation must not stagnate, I must exchange for the seventh stage of the Golden Bell Armor, then proceed to cultivate the eighth and ninth acupoints…”
“Additionally, I need a self-contained heart method for external realm sword techniques or a martial art that refines the spirit. I’m a bit indecisive here. If the Virtue Points are sufficient, I might exchange for both. If not, I’ll just choose one.”
The Illusionary Shapeshifting Art stimulated the ancestral cavity between the eyebrows but offered little in terms of spirit cultivation. The Undying Seal Art focused on hand and body seals to connect internal and external forces, with spirit cultivation not being its primary focus. After several instances of spiritual exhaustion, Meng Qi naturally thought of martial arts that refined the spirit. It would also greatly assist him in breaking through to the half-step external realm in the future.
“Five hundred Virtue Points for Ambidexterity, six hundred for the seventh stage of the Golden Bell Armor. If you want to exchange for a treasure-grade long sabre, an external realm sword technique, and a spirit-refining martial art, you’ll probably have to look for options around a thousand points each,” Jiang Zhiwei mused.
Qi Zhengyan, expressionless, said, “With our current cultivation level, we can’t really make use of the difference between high-quality and low-quality treasure-grade weapons.”
“That makes sense,” Meng Qi said, flipping through the list and looking for a treasure-grade weapon just over a thousand points.
Frankly speaking, he had already decided on the external realm sword technique with a self-contained heart method and the spirit-refining martial art, but he wasn’t sure if he had enough Virtue Points, as he had to prioritize the treasure-grade weapon first.
“Fei Xian” (Flying Immortal), the ultimate sword technique of Ye Gucheng, the Lord of White Cloud City, just at the boundary of the external realm, worth a thousand Virtue Points.
“Change the Heaven and Earth Great Method,” a supreme martial art from the Tibetan Buddhist sect within the Huang school, a spiritual cultivation technique, also worth a thousand Virtue Points!
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