Meng Qi hesitated for a moment before glancing at Zhao Heng. “Old Zhao, want to discuss together what martial arts to exchange?”
During this mission, Zhao Heng had fought hard and hadn’t acted on his own or betrayed the team. Therefore, Meng Qi directly invited him, testing whether Zhao would accept, which would mark Zhao’s first step toward truly integrating into the team.
At the term “Old Zhao,” the corner of Zhao Heng’s eye twitched slightly, but he quickly smiled and replied composedly, “One person’s wisdom is limited; the collective wisdom is vast. This suits me well.”
“After hearing the words of Bi Xia Yuan Jun, I realized that I had been too careless before. Although I haven’t traveled the martial world, frequently using the martial arts from the ‘Star God’s Descent Manual’ in the samsara tasks still makes it easy for others to identify me, so precautions are necessary. In fact, after encountering the Nine Heavens Thunder God in the previous mission, I already had similar thoughts. That’s why I mainly used exchanged martial arts like ‘Emperor Dragon Fist’ this time, rarely displaying the ‘Star God’s Descent Manual.’ Now, I plan to acquire another external technique sword method.”
The “Star God’s Descent Manual” was a formidable sword technique recorded in the “Star God’s Descent Manual,” with its final two strikes reaching the level of a Dharma Body cultivator.
Such discussions didn’t necessarily require others to give opinions; it was more about mutual understanding, enhancing coordination and camaraderie. Zhao Heng had often led similar discussions in his previous team, so his explanation was quite detailed.
Of course, given their current relationship, they wouldn’t reveal everything completely. They only touched upon the surface topics, and Meng Qi wouldn’t pry into which specific techniques of the “Star God’s Descent Manual” Zhao Heng had mastered.
Meng Qi hesitated briefly before saying, “Our identities have already been registered in the martial world, only you, Old Zhao, have managed to remain unexposed. So it’s natural for you to have such thoughts.”
“Yes, when exchanging for sword techniques, we shouldn’t focus solely on concealing the ‘Star God’s Descent Manual’; we also need to consider our own conditions, since these techniques will serve as our usual trump cards in samsara tasks. They can’t be weak.”
“What do you suggest?” Zhao Heng asked enthusiastically.
The group had no plans to exchange for information about the next mission yet, deciding to first focus on concealing their identities. After all, they could still gather items in the main world and prepare corresponding methods before the mission.
Meng Qi grinned, revealing his white teeth: “You come from the imperial family, possess the emperor’s fate and the aura of the true dragon, so you should naturally focus on that aspect.”
“The Emperor Sword Technique,” Qi Zhengyan thought of a sword technique they had considered before.
Meng Qi added, “Although not many, there are still quite a few people who possess the emperor’s fate and the aura of the true dragon. Without mentioning the Jin Dynasty, Northern Zhou, and the grasslands, even in the many western nations and countless island countries in the Eastern Sea, there are no shortage of royal and imperial family members. Others won’t be able to deduce your identity from that alone.”
Zhao Heng nodded and turned to find the “Emperor Sword Technique,” carefully studying its description.
It was an external sword technique that required the emperor’s fate to use, quite suitable, complementing Meng Qi’s “Purple Stars River Skill.”
“General principles cost one thousand, each of the first seven forms costs eight hundred…” Zhao Heng was considering which form to choose.
Meanwhile, Meng Qi secretly transmitted voice to Ruan Yushu, Jiang Zhiwei, and others: “I plan to complete the first volume of the ‘Yi Jin Jing’ this time, so wait a moment while I copy the nine postures for you. We shouldn’t let the Master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation benefit from it.”
“You don’t plan to exchange for other martial arts to hide your identity?” Jiang Zhiwei was slightly surprised. Would the little monk really give up completely? Even though the martial world already knew their identities, it was only limited to them. There were still many other samsara participants; surely they couldn’t be recognized every time they encountered one in the future?
If so, they would find it difficult to take a single step in the main world, with traps and hidden dangers everywhere.
“I have my own ways to obtain them. Let’s talk about it in detail later,” Meng Qi didn’t want to say more in secret in front of Zhao Heng.
In the end, Zhao Heng chose the general principles and the first form, “Fire Dragon Soars to the Heavens, Stirring Wind and Clouds,” spending 1,800 merits.
“The remaining merits I plan to exchange for a protective secret treasure. This time, being attacked by the Yuan Demon caused heavy losses,” Zhao Heng slightly showed a painful expression.
Before Meng Qi and others could help him choose, he directly decided on one:
“The Merit Scroll,” once activated, could generate a defense equivalent to the third level of the external realm for three seconds, valued at 2,200 merits.
Seeing Zhao Heng exchange for the “Merit Scroll” without hesitation, Meng Qi immediately understood that Zhao had extra merits. If the main mission failed, they would have to sell everything they had, but Zhao wouldn’t need to.
“Phew, only one hundred merits left, need to save it for the next mission’s information,” Zhao Heng exhaled deliberately, talking to himself.
Meng Qi coughed slightly, indicating that he hadn’t guessed how many merits Zhao Heng had left, and said sincerely, “Our team previously obtained a fragment of the first volume of the ‘Yi Jin Jing’ through an adventure. Now we plan to each complete it separately. If you, Old Zhao, want to learn it, we can share it with you at a discount.”
Since Zhao Heng had openly discussed exchanging for sword techniques and protective secret treasures, Meng Qi also couldn’t be vague, which might make others feel cold. Therefore, it was better to bring this matter up directly. After all, encountering anything in the samsara world was normal.
“The ‘Yi Jin Jing’? Is it the ‘Yi Jin Jing’ of our world?” Zhao Heng asked in surprise. They had obtained this world-renowned auxiliary divine technique through an adventure?
Since different worlds had different versions of the ‘Yi Jin Jing,’ he needed to confirm.
Meng Qi nodded slightly: “Exactly, but it’s only the first volume, and only the incomplete postures.”
“Only the first volume…” Zhao Heng frowned in thought.
He could clench his teeth and pool together the corresponding merits, but trading useful items for the Six Paths Reincarnation Master was too agonizing. The first volume of the “Muscle-Tendon Change Classic” primarily served to unblock acupoints, enhancing one’s innate talent based on their original foundation. This allowed techniques to be mastered and true qi cultivation speed to far surpass that of others. It could elevate acupoint-unblocking techniques to the level of the first three tiers of external techniques, making it incredibly potent. However, upon reflection, it didn’t seem particularly useful for him personally.
He had already cured his weak body through the Master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation and improved his talent through an adventure. Currently, his talent was sufficient to rank among the top of his generation. Moreover, with all nine acupoints open and in harmony with heaven and earth, even if the speed of cultivating true qi was faster, it wouldn’t help. He could only patiently perceive the natural world and explore his own path to enter the realm of unity with heaven and humanity.
As for elevating acupoint-opening techniques to the level of external techniques, he wouldn’t lack external techniques anyway!
He exhaled: “Su Meng, I appreciate your good intentions.”
If it were the second volume of the ‘Yi Jin Jing,’ he definitely wouldn’t let it go!
“Alright,” Meng Qi didn’t ask further, stepped into the central light column, recalled the nine postures, and “copied” them into three books, handing them to Jiang Zhiwei, Qi Zhengyan, and Ruan Yushu. He firmly stopped their secret intention to pay corresponding merits through voice transmission. After all, in this samsara mission, they had paid a lot, and the results were far from what he had obtained. The nine postures of the ‘Yi Jin Jing’ were a certain compensation to ease his conscience.
After Meng Qi displayed the treasure for further discussion, Jiang Zhiwei and others reluctantly accepted the nine postures.
“The first volume of the ‘Yi Jin Jing’ fragment is worth 6,300 merits and can be exchanged for 3,200 merits. If you want to complete it and adjust the correct order, it will cost 2,500 merits. After completion and adjustment, it will be considered an exchanged item and cannot be taught to others. Do you want to complete and adjust the order?”
The Master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation asked in a tone without fluctuations.
Meng Qi inhaled slightly: “Yes!”
Light danced before his eyes, condensing into nine golden postures. Then, four postures fell from the sky, intertwining with the previous ones, constantly rotating and emitting dazzling golden light. Finally, they formed a scroll of thirteen postures, mysterious and in accordance with the principles of martial arts.
“It turns out Duan Rui’s nine postures were exactly the opposite…” Without mentioning the newly added four postures, Meng Qi discovered that Duan Rui’s nine postures were exactly the reverse of the correct order, and he vaguely felt something.
He took a deep breath, savoring the mystery of the first volume of the ‘Yi Jin Jing.’
In this savoring, the golden giant Buddha in his mind, pointing to the sky and the earth, seemed to loosen slightly, and indescribable principles flowed.
Meng Qi was quite pleased. If he continued like this and truly began to cultivate the ‘Yi Jin Jing,’ it wouldn’t be too far for him to grasp the first martial art from the “Star God’s Descent Manual.”
The ‘Yi Jin Jing’ originated from the third move of the “Star God’s Descent Manual.” what he obtained was the first move. The principles contained in the two were certainly different. It was impossible to complete the ‘Yi Jin Jing’ simply by comprehending the principle of “Only I Am Supreme” on his own. However, unexpectedly, cultivating the ‘Yi Jin Jing’ helped him understand the “Star God’s Descent Manual!”
As for directly cultivating “Only I Am Supreme,” Meng Qi didn’t even think about it. Without the general principles, even a genius like the Blood Knife Patriarch Damo couldn’t master it, only able to derive from it. However, Meng Qi had once fantasized that when the Eight or Nine Mysteries reached the stage of nine acupoints open, he might be able to simulate a slight feeling…
With 930 merits left, Meng Qi exchanged for a Da Huan Dan (Jiang Zhiwei didn’t know that Meng Qi had used his Da Huan Dan while she was unconscious, so he didn’t mention compensation), leaving 430 merits to prepare for the next mission’s information and the journey to the Jiuxiang world.
Seeing that Meng Qi had finished exchanging, Qi Zhengyan, with an unchanged expression, said, “For the next mission, I need to conceal my ‘Hun Tian Bao Jian.'”
Since he had revealed his technique in the main world, he planned to hide it during the samsara mission.
Meng Qi nodded: “There are techniques similar to the ‘Hun Tian Bao Jian,’ which can mobilize the power of heaven and earth once the acupoints are opened, such as the ‘Yang Xie Shen’ and the divine path cultivators. Brother Qi, you can consider this direction.”
“Yang Xie Shen is definitely not feasible. Cultivating divine path techniques will also conflict with your current ones. It would be best to have a similar treasure weapon that can be used for a long time,” Jiang Zhiwei suggested.
Hearing Jiang Zhiwei’s words, Zhao Heng smiled: “If that’s the requirement, I happen to know one.”
“My team once exchanged for the ‘Spirit Official Golden Eye,’ a divine path treasure weapon, which can hide in the center of the forehead. In the future, when cultivating the ‘Hun Tian Bao Jian,’ let it cooperate to appear, then others will naturally think it is a divine path cultivator.”
With a clear suggestion, Qi Zhengyan quickly found the ‘Spirit Official Golden Eye’ and was quite satisfied with its effect:
“The Spirit Official Golden Eye, a divine artifact, is concealed at the center of the forehead. It can ward off spiritual assaults, discern ghosts and demons, slightly commune with the power of heaven and earth, conjure illusions like mist and rosy clouds, as well as ignite flames, freeze objects, and release paralyzing thunder. When fully activated, it can induce large-scale atmospheric transformations and emit spiritual spikes, valued at 2,300 Virtue Merits.”
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