A howl like a wolf’s cry abruptly ceased. From the location where the sound originated, a group of monsters had just departed, seemingly having just stepped off the long bridge and ventured deeper into the hazy outline.
Meng Qi and others instinctively moved toward that direction, quickening their pace. Yet as they ran, they all tacitly slowed down. The situation ahead was unclear; they didn’t know what had occurred. Rushing recklessly in might lead to the same fate as the Great Peng Demon King. It was better to be cautious, observe first, then decide on their actions. After all, it wasn’t their companions who were in danger.
Though the Tianhe Cloud Bridge was lengthy, it eventually came to an end. Before long, Meng Qi, Jiang Zhiwei, and the others caught sight of a realm resembling a celestial paradise. Verdant trees concealed pavilions and towers, while pure qi rose and drifted unpredictably. In the distance, the void seemed chaotic, as if this fragment of heaven had “broken away” at that very spot.
“The core item should be here…” Meng Qi withdrew his gaze and first examined the immediate area. The end of the cloud bridge was a sparse forest, each tree as thick as one could embrace, with canopies like rooftops, blocking the clear light. Below, there were no thorns, no shrubs, no flowers, no lingzhi or other magical fungi.
To enter the fairyland region, this forest was the only passage, unless one flew directly overhead.
Seeing this, Meng Qi couldn’t help but think that these were all celestial giant trees. Taking one back might fetch a considerable amount of merit…
“Be careful,” Ruan Yushu warned.
Based on her common knowledge, the only path leading somewhere was often set with ambushes or formations. That’s how the Ruan family arranged things, and this place was an ancient heavenly realm!
Similarly, from her intuition, a forest without mushrooms or other food was something to be wary of.
Meng Qi nodded slightly, holding sword in left hand and saber in the right, his steps light yet steady, not fast nor slow, approaching the forest. Looking intently, he saw the trees were sparse, no mists or plagues, and directly saw the palace complex on the other side, seemingly without danger.
His spiritual awareness was clear, and the Eight-Nine Mystical Art’s danger-sensing ability reached its peak. The Jade Void Divine Calculation subtly rotated, divining the ensuing transformations.
“The forest itself isn’t dangerous…” Highly alert, Meng Qi tested with a few attacks. One tree broke and collapsed, but overall, nothing seemed amiss. Then he activated his Wisdom Eye to examine every corner, seeing no signs of active restrictions.
After continuously employing various methods to test for restrictions, Meng Qi took a deep breath and stepped into the seemingly ordinary forest.
No white mist rose, no dizzying whirlwind, no myriad sword beams shot forth. Meng Qi relaxed slightly, turning to look at Jiang Zhiwei and others, intending to signal them to come in.
But as he looked, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The area by the forest edge was empty—Jiang Zhiwei, Ruan Yushu, Qi Zhengyan, and Zhao Heng, who had just been standing there, were all gone!
“Was the danger outside the forest?” Meng Qi tensed his muscles, exploded with strength, and rushed toward the forest edge.
Suddenly, the scene changed. The giant trees transformed into piles of stones, forming a maze of interconnected paths. The bridge at the forest’s edge and the palace complex across were no longer visible, nor was the misty sky above.
Not a killing formation, but a maze? Meng Qi suddenly understood. No wonder his earlier tests had failed, and his calculations also indicated no real danger in the forest. Even with monsters having passed ahead, there were no signs of destruction.
At the same time, he felt a deep admiration. This was indeed a celestial formation. He couldn’t discern its secrets at all. Unlike the True Martial Secret Treasury, where he had used conventional methods to open the outer restrictions and then essentially became the controller of the formation, giving him the advantage of home ground and allowing him to sense even the slightest traces.
“It’s also because I trusted the Six Gates, thinking that since we hadn’t even entered the core area, according to the mission’s difficulty, there shouldn’t be an unsolvable killing formation…” Meng Qi’s thoughts raced as he gripped his blade and sword, proceeding along the path formed between the stone piles, intending to first exit the forest and reunite with Jiang Zhiwei and the others.
He believed that without someone controlling the maze, he could calculate and explore his way out.
His perception was mysteriously suppressed, making it hard for his mind to extend far. He could only leave marks each time he passed a pile of stones, to avoid getting lost.
Time passed. Although he had only taken a few steps into the forest, Meng Qi couldn’t find his way out. When he tried to leap onto the stone piles, magical barriers blocked him, forcing him to patiently navigate the maze using his divine calculations.
“Huh…” After walking for a while, Meng Qi spotted his own hidden mark at the base of a pile of stones. It seemed he had circled back to where he started.
Try the right side this time… After leaving another mark, Meng Qi resumed his exploration. Just as he turned around a stone pile, his pupils suddenly reflected a tall figure!
He was eight feet tall, with a nose like a bull, a seemingly honest face, and eyes glowing with ferocity. In his hand, he held a pitchfork, gleaming with coldness.
Meeting unexpectedly on this narrow path, both were momentarily stunned before quickly reacting.
A demon!
A human!
Seeing Meng Qi’s aura was only at the fourth Heaven stage, the giant felt reassured, his eyes flashing even more ferociously. He raised his pitchfork, his entire body radiating light, seemingly manifesting a several-meter-tall blue ox phantom enveloping him.
Then he swung the pitchfork, smashing it down toward Meng Qi’s head. The ox phantom lowered its head, its two large, cold-shining horns almost merging with the pitchfork, the heavy force pushing the stones behind him, the sharpness seemingly capable of piercing through anything.
Want to compete in brute strength?
Meng Qi’s muscles swelled, his acupoints opened, and beams of light surged upward, transforming into various images that solidified on his saber’s blade. Without resorting to the Heaven-Imitating Technique or his Dharma Body techniques, he simply delivered a straightforward slash.
Clang!
A gust of power surged, the clouded ground’s surface dispersing. The tall demon staggered back a few steps, feeling his arms numb and hands trembling, nearly losing grip of the pitchfork.
This guy has such immense strength!
And he used only one hand!
The giant demon looked at Meng Qi as if seeing a monster!
He had always prided himself on his strength, yet he couldn’t match this mere fourth Heaven stage human?
Staggering back, Meng Qi held his long sword in his left hand and dragged the Tianzhi Shang saber behind him with his right, charging toward the demon, building up a terrifying burst of power.
After that initial strike, the giant demon was already frightened, and seeing Meng Qi charge, he dared not counterattack. Opening his mouth, he spat out a large ox gallstone, transforming into a streak of light heading straight for Meng Qi’s face, too fast to react.
Crack!
Meng Qi’s face turned pale gold, directly hit by the gallstone. Yet only a red mark appeared, no wound, while the gallstone itself cracked, caught by Meng Qi’s two suddenly sprouted arms.
Monster! The Bull Demon, terrified, turned to flee.
The gallstone was his ultimate secret technique, used only in dire situations, and every time it shattered enemies’ skulls. Yet today, the enemy’s head was unharmed, while the gallstone nearly cracked itself!
Is he even human?
Meng Qi grasped the gallstone in one hand, activated the Void-Treading Somersault Steps, and in one step, intercepted the Bull Demon ahead, blocking its escape.
Realizing there was no peaceful resolution, the Bull Demon unleashed his ferocity, rolling his body into a giant ox nearly two zhang tall, its horns gleaming coldly, sharp beyond measure.
The blue ox phantom reappeared, attaching itself to the ox’s body.
“Grow, grow, grow!” The ox’s horns expanded, showing spiral patterns, wrapped in green light.
It snorted, pawing the ground with its hind legs, lowering its head, charging at Meng Qi with a thunderous sound, extremely fast, instantly reaching him.
Unfazed, Meng Qi half-turned his body, guiding the ox slightly aside with his sword, then his empty hand fell, directly gripping the horns.
“Hmph!” Meng Qi’s arm muscles bulged, golden light bursting forth, concentrating all his strength into one point, actually halting the Bull Demon’s charge!
He raised his right hand, swung his long saber eight times in the air, then brought it down powerfully.
Boom!
After a surge of purple lightning dragons, the Bull Demon’s body flew forward, blood geysering from its neck cavity, while its head was held in Meng Qi’s hand.
The Jade Purifying Vase, previously used to store pills, flew out, collecting the blood. Meng Qi’s blade and sword swiftly cut the ox corpse, collecting the most valuable parts—its horns and hide—into his Ring of the Pocket Dimension—limited space meant sacrificing less important parts.
“Huh…” After swiftly finishing this, Meng Qi suddenly realized something was off. Where was the Bull Demon’s storage bag? At the very least, as a local demon king, he should have some treasures.
His thoughts raced, and Meng Qi’s gaze fell on the discarded ox stomach. He poked it lightly with his sword tip, feeling something bulging inside.
Exactly here!
Meng Qi picked up the ox stomach, forcefully opened it, and saw the Bull Demon’s treasures. Although there were many items, none were immediately useful to him, so he collected them along with the pitchfork.
Looking around, Meng Qi’s mood darkened slightly. If Master Qi, Zhiwei, and the others had not entered the formation, it would be fine. But if they were deceived by the maze and saw him unharmed, then entered, it would be dangerous, as most demon kings still seemed trapped within the formation!
The little glutton with the Demon-Revealing Mirror had a chance to survive even against a Grandmaster-level demon. Zhiwei was about his level, able to escape if she couldn’t win. Old Five Zhao had the Heaven, Earth, and Yellow Emperor’s Jade Pagoda, similarly safe. Only Master Qi—if he had bad luck and encountered a Grandmaster-level demon, he would be in danger!
Worried, Meng Qi continued deducing and searching for a way out, hoping to reunite with his companions soon.
Suddenly, his heart lake rippled, an intense sense of danger arising. Without thinking, he immediately threw himself onto the nearby path, hiding behind the stone piles, which could block perception!
Far away, a mysterious figure clad entirely in black robes slowly approached, exuding a terrifying aura, faintly exuding decay and coldness, making Meng Qi shiver involuntarily, instinctively hiding deeper, even retracting his gaze!
Not the Grandmaster-level demon he had sensed earlier—where did this powerful demon come from?
…
Jiang Zhiwei saw the “Meng Qi” turn back and signal, so she led Ruan Yushu and others into the forest.
After walking a few steps, she suddenly felt something was wrong, as Qi Zhengyan, Zhao Heng, and Ruan Yushu beside her had all disappeared, and the Meng Qi ahead had also vanished.
A maze formation? She calmed her mind, thought for a moment, then chose not to retreat but to continue along the path, even as the trees transformed into stone piles, not even frowning.
The more one tried to go in a specific direction in a maze, the easier it was to get trapped.
With a calm mind and a clear sword heart, Jiang Zhiwei followed her intuition, continuously moving forward. Gradually, the palace complex became vaguely visible ahead.
Just then, she heard tiger roars and ghost wails in her ears, and saw a tall man with a “king” character between his eyebrows walking toward her from a side path.
…
Qi Zhengyan, holding the dragon-embroidered crimson-gold sword, emotionlessly gazed ahead along the path.
Suddenly, nearby boulders exploded, and a fat, dark-skinned man crashed out.
Glancing at Qi Zhengyan, the demon slowed his pace, revealing a sinister grin:
“A weakling…”
Qi Zhengyan raised his sword, unflinching and unafraid.
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