The price of a divine weapon was not cheap, but Meng Qi did not hesitate. He immediately searched for a Thunder-attribute long saber and soon found one that caught his eye:
“Sky’s Wound, a divine weapon valued at 1,100 Virtue Points. Its blade is forged from Celestial Thunder Red Gold, while the hilt is crafted from Thunder-struck Spirit Wood, radiating the awe-inspiring might of heavenly retribution. Exceptionally heavy and nearly immovable, it is indestructibly resilient and peerlessly sharp. When wielded at full power, it alters the heavens within a three-mile radius—summoning roiling storm clouds, entangling yin and yang forces, filling the air with deafening thunder, and channeling celestial lightning through its blade. The weapon’s energy manifests as a thunder dragon, as though the sky itself were wounded, capable of annihilating evil and vanquishing demons.”
It was a uniquely shaped, heavy saber resembling a gaping wound. Its blade was a deep red bordering on black, and the handle was scorched-looking. At first glance, it didn’t seem like a treasure weapon but rather a burnt ordinary weapon. Thunder scars ran across its surface like patterns and markings, forming three golden ancient characters: “Sky’s Wound.”
Meng Qi calculated the cost and found the price reasonable, the description matching what he expected, so he exchanged for it.
As “Sky’s Wound” landed in his hands, Meng Qi immediately felt his entire body lurch forward and downward from the weight in his right hand. He quickly steadied himself.
“So heavy!” he blurted out. It must weigh over 150 catties.
However, he soon revealed a trace of delight. After cultivating the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, his strength had significantly increased. Coupled with his prior mastery of the Golden Bell Shield, which also emphasized physical power, he often felt that the Evil Saber was too light, making it difficult to fully unleash the ferocious and overbearing essence of his blade techniques. This sensation became even more pronounced after switching to Whisper. The weight of “Sky’s Wound,” however, felt just right.
He swung it a few times, getting used to the weight, and found it increasingly comfortable. Yet, for some unknown reason, he suddenly thought of the Monkey King in the Dragon Palace, who always complained that his weapon was too light. A strange sense of melancholy crept into his heart—how had his style come to this?
Fortunately, fortunately, there was still “Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens” to balance things out!
This technique perfectly shattered the threshold of Opening the Orifice, stepping into the realm of External Scenery. Valued at 1,000 Virtue Points, it fully aligned with Meng Qi’s requirements. As a formidable External Scenery killing technique, it was graceful and awe-inspiring, as exquisite as a painting. Not only did it effectively compensate for the lack of explosive power in his left-handed swordplay, but it also granted him insight into the intricacies of External Scenery swordsmanship, laying a solid foundation for his sword skills to ascend to greater heights.
Jiang Zhiwei had no doubts about Meng Qi’s choice of “Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens.” She had even contemplated selecting it herself, as this technique perfectly bridges the gap between Opening the Apertures and entering the External Scenery realm. It thoroughly demonstrates the subtleties of this transition and aids in deepening her understanding of sword intent.
She lightly furrowed her delicate brows and looked at the other secret manual Meng Qi had exchanged for: “Heaven-Shaking Earth-Striking Method?”
Where had he found this spiritual technique?
Though Qi Zhengyan and Ruan Yushu remained silent, their eyes clearly focused on the ancient manual in Meng Qi’s hands.
Meng Qi smiled and explained, “This is a spiritual method from the Esoteric School of Buddhism. It can touch the heart, probe and confuse the opponent’s thoughts, revealing various cracks in their mind, thus drawing them into illusions from which they cannot escape. It shares a similar effect with ‘Ananda Breaking the Precepts Saber Method,’ though it hasn’t reached the level of transmitting one’s mind through another’s, using others to cultivate ‘self.'”
“Besides strengthening the spirit, I want to use its cultivation method to extract some useful elements from the ‘Ananda Breaking the Precepts Saber Method’ and integrate them into my own martial arts, so I won’t fear the return of ‘Ananda’ or gradually cutting myself into a monk.”
“You were already a little monk…”
“You were already a monk…”
Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu muttered simultaneously.
I didn’t hear that… I didn’t hear that… Meng Qi’s face twitched slightly as he continued, “Furthermore, as this method is cultivated deeper, it can uncover hidden consciousness within the mind, drawing people into endless cycles of illusory rebirths. This will help me understand concepts like karma and causality through the ‘Ananda Breaking the Precepts Saber Method,’ allowing me to extract parts of the techniques from ‘Accumulating Karma’ and ‘Sticking to Causality.'”
After the death mission, his mindset had shifted. The ‘Ananda Breaking the Precepts Saber Method’ was too powerful to be ignored out of fear of danger. Therefore, he decided to take an alternative approach—using the “Heaven-Shaking Earth-Striking Method” to extract useful techniques from the ‘Ananda Breaking the Precepts Saber Method’ without involving the ‘cultivating self’ aspect.
Although its power would inevitably be reduced, it would also eliminate the danger. Moreover, if he could truly grasp the subtleties of ‘karma’ and ‘causality’ through the ‘Endless Rebirth Illusions,’ it would benefit him greatly before he reached the level of a Grandmaster, making it unnecessary to actually master ‘Accumulating Karma’ and ‘Sticking to Causality.’
Consequently, he chose the “Heaven-Shaking Earth-Striking Method” without hesitation. Drawing from his experience with the ‘Ananda Breaking the Precepts Saber Technique’ and his post-Transcendence physique, he was confident in his ability to master it.
“That sounds quite suitable for you,” Jiang Zhiwei gave a positive evaluation, barely suppressing a smile.
“But it’s still a monk’s technique…” Ruan Yushu glanced at the “Heaven-Shaking Earth-Striking Method,” as if offhandedly commenting.
Enough already! Meng Qi inwardly shouted and exchanged for the seventh stage of the Golden Bell Cover, then stepped into the central light pillar to infuse the “Left-Right Ambidexterity” skill into his body at a cost of 500 Virtue Points.
It felt as if a spring flowed into him. His mind was clear and uncluttered, and an image of himself appeared, practicing saber techniques. Gradually, the image split into two—one wielding the saber with his right hand, the other using the sword with his left, each performing different techniques…
Stepping out of the light pillar, Meng Qi took a deep breath. He needed to return and practice this skill thoroughly. It might not be usable in the short term.
He still had 180 Virtue Points left and decided not to spend them immediately, planning instead to see how many Jiang Zhiwei would still need.
“Yushu, what about you?” Meng Qi turned to Ruan Yushu, changing his address slightly.
Ruan Yushu didn’t mind. She gazed at the hazy light pillar and said, “Since I began practicing the qin and cultivating the heart, I’ve always used ‘Qifeng’ (Phoenix Resting). The ‘qin’ and ‘heart’ are fused, able to elevate along with my ‘heart,’ making it the most suitable and convenient for me. It can also withstand the ‘Twelve Langhuan Divine Melodies,’ and when unleashed, its power is nearly equal to that of a treasure qin. Therefore, I don’t plan to forcefully enhance it, as that might interfere with my connection to it, making it hard to play a perfect melody.”
When speaking of the qin, she became unusually talkative—’Qifeng’ was indeed the name of her qin.
“Little Yushu, have you chosen any qin scores?” Jiang Zhiwei wasn’t very knowledgeable in this area and dared not rashly offer suggestions.
Ruan Yushu gently nodded. Her fair, delicate face radiated a brilliance that was hard to look directly at: “Yes, I’ve always wanted to learn various lost and rarely seen qin scores. Now I plan to exchange for the ‘Moon-cold Mantra.'”
Learning qin scores might be one of her motivations for participating in the cycle missions.
“Moon-cold Mantra?” Meng Qi hadn’t heard of it either. Upon closer inspection, it was an ancient qin score said to be composed by the Moon Goddess in the celestial court. Internally, it cultivates the “Heart QIn,” refining heart energy and spirit. Externally, it brings extreme cold, chilling people from the heart and freezing the soul. Of course, such terrifying power could only be fully displayed by someone who had reached the External Scenery realm. It was worth 2,400 Virtue Points—truly a case of getting what you paid for!
Ruan Yushu quickly exchanged for it and lovingly flipped through the pages in her hand. She casually added, “I also want to exchange for the Great Rejuvenation Pill and a long-range technique for self-defense.”
This mission had taught her a lesson. Although she could release energy through broken qin strings, its power was insufficient to harm distant enemies. Techniques like the Heart-shaking Sound couldn’t counter opponents significantly stronger than her. The Eight Heavenly Dragon Melodies and the Twelve Langhuan Divine Melodies could only be performed a limited number of times. Against formidable enemies with long-range attacks, she found herself at a disadvantage. It would be ideal to possess a long-range technique that wouldn’t interfere with her qin performance.
“Unless it’s an External Scenery technique, long-range techniques are limited to darts or arrows. If it is an External Scenery technique, what’s the difference between you using such a technique once and playing one of the Eight Heavenly Dragon Melodies?” Meng Qi shook his head. Ruan Yushu couldn’t realistically throw darts while holding the qin.
“It’s not impossible,” Jiang Zhiwei suddenly spoke up. “The Donghai Sword Estate possesses a supreme technique known as ‘Formless and Imageless Sword Qi.’ When cultivated to the External Scenery realm, it enables the emission of sword qi from any part of the body, capable of repelling multiple adversaries. Elder Master He Qi of the estate attained the ‘True Body of the Formless and Imageless Sword Qi’ through this art. Once mastered, as long as one has sufficient inner energy, one can unleash sword qi attacks from a distance. It doesn’t heavily rely on mental focus, making it an ideal complement to External Scenery qin techniques like the Eight Heavenly Dragon Melodies, which consume substantial mental energy.”
Donghai Sword Estate was one of the six major sword sects. He Jiu, the first in the Human List, was He Qi’s grandson. This lineage had always been passed down through a single line, with names based on numbers.
Qi Zhengyan agreed, “After transcending the mundane, your inner energy will become increasingly powerful. Combined with pills that replenish energy, you should be able to launch several sword qi attacks. However, it won’t match the effects of other External Scenery techniques with additional abilities.”
Upon hearing this, Meng Qi recalled two other similar techniques: the Primordial Body-Penetrating Formless Sword Qi and the Six Pulse Divine Sword!
They would be even more suitable since Ruan Yushu was based in Langya, right by the East Sea. Learning the estate’s treasured technique would require her to hide it carefully, or else it might cause disputes.
“How about these two?” Meng Qi pointed at them and asked Ruan Yushu.
Ruan Yushu glanced at them and hesitated slightly at the idea of breaking the body: “Let’s go with the Six Pulse Divine Sword.”
As her cultivation increased, she could play more External Scenery melodies, and the role of sword qi would gradually diminish. There was no need to choose something too advanced. Even if her inner energy wasn’t enough to support all six pulse sword techniques, mastering the Sha Ze sword with her left hand while holding the qin would still perfectly meet her needs without affecting her qin playing.
The Six Pulse Divine Sword cost 1,300 Virtue Points, and the Great Rejuvenation Pill cost 500. Ruan Yushu still had 180 Virtue Points left and didn’t exchange them immediately, intending to see if she could help Jiang Zhiwei with the final amount.
“I lack powerful techniques,” Qi Zhengyan said frankly after Ruan Yushu finished her exchanges.
The “Hun Tian Bao Jian (Cosmic Treasure Mirror)” was indeed all-encompassing and infinitely profound, yet the disparity between its layers was too pronounced. Given his current level of cultivation, he was unable to fully harness the power of the External Scenery techniques from the first four tiers.
This was also a drawback of being a “weakened” half-step External Scenery cultivator from the start. Therefore, Qi Zhengyan lacked the power for desperate, all-out attacks and wanted to make up for it now.
Meng Qi pondered and said, “I think this can be approached from two directions—first, by acquiring External Scenery techniques, and second, by upgrading the Dragon Pattern Red Gold Sword to an External Scenery weapon. These two approaches can complement each other.”
“Senior Brother Qi, your current strongest technique is the Emerald Ice Snow, which also possesses long-range capabilities and can freeze an opponent’s blood—a rather rare attribute. It would be best to build your combat style around it. For instance, you could exchange for an External Scenery sword technique based on ice and snow. Use its cultivation method and techniques as the foundation while leveraging your Emerald Ice Snow inner energy as the core. Additionally, if you upgrade the Dragon Pattern Red Gold Sword into a weapon suited for this icy path and combine it with an ice-and-snow-based External Scenery sword technique and your Emerald Ice Snow inner energy, it will become even colder and more formidable.”
Together, the three might even rival the force of a casual strike from External Scenery—just like when he unleashed “Sky’s Wound” with “Thunder Shaking the Nine Heavens,” or when Jiang Zhiwei wielded “Sword Without Self.”
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