Meng Qi suddenly sat up with a jolt, gasping for breath. He had just had a nightmare in which his identity was exposed and he was killed with a single palm strike by the Abbot, who had attained the Arhat Golden Body.
Although he had never seen the Abbot before, the dream was so vivid that even after waking, he was trembling all over.
“Where am I…?” Suddenly, a crisp female voice filled with caution pierced Meng Qi’s ears.
Who? How could there be a woman in the meditation room? Meng Qi was greatly startled. He looked left and right and was immediately stunned—he was no longer in his own meditation room!
He was now in a plaza paved with stone slabs resembling white jade. The center was empty, while around it stood statues of mythical beasts like dragons, phoenixes, Kuiniu, and Pixiu. Beside him were the young female swordsman Jiang Zhiwei from the Washing Sword Pavilion, Zhang Yuanshan from the Zhenwu Sect, and Qing Jing, the disciple of Xuantian Sect, all looking around with puzzled expressions.
Meng Qi struggled to stand up, equally confused as he looked at everything around him. He had no idea what had happened. He had been sleeping peacefully in his meditation room, so how did he end up here? And why had he encountered these outstanding disciples from various sects? Could he still be dreaming?
Suddenly, Qing Jing’s face, filled with fury, appeared before Meng Qi. He raised his eyebrows and roared, “What does Shaolin intend to do? Do you want to become the enemy of all sects?”
Meng Qi had no idea what he was talking about and looked at him even more bewildered.
“Qing Jing, don’t jump to conclusions yet. Check behind the statues again and see how things develop,” Zhang Yuanshan said calmly.
Jiang Zhiwei slightly frowned and said, “This little monk is just a novice servant. Even if this matter involves Shaolin, he wouldn’t know anything. Why bother him? Besides, I don’t think any of us has anything worth Shaolin scheming for.”
Qing Jing angrily waved his right hand. “Isn’t it obvious? Shaolin has Master Kongwen, a terrestrial immortal who has attained the ‘Dragon-Taming Arhat Golden Body.’ Who could possibly escape his divine sight and hearing and secretly take us away from Shaolin Temple, away from our elders? Except for him doing it himself, I can’t think of any other possibility!”
“I, I am not at Shaolin…” At this moment, a timid man, about thirty years old with a muscular build and a thick beard, stepped out from behind a statue.
“Who else? Friends, please come out. I am Zhang Yuanshan of Zhenwu,” Zhang Yuanshan first showed surprise, then spoke loudly.
“Senior Brother Zhang, so you are also here.” Two more people emerged from behind different statues. One was a tall girl with wheat-colored skin and her hair tied with a white handkerchief, while the other was an ordinary young man with a calm and serious expression.
Zhang Yuanshan was silent for a moment, his expression becoming more solemn. “So it’s Junior Sister Qi Xia from the Great River Gang. Did you also wake up here after falling asleep?”
Jiang Zhiwei walked to Meng Qi’s side, deep in thought. “She is the youngest daughter of Vice-Chief Qi Yuantong of the Great River Gang. She also came to Shaolin this time.”
“I don’t know her…” Meng Qi could only honestly reply. His mind was racing with countless thoughts, trying to guess what had happened to them.
“Yes, but when we woke up, we were behind the statues. We heard someone speaking here but were too afraid to come out immediately,” Qi Xia frowned, pointing at the shabby-looking man. “Junior Taoist Qing Jing’s guess is probably wrong. This is Jiang Zuo Yan’s Chief Commander Yan Wujian, who did not accompany us to Shaolin. He should still be in Maoling, Jiangdong.”
“Exactly! Third Miss, I just won a big sum at the Number One Casino in Maoling and hired several courtesans to sing for me. But when I woke up, I was in this strange place!” Yan Wujian looked frightened and anxious.
Jiang Zhiwei lightly laughed, whether introducing Meng Qi or talking to herself. “Of the ‘Wu’ generation, he is a cousin of Yan Wuwo, the master of the ‘Zombie Fist.’ With such a high generation status, he only became a commander in the Great River Gang. It seems there’s a reason for that…”
Qing Jing frowned and took a few steps to stand in front of Yan Wujian, demanding, “You shameless gambler and womanizer, you must be lying all the time. How can you prove your words are true?”
He still stuck to his opinion.
Yan Wujian’s lips trembled a few times. “You, you can go to the Number One Casino in Maoling and ask if I just won two thousand one hundred taels of silver!”
He gradually calmed down a bit, relying on the presence of Third Miss.
“Who is this?” Zhang Yuanshan frowned and turned to ask the ordinary man with no smile on his face.
Jiang Zhiwei suddenly stepped forward, her beautiful eyebrows slightly furrowed. “Brother, haven’t I seen you before? Yes, among the disciples accompanying the Huanhua Sword Sect?”
This young man, wearing simple clothes, was in his early twenties. However, he lacked the usual vigor and eagerness of someone his age. His face seemed to wear an iron mask, showing only seriousness and no other expressions. He lightly nodded. “I am honored that Miss Jiang remembers me. My name is Qi Zhengyan. I am an ordinary disciple of the Huanhua Sword Sect. I came to Shaolin this time as an attendant.”
Zhang Yuanshan clapped his right hand on his left hand, showing his first sign of confusion. This matter was truly strange. It included future pillars from four sects, ordinary disciples, low-level martial artists, and even a novice monk who swept the floors. It was hard to see any selection criteria.
Jiang Zhiwei pursed her lips and wrinkled her straight, delicate nose, smiling bitterly. “I originally thought this was targeting the disciples from various sects who came to Shaolin, but who knew Chief Yan would also be here…”
Qing Jing coldly snorted. “Regardless of whether there is any real commonality among those present, how many people can silently take us away from Shaolin? Hmph, Venerable Kongwen, ranked third on the Heavenly List, even Master Chonghe, who has attained the ‘Pure Yang Taoist Body,’ couldn’t accomplish this feat!”
He still pointed his accusation at Shaolin, though he couldn’t figure out why they would do such a strange thing.
Dang!
A distant bell rang, drawing everyone’s gaze to the center of the jade plaza.
“Welcome to the Reincarnation World!”
“This place is filled with endless dangers, but you can also obtain everything you desire here!”
A grand and cold voice drifted with the bell sound, causing Meng Qi to frown. This situation seemed vaguely familiar, as if he had seen or heard something similar before.
“Who? Come out!” Qing Jing stomped his foot and rushed toward the center like a galloping horse, but there was nothing there.
“You may call me the Master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation,” the voice continued.
Meng Qi instinctively turned his head and saw exactly Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan’s eyes shining brightly, sparkling like purple lightning in the dark, intensely and seriously staring at the source of the voice.
Then, they exchanged glances and shook their heads.
Meng Qi’s heart sank. Could they also not locate the source of the voice?
Qing Jing’s right hand rested on the hilt of his sword, stopping in place, and shouted, “What do you want by capturing us?”
The grand and cold voice spoke again. “The world turns ceaselessly. You will experience one world after another, completing the tasks I assign, accumulating good deeds. With these good deeds, you can exchange for anything you desire—whether it be supreme martial arts techniques, divine weapons and immortal treasures, longevity elixirs, or rare treasures. Whatever you have heard of, this place has it. Even what you don’t know about, this place also has it!”
“And after completing each task, you will return to your own world, waiting for the next cycle of reincarnation to begin.”
Meng Qi’s mouth hung open like a carp gasping for air. This… wasn’t this an infinite stream? Wasn’t I in a xianxia martial arts world? This style doesn’t fit!
“Obtain everything you desire?” Qing Jing snorted, clearly skeptical of the ‘mysterious figure’s’ words.
Coming from the Xuantian Sect, known as the Taoist lineage of the Celestial Emperor, he was well-versed in supreme martial arts techniques and rare treasures. He simply couldn’t believe that this inexplicable ‘Master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation’ could gather all those legendary items, especially since some were already in his sect!
The ‘Master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation’ did not speak. A curtain of light descended from the high white jade dome above, displaying at the top the words ‘Catalogue of Supreme Martial Arts Techniques.’ The very first line below it clearly read:
“The Complete ‘Buddha’s Palm,’ Exchange Price: One Million Merit Points.”
“The Buddha’s Palm…” Who among those present hadn’t heard of this supreme martial art? They all inhaled sharply. After all, two major martial arts sects in the world had built their entire schools around incomplete versions of this technique! It directly pointed to the supreme path represented by the Buddha’s Golden Body!
Meng Qi’s heart unknowingly grew hot, temporarily forgetting the issue of the style mismatch.
Next, Jiang Zhiwei’s voice, barely concealing her excitement, read the second line: “The ‘Seven Heavens-Cutting Swords,’ missing the third and sixth moves, Exchange Price: 750,000 Merit Points.”
Zhang Yuanshan quietly clenched his fists. The two fundamental divine techniques of the Zhenwu Sect were both derived from the seventh move of the ‘Seven Heavens-Cutting Swords,’ ‘Dao Extinguished, Dao Reborn.’
Qing Jing was first stunned, then sneered. “Missing the third and sixth moves? Isn’t that supposed to have everything…”
As he spoke, his laughter gradually faded. This way of specifying what was missing was more convincing than simply listing everything. It seemed that the missing items might actually exist!
“Only missing the third and sixth moves…” Jiang Zhiwei’s lips moved slightly. Her beautiful face radiated dazzling brilliance, as if mastering the ‘Seven Heavens-Cutting Swords’ was her greatest dream.
The founding patriarch of the Washing Sword Pavilion had also obtained the first move of the ‘Seven Heavens-Cutting Swords,’ ‘Severing the Dao to See the Self,’ through an extraordinary encounter. This led him to create the ‘Supreme Sword Classic,’ a supreme sword technique pointing toward the attainment of the Supreme Dao Body and Dharma Body. Before his passing, he expressed deep regret at not seeing the remaining six moves of the ‘Seven Heavens-Cutting Swords,’ repeating the word ‘regret’ three times.
Meng Qi swallowed hard, his gaze shifting downward to see another familiar name: “The Complete ‘Eight-Nine Mystical Art,’ Exchange Price: 950,000 Merit Points.”
“The ‘Eight-Nine Mystical Art’? Why haven’t I heard of it?” Qing Jing seemed to forget his mockery of the ‘Master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation’ and murmured in confusion.
Jiang Zhiwei, Zhang Yuanshan, Qi Xia, and others all shook their heads, indicating they hadn’t heard of it either.
But in Meng Qi’s heart, he was shouting wildly:
“Eight-Nine Mystical Art? Eight-Nine Mystical Art!”
Many of the martial arts techniques listed on this page were legendary items familiar to Jiang Zhiwei and others, such as the ‘Emperor Demon Classic,’ the ‘Golden Book of the Human Emperor,’ and the ‘Phoenix Rebirth Manual.’ There were also fundamental techniques from various sects, such as the ‘Jade Records of the Celestial Emperor,’ the ‘Seven Cuts of Zhenwu,’ and the ‘Supreme Sword Classic.’
Moreover, except for the missing middle volume of the ‘Jade Records of the Celestial Emperor’ and the third page of the ‘Golden Book of the Human Emperor,’ the rest were all marked as complete!
“It’s actually complete…” Zhang Yuanshan narrowed his eyes slightly, and Jiang Zhiwei also placed her right hand on her sword hilt.
As favored disciples of their sects, seeing their sect’s core martial techniques listed here for exchange naturally stirred their emotions.
Under normal circumstances, sects would never forgive anyone who coveted their martial arts techniques, pursuing them to the ends of the earth if necessary.
Meng Qi was not yet a fully ordained disciple of Shaolin and thus did not feel this sentiment deeply. Instead, he was in awe of some of the martial arts techniques listed at the bottom, which he recognized, such as the “Heavenly Demon Slaughtering the God Strategy,” the “Hun Tian Bao Jian,” and the “Holy Demon Embryo.”
The martial arts techniques listed on this page had an exchange price of at least 150,000 merit points for the ‘Muscle Changing Classic,’ with the highest being one million merit points for supreme techniques like the ‘Buddha’s Palm,’ enough to make anyone’s blood boil.
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