Meng Qi hurried straight to the courtyard where the Jiesha Taoist was staying, climbed over the wall, and upon seeing neatly stacked firewood, felt a bit reassured. He casually sat cross-legged on a pile of wood.
Though the Tianming Taoist was unfathomably profound, he regarded fate and fortune with pessimism and despair, displaying no initiative. Perhaps he believed that being pursued by the demonic tribes was predestined? Thus, even after taking refuge in the Tianming Temple, one could not afford to let their guard down. The Shen family had resided here for years and likely understood the Tianming Taoist as well as Meng Qi did. They might dispatch lesser demons to probe the Taoist’s reactions. Once he remained passive, merely sighing in resignation, they would act decisively to eliminate the threat.
In contrast, Jiesha Taoist, whom Meng Qi also couldn’t see through, seemed more likely to take direct action.
Meng Qi had removed his mask, but his ancient, quaint appearance exuded a strange, demon-like charm. Unless someone faced him directly and scrutinized carefully, they couldn’t discern his true features.
He sat cross-legged, eyes half-closed, expression solemn without a hint of impatience.
Suddenly, a long, thin figure emerged from the shadows, neither fully human nor entirely not. It was soft and boneless, its hands like fists or fangs, covered with a layer of pitch-black liquid, striking Meng Qi.
Meng Qi opened his eyes, dark and deep, a chaotic void. He raised his right palm, fingers spread, clean and powerful, striking downward as if covering the heavens and earth.
The palm strike was heavy; the attacking demon felt as though the space around it was compressed and warped, binding it, leaving no way to dodge. It could only raise both fists to block forcibly.
Peng!
Its fists were directly pressed back by Meng Qi’s palm, which then struck its forehead.
The demon’s head exploded, blood and brains splattering everywhere, its soul dispersing. It twitched on the ground a few times before transforming into a long snake with a damaged head, black skin, and fine scales.
Within the Shen family, it had been a formidable demon even without cultivating the realm of communion between heaven and earth. Relying on its robust demonic physique and innate supernatural abilities, it had long been a powerful entity. Yet today, it couldn’t even evade, being struck down directly by Meng Qi’s palm.
The “Revolt Seal” truly lived up to its ancient reputation as a renowned Dharma Body technique. Its derivative move, “Heavens Toppling,” was equally domineering and formidable!
Just as Meng Qi struck the snake demon’s head, another demon lunged from a different corner of the shadows. It was tall and muscular, its movements subtly aligning with the profound mysteries of heaven and earth. The air howled around it, with ghostly wails and divine cries faintly audible. Though it hadn’t formed a demon core, it still possessed some supernatural traits.
Meng Qi remained seated, clenched his left fist, focused his essence, spirit, and intent into one, and swung powerfully.
The fist radiated a soft jade light, exorcising evil and purifying demons, solemn and immaculate. As it descended, the demonic wind scattered, the ghostly wails fell silent, and the fiend appeared mentally subdued, its movements slowing as the blow landed squarely on its forehead!
Peng!
Its head exploded, spewing red and white matter everywhere, soon revealing its true form—a tiger demon.
Creaking, the door opened, and the Jiesha Taoist, with willow eyebrows and phoenix eyes, a high nose, and thin lips, walked out wielding an axe.
Her expression was cold as she glanced indifferently at the two demon corpses on the ground. Her nose flared a few times, and her gaze suddenly turned strange, as if filled with nostalgia, impulse, excitement, and joy.
Huuuuh, she inhaled deeply, suddenly stepped forward, swung her axe silently, yet Meng Qi felt as though even heaven and space were being torn apart. The killing intent nearly stopped his heartbeat.
No other supernatural phenomena occurred, but the killing intent gathered from the heavens and earth, and the axe turned into a black shadow, striking the empty ground.
The ground writhed, and the soil surged, revealing a figure with closed eyes, its face split in half.
It rolled a few times before transforming into a giant red earthworm, slimy and covered in mucus.
Through the split head, Meng Qi faintly caught sight of a brown demon core, his heart filled with shock. A half-step Exterior demon was slain with a single axe strike by the Jiesha Taoist? She killed it without even stirring the slightest ripple?
Even if her strength couldn’t rival the Tianming Taoist’s, it was equally unfathomable!
A childlike joy appeared on the Jiesha Taoist’s usually indifferent face, adding a touch of radiance to her already decent appearance. However, she quickly showed self-loathing, bit her lip, and walked to the uncut firewood, repeating her daytime actions.
With each axe swing, she gradually regained calmness.
With the Jiesha Taoist’s intervention, no more demons infiltrated—not just because of her formidable power, but also because she represented the Tianming Temple’s will. Continuing further, the Tianming Taoist would likely believe that killing the demons was predestined.
To get this superstitious old Taoist to help, things must seem naturally destined.
Meng Qi stood up and made his way to where the Tianming Taoist had been, intending to persuade him to report the Shen family as a demonic stronghold to the Six Gates while he himself would make his escape. After all, this identity was merely a cover for wearing the “Primordial Heavenly Lord” mask, and no one knew he was the Mad Monk Su Meng.
Upon reaching the wall, Meng Qi was surprised to find the Tianming Taoist gone. After searching for a while without finding any trace, he could only return to the Jiesha Taoist’s courtyard.
In the stillness of the night, he dared not recklessly leave the temple—what if a demon from the Shen family was lurking outside?
He had to wait until dawn when more people were around, making it hard for demons to act openly, before safely reaching Wen’an City to report to the Six Gates.
In the Jiesha Taoist’s courtyard, three demon corpses lay scattered. Meng Qi paused slightly, hesitating between maintaining his image and collecting materials for merit points.
Realizing that his strength was insignificant compared to the Jiesha and Tianming Taoists, and that maintaining appearances held little meaning, he suddenly felt a sense of clarity. Rolling up his sleeves, he crouched down and began skinning the serpent and tiger demon hides, collecting various useful materials. Soon, his long, powerful hands were stained with blood.
That’s just how thrifty I am!
He tucked the materials into a small bookcase concealed beneath his dark robe, then glanced at the earthworm demon slain by the Jiesha Taoist, swallowing hard before saying, “Taoist Master, your demon core.”
With that, he picked up the demon core and threw it to the Jiesha Taoist.
The Jiesha Taoist gave him a cold glance and waved the demon core back: “Are you reminding me to break my oath?”
“Never dare…” Meng Qi was startled but quickly cheered.
He caught the demon core.
(Note: “妖core” is translated as “demon core” based on the context, assuming it refers to a supernatural or malevolent essence. If it has a specific meaning in the original context, please provide additional details for a more accurate translation.)
With swift and practiced movements, Meng Qi efficiently harvested other useful materials from the earthworm demon. After washing his hands, he sat cross-legged atop the firewood. His green robe was pristine once more, lending him an air of elegance and grace.
He dared not disturb the Jiesha Taoist or ask her to report to the Six Gates, lest he be struck down by her axe, so he patiently waited for dawn.
After a long while, the sky began to brighten. Meng Qi walked through courtyards and halls toward the temple exit, planning to find Lü Jian to act publicly while he remained hidden.
“The Shen family matter is clear, but how did the little fox leave Tianhaiyuan and come to Jiangdong? What’s its intention?” Meng Qi thought as he walked, though with insufficient clues, he couldn’t deduce much.
“I knew the Shen family’s fate chart had vague aspects, as if obscured by something. I thought it was because my skills weren’t refined enough…” Suddenly, Meng Qi heard a sighing voice beside him.
Startled, he turned his head and saw the Tianming Taoist, his beard half black and half white.
“Taoist Master, please stop appearing and disappearing like that!” Meng Qi said irritably. “I looked for you all night.”
“Oh, I went to check the Shen and Jia families’ fate charts.” The Tianming Taoist replied naturally.
Meng Qi’s curiosity was piqued: “Is the Jia family also demons? What about both families?”
“The Jia family has no strong members, so their demonic flaws aren’t obvious. One branch was bewitched into marrying a demon, producing a half-demon—the one who previously planned to marry Shen Ruoxuan,” the Tianming Taoist casually replied. “The Shen family and this branch of the Jia family fled into the mountains last night, leaving their mansion empty, with only servants and maids who couldn’t be killed in time.”
“It’s fortunate that no more innocent lives were lost…” Meng Qi let out a sigh of relief, then furrowed his brow. “How did they manage to conceal their demonic aura so effectively, allowing them to blend seamlessly among humans? Even those at the External Scenery realm would struggle to detect their flaws without prior awareness…”
The Tianming Taoist looked at him, thought for a moment, and seriously replied, “I don’t know either.”
Meng Qi didn’t expect an answer and changed the subject: “Taoist Master, why didn’t you stop the Shen family from fleeing?”
“It was destined they wouldn’t perish here; whether I acted or not made no difference…” The Tianming Taoist became mystical again.
Meng Qi’s lips twitched, his expression serious: “Taoist Master, since you encountered this matter, it’s fate that you report it to the Six Gates. Otherwise, why did I happen to escape to the Tianming Temple and coincidentally meet you contemplating under the moonlight?”
“That makes sense…” The Tianming Taoist was momentarily stunned, calculated with his fingers, nodded slightly, then immediately turned downhill, disappearing from Meng Qi’s sight in two steps.
Watching his back, Meng Qi exhaled, planning to change his appearance and infiltrate Wen’an City to learn the Six Gates’ response. He couldn’t afford to leave things unfinished.
He sneaked into the temple, found a secluded, empty room, and hid inside. Just as he was about to change his appearance, everything suddenly went dark!
It was as if all light and sound were sucked away. Meng Qi saw nothing in his eyes and heard nothing in his ears. His outward spiritual sense was empty, with no perception, as if the enemy had merged into this darkness!
An extreme sense of danger arose in his intuition, only slightly less than when he was targeted by the “serpent” the previous night. Thus, he calmed his mind, neither surprised nor angry, guiding his internal energy and releasing his spiritual sense. Gradually, objects in the room were outlined in his mind’s eye, clearly visible down to the smallest detail.
There were tables and chairs, an incense burner, bookshelves, and portraits.
Unable to see or hear, Meng Qi relied on his refined state of mind to finally grasp the clue.
The darkness protruded, as if countless claws were digging toward Meng Qi, making it impossible to distinguish reality from illusion—or perhaps all were real!
Meng Qi struck out with both palms, fingers forming seals, his entire body seemingly connected to the earth, immovable.
Relying on his refined state and the “Immovable Lotus,” he entered a state of emptiness and tranquility. Though he couldn’t perceive the opponent’s specific movements or formulate countermeasures in his mind, he naturally and effortlessly deflected each attack with perfect precision.
Papap, continuous collision sounds echoed, yet Meng Qi’s body didn’t budge the slightest, even as the enemy merged into darkness, attacking from all directions.
Meanwhile, he identified the opponent.
Langwang Tiesheng!
Compared to the time in Maoling, his strength seemed further enhanced. His third eye was about to open, and through communion with heaven and earth, he could already create minor supernatural phenomena!
Why was he here?
Had he recognized Meng Qi’s true identity, or was it merely a hunt for a powerful opponent?
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