Looking at the tombstone, Jiang Zhiwei smiled slightly: “Judging from the handwriting, it must have been written by the Great Emperor Zhenwu. Writing one’s own tombstone must be a unique experience.”
“Personally burying oneself,” Ruan Yushu echoed with a tone hinting at some profound meaning.
Qi Zhengyan gazed at the inscription, filled with emotion: “The Great Emperor Zhenwu’s cultivation had reached the peak, living for millions of years, yet ultimately he still buried himself, ending up as no more than a handful of yellow earth. Who in this world can attain immortality? Could it only be achieved by reaching the realm of Dao Sovereign or Buddha Ancestor?”
Meng Qi frowned in thought for a moment: “Actually, just now within the black mist, I saw the Great Emperor Zhenwu again.”
“Could it be similar to the legend where, after death, one’s dharma body transforms into a ghost?” Jiang Zhiwei had regained her energy, her hand gripping the sword with extraordinary determination.
But what could a few minor martial artists who had just opened their spiritual passages do against the Great Emperor Zhenwu, a figure at the pinnacle of myths and legends?
Meng Qi exhaled: “No need to worry. Earlier, we realized that the arrangement of the entire mausoleum not only concealed heavenly fate but also served a sealing function. Considering that the ‘evil ghost’ has never personally acted yet, instead commanding the undead or conjuring mists, we have reason to believe it is not unwilling but unable to act directly—it must have already been sealed, only capable of emitting a faint trace of its presence.”
“Right, once we go inside, we mustn’t touch anything recklessly, to avoid damaging the seal formation,” Jiang Zhiwei immediately understood Meng Qi’s implication at this moment.
Ruan Yushu and Qi Zhengyan said nothing more, following the two ahead until they reached the inner tomb, watching Meng Qi use Tianzhishang to push open the tomb’s entrance.
Silently, the tomb door opened, revealing a corridor paved with blue bricks. On both sides stood nine ancient copper lamps, plain without any patterns, quietly burning and dispelling the darkness, illuminating the area with a dim, flickering light.
Meng Qi stepped in first. Because the entrance was narrow, Jiang Zhiwei lagged slightly behind. Suddenly, a bolt of silver-white lightning fell from the ceiling. A long-robed undead figure attacked again, thrusting a spear at Meng Qi in a slow motion.
Though the spear seemed slow, it seemed to cover the entire area. Each inch of its advance contained countless transformations, each change too fast to see clearly, expressing some profound principle of the universe.
Watching the spear’s slow yet mighty advance, Meng Qi felt a sense that no matter which direction he fled or what technique he used to defend, he could not succeed. He could only watch helplessly as it descended slowly, as if he had already been sentenced to death, his fate sealed.
Without summoning the power of heaven and earth, Meng Qi relied purely on technique to counterattack. Suddenly, he recalled the first time this undead figure had attacked him—the spear had moved so fast it was untraceable. The moment he sensed it, it was already before him. Compared to that, Xiao Zhenhai’s Lightning Sword seemed like child’s play, utterly inferior in the art of speed, having transcended the boundary between mortal and immortal.
Previously, it was the essence of speed; now, it was the essence of slowness. Instinctively, Meng Qi recalled a transformation from “Heavenly Thunder Five Strikes,” similar to the first spear strike. He had pondered it for a long time without ever succeeding.
Drawn by the qi, Meng Qi’s momentum and confidence surged to their peak.
As Jiang Zhiwei was about to strike from behind to help Meng Qi, she suddenly saw a flash of blade light. Silver-white like lightning, fast as thunder, it left behind a lingering trace of thunder in the air.
Clang!
The sword struck the tip of the spear—using speed to counter slowness!
Rebounding from the impact, the long-robed undead figure spun upward, sticking to the ceiling as it swiftly retreated into the corridor’s depths.
Meng Qi’s right hand went numb. He flexed his fingers slightly to relieve the pressure. In that moment, under pressure and guidance, he had broken through his previous limitations in swordsmanship, finally mastering that transformation.
“Could it be that he recognized my sword techniques and thus helped me practice?” When Jiang Zhiwei and the others entered the tomb, Meng Qi suddenly quipped.
He also felt the spear technique was familiar.
Jiang Zhiwei nodded slightly: “That must be it. He still maintains the realm of External Manifestation, so he must have become undead not long ago. His residual intellect remains, and the ‘evil ghost’ controlling him has limited influence, which is why he hasn’t used his full strength, repeatedly holding back along the way.”
Ruan Yushu, having overcome his fear of the ghost, said calmly: “Perhaps he also wants to use the Heaven-Shaking Earth-Shattering Method to break free from restraint.”
“But with the ‘evil ghost’s’ mark suppressing his mind sea, my current cultivation might not be sufficient,” Meng Qi recalled the backlash earlier and still felt a lingering fear.
“Then do we need to eliminate the evil ghost first?” Qi Zhengyan mused thoughtfully.
“Hehe,” Meng Qi could only respond with a laugh. The evil ghost was connected to the Great Emperor Zhenwu, who had gone to great lengths to seal it. Its terror was self-evident. Relying on their group, unless they repaired the Green Lamp Before the Buddha, eliminating the evil ghost would be impossible.
Qi Zhengyan also realized the suggestion was impractical and continued on his own: “Since he still retains a bit of consciousness, he should be able to guide us on what to do next.”
Meng Qi nodded firmly. He also wanted to use this undead figure’s attacks to further comprehend more transformations of “Heavenly Thunder Five Strikes.”
After traversing this corridor, another corridor awaited. As Meng Qi had just entered, a bolt of lightning flew from afar. The spear moved neither fast nor slow, exuding an indescribable heaviness, carrying mountains and oceans. The surrounding air compressed in layers, producing thunderous rumbles and a terrifying vortex of suction. No matter how Meng Qi evaded or defended, he would inevitably be drawn toward the spear tip.
Extending his spiritual perception, Meng Qi’s mind naturally conjured the approximate form of this move. Another transformation of “Heavenly Thunder Five Strikes” surfaced in his mind.
Jiang Zhiwei, Ruan Yushu, and Qi Zhengyan did not intervene, only maintaining readiness. They could see that the long-robed undead figure was stimulating Meng Qi’s potential, awakening the residual inheritance of “Heavenly Thunder Five Strikes.”
The spear transformed into lightning, thrusting toward his chest. Only then did Meng Qi’s “Tianzhi Shang” slowly strike, without a trace of sound, as if devoid of strength, light and drifting.
The sword aura was complete and circular, like the heavens delivering thunderous punishment. It was empty yet embracing all things, hollow yet containing transformations. The suction vortex pulled at the sword aura, and the spear fell into emptiness.
The heavy lightning, the rumbling thunder, and the weightless sword aura simultaneously vanished.
The undead figure, holding the spear, didn’t need to push off anything. Lightning surrounded him, crackling as he flew into the corridor’s depths.
“Heavenly Thunder Five Strikes—could it be that it contains five principles: speed, slowness, heaviness, emptiness, and another?” Observing their duel, Jiang Zhiwei gained some understanding of the divine “Shenxiao Jiulie” technique.
Meng Qi twitched his lips: “I don’t know either.”
Because it was incomplete and extremely fragmented, he could only demonstrate the principles of speed and emptiness.
“Lei Shen named it the same as you,” Ruan Yushu murmured.
Because the External Manifestation undead figure was merely testing him without truly attacking, and the ‘evil ghost’ seemed sealed, her mood had relaxed somewhat.
Meng Qi immediately feigned indignation: “It’s not like I named my own nickname!”
“Blade Madman…” Ruan Yushu’s voice drifted.
“I think it’s a good name,” Meng Qi straightened his back. However, he saw Jiang Zhiwei, Ruan Yushu, and Qi Zhengyan all looking elsewhere, neither commenting nor showing concern.
Meng Qi fell silent, then rallied his spirit: “Let’s keep moving forward!”
The inner tomb wasn’t too large. After passing through the corridor, Meng Qi and the others saw the main burial chamber. In a normal tomb, the coffin of the deceased would be placed here.
Outside the main chamber were layers of illusions, divided into eight sections, each manifesting strange phenomena, like projections from the outside world.
They included a blazing sun, a bright moon, dazzling stars, and a vast blue sky…
“Sun, moon, stars, heaven, earth, man, yin and yang…” Meng Qi felt something was off. Suddenly, he had an idea and looked upward at the main chamber. There, in the darkness, nothing existed, yet it encompassed everything. “Yin Yang Wu!”
“Nine is the ultimate number, likely used for suppression. The moon palace and the place of yin fire outside should be part of the formation.” When it came to such topics, Ruan Yushu displayed more knowledge than Jiang Zhiwei, who focused solely on swordsmanship.
Meng Qi nodded slowly: “So, no matter which path one takes to enter, one must pass through two of these nine layers of formation?”
“Inside must be the coffin of the Great Emperor Zhenwu…” Qi Zhengyan answered irrelevantly, his expression dazed.
Thinking that the greatest immortal of ancient times lay inside, Meng Qi felt similarly awestruck.
Jiang Zhiwei’s eyes burned with excitement. She slowed her breathing to calm herself. The Great Emperor Zhenwu mastered the Three Heavenly Sword Techniques. If she could witness even a little, it would benefit her endlessly.
“The closer to the coffin, the more dangerous it will be,” Meng Qi warned, stepping into the illusions first.
The illusions were formless and intangible. Meng Qi encountered no interference, but suddenly, a bolt of lightning flew toward him, slashing like a whip, filled with an irresistible force. The long-robed undead figure attacked again.
As the spear descended, threads of lightning emerged from the void, instantly dimming all the illusions. The ground first turned black, then crumbled into dust, forming a forest of thunder.
He was now attacking with full strength!
Was it a ‘prompting’ from the evil ghost?
At the same time, yin fire spread, Huanggang attacked, moonlight poured down, and a woman darted through. From all directions, thirteen or fourteen undead figures rushed forward, each employing their own techniques. Starlight flew, yin energy thickened, and the situation became extremely perilous.
Although only the long-robed undead figure and two others were at the External Manifestation level, the sheer number of half-External Manifestation undead figures exceeded Meng Qi and his companions’ capacity to handle.
Fortunately, they were all undead!
Drawn by the qi, Jiang Zhiwei thrust her sword. Her blade light did not scatter, and her sword qi did not leak outward. Vast and mighty, it pierced toward the lightning spear.
Outside the main tomb chamber, light suddenly flared. Sword qi slashed across the sky, overturning heaven and earth, causing the sun and moon to dim.
The sword light was pure, without self or form, piercing through heaven and earth, severing principles.
Clang! A distant sound rang out, the lightning spear was knocked back, the electricity scattered, and it blocked another External Manifestation undead figure’s attack.
Jiang Zhiwei took several steps back, leaning on Meng Qi’s left side. He used the Deathless Seal Technique to dissipate the force, allowing her to barely steady herself.
As Jiang Zhiwei made her move, Ruan Yushu bit her tongue and spat a mouthful of vital essence blood onto the Qifeng Qin. The blood-stained strings emitted a hauntingly sorrowful and soul-shaking sound.
The guqin floated, and Ruan Yushu played with both hands simultaneously.
A clear and piercing cry came from the sky, indescribably beautiful. All the undead figures present, except those at the External Manifestation level, covered their ears, shrieking in agony and abandoning their attacks.
Qi Zhengyan’s Dragon Patterned Red Gold Sword emitted a crystalline cold light, slashing toward the External Manifestation undead figure dressed in tight-fitting clothes in a manner that seemed to tear through the heavens.
The cold light surged, transforming into a hornless dragon, splitting the sky and causing snow to fall, spreading infinite coldness.
The air froze, the yin energy froze, and wherever the sword passed, everything was encased in ice. By the time it reached its target, layers of ice walls had formed, instantly freezing the External Manifestation undead figure inside.
All the attackers were halted for half a breath, and Meng Qi seized this opportunity. Focusing his spirit, he fully activated the “Lamp Before the Buddha” he held in his left hand!
The small flame expanded, emitting waves of chanting sounds. Light radiated, leaving no shadowed corner. Everywhere was warm, pure, and solemn.
“Amitabha…”
“Thus have I heard…”
Under the heavy Buddhist chants, the half-External Manifestation undead figures’ facial muscles relaxed, showing signs of liberation. Threads of black qi seeped from their bodies, dissipating in the light. Their physical bodies quickly rotted, turning into pus within a breath, their souls drifting out and slowly vanishing under the green lamp’s glow.
The light shone boundlessly, and the three External Manifestation undead figures screamed in pain, their pus and blood flowing as they retreated, emitting green smoke, hastily withdrawing.
The spear-wielding undead figure now showed a trace of pain, no longer indifferent as before. He took something off, threw it forcefully at Meng Qi’s feet, then retreated beyond the range of the lamp’s illumination.
In the dark and chaotic depths, a human face emerged, wearing a flat-topped crown, covering its face with its hands, appearing extremely pained, and then burrowed downward into the main tomb chamber.
The lamp swayed gently, illuminating all directions, warming hearts, infinite in light and longevity.
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