Ye Yuqi seemed to have anticipated that Meng Qi would give such an answer and make a similar joke. He showed no surprise at all, slightly nodded, turned around, and led Meng Qi into the hall where the titled martial arts manuals were stored. He took out five jade slips related to Lingbao Tianzun, which were respectively titled “Zhu Xian Jian Jing (Sword Sutra of Slaying Immortals)”, “Jue Xian Jian Jing (Sword Sutra of Annihilation)”, “Xian Xian Jian Jing (Sword Sutra of Entrapment)”, “Lu Xian Jian Jing (Sword Sutra of Massacre)”, and “Zhu Xian Jian Zhen Tu (Diagram of the Sword Array of Slaying Immortals).”
Meng Qi extended his spiritual consciousness into the jade slip containing “Zhu Xian Jian Jing.” As soon as he made contact, a purely azure long sword appeared from beyond the sky within his spiritual realm. It was sharp and piercing, dulling all colors and freezing all transformations, as if it could penetrate the future, crush the past, and sever all imprints within the river of time.
The sword qi swept wildly, a vast expanse of azure. Meng Qi felt as if he had fallen into an indescribable nightmare. His True Spirit Dharma Body was shattered inch by inch. His experiences on Earth became blurred, his martial arts journey since Shaolin crumbled apart, and every possible future from now until the end of this life was severed, leaving only the path of utter annihilation.
After an indeterminate period, Meng Qi suddenly regained his senses. His face and body were covered in droplets of black “sweat.” At his level of cultivation, he had completely transcended the mortal body and could no longer perspire. This was merely a re-manifestation of past experiences triggered by changes in his heart, an illusion. However, if his mind had indeed undergone violent fluctuations and he had experienced a near-death sensation, his Dharma Body would automatically expel the invading external demons, condensing them into “black sweat” to prevent him from falling into madness. This was not ordinary sweat.
Meng Qi shook his body, causing all the black droplets to fly off and vanish. Then he exhaled deeply, feeling as if he had been reborn. The Zhu Xian Sword was a blade of time, truly terrifying beyond comprehension. Even the portion he could comprehend was astonishingly powerful. Moreover, it was a sword of slaughter, completely different from other martial arts he had acquired. Even merely comprehending it felt like experiencing a massacre. A moment’s carelessness could lead to eternal destruction.
“Take it slowly,” Ye Yuqi reminded him. Having heard Lingbao Tianzun speak of the four Zhu Xian swords, he knew the dangers involved and thus specifically offered this caution.
Meng Qi activated the Yuanxin Seal and Yin-Yang Seal, quickly restoring his weary mind and Dharma Body. Then, he successively studied the remaining jade slips and created copies of their contents—directly taking the jade slips would incur destruction from the Six Dao, while creating a true transmission of their essence was beyond his current capability.
The Jue Xian Sword was a space-destroying blade, dark black in color. It was not merely space in the conventional sense but also included higher and lower layers of “space,” such as those with only length and width but no height, or those omnipresent within the real world. The Xian Xian Sword, symbolized by crimson, represented energy. Whether in the material world or the realm of illusions, all relied on the laws derived from corresponding energies. The Lu Xian Sword was a white material blade, the beginning of all things and the end of everything.
After sitting in meditation for a long time and recovering, Meng Qi immediately left Biyou Heaven and headed directly for Changle of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, seeking out his jocular elder brother, Gao Lan.
Regardless of how smoothly Master Lu and Su Wuming collaborated and how agreeable everything else was, the mere idea of cultivating the “Zhu Xian Sword Array” was an irresistible temptation to both supreme and pure sword practitioners. However, Gao Lan’s thoughts were inscrutable, even more unpredictable than when he was considered mad. Therefore, he needed to be convinced first.
—Master Lu might not fully adopt the techniques of the Zhu Xian Sword Array, as he remained steadfast on his own path. Yet, “stones from other mountains can polish one’s own jade.” Studying this supreme sword array could reflect upon his own sword techniques, revealing flaws and guiding his future development.
Changle, the imperial palace.
As Meng Qi entered the grand hall, he found Gao Lan dressed in a black imperial robe, his tall and imposing figure seated majestically on the throne. His right hand supported his forehead, and his eyes gazed thoughtfully at Meng Qi.
“Greetings, elder brother,” Meng Qi cleverly changed his address.
Gao Lan’s gaze was deep and unfathomable. He remained silent for a long time before finally saying, “This is the imperial palace. You should call me Your Imperial Majesty.”
Meng Qi’s expression instantly froze.
Don’t try to guess an elder brother’s thoughts—they’re impossible to decipher, even more enigmatic than a madman’s…
“Have you come about the matter of the Golden Turtle Island in the East China Sea?” Gao Lan broached the subject first.
“Yes, elder brother, uh, Your Imperial Majesty, are you planning to attend the banquet?” Meng Qi asked.
Gao Lan rested his right hand on his forehead and lightly tapped the armrest with his left, speaking slowly, “I can move freely within the Great Zhou, drawing upon the power of the people to the maximum. Chang Le has long-established arrays, while Golden Turtle Island merely mentions a banquet without specifying any details. Even if they harbor no ill intentions, their attitude is extremely arrogant. Arrogance breeds bias, and bias leads to anger. A slight disagreement might provoke a thunderous wrath. More importantly, there’s at least a forty percent chance that Golden Turtle Island has hostile intentions. We don’t know how many Tianxian they have, the nature of their grand formation and forbidden techniques, or whether there are other powerful figures present.”
“So, elder brother, you want to refuse the invitation?” Meng Qi nodded slightly as he asked.
Gao Lan glanced at him, “Actually, I mean to attend.”
All of Gao Lan’s previous reasons sounded like he wouldn’t go… Meng Qi could only silently critique while cold sweat dripped internally.
“All aspects of Golden Turtle Island are unknown to us. We don’t know if they are potential allies or formidable adversaries. If we refuse to attend the banquet, how can we discern their true strength and intentions?” Gao Lan lowered his right hand and stood up, his imposing figure radiating masculine charm. “Most importantly, what if a legendary expert has truly returned on Golden Turtle Island? If we refuse the invitation and immediately provoke them, we might find ourselves without any room for retreat when we realize our mistake and face an enemy we cannot overcome. Whereas if we attend the banquet, and things go wrong, we can always kowtow and flee.”
Gao Lan spoke these mocking words in a cold voice, causing Meng Qi’s mouth to twitch involuntarily. His words were crude but his reasoning sound.
Yet, even though Gao Lan had always been either humorous or cold, he had always been proud. How could he now consider kowtowing?
Could it be that after recovering from his mental illness, he had learned to be flexible and adaptable? Or perhaps he had other plans and confidence in extricating himself safely?
Surprised and puzzled, Meng Qi wisely refrained from asking further. Since Gao Lan was willing to attend the banquet, discussing the Zhu Xian Sword Array would be easier. Thus, Meng Qi revealed all his preparations.
Gao Lan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back before finally saying indifferently, “For the sake of the Zhu Xian Sword Array, I shall reluctantly cooperate with Master Lu this once.”
Two days later, at Huamei Villa, four Dharma Bodies gathered together.
Without unnecessary words, Meng Qi directly said, “Senior Su, your omnipresent legendary traits and inclusive Supreme-like nature make you the most suitable for cultivating the space-representing Jue Xian Sword.”
“Good,” Su Wuming, always averse to idle talk, simply replied.
“Senior Lu, your mastery of micro-control and deep understanding of material structures make you perfectly suited for cultivating the Lu Xian Sword,” Meng Qi turned to Master Lu.
Master Lu gently nodded without objection.
Human power encompasses both illusion and reality, a unique form of energy. The indomitable will of the Human Emperor’s Sword can perfectly control them. “Brother, you should cultivate the Xian Xian Sword,” Meng Qi already knew that Gao Lan had advanced to the Earth Immortal level. In the end, only Meng Qi himself had the lowest cultivation. “As for me, I can sense the existence of the river of time and manipulate fate to a small extent, so I can barely cultivate the Zhu Xian Sword. However, I’ll need Senior Su to lend me a fragment of the Donghuang Bell.”
“Good,” Su Wuming’s gaze was empty and indifferent, showing no concern whatsoever.
Time flew, the seasons passed, and soon winter arrived.
Meng Qi and the others had preliminarily mastered the Zhu Xian Sword Array and returned to their respective abodes to prepare. There were still nineteen days until the banquet on Golden Turtle Island.
After returning to the Yuxu Palace on Kunlun Mountain, Meng Qi sat cross-legged on a cloud bed, holding a dark, heavy fragment of a mirror that seemed to reflect myriad worlds across universes—it was the Houtian Mirror.
Having completed preparations for cooperation, it was time to make preparations unique to himself.
He wondered whether nineteen days would be enough to use the Houtian Mirror fragment to leave his mark in some universe!
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