Chapter 76: Cui Xu’s Vulnerability

The hidden mechanism was triggered, and a series of silver rays shot forth, enveloping every possible direction You Tongguang could shift to, like a torrential downpour or a heavenly net, so fast that one couldn’t react at all!

Upon seeing the black tube shimmering with a dark luster, You Tongguang’s face changed drastically, never imagining that this legendary hidden weapon would end up in the young monk’s hands!

“Why didn’t Fifth Brother tell me?”

“Did he want me dead?”

While these thoughts raced through his mind, he used the Iron Bridge technique, flipping backward to avoid the direct assault of the Plum Blossom Needles.

However, this was the Plum Blossom Needles, a legendary hidden weapon whose speed surpassed human imagination. After a sound like rain hitting banana leaves—rat-a-tat-tat—You Tongguang fell backward, directly impaled. Ten or so silver needles pierced his chest, head, and lower body.

His face turned black, frozen in an expression of fear and confusion, already poisoned to death.

Meng Qi didn’t even glance at him, quickly tucking the Plum Blossom Needles into his robe before immediately sitting cross-legged to meditate, restoring his injuries and desperately stabilizing the Golden Bell Shield, which was on the verge of breaking through.

Within the corridor, Cui Xu’s swordplay was exquisite, completely suppressing the severely wounded Duan Xiangfei. Though their battle didn’t seem intense, the subtle mental interference and delicate shifts between them were nothing short of miraculous.

One strike, two strikes—Duan Xiangfei was continuously hit, retreating constantly. Yet his palms oddly struck empty air, far away from Cui Xu. It seemed that as time passed, the blood loss left him increasingly unable to resist Cui Xu’s mental intrusion into his senses.

…

Inside the City Lord’s Mansion, with the arrival of Luo Qing’s letter postponing the duel, everyone felt disappointed and could only watch helplessly as Lord Cui continued retreating into his meditation chamber to recover his spirit.

After speculating on the reasons for Luo Qing’s postponement, martial cultivation elders began rising to take their leave.

Naturally, Cui Jinxiu, as the host, did his best to persuade them to stay for lunch.

Just as the senior martial artists were politely declining, someone suddenly exclaimed in astonishment, “The White-Robed Sword God is here!”

Everyone turned in shock, seeing Luo Qing approaching in flowing white robes, sword in hand. His forehead was broad, his eyebrows like dragons in motion, his gaze cold and piercing.

“Luo Qing, didn’t you postpone the duel?” Mu Shan called out, both annoyed and puzzled.

Luo Qing replied coldly, “I postponed the duel, but I never said I wouldn’t come today.”

“And what are you here for?” Mu Shan asked gravely.

At a moment like this, Cui Jinxiu could only let his uncles and elders take charge.

“To seek justice,” Luo Qing’s gaze swept over Fei Zhengqing, Mu Hengtian, and others, causing Fei Zhengqing to tighten his grip on his judge’s brush.

“What justice?”

As an uninvolved party, the Dragon-Treading Sect leader asked.

Luo Qing didn’t look at Fei Zhengqing again. “Once you see Cui Xu, you’ll understand. Take me to the dungeon.”

“The dungeon?” the Dragon-Treading Sect leader asked in confusion.

“Cui Xu isn’t in the meditation chamber—he’s in the dungeon.” Luo Qing scanned the crowd. “I suppose none of you can stop me from going. The reason I came here is to invite you all to come along and see for yourselves.”

As a Grandmaster, without Cui Xu to block him, Luo Qing could indeed bypass the “obstacles” and easily reach the dungeon.

Everyone exchanged glances. Fei Zhengqing loudly declared, “Explain clearly! How can the City Lord’s Mansion be a place for you to recklessly intrude?”

Luo Qing didn’t respond, immediately activating his martial technique and rushing toward the dungeon. His speed and movements were so extraordinary that no one could stop him in time.

“Quick, chase him!” Cui Jinxiu couldn’t help shouting, not noticing the cold glare from Uncle Fei.

At his words, the martial elders rushed after him—whether to stop Luo Qing or to see what was really going on, no one could say.

…

“I suppose Luo Qing should’ve arrived by now,” Meng Qi said, having temporarily stabilized his Golden Bell Shield and sitting upright.

After connecting the Twelve Divine Forms with Cui Xu, he had secretly written a letter to Luo Qing, earnestly explaining his conclusions and today’s risks—since Luo Qing had also unlocked the Spirit Treasury, after Meng Qi separated from You Tongguang and sneaked back into Great Sorrow Temple, Duan Xiangfei didn’t dare follow too closely and thus remained unaware of this, or else he wouldn’t have acted so rashly.

Although injured, Luo Qing was still a Grandmaster, and his arrival would completely change the tide of battle.

“Hmph!”

Just as Meng Qi was preparing to enter the corridor to join forces with Duan Xiangfei, Duan suddenly let out a sharp cry. His body “split” into seven figures, each forming hand seals and simultaneously striking toward Cui Xu.

This palm strike made the ice chamber even colder, causing even Meng Qi to involuntarily shiver. It seemed as if snowflakes were drifting within the corridor, though whether it was an illusion or real remained uncertain.

“The Shape-Shifting Art is indeed extraordinary…” Meng Qi knew only one of the seven figures was real, yet he couldn’t distinguish which. At the same time, the scene’s near-weather transformation within a small area suddenly sparked a realization—he wondered whether, after opening the Nine Orifices, one relied on refining the ancestral cavity between the eyebrows, connecting inner and outer worlds, thus stepping into the Threshold of External Manifestation?

If that were true, then although martial cultivation in this world lacked foundational depth, it had indeed taken a unique path.

“Excellent!” Seeing this, Cui Xu roared, his body transforming into a sword beam merging with his blade!

The sword light grew brighter and brighter, seemingly filling the entire corridor, blinding Meng Qi.

“Having unlocked the Spirit Treasury is truly terrifying…” Meng Qi knew this was an illusion caused by his proximity being affected, yet he still couldn’t discern where exactly Cui Xu was or from where his sword strike would come.

Under such circumstances, he dared not intervene, only maintaining full vigilance.

He clearly understood that Duan Xiangfei must have been pushed to the brink, forcing him to unleash a technique similar to the Demonic Body Severance Art, thus unleashing the Snow Palace Supreme Palm. Cui Xu’s sword strike was also his ultimate effort, meaning the outcome was about to be decided!

As the sword light dissipated, Duan Xiangfei flew backward into the chamber, crashing violently onto the ice. A wound pierced his right chest, blood gushing forth and staining the icy layer red.

Cui Xu stood upright, sword in hand. Suddenly, the clothing on his right shoulder shattered into fine particles, fluttering like butterflies. An icy-blue palm print appeared on his skin.

His skin trembled slightly, white steam rising from his head, and his complexion quickly returned to normal as he stepped toward the ice chamber.

“The Snow Palace Palm is indeed legendary, unfortunately, you were severely wounded and couldn’t display its full power,” Cui Xu said, standing at the entrance of the ice chamber and looking at Duan Xiangfei.

Duan Xiangfei sighed deeply, “I miscalculated by a single move, resulting in total defeat. One mistake led to another. Old Ghost Cui, strike now. Whether in strategy or martial arts, you have indeed surpassed me by a hair.”

Cui Xu’s expression turned nostalgic, “When it comes to strategy, I’ve merely been imitating you all along, Brother Duan.”

“Hey, you two done yet?” Just then, Meng Qi spoke up casually.

“You don’t want to live a little longer?” Cui Xu turned his head to look at him.

Meng Qi held his saber across his chest, smiling, “Would you really let me go after you killed Master Xianyin?”

“No,” Cui Xu replied flatly.

“Then I’d rather die fighting.” Meng Qi wiped all expressions from his face, leaving only a fierce battle intent burning in his eyes.

Cui Xu let out a light hum, “Since you’ve figured out I’m the Chen Dragon, you must’ve prepared something. Luo Qing should be arriving soon, right? Why not wait a bit longer?”

“The White-Robed Sword God is merely a backup plan—something that can be hoped for but not relied upon. If I placed all my hopes on him, I’d only weaken my resolve to fight. Without that fighting spirit, you could kill me with a single casual strike,” Meng Qi replied calmly.

Cui Xu raised an eyebrow, saying regretfully, “With such insight, you could one day become a Grandmaster. A pity, truly a pity.”

It was a pity that Meng Qi would die by his sword.

“My injuries aren’t that serious,” Cui Xu raised his sword toward Meng Qi, “And do you think I used my full strength that night? Your Plum Blossom Needles must’ve been exhausted as well.”

“Why say so much? Let’s fight!” Meng Qi raised his saber, slashing upward diagonally at Cui Xu’s lower abdomen. The angle was strange, making it very uncomfortable to defend.

Cui Xu thrust his sword forward, and his figure suddenly vanished. Meng Qi’s pupils constricted as he saw two or three sword beams attacking from his left, right, and directly in front. Yet there was no sound of wind or footsteps.

Unable to distinguish real from fake, Meng Qi could only sweep his saber broadly, attempting to block the sword strikes with wide-range defense.

The sword light rippled like waves, scattering with the saber. Suddenly, a sword tip emerged from the void, piercing Meng Qi’s back.

A sharp pain surged through him. Meng Qi reacted swiftly, immediately lunging forward. Thanks to the Golden Bell Shield, the sword only slightly penetrated his body before slipping out.

Meng Qi didn’t immediately use “Severing Purity,” because after that strike, he would be nearly drained. If he failed to kill Cui Xu, he’d become prey for the latter. Therefore, he had to wait for the right moment.

Cui Xu seemed affected by his injuries, his attacks lacking smooth transitions, giving Meng Qi a brief respite after lunging forward.

The sword light flared again, still dividing into seven rays, attacking from different directions.

Meng Qi knew that now his eyes, nose, ears, and sense of touch were all being disrupted by Cui Xu and couldn’t be trusted. Thus, he simply closed his eyes, held his breath, blocked his hearing, and relied solely on the erratic, unpredictable movements of the Divine Steps technique to dodge randomly, defending only his major vital points with his saber while ignoring the rest of his body.

Blow after blow struck his body, blood spurting out each time. Meng Qi endured the excruciating pain, patiently waiting for the right opportunity.

Where was the opportunity?

At this rate, there would be no chance at all!

At this moment, Meng Qi, who had automatically shut down and dulled all his senses, seemed to have fallen into a quiet, dark world, where only pain continuously struck him.

Nothing could be seen, nothing could be heard, nothing existed—only stillness and pain!

Where was the key to breaking through this?

Seeing Meng Qi struggling, his body riddled with dark golden cracks threatening to shatter his technique, Duan Xiangfei suddenly acted. With great difficulty, he rose and rushed toward the jade coffin.

Only by distracting Cui Xu could Zhen Ding survive longer and wait for Luo Qing!

“How dare you!” Cui Xu’s face twisted, letting out a furious roar.

“How dare you!”

This voice, like thunder, shattered Meng Qi’s tranquil world, causing everything to collapse.

Stillness was destroyed, chaos was about to return.

Following this sensation, following that voice, Meng Qi slashed his saber.

The saber light flared, and the mortal world surged forth!