Chapter 18

Immediately, a dense cluster of light points appeared within the light pillar, like a swarm of fireflies, completely covering Meng Qi's body, constantly piercing in and out.

Meng Qi felt as if his muscles and skin were being torn apart, the pain most intense in his dantian, yet his body was controlled by an unknown force, making it difficult to move, even to speak. He could only endure the pain, as if undergoing repeated tortures in the eighteenth level of hell.

Just as Meng Qi was about to give in, his vision darkening, a warmth spread from his lower abdomen. The true qi that had filled his major acupoints naturally surged out, converging like a hundred rivers into the dantian that had just been condensed. Then, it followed different paths back to his acupoints, leaving a shallow layer of warmth within the dantian.

This layer of warmth circulated through the fixed meridians several times, connecting some acupoints, continuously growing and strengthening, and refining these acupoints in preparation for future condensation.

Thus, the internal martial arts circulation route was deeply imprinted in Meng Qi's mind.

The light points dissipated, and so did the intense pain, but the sensation lingered in Meng Qi's heart, making it hard for him to "forget."

"Exchange complete." The voice of the "Master of the Six Realms" sounded without any fluctuation.

Meng Qi, still within the light pillar, moved his limbs, feeling much stronger. Then, he patted his body, feeling as if he was patting thick fabric, with no pain at all.

"Phew." Meng Qi let out a sigh of relief, apparently, the external martial arts training had no issues. Next, he tried to drive the true qi in his dantian, following the simple circulation route for two rounds, aiming to quickly make these his own.

"Is there any problem?" Jiang Zhwei asked with concern and curiosity from outside the light pillar.

Meng Qi shook his head: "It's quite successful."

As he spoke, he flipped to the "Qi Storage Stage Martial Arts" and selected "Eight Steps of Divine Speed."

A layer of light appeared, and Meng Qi found himself holding a gray, dusty manual written in regular script, titled "Eight Steps of Divine Speed."

After a cursory glance, Meng Qi confirmed it was a lightness skill manual. Without time to read it in detail, he tucked it into his chest and stepped out of the light pillar.

"This 'Master of the Six Realms' is indeed fair to all." Meng Qi smiled at Jiang Zhwei, Zhang Yuanshan, and others.

Jiang Zhwei nodded and then said with a half-smile: "Little monk, you mustn't be careless. How about I test your Iron Shirt technique?"

"Sure." Meng Qi was certainly unwilling to be careless about such a life-and-death matter.

Although the Iron Shirt technique is an external martial art that has been integrated into his skin and muscles, not requiring the circulation of qi to be effective, he still raised his inner strength to maximize the effect of the Iron Shirt.

As soon as he raised his qi, Meng Qi's vision blurred, and he saw a point of sword light like a meteor heading towards him. Before he could react, it pierced his left shoulder.

Pfft, the long sword made a sound like it had hit a worn-out leather, only the tip penetrating slightly, causing Meng Qi a slight pain.

The sword was pulled out, and only a drop of blood oozed out.

Jiang Zhwei retracted the sword, wiped the tip, and nodded lightly: "This Iron Shirt is indeed fair to all. Just now, I used four-tenths of my strength, and my 'White Rainbow Piercing the Sun' sword is a sharp weapon. Hmm, I probably need to use five-tenths of my strength to truly break your Iron Shirt."

"Great, great!" Although it could only withstand attacks with less than half of Jiang Zhwei's strength, Meng Qi was already very satisfied. Just now, he wasn't even one-tenth as strong as Jiang Zhwei!

Zhang Yuanshan, standing nearby, was also very satisfied and smiled: "Ordinary martial artists in the Qi Storage stage, if they don't use their full strength and have a good weapon, probably can't truly injure you, Brother Zhen Ding. However, when facing those who have completed the Qi Storage stage, you must be careful, trying to exchange minor injuries for major ones and quickly resolve the battle."

"Sure, thank you, Brother Zhang." Meng Qi understood Zhang Yuanshan's meaning. His newly formed Iron Shirt might not withstand the full attack of a Qi Storage stage master, but it still had a damage reduction effect, so in battle, he needed to leverage this advantage, exchanging minor injuries for major ones.

At this moment, Qi Xia chuckled: "Don't let the little monk get too proud."

She turned her gaze to Meng Qi: "The Iron Shirt has many weak points, which you are well aware of. You need to be careful about these areas in battle. Also, different types of weapons have varying effects on the Iron Shirt, so you need to study them carefully."

At some point, she had started calling him "little monk" like Jiang Zhwei.

Meng Qi solemnly responded, knowing that her words were true. His eyes, temples, and lower abdomen were currently weak points, and the Iron Shirt, being a horizontally trained external martial art, was highly effective against blunt weapons like sticks but weaker against slashing and piercing attacks from swords and knives.

"Here, the Five Tigers Disrupting the Gate Sword Technique." Qi Xia handed Meng Qi a manual, which had a gray, dusty exterior but new-looking pages.

Meng Qi sincerely thanked her, flipped through it casually, and then put it away. Jiang Zhwei walked to the light pillar and brought up the "Exchange Catalog."

She didn't directly show the "Tiancong Pill" but started from the beginning, her gaze skimming over the list, pausing only briefly at sword techniques like "Seven Swords of Heaven," "Taoist Sword Classic," "Thirteen Swords of Wu Sheng," "Immortal-Granted Longevity Sword," "Cease War Sword Technique," "Kanxu Sword Technique," and "Dugu Nine Swords," her eyes focused and slightly feverish.

"Ah." She sighed with a rich meaning, and the "Tiancong Pill" appeared in the exchange catalog.

"Done." She reached into the light pillar, took out a wax-sealed pill, lightly scratched the wax with her fingertip, and the fragrance spread. She carefully smelled it and nodded slightly: "It's indeed the Tiancong Pill."

Zhang Yuanshan smiled, walked over to her, and exchanged the "Heavenly Residual Earth Deficient 108 Swords" technique "Dark Sky Black Earth." Then, he put away the thin pages and turned to look at Qi Zhengyan: "Now it's your turn, Brother Zhengyan. Have you decided what to exchange?"

Qi Zhengyan bowed and said sincerely: "My martial arts are mediocre, and my knowledge is shallow. Please, Brother Zhang, Miss Jiang, and Miss Qi, give me some guidance."

Zhang Yuanshan pondered for a moment and said: "Brother Zhengyan, I observe that your main sword technique should be the 'Long River Sword Technique'?"

"Yes, 'The long river sets the round sun, the vast desert rises a straight smoke.'" Qi Zhengyan's rigid face showed a hint of bitter laughter.

This made Meng Qi pause, were they using a code?

Xuan Xin, while introducing the various sects to the new disciples, preferred to tell stories of his own adventures in the martial world. He was also lazy, working three days and resting two, so he only briefly mentioned some sects, and some he hadn't even gotten to, like the Huaxia Sword Sect.

Seeing Meng Qi's stunned expression, Jiang Zhwei smiled and explained casually: "The founder of the Huaxia Sword Sect was well-read and, during a dynastic change, retreated into the mountains, where he met an immortal and learned a supreme martial art, founding the 'Huaxia Sword Sect.' Because of his preferences, every orthodox martial art in the Huaxia Sword Sect is named after one or two lines of ancient poetry, like the 'Long River sets the round sun, the vast desert rises a straight smoke' sword technique. Ordinary martial artists, impatient with reciting poetry, gave these martial arts simplified names, like the 'Long River Sword Technique.'"

Qi Zhengyan lightly coughed, not contradicting her. He knew his sect's founder was just a poor scholar, naming the techniques this way, not a well-read person. He couldn't defame his sect's founder, so he silently thanked Jiang Zhwei for saving face for him and the sect.

"Yes." Zhang Yuanshan also chuckled, "The Huaxia Sword Sect's main sword manual, which we call the 'Immortal-Granted Longevity Sword,' is fully titled 'The Immortal supports my head, tying my hair to grant longevity.'"

"Also, the 'Moon Tide Sword,' little monk, do you know which line of poetry it comes from?" Qi Xia added with a smile.

Ancient poetry... Meng Qi frowned slightly, was it a coincidence, or was there another reason?

He casually answered: "The moon rises over the sea, shining with the tide."

"Good, from the look of your fine skin, you're clearly not from an ordinary family." Qi Xia, being a river child, spoke quite boldly, and Meng Qi's answer confirmed her previous suspicions.

Meng Qi pursed his lips, accidentally being probed, how could a young person have so many ulterior motives!

He quickly dismissed the matter of ancient poetry, as he couldn't investigate it for now, and thought to himself with a slight sense of joy: "In the future, when I wear white robes, carry a long sword, and wave a folding fan, reciting poetry, I won't be questioned about the origin of the poetry..."

After a brief conversation, Zhang Yuanshan continued: "Brother Zhengyan, the 'Long River Sword Technique' is known for its rigor and hidden killing moves. In my opinion, it suits your personality, but it lacks fluidity, making it less adaptable in combat, strong in defense but weak in offense. I suggest you first choose a sword technique that excels in unpredictability to complement your practice. After condensing the nine acupoints related to the eye, you can save up good deeds for the next mission to exchange for the 'Tiancong Pill.'"

"Even with the 'Tiancong Pill,' you may not be able to break through at your current level." Jiang Zhwei pointed out bluntly.

Qi Zhengyan nodded honestly: "I have indeed only condensed six of the nine acupoints related to the eye, and it will take time to complete. I'll follow Brother Zhang's advice and exchange a technique."

After his agreement, everyone took out their jade books to help him select a similar and appropriately priced sword technique. In the end, it was the "well-informed" Meng Qi who found a technique that Qi Zhengyan was very satisfied with.

Qi Zhengyan bowed to Meng Qi: "Thank you, Brother Zhen Ding. I originally wanted to exchange the 'Falling Clouds and Solitary Wild Goose Fly Together, Autumn Waters and Long Sky Merge' technique, but it is an internal secret technique. If I practice it rashly, I might be punished for stealing it in the future. This 'Thousand Changes Cloudy Mist Thirteen Styles' is not only unpredictable and fluid but also can be attributed to a fortuitous encounter."

"The 'Falling Clouds Autumn Waters Sword'..." Jiang Zhwei quietly told Meng Qi the "common name."

This is too highbrow! Meng Qi secretly mocked the founder of the Huaxia Sword Sect but smiled and said: "I, uh, the little monk, just happened to see it, no need to thank me."

The "Thousand Changes Cloudy Mist Thirteen Styles" is a secret technique of the Hengshan Sect from "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer." Meng Qi had once considered exchanging it, but the elegant swordsmen were temporarily out of his reach.

This sword technique costs 150 good deeds in total. If exchanged separately, the main principles cost 20 good deeds, and each style costs 10 good deeds. Therefore, Qi Zhengyan exchanged the main principles and four styles, and with the remaining 10 good deeds, he exchanged a "Lingzhi Qi Pill" to enhance his inner strength and quickly condense the remaining acupoints.

"Now only Sister Qi is left." Zhang Yuanshan smiled warmly at Qi Xia, "You exchanged ordinary manuals and miscellaneous knowledge with the 'Master of the Six Realms' to gain good deeds. You must have something in mind, right?"

Qi Xia smiled and bowed: "Brother Zhang, your insight is sharp. I can't hide anything from you. I have my eye on the method of making and using 'Tang Flowers.'"

"Tang Flowers?"

"Tang Flowers?"

The same words were spoken by everyone, but the feelings were completely different. Zhang Yuanshan and others were curious and puzzled, while Meng Qi was shocked. In the "Heroes of the Sichuan" series, the "Tang Flowers" are one of the three ultimate secret weapons of the Tang Sect in Sichuan, not exclusive, not peculiar, but ultimate!

Qi Xia looked at Meng Qi: "Little monk, did you see the method of making this secret weapon just now?"

"Yes, I initially thought my martial arts were weak and wanted to find some powerful secret weapons and poisons for self-defense." Meng Qi could only explain it this way.

Qi Xia didn't say much more, smiling at Zhang Yuanshan and Jiang Zhwei: "I was scolded by my father for not focusing on martial arts and being obsessed with miscellaneous knowledge, so I have not opened my eye acupoints to this day. Among the miscellaneous knowledge, I am particularly interested in mechanisms and secret weapons. Unfortunately, the Great River Gang's knowledge in these areas is not outstanding. Although my uncles and aunts have their own exclusive knowledge, they won't teach me without reservation. Today, seeing the method of making 'Tang Flowers,' I was excited."

"Having multiple experts in mechanisms and secret weapons is beneficial for us, allowing us to handle more situations." Zhang Yuanshan and Jiang Zhwei both agreed with Qi Xia's choice.

The "Tang Flowers" are an ultimate secret weapon of the Tang Sect in Sichuan, and the exchange price is extremely high. A single "Tang Flower" and its usage method, even if it becomes ineffective after use, cost 300 good deeds