The middle-aged man was drenched in sweat. With a vigorous downward strike of his left hand, the red threads he had arranged around him lit up, exuding an aura of expelling yin and warding off evil as they contracted inward, wrapping around Meng Qi’s pale and sinister hand. Clusters of silver needles, engraved with tiny symbols, shot forth like rain piercing into mud.
At the same time, his right hand became soft and boneless, slippery and hard to grasp, forcefully retracting.
His pale skin slightly twitched. The red threads snapped, and the needles recoiled. The middle-aged man felt as if the other’s hand was an icy iron clamp, tightly gripping him, unbreakable.
Without further hesitation, he flipped his left hand, revealing a mottled bronze mirror. Inside it seemed to hide a blazing sun, emitting scorching light. The ancient wooden post glowed with a hazy green light, isolating the yin energy, and descended.
The concentrated beam of light shone onto Meng Qi’s hand, producing a sizzling sound, yet the hand remained pale and sinister, showing no sign of charring or melting.
The middle-aged man’s heart pounded wildly. He realized he had come face to face with an utterly terrifying “zombie.” Clenching his left fist, he let the bronze mirror fall and curled his finger to point. The tip of his finger emitted a radiant glow blending cyan and red hues, as though forged from colored glaze.
Dang!
This finger, carrying an indescribable force, struck Meng Qi’s pulse point, yet it felt like hitting metal—extremely hard metal!
The middle-aged man’s eyes bulged. He cried out repeatedly, “Brother, spare my life! Every grievance has its debtor and every debt its payer—I was just passing by and accidentally fell, inserting my hand into your grave. It’s a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!”
“I’ll buy incense, candles, and paper money for you right here! Whatever you need, just say so. Don’t be shy!”
He panicked, speaking incoherently, not caring about his dignity at all. He wanted to unleash a powerful technique, but he was still held by the other’s right hand, fearing mutual destruction.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his apprentice looking confused, lips twitching, as if smiling yet not quite. The middle-aged man hurriedly shouted, “Xiao Ru, what are you staring at? Come help your master quickly!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a sudden pressure on his right hand. He saw dirt flying up and a white figure rising from the ground. His pupils immediately constricted:
“Brother! No, Dad! Grandpa! Please spare your grandson!”
Meng Qi’s spiritual essence returned to his forehead, vitality spreading, the aura of death receding. The paleness and sinister chill vanished without a trace. His expression turned cold, his eyes sharp as ink dots, staring directly into the middle-aged man’s eyes.
“Grandpa, Grandpa, huh…?” The middle-aged man froze, hearing his apprentice’s silver-bell-like laughter in his ears.
Was this a living person?
Damn it, I’ve traveled far and wide, and it’s not like I’ve never been caught by a zombie before. I just didn’t expect the corpse to revive so quickly. But now, the zombie had turned into a swordsman, and the dead had come back to life?
“Master, I and this senior brother are of the same generation,” Xiao Ru guessed that Meng Qi had just used a secret technique to hide his vitality, experiencing the feeling of being on the brink of death. Her big eyes sparkled as she smiled at her master.
The middle-aged man coughed, “Growing old, I’ve spent my life hunting geese, but today the goose pecked my eye. Young brother, please be merciful and let go.”
He just wanted to smooth over what had happened moments ago.
Meng Qi looked at him thoughtfully. In his mind, he was still savoring the experience from just now. Before he “died,” he indeed saw some scenes, but they were all blurry. He couldn’t tell whether they were flashbacks of his life or something related to reincarnation.
What about the others buried here? Did they see those scenes clearly?
But they were truly dead…
Feeling uneasy under Meng Qi’s gaze, the middle-aged man almost dropped to his knees. Fortunately, he quickly felt the other’s grip loosen and hurriedly stepped back several paces.
“When you were robbing the graves, did you ever see the deceased writing anything on the surrounding coffins or soil? Or leaving anything behind?” Meng Qi suddenly thought of something. Without bending his legs or moving his feet, he stood up directly.
Most of those buried here were masters of the external world. If they exerted their utmost strength before death, they should be able to connect with the power of heaven and earth, leaving behind related messages.
The middle-aged man was stunned. He muttered softly, “Who would care about the feelings of the dead when robbing a grave…”
He quickly composed his expression and solemnly said, “The tombs I robbed all had prohibitions. Either they self-destructed or only some items could be rescued, leaving no writings visible.”
The mysterious young girl, Xiao Ru, also nodded, “Although my master often lies, what he just said was from the bottom of his heart.”
“Xiao Ru, ‘from the bottom of his heart’ seems a bit inappropriate here…” The middle-aged man mumbled.
Meng Qi kept looking into his eyes, sensing his emotional changes. Seeing no sign of deception, he asked instead, “Are you from the Great Jin?”
“Young brother, are you also from the Great Jin?” The middle-aged man showed all his emotions on his face, as if he were about to perform a dramatic scene of an old fellow countryman meeting another, tears welling up in his eyes. “This old man is Song Bingde, who has been away from home for many years, wandering in the southern wilderness. I finally achieved the external world realm, but I can’t return home in glory to see my fellow villagers…”
“Can’t return home in glory?” Meng Qi coldly retorted.
What major crime had this fellow committed?
Song Bingde sighed, “It’s just that I once robbed the ancestral tomb of a certain tribe and was cursed, so I can never leave the southern wilderness for the rest of my life.”
The petite girl, A Ru, moved her lips a few times but finally gave up speaking, seemingly unwilling to expose her master.
Meng Qi knew that Song Bingde’s words were not entirely trustworthy. As he was considering whether to check his karma and use the Yuxu Divine Calculation to deduce something, he suddenly felt two powerful presences approaching, landing at the valley entrance and quickly entering.
“Yi brothers,” Song Bingde’s face lit up with joy. He turned to the young girl A Ru and said, “Quickly hide. Yi Meng is an experienced top-tier expert, only half a step away from reaching the Grandmaster level. His lifespan is nearly over, so he must be here to bury himself!”
A Ru gave her master a sidelong glance, “Yi Meng is about to die, but Yi Xin is still alive. They are deeply attached to each other as brothers and will surely choose to guard the tomb. You and I are only at the third heaven level. How can we deal with top experts?”
“That’s true…” Song Bingde murmured, his eyes suddenly lighting up as he looked at Meng Qi. There was a real powerhouse here, either a top expert or a Grandmaster!
Meng Qi pretended not to notice his gaze, but from their master-disciple conversation, he roughly figured out the identities of the newcomers.
The Yi brothers were known together as “Golden Blade and Silver Sword,” prominent figures among the unorthodox sects in the southern wilderness. Both were at the peak of the sixth heaven level, using the Huangdang Mountains as their abode. Their actions couldn’t be called evil, but they acted on whims and had killed many.
In no time, the Yi brothers entered the valley. They looked very much alike, both with gray hair, short thick eyebrows, and hooked noses. One carried a golden giant blade, and the other wielded a silver long sword. The former was Yi Meng, and the latter was Yi Xin.
Yi Meng’s aura was clearly weaker than Yi Xin’s, and his body exuded a hint of death’s chill. Anyone with discerning eyes would know that his time was nearly up.
Due to the thin mist, it wasn’t until he turned past the cliff did he see Meng Qi and the others. His eyes narrowed, his aura flared, and he loudly shouted, “Get out!”
Who would want outsiders watching when burying oneself?
The fact that his death was imminent made Yi Meng’s mood extremely bad!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Blade qi slashed through the air, blood-red rocks cascaded down like rain. Meng Qi’s spiritual essence seemed to perceive a golden long blade obscuring the heavens, enveloping him completely.
He “coldly snorted,” and the valley suddenly warmed. The rocks carbonized, the ground melted, and rays of light rained down from midair, dispelling Yi Meng’s aura like the brilliance of the sun or pure sword intent.
Flames erupted from Yi Meng’s body. He staggered back several steps. In a normal battle, this would mean his momentum was suppressed, revealing his own vulnerabilities!
Yi Xin stepped forward with the silver sword, standing side by side with his brother. He felt that the white-robed swordsman before him exuded a vast and mighty aura, with sword intent so sharp it was almost like that of a Grandmaster, with a hint of its presence!
At that moment, the nearby “Huang” spoke, “If you destroy this place, the Feitian Clan will never rest until we destroy you!”
Taking this opportunity, the Yi brothers ceased their actions, and Meng Qi also reined in his aura. He had some thoughts in his mind.
Seeing Meng Qi step aside, the Yi brothers continued forward, deeper into the valley. Song Bingde sighed, feeling dispirited that there was a grave he couldn’t dig.
The young girl A Ru smiled brightly and bowed, “Since we’ve met, it must be fate. May I ask the senior brother’s name?”
“Nameless, sword nameless, person also nameless.” Meng Qi replied “indifferently.”
“Brother Nameless, nice to meet you!” A Ru had a dimple only on her left side, but it didn’t affect her charm.
Meng Qi vaguely felt something strange about A Ru. Her appearance was youthful, her eyes innocent, seemingly guileless, yet her every move exuded an inescapable maturity. And given that she had reached the External Realm, Meng Qi couldn’t believe she was younger than him.
Meng Qi pretended to be cold and didn’t say much, patiently waiting. After a while, he sensed a change in the qi and understood that Yi Meng had already been buried. He then walked over and saw the grave had been built, with Yi Xin sitting cross-legged beside a rock crevice, his face filled with sorrow.
“Before death, members of the Immortal Clan always leave behind hints and tokens to help their kin locate their reincarnation. Sitting here like this, are you waiting for your elder brother to return on his own?” Meng Qi said in a calm tone.
This statement shattered the silence, instantly making Yi Xin stand up. That’s right! The reincarnation must be sought based on the hints. How could he passively wait?
Initially, those External Realm experts who came to the Valley of Immortality for burial all imitated the Immortal Clan, being buried after death without leaving any hints. Later, there were rumors that the terrain was crucial for reincarnation, so they changed their practice to enter the tomb before death, being buried in the ground to rely on the valley for rebirth, no longer imitating the Immortal Clan, since their environment had already been completely destroyed by the Blood Sea Rakshasa!
Thus, year after year, no one thought anymore about leaving hints before death. It seemed that as long as they were buried here, one day their reincarnation would return on its own.
Yi Xin strode forward, lifting the curses and prohibitions. Song Bingde watched in astonishment. Did this “Nameless” not need to dig graves himself? Could he simply use his words to make the grieving family dig up the graves?
After a long while, the coffin was unearthed. Yi Xin took a deep breath and carefully opened it.
A sharp scraping sound echoed as the lid slowly revealed its contents. Song Bingde focused his gaze and immediately sucked in a cold breath.
Indeed, Yi Meng was already dead, but his eyes were wide open, terrifying to behold!
Meng Qi and Yi Xin’s consciousness extended outward, quickly discovering some crooked writing on the coffin:
“I saw another self…”
Another self… Meng Qi’s expression turned serious. There was indeed something strange about the Valley of Immortality!
But why couldn’t he see it?
Because his feigned death was a transformation, not a true death?
As these thoughts swirled, Huang’s expression shifted to one of surprise and delight. He swiftly flew backward, demolishing the tomb of “Gu” in an attempt to uncover the message and retrieve the elder’s reincarnation.
Meng Qi watched with anticipation, calmly observing. But suddenly, a dangerously ominous feeling surged in his heart, and he blurted out:
“Stop!”
Huang couldn’t stop. The prohibitions were lifted, the coffin was opened, and a sinister and terrifying aura surged into the sky!
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