Yeqi Yuqi possessed strength, cultivation realm, divine weapons, and status—none of which were lacking. Xianji, on the other hand, was a relatively loose mutual aid organization. As long as the current style could be maintained, Meng Qi believed the other members wouldn’t object. Of course, such matters couldn’t be decided unilaterally; a formal meeting of members must be convened to confirm this, especially since the Taiyi Heavenly Venerable, for reasons unknown, had not directly designated a successor.
After “Doumu Yuanjun” temporarily took over the management of Biyou Palace, Meng Qi and she hurriedly left Xianji, hiding their tracks and returning to Huamei Villa, because the situation in other battlefields was unclear and needed to be clarified as soon as possible to prevent unwanted changes. As for reviving the Taiyi Heavenly Venerable, currently no one in Xianji had the strength required to complete such a specific task, so the matter had to be temporarily shelved. Moreover, after the previous incident, Meng Qi had deep suspicions about the Master of the Six Dao Reincarnation. Would those resurrected by Him still be themselves? Or would they remain under His control, unable to attain liberation?
Therefore, until further understanding of similar matters, Meng Qi felt it would be better not to go through the Six Dao for resurrection. Who knew whether there was a limit on how many times a person could be resurrected? It would be a waste to use this chance on the Six Dao!
As for the divine weapon forging exclusive mission, considering the Six Dao’s nature as a cunning merchant, if He stated a one-year deadline, He definitely wouldn’t confirm completion ahead of schedule.
…
At Huamei Villa’s rear mountain hut, Master Da Lu’s injuries were not serious, and he had already emerged from retreat.
“Senior Su attained the Dharma Body, possessing legendary characteristics, and ‘surrounded’ other Dharma Bodies, killing the Great Asura and the Kuiniu Demon King, and driving off the Peacock Demon Queen Taili, the Dushifa Wang, and the Blood Sea Rakshasa, thereby ending the great battle?” Meng Qi was somewhat stunned, repeating Master Da Lu’s words.
Earlier, Su Wuming had visited the Valley of Eternal Life, and later learned that the fragment of the Hao Tian Mirror could help one communicate with one’s “other self” in advance. Meng Qi had long suspected that Zhiwei’s master might have attempted something along these lines. Thus, after nine years and nine heavenly trials, she delayed for many years without breaking through to the Dharma Body. Once she did ascend, she likely possessed some legendary characteristics. However, Meng Qi had never imagined that Su Wuming, after attaining legendary characteristics, would be so formidable and terrifying—single-handedly ‘surrounding’ several Dharma Bodies, killing one human and one demon, and driving off the rest. It was simply unbelievable, like listening to a tale!
No wonder he was the previous “main character”… Meng Qi felt a bit sheepish.
Master Da Lu placed his long sword across his knees, calmly saying, “He followed the orthodox path, so his legendary characteristics were very clear—communicating with his ‘other self’ to affirm his ‘true self,’ thereby achieving an essential improvement in his Dharma Body, just like the difference between the ‘Nine Heavens’ and ordinary worlds or universes, capable of covering all directions and being omnipresent.”
“In all the heavens and universes, even the most distant distances are but a stone’s throw away for him, easily reachable. Only legendary grand arrays or high-level secret realms of the Ten Thousand Heavens can isolate him. Moreover, as long as the communicated ‘other self’ remains alive, the ‘true self’ cannot be truly killed.”
Meng Qi and Yeqi Yuqi exchanged astonished glances. Was this still the Dharma Body they knew? It was practically more exaggerated than the Lankavatara Temple Bodhisattva who cultivated the Reward Body! Compared to other Dharma Bodies, it was as if he had reached an entirely different level of existence!
“Unfortunately, he emerged from retreat prematurely without achieving perfection, so he can only maintain this state briefly. Each time, he must recover for a long while before he can be omnipresent again.” Master Da Lu, with his sharp insight, immediately identified Su Wuming’s issue.
At this point, Meng Qi had finally digested the information about Su Wuming and, after a moment’s thought, asked, “Senior Su’s legendary characteristics seem completely different from yours?”
“My path differs from those before me. I don’t yet know whether it is correct, so I can only explore my way forward. It is completely opposite to the orthodox path, and thus the obtained legendary characteristics are also different. Other than ‘I am I, unique and one of a kind,’ achieving minute structural mastery over oneself and martial cultivation, I cannot be ‘omnipresent’ nor ‘immortal.'” Master Da Lu objectively described. “All these are parts of true legends; we are like blind men feeling an elephant, each grasping a corner.”
“I see…” Meng Qi murmured thoughtfully, pondering the difference between awakening the “other self” and severing it.
Master Da Lu did not elaborate further but instead turned to discussing the outcomes of other battlefields, not mentioning his suspicions regarding Chong He Daoist’s death.
Upon learning that Cao Jiazhuren had self-destructed his Earth Immortal Remnant, destroying nearly half of the grassland’s Grandmaster-level combat power, Meng Qi slightly furrowed his brow and said, “Gongzi Xiantou?”
The Dark Art of War…
“Yes, they are actually very loyal to Gao Lan.” Master Da Lu affirmed.
Meng Qi gently tapped his right hand: “But Cao Xianzhi’s resentment and unwillingness were almost tangible…”
As he spoke, a sudden realization struck him. He looked at Yeqi Yuqi, whose bright eyes were clouded, seemingly sharing his suspicion.
Cao Xianzhi’s resentment and unwillingness might not be directed at those who killed him, but rather at the Master of the Six Dao Reincarnation!
The task given to him by the Master was to assist the righteous path for one year without collapse. Naturally, in other aspects, the Master would support the grassland and the path of evil. Perhaps Cao Xianzhi had not abandoned the righteous path but had been assigned a task to betray it, so when the Cao family decided who to sacrifice, he volunteered.
Huff, it might also be that the situation was urgent at the time, leaving the Cao family with no way out, forcing them to make sacrifices… Meng Qi had many speculations, but the person was already gone, and the Cao family itself couldn’t clarify his state of mind, making verification impossible.
“I wonder what benefit Gao Lan offered the Cao family that was worth sacrificing two Grandmasters and an Earth Immortal Remnant…” Yeqi Yuqi knew the nature of such aristocratic families—they valued family first and everything else second.
Master Da Lu said, “The Cao family still has another Earth Immortal Remnant, and their divine weapon remains. Their Grandmasters’ losses are less than half, so their foundation remains intact. Gao Lan probably obtained the ‘Human Emperor Golden Book’ and shared it with the Cao family.”
“The Cao family rose from an Earth Immortal Remnant and cultivation techniques. Over the years, the collected secret manuals have not surpassed this level. With the changes in heaven and earth, or perhaps an impending great calamity, they naturally need an ultimate cultivation technique that directly points to legends. Otherwise, they might easily decline in the future.”
“The Human Emperor Golden Book?” Meng Qi first blurted out, then thought of his joker senior brother’s confidence in obtaining the Human Emperor Sword. Considering his disdain for most Dharma Bodies, the possibility that he had already obtained the “Human Emperor Golden Book” was indeed quite high!
No wonder he could always be mentioned alongside the Demon Sage, who had received the Heavenly Emperor’s inheritance. Even after being imprisoned for many years, he could secretly attain the Dharma Body.
Probably, he had integrated his own “Xin Ji Wa Wu Pian” (External Things Calming the Mind) and “Dai Tian Shen Quan” (Divine Fist Representing Heaven) into the “Human Emperor Golden Book”… Perhaps these two techniques were even derived from just two or three pages of the “Human Emperor Golden Book”… Meng Qi’s thoughts drifted, indulging in wild imaginings.
The “Human Emperor Golden Scripture” was a supreme compendium of the human Dao, directly pointing to the semi-Dao fruit realm known as “Reaching the Shore.” Its content was vast and profound, encompassing sections that did not require the power of sentient beings for cultivation—similar to the “Lankavatara Sutra Palm” and the “Primordial Nine Seals.” It consisted of seven golden pages: one preface and six pages detailing the martial arts of the Human Emperor, which encompassed all things and subdued non-human races.
Even if Gao Lan only allowed the Cao family to comprehend one page of the Golden Book, it would likely surpass their original techniques many times over.
“Yes.” Master Da Lu had already learned from He Qi about the circumstances when Gao Lan intervened, and he was quite certain. “The Cao family also built a small Tian Tan altar within their ancestral home. Once an emergency arises and they offer sacrifices here, Gao Lan will sense it and come to their aid. Holding the Human Emperor Sword and the Zhou Dynasty Emperor’s Jade Seal, he can teleport within Zhou territory.”
“The Cao family has no Dharma Body cultivators, but this way, they at least have a Dharma Body to protect them.” Yeqi Yuqi, who had been somewhat close to Cao Xianzhi, spoke in a clear, slightly sighing tone.
Meng Qi then asked about the situation in other battlefields and learned of Kong Wen’s final Nirvana, his master’s attainment, and the changes at Shaolin—mixed emotions of sorrow, joy, and reflection.
“The monk guarding the secret passage behind Shaolin was killed by Han Guang. Chan Master Kong Hui and others suspect he entered Anan’s Pure Land.” Master Da Lu explained.
He and Meng Qi had once visited a derivative of Anan’s Pure Land within a fragment of the Zho Guang, so they were quite familiar with the matter.
Meng Qi furrowed his brow: “Could he break the seal?”
After the incident of Abbot Kong Wen being trapped, Shaolin was no longer unfamiliar with Anan’s Pure Land in the rear mountains. They also knew that since the derivative of Anan’s Pure Land in various worlds had the unique legendary characteristic, it lacked the most essential elements, with only the original site in their own rear mountains possessing them.
But another distinction between the original and the derivative was that subsequent Dharma Body-level traces, when reflected onto the derivative, would suffer degradation, even losing their power. In other words, the seal left by Bodhidharma had varying strengths, and the sealing power of the derivative was practically non-existent, with only the unique characteristics of the stone gate itself.
Therefore, Meng Qi could use Anan’s Precept-Breaking Blade Technique to open the stone gate within the derivative, but the seal on the rear mountains of Shaolin could not be broken even with the divine weapon Anan’s Precept-Breaking Blade, unless it was fully awakened.
Precisely because it couldn’t be opened, the exploration of Anan’s Pure Land had never been prioritized by Shaolin.
Now, could Han Guang break the seal and enter Anan’s Pure Land?
“Han Guang has been hiding in Shaolin for many years, all for the sake of Anan’s Pure Land. Perhaps he has already found a way to break the seal.” Master Da Lu could only guess this.
A way to break the seal? Meng Qi’s mind raced, recalling everything he knew about Han Guang’s actions, trying to find clues.
He hadn’t spent many years at Shaolin, so he wasn’t fully aware of Han Guang’s past deeds… As his thoughts raced, Meng Qi suddenly thought of the leak of the “Yijin Jing.” At that time, Duan Rui mentioned that his adoptive father’s copy of the “Yijin Jing” had been given by an old monk from the rear mountains…
Because of the existence of Anan’s Precept-Breaking Blade, Han Guang couldn’t see the “Yijin Jing” and other temple treasures, so he tried to tempt opening disciples to fall, cooperating with spies from the Golden Temple, and secretly copying the “Yijin Jing,” which was accidentally discovered by himself and his younger apprentice brother, causing these manuals to fall into the rear mountains…
The reverse practice of the “Muscle-Tendon Change Classic” resembled a demonic technique… The evil Bodhidharma within Ananda’s Pure Land… The true Bodhidharma had severed his “evil self” and eradicated it, thereby attaining Nirvana…
Suddenly, Meng Qi’s eyes lit up with realization. Could it be that during the creation of the “Yijin Jing,” Bodhidharma had not yet separated from the Evil Bodhidharma and was subtly influenced by it? What is Buddha when practiced correctly becomes a demon when reversed—perhaps this demon was the key to breaking the seal?
Once this thought arose, Meng Qi increasingly felt it might be possible, so he quickly shared his guess with Master Da Lu.
“Find Duan Rui as soon as possible.” Master Da Lu did not ignore Meng Qi’s suspicion.
…
In the capital city, the headquarters of the Six Fan Gate, Zhu Yi Building.
A senior investigator with golden insignia entered the small building and saw the Chief Investigator, Simashi, rarely showing a relaxed and cheerful expression.
“With several Dharma Bodies perished, the Heaven Ranking must be re-ranked.” Simashi instructed, his tone barely concealing his delight.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage