The Demon-Striking Whip was nearly four feet long, with clearly defined sections. As Meng Qi drew it, the wooden shell cracked open, revealing the golden-yellow whip body beneath. Eighty-four talismanic seals simultaneously emerged, radiating brilliant light that froze Yang Xizhi in place.
Yang Xizhi’s Five Flames and Seven Birds Fan was aimed directly at Meng Qi’s clone, ready to strike. At that moment, it was too late to retreat, and the talismanic seals landed upon him. It seemed certain that the Demon-Striking Whip would strike his crown.
Just then, a flame of Li Fire surged from Yang Xizhi’s body, burning away the talismanic seals. Her eyes regained a trace of clarity as she unleashed two piercing beams of white light.
As soon as the white beams emerged, Meng Qi felt his Yuan Shen stiffen, as though all movement and escape were frozen, leaving him vulnerable to having his head effortlessly severed by Yang Xizhi’s sword.
This brief hesitation slowed the descending Demon-Striking Whip slightly. Yet precisely in that moment, Yang Xizhi forcefully retracted her Five Flames and Seven Birds Fan, disregarding the backlash, and wildly swung it.
Flames erupted, glowing red, orange, yellow, white, green, blue, and purple, igniting the spiritual energy and scorching space itself.
Crack!
The Demon-Striking Whip descended, extinguishing the flames, striking the fan directly, sending Yang Xizhi flying sideways, and dissipating her white beams.
Bang! Yang Xizhi crashed into a pillar, the sound of cracking bones echoing repeatedly, as countless fractures formed.
Remarkably, the pillars and floor of Yuanxin Hall remained unscathed, showing no sign of damage!
On the other side, Meng Qi’s clone reached the purple bell bearing the inheritance of the “Yuanxin Seal,” finding no trap. However, Gu Heng’s right hand had already descended, smashing the clone into nothingness with a loud slap.
He had no time to retrieve the bell, as Meng Qi, seizing the advantage, wasted no time. His right hand wielding the long blade was about to strike Yang Xizhi, who was gravely wounded and still reeling from the Yuan Shen attack!
Gu Heng’s eyes flashed with urgency. His body swelled, his mouth opened wide, and he roared:
“Die!”
With a thunderous boom, the very space within Yuanxin Hall seemed to twist. Meng Qi felt as though he bore the weight of several mountains, his feet firmly anchored to the ground, his movements painfully sluggish. His blade slowed by half a breath, Yang Xizhi desperately shifted sideways to evade.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Facing the towering Gu Heng that obscured half the sky, Meng Qi did not flinch. His body grew in response, muscles bulging, breaking free from successive restraints with the sound of snapping ropes.
Deng! The hall trembled, the earth shook. Gu Heng strode forward, right hand raised, left hand lowered, palms opposing each other. With a sudden twist, a dark vortex formed between his palms, voraciously drawing in surrounding air currents, energies, and even the laws of reality itself. Meng Qi felt his body lighten, helplessly pulled into the vortex.
His flesh, bones, and meridians began to collapse inward, wracked with unbearable pain. He clearly heard the sound of bones cracking in his mind.
His acupoints opened, and the inner landscapes—Tai Ri Jin Wu, Hun Dong Xing He, and others—along with the power of heaven and earth, condensed at the tip of Meng Qi’s blade. A deep, dark needle-like entity formed, exuding a terrifying suction force that tore and pulled everything around it.
“Behold my blade!” Meng Qi roared as well, unleashing Tian Zhi Shang, plunging the hall into darkness, as though all things were returning to nothingness.
Drawn toward each other, both Meng Qi and Gu Heng helplessly surged forward, colliding instantly as the blade struck the dark vortex!
Weng… Weng… First came a low, maddening hum that made bones ache, followed by a deafening explosion. Shockwaves swept everything aside, flinging Yang Xizhi away, bones snapping.
Meng Qi’s body ached, some areas torn, others crushed into a bloody pulp. Gu Heng fared no better. Yet the Yuxu Palace remained undamaged, as though impervious to mundane forces.
Suddenly, Meng Qi pressed down with his blade, using the remaining strength to trace a half-circle, leaving an afterimage and slipping past the stunned Gu Heng. Before Yang Xizhi could regain her footing and form a pincer attack, Meng Qi reached the altar, seized the purple bell, and continued running without pause, bursting through a side door toward the next hall.
Yang Xizhi, having barely steadied herself, witnessed the scene and was consumed by rage. Disregarding her severe injuries, she bit her tongue and transformed into a Li Fire Rainbow, darting behind Meng Qi in a flash. With a thrust of her sword, she unleashed a torrent of fiery sparks cascading downward.
Having just activated her divine weapon and performed the Return to Primordial Unity, Meng Qi, though in better condition than in previous battles, could not afford to linger. Fearing Gu Heng’s pursuit, he kept fleeing forward, slightly shifting his position while secretly employing the Undying Seal Art, infused with the Yin-Yang Seal.
Dang! Dang! Dang! Yang Xizhi’s sword struck Meng Qi’s back, as if hitting a block of Geng Metal. It barely pierced through the Extreme North Magnetic Robe!
Pu! Meng Qi spat out a mouthful of blood, which ignited the moment it left his body, flames rising.
His figure suddenly accelerated, shaking off Yang Xizhi, rushing into the corridor, and vanishing around a corner.
Only then did the space behind him distort, as Gu Heng’s domain spread.
“He escaped again,” Gu Heng muttered grimly.
Yang Xizhi coughed violently, nearly fainting. Hurriedly, she took out a pill given by her master, consumed it, and after a few breaths, stabilized her injuries.
“How many ‘Li Fire Marvel Essences’ do we have left?” Gu Heng asked with concern.
“Two. He’s a tough one,” Yang Xizhi exhaled, though she didn’t appear discouraged. A faint smile curved her lips as she gazed at the blood burning on her sword tip and the bloodstains on the ground. “So close. Next time, even if we can’t kill him, we’ll ensure he never leaves Yuxu Palace alive.”
After recovering somewhat, she quickly collected the blood and flesh, then took out a straw doll. A lamp was atop its head and another beneath its feet, inscribed with the blood-written name “Su Ziyuan,” not “Su Meng” or “Su Mo.” As soon as the blood and flesh were applied, the doll absorbed them. With more flesh added, it gradually emitted a faint crimson glow.
Gu Heng took the doll, using his left hand to divine Meng Qi’s trail, then led Yang Xizhi in pursuit, giving her time to recover.
After flying for a while, Yang Xizhi examined the terrain and mused, “At this rate, he’ll eventually reach the ‘Dao Yi Hall.’ Let’s take a shortcut and wait.”
Gu Heng said nothing, immediately changing course, seemingly intimately familiar with Yuxu Palace’s layout.
…
It was only after flying far away that Meng Qi had time to check his injuries. Overall, they weren’t too severe. The confrontation with Gu Heng had mainly been shockwaves and residual force. Yang Xizhi’s final strike had been weakened by her own grave injuries, barely reaching five out of ten strength. Thus, ordinary healing pills sufficed for recovery and replenishing his energy, no Yuxu Golden Pill needed.
The only issue was that five sword wounds on Meng Qi’s back still smoldered with purple-blue flames, capable of burning anything, including true energy and spiritual essence!
However, these were merely residual embers. After transforming into the Tai Ri and Lan Xue Ren forms, Meng Qi quickly extinguished them.
At this moment, another hall appeared before Meng Qi, marked “Xu Kong Hall.”
The “Xu Kong Seal,” one of the Nine Primordial Seals… Meng Qi did not rush in but paused, waiting for his strength to recover slightly, to avoid danger inside.
Looking around, he noticed another path leading to Xu Kong Hall, seemingly extending from a side entrance.
Shortly, Meng Qi restored about sixty to seventy percent of his power. He plucked a strand of hair, transformed it into a clone, then concealed his true body.
The clone pushed open the door of “Xu Kong Hall.” Inside was eerily dark, giving the sensation of endless voids.
Focusing his gaze, Meng Qi murmured in surprise. The altar stood empty, with no token bearing the inheritance of the “Xu Kong Seal.”
Had someone arrived here before him? Meng Qi wasn’t overly surprised. If even King Zhuang of Chu could obtain the Ruyi, it stood to reason that others over the centuries might have chanced upon this place as well.
As long as the first three seals and the general outline of the Yuan Shen cultivation method remained, it was fine. Meng Qi wasted no time lamenting. He recalled the slower clone, bypassed the Xu Kong Hall, and headed directly to the next hall, instinctively choosing the left path.
After a while of flying, relying on the Primordial Golden Scripture and the Eight-Nine Mystical Art, Meng Qi safely passed through several forbidden arrays. Ahead loomed a shapeless, chaotic hall, its only clear features being the gate and the plaque:
“Wu Ji Hall!”
The first of the Nine Seals, the Wu Ji Seal! Meng Qi’s eyes remained clear of greed. Methodically, he created another clone and checked the surroundings for ambushes.
Creak! The clone pushed open the mysterious black-and-yellow gate. Inside was dark and nearly stagnant, as though there was no past, no future, nor even the present.
Walking straight ahead, after several breaths, the altar came into view.
Empty!
Still empty!
Meng Qi inhaled deeply, roughly imagining the scene: someone had sneaked in through the side entrance, passed through Xu Kong Hall, and reached Wu Ji Hall. Perhaps in haste, or for other reasons, they hadn’t backtracked to take the “Yuanxin Seal.”
Taking a few calm steps forward, Meng Qi accelerated again. Disappointment did not shake his heart. There should still be remnants of the other seals!
As he was about to pass the altar, he suddenly heard a faint, indistinct voice echoing from the dark chaos above, ancient and distant, transcending countless eons:
“All that was yesterday has died with yesterday.
All that is today is born anew today.
From this day forth, I am the Mother Without Birth!”
Meng Qi froze instantly, his mind uncontrollably flooded with memories. The Mother Without Birth, as the name implied, was born from “nothingness,” hailed as the mother of gods, Buddhas, immortals, and all beings. Her Pure Land of Void was the ultimate destination of all living things—the final return often meant “nothingness,” and the Wu Ji Seal was the embodiment of “nothingness”… the Lo Sect Dharma King and Gu Xiaosang were both adept in void techniques…
Which great cultivator had infiltrated Yuxu Palace, obtained the Xu Kong and Wu Ji Seals, and thus attained enlightenment, severing their past self?
He had no time to ponder further. Meng Qi memorized the event, rushed out through the side door of Wu Ji Hall, changed direction, heading toward Dao Yi Hall. Since the Yuanxin Seal had not been taken, the Dao Yi Seal was likely still there!
The Cause of All Effects!
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