Chapter 445: Meng Qi’s Choice

Mu Qi’s emotions were complex, filled with reluctance and concern, a tangle of feelings too intricate to discern clearly: “Zhiwei, would two years be too short? Even the exceptionally talented Master Su required three years to emerge from the death trial. Why don’t I lend you some of my accumulated merits so you can extend it by a few months? After all, my Nine Orifices are already open, and I don’t need much external help anymore. Even with more techniques, my current cultivation stage limits their use. Right now, I mainly need to comprehend the heavens and earth and find my own path, so I won’t consume many merits temporarily.”

His words were half-truths. Indeed, at his current cultivation stage, he relied mostly on himself rather than external forces. However, if he actually had merits, he could easily spend them all, leaving him in a tight spot. Not to mention the “Bagua Xuan Gong” Outer Manifestation section and the enhancement of “Heaven’s Scar,” which he couldn’t afford to exchange for right now, even preparing for the Outer Manifestation sword and saber techniques would require careful consideration.

After mastering the Dharma Body technique “Heavenly Thunderstruck,” his saber techniques had attained a higher level of “guidance,” far surpassing his sword techniques. Furthermore, the enemies in the current reincarnation mission were already significantly stronger than their group, requiring teamwork and flawless coordination, including crowd control and burst damage. The role of orifice-opening techniques had been minimized to the lowest extent.

In terms of power, constrained by his current cultivation level, the amplification effects of magical treasures were negligible compared to the enhancements provided by Dharmakaya techniques or formidable Outer Manifestation killing techniques. Thus, when a sudden surge of power was required, “Heavenly Thunderstrike” would naturally take precedence over the Purple Lightning Saber Technique, which in turn would supersede “Flying Immortal from Beyond the Sky.” If control or mental assaults were necessary, then the “Ananda’s Precept-Breaking Saber Technique” would clearly be the optimal choice. Under such circumstances, the treasured sword “Flowing Fire” felt somewhat like a pearl obscured by dust in his grasp, urgently demanding refinement in swordsmanship techniques.

As for mastering both sword and saber techniques, he had long treated the saber as a saber and the sword as a sword.

—Mu Qi had inherited the true essence of “Shenxiao Jiulie,” not just a single move like “Heavenly Thunderstruck.” Like the “A-nan Breaking the Precepts Saber Technique,” it contained the general principle and all the techniques. However, the true essence of “Shenxiao Jiulie” was too incomplete, allowing Mu Qi to comprehend only a little of “Heavenly Thunderstruck” from it. However, once completed, there would be no need to separately exchange for the general principle (valued at thirty thousand merits).

Jiang Zhiwei’s lips curled into a smile, one that seemed both gratified and joyful, yet tinged with a sigh: “No need. Although I have always regarded my master as my goal and sometimes imitated him, I clearly know that we are different. He is cold and indifferent; whether he sits in death trial for one year or three makes no difference. But I am cheerful and ambitious. If I cannot break through within two years, then three or even thirty years would be useless. Losing my edge would mean I would wither away in a quiet room. I give myself only two years to cut off any retreat, to go all in, to either succeed or perish.”

Mu Qi was about to persuade her further, but upon considering that ruining Jiang Zhiwei’s mindset might make a breakthrough even more unlikely, he turned his gaze to Ruan Yushu, Qi Zhengyan, and the others, who were also somewhat contemplative and silent: “Then let’s discuss the exchanges.”

As he spoke, Jiang Zhiwei had already exchanged one year of time from the Master of the Sixfold Reincarnation at the cost of two thousand four hundred merits. Then, with a smile, she listened quietly to the group’s discussion, her expression now more serene and tranquil.

Zhao Heng smiled bitterly: “The most important thing for me is to buy the ‘True Emperor’s Seal’; other exchanges can be temporarily ignored.”

He had already entered the state of unity with heaven and earth, currently adjusting himself to comprehend the internal and external, seeking a perfect breakthrough. With no shortage of treasure techniques, he could naturally postpone other exchanges.

Seeing Zhao Heng’s helpless smile, Mu Qi adjusted his mood and asked: “Old Zhao, you previously used your secret treasure, yet you didn’t mention taking extra merits when dividing them up?”

Undoubtedly, Zhao Heng had been the biggest “consumer” throughout the entire task.

“No problem. After all, it was to save my own life. Besides, haven’t we all been using whatever we have without keeping score? You didn’t even mention compensation when your ‘Lamp Before the Buddha’ was destroyed last time, right? Whatever we gain together should naturally be divided equally.” Zhao Heng replied without resentment.

But I got the first move of the “Tathagata Palm”… Mu Qi murmured silently. After this incident, he had truly begun to accept Zhao Heng as a team member, and judging from the reactions of Qi Zhengyan, Ruan Yushu, and Jiang Zhiwei, they felt similarly.

“The ‘True Emperor’s Seal’ is worth five thousand merits to the Sixfold Reincarnation. Since we’re all one family, you can just give me items worth four thousand merits plus a recommendation letter.” Mu Qi laid out his conditions.

To him, none of these items belonged to him personally, so he could have offered them more cheaply. But given the entanglements of karma, it was better to act without guilt. After all, he had already given Zhao Heng a significant discount.

Zhao Heng didn’t hesitate and directly took out a strange dark golden jade pendant. Though it looked like jade, it felt more like metal.

“This is the “Dragon Blossom Pendant,” which can save one’s life once, of course, provided the opponent’s strength does not exceed the Third Heaven of the Outer Manifestation. It’s worth two thousand three hundred merits to the Sixfold Reincarnation, but He sells it for one thousand two. Tell me what you think it should be worth?” Zhao Heng directly asked Mu Qi for his opinion.

Mu Qi replied without hesitation: “Let’s count it as two thousand. How can I take advantage of my own brother?”

“My own brother…” Zhao Heng immediately understood what Qi Zhengyan had meant by “overly dramatic.” He wiped off some imaginary cold sweat: “Then I’ll give you another two thousand merits. You can use them to buy the appropriate pills and items. As for the recommendation letter, I have good relations with several sects near the Divine Capital. There won’t be any problem. Hmm, they’re secondary to the major martial sects, but if they really aren’t satisfied, I also have some connections with an elder of the Qingchen Sect, so it should be fine.”

The Qingchen Sect was one of the six great martial sects in the world, located in the south of the Great Jin Dynasty.

Mu Qi pondered for a moment and said: “Why don’t you write a recommendation letter for both? That way, when Sima Tu’s family comes, they can choose for themselves, avoiding unnecessary back-and-forth.”

“Alright.” Zhao Heng didn’t object. He transferred two thousand merits and the Dragon Blossom Pendant to Mu Qi, then took the True Emperor’s Seal and repeatedly caressed it, his eyes showing a flicker of passion.

With the merits in hand, Mu Qi began to think about what item to exchange for Sima Tu’s son. He already had a life-saving item, so he definitely needed a treasure weapon as the foundation for establishing a family legacy—actually, using the “Blue Chiron’s Claw” from earlier would be fine, but this treasure weapon was too unconventional, and it was best used by someone with the corresponding bloodline. Mu Qi, already in the mindset of fulfilling entrusted duties loyally, was unwilling to give a careless, half-hearted response that would go against his conscience.

In addition to the treasure weapon, he also needed to prepare some orifice-opening pills to ensure that Sima Tu’s son, who might have mediocre talent, wouldn’t be overlooked in a major sect. Similarly, he needed to prepare a rare orifice-opening technique to improve talent. Even if the son had great potential, further enhancement would still be beneficial.

—Techniques and other items exchanged from the Sixfold Reincarnation could be gifted to others, provided only one person could use them. If given to someone outside the reincarnation cycle, an additional fifty merits were required as a “fee” to prevent leakage, as set by the Sixfold Reincarnation.

After a brief consideration, Mu Qi exchanged for a “Taiyi Severing Cloud Sword” worth one thousand two hundred merits, the “Muscle and Bone Strengthening Chapter” from the “Nine Yin Manual,” and one “Heavenly Wisdom Pill” and one “Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing Pill.” He used the remaining eighty merits to purchase commonly used antidote and healing pills.

After collecting these items, Mu Qi let out a long breath. Being entangled in karmic debts was certainly not a good thing, but now there was finally hope of resolution.

Zhao Heng was writing busily beside him and said casually: “The remaining merits I plan to exchange for one month of time. Although I don’t dare to hope for an immediate leap like He Jiu or Wang Siyuan, I should at least perfectly enter the Half-Step stage before the next task.”

Such achievements were rare, occurring only once every few decades, and for reincarnators, the chances were even lower due to the restrictions of tasks. Often, they couldn’t afford to take time to contemplate their paths and had to break through prematurely to survive in the cycle of reincarnation.

“I also need to accelerate my cultivation progress and strive to at least reach the intermediate stage of the “Purple Stars River” before the next task.” Qi Zhengyan said slowly, as if he had been thinking for a long time. “So I need to exchange for some auxiliary items.”

The intermediate stage of the “Purple Stars River” opened the Nine Orifices, the advanced stage achieved resonance between heaven and man, and the ultimate stage achieved unity.

“What kind of item?” Mu Qi asked in confusion. It wasn’t out of surprise at Qi Zhengyan’s choice—the “Hun Tian Treasure Mirror” originally cultivated exotic energies from heaven and earth to comprehend the principles of cultivation. If there were items that condensed such exotic energies for auxiliary cultivation, they wouldn’t leave significant hidden dangers, requiring only more comprehension of heaven and earth before opening the spiritual third eye, a necessary task for every cultivator who had achieved unity with heaven and earth.

Qi Zhengyan replied: “A meteorite core.”

A meteorite core was not a star core, and the value difference was vast. It still cost two thousand five hundred merits. It seemed Qi Zhengyan had long coveted it and was exchanging for it as soon as he had enough merits.

“Using a meteorite core to cultivate the ‘Purple Stars River’ is indeed appropriate and won’t hinder the comprehension of principles. However, it fell from beyond the Azure Abyss, carrying the cold and dark energy from there. It has a slight demonic tinge and might easily lead to a loss of control. Be careful.” Zhao Heng, still writing the recommendation letter, interjected.

Qi Zhengyan nodded slowly: “I will be cautious. I will use the Dragon Pattern Red Gold Sword to protect my Yuan Shen during cultivation.”

Seeing that Qi Zhengyan had thoroughly considered the matter, Mu Qi didn’t say much else and watched him exchange for the meteorite core.

“What about you?” Mu Qi turned to Ruan Yushu.

Ruan Yushu calmly replied: “I don’t lack external aids. Right now, I just want to learn more melodies and comprehend my own path of qin cultivation to lay the foundation for the future. So I’ll choose some qin scores—yes, the ‘Celestial Immortal Melody.'”

Mu Qi found this score and glanced at its introduction, letting out a slight exclamation of surprise: “Isn’t this derived from Fu Huang’s ‘Turtle Back Longevity Score’?”

“Yes. Our family’s ‘Sky-Shattering Earth-Changing Melody’ is also inherited from Fu Huang, and it is paired with the ‘Turtle Back Longevity Score’ as the ‘Life and Death Scores.’ If combined, one can comprehend the mystery of life and death.” Ruan Yushu explained. “I haven’t even entered the threshold of the ‘Sky-Shattering Earth-Changing Melody,’ so I plan to start with the ‘Celestial Immortal Melody’ to see if I can gain insight through analogy.”

Fu Huang was the emperor before the Jade Emperor, who dominated during the time when the Three Revered Ones of Daoism gradually withdrew from the world. Legends say he was skilled in divining heavenly secrets and musical arts, possessing two peerless divine treasures: the Fu Huang Qin and the Hetu Chart.

Upon realizing that the “Celestial Immortal Melody” could harness the vitality of heaven and earth to heal wounds, expel toxins, suppress impurities, and significantly compensate for the team’s current shortcomings, Mu Qi naturally gave it his full support—let alone Ruan Yushu’s even grander ambitions.

After exchanging for the “Celestial Immortal Melody,” Ruan Yushu left the remaining one hundred sixty merits for future use and turned his gaze to Mu Qi: “Now it’s your turn. Are you going to exchange for an Outer Manifestation sword technique?”

Everyone could see that Liu Huo’s power couldn’t be fully utilized, so naturally, they could guess Mu Qi’s intentions.

Mu Qi hesitated for a moment and said: “I won’t consider an Outer Manifestation sword technique for now. I plan to exchange for another item.”

During this period, he had reviewed his experience of comprehending the “Tathagata Palm” and vaguely figured out why the first technique he learned was “Vajra Seal.” This was because he had cultivated the “Golden Bell Cover”—”Only I Am Supreme” naturally had to start from what he had learned, gradually comprehend, and then expand further.

In other words, he was very likely to understand Outer Manifestation saber techniques or sword techniques next. But heading north to kill the wolf king would provide few opportunities to use a sword, so it wasn’t urgent. He should use his merits where they mattered most!

“What item?” Jiang Zhiwei was quite puzzled.

Mu Qi smiled: “A five-hundred-year-old Bodhi seed to aid my comprehension.”

This was not only for comprehending Outer Manifestation sword techniques but also for acquiring more techniques to accumulate the merits required for “Bagua Xuan Gong.”