In front of the ancient temple stood a Bodhi tree, half withered and half flourishing. Meng Qi sat beneath it, seemingly listening to the Buddha’s teachings and contemplating with his heart.
Not knowing how long had passed, he slowly rose and solemnly bowed, then with a somewhat sheepish expression, he said, “Venerable Bodhisattva, I’ve completed my contemplation. If it’s not too much trouble, could you please open the door near Maoling in Jiangdong?”
The pure land of Lanke Temple, akin to a certain universal law, was omnipresent. Thus, distance became closeness, and as long as there was no powerful formation blocking, one could open the door wherever desired.
The Moon Mani King Bodhisattva did not speak. At the other end of the path, the water shimmered, revealing the Jiangdong scenery of small bridges and flowing streams.
Meng Qi respectfully thanked once more and departed from Lanke Temple, already returning from near Wangchao Rock in the East Sea back to Maoling. Whoever might have ill intentions, there was absolutely no way to trace his whereabouts again!
…
After changing his appearance and aura several times cautiously, Meng Qi put on the mask of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable and entered the Fairyland, where the “Taiyi Immortal” had already been waiting.
Yan Wuwo was not a talkative or warm person, so there was no small talk. He simply watched Meng Qi bring out the gains from this auction and, as agreed, selected some heavenly treasures and precious weapons.
The Jiangshi Fist was not a sect with deep accumulation. It only began to rise three generations ago and only with Yan Wuwo did it firmly establish itself in the martial arts world and enhance its reputation. Thus, although Yan himself didn’t need these items nor cared much for several thousand merits, he, being protective and competitive, wanted to prepare some for his disciples and descendants so they wouldn’t fall behind the great sects and noble families.
As Yan Wuwo was making his selection, Meng Qi roughly calculated his gains. The first “Dongji Changsheng Pill” he had exchanged with the Zhang family’s old ancestor had yielded thirteen heavenly treasures, all of which were exactly what he currently needed for cultivation. Adding to that the commission from items exchanged at the Fairyland, including those from the Wanxiang Gate and the Ink Palace, as well as the share from the longevity pill profits, Meng Qi had nearly enough resources to cultivate the second level of the Bayi Xuan Gong.
Thinking of this, Meng Qi couldn’t help but silently praise himself for not solely relying on the profits from the Wanxiang Gate’s longevity pills to pay Yan Wuwo, but instead bearing part of the cost himself. This way, the profits wouldn’t look too poor, matching the level of normal sales, thus avoiding any future cooperation issues. He could be called the “Honest and Dependable Young Man,” far better than that old ghost Yunhe!
“It’s just shifting the burden of other costs onto you…” Meng Qi silently added. Thus, from the items obtained in exchange for the second Changsheng Pill, he would need to subsidize with three or four heavenly treasures to barely meet his cultivation needs, leaving the remaining as his own additional profit.
“About ten heavenly treasures, an upper-grade treasure weapon ‘Wandu Cuihun Needle,’ and a divine weapon core material ‘Dinghai Pearl’…” Meng Qi was getting quite delighted. Even though the ‘Dinghai Pearl’ would be reserved for his own use or refining into a treasure weapon, as long as it didn’t pass through the Six Paths, it would still be worth at least twenty thousand merits.
With this amount of merits, he could now afford to use and discard secret treasures one after another. Thinking “grandly” like this, Meng Qi quickly regained his composure, took a light breath, and thought inwardly, “Once everything is sold, I can spend eight thousand merits to unlock the secrets of the Huangquan Hand Bone!”
“The rest will be for attaining immortality…”
With the thirteen heavenly treasures from the Zhang family’s old ancestor, Meng Qi wasn’t in a rush to exchange them for now, so he didn’t go through the Six Paths and instead put the ‘Wandu Cuihun Needle’ and others up for sale at the Fairyland Bazaar.
After leaving the Fairyland, he casually entered a small city, dressed as a green-robed gentleman, and leisurely walked along the street, buying a pot of yellow wine and a roasted chicken. Then he rented a courtyard and relaxed, quietly cultivating.
…
It was the twelfth lunar month, snowing, with a damp cold that penetrated to the bone, each region having its own harsh winter.
Inside a quiet room in the small courtyard, Meng Qi sat cross-legged, seemingly lifeless.
Suddenly, the acupoints all over his body opened, and one after another illusory figures soared forth—there was a blazing, scorching sun, a cascade of brilliant stars, a chaotic maw that devoured all light, an endless expanse of earth, and countless deities manifesting various laws and phenomena, some stepping on black serpents, some holding up the heavens.
In an instant, the entire quiet room seemed like a hall of myriad gods, a microcosm of countless transformations in heaven and earth, a dazzling array of lights and shadows, profound and mysterious, impossible to fully comprehend.
At the heart of these somewhat tangible illusions sat Meng Qi in a meditative posture, yet his nine natural orifices, five internal organs, and six viscera had grown indistinct—as though the heavens above were merging with these dreamlike visions.
They all traced back to one point—the mysterious pass between his eyebrows, directly leading to the Palace of Nihility.
There, dark and dim, seemed to sit a figure cross-legged, without front or back, upper or lower, indescribable, as if it were “Primordial!”
The greatest form is formless!
This was the abode of Meng Qi’s Yuan Shen, his true Dharma Body—the Immortal Primordial Image!
And whether the internal heavenly realms or the surrounding illusions, all were transformations contained within the Dharma Body, various external manifestations of the Dharma principles, not the essence itself!
Suddenly, Meng Qi opened his eyes. They were eyes filled with chaos and unfathomability, brimming with the feelings of ancientness, eternity, vastness, and profundity!
All the illusions instantly withdrew, and the void of the quiet room strangely trembled, as if it were about to split open. If not for the pre-prepared formation blocking it, this phenomenon might have covered the entire city.
After closing and opening his eyes again, Meng Qi’s gaze had returned to normal, his entire aura increasingly ordinary, like the common laws of heaven and earth that everyone saw without surprise.
“At last, I’ve entered the third level of the External Manifestation and refined all the acupoints around my body…” Meng Qi exhaled lightly. The first threshold of the Bayi Xuan Gong had finally been crossed.
For cultivators of the Bayi Xuan Gong who followed the path of embracing transformations, during the first and second levels of External Manifestation, each acupoint had to be refined differently, corresponding to different heavenly appearances or Dharma principles. Therefore, it was the most time-consuming stage, the first major challenge in the cultivation of External Manifestation. Without the aid of heavenly treasures, nowadays, no one would be able to complete the refinement of all acupoints before their lifespan expired. Even in ancient times, it would have taken at least fifteen years.
With the aid of heavenly treasures, it was wealth that was consumed. Meng Qi roughly calculated: just for the cultivation of the second level, he had used heavenly treasures and rare materials worth about thirty-four to thirty-five thousand merits, which was equivalent to what a normal External Manifestation cultivator not entering the cycle would need to collect diligently for ten years without consumption.
This was simply something to sigh over!
“Fortunately, I received a salary from the Six Gates and exchanged two usable heavenly treasures from within, otherwise I might not have had twenty thousand merits left.” Meng Qi stood up to stretch his muscles, mischievously modifying the radio calisthenics into body-forging movements.
With his current potential and strength, the Six Gates was more than happy for him to continue holding the rank of Silver Seal Hunter. As for missions, it all depended on whether he wanted to do them or not; the salary would be paid regardless. In the future, when Meng Qi became a Master or a Grand Master, there would always be some favors owed, making certain matters easier to discuss and entrust.
After being displayed in the Fairyland Bazaar for over half a year, the items finally sold out a few days ago due to their fair and reasonable prices, which were much better than those of the shady merchants from the Six Paths. Because of this, Meng Qi specially entered the Wanxiang Gate to hand over the proceeds to Yunhe Zhenren and the Ink Palace representative. Once Jiang Zhiwei’s part was completed, this matter would be considered fully settled.
So far, he still had twenty thousand seven hundred merits left, making him extremely wealthy among those below the level of a Grand Master, not to mention he still had materials like the Dinghai Pearl and the Huangquan Hand Bone.
It was clear that Yunhe Zhenren and the Ink Palace representative were very satisfied, expressing hopes to continue similar transactions after digesting this batch of gains.
As for a piece of the Ten-Thousand-Year Green Jade Tree, Meng Qi had put it up for reward in the Fairyland Bazaar for over half a year without any response. Exchanging it through the Six Paths was simply not cost-effective. Now, it all depended on whether Jiang Zhiwei could find one.
After finishing his exercise, Meng Qi lightly flicked his fingers, sending out several gusts of finger wind that struck different spots, shattering several artifacts and instantly dissolving the formation. The bright blue sky reappeared, showering the area with brilliant sunlight.
Although Meng Qi had no accumulation in formations, having already reached the level of External Manifestation and embracing so many transformations, refining acupoints into so many different types, he had an intuitive grasp of the laws of heaven and earth. He instinctively knew what effect placing items of certain properties in certain locations would have, naturally understanding how to set up simple formations without any teaching.
“Alas, during this period of secluded cultivation, I had no opportunity to perform good deeds, so my accumulated virtue was insufficient for the Sanbao Ruyi Fist to reach minor mastery…” Meng Qi sighed. One cannot have both fish and bear’s paw.
As for the Yin-Yang Seal and Flesh and Spirit, he had entered the threshold, and had barely touched the surface of the “Only I Shall Reign Supreme.”
He left the small city and headed straight for the entrance to the Fairyland, finally having the time after entering the Third Heaven to uncover the secrets hidden within the Huangquan Hand Bone!
As soon as he entered the Biyou Heaven, Meng Qi encountered Doumu Yuanjun flying from another direction. He greeted her with a smile, saying what a coincidence.
Doumu Yuanjun, without showing any emotion, said, “I was just about to inform you. The long-delayed formal member gathering will be held in seven days. If you’re available, come to the Biyou Palace to participate.”
“Great!” Meng Qi’s eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed.
After learning the true identities of several high-level members, Meng Qi wasn’t particularly interested in the rest, except for one person—the Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun who had “stolen” his title!
Who was he exactly?
Doumu Yuanjun glanced at Meng Qi and keenly noticed his unconcealed shift in aura: “Have you refined all your acupoints and reached the third level?”
“Yes, just now.” Meng Qi secretly felt smug. Had even the Yuanjun been surprised?
Doumu’s tone became slightly heavier: “‘Qingyuan’ took a total of eight and a half years to gather materials, breaking through the barriers of the first and second levels, which slowed his cultivation progress so much that he nearly died during a reincarnation task.”
But Meng Qi had done it in just a year and a half.
“Just fortunate circumstances, fortunate circumstances.” Meng Qi “humbly” replied. The exorbitant profits from the Dongji Changsheng Pill were a one-time windfall, and the gains from the Wanxiang Gate were an unexpected bonus.
After exchanging a few more words, Meng Qi flew to the Fairyland Bazaar and landed before the central jade pillar, taking out the Huangquan Hand Bone.
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