Jiang Zhiwei wiped her long sword clean of blood and walked beside Meng Qi. “Are you alright?” she asked.
She hesitated slightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed, as Meng Qi’s wound on his left shoulder had been caused by her.
“It’s nothing serious, just a flesh wound. At worst, the sword qi might have damaged some meridians. I’ve already taken the Hundred Herbs Pill, and I should recover soon,” Meng Qi reassured her, then added with a smile, “If you hadn’t hesitated a bit when using ‘Sword Strikes Without Self,’ I’d probably be dead or crippled.”
Seeing that Jiang Zhiwei still remembered him after falling into the demonic state and hesitated before launching her killing move, Meng Qi felt quite pleased.
Jiang Zhiwei felt a mix of fear and emotion, a faint blush rising on her face. “Before, it was like I was trapped in a nightmare I couldn’t wake from. Everything in the dream was hazy and indistinct, and I couldn’t remember anything, except for the craving for flesh and the longing for slaughter. Even when I encountered something familiar, I couldn’t control my body due to delayed thoughts. When I used ‘Sword Strikes Without Self,’ this feeling became even stronger, finally affecting the ‘dream’ beyond it.”
“I’m flattered that you remembered me even after falling into the demonic state,” Meng Qi joked, then added seriously, “If it were someone else, it might have been troublesome…”
“Or perhaps a grave mistake would have been made…” Jiang Zhiwei echoed Meng Qi’s carefully avoided words.
“Anyway, it’s all in the past. Don’t dwell on it,” Meng Qi quickly changed the subject. “I thought Senior Su would give you something to protect yourself, something that would prevent Yuanmo’s consciousness from invading.”
Jiang Zhiwei hesitated for a moment before saying, “Actually, there was something…”
She paused and continued, “But it might not be effective against something like consciousness possession. After all, if not for the cycle mission, possessing me wouldn’t be valuable to the enemy. If they wanted to infiltrate the Xijian Pavilion through possession, they wouldn’t escape my master’s eyes. If they tried to steal and learn the ‘Supreme Sword Sutra,’ they could only access the parts I’ve already understood.”
“Besides, my master has been mysterious about this matter, and I myself don’t know exactly what it is, so I’ve never relied on it.”
“To be honest, with your willpower and sword heart, unless you were at the Yuanmo’s peak as a Law Body Realm practitioner, you’d now be close to a Grandmaster’s level. A mere thread of their consciousness couldn’t possess you; it would be directly shredded by your sword intent,” Meng Qi said, fearing this incident might damage Jiang Zhiwei’s confidence.
Jiang Zhiwei chuckled lightly. “But I can’t compare to you, who has several spiritual secret techniques and the Lamp Before Buddha. I was thinking of cultivating another spiritual secret technique after this mission, but by then I’ll probably have all nine orifices open and can directly practice the method to refine the third eye cavity in the ‘Supreme Sword Sutra.'”
She had already reached the last innate cavity, waiting only for the mission’s end to meditate and open it.
Speaking of this, Jiang Zhiwei’s eyes flickered, looking around as if searching for companions. “Little monk, during the Zhennan Doubtful Tomb, you used the Heaven-Changing and Earth-Shaking Method to awaken my memories. This time, you used it again to stimulate my spiritual sea. What exactly did you see?”
She had been holding this question for a while; who doesn’t have some privacy?
Meng Qi coughed lightly. “The Chicken-Slaying Sword God.”
“Ha!” Jiang Zhiwei first put on a stern face, wanting to snort, but she couldn’t help laughing. “That was my first nickname.”
“Ah? Didn’t the seniors and juniors of the Xijian Pavilion give you any nicknames?” Meng Qi was quite surprised. Isn’t giving nicknames a long-standing human hobby?
Jiang Zhiwei sighed. “Although I consider myself quite open-minded, perhaps because my master’s reputation is so great and my talent is also outstanding, the elders like me but aren’t close to me, and my peers respect me but aren’t intimate with me. They praise me a lot but rarely speak to me closely.”
Even geniuses have their troubles… Meng Qi sighed inwardly.
The two didn’t say much more and naturally stopped talking, focusing their entire attention on searching for companions and guarding against ambushes.
Having rescued Jiang Zhiwei first, Meng Qi was full of confidence about the subsequent matters. As long as they didn’t face all three of them at the same time, they could relatively safely defeat their opponents.
After walking for a while, a figure emerged from behind a mountain wall ahead, wielding a dark golden long sword, elegant and graceful, exuding noble charm. It was indeed Zhao Heng, the fifth prince of the Jin Dynasty.
He also noticed Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei, paused his steps, raised his momentum, and took a stance, seemingly merging with the surrounding mountains and rivers, extremely vigilant.
“Brother Zhao, are you alright?” Meng Qi noticed that Zhao Heng’s eyes were clear, not showing signs of Yuanmo possession.
Zhao Heng solemnly countered, “Aren’t you possessed by Yuanmo?”
Meng Qi laughed loudly, pretending to be smug. “Can such a minor Yuanmo possess me?”
This would make Zhao Heng believe them even more.
Looking at the Lamp Before Buddha hanging on Meng Qi’s chest and feeling his strong confidence and “pride,” Zhao Heng relaxed slightly. “A thread of Yuanmo’s consciousness tried to possess me. Fortunately, I had a secret treasure prepared, causing them to destroy each other.”
What do you mean by “fortunately”? Probably having several secret treasures prepared for different situations… Meng Qi muttered inwardly, feeling the rich man’s style.
Then he held the Lamp Before Buddha in his hand. “Fourth Master, no, Fifth Master, better safe than sorry. Please allow me to shine the lamp on you. Any remaining Yuanmo consciousness or impure aura will be hard to hide.”
This lamp illuminates the ten directions, reaching everywhere, making it hard for demons to hide.
Hearing Meng Qi casually change his address, using “Master” without any respect, his tone like a close friend’s, Zhao Heng’s face twitched slightly, but he nodded. “Alright, I can also check if you two have any remaining Yuanmo consciousness.”
This wasn’t something to trust easily; once deceived, it could cost their lives.
The green lamp grew larger, its flame like a bean, swaying gently, illuminating all directions. The warm and pure light fell on Zhao Heng, revealing a faint yellow glow, but there were no traces of Yuanmo consciousness or impure demonic aura. Naturally, Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei were also clean.
Seeing this, Zhao Heng sighed in relief. “The reason I was so vigilant is that I just encountered Yushu and almost got controlled by ‘Dragon Roar Cangmang,’ becoming demonic flesh. I barely managed to escape.”
“The gluttonous girl?” Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei exchanged a glance, both seeing the joy in each other’s eyes. “Where is she? With the Lamp Before Buddha, we can help her remove the Yuanmo consciousness!”
Zhao Heng didn’t waste words and turned to lead. “Follow me.”
The three circled around the black mountain, which was covered with a faint luster, slightly deeper in, the demonic roars and chants becoming clearer.
…
A green light fell, directly entering a deep cave. Bixia Yuanjun exhaled a faint rosy glow from her nostrils, covering her entire body, and stood motionless against the mountain wall.
Soon, an overwhelming and domineering aura drew near. It was saturated with demonic energy—so intense that even its mere presence could drive one to lose control. Yet, intertwined within it was a profound Buddhist essence, pure and solemn, untouched by worldly dust, capable of dispelling restlessness, slaughterous intent, and bloodthirsty emotions.
Bixia Yuanjun had already stopped absorbing the primordial energy through her pores, making herself seem like a dead person.
The aura paused near the cave and then moved away.
Only then did Bixia Yuanjun relax, feeling cold sweat under her mask, wondering how such a sudden change could happen.
She had only slain two half-step external demonic fiends and was about to fly back to the entrance when a black hurricane suddenly surged, blotting out the sky and leaving no place to hide. Even the wind carried a trace of the Yuan Demon’s consciousness!
Although it had no effect on her, when the wind stopped, she unexpectedly entered the core area and encountered that terrifying monster, barely escaping with her life.
Why did such a sudden change occur? She hadn’t even done anything yet! Based on the gathered information, Bixia Yuanjun knew that the fragment of the Demon Realm shouldn’t have undergone such transformations unless Yuanmo had fully awakened—but clearly, it wasn’t time yet!
She waited until the aura was completely gone and frowned, thinking about the cause of the change.
It probably wasn’t her fault, as she had only slain two half-step external demonic creatures at the periphery—common entities in this fragment of the demon realm. If such transformations were to occur because of that, they should have manifested upon entering the demon realm in the first place!
Was she thinking of doing something that could cause a change?
Of course, she was!
Bixia Yuanjun had not told the truth earlier. She had planned to assist Meng Qi and the others in destroying the passage, cutting off the connection between the inside and outside. Then, she would immediately set up an array, burn the corresponding talismans, and directly “summon” Guangcheng Tianzun and Yunzhongzi to “descend.” With the three of them working together, they could attempt to confront Yuanmo, who had not yet fully awakened, and seek the inheritance of the first move of the Tathagata Palm.
This was the backup plan of the Immortal Trace to prevent unforeseen circumstances, not as Bixia Yuanjun had told Meng Qi and the others—that she couldn’t obtain it, so she made sure the myths couldn’t obtain it either.
However, this was still just an idea, not yet put into practice!
Could it be that they did something that triggered the change? Bixia Yuanjun looked stunned toward the entrance.
…
The Queen Mother of the West, Xiwangmu, rode upon a golden phoenix and stood near the foot of the mountain. Soon, a streak of starlight pierced the sky and arrived.
“Nothing happened, right?” Wugu Xingjun was tall in stature, dressed in black tight-fitting clothes, and also wore a mask.
While leading the way, Queen Mother Xiwangmu briefly and simply recounted the previous events.
“Hmph, a team that barely survived a deadly mission dares to meddle in our Myth’s affairs,” Wugu Xingjun sneered coldly. “Can you verify their true identities?”
“Back at the Changchun Pavilion, I was searching for the Auspicious Ding, and only knew that the saber wielder could unleash ‘Thunder Shakes the Heavens.’ In the Jiantian Hall, through the battle, I discovered several things: one individual excelled in sonic attacks, seemingly possessing an immortal melody at the Law Body level—possibly a chance encounter; another bore the destiny of an emperor; a third appeared to have the preemptive supernatural ability of a half-step External Scenery, striking from afar with chilling light; and yet another seemed to know ‘Sword Emerges Without Self,’ initially suspected to be a disciple of Su Wuming, though it’s also possible someone else had exchanged for this sword technique,” Queen Mother of the West elaborated during the flight to Jitian Peak.
Wugu Star’s voice lowered. “This sword technique can only be learned at the Xijian Pavilion, unless exchanged for it. Where did they get so much Virtue Merit?”
“So what? Are you daring to provoke Su Wuming?” Queen Mother Xiwangmu’s voice was icy.
Wugu Star immediately fell silent.
“After Dongwanggong was killed by him, no one knows how much he has learned about us and the secrets of reincarnation. It’s better not to provoke him. Do you want ‘Tian Di’ to risk exposing his identity just to save you?” Queen Mother of the West Xiwangmu gazed into the distance.
Wugu Star let out a deep sigh. “Alright, I won’t provoke him, but we should look into his disciple’s circle of friends to see if anyone fits your description.”
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