Suddenly, he found himself back in ancient times. Even with Meng Qi’s profound mental cultivation, his heart could not help but surge with waves of shock and bewilderment. If it weren’t for the several men riding mechanical flying birds, who had merely reached the Open Heaven stage, they might have detected the faint traces leaking from his Yuan Heart Seal.
“I wonder which direction leads to Luo City?” Meng Qi took a deep breath, suppressing his emotional turmoil, and forced a smile.
Although he had many questions to ask to confirm whether he had indeed traveled back to the Middle Ancient Era, such secrets could not be exposed to others, lest he attract trouble. In unfamiliar surroundings, he might unknowingly offend some enemies he could not yet confront. Just like shearing wool, one shouldn’t shear only one sheep repeatedly—scattering inquiries was the wise approach.
The leading man pointed to the left: “Head north, follow the river downstream, and the first major city you reach will be Luo City.”
“Thank you, brother,” Meng Qi bowed slightly, then turned northward and flew away.
The several Open Heaven men were accustomed to seeing Exteriors, treating them as commonplace, and since they themselves could fly using artifacts, there was no need to envy excessively.
After leaving their sight, Meng Qi concealed his flying light and fully awakened from his initial daze, carefully inspecting himself.
Upon examination, Meng Qi immediately sensed something amiss. His gaze froze, and his expression grew grave:
The Hegemon’s Supreme Blade was gone!
The Hegemon’s Supreme Blade, which should have been hidden within his Dharma Body, was missing!
Other artifacts like the Immortal Sword were still present… The disappearance of the Hegemon’s Supreme Blade was not due to the act of time travel itself. Whether returning to ancient times or entering another universe or cosmic fragment, the Immortal Sword would remain while the Hegemon’s Supreme Blade would not—Meng Qi calmed himself, thinking gravely and quickly.
Considering his previous suspicions, he suddenly understood the reason for its disappearance:
The Hegemon’s Supreme Blade was one of the Ten Supreme Weapons ranked by the “Master of the Six Dao Reincarnation,” comparable to peerless treasures like the Human Emperor’s Sword and the Blade of Time. In other words, it was unique across all universes and timelines, past and future!
This uniqueness was fundamental, unrelated to how much it had awakened. Its absence likely meant he had truly returned to the Middle Ancient Era.
At this time, the sole Hegemon’s Supreme Blade should be in the hands of its creator and first master, to maintain the normal progression of the world line without major disruptions that might provoke counteraction and corrections, damaging the blade.
Its creator and first master was the only recorded ancient cultivator who had self-attained legendary status, the mighty Hegemon who had slaughtered countless Dharma Bodies for many years!
As thoughts surged, Meng Qi closed his eyes and manifested his “Indestructible Yuan Origin Body,” radiating the aura of absolute uniqueness, severing all other selves, denying the past and rejecting the future, the sole existence. Using the characteristics of legends and the shore-beyond-shore traits, he attempted to sense and manipulate the True Realm’s energy—if he could feel and control it, it would mean he was outside the True Realm, likely in some cosmic fragment shaped by a mighty being, and the Hegemon’s Supreme Blade’s disappearance had another cause unrelated to time travel.
After a moment with eyes closed, Meng Qi opened them again, his pupils deep and unfathomable, slowly exhaling.
He could sense the True Realm’s energy, but struggled to manipulate it—indicating this place was likely the “True Realm” itself!
Combining the Hegemon’s Supreme Blade’s disappearance, the Mind Sage teaching in Luo City, and the mechanical artifacts allowing even Open Heaven cultivators to fly, Meng Qi was now certain—he had truly traveled back to the Middle Ancient Era!
The Middle Ancient Era, when humanity flourished unprecedentedly, mechanical arts thrived, and life was far more convenient than the “current” era. The era of competing sages, emerging Celestial Immortals, and flourishing philosophies. The era when the Hegemon forged the Supreme Blade, displayed his might, swept across the world, and defied gods and Buddhas!
Once, Meng Qi had dreamed of being born in this glorious age, experiencing it firsthand, contending with the Mind Sage, Benevolent Sage, Numerical Sage, and Artifact Sage, facing the Hegemon’s Six Cuts, declaring, “Among all the heroes under heaven, who else but I could claim supremacy!”
Now, his dream had become reality, yet he found himself strangely unready to accept it. Daydreaming was pleasant, but consequences were ignored in fantasy. Now, adjusting his mindset might take time.
His master was in Shaolin; Zhiwei was at a crucial moment in attaining Dharma Body; the food-loving girl and Old Man Zhao were still trapped in reincarnation; his senior brother Qi, aiming to form his Crimson Demon Body, would face powerful opposition and internal struggles. Meng Qi had always intended to help, shielding him from schemes while the great beings dared not fully awaken; the young master Wang had only a few years left. Those cultivating the “Arithmetic Classic” would face both heavenly and human tribulations when taking the final step, and Meng Qi had planned to assist out of gratitude; moreover, the lotus in the Jade Void Palace had withered, blooming only next year…
Everything he cherished, everything he enjoyed, was in the “current” era. Suddenly returning to the Middle Ancient Era was hard to accept, just like how he had always wished to ascend quickly to Celestial Immortality, step onto the legendary path, find Earth, and make up for past regrets.
The residual power from the battle of mighty beings was so terrifying that it sent me back in time to the Middle Ancient Era. No, Legendary-level beings couldn’t achieve this. It must have required a Perfect Cultivation of Creation or even a collision between shore-beyond-shore beings!
Had “Great Sage Meishan” Yuan Hong reached such a level? Or had he relied on a Creation-Level supreme artifact? And who was his opponent, powerful enough to even allow the Eternal Mother, and Golden Emperor, one of the Five Emperors of the Five Directions, to open the Void Home and transmit power from true chaos…
That’s right, what about Master Lu and the others? Meng Qi’s heart stirred as he suddenly remembered that He Qi and the Yunhe Zhenren were inside the hidden space within his sleeve.
However, his sleeve was empty—where were the two Dharma Bodies?
If they were inside, how could he not sense them and forget all about it?
Had he alone been sent back, while they remained unharmed? Meng Qi let out a deep sigh, the Dao One Glazed Lamp manifesting in his eyes. He activated the Jade Void Divine Calculation, utilizing the residual energy and traits of He Qi and the True Person Yunhe to deduce the threads of heavenly fate.
Shortly after, he suddenly looked up, as if seeing through layers of clouds into the distance.
Senior He Qi and the fake, inferior old man Yunhe both showed faint traces, indicating they had also returned to this era. However, since they did not belong here, the heavenly fate was chaotic, making it hard to pinpoint their exact location, only roughly estimating a range.
Not only them, but Master Lu, Su Wuming, Brother Doudi, the Hunyuan Immortaless, Ye Di, and others were also present!
Meng Qi was stunned for a moment, his thoughts boiling again. Such a large-scale return to ancient times was now an established fact, unchangeable. Would they remain here permanently, or would the power of mighty beings fade over time, causing the world’s corrective forces to expel them, sending them back, just like the effect of using the Seven Killing Tablet?
But in that case, without the Seven Killing Tablet’s protection, the danger of returning was self-evident.
Thinking thus, he closed his eyes again, sensing the hidden connections and backup plans he had prepared—in the world of the Sword Emperor and Demon Empress, he had left a “mark,” equivalent to an “other-self projection”!
Time flowed, the river surged, and around Meng Qi, as if being washed by waves, the light of the Karmic Fruit of All Results, black and white swirling, shone into the water.
A faint sensation… Meng Qi opened his eyes thoughtfully—it was actually a subtle connection!
Across tens of thousands of years, he had sensed his “other-self mark”!
The combination of the shore-beyond-shore trait that rejected past and future and the Karmic Fruit of All Results was indeed profound and mysterious!
Although this level of connection couldn’t allow him to use it for time travel, having any sense at all was better than none. Perhaps the path home would begin from here.
His thoughts gradually calmed, and two clear intentions formed in Meng Qi’s mind:
First, locate Master Lu and Yunhe Zhenren; second, journey across the world in search of a way to return to the future!
With his decision made, his mind quickly steadied. Looking far and wide, his heart suddenly broadened, filled with heroic aspirations.
The Demon Buddha must have been sealed across the past, present, and future. At this moment, Ananda’s Pure Land might only preserve his imprint, creating illusions to conform with the flow of history… But the palm techniques “Tathagata’s Divine Palm” and “Tathagata’s Reverse Palm” should still exist, shouldn’t they?
He wondered whether the Mind Sage, Numerical Sage, and others had already reached the peak of Celestial Immortality, touching the threshold of legends.
He wondered about the fifth-generation successor of the Demon Emperor’s Claw, “The Supreme Demon” Wu Daoming—what realm had he reached now?
He wondered how many mighty beings still manipulated the Middle Ancient Era from the shadows.
He wondered whether the Hegemon had already self-attained legendary status.
Meng Qi’s smile gradually surfaced, his heart brimming with anticipation:
Middle Ancient Era, I’m here!
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