Chapter 164: The Collaborative Task
When Meng Qi was pondering a bladesmanship that was not related to the change of the heaven and earth but close to Dharma and Logos, the first one that came into his mind was the “Heaven Blade”. The “Heaven Blade” Song Que integrated the essence of moves into the blade. A casual display of one move could be powerful. Sometimes a seemingly normal attack contained unexplainable changes as if the heaven and earth were incorporated, equal to the realm of Nine Strategies Beyond the Swords.
The only difference was that the Nine Strategies Beyond the Swords was unpredictable and targeted the enemies’ flaws, whereas the strength of “Heaven Blade” was a momentum which focused on itself and was domineering and horrible.
Respectively, they perfectly displayed the characteristics of blades and swords. However, their styles were quite different. They could transform into each other at any time like the balance of yin and yang in a broad sense.
Meng Qi valued this after he competed with small kid Yao. If he really wanted to obtain Sword Blade Ambidexterity, he had to consider the choices of bladesmanship and sword form. It was clear that if he had fully understood Blade Principles and Sword Principles, it would be a piece of cake for him. But there was still a long way to go before he reached such realm. Even Su Wuming, Jiang Zhiwei’s master, was not so confident.
“I choose the Heaven Blade!” Honestly speaking, Meng Qi knew only a few bladesmanships, most of which were useless and few of which were on the Exterior. In the enlightenment period, he only wanted a few of them. Compared with other bladesmanships like Jing Zhong Eight Swords, the flexible “realm of the Heaven Blade” suited him best.
He read related items about the “Heaven Blade” and found that the most powerful was “Sky Asking Nine Blades”. But it belonged to the realm of the Exterior. His Karma points were enough for it and he wanted one more exchange.
Continuing to read, he came upon the Heaven Blade. At 980 Karma points, it contained the essentials of Primary Instruction, eight knacks of the Heaven Blade and nine blades after integration.
In Meng Qi’s mind, the Heaven Blade Song Que should be similar to the Evil Stone. He thought that with Nine Apertures, the Secret Chambers of Vital Qi, energy would be opened. He could almost open the Primal Aperture at Mid-brow, and go through the Hidden Latch of death and bridge heaven and earth. Besides, his bladesmanship which was at a higher level than his body had almost reached Dharma and Logos, so it was not surprising that the Heaven Blade was so expensive.
Meng Qi had 980 Karma points, but he still wanted another controlling skill. Similar to Nine Strategies Beyond the Swords, the Heaven Blade was divided into two parts. One part was the essentials of Primary Instruction and end-all moves which was worth 400 Karma points, and the other integrated part was the collection of blade moves and sword art which was worth 500 Karma points.
After deliberating, Meng Qi decided to exchange for the essentials of Primary Instruction. He did not lack bladesmanship but the foresight and the realm of returning to original nature. Once he fully understood the essentials of Primary Instruction, the nine blades could be obtained without effort.
With a flashing light, a script of medium thickness appeared in Meng Qi’s hand. Covered with dust, it looked normal but powerful.
After he scanned it, Meng Qi put it into his bosom and made full use of every second to search for the “Controlling Skill”.
He had planned to exchange one of the Shaolin’s 72 Ultimate Arts, “Lion’s Roar” which contained the Chapter of Enlightening all the Apertures and the Chapter of the Exterior. After all, it was not simply a move. The chapter on Enlightening all the Apertures was about the operating methods of genuine Qi and the application of Mouth Aperture, while the chapter of the Exterior focused on the integration of one’s Zen and heaven and earth along with the use of Pure Lands.
In the enlightenment period, Lion’s Roar could shock enemies within a broad range, damage their Ear Apertures and make them dizzy, sluggish or even faint. It was a favorable controlling skill for Meng Qi.
But since he had left Shaolin, he should avoid using Shaolin’s Kung Fu. It was not because he feared that he would be caught in trouble, but he did not want to bother his Master. Therefore, Meng Qi began to search for skills similar to Lion’s Roar. He did not take “cost performance” into consideration but scanned the script quickly for he wanted to find a suitable one as soon as possible.
And Meng Qi soon found a suitable skill: “Thundering Scream”!
At 420 Karma points, it had nine syllables and similar effects of Lion’s Roar. Besides, it could also strike ghosts.
Meng Qi assumed that based on the fact that he had thunderbolt mark and part of Thunder God’s impartation, this skill could be improved and changed later.
Without hesitation, he immediately exchanged “Thundering scream”. The thin script was about the operating lines of genuine Qi, the application of Mouth Aperture and the coordinated use of nine syllables.
Huh, Meng Qi was relieved. He had finished his exchange before the task began. With so many Karma points, he’d had the feeling he was spending money like water, but now he only had 321 Karma points left.
After a little thinking, Meng Qi did not save many Karma points. He was not the heir of a big sect anymore and did not lack resources. More exchanges would mean a greater chance of survival in the Samsara task.
This time he chose “Proficiency in Left hand” which was worth 200 Karma points. It would lay a sound foundation for Left-right Self-battling and Sword Blade Ambidexterity in the future. Meng Qi knew that he wasn’t as efficient as Yao Xingliu yet. He could not use the blade and sword at the same time, but instead he alternated them. With the Karma points left, he exchanged for two bottles of “Ethereal Yihua Elixir”. He planned to practice the sixth level of Golden Bell Shield and begin to concentrate Aperture acupoints in the Nose Aperture during this task.
After finishing his concentration, he still had one “Pill of Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing” left. He could try to open his Nose Aperture and use the elixir to accelerate the process if there was an emergency.
Meng Qi was quite sad when he realized that he only had 21 Karma points left after this exchange. He deeply understood the feeling of going from being rich to poor. It was like falling from the sky down to the muddy bog.
After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Meng Qi quietly took out the mysterious black fur and put it into the light pillar to get an evaluation.
Suddenly, the grand, solemn voice of the Dominator of Samsara in the Six Realms reverberated in his heart:
“The serial task of revealing the mystery of Emperor Zhenwu’s death is triggered. Awards will be given in accordance with your performance. First, wait for the Samsara or use the Samsara symbol to enter the ‘Zhen Wu’s Fake Grave’ World.
“This is a map of Zhen Wu’s Fake Grave. Part of its inner structure is illustrated.”
Meng Qi stood shocked with his mouth half open. “It is unbelievable that I should trigger the serial task related to Emperor Zhenwu, one of the great Tao emperors in the Myths Period.” It was said that except for Heavenly Primogenitor Buddha, Emperor Zhen Wu was second only to Heaven Sovereign and had the same reputation as Devil Lord and others. He had acquired three swords of “Seven Moves of Heaven Interception”.
The Zhen Wu Sect, one of the three branches of Taoists had been created several thousand years ago when the founder had accidentally obtained part of Emperor Zhenwu’s orthodoxy which contained an impartation of the Gist of Trueness of “Dao’s Wax and Dao’s Wane” under “Seven Strokes of Heaven Interception”.
Therefore, he had named the sect “Zhen Wu” to show the orthodoxy.
But Emperor Zhenwu had disappeared before the battle between Heaven Sovereign and Devil Lord. It was said that he knew he was going to die, so he built a tomb for himself, hoping to seek the Tao of immortality after death. But since then, Emperor Zhenwu had never appeared again. It was said that he had failed and passed away.
But from the serial task of the Dominator of Samsara in the Six Realms, the death of Emperor Zhenwu was not so simple as people thought! Meng Qi was too shocked to collect his mind.
“To reveal the death of Emperor Zhenwu… The last steps could only be completed with the strength of the Exterior above. It is a task like Gu Xiaosang’s task of ruins of the Ninth Heaven. If I want to finish the task, I should probably have the strength of the Exterior. Otherwise, I could not guarantee my safety in a task related to such big powers… I will need assistance, or I could never succeed by myself… “ Meng Qi did not have the Samsara symbol now, so he could only think about it. He had little motivation, clearly knowing that the awards of first steps of serial tasks were not high.
So he collected himself and looked around, but he did not see Jiang Zhiwei, Qi Zhengyan, or Zhang Yuanshan. It made him more puzzled.
Meng Qi did not believe that they had not entered the Samsara because something had happened to them and they’d all died. Besides, he’d just sent Zhang Yuanshan to the nunnery. Even if Fu Zhenzhen had had an impulse to poison herself for love, it would still take time for the poison to take effect.
Brother Luo, is this task a little weird?” He looked at Luo Shengyi who had finished his exchange. Meng Qi decided to ask him for this unacquainted teammate had more Samsara experience than himself.
He believed that he was one of the few people who had special encounters in three worlds and most Samara travelers did not obtain quick improvement as he had. Luo Shengyi was from a normal family instead of a big school or sect and there had been no rumors of looting about him in Jianghu. Yet he had been listed in the Ranking List of Young Masters. So Meng Qi figured that he had more experience in the World of Samsara than himself.
Standing like a peak, Luo Shengyi was threatening and confident. Clearly, his strength had improved. He said with a smile, “It should be a single task plus the task of leading novices. Our single tasks were in the same world, so it was changed into a collaborative task.”
Meng Qi nodded. If Luo Shengyi had not been not here, he could have figured out that it was a task composed of a single task and the task of leading novices. After all, Qi Zhengyan and Zhang Yuanshan had had such tasks before. But together with Luo Shengyi, he was a little confused. “Thanks for your opinions.”
“Zhen Ding, it’s quite surprising that you are also listed in the Ranking List of Young Masters.” Clearly, Luo Shengyi had seen the Ranking List of Young Masters and knew who the Shaolin expeller was.
Meng Qi was awkward and answered with a stiff expression, “That belonged to luck. Luck.”
“Does he know about my sobriquets of Thunder Blade Furious Monk and Reckless Monk?”
They were not acquaintances, so they just talked about unimportant things. But soon a mist rose, and the light pillar fell before them. Then three strangers appeared.
Meng Qi’s eyes suddenly lit up. From his average aesthetic preferences, the 15 or 16 year old girl of moderate height was very beautiful with large eyes and neat bangs. Her facial features were more elegant and beautiful than when five organs were matched together. She was even prettier than Jiang Zhiwei and Gu Xiaosang. She looked cold, graceful and otherworldly. She wore a white dress and held a classic Seven-string organ.
Her expressions changed slightly, but she was not terrified. She looked around before fixing her eyes on Meng Qi and Luo Shengyi.
One of the two men was about 17 or 18 years old. He wore a green frock with silk head dress resembling a ridged roof. He was an average-looking man but looked gentle with a scholarly quality. He was threatened but managed to control himself, so he did not overact.
About 30 years old, the other man looked shrewd. He was shocked at first but quickly calmed down and stared deep into Meng Qi and Luo Shengyi.