In the distance, the orange glow of dawn had yet to fully dispel the deep darkness of night, as Shangguan Heng’s back figure gradually vanished into the darkness.
Meng Qi stood rooted in place, first puzzled, then feeling a sense of joy. Was Shangguan Heng impressed by his invisible charm and bearing? Had he already abandoned the thought of victory or defeat without even engaging in battle?
Indeed, lofty pursuits such as comprehending the world and contemplating one’s own path always inspired admiration.
He thought to himself with a purely relaxed mood, smugly stroking his chin, only to suddenly feel hard stubble.
Hmm… A sudden realization struck Meng Qi. He frantically ran his hands over his face and head. Why did he have so much beard? Why were his hair and beard tangled like a wild man?
My image is ruined in Northern Zhou… Meng Qi thought in “lament,” when suddenly his facial hair began falling out, one strand after another, one tuft after another, cleanly severed as if shaved by an invisible blade. In a short moment, his face once again resembled a freshly peeled egg.
This was unlike Gao Lan’s usual demeanor; there truly was a blade, an invisible blade!
Over the course of these three months, Meng Qi had devoted the majority of his efforts to comprehending the first stance of the Tathagata Divine Palm, “Only I Am Supreme.” With the aid of Bodhi seeds and his own mental cultivation, he had developed two martial arts techniques. As anticipated, they were a saber technique and a sword technique, both of which were Outer Manifestation-level arts, complete with their own respective enlightenment methods.
The saber technique had no specific moves, similar to Shaolin’s Wu Xiang Jie Zhi (Non-Form Karma Finger). It was like an invisible calamity striking unknowingly, though at a lower level, unable to achieve the “wondrous emptiness from void, formless and featureless” state at the highest level of Wu Xiang Jie Zhi. It was a saber technique surpassing the Golden Seal, at the Outer Manifestation level, which Meng Qi named “Wu Xiang Chan Dao” (Non-Form Zen Saber).
Perhaps due to the Flaming Ember containing a trace of the Eightfold Heavenly Dragon Flame, Meng Qi’s sword technique was intrinsically linked to it. The sword technique comprised eight forms, with Tian (Heaven), Long (Dragon), and Yecha (Night Demon) serving as the Outer Manifestation forms, slightly inferior to the Wu Xiang Chan Dao, while the remaining five were techniques for opening the acupoints.
Thus, Meng Qi lazily named it the “Eightfold Heavenly Dragon Sword.”
Of course, Meng Qi’s greatest gains were not merely the two martial arts techniques and the communion with Heaven and Earth, which were expected and destined to come. His most important achievements included: first, the initial construction of his own path; second, martial arts like the Undying Seal Art and the Solitary Heaven Saber drawing closer to the Outer Manifestation level with the help of the “Muscle Changing Classic” and his own insights. Thirdly, his imitation ability from the Ba Jiu Xuan Gong had improved.
After shaving his beard, combing his hair, washing up, and changing into a plain blue robe, Meng Qi casually found a secluded spot to sit cross-legged and stabilize his cultivation level.
The communion between Heaven and Man indicated that his inner world was becoming increasingly aligned with the external world, already capable of partial resonance. Normally, it might not trigger phenomena, but with the attraction of qi and full effort, corresponding signs would appear. Therefore, stabilizing the communion between Heaven and Man meant stabilizing his inner world.
He gathered his essence and qi, turning his awareness inward.
The void was dark and boundless, deep and infinite. His Primordial Spirit sat cross-legged in the center of the void, neither advancing nor retreating, transcending the six directions, embodying the state of “Primordial Oneness.”
Beneath his Primordial Spirit, the nine innate orifices and their corresponding internal organs—the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—transformed into celestial realms, dwelling places for sentient beings and the wellspring of vitality, overseeing each acupoint as well as the blood vessels and bones.
Each acupoint, blood vessel, and bone formed its own world—some containing stars, others holding the Kunlun Mountains—each manifesting different universes.
This was the mystery of the physical body, containing the heavens and earth within itself. Except for a few great cultivators, such as the Primordial Lord, Meng Qi dared to claim that his current physical world was different from anyone else’s in history!
At the final moment, he firmly grasped his own will, the will from his past life’s knowledge and innate nature, choosing the path of “embracing change and achieving immortality.”
However, based on his initial understanding, he had performed an interpretation: his Yuan Shen sat highest, resembling the Primordial, Bodhi, or a singularity, subtly diverging from the path of the Immortal Body and leaning slightly toward the Bodhi Golden Body.
This inner world was still very rough, merely outlining the general framework without any detailed content. For instance, each acupoint was destined to evolve into its own distinct realm, but at this stage, they remained indistinct and chaotic. Naturally, most of this development would occur after reaching the Outer Manifestation stage. For now, Meng Qi primarily focused on gradually refining them, seeking the “state” that resonated most profoundly with the external world.
If following a conventional path, Meng Qi could adjust according to the Ba Jiu Xuan Gong’s teachings, as predecessors had described. But now, his path leaned neither entirely one way nor the other. Although it drew reference from both, he still needed to explore slowly on his own, without rushing.
Engaging in life-and-death battles with opponents of equal or superior strength was one method. Under the traction of qi, the mind would elevate, and the inner world would naturally adjust, drawing closer to the external world.
Turning his focus inward, Meng Qi entered a state of profound emptiness, gradually harmonizing his inner being. A soft golden radiance naturally emanated from his body, while a subtle glow faintly illuminated each of his acupoints.
Suddenly, Meng Qi’s inner awareness trembled, sensing a disturbance—not from within, but from an external cause.
He halted his cultivation, opened his eyes, and saw crowds bustling around him, lively and vibrant. There were people selling calligraphy and paintings, performing with monkeys, and various kinds of food, among other things.
Ahead stood a temple with yellow walls and black-tiled roofs, its interior filled with towering trees, exuding a sense of serenity.
Yet the place where he had just been was supposed to be a desolate wilderness at the edge of the grasslands!
How had he suddenly been transported through space and time?
Or was this an illusion?
Frowning slightly, Meng Qi recalled something: after truly cultivating the ancestral aperture between his eyebrows, he needed to guard against invading external demons—this was a natural backlash from heaven and earth.
External demons could be members of the Mara clan from the Hehua Zizai Heaven, or they could be random occurrences, such as domestic trivialities, romantic entanglements, lingering in the mind, causing agitation and difficulty in resolution. In short, they would affect the mind, leading to a deviation in cultivation—an obstacle every martial cultivator must face.
“Could this be an illusion created by an invading demon?” Standing amidst the surging crowd, Meng Qi remained vigilant, fearing that a demon might be lurking within, ready to strike suddenly.
The surrounding crowds flowed like water, yet Meng Qi remained still, an oddity among them. Many people cast sidelong glances, eyeing this handsome and gentle young man in a plain blue robe.
Looking around, Meng Qi saw the name of the temple:
“Yuanjue Temple.”
The Yuanjue Temple fair… it looked somewhat familiar. Meng Qi pursed his lips, recalling past memories, and began listening attentively to nearby conversations.
Not far away, a storyteller struck his wooden block and loudly proclaimed, “Yesterday I told of the battle between the Demon Queen and the Right Chancellor, truly a stormy clash, lightning flashing like gods and Buddhas. Meanwhile, the ‘Soul-Startling Sword’ Young Meng charged straight into the Crown Prince’s Mansion, slaying the Crown Prince amidst a sea of soldiers!”
Demon Queen? Soul-Startling Sword? Yuanjue Temple! Meng Qi narrowed his eyes, finally recalling where he was. This was indeed the Yuanjue Temple where the Demon Lord had attained transcendence, leaving behind the words “So it is” and the skin of an external demon.
Carefully, Meng Qi retrieved the demon’s skin from his Jizi Ring.
As soon as it met the air, the demon’s skin, which had previously shown no reaction no matter how it was handled, suddenly burst into flames, rapidly turning to ashes that scattered to the ground before he could react.
“So it was ‘you’ that brought me here…” A faint smile appeared on Meng Qi’s lips. “Then where is my ‘external demon’?”
At his current level, he could detect no trace of illusion, so he initially judged it to be real—the world of the Demon Queen and Sword Emperor, the world of the “Soul-Startling Sword” Young Meng. To leave, he probably needed to find the “external demon” and kill it!
Meng Qi didn’t dwell on how the Demon Lord’s external demon could transport him through space and time. After all, the Demon Lord himself was far from reaching this level, due to the involvement of “So it is.”
He raised his head to look around, then leisurely walked toward Yuanjue Temple with his hands behind his back, like an ordinary person coming to offer incense and worship the Buddha.
After entering the temple and passing through two main halls, Meng Qi suddenly felt a stirring in his heart, smiled slightly, and turned toward a side hall nearby.
Unlike the bustling main halls, this side hall was quiet and desolate, with only a few people present. However, they all stood near the door, their true energy surging, obviously experts.
Seeing Meng Qi, the young man in a plain blue robe with a graceful bearing, walking slowly as if casually strolling, like a nobleman, the few men immediately prepared to step forward and stop him.
Suddenly, their bodies trembled, their expressions changing. They slowed their movements, allowing Meng Qi to pass them and enter the side hall, all of them revealing astonished looks in their eyes.
Inside the side hall, a woman dressed in white gauze sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, facing a Buddha statue. Just from her back view, she exuded an infinite sense of beauty.
Meng Qi walked slowly, approaching the woman’s side, his gaze fixed on the Buddha statue. With a slight smile, he said, “The Demon Lord saw through worldly illusions and became a monk. Does the Demon Queen also intend to shave her head and become a nun?”
The woman in white gauze also gazed at the Buddha statue, her voice hoarse yet enchanting:
“It’s been years. You’ve already reached this level.”
“Have you also come to attend the Sword Emperor’s passing?”
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