White clouds drift like dogs, sometimes curling, sometimes unfolding. Meng Qi turned around with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at Sun Junlin, who had clearly aged, and truly felt the vicissitudes of life and the passage of time: “Indeed, you still remember this old man.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Sun Junlin was instantly overwhelmed with excitement, his years of spiritual cultivation unable to suppress his emotions. His voice slightly trembling, he said, “On the journey to Lanruo Temple with the Supreme Elder, this disciple was deeply influenced and gained invaluable insights, which I have never forgotten to this day.”
As he spoke, confusion crept into his tone: “Supreme Elder, weren’t you said to have ascended into the sky and departed?”
Meng Qi smiled: “If one can ascend, one can also return, though worldly matters have become indifferent to me.”
“I see,” Sun Junlin replied, his expression weary and his face aged. Curiosity flickered in his eyes as he asked, “Supreme Elder, did you truly advance the ‘Celestial Great Art’ to the realm of ‘The Yellow Heaven Has Been Established,’ forming a divine and demonic body?”
This had been a lingering question in his heart for over a decade. Regarding the realm of “The Celestial Heaven is Dead, the Yellow Heaven Shall Rise,” he no longer harbored any doubts after the events at Lanruo Temple. However, the further stage of “The Yellow Heaven Has Been Established” remained uncertain for him, as he had only heard about it from the Foolish Monk and the Taoist Master without witnessing it firsthand.
Meng Qi did not speak but smiled and extended his right hand. Instantly, Sun Junlin felt his vision shift, revealing a vast and boundless azure sea, stretching endlessly before him, broadening his heart and mind.
Where is this? What is the Supreme Elder trying to do? Suspended in midair, Sun Junlin looked around in confusion, frowning as he searched for an exit.
Just as he flew forward, he suddenly felt joy, for within this place, his speed of movement was multiplied tenfold, even a hundredfold compared to usual, as if he could traverse the boundless void.
Like the brilliant light of the sun tearing across the sky, Sun Junlin soared toward the ocean’s distant end, passing many strangely shaped islands. For tens of thousands of miles, the deep blue was unbroken by any other color, until he finally saw a land of brown-yellow and lush green.
Continuing forward, there were lakes and plateaus, deserts and vast seas. When Sun Junlin felt his spirit nearly depleted and his true energy nearly exhausted, five peaks pierced the clouds appeared on the horizon. They stood majestic and towering, covered in snow, their summits invisible, making everything around seem insignificant.
Instinctively lifting his gaze to the peaks above, Sun Junlin suddenly saw the face of the “Supreme Elder” Ji Wuliang gazing down at him from far beyond the heavens!
What… He looked around again, only to realize that the five peaks piercing through the nine heavens were actually five fingers. The lakes, plateaus, deserts, seas, and islands he had seen were all within a single palm.
A universe within a palm, a world within a hand!
Sun Junlin’s eyes widened in astonishment. Unconsciously, he flew out of this realm and reappeared at the cliff’s edge. There, the Supreme Elder gently flicked his robe with his right hand, his demeanor composed and unruffled.
Filled with both shock and joy, yet also bewildered, Sun Junlin stood silently for a moment before suddenly bowing deeply: “Congratulations, Supreme Elder, on achieving ultimate mastery of your divine art and ascending to the ranks of the immortals!”
What else could such a display be, if not the work of a deity or immortal?
Meng Qi placed his right hand behind his back, slowly stepping forward: “You still have not ascended to the rank of Grand Master.”
“I am ashamed,” Sun Junlin replied bitterly.
As an Outer Manifestation expert, the reason for his rapid aging over the past decade was his failure to cross the third Celestial Ladder and achieve the Semi-Dharmakaya state. His anxiety day and night had manifested in his appearance.
Meng Qi nodded slightly but said nothing further. As he strolled along the cliff’s edge, he casually asked, “How is the current state of the world?”
“After witnessing the Supreme Elder slaying the Celestial Heaven, establishing the Yellow Heaven, and ascending into the sky, the Taoist Master, the Foolish Monk, and the Empress were all deeply affected. They have since focused more on martial cultivation than vying for supremacy, bringing relative peace to the world,” Sun Junlin briefly described. “I have heard that the Foolish Monk discovered the complete inheritance of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. After more than a decade of cultivation, he is now close to achieving the Golden Body. The Taoist Master and the Empress, however, are still exploring their paths.”
The Foolish Monk truly lived up to his reputation as a Grand Master who entered the Semi-Dharmakaya state even earlier than his own master, Xuan Bei… Meng Qi inwardly sighed. Over the years, he had often returned to Shaolin to visit his master and discuss martial arts, watching him progress step by step toward achieving Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s Golden Body. Yet, he had not expected that time would flow more slowly here in this realm compared to the real world. Without immortals to discuss martial arts and Buddhist teachings with, even the Foolish Monk had nearly achieved the Dharmakaya state.
“Have any figures similar to the Old Demon of Black Mountain emerged? Have there been any rumors about the Seven Killings Stele?” he continued to ask.
If not, he would have to pay them a direct visit.
Sun Junlin shook his head: “The world is peaceful, with no such rumors.”
“Hmm,” Meng Qi, his blue robe fluttering, spoke in a low voice, “This old man has returned with an unfinished wish. Back then, I left the mortal world in haste, failing to leave behind the last two layers of the Celestial Great Art.”
After cultivating the Dharmakaya for many years and mastering supreme martial arts, it was not difficult for him to refine the subsequent stages of the Celestial Great Art.
Sun Junlin’s pupils constricted sharply, a surge of anticipation and joy rising within him. Then, he saw the Supreme Elder, with his white temples, point a finger, and countless points of light flowed into his mind.
“These are the cultivation techniques for ‘The Celestial Heaven is Dead, the Yellow Heaven Shall Rise’ and ‘The Yellow Heaven Has Been Established.’ The Celestial Sect will rise from you,” the voice was low, as if a celestial being whispered, weaving fate and revealing the future. Sun Junlin momentarily felt as if he were dreaming. When he regained his senses, the rolling clouds stretched endlessly before him, with no trace of the solemn and profound figure in the blue robe.
“The Supreme Elder seemed to be annotating fate itself…” Sun Junlin gazed complexly at the white expanse beyond the cliff, his mind echoing with the cultivation techniques of “The Celestial Heaven is Dead, the Yellow Heaven Shall Rise.”
…
Inside a heavily fortified building filled with various high-tech defensive facilities, Nan Gong Chong, wearing a specially designed full-shield suit, passed through layer after layer of security doors, gradually descending deeper underground.
To prevent the central control computer from being infiltrated and rendered useless by supernatural enemies, as had happened in previous incidents, there was no unified control system here. Instead, the facility was divided into isolated sections with no communication between them. Even the most primitive methods, such as fingerprint locks and special squads, were set up as additional safeguards.
“Good morning, Captain!” As Nan Gong Chong calmly approached the fingerprint scanner, the special squad members on both sides simultaneously greeted him loudly.
Nan Gong Chong had achieved success in martial cultivation and leaned toward Buddhist practices, making his temperament more composed. He lightly nodded and said, “Don’t be careless. Check whether I’ve been transformed by a supernatural entity.”
“Yes, sir.” A red-haired woman smiled and took out a portable device, asking Nan Gong Chong to squeeze out a drop of blood for genetic verification.
With the current unprecedented advancement of technology, humanity had already begun exploring the universe, often encountering inexplicable phenomena in space or other star systems. Even on their own planet, such occurrences were not uncommon. Therefore, the government and corporations jointly established a mysterious organization tasked with capturing, monitoring, controlling, and concealing supernatural beings or “phenomena.” This organization was publicly known as the “Foundation for Scientific Exploration.”
Whenever a supernatural event occurred, unless it was too dangerous and required immediate destruction by phase warships, it had to be reported to the “Foundation for Scientific Exploration.” The foundation would then evaluate its value and danger level, formulate specific capture plans, and organize relevant personnel for research afterward. The teams responsible for implementing these plans were various special squads, equipped with high-tech gear to the teeth. Nan Gong Chong, after many years of effort, had risen to become the captain of one such special squad.
Looking at their captain, the team members held genuine admiration. Without considering equipment, his combat skills were comparable to those of the most perfectly genetically modified and enhanced future warriors, surpassing them by a significant margin. With equipment, he became even more formidable, creating a synergy where one plus one was definitely greater than two. Without him, they probably would have perished in some supernatural incident and failed to escape with their lives.
In their hearts, Captain Nan Gong Chong was an idol.
The genetic match was successful, and Nan Gong Chong calmly stepped forward, extending his right hand to unlock the fingerprint scanner. He entered a downward metal passage, the surroundings quiet, with only the echo of his footsteps, creating a sense of emptiness.
“Captain is so composed it’s scary—he wouldn’t flinch even if a mountain collapsed in front of him,” the red-haired woman commented after the door closed, her eyes shining with admiration.
Another black-haired man whispered, “The captain was involved in a high-ranking supernatural incident back when he was in school. Of course, we can’t compare ourselves to him.”
Mentioning high-ranking supernatural incidents caused the special squad members to involuntarily shudder. The more experiences they had, the more fearful they became of those ranked at the top.
Within the “Foundation for Scientific Exploration,” supernatural phenomena and related files were classified and ranked with corresponding numbers. For example, E-class involved things like lighting a cigarette from a distance, with higher levels indicating greater danger. The highest level was S-class, with a total of twenty-seven items ranked from 1 to 27 based on danger level. It was said that the incident the captain experienced during his studies was among the top five S-class events!
To date, the highest-ranked mission their squad had completed was A-11, which nearly resulted in total annihilation. The danger of S-class supernatural events was thus unimaginable!
That the captain survived such an event explained why he had become such an outstanding man.
Nan Gong Chong passed through layer after layer of isolation, seeing different rooms, each controlling or preserving dangerous supernatural entities. When he reached the lowest level, twenty-seven rooms were isolated from each other with the highest level of security.
Nodding slightly, Nan Gong Chong once again used his obtained permissions to pass the inspection and entered the room marked “S-03.” Inside, the lighting was pale blue, and there were no excessive protections, as this room did not contain any supernatural entities but only related evidence and files.
File name: “S-03: The Grandmaster of the Celestial Sect.”
Nan Gong Chong picked up the file and began reading its contents. A scientist involved in this research wanted to confirm a certain detail to explore how the Black Mountain Demon World was connected to their own universe.
“It’s been over a decade, and Master has not appeared again,” Nan Gong Chong suddenly sighed. With the aid of high-tech tools, he had long since opened the nine orifices and the third eye, but due to the limitations of the world, he had still been unable to achieve the Outer Manifestation state. He often wondered whether his master would suddenly appear, bringing him new opportunities.
He also wondered how far his master had advanced in cultivating the Celestial Great Art.
Just then, he saw a figure reflected on the silvery metal wall in front of him—an elegant figure in a blue robe, with white temples and deep, penetrating eyes.
“Master!” Nan Gong Chong blurted out, his voice filled with joy and shock.
This was his master, the Celestial Sect’s Grandmaster Liang Wuliang!
He had managed to appear silently in the most heavily guarded area of the “Foundation for Scientific Exploration”!
It should be noted that these facilities and arrangements were specifically designed to contain supernatural beings and Outer Manifestation experts after previous lessons learned. Yet, his master had arrived behind him as if entering an unguarded place!
Should he say, “No wonder he’s labeled as S-03?”
The captain, who was usually calm and composed in his team’s eyes, lost his composure. His heart surged with waves, and his expression changed.
Meng Qi stood with his hands clasped behind his back, nodding slightly: “Good, you haven’t slackened your martial cultivation. But how did you end up in this line of work?”
He casually picked up a file and flipped through it. It was a record of a citizen named Old Wang repeatedly calling the police. He claimed his girlfriend was a murderer. Every time he went out to indulge in affairs, he never succeeded. His girlfriend would drag back a bloody arm and make him eat it. However, police records showed it was a specially made cake. Still, Old Wang refused to believe it, always wailing as his girlfriend dragged him back to the room. Coincidentally, a Foundation member was nearby once and discovered traces of mental influence, prompting a deeper investigation. The Foundation suspected Old Wang’s girlfriend was connected to the Black Mountain Demon World.
After Old Wang’s girlfriend agreed to cooperate with the Foundation for research, all of Old Wang’s police reports were transferred to the Foundation.
Nan Gong Chong composed his emotions and smiled bitterly: “With martial skills, one inevitably becomes proud. I often took action when I saw injustice, which caught the attention of the Foundation, forcing me to join them.”
“Hmm, do you wish to leave this world and go to a freer realm to continue your martial cultivation path?” Meng Qi asked calmly.
Nan Gong Chong immediately fell silent. His mind flashed images of his beloved wife, his adorable children, his teammates with whom he had shared life and death, and the familiar life and environment he cherished. His wife and children could come with him, but what about the others?
After thirty, one’s spirit of adventure diminishes. Such a significant change made Nan Gong Chong hesitant and fearful of taking the next step.
After a long pause, he took a deep breath and said, “Disciple… disciple wishes to stay in his hometown.”
“People have different aspirations; one cannot force others,” Meng Qi said gently. He took out a “Multiverse Awareness Talisman” and said, “You can use this to seek my guidance, obtain further martial techniques, and purchase relevant cultivation items. How far you go in the future depends entirely on yourself.”
The path of martial cultivation is full of crossroads. Many walk together at the beginning, but few reach the end side by side. Meng Qi sighed, left the Multiverse Awareness Talisman, and leaped out of this universe. Using its connection with the Black Mountain Demon World, he located the slumbering body of the Seven Killings Taoist—so long as the latter did not deliberately hide, Meng Qi could now grasp this link.
“What are you here for?” The Seven Killings Taoist’s handsome face was filled with weariness.
Meng Qi smiled: “I wish to borrow the Seven Killings Stele from you.”
“Why would I lend it to you?” the Seven Killings Taoist asked in a low voice.
Meng Qi’s smile did not fade: “Because the stronger I become, the weaker the Demon Buddha will be. And the weaker the Demon Buddha becomes, the easier it will be for you, perhaps even allowing you to break free.”
The Seven Killings Taoist gazed deeply at Meng Qi before suddenly summoning the Seven Killings Stele and tossing it over:
“This is a one-time deal.”
With the Seven Killings Stele in hand, Meng Qi left, returning to the Real World, preparing to go back to Shaolin as it was in the past.
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