According to Shangguan Heng’s thoughts, when faced with a situation where calamity is redirected eastward, regardless of whether one’s strength is sufficient, as long as one does not harbor greed, directly rebounding the snow lotus or tossing it back to the pursuers would easily resolve the matter. Of course, if the item thrown is extremely valuable and happens to be something one has long sought, then it depends on timing, location, and the harmony between people.
Timing and location refer to whether it is convenient for escape and evasion.
Harmony between people refers to the comparison of strengths between both sides.
“A thousand-year snow lotus…” Although Shangguan Heng had not yet reached the realm of subtlety, he came from a prestigious family and his martial arts cultivation far surpassed ordinary people. As soon as the snow lotus was thrown, he had already clearly judged its value.
A thousand-year snow lotus could be used to refine pills, serving as one of the main ingredients for healing elixirs like the Great Replenishing Pill. Depending on the pill formula, its effects varied, including directly enhancing martial cultivation and opening acupoints.
To martial artists below the External Scenery realm, it was naturally a rare treasure. But to Shangguan Shi, the legitimate son of the Shangguan Clan of Juyuan, it was merely “decent.” In the western foothills of the Yuyuan Snow Mountains, the territory controlled by the Shangguan family boasted over a dozen snow lotuses aged more than three thousand years. Since snow lotuses undergo a significant qualitative leap every thousand years, prestigious clans and sects typically refrain from harvesting those nearing the millennium mark unless absolutely necessary, preferring to let them continue maturing.
“Su Meng will do what? Will he directly throw it back, appearing wealthy and generous, or accept it with a smile and subdue everyone with his strength?” Shangguan Heng momentarily felt a bit excited.
He could see that among the pursuers, there were many skilled martial artists, and their numbers were large. If it were himself, he would probably have to go through considerable effort to defeat and subdue them. So how would Su Meng, renowned for his prowess in group battles, handle this?
Just then, he saw Meng Qi extend his hand, releasing five streams of finger force to draw the snow lotus into his palm, while the man who had thrown the snow lotus had already flipped down this gentle slope, using his hands and feet alternately to grip protruding parts as he steadily climbed downward.
Both of his hands seemed to be wearing transparent gloves, allowing him to firmly adhere to the ice layer.
“Su Meng seems determined to accept the snow lotus and subdue everyone…” Shangguan Heng became even more excited.
The pursuing crowd immediately erupted into commotion:
“There!”
“He got it!”
“Hurry and surround him, don’t let him escape!”
They did not shout loudly but instead tried to suppress their voices.
All martial artists who came to the Yuyuan Snow Mountains to gather medicinal herbs and hunt monsters had received warnings from their seniors. The higher one went, the heavier the snow became, and any loud noise might trigger a chain reaction of avalanches. When that happened, heaven and earth would change colors, and an immense force would descend. At that time, even those who had opened their acupoints would struggle to resist, not to mention ordinary practitioners on the verge of external scenery. If they couldn’t fly out of the avalanche area in time, their survival would be questionable.
Suddenly, they saw the man in the green robe ahead holding the snow lotus leap into the air like a giant roc, directly soaring over the gentle slope and flying off the cliff.
“Is he… committing suicide?” The martial artists rushing to seize it were momentarily stunned, unable to figure out what was happening.
Shangguan Heng was also greatly surprised. He had expected Meng Qi to turn around and confront the pursuing crowd, but he had made such a choice instead!
Could he have been frightened into fleeing? Shangguan Heng had previously witnessed Meng Qi’s lightness kung fu and had no doubt that he wasn’t scared into suicide.
The man who had thrown the snow lotus was steadily climbing downward when suddenly his vision darkened, as if blocked by a shadow that had obscured the moonlight.
Instinctively looking up, he saw the previously leisurely and absent-minded man diving straight down from the cliff, headfirst, his robes fluttering, resembling a celestial deity. His expression was emotionless, one hand holding the snow lotus, the other forming a palm blade slicing downward through the air.
This palm strike was extremely fierce and imposing, its momentum evident, the wind force rushing toward his face. The man had never seen anyone daring to act so boldly on a cliffside. For a moment, his spirit was shaken, and it was only when the palm force reached his face that he reacted.
How could someone act so recklessly without caring for his life?
He was on the ice wall, unable to maneuver easily, so he could only exert force with one hand and foot, abruptly turning his body to face the ice wall, avoiding the brunt of the strike. At the same time, his outstretched right hand drew a long sword, thrusting it toward the incoming force.
His martial prowess was indeed formidable; otherwise, how could he have seized the thousand-year snow lotus and fled from a large group of skilled martial artists?
The force of the palm strike appeared fierce, but when his sword pierced it, he felt an emptiness and hollowness, causing his sword to accelerate involuntarily, just grazing the side of the palm strike.
Bang! Although the strike felt hollow, it transmitted a vast force, instantly numbing and swelling the right arm of the sword-wielding man, the sensation spreading to his entire body.
Using strength to counter emptiness! Using the solidity of fierce force to manifest the hollowness of emptiness!
This was Meng Qi’s development of the “Seven Phantoms of Immortality” after receiving guidance from Gao Lan, integrating various martial techniques such as saber, sword, palm, and fist into a cohesive whole.
Using the rebounding force, Meng Qi flew like a great bird, maneuvering flexibly and effortlessly circling around to the front of the sword-wielding man. He transformed his palm strike into a finger sword, swiftly piercing through the man’s hastily constructed defense, striking a major acupoint on his chest.
On this cliffside, the sword-wielding man found it difficult to maneuver or evade. He could only watch helplessly as the emotionless man in green sealed his acupoints, then grabbed his collar, and with alternating kicks against the icy wall, ascended as easily as if walking on flat ground.
He had not descended for long, and the distance to the top was not far. Soon, he felt himself lifted into the air, joining the green-robed swordsman as they landed on the gentle slope.
Then, he felt his collar tighten again, and he was airborne once more, leaping over the somewhat stunned pursuers and fleeing in the direction they had come, at a leisurely pace.
“What exactly does he intend to do?” Shangguan Heng had no idea what Meng Qi was up to. He simply watched him dive off the cliff like an eagle snatching a chick, grabbing the man who had redirected the danger, then moving in the opposite direction, “flying” past the pursuers and running off slowly toward the distance.
“Quick, chase him!” The crowd snapped back to their senses, not thinking much about it, instinctively rushing to pursue.
They were familiar with the terrain, and it seemed as if they were getting closer and closer. Just then, Meng Qi, dragging the sword-wielding man, dashed upward along the steep and treacherous cliff, then made a loop, once again overtaking them and running toward Shangguan Heng.
“What is he trying to do…” The pursuers began to feel something strange, but they couldn’t give up on the thousand-year snow lotus, so they habitually turned to chase again.
When they reached a recessed, wind-sheltered area, Meng Qi stopped and waited for the others to approach. At a certain distance, he placed the snow lotus into the sword-wielding man’s arms, casually unblocking his acupoints, and then calmly returned to sit by the fire.
Everyone, including Shangguan Heng, was stunned. What the hell was going on?
Meng Qi looked at the sword-wielding man and the pursuers behind him and smiled, saying, “You may continue.”
Instinctively, the sword-wielding man turned his head, his pupils contracting like needles. This distance, this exact distance, was identical to the one he had been at when he originally threw the snow lotus!
In other words, everything had returned completely to the state before the calamity was redirected, down to the last detail, except for their emotions!
No wonder he said “continue”… The pursuers also understood what had happened and were left speechless.
Was he going through all this trouble just to remain neutral?
Yet the strength he displayed through this elaborate maneuver was simply breathtaking!
The surroundings were silent, as if in a graveyard.
Suddenly, the sword-wielding man was the first to react, sprinting wildly toward the cliff once more, relying on his rare gloves and the terrain to escape.
His movement broke the stillness, and the pursuing crowd followed suit. As they passed the recessed area, not a single one dared to meet Meng Qi’s gaze directly.
“Why did he do this?” Shangguan Heng asked in confusion.
“For me, a thousand-year snow lotus is indeed valuable, but harmonizing with heaven and earth and seeking one’s own path isn’t just about perceiving the heavens and the internal scenery; it’s also about cultivating one’s mind, controlling greed, and not going against one’s original intent. Refraining from greed is also part of the cultivation,” Meng Qi smiled. “If it’s unclaimed, I wouldn’t fear a struggle, but since someone has already obtained it, I shouldn’t interfere. Subduing him, running him around, and scaring him a bit is a kind of ‘retribution’ for redirecting the calamity.”
The “valuable” in Meng Qi’s words referred to the snow lotus being able to exchange for a lot of good deeds.
“I understand this, but why go through so much trouble? Why emphasize ‘continue’?” Shangguan Heng stressed his question.
Meng Qi looked deeply at him:
“You wouldn’t understand…”
Indeed, Shangguan Heng didn’t understand. He could only silently adjust his breath, waiting for dawn.
After another day, the two reached the peak safely and without incident.
The peak was only a few zhang in diameter, with jagged rocks covered in ice, never melting in ten thousand years. At the very center of the peak stood a small ice hut, so tiny that it could only accommodate one person sitting cross-legged.
Inside sat a strange man, his beard and hair gray and white, long and messy, intertwined, covering his entire face, revealing only a pair of eyes filled with confusion.
He gazed at the vast, clear blue sky, lost in thought.
“Senior Huang Liang, this junior, Ju Yuan Shangguan Heng, has come to pay respects,” Shangguan Heng bowed.
Meng Qi had heard from Shangguan Heng that this man surnamed Huang often said that the mundane world was like a great dream, hence he called himself Huang Liang.
The strange man ignored the two completely, still lost in his thoughts.
“Senior, this junior has a friend who often contemplates the reality and illusion of heaven and earth, and the distinction between sun and moon. He specially came to seek your guidance,” Shangguan Heng suppressed his anger and said.
Suddenly, the strange man turned his head to look at Meng Qi, his voice deep and hoarse: “Do you also understand illusion and reality?”
“What can be changed, and what cannot be changed? Is this world the only one? What is the actual distinction between sun, moon, and stars? These questions often trouble me,” Meng Qi answered candidly.
The strange man chuckled softly: “I never thought that besides several sects, there would still be someone in this world pondering similar questions. I am not alone in my path!”
The confusion in his eyes disappeared, becoming deep and dark, like the night sky filled with stars, yet without the slightest twinkle, completely unchanged:
“The reason I think more deeply and further than ordinary people is not only because I received the teachings of my masters and learned many secrets, but also because…” He paused, “I am not from this world.”
Meng Qi’s heart trembled. Was he a transmigrator like himself or someone from a cycle world?
Shangguan Heng was even more shocked. He had never heard this madman say such things before!
But of course, the words of a madman couldn’t be taken as reliable.
“My world also cultivates martial arts…” Huang Liang said slowly.
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