Chapter 28

"Even the master of the Six Realms has a bit of a cold sense of humor..." Meng Qi secretly curled his lips.

After discovering that the small jade Buddha he wore had mysteriously broken into two pieces at the end of the first cycle world, Meng Qi suspected it was the trigger medium. He deliberately buried it in the corner of the杂役院 (Miscellaneous Service Courtyard), hoping to interrupt the "summoning" of the "Master of the Six Realms." However, it seemed to have no effect.

However, Meng Qi found that when he faced the "Cycle World" again, he had a faint sense of anticipation, wanting to become stronger through the "Cycle World" and break free from his current constraints.

"Forget it, little junior brother, the Bodhi Hall will take care of this. I'm sure they won't treat us unfairly. I'll go back to my room and meditate for a while." Meng Qi pretended to ponder and said to Zhenhui.

Zhenhui, who had been eagerly looking in the direction of the martial arts hall, couldn't help but turn back to look at Meng Qi: "Senior Brother, this isn't like you!"

You still know me pretty well... Meng Qi thought to himself. Usually, his little junior brother was rather foolish, but why was he so smart at this moment? "Little junior brother, it's fine. We need to figure out the reason first."

Zhenhui nodded, seemingly understanding, and hurriedly returned to the meditation room to practice, as he was at a crucial moment of opening his dantian and was particularly focused.

Meng Qi fully trusted the power of the "Master of the Six Realms" and didn't avoid Zhenhui. He closed the door, sat down, and regulated his breathing.

His breathing became longer and more peaceful, and Meng Qi gradually overcame his fear and apprehension. Suddenly, everything went dark, then bright, and he found himself on the white jade square.

Nothing had changed here. The sky was filled with white clouds, and the surroundings were shrouded in mist. The statues of immortal birds and divine beasts were faintly visible.

"Little monk, catch the knife!" Jiang Zhwei's clear voice, like that of a lark, rang out, and a precept knife flew toward Meng Qi in a beautiful arc.

Meng Qi waved his right hand and easily caught the precept knife. He then saw Jiang Zhwei standing not far away, her yellow silk dress gently swaying in the breeze. Zhang Yuanshan and Qi Zhengyan also walked over, their clothes fluttering in the wind.

"Your martial arts have improved quite a bit." Jiang Zhwei smiled, without the frustration and anger of having to go through the cycle task again.

From Meng Qi's action of catching the knife, she could roughly gauge his current level.

Seeing these familiar faces, Meng Qi felt more at ease than he did in Shaolin Temple. He chuckled, "This little monk doesn't want to meet the Buddha in his prime."

As he spoke, he stroked the fine steel precept knife.

"Hey, it's rare for you to sound so much like a monk." Jiang Zhwei nodded slightly at Meng Qi's action. "I know you can't get a sharpened precept knife in Shaolin, so I prepared one for you."

"Thank you, Miss Jiang." Meng Qi deliberately addressed her this way.

Before Jiang Zhwei could object, he became serious: "Miss Jiang, Senior Brother Zhang, Senior Brother Qi, did you notice anything unusual about yourselves or your surroundings after the last task? I found that the small jade Buddha I carried had cracked."

He decided to be honest about this matter rather than beating around the bush, as it was a serious issue. If he didn't explain clearly, Zhang Yuanshan and the others might miss important clues. Besides, now that the jade Buddha was broken into two pieces, it seemed to have lost its function. If he lost Zhang Yuanshan and Jiang Zhwei's trust because of this, it would be unwise.

Jiang Zhwei frowned and thought carefully, then slowly shook her head: "I didn't notice anything like that."

"Neither did I," Zhang Yuanshan answered after some thought, and Qi Zhengyan also shook his head in negation.

"It seems the cracking of my jade Buddha was just a coincidence," Meng Qi nodded lightly, but he had a vague feeling that things were not that simple, though he had no clue at the moment.

"By the way, there's an important point about what happened in the Great Hero Hall that I haven't told you yet." Zhang Yuanshan, who also couldn't understand the cracking of Meng Qi's jade Buddha, began to tell Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan about the two mysterious organizations, "Xianji" and "Myth," with Jiang Zhwei occasionally adding details.

Meng Qi took a breath: "Could the root of this cycle world be in our world?"

Zhang Yuanshan, who had become quite accustomed to the concept of "worlds," thought for a moment and said, "In our world, there have been Dao Zun and Buddha, Demon Emperors and Immortal Saints, a Mythical Age, and many powerful figures who could cover the sky with one hand. Even now, the Earthly Immortals of the Dharmakaya level are not much inferior to the gods, Buddhas, and immortals of the past, capable of moving mountains and filling seas, and traveling through the heavens. If the 'Master of the Six Realms' originated from here, it wouldn't be surprising."

"What about those powerful figures from the past?" Meng Qi had always been curious about this. How could such powerful beings be erased by the passage of time?

Jiang Zhwei, knowing that Meng Qi was a novice in the martial world, smiled and revealed a faint dimple: "According to rumors, some died at the hands of other powerful beings, and some died of old age."

"Old age?" Meng Qi asked in surprise. In his mind, beings called gods, Buddhas, immortals, and saints should have eternal life.

Jiang Zhwei sighed: "The universe has its own destiny. Even gods, Buddhas, immortals, and saints have to worry about their lifespan. Though they may have thousands or even tens of thousands of years, they ultimately cannot escape the fate of turning to dust."

"Throughout history, countless brilliant figures have exhausted their minds to find various methods, such as extending life, resurrection, soul transference, divine and ghostly paths. Unfortunately, these methods were only temporarily effective and could not escape the universe's destiny. Therefore, some of these figures built tombs to seek eternal existence after death, while others quietly disappeared into the flow of time. Perhaps only the legendary Dao Zun and Buddha can transcend the universe and be immortal."

"Legendary?" Meng Qi asked sharply. Weren't they supposed to be immortal?

"Before the Mythical Age, Dao Zun and Buddha were already rare. If it weren't for the suppression of the Demon Buddha by the Buddha a few thousand years ago, people might have thought they had all passed away. The shattering of this assumption gave all the strong hope." Zhang Yuanshan's face was full of emotion. "It's said that the Buddhist sect has a unique cultivation path that allows one to coexist with the world, but it's just a rumor."

Meng Qi exhaled softly: "So even gods, Buddhas, immortals, and saints can grow old and die."

He was young, so the concept of a limited lifespan didn't affect him much.

"Technically, they don't grow old. Those who achieve the Dharmakaya are only mortal before they die," Qi Zhengyan's expressionless face showed a hint of longing.

"Before they die? How long do those who achieve the Arhat Body live?" Meng Qi asked curiously.

Zhang Yuanshan shook his head and smiled: "True Ding, it's too early for you to worry about this. Currently, Earthly Immortals of the Dharmakaya level can live for two to three hundred years. However, in the Mythical Age, their lifespans were many times longer, perhaps due to changes in the universe."

Very few records from the Mythical Age remain, and only unreliable stories are passed down, so later generations can only speculate.

"This time, there will be new participants in the task." At this moment, the voice of the Master of the Six Realms, majestic and powerful, echoed.

As soon as the words were spoken, it seemed as if a great sun had descended, the light dazzling and blinding. Zhang Yuanshan and Jiang Zhwei, both with opened eye orifices, instinctively closed their eyes.

When everything returned to normal, Meng Qi saw four people lying on the white jade tiles, two men and two women.

"Damn, you actually dared to come!" The first to wake up was a burly man in a brown, oil-stained outfit. He cursed and jumped up, wielding his long knife and slashing at the nearest Meng Qi.

He seemed to be waiting for an enemy and didn't bother to observe the environment before attacking.

The other two women and one man woke up at this moment, hearing the curses and seeing the knife slash.

"Ah!" The delicate young girl in a light pink dress screamed, her hands clasped over her chest, trembling.

Beside her was a charming woman who quickly removed a hairpin from her head, her expression tense, as if afraid the brute would attack her.

The middle-aged man in a wide-sleeved robe frowned, his eyes scanning the surroundings, his expression growing more serious.

Seeing the burly man slash his knife, Meng Qi had a rough idea of what was happening. He slipped away like a ghost, appearing behind the man and striking him with the back of the precept knife, sending him staggering.

"Stop!" As the man barely regained his balance, Meng Qi shook his head and shouted. The man's strength was at the level of a small success in Qi storage, equivalent to a True Quantity, but he had a fierce and desperate aura, making him quite formidable. A month ago, Meng Qi would have been flustered, but now, after long-term practice with Zhenmiao and various types of sparring in the martial arts hall, dealing with him was a piece of cake.

The burly man also noticed the unusual environment, surprised and suspicious, and looked at Meng Qi with his knife: "May I ask, what is going on?"

He was intimidated by Meng Qi's strength and the sudden changes, quickly lowering his stance.

Meng Qi thought that guiding the new participants might earn him some good karma, so he scanned their faces: "You should have noticed that this place is unusual. I am True Ding, and I'm not much different from you. I just arrived in this 'Cycle World' a bit earlier."

"Cycle World?" The middle-aged man in the wide-sleeved robe repeated softly and slowly stood up.

Meng Qi pointed to the central light column and briefly explained the "Master of the Six Realms": "So, you can exchange good karma here for supreme martial arts, divine weapons, elixirs, and any other things you can think of."

"The 'Asura Palm'? 'The World-Shaking Book'? 'The Jade Scroll of the Heavenly Emperor'?" The burly man asked, breathing heavily.

Meng Qi, uninterested, pointed to the light column: "You can check for yourselves."

He had finished the introduction, but there was no good karma reward, so he decided never to do this again!

"Great Master, Holy Monk, I am a weak woman. Can you please plead with the 'Master of the Six Realms' to let me go? I will keep my mouth shut," the young girl in the light pink dress stood up in a panic, pleading with Meng Qi.

Meng Qi sighed, clasped his hands together, and said, "Amitabha, layman, do you think that's possible?"

The girl, already teary-eyed, burst into tears and sobbed softly, "Mother, Mother, save Xiaozi..."

Meng Qi, feeling a sense of empathy, turned to Jiang Zhwei, indicating that she, being a woman, should comfort the girl. As for whether she could survive the upcoming cycle task, it would depend on the situation. When there was no spare capacity, he and Jiang Zhwei would not have the idea of sacrificing themselves for strangers.

Jiang Zhwei's lips moved, using a secret transmission: "Little monk, what does the 'Master of the Six Realms' mean by bringing an ordinary girl? By the way, that uncle seems to have the strength of the opening orifice stage."

She had always thought the cycle world was like a selection, targeting young martial artists.

Meng Qi shook his head, indicating he couldn't guess, then suddenly remembered something and asked Jiang Zhwei, who was comforting the crying girl: "Miss Jiang, have you broken through?"

With strangers around, he asked very vaguely.

"I have broken through." Jiang Zhwei patted the girl Xiaozi's shoulder and whispered to comfort her.

"Great Master, Holy Monk, I am Xiang Hui. Please be merciful and take care of me," the burly man, after checking the exchange list in the central light column, quietly approached Meng Qi, bowing and fawning, extremely flattering.

Meng Qi's earlier move made him feel that this little monk was deep and unfathomable, probably stronger than the other three.

Meng Qi looked at Xiang Hui, who had poor judgment, with a half-smile, just about to speak when the surroundings suddenly changed, mountains and rivers overlapping, light and darkness alternating.

"The Northern Barbarians have invaded Central China, committing atrocities and massacring the people. The Shaolin monks have joined various resistance armies to fight back."

"General Duerzha of the Northern Barbarians, to completely eliminate this threat, plans to lead many experts and troops to Shaohua Mountain to destroy Shaolin."

"Duerzha has already bought off many Shaolin monks, making this mission almost certain to succeed. Fortunately, a loyalist sacrificed his life to spread this news."

"Main Task One: Divide into two groups, break through the interception of Duerzha's dispatched experts, and deliver the list of traitors to Shaolin within three days. Failure to arrive on time will result in a deduction of fifty good karma points. If the good karma is insufficient by the end of the cycle task, the participant will be eliminated! If successful, each person who enters the temple will be rewarded with fifty good karma points."

"Main Task Two: To be released after the completion of Main Task One."