The true figure of Yun He hovered above the “New Fish Sea,” now expanded tenfold or even dozens of times its original size. His face was as rosy and delicate as a baby’s, perpetually adorned with a gentle smile.
How could he not be delighted after comprehending once the general principles of the “Tathagata Divine Palms,” listening to the Buddha’s teachings, and thereby enhancing his certainty of achieving Yangshen attainment?
Upon hearing what Meng Qi said, Yun He formed a mystical seal with his hands, releasing a hazy green light from midair that fell like drizzling rain, covering an area of dozens of miles.
Strangely enough, once illuminated by this green light, the lake’s rippling waters began to emit tiny glimmers of light in various colors: red, yellow, green, white, and black.
Meng Qi identified the positions, swiftly swam toward one of the glimmers, and with a distant wave of his hand, caused the water to ripple as the object flew toward him.
Upon closer inspection, Meng Qi found it was a peacock feather, glowing with a crystalline green hue, its patterns resembling ancient inscriptions or talismans, exuding vibrant energy of flora.
However, it was mostly ruined, indicating the intensity and terror of the battle at that time.
“Could it be the feather of the Peacock Demon King?” Meng Qi was quite delighted.
It would be even better if it were one of the legendary tail feathers of the Five Elements Peacock!
Hmm, I wonder whether Tai Li, the Peacock Demon King, had similar five tail feathers…
While indulging in such fantasies, Meng Qi quickly gathered nearby peacock feathers and also found some specks of meritorious energy. Although not earned by himself and quickly dissipating, they were still better than nothing and could be used to enhance the defensive capabilities of his treasure weapons.
After thoroughly scavenging this area, Yun He, understanding Meng Qi’s intent, flew forward a certain distance and once again released the green light.
Meng Qi first flew upward, then dove into the water, heading toward the lake’s bottom—due to the great distance and the water’s interference, he couldn’t directly pull objects from afar, while Yun He had to maintain the “green light.”
It should be noted that Yun He’s abilities could easily affect an area of two or three hundred miles, yet currently, he only covered dozens of miles, clearly indicating the difficulty of maintaining the “green light.”
The faint blue light he glimpsed was a drop of blood, resembling the convergence of countless tiny electric sparks, faintly revealing thunder-patterned markings.
“The blood of the Kuiniu Demon King!” This discovery delighted Meng Qi even more than finding the peacock feathers, as it could definitely be used to enhance the “Heaven’s Scar”!
Kuiniu was a thunder-type demon, even called the Thunder God of the demon race in mythological times, with the title “Thunder Ancestor.” Even though the current Demon King was far inferior to his ancestors, its blood was still an extremely valuable thunder-element treasure!
Meng Qi dared not delay, collecting all nearby “Kuiniu blood,” excluding those already dissipated, amassing a total of eleven drops.
This almost made him throw his head back in laughter. He quickly moved to another area, continuing the same pattern with Yun He activating while he searched.
A pure white glow emerged from the lake water, and its sharp aura could be felt by Meng Qi from afar.
Was it something from the Baihu Demon King?
Suppressing his excitement, Meng Qi flew over and directly dove to the lake’s bottom, where he saw a withered, pale tiger claw heavily pressing against the ground.
It was covered with white hairs, all gleaming metallically. Even before approaching, the hairs caused Meng Qi’s skin to prickle.
With a grab of his right hand, the Baihu palm separated the lake water and flew toward him.
At that moment, another palm suddenly appeared out of nowhere, slender-fingered and white as a scallion stalk, also reaching for the tiger claw!
But she was a step too late; just as the tiger claw began to retreat, Meng Qi had already seized it!
Her eyes, clear and distinct between black and white, expressed pain and reluctance. When their gazes met, both were startled.
“How come it’s you?”
Both of them blurted out simultaneously. The person was indeed Qu Jiuniang!
At the beginning of the Dharmakaya battle, Qu Jiuniang had already planned to come here to “clean up the battlefield.” After noticing the calming of the strange phenomena here, she waited a while longer before stealthily approaching, only to encounter Meng Qi!
Given Jiuniang’s personality, it would be strange if she hadn’t come… Meng Qi thought with understanding, smiling as he asked, “Jiuniang, how’s your harvest?”
Speaking of this, Qu Jiuniang’s expression vividly showed “a heart cut by knives”: “I found a few Outer Manifestation corpses affected by the battle on the periphery, but most of their items were incomplete…”
She clearly knew that the remains in the core area were likely more valuable, but under no danger, not picking up available items would completely contradict her life philosophy. Thus, she delayed her journey, even becoming engrossed, forgetting she still had to travel further, hence arriving much later than Meng Qi.
Thinking about this while looking at the tiger claw in Meng Qi’s hand, she felt utterly hopeless!
As for the deceased further inside, they were likely reduced to dust and ashes, leaving her with nothing.
Meng Qi gave a dry chuckle, put away the tiger claw, and turned simultaneously with Jiuniang, instinctively splitting up to search separately.
There was no time for chatting now!
Later, Meng Qi and Qu Jiuniang each found several drops of blood filled with murderous and sinister intent, completely scavenging the area.
Looking at Meng Qi, Qu Jiuniang’s eyes burned with intense desire, as if she wanted to strip him bare. However, she was ultimately a rational person, enduring the pain and leaving, planning to return to Xianji to carefully count her “spoils of war.”
This was the happiest moment for every greedy person!
Meng Qi flew upward, brimming with joy, thanking Yun He for his cooperation. Otherwise, Jiuniang, who hadn’t waited for enlightenment, would have taken most of the “Demon King materials.”
Yun He smiled while watching Meng Qi approach: “After continuous spellcasting just now, this old Daoist was also greatly drained. However, with such a rich harvest, it was worth the effort.”
Oh no! The fake old man is holding out his hands for payment again! Meng Qi suddenly understood Jiuniang’s earlier expression and knew exactly what “a heart cut by knives” meant.
However, Meng Qi always kept his word. With a stern face, he took out the spoils, looking up at the sky as if ready to face death: “Master Yun, you pick first, just don’t take all the Kuiniu blood.”
Seventy-thirty split…
Yun He completely ignored Meng Qi’s expression, unswayed, smiling as he picked the Baihu claw, meritorious energy, some peacock feathers, and the sinister blood, leaving all the Kuiniu blood for Meng Qi, plus five remaining peacock feathers representing the five elemental forces of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, completing a set.
“Seventy-thirty as agreed, Young Su indeed keeps his word and is trustworthy,” he said, praising Meng Qi after collecting the treasures.
I’d rather not receive such praise! Meng Qi muttered inwardly.
Although this trip was dangerous, Yun He had gained a lot, especially comprehending the general principles of the Tathagata Divine Palms, leading to broader insights. Moreover, he had met face-to-face with several Dharmakayas, claiming to be a talisman cultivator from a certain secret realm, laying the foundation for the Wanxiang Gate’s future expansion into the main world. Thus, he returned satisfied, even relocating the Wanxiang Gate’s inner sanctum to a guarded location watched by the Mo Palace and several major immortal sects.
Watching the Senluo Wanxiang Gate close, Meng Qi exhaled softly; he couldn’t open the gate to let Yun He out.
As the head of a sect and preparing to advance toward Yangshen attainment, Yun He could not possibly stay behind that gate forever, waiting to cooperate with Meng Qi unless they had agreed beforehand.
Meng Qi was fully aware of this and felt no regret. As a martial artist, occasional cleverness was acceptable, but most of the time, one must rely on personal strength to defeat enemies, thus tempering one’s martial cultivation will. Moreover, when one’s Dharmakaya and physical body later coalesced into a Dharmakaya body, martial cultivation will would be a crucial factor!
Still, he felt a vague sense of loss. Without Yun He, he couldn’t joyfully rob the Joyful Temple monks anymore. Without Yun He’s support, facing numerous powerful adversaries, he might instead become a “treasure-presenting child” himself…
After sealing the Gate of Myriad Illusions in the Netherworld, Meng Qi, aware that he had slightly offended senior figures such as the Great Asura, cautiously made his way back to the entrance of the Boundless Sea at Xianji.
Without bothering to enhance the “Heaven’s Scar,” Meng Qi directly entered the Biyou Palace, unsurprised to find the Lingbao Tianzun waiting for him.
“Dao You Kong Wen previously secretly told Dao You Lu that he plans to have you return to Shaolin, spend three years facing the wall, then comprehend the third move of the Tathagata Divine Palms, ‘Flower-Gazing Smile,’ and teach you the complete Yijin Jing. It is half to make up for his previous lack of compassion, half as repayment. Do you agree?” Lingbao Tianzun smiled.
He had achieved his wish and was in a good mood.
Return to Shaolin as a monk? And face the wall? Although Meng Qi’s eyes were dazzled by the generous reward behind, the premise made his eyelid twitch.
Fortunately, I passed the opportunity to Master! With this thought, Meng Qi no longer felt so regretful.
“He seems to have high hopes for you, believing you might one day take over Shaolin,” Lingbao Tianzun added, “Ah, Kong Jian and Wu Jing’s inner demons were provoked and amplified by the Demon Sage, so they might need ten years of wall-facing. This time Shaolin suffered significant losses. Fortunately, Kong Jian recently fell into demonic influence, and whether Wu Jing can recover remains uncertain.”
The Shaolin Abbot, Zhen Ding, the monk clad in a yellow robe and red kasaya, with a melon-sized prayer bead and wielding a nine-ringed staff—such an image instantly formed in Meng Qi’s mind.
His lips twitched, feeling the scene was too beautiful to behold!
“Tianzun, can I now choose the Dharmakaya techniques of the Bayi Xuangong?” Meng Qi quickly changed the subject.
Lingbao Tianzun smiled: “Of course you can.”
He slowly rose, leading Meng Qi toward the place to choose titles.
Along the way, Meng Qi casually asked about the Dharmakaya battle situation. Upon hearing that Tianzun had deployed the Zhongli Sword Formation using the technique of “One Qi Manifesting Three Purities,” Meng Qi’s mind was filled with countless exclamations of shock.
This demeanor, this aura, this strength… Meng Qi felt how much more he had to achieve!
“Our Bayi Xuangong is also incomplete, with only the first two chapters for Dharmakaya, corresponding to three Dharmakaya ultimate techniques,” Lingbao Tianzun roughly explained, “The first technique is an evolution of the ‘Flesh and Blood Attaining Sanctity’ method, called ‘Flesh and Blood with Spirit,’ where martial cultivation will merges with the Yuan Shen, permeating every acupoint and every bit of flesh in the Dharmakaya body, endowing them with their own spirituality. When fully cultivated, not only can one regenerate from a drop of blood, but as long as any fragment of the remaining body exists, the entire Dharmakaya can regrow, preventing true death.”
“Since these parts possess spirituality, you can pluck hairs and other things to create clones, although their strength is not great, only suitable for auxiliary purposes.”
“Of course, these things will happen after you attain Dharmakaya. Currently, it enhances your damage tolerance, so even if a limb is severed, combined with good healing spirit herbs, it can regenerate.”
Thinking of the Great Sage’s hair clones, Meng Qi asked curiously: “Can Outer Manifestation create clones?”
“Up to nine,” Lingbao Tianzun replied.
Meng Qi was very interested in this technique. Once reaching Dharmakaya, each hair could become an assistant, automatically bringing “one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers”!
Wait a minute, using hair to make assistants would leave one’s head completely bald!
Not a monk, yet like a monk!
Meng Qi grinned: “Tianzun, what about the other two techniques?”
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