At the inn earlier, the disciples of the Snow Mountain Sect, who had been rescued by Meng Qi, feared the vengeful nature of the Ku Laoren lineage and were unwilling to risk their lives. Only Gu Changqing, the young master with a sense of righteousness and compassion, decided to follow An Guoxie and Meng Qi secretly, confirming their overnight stay at the temple.
At night, he carried a long sword and silently circled around a small lake, approaching the temple vicinity. However, he dared not enter. After all, having opened only two acupoints, he was far inferior to An Guoxie. Rushing in recklessly would only mean certain death.
This time, he wasn’t here to rescue anyone but to gather intelligence and confirm the identity of the captured young monk. This would allow him to seek help from senior martial artists at the next oasis, so they could jointly scare off An Guoxie—individually, they might not even be his match.
With a couple of swift movements, he climbed a tree near the temple, hiding among its canopy and peering through the broken window.
Having already opened the eye acupoint, his vision was exceptional. Through the broken parts of the window, he could see the scene inside the temple. The young monk lay in front of the incense table, eyes closed as if unconscious, his right hand hanging limply at his side, seemingly gravely injured. Meanwhile, “White-Headed Vulture” sat a meter away, cross-legged in meditation, showing no unusual signs.
Gu Changqing focused his thoughts and patiently waited for the right moment. As soon as An Guoxie became distracted, he would toss the paper ball in his hand into the temple, allowing the young monk to see it, facilitating future plans.
Behind him, the lake reflected the gradually dimming lights of the oasis, a scene peaceful yet desolate.
…
A foul stench invaded Meng Qi’s nose, sharpening his senses. Tilting his head slightly, he indeed spotted the Red Sun Exorcism Blade beneath the incense table, its sheath wrapped in pale gold, quietly resting beside the Ice Gate Sword. Both weapons were positioned with their hilts facing outward, making them convenient for him to grab.
The Master of the Sixfold Samsara truly takes care of things properly… Meng Qi silently praised the Master of the Sixfold Samsara. Pretending to groan in pain, he crawled a bit closer to the incense table, shortening the distance, while his left hand remained stretched out to the ground.
An Guoxie opened his eyes, glancing at Meng Qi’s writhing form with a sneer: “Can’t even endure this much pain? I doubt you can survive all my tortures.”
His tone carried a hint of regret.
Provoked, Meng Qi forcibly endured the “pain.” An Guoxie chuckled and resumed his meditation. His injuries had stabilized, and although complete recovery would take some time, he no longer needed continuous, uninterrupted healing.
Meng Qi harmonized his essence, energy, spirit, and will into a unified state, adjusting himself to peak condition while patiently waiting for the opportunity.
This time, there would be no turning back!
If he failed to kill An Guoxie, he would likely die instead!
He couldn’t wait for the “Bisu Qingfeng” poison to fully take effect, as An Guoxie had opened the nose acupoint, making him highly sensitive to unusual odors. With all nine acupoints open and an internal world constructed, his energy circulated independently. The moment anything felt off, he would immediately detect it. Therefore, Meng Qi had to strike the moment the poison began taking effect and An Guoxie became alert to external threats.
In this intense focus, time seemed to slow, yet Meng Qi remained completely patient.
As An Guoxie meditated, he suddenly felt his internal energy circulation becoming sluggish. Alarmed, he held his breath and concentrated through the nose acupoint, keenly sensing various scents.
As his internal energy grew increasingly difficult to circulate and gradually dissipated, An Guoxie identified the issue through his nose acupoint. His left hand secretly gripped small pebbles, releasing them with forceful gusts toward the source of the odor.
Simultaneously, he fully activated the Sandstorm Cultivation to resist the mysterious toxic gas.
Crash! The sound of a pebble striking a small porcelain bottle abruptly echoed within the silent temple.
Meng Qi extended his right hand, and his accumulated essence, energy, spirit, and willpower suddenly erupted. A dim, non-bloody blade of light flashed forth, seemingly summoned from the depths of the soul, mysteriously and unfathomably slashing toward An Guoxie.
Lightning scars appeared on the back of his left hand, dripping with purple energy, as the thunderous might of heavenly retribution spread.
Part of An Guoxie’s attention was focused on resisting the poison, while another part was divided between the direction of the odor and other areas of the temple, fearing a distraction tactic to rescue the young monk.
Yet, at that moment, the blade of light flashed, sweeping through the mundane!
An Guoxie’s eyes betrayed unmistakable shock, disbelief, and incredulity. How could the young monk, whose dantian he had shattered and whose arm he had snapped, still deliver such a dazzling slash?
He was completely unprepared. Even as the blade reached him, he only just realized who had struck!
“Fool! Your nose acupoint was opened in vain! You couldn’t even distinguish the poison gas! You’d be better off cutting it off!”
“What use are you? Deceived by such a simple trick! Do you think the Patriarch won’t seal your acupoints and toss you out to feed wolves?”
“Useless creature! End your life yourself, so the Patriarch won’t waste energy on you!”
The furious rebuke of the Patriarch still reverberated in his ears, the overwhelming pressure from the Patriarch unmistakably growing stronger. It was akin to the divine thunder he had once witnessed during a demonic beast’s heavenly tribulation—so terrifying that it made his body and soul tremble, driving him to his knees in desperate apology.
A searing pain jolted An Guoxie back to consciousness. Before his eyes lay a dark red ceremonial blade, its edge glowing with heat as faint patterns shimmered along its surface.
It had already split his forehead, slashed into his cheek!
No!
At this critical moment, the pain intensified further. An Guoxie unleashed all his potential. Snap! Snap! Snap! His entire skeleton collapsed, including his skull.
The moment Meng Qi landed the strike, he felt as if his blade had struck nothing, the opponent seemingly boneless, retreating with the wind, offering no resistance.
Blood streamed from An Guoxie’s forehead and cheek, his vision blurred and spinning. Finally, he gained a moment to breathe and raised his right hand, swatting away the Red Sun Exorcism Blade.
Meng Qi showed no fear or panic, remaining calm. If a single slash could kill a master with all nine acupoints opened, that would truly be astonishing!
He raised his left hand, launching a black iron dart, while simultaneously flicking his foot to draw the Ice Gate Sword, which landed in his left hand.
An Guoxie had barely deflected the ceremonial blade and hadn’t yet caught his breath when he saw the black iron dart hurtling toward him. Gritting his teeth, he tapped into the Sandstorm Cultivation’s esoteric power, forcibly drawing in a sharp breath. His left palm sliced sideways as his body twisted to the right in evasion.
Damn it! Where did he get these projectiles?
I clearly searched his entire body!
His gaze suddenly sharpened. The black iron dart split into seven directions as it neared!
His left palm deflected one, his body dodged two while moving right, but the remaining four struck An Guoxie squarely!
An Guoxie roared in pain, his face darkening with a layer of black qi. The “Qi-Dispersion Poison” he had gradually resisted with the Sandstorm Cultivation now spiraled out of control, his internal energy dissipating while the toxin surged.
I refuse to accept this! His palms had exhausted their force, and he roared inwardly, reversing the Sandstorm Cultivation recklessly.
An Guoxie’s body suddenly expanded, like the beginning of a sandstorm, expelling the toxin and poison outward, causing the darts to fall.
Yet precisely at that moment, his pupils reflected Meng Qi’s figure. His gray monk’s robe was tattered and dirty, his face handsome yet solemn. His left hand held the sword, assuming the posture of delivering a challenge.
Then, a pure, refined blade of swordlight erupted, brimming with deathly aura. With an unstoppable, forward-only momentum, it pierced straight toward An Guoxie’s face.
He can wield a sword too…
Where did he get this sword…
Faced with Meng Qi’s relentless three-phase assault, An Guoxie had exhausted all his options, unable to catch his breath. He could only shrink his head down, as if trying to hide it inside his belly.
After landing the “Severing Purity” slash, Meng Qi, without the Sacrificial Body Technique, lacked the strength for another such strike. However, he hadn’t become completely drained and could still execute other sword techniques, including the “Yama Envoy.”
He focused all his spirit and thoughts into the sword, holding only one belief in his heart: either he dies, or I perish!
The swordlight was sharp and imposing, brimming with killing intent. By a hair’s breadth, it pierced through An Guoxie’s forehead before he could soften his bones and lower his head.
An Guoxie’s expression twisted, a mix of sorrow and laughter, disbelief and resentment. His mouth slightly opened, as if wanting to say something, yet only gurgling sounds emerged.
Impaled through the center of his forehead was a semi-transparent long sword, with thin streams of blood trickling out.
I lost… to a mere acupoint novice…
How could this happen… How did he fully recover and grow so powerful… Why does he have a blade, a sword, and hidden projectiles…
Even so, if I could just catch my breath, I could still slaughter him mercilessly…
I refuse to accept this!
Crash! He fell backward, revealing the Ice Gate Sword’s tip stained with red and white. His eyes remained wide open, dying with regret.
Deceased: An Guoxie.
Identity: Disciple of Ku Laoren’s lineage; White-Headed Vulture; Master with all nine acupoints opened; Ranked 36th on the Human List.
Cause of Death: Forehead pierced by sword, toxic reaction.
Appearance: Bones softened, skin blackened, cheek slashed, struck by projectiles.
Killer: Zhen Ding of Shaolin.
Seeing An Guoxie collapse, Meng Qi wasted no time. He extended the Red Sun Exorcism Blade in his right hand and forcefully severed An Guoxie’s head from his body before exhaling deeply.
Finally killed him!
Finally saved myself!
If the Yama Envoy had hesitated even slightly, An Guoxie would surely have shortened his neck, dodging the fatal blow. Meng Qi would then have to activate the Sacrificial Body Technique, unleashing “Fall into the Mundane,” for a final strike. Even if he succeeded in killing An Guoxie before he could recover, he would be left drained and vulnerable, easily finished off by any passing bandit, especially since this was the second time using the Sacrificial Body Technique, which would bring a more severe backlash.
Looking at An Guoxie’s wide, unblinking eyes, Meng Qi suddenly recalled the earlier torture and burst into laughter. Didn’t you say you’d snap every bone in my body? Didn’t you promise to subject me to every torture imaginable? Why are you lying there silent now?
Hmph, out of mercy, I won’t desecrate your corpse.
After reveling in his triumph, Meng Qi realized regardless of how unexpected his victory was, whether An Guoxie had retained half or sixty percent of his strength, defeating a nine-acupoint master with only four acupoints opened was an achievement worth pride—an unbelievable feat that would shock anyone.
Moreover, this proved his swordsmanship and internal cultivation had truly entered the realm of masters!
“An Guoxie ranked 36th on the Human List. Now that I’ve killed him, will I take his place? But that’s not ideal. My actual strength might not even match a novice on the Human List. If An Guoxie hadn’t completely underestimated me, a hundred more attempts would still end in my defeat.” Always prone to wandering thoughts, Meng Qi randomly considered the Human List issue, feeling both tempted and hesitant. After all, a high ranking without corresponding strength would attract relentless challengers.
“Whatever, I won’t dwell on such uncertain matters. I should either ‘destroy the evidence completely’ or ‘use the corpse to mislead.’ The Haihai bandits roam freely, with nearly a third under the command of Luo Ju, disciple of Ku Laoren. If people find out I killed An Guoxie, I might be surrounded by bandits the moment I step out of the oasis…” Meng Qi quickly dismissed his wild thoughts and made up his mind.
Thus, he raised the sword, releasing his energy to damage An Guoxie’s wounds, concealing the nature of his ultimate techniques.
Gazing at An Guoxie’s wide, staring eyes, Meng Qi suddenly chuckled and said to the corpse, “Tell me, does this count as settling a grudge before the night ends?”
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