To the left was a steep, vertical mountainside, and to the right, a cliff shrouded in clouds with no visible bottom. Walking along such a treacherous path would naturally make any ordinary person feel nervous and fearful. If part of the path were blown apart, unless one could fly, the only option would be to retreat and find a gentler section of the mountain to cross. After all, directly climbing the cliffs in the cold of winter was not a rational choice for anyone—hurrying might lead to slipping or missing a step, resulting in a deadly fall. Proceeding slowly, however, would take nearly as much time as simply crossing the mountains.
After passing through several similarly perilous trails, Meng Qi and the martial heroes finally exited the Longyan Mountain area and entered the territory of Qinzhou Prefecture just as dawn approached.
An orange-red glow rose from the horizon, illuminating the sky with radiant brilliance, magnificent and breathtaking.
Meng Qi quietly exhaled in relief. By now, no one had noticed him, which meant he was temporarily safe.
His injuries had already healed under the effects of the Dahuandan pill. Even the physical weakness and splitting headache caused by the Sheshen Que had improved significantly and no longer affected his ability to fight. Only the Jin Zhong Zhao technique required another half day to fully recover.
This didn’t affect Meng Qi’s combat effectiveness. After that thrilling battle—half skill, half mastery of human psychology—Meng Qi had elevated his strength and aura to their peak. His perception of martial cultivation and the heavens had improved further. His sword technique had advanced, and his true qi surged, causing the Bayi Xuangong to open several meridian points, harmonizing his inner world more effectively and enhancing his ability to avoid calamities.
Moreover, Bayi Xuangong was a supreme martial art for achieving immortality through physical cultivation. When practiced deeply, it granted immense strength, made one impervious to blades and bullets, and resistant to even the fiercest calamities. Its defensive power surpassed both Jin Zhong Zhao and the Indestructible Golden Body Technique. Therefore, even though Bayi Xuangong had just entered its seventh meridian, it was already stronger than a nearly completed seventh meridian of Jin Zhong Zhao. Unless opponents used their full ninth meridian power or possessed powerful techniques or weapons, they would find it nearly impossible to harm any part of Meng Qi’s body outside his weak points.
Meng Qi’s progress in Bayi Xuangong was much faster than he had anticipated. This was due to the meridian points already having been opened and refined by Jin Zhong Zhao’s qi, making the practice of Bayi Xuangong much more efficient. He had spent very little time on repetitive training. Combined with physical transformation and combat experience, his Bayi Xuangong cultivation was quickly catching up to his Jin Zhong Zhao level.
Originally, if Meng Qi had fully refined the eighth meridian of Jin Zhong Zhao, he might have, like Jiang Zhimi, broken through directly during that dangerous battle, opening the anterior yin meridian and attaining a deeper mastery of refining essence into qi. Unfortunately, his foundation had not yet matured enough, so he had not completed the breakthrough. Still, he had gained significantly, and within three months, he would surely open the eighth meridian.
Considering this, during the later stages of cultivating the eighth meridian or the initial stages of opening all nine meridians, Bayi Xuangong would completely catch up to Jin Zhong Zhao. At that point, he would no longer need to divide his focus between primary techniques. In other words, Meng Qi no longer needed to exchange merits for the next stage of Jin Zhong Zhao. He should now save his accumulated merits for the external cultivation section of Bayi Xuangong. Just thinking about needing ten thousand merits made his head ache.
After reaching a nearby large city, Meng Qi silently left the group, changed his appearance, and headed toward a secret Six Doors contact point. This city had been his predetermined rendezvous location.
“At that time, not a single Shaolin elder or senior monk above the External Manifestation level was present in Jiangdong… and during these past days, aside from those who had already left the mountain, no one else suddenly departed the temple,” Meng Qi murmured, gazing at the intelligence provided by the Six Doors, falling into deep thought.
If one considered the possibility of sending trusted disciples to contact, there were countless Xuan-generation Shaolin monks capable of passing the Copper Man Alley test, making it difficult to investigate them all.
…
“Where did that rider in the green robe go?” Jiang Qing, puzzled, asked. His family belonged to a prominent clan opposite Longyan Mountain, frequently trading goods in the area and familiar with the local gangs. Yet after a thorough search, there was no trace of the green-robed rider. “Did he hide his tracks and bypass the city directly, or was he severely wounded after escaping the ambush of Mo Ying Han Zhang and others, fleeing deep into Longyan Mountain?”
Cui Hao pondered and replied, “The person we’re seeking might not necessarily be the rider himself. ‘He’ could have disguised himself.”
“So you’re saying he’s a renowned martial artist? That explains it. I had the same thought—how could a formidable Open Aperture expert just appear out of thin air unless blessed with extraordinary fortune, emerging abruptly from the mountains…” Jiang Qing suddenly grasped the situation. “Cui Shier, who do you think he is?”
Cui Hao remained silent for half a moment before replying, “Knife wounds, sword wounds, electric scars—doesn’t that remind you of someone?”
“You mean ‘Crazy Blade’ Su Meng?” Jiang Qing suddenly realized, his voice filled with shock.
When discussing the origins of an Open窍 expert, most people would first think of those at the top of the rankings. Meng Qi, ranked eleventh, wielded both sword and blade, with thunder manifesting in his weapons—his fame spread far and wide. It wasn’t hard to connect him to this.
“But he’s only ranked eleventh! Facing Mo Ying Han Zhang, Lieyan Renmo, and Luohun Xiao together, probably only someone within the top five of the rankings could have achieved such a result!” Jiang Qing couldn’t believe it.
Cui Hao had already considered this question for a long time but couldn’t confirm it definitively. He replied directly, “You forgot that ‘Crazy Blade’ Su Meng comes from Shaolin, practicing the defensive martial art Jin Zhong Zhao? Moreover, his current cultivation reportedly follows a similar technique. In life-or-death battles, being able to exchange injuries gives him a significant advantage.”
Jiang Qing nodded slightly, finding the reasoning convincing.
“However, to achieve such a level, he definitely deserves a place among the top ten of the rankings…” Cui Hao said with a hint of bitterness in his tone.
Hailing from the prestigious Pingjin Cui family, he possessed a noble status and was even a year or two older than ‘Mad Blade’ Su Meng. Yet he had only managed to cultivate the Purple Sun Divine Art to the sixth meridian and had barely begun to grasp the Zhige Sword Technique. Whether he could even make it onto the rankings was uncertain, let alone breaking into the top ten. Even his seventh elder brother, Cui Zhe—the legitimate son of the family head and renowned as the ‘Purple Sun Sword’—was only ranked fourteenth.
As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion suddenly arose ahead. Cui Hao lifted his gaze and saw a young man dressed in a green martial outfit. The man wore a long sword at his waist, rode a white horse, and had handsome features with a bold, masculine aura. He loudly declared, “Mo Ying Han Zhang, Lieyan Renmo, Luohun Xiao—they colluded with the Bureau of Injustice, intending to ambush Su Meng, but I defeated each of them in turn!”
“Shaolin is not far, but the roads are treacherous. The Bureau of Injustice and the left path heretics will certainly not give up easily. Those who seek rewards or trophies may follow me!”
As he spoke, he spurred his horse and galloped out of the city.
Meng Qi had already coordinated with the local Six Doors silver-insignia investigator, changing his plans. There was no longer a need to use the Tang family’s second young master as a decoy. He would directly appear in his true identity, creating a commotion. An External Manifestation-level Six Doors investigator would secretly follow, inviting nearby martial experts to assist in capturing the left path heretics and Bureau of Injustice red-tier assassins and above.
Originally, changing his appearance and continuing forward was the safest choice under normal circumstances. However, the closer one approached Shaolin, the more conspicuous such a figure became. Moving stealthily also made one vulnerable to being silently killed, with no one to notice or come to one’s aid. Therefore, after reaching the border of Qinzhou using this method, Meng Qi chose to take a slight risk as he neared Shaolin.
Moreover, this risk was minimal compared to the situation in Longyan City. Whether External Manifestation-level experts would be moved or secretly waiting to ambush assassins remained uncertain. There wouldn’t be many opponents, at most enough to make the assassins cautious and force them to block him in advance. Now, however, the Six Doors silver-insignia investigator was definitely joining the mission. With him coordinating and many nearby External Manifestation-level experts present, Meng Qi could rest assured.
Of course, for Meng Qi, their main purpose was to serve as a deterrent, preventing the Bureau of Injustice and left path heretics from acting recklessly.
“It’s really ‘Crazy Blade’ Su Meng!” Although Jiang Qing had mentally prepared himself, he was still quite astonished. Murmurs of shock from the surrounding crowd continued without ceasing.
Cui Hao stood motionless, his expression dazed.
As Su Meng rode away, Jiang Qing was about to call out to Cui Hao to follow when he noticed Cui’s expression and, puzzled, waved his hand. “Cui Shier, what’s wrong?”
Cui Hao suddenly snapped back to reality, murmuring softly, “So it’s him. No wonder, no wonder…”
Earlier, he had found Meng Qi’s face somewhat familiar. Recalling his Shaolin background and his age from a few years ago, he suddenly understood. Wasn’t ‘Crazy Blade’ Su Meng the young monk he had met in the lower levels of the Relic Pagoda?
At that time, because he couldn’t perceive Meng Qi’s true cultivation level, he had misjudged the situation, leading his father to criticize his lack of discernment, resulting in house confinement and delaying his journey outside for a long time.
Sigh, every time he encountered him, he suffered a blow to his confidence… Cui Hao’s pride suddenly diminished, giving rise to a genuine desire for self-improvement.
…
Snow blanketed the mountains, revealing hints of green beneath. At the foot of the mountain, many people bustled around, forming a simple market. At the entrance to the main mountain path stood a stone archway inscribed with the words “Lotus Terrace Mountain.”
Clad in a green robe with slightly fluttering lapels, Meng Qi strolled leisurely forward with a long sword at his waist and his hands clasped behind his back. After stirring up such a commotion, the journey had indeed been safe. The monk behind the scenes certainly had no time to seek out another supreme expert to deal with him—and likely wouldn’t even bother. After all, Meng Qi only knew that Shaolin had an internal traitor but had yet to uncover their identity, so he posed no real threat at the moment. The cost of taking action would be too high, making it an unprofitable endeavor.
“On the day I left the mountain, although I had half a mind to sneak away midway, who would have thought that only now would I see this archway again…” Meng Qi sighed slightly, stepped forward, crossed the archway, and entered the mountain path.
The main world Shaolin was very confident and did not station disciples at the foot of the mountain to show that the mountain was not exclusively theirs. They had only stationed two disciples at the halfway pavilion to mainly announce the arrival of guests and have the receptionist greet them.
The early winter snow blanketed the mountains, the wind cold yet refreshing. Meng Qi did not rush but leisurely walked along the mountain path, enjoying the scenery. At this point, he was already safe. Unlike the previous incident with Zhen Chang, this time he had made a grand entrance, inevitably drawing attention from External Manifestation-level experts inside and outside the temple. The monk behind the scenes would only harm himself by taking reckless action.
Inside the halfway pavilion, two gray-robed disciples stood straight and alert, careful not to show any negligence. If caught by the disciplinary monks, they would surely be punished.
One of them was tall, nearly nine chi in height, like an iron tower. The other had noticeable blue stubble on his face, growing back quickly as if he shaved daily yet always had new growth.
Suddenly, they saw a green-robed young man slowly walking up the mountain path. He wore a long sword at his waist, hands clasped behind his back, his expression relaxed and refined, his handsome features somewhat familiar.
“Amitabha Buddha, traveler, please halt. May this humble monk ask what business you have at Shaolin?” The young monk with the noticeable blue stubble stepped forward to greet him.
Meng Qi looked at them and smiled slightly. He had encountered old acquaintances: “Senior brothers Zhen De and Zhen He, don’t you recognize your junior brother anymore?”
These were indeed the Zhen De and Zhen He he had once practiced martial arts with when they first entered the temple.
“Zhen… Zhen Ding? ‘Crazy Blade’ Su Meng!” Zhen De took a step back, his Buddhist composure shaken, his expression astonished.
Since Zhen Ding’s expulsion from the mountain, his reputation had grown day by day, his strength increasing. This made the other Zhen-generation monks on the mountain seem pale in comparison. Originally, Zhen Miao and Zhen Ben had both reached the sixth meridian, ready to pass the Copper Man Alley test and descend the mountain. In Shaolin, where foundational training was solid but progress was slow in the early stages, this was considered very good. But compared to Zhen Ding, it was like comparing apples to oranges!
After all, he had also practiced the Jin Zhong Zhao, known for its slow progress!
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