White light bathed his body. Meng Qi felt the broken long sword at his right chest and the crossbows on his back fall off, his wounds rapidly healing. The dizziness caused by heavy blood loss and the difficulty breathing due to lung injuries quickly disappeared.
Golden light flowed beneath his skin, and the Golden Bell Cover, which had been broken by the last strike, was restored.
“Haha! We’re back in action again, no need for eighteen years!” Feeling pleased with his recent gains, Meng Qi stretched his limbs while laughing like a self-satisfied fool.
At this moment, the Reincarnation Plaza was empty except for himself.
“Haven’t they returned yet? Could it be time flows differently here?” Meng Qi glanced around, suppressing his worry that they might all have perished, and approached the central column of light. He first took out the small jade Buddha statue and let the Master of the Six Dao Reincarnation judge its value.
“A Jade Buddha Statue of Cold Jade, a mysterious item, value unknown, purpose unknown. It appears to be a symbol, a guide, or a key. Five hundred thousand Virtuous Points can forcibly unlock its secrets,” the Master of the Six Dao Reincarnation stated without any emotional inflection.
Five hundred thousand Virtuous Points… Meng Qi could only scoff, suppressing his curiosity as he put the jade Buddha away. Following the contents of the “Formless Great Art” in his mind, he generated an ancient and mysterious manual.
“‘Formless Great Art,’ an Open窍 Period technique, exchangeable for two hundred Virtuous Points.”
Seeing no indication of “False” or “Incomplete,” Meng Qi felt reassured. He glanced at the exchange list and, following the arrangement rules, quickly located the “Formless Great Art.” He found its original value was four hundred Virtuous Points, meaning Duan Xiangfei hadn’t tampered with it, and the manual was genuine.
He considered for a moment before deciding not to exchange it for Virtuous Points immediately, planning instead to ask Jiang Zhiwei and others if they knew about the Three Great Treasures.
“Little monk, you returned quite early,” Meng Qi had just thought this when he heard Jiang Zhiwei’s melodious voice, like the call of an oriole. Turning around, he saw a white light enveloping her; she seemed to have sustained serious injuries, nearly at death’s door.
Meng Qi chuckled, “Maybe I just finished my mission quickly.”
The white light dissipated, and Jiang Zhiwei approached, carrying a heavy, copper-green sword scabbard. Her black hair was simply tied back, elegant yet radiant, though her yellow gown had been replaced by a pale hue—she seemed to favor colors that were simple yet warm.
“Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a solo mission,” Jiang Zhiwei smiled. “I was a bit worried you might lack experience on your first solo assignment.”
During previous conversations, Meng Qi had shared his guesses based on “experience,” suggesting there might be solo missions and team-based challenges. Thus, when one actually appeared, Jiang Zhiwei wasn’t alarmed.
“With the Golden Bell Cover protecting me, even if I made mistakes due to inexperience, there was still a chance to recover,” Meng Qi said, feeling grateful he had taken this detour. After all, within the Reincarnation Tasks, he couldn’t grow step by step like a normal martial artist.
Suddenly pausing, he asked, “Miss Jiang, what’s on your back?”
Jiang Zhiwei carried a large, deep-blue bundle.
Jiang Zhiwei wrinkled her pert nose, “Little monk, we’ve shared life and death, so calling me ‘Miss Jiang’ feels too formal. Just call me Zhiwei, or better yet, Zhiwei Elder Sister, hahaha.”
Meng Qi’s face flushed, realizing why Jiang Zhiwei insisted on being the elder sister—after all, his current body was three or four years younger than hers.
“Just Zhiwei then,” he said, wiping imaginary sweat.
Zhiwei chuckled, “I knew it. You always act so mature, I figured you wouldn’t want to call me elder sister.”
Her nature was open-minded, and she didn’t dwell on the issue, pointing at the bundle on her back with a smile, “I had some free time during this mission and collected quite a few manuals. They should fetch about a hundred Virtuous Points.”
“I had similar plans, but I couldn’t spare the time,” Meng Qi said regretfully, relieved he had ultimately obtained the “Formless Great Art.” “So many manuals, surely you didn’t collect them all yourself?”
“Right, I got help from many people, but they’re just ordinary manuals, nothing impressive,” Jiang Zhiwei confirmed Meng Qi’s guess.
Since the topic had turned to manuals, Meng Qi quickly asked, “Zhiwei, have you heard of the Three Great Treasures?”
“No,” Jiang Zhiwei shook her head, then hesitated before saying, “Perhaps the names differ. Tell me more specifically.”
“They should refer to the Lower Dantian, Middle Dantian, and Upper Dantian. I’m not sure about the first two, but the last involves cultivating the Zhenqi Cavity between the eyebrows, opening the Spiritual Treasure, which in battle can interfere with an enemy’s senses, causing illusions,” Meng Qi explained in detail.
Zhiwei laughed, “I understand now. After naturally opening the Nine Orifices, to connect the inner and outer heavens and earth, one must break through the Life and Death Mystic Pass and step onto the ‘Bridge of Heaven and Earth.’ This step involves cultivating the Zhenqi Cavity between the eyebrows. If successful, one can sense the heavens and earth, triggering minor celestial phenomena, known as ‘Half-Step Outer View,’ after which comes the full connection of inner and outer heavens and earth, leading to the ‘Outer View’ stage.”
“The last opponent, Dorchad, was at this level. You didn’t fight him, so you didn’t experience the feeling of impending heavenly tribulation and thunderbolts raining down under his spiritual assault. If not for opening the Eye Cavity, allowing me to partially penetrate the illusions, I couldn’t have injured him. Even then, I suffered greatly.”
The so-called Spiritual Treasure should refer to this abode of the Primordial Spirit, the Mysterious Pass.
“As for the Middle and Lower Dantian, their refinement is part of the process of opening the Nine Orifices.”
“You haven’t seen any Open Period techniques, so it’s no wonder you’re confused.”
Meng Qi remained silent, listening intently to Jiang Zhiwei’s explanation, confirming his suspicions.
After Jiang Zhiwei finished speaking, Meng Qi pondered for a moment and said, “Zhiwei, in the world I just visited, there is a unique method that allows one to refine the Lower and Middle Dantian and open the Zhenqi Cavity between the eyebrows without unblocking the apertures.”
Jiang Zhiwei rarely showed surprise, “Is that so? The backlash from breaking through the Life and Death Barrier and stepping onto the Bridge of Heaven and Earth would destroy the body.”
In their world, there had been Daoist Sages and Buddha Patriarchs, and countless geniuses and extraordinary figures. Many great cultivators had attempted to bypass the natural opening of the Nine Orifices, directly cultivating the Zhenqi Cavity between the eyebrows—they believed the physical body would inevitably decay, only the spirit and Yuan Shen could endure, so why not abandon the body and cultivate the spirit directly?
However, all such attempts ended in failure, leaving only the warning phrase, “Ten Thousand Calamities’ Yin Spirit Hardly Ascends to the Holy.”
Before Meng Qi could reply, Jiang Zhiwei frowned in bewilderment, “Could it be that they used heavenly treasures such as Gang Qi, Sha Qi, ice crystals, or fire spirits to temper their bodies, enabling them to withstand the backlash? But that would be far too wasteful and would sever their future cultivation paths.”
Because in this case, the body would become like a divine weapon or treasure, unable to follow the normal cultivation path. Of course, at the Outer View stage, one would refine heavenly treasures to deepen their connection and interaction with the heavens and earth, enhancing the power of their techniques. However, this was entirely a different approach and cultivation method.
“No, they cultivated directly,” Meng Qi felt increasingly that the world of Duan Xiangfei and Cui Xu was somewhat peculiar.
Jiang Zhiwei pursed her lips, slightly troubled, “I can’t think of any reason. Strange, very strange.”
“Well, I saw they were all lively and energetic, with no backlash,” Meng Qi was equally puzzled. “Why don’t you take a look at this technique and figure it out?”
Compared to Jiang Zhiwei, Meng Qi’s understanding of the Open窍 Period was indeed shallow.
“Let me see? Then the Virtuous Points you can exchange will be halved,” Jiang Zhiwei frowned.
If Meng Qi shared the “Formless Great Art” with someone, each sharing would halve the Virtuous Points he could exchange for it, and the other person couldn’t exchange it for Virtuous Points unless they obtained it through other means.
Meng Qi was about to say it didn’t matter when Jiang Zhiwei suddenly smiled, “Anyway, I’m very interested in this technique that can open the Zhenqi Cavity between the eyebrows without cultivating the natural Nine Orifices. I’ll make up the difference in Virtuous Points you lose.”
Seeing Meng Qi about to protest, she quickly added, “Blood brothers settle accounts clearly. I don’t want us to fall out over similar issues in the future.”
“Alright,” Meng Qi naturally couldn’t refuse such a generous offer from Jiang Zhiwei and handed over the “Formless Great Art.”
Jiang Zhiwei took the manual, brushed her hair back, and flipped through it briefly. After a while, she said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, “So that’s how it is!”
“Hmm?” Meng Qi waited for her explanation.
Jiang Zhiwei smiled strangely, “Because they never actually opened the Zhenqi Cavity between the eyebrows.”
“What?” Meng Qi was greatly surprised.
Jiang Zhiwei composed herself and smiled, “This technique merely preliminarily refines and stimulates the ancestral cavity, producing various supernatural effects, but doesn’t truly open it, so there’s no backlash. If one wishes to directly open the cavity, the body will still suffer external backlash from the heavens and earth, resulting in either severe, incurable injuries or immediate annihilation, leaving only a wisp of spirit or Yin soul.”
In Meng Qi’s world, unless one was a Great Being beyond the External Perspective, ordinary people’s Primordial Spirits and souls could not endure after death, swiftly returning to the heavens and earth. Whether they vanished directly or departed to some obscure underworld remained uncertain.
Of course, under special circumstances and with fortuitous opportunities, even ordinary people below Great Beings might leave behind lingering Yin souls, living another life. However, Yin souls are fragile and short-lived; after dying again, they would be completely extinguished.
“In other words, preliminary refinement of the Zhenqi Cavity between the eyebrows grants the ability to interfere with an enemy’s senses and create illusions?” Meng Qi wasn’t disappointed, instead becoming joyful.
Jiang Zhiwei nodded, “Yes. If further stimulated and refined without opening the cavity, it might grant the ability to cause minor celestial phenomena within a small range, although, naturally, it would be far inferior to Dorchad’s abilities.”
“Exactly! That world had such rumors!” Meng Qi exclaimed joyfully.
Zhiwei gave a self-deprecating smile, “Indeed. For us, the sole purpose of cultivating the Zhenqi Cavity between the eyebrows is to open the Life-Death Mystic Pass. All methods and techniques are designed for this goal, and we never considered merely stimulating it. They might have never even thought about the Life-Death Mystic Pass, gradually exploring and forging a new path. This is what’s called ‘the darkest spot under the lamp.'”
She paused and continued, “This technique can be cultivated alongside others. It not only brings various supernatural abilities but also makes it easier to open the Life-Death Mystic Pass in the future.”
“Exactly!” Meng Qi was delighted precisely because of this.
Before the words faded, two more columns of milky-white light emerged on the plaza. Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei exchanged glances, both visibly relieved.
“We can discuss what to exchange now,” Jiang Zhiwei smiled at Meng Qi.
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