Chapter 79: Fu Zhenzhen

Before Meng Qi could answer, another pillar of milky white light appeared on the plaza, scattering stardust and exuding sacredness and solemnity.

“Who is it?”

“How come there’s an extra person?”

Both Jiang Zhiwei and Meng Qi felt puzzled. This was clearly a solo mission, so why had another person appeared?

The final beam of light faded away first. Q Zhengyan, enveloped in a crimson aura, appeared like a celestial deity or a demonic god. As he sheathed his “Mei Xiaodang,” he calmly stated, “My solo mission included an additional assignment to mentor a new cultivator, but unfortunately, he fell victim to a demonic creature.”

“So you mean it’s Senior Brother Zhang’s guided novice?” Meng Qi immediately understood.

“Just as Junior Brother Zhen Ding said,” Zhen Ding replied. At this moment, the light surrounding Zhang Yuanshan also faded. Dressed in Zhenwu Daoist robes, he stood straight and tall, handsome and masculine.

On the other side stood a girl of seventeen or eighteen, with an oval face, crescent eyebrows, average height, and dressed in emerald green, appearing gentle and sweet.

Zhang Yuanshan smiled and introduced, “Fu Zhenzhen, a lay disciple from the Northern Zhou’s ‘Yinghua Nunnery.'”

Yinghua Nunnery? Meng Qi, who was still unfamiliar with several major martial cultivation sects, had never heard of it before. Judging from the name, it should be a nunnery.

“Zhenzhen, this junior brother is Shaolin’s Zhen Ding, this is Jiang Zhiwei from the Sword Washing Pavilion, and that is Qi Zhengyan from the Huanhua Sword Sect,” Zhang Yuanshan introduced the three to Fu Zhenzhen.

Fu Zhenzhen smiled sweetly, saying, “Hello, Sister Jiang, Senior Brother Qi, and Junior Brother Zhen Ding. All of you come from prestigious martial sects, making me feel somewhat inferior.”

Others didn’t think much of it, but Meng Qi, having experienced many things, teased Zhang Yuanshan with a grin, “Old Zhang, no, Senior Brother Zhang, Zhenzhen~”

He dragged out the word “Zhenzhen” for a long time.

Having just met, calling a girl by her given name directly was bound to raise questions! Meng Qi inwardly chuckled at the thought.

“Oh,” Jiang Zhiwei and Qi Zhengyan suddenly realized, glancing repeatedly between Zhang Yuanshan and Fu Zhenzhen.

Fu Zhenzhen’s face immediately flushed red as she stared at her toes. Zhang Yuanshan coughed a couple of times, his eyes slightly evasive, “Martial men and women should not be overly concerned with formalities…”

Realizing his words might not be appropriate, he decided to take responsibility as a man should and earnestly said, “Junior Brothers Jiang, Qi, and Zhen Ding, please take care of Zhenzhen in the future.”

Upon hearing this, Fu Zhenzhen became even more bashful, unable to lift her head.

“Senior Brother Zhang, we understand. Romantic feelings between men and women are natural,” Meng Qi grinned mischievously, inwardly thinking, So the Reincarnation Task can even solve one’s lifelong matters! Should the Master of the Six Daoists change his title to ‘Host of a Grand Matchmaking Show’?

Zhang Yuanshan, experiencing his first romantic encounter, felt uneasy under Meng Qi’s teasing, “Cough cough, Junior Brother Zhen Ding, why do you laugh like a lecherous monk?”

He nearly blurted out “lustful monk.”

“Is that so?” Meng Qi touched his face, “Aren’t I supposed to look like a kind-hearted, relationship-savvy senior monk?”

Jiang Zhiwei couldn’t help but laugh. When the little monk was serious, he was extremely earnest, but during leisure moments, he could also be humorous and playful, alleviating the pressure and tension that permeated the team.

Deciding not to argue further with Meng Qi, Zhang Yuanshan changed the subject, “How many Virtue Points did you all earn this time? Let’s calculate what we should exchange.”

Without letting Meng Qi steer the conversation off-topic, he answered himself, “Including the side mission and guiding a novice, I earned a total of 360 Virtue Points.”

“I earned 320…” Fu Zhenzhen murmured softly, still staring at her toes.

Jiang Zhiwei smiled kindly, not wanting to embarrass Zhang Yuanshan and Fu Zhenzhen, “I completed two side missions and earned a total of 550 Virtue Points. I also collected many secret manuals, so altogether I should exceed 600.”

“Wow,” Meng Qi had thought he would earn the most Virtue Points among the solo missions, but he hadn’t expected Jiang Zhiwei to have more, “I also completed two side missions and earned a total of 480 Virtue Points, but I still owe 30 from last time.”

Qi Zhengyan succinctly stated, “I earned 380 Virtue Points. After exchanging for the ‘Tu Kunlun’ crystal, I had 30 left, so I now have a total of 410.”

“Senior Brother Qi, can the ‘Hun Tian Bao Jian’ crystal you exchanged help with your cultivation?” Upon hearing about the crystal, Meng Qi’s curiosity was piqued.

Qi Zhengyan shook his head, “After accepting the divine cultivation within the crystal, it automatically shattered. According to the Master of the Six Daoists’ instructions, if one wants a crystal that both provides divine cultivation and aids cultivation, one can only obtain such an opportunity within mission worlds.”

“Just imagining a mission that offers the ‘Hun Tian Bao Jian’ crystal makes my scalp tingle…” Meng Qi thought.

Suddenly, the vast and cold voice of the Master of the Six Daoists echoed, “Mission evaluation: Jiang Zhiwei and Zhen Ding received ‘Medium,’ no chance to draw lots, each receiving 30 additional Virtue Points. The rest received ‘Ordinary.'”

Too bad I didn’t have time to search for treasures back then; otherwise, there might have been a chance to draw lots… Meng Qi inwardly sighed.

With this, Meng Qi now had 510 Virtue Points. After repaying the 30 he owed, he had 480 left. Jiang Zhiwei had 590, Zhang Yuanshan had 380, and Qi Zhengyan and Fu Zhenzhen remained unchanged.

“Let’s discuss what we should exchange,” Zhang Yuanshan said, this time not to change the subject.

Jiang Zhiwei smiled, “Wait a moment first.”

“Huh?” Everyone looked puzzled.

Jiang Zhiwei looked at Meng Qi, “Can I say it?”

Since it involved Meng Qi, she didn’t want to make a decision on her own.

Upon hearing this, Meng Qi immediately understood her meaning and calmly smiled, “I obtained a strange cultivation method this time, which can stimulate the ancestral aperture between the eyebrows…”

He briefly explained the Shape-Shifting Great Art. Meng Qi had thought it through clearly—if teammates became stronger, the danger he faced would relatively decrease. As long as it didn’t involve core cultivation methods or life-saving techniques, sharing would benefit the current situation. However, the matter of the Jade Buddha was too strange. Since they didn’t know anything about it last time he asked, Meng Qi decided to keep it hidden for now and consider it again when more clues emerged.

“This method can interfere with an enemy’s senses during battle, creating illusions, which is very helpful for fights before reaching the Semi-External Scenery stage. Junior Brother Zhen Ding, can we exchange this cultivation method for Virtue Points? It would be better to exchange it with us rather than the Master of the Six Daoists.” Zhang Yuanshan immediately recognized the value of the “Shape-Shifting Great Art” and, after exchanging glances with Fu Zhenzhen, spoke on behalf of both.

“I’m also willing,” Qi Zhengyan shared a similar thought. Although his “Hun Tian Bao Jian” emphasized internal and external resonance even at the Qi Accumulation stage, and “Baiyun Yan” also had effects of obscuring vision and disturbing enemies, it belonged to a different path, achieving its effects by absorbing and cultivating corresponding cosmic energies. It lacked the various miraculous effects brought by stimulating the ancestral aperture between the eyebrows.

Meng Qi smiled, “I decided to speak out because I intended to exchange it with you all, but I think it shouldn’t be directly given away. To be honest, I’m not that stingy, but some things need clear rules from the start. Ordinary secret manuals are fine, but if someone painstakingly acquires a divine cultivation manual and urgently needs Virtue Points, thinking they still have to share it for free and dilute their Virtue Points, they might feel resentful or even hide it altogether, which is detrimental to the growth, development, and cooperation of our small team.”

Jiang Zhiwei looked at Meng Qi with surprise and slight gratitude. She had planned to be the one to bring up this point, but unexpectedly, he spoke first. This way, even if Zhang Yuanshan, Qi Zhengyan, and Fu Zhenzhen felt any dissatisfaction, it would be directed at him, not her.

“Junior Brother Zhen Ding’s words are very true. That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Zhang Yuanshan laughed without a hint of gloom. Fu Zhenzhen, being new, also saw no problem with this attitude, as it was normal among strangers.

Qi Zhengyan also slightly nodded, having no objection to this proposal. After all, a normal person would think about what to do when they obtained a divine cultivation manual in the future. Only a petty person would initially intend to freely view others’ achievements while hiding their own in the future.

Meng Qi was very satisfied with this atmosphere and smiled, saying, “Exchanging the ‘Shape-Shifting Great Art’ with the Master of the Six Daoists would earn 200 Virtue Points, but after sharing it with you all, it would probably only earn 10 to 15 Virtue Points. So, each of you just needs to give me 50 Virtue Points.”

Without saying much, Zhang Yuanshan and others transferred the Virtue Points to Meng Qi and each received a copy of the “Shape-Shifting Great Art” replicated by Meng Qi.

“Shape-Shifting Great Art, an Opening Stage cultivation method, has been shared four times and can only be exchanged for ten Virtue Points.” Meng Qi finally utilized it as waste, giving it to the “Master of the Six Daoists,” accumulating a total of 690 Virtue Points. Jiang Zhiwei also exchanged a large package of ordinary secret manuals with the Master of the Six Daoists, earning 80 Virtue Points, totaling 620.

In the end, Zhang Yuanshan had 330 Virtue Points left, Qi Zhengyan had 360, and Fu Zhenzhen had 270.

“Let’s discuss what to exchange,” Meng Qi, now with many Virtue Points, was full of confidence.

Jiang Zhiwei looked at Fu Zhenzhen, “Let’s start with Zhenzhen first. We still don’t know what she’s good at or what she wants to exchange.”

“I have reached the peak of Qi Accumulation and still need to refine one acupoint related to the Eye Aperture, so I need to exchange for a Tian Cong Pill,” Fu Zhenzhen said softly, having overcome her shyness.

Zhang Yuanshan added, “Zhenzhen enjoys studying herbs, and Yinghua Nunnery also has the ‘Healing Sutra,’ a divine skill with excellent healing effects. Unfortunately, as a lay disciple, Zhenzhen couldn’t learn it. I checked, and this skill is divided into three parts. Exchanging for the first part alone requires 900 Virtue Points, so we can only consider it later. Do any of you know similar techniques?”

He thought about what he knew—either too ordinary, too sinister, or too expensive.

As Jiang Zhiwei and Qi Zhengyan pondered, Meng Qi thoughtfully said, “If it’s mainly for healing with some toxic elements, I do know a manual. The Virtue Points required shouldn’t be too high.”

“What is it?” Zhang Yuanshan knew Meng Qi had studied the Exchange Catalog thoroughly and knew more than the rest of them—the Exchange Catalog contained countless items, and aside from the rarest and easiest to remember, the rest were too much to take in.

“The Divine Medical Chapter of the Medicine King.” Meng Qi didn’t hide anything. Having another team member skilled in healing would be a great advantage in the future.

“The Divine Medical Chapter of the Medicine King” originates from “The Flying Fox’s Tale,” with 90% focused on healing and the remaining 10% containing several extraordinary poisons.

Zhang Yuanshan quickly searched for it on the jade tablet and, upon finding it, his eyes lit up as he clapped his hands in delight, “Zhenzhen, what do you think?”

“The Divine Medical Chapter of the Medicine King” was worth 150 Virtue Points, well within Fu Zhenzhen’s range. Even if it weren’t, Zhang Yuanshan would certainly help make up the difference.

Fu Zhenzhen carefully read the Master of the Six Daoists’ description and beamed with joy, “This is great. It summarizes medical and toxic principles, so it’s not limited to just this.”

Although the herbs described in “The Divine Medical Chapter of the Medicine King” were relatively ordinary compared to the rare flowers, herbs, and treasures of the main world, the medical and toxic principles it summarized could be widely applied.

So Fu Zhenzhen exchanged for one Tian Cong Pill, one copy of “The Divine Medical Chapter of the Medicine King,” and a bottle of Lingzhi Qi-Replenishing Pills, using up all her Virtue Points.

“Little monk, what about you?” Jiang Zhiwei, who had simple needs and wasn’t in a hurry, turned to ask Meng Qi.

Meng Qi hesitated for a moment and said, “For my current situation, should I exchange for a life-saving method similar to the ‘Heavenly Demon Body-Dissolving Great Art’ or an auxiliary cultivation method that can improve my innate talent?”