Qingjin throbbed. Meng Qi felt as if his very brain had been violently slashed or his yuan-shen shredded into fragments, the pain nearly forcing a cry from him.
He circulated his inner vision, manifesting the “Indestructible Primordial Form” within his yuan-shen, standing alongside the “Golden Buddha,” restoring the original state—pure and supreme!
The pain ebbed like a tide. Meng Qi’s eyes half-opened, sweat drenched his forehead, and a sense of exhaustion surrounded him.
After a while, he opened his eyes fully. His left iris was chaotic, as if all directions—up, down, left, right, front, and back—converged into a single point, concealing a faint image of a Daoist priest. His right pupil gleamed like lapis lazuli, where a colossal golden Buddha sat cross-legged, one finger pointing to the heavens, the other touching the earth, embodying supreme purity and wisdom.
The Daoist and the Buddha vanished in an instant. Meng Qi’s eyes returned to normal, but the visions resurfaced, filling his mind with confusion.
According to Xiaoru, the young immortal girl, she could see countless scenes—each like a shimmering ripple, containing a version of herself. This matched the descriptions from “Gu” and the message about “them.” Yet why could Meng Qi only see his past-life self and the figure gazing up at the Great Sage’s staff deep within Vulture Peak?
If Jin Dao Yi Meng was hindered by the lack of secret methods and lower cultivation than “Gu,” only seeing one self was understandable. But Meng Qi possessed secret techniques and was stronger than Xiaoru had been at the time of her death—why was he still seeing only one version of himself?
During the oath exchange with the Gu spirit, Meng Qi had been extremely cautious. By verifying the details, he confirmed that Xiaoru’s teachings were authentic and complete—at least concerning the secret method. Thus, the technique itself shouldn’t be the issue.
“Is it because of the uniqueness of transmigration?” Meng Qi rose, shook his robe clean, and stood spotless once more.
Xiaoru had emphasized that one would not see past lives, only the current self or those about to be born—perhaps with some memories of this life. This contradiction troubled him.
The visions from his past life could be explained by the fact that he hadn’t truly reincarnated, but rather taken over another’s body—essentially continuing the same existence. The destruction of Vulture Peak had indeed occurred before the demise of the Demon Sage. What did this signify?
Was Xiaoru’s understanding of the secret method and the Immortal Valley limited to certain aspects, while in reality, it could reflect past, present, and future selves?
As these questions swirled, Meng Qi took a deep breath, stepped forward, and soared upward, determined to find Xiaoru again and seek answers about this anomaly—whether the Immortal Clan had any records of similar cases.
His eyes turned void-like again, with brilliant starlines emerging from within, extending outward to different locations.
When a karmic bond was newly formed or deeply rooted, Meng Qi could trace the other party’s trail through it.
For most cultivators, techniques capable of perceiving karma were rare, and those for divining through karma were even rarer. Yet Meng Qi was fortunate to possess “Karmic Adhesion” and the Jade Emptiness Divine Calculation, derived from the “Root of All Fruits,” making him unmatched in this regard in the current age.
Following the unobscured karmic trail, Meng Qi flew forward when suddenly he heard the howls of demonic beasts, seemingly fighting over something.
He halted mid-air, focusing his gaze. To his surprise, a beast resembling a dragon but brimming with earth-elemental power had just driven off other contenders and seized a corpse—a sack-like body, its flesh, organs, and bones mostly missing. Meng Qi recognized it immediately: it was “Silver Sword” Yi Xin, whom he had only just parted ways with!
A flash of sword light sliced off part of the mountaintop—no rocks fell, no dust stirred, a display of exquisite control.
The beast froze, then dropped Yi Xin’s corpse and fled in panic.
Meng Qi landed and examined the body. Yi Xin was unmistakably dead, his surface bearing only wounds from the beast, no other fatal injuries. Yet his brain, flesh, organs, and bones were mostly gone—his death was bizarre!
“His storage bag and silver sword are gone. Was he intercepted?” Meng Qi scanned the area but found no signs of a battle between top experts. It seemed Yi Xin had simply died suddenly—or this was merely a dumping ground.
Finding no clues, and having no close ties to Yi Xin, Meng Qi stored his doubts and continued his pursuit. Half an hour later, he arrived before a hidden cave dwelling.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Meng Qi rhythmically sent waves of qi toward the stone door, as if he were back in the capital city of Ye.
Inside was silent, as if empty, but Meng Qi remained resolute, continuing to knock.
After a while, a voice filled with near-tears called out: “Brother Wuming, why are you here again?”
How could he have found such a concealed cave?
“I’ve always been confident in my skills in this area…”
That “again” was well-placed… Meng Qi smirked inwardly, then coldly said, “I tested a secret method and encountered some confusion. I came specially to consult Miss Xiaoru.”
Hearing “consult,” Song Bingde exhaled in relief: “Consultation is good! Consultation is great!”
He deactivated the barrier and opened the stone door, with Xiaoru greeting Meng Qi at the entrance.
Meng Qi entered confidently, sat down in a commanding posture, and broadly described his experiences—excluding specific details. Finally, he asked, “Miss Xiaoru, do you have any records of similar cases?”
Xiaoru looked puzzled and shook her head: “With a secret method, it’s absolutely impossible to see only one self…”
I really am the most special one… Meng Qi repeated this “famous saying” to himself, trying to find humor in the bitterness, then asked stubbornly, “Miss Xiaoru, could you describe again what you saw at the moment of death?”
Xiaoru slightly considered, then pointed to a lotus pond inside the cave. The water shimmered faintly in the morning light, reflecting golden glimmers.
She flicked a finger, shaping qi into a stone that dropped into the pond, creating ripples that shattered the golden glimmers into countless golden scales—an exquisite sight.
“At the moment of death,” Xiaoru explained concisely, “it’s like looking down upon countless shimmering golden scales in a pond. Each is a self, and you can fish for them.”
“Looking down?” Meng Qi frowned slightly. When he saw the figure at Vulture Peak, he had been rising upward, as if leaving the Immortal Valley.
Xiaoru nodded firmly: “Exactly. Your situation has never been recorded before, unless… unless you change your position…”
She seemed to have found a possible explanation, her brows suddenly relaxing.
Caught up in his own confusion, Meng Qi asked, “Change position?”
“Exactly!” Xiaoru pointed at the “jumping” golden scales. “When looking down, each golden glimmer is mysteriously separated, as if in different places, unseen by each other, only I could see them all. But if you change positions—what if you’re a fish in the pond, a single golden glimmer?”
In that case, you’d only see the “angler” above! Meng Qi suddenly understood, a chill running down his spine, sweat breaking out as he felt both shock and fury!
Was he just a fish in someone else’s pond?
A fish that could be caught and “eaten” at any moment?
Though unwilling to believe, Meng Qi felt Xiaoru’s hypothesis perfectly explained what he had seen, aligning with his long-standing anxieties and fears.
Was the angler the figure from Vulture Peak?
Meng Qi narrowed his eyes, another question arising. The events at Vulture Peak had occurred in the past—according to the secret method, he shouldn’t have seen them, unless… unless that person was still alive!
Cold sweat dripped as his long-held fears seemed to materialize.
Meng Qi took a deep breath, recalling his past exchanges with Jiang Zhiwei: if all the gods treated him as a chess piece, what then?
His mind gradually calmed. After all, this was something he had long suspected—it was only a matter of time. He could only refuse to yield, refuse to give up, and never betray his conscience, fighting for a sliver of hope with the resolve of a dying man!
Of course, he must explore the details carefully and prepare countermeasures in advance…
He must also act swiftly on the “Six Executions of the Tyrant King” mentioned by Wang Shenguan—”Past events vanish like smoke.” Once he ascends the second Heavenly Ladder and attains the rank of Grandmaster, he will seek out the Su Nu Sect to negotiate terms!
He also needed to gradually study the mirror fragments from the Palace of Rebirth, hoping to gain some insight…
One day, he would return to Vulture Peak!
Who was that angler? Which great cultivator?
Song Bingde and Xiaoru sensed a sudden depth in Meng Qi, as if he were an unfathomable lake. They exchanged glances, realizing that the swordsman Wuming was far more than he appeared.
Meng Qi slowly exhaled, suppressing his fear and worries. He now had only one remaining question regarding the Immortal Valley.
Why had the reincarnation method been so easy to obtain?
Xiaoru had shown glimpses of past memories, so choosing to return to the Immortal Valley to unearth secrets wasn’t surprising. That Meng Qi had encountered her was inevitable, and awakening her by chance seemed normal. Yet the premise was strange—all other cultivators who had died in the Outer Scenery had not returned, except for “Gu”!
Moreover, when Meng Qi finally caught up with Xiaoru and Song Bingde, they had already openly admitted their identities and even revealed the secret method of reincarnation—a technique of immeasurable value even to those at the Outer Scenery and Dharmakaya realms!
Who wouldn’t desire immortality?
With these doubts, he finally voiced them. Xiaoru sighed bitterly: “Because Yi Xin recognized us earlier and questioned us, we assumed Brother Wuming was also pursuing us for that reason.”
“Silver Sword Yi Xin?” Meng Qi was startled, his voice grave. “He’s dead.”
“What?” Song Bingde and Xiaoru exclaimed in shock, sensing the situation’s eerie strangeness.
At that moment, powerful presences approached from nearby—several Outer Scenery experts!
A figure tore through the sky, landing arrogantly on the left side of the cave entrance. It was an old woman, her hair wrapped in a handkerchief with a few silver strands hanging down. Her face was gaunt, her eyes sharp, dressed in a black longevity robe, holding a silver hook.
“Parting Granny!” Song Bingde whispered in alarm.
A notorious left-path cultivator from the nearby Wanshan Mountains, she was at the peak of the Sixth Heaven, rivaling the likes of Golden Blade and Silver Sword, a terror in the region.
Before Song Bingde finished speaking, another figure shot through the air like lightning—a pink-faced child with a smiling face and cruel eyes, barefoot.
“Blood Infant Venerable!” Xiaoru’s face paled.
He was a top expert from the Blood Robe Sect, controlling the nearby region. Though only at the Fifth Heaven, his techniques were bizarre and formidable, surpassing even Parting Granny. His cruel nature made him particularly terrifying.
Meng Qi slightly turned his head toward the west, where a black cloud drifted closer, transforming into a skeletal old man in black robes. He did not reveal his aura, yet his mere presence made the surroundings feel polluted.
“Decayed Bone Demon King!” Song Bingde and Xiaoru exclaimed in unison.
Even within the entire Southern Wilderness, the Decayed Bone Demon King was a rare powerhouse, capable of briefly rivaling a Grandmaster at the Sixth Heaven level.
If these three joined forces, even a Grandmaster might struggle! Song Bingde and Xiaoru turned pale, bewildered at how they had been surrounded.
The Blood Infant Venerable giggled in a childlike voice: “Yi Xin had unknowingly been implanted with a secret Gu by the Ten Thousand Insect Venerable long ago. Your secret is out. Besides the three of us, many other Outer Scenery experts are coming to assist, along with two Grandmaster-level experts and the Ten Thousand Insect Venerable himself. Surrender now, and spare yourself unnecessary suffering!”
Was Yi Xin connected to the Ten Thousand Insect Venerable? A vague realization stirred in Meng Qi.
Song Bingde and Xiaoru exchanged glances, then resolutely shook their heads in unison. Xiaoru shouted loudly: “Don’t you want to know the reincarnation secret method?”
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