Chapter 39

On the ground, the contaminated blood wriggled, and large blood letters were written:

"Side Mission 1: Kill 'Palm of the Universe,' one of the four innate experts of the enemy camp. Qi Zhengyan will be rewarded with 80 good deeds, Zhen Ding with 50 good deeds, and Jiang Zhwei and Zhang Yuanshan with 20 good deeds each."

With the mission completion prompt, Meng Qi was completely at ease, but he still habitually walked to Tang Shun's corpse with his knife and poked it a few times to prevent any resurrection.

"It seems the reward for this side mission is mainly based on the strength comparison between the two sides..." Meng Qi casually said to Qi Zhengyan, then quickly walked to Jiang Zhwei and asked with concern, "Miss Jiang, do you still have any healing pills?"

Last time, when they surrounded and killed 'Versatile Scholar' in the Great Hero Hall, because Jiang Zhwei and Zhang Yuanshan were not injured and were much stronger than the enemy, the final reward was relatively low. This time, Jiang Zhwei and Zhang Yuanshan were less than three-tenths of their strength, and they had to interrupt their rest, making their injuries unstable. The gap in strength between himself and Qi Zhengyan and Tang Shun was significant, so the good deeds were so abundant.

Jiang Zhwei spoke with difficulty, nodded lightly, and pointed to her waist with her left hand.

Meng Qi reached out and felt a bottle. It was a thumb-sized white jade bottle. When opened, a fragrant aroma wafted out, and a dark red pill lay quietly inside.

Meng Qi poured out the pill and fed it to Jiang Zhwei, watching her struggle to swallow it. He then sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to meditate.

Without delay, Meng Qi ran to Zhang Yuanshan and asked if he had any healing pills.

Zhang Yuanshan was more seriously injured than Jiang Zhwei, his eyes lifeless, his breathing weak, and he could not move. After much effort, he managed to croak out two words: "Chest... pocket..."

Meng Qi reached out and felt around in his chest, finding a white jade porcelain bottle. Inside were five or six greenish-blue pills, fragrant and fresh like bamboo after the rain.

At this moment, Qi Zhengyan, after taking the pills he brought, had recovered a bit of energy and staggered over, watching Meng Qi feed the pills to Zhang Yuanshan.

"If we had killed Tang Shun without the 'Mother and Child Soul Dart,' our reward would have been even higher," Qi Zhengyan said, answering Meng Qi's previous question. He squatted down and skillfully handled Zhang Yuanshan's broken ribs, then carefully helped him sit up in a posture for meditation and rest.

Meng Qi watched with envy; he had just entered the martial path and had not yet had the opportunity to learn how to treat various injuries.

Qi Zhengyan took a deep breath and said to himself, "You must be very surprised about why I have the 'Mother and Child Soul Dart.' Hehe, you may not even know what the 'Mother and Child Soul Dart' is."

"Qi girl's exchange of secret manuals and miscellaneous knowledge gave me a hint. I quietly exchanged the Long River Sword Technique, the Setting Sun Heart Method, and other martial arts for the 'Master of the Six Realms,' accumulating 150 good deeds. I originally planned to exchange for the 'Heavenly Wisdom Pill,' but in the last month, I failed to complete the final acupoint. Even with the 'Heavenly Wisdom Pill,' I couldn't break through. So, when I entered the second time, I remembered what you said about 'exchanging for hidden weapons and poisons for self-protection,' and decided to hide a trump card."

"Qi girl's exchange of 'Tang Flower' met my requirements, but the cost of the finished product was too high, and I didn't have time to research it. Later, I looked at 'Bai Su Qing Feng,' but the environment and technique were too restrictive, and the price was high, with a small bottle and its antidote costing 200 good deeds."

"After much selection, I chose the 'Mother and Child Soul Dart,' worth 130 good deeds, which can kill an acupoint expert. I didn't expect it to actually come in handy. Junior Zhen Ding, are you surprised?"

Meng Qi, watching Qi Zhengyan ramble, twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Senior Qi, what I'm surprised about isn't this."

"Huh? What are you surprised about? The 'Mother and Child Soul Dart' isn't as easy to use as it looks. Originally, only acupoint experts could use it, but with special techniques, a fully trained Qi expert can use it at the cost of severe injury..."

Qi Zhengyan was stunned and explained in detail about the 'Mother and Child Soul Dart.' He did not hide the fact that he had been severely injured, as his current condition was obvious to anyone who wasn't blind.

Meng Qi suddenly laughed, "Senior Qi, what I'm surprised about is that after your severe injury, you seem like a different person, no longer so quiet and taciturn, but rather like a nagging old woman."

I already guessed about the 'Mother and Child Soul Dart' a long time ago!

Qi Zhengyan silently turned his head, watching Zhang Yuanshan heal, then sat cross-legged himself, trying to recover some of his strength.

After a while, Zhang Yuanshan's breathing became clearer, and Meng Qi was relieved. He had finally saved his life. On the other side, Jiang Zhwei's pale, bloodless face had regained some luster.

After Zhang Yuanshan's injuries were initially stabilized, he slowly opened his eyes and pointed to the white jade bottle: "Grass and Wood Life Pill, take one."

He tried to be concise to avoid aggravating his injuries.

Meng Qi was only lightly injured, and the pill could not restore his Iron Shirt, so he had not been too concerned. But since Zhang Yuanshan mentioned it, he took a pill and swallowed it without hesitation.

A cool sensation spread through his chest and abdomen, and Meng Qi's internal energy began to circulate.

Suddenly, his head cleared, and he remembered something. He took three steps and ran to Wang Jin's corpse, picking up the round, black cylinder.

"This is the 'Rain of Pear Blossoms Needle'! A hidden weapon even more expensive than 'Tang Flower'!" Meng Qi was overjoyed, examining the needle tube and fiddling with the mechanism.

Even though the silver needles had been fired and were temporarily useless, this item was still worth a fortune. At worst, he could return to the Master of the Six Realms and exchange for the corresponding silver needles to refill it.

In the 'Exchange Catalog,' a 'Rain of Pear Blossoms Needle' that had been used once and was then scrapped was worth 400 good deeds, and the one in his hand should be usable two or three times!

As for refilling the silver needles, Meng Qi had not looked closely before, but he guessed it would not exceed 100 good deeds.

Meng Qi, who had been in a state of 'poverty and hardship,' suddenly felt he was about to 'make it big.'

...

The Great Hero Hall was in ruins, with collapsed beams burning fiercely. The heavy rain poured down, occasionally producing white smoke.

The sky was pitch black, and the lightning had stopped. This area resembled a ghostly realm.

Two figures, one chasing and one fleeing, headed towards the back mountain, moving as fast as birds.

The pursuer was hunched, with the Buddha light gradually fading, while the pursuer was surrounded by a hurricane, appearing like a heavenly demon.

At the highest cliff in the back mountain, a small tower covered entirely in glass stood, reflecting a sense of purity and solemnity under the starlight.

Dark clouds gathered, blocking the starlight, and the glass dimmed. Xin Ji, who had fled to this place, suddenly stopped, sat cross-legged in front of the tower, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Do you realize you can't escape?" Duo Er Cha's left chest was torn, with a clear handprint, as if made of gold.

And the corresponding position on Xin Ji's body was a through-and-through punch wound.

...

Meng Qi tucked the small 'Rain of Pear Blossoms Needle' tube into his chest, walked to Wang Jin's corpse, and planned to pull out the fine, dark blue needles to save some good deeds.

At this moment, the sky suddenly darkened, and dark clouds obscured the stars.

The clouds gathered, and the wind grew stronger.

"Is Duo Er Cha coming to the back mountain?" Meng Qi was startled and, without bothering to pull the poison needles, ran back to where Jiang Zhwei and the others were meditating.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw the glass Buddha tower glowing faintly in the distance and understood, saying, "Duo Er Cha must be chasing Master Xin Ji here. We should hide to avoid being killed by him after he kills Master Xin Ji."

After all, his left eye had been blinded by Jiang Zhwei, and he hated her deeply. At that time, he would not hesitate to kill her and the other accomplices.

Jiang Zhwei and Zhang Yuanshan were at a critical moment of meditating to heal their injuries and nodded勉强地, agreeing with Meng Qi's suggestion, letting him take charge.

If they interrupted their healing, they would be unable to move, so it made no difference whether they interrupted or not.

Qi Zhengyan, who had mainly suffered from the backlash, still retained basic physical strength. After interrupting his meditation with a flushed face, he asked straightforwardly, "Where should we hide?"

Meng Qi looked around the forest and subconsciously pointed to the familiar right side, "Let's hide in the forest first."

"Given Duo Er Cha's level, this degree of forest would not significantly obstruct his senses," Qi Zhengyan was a bit hesitant.

Meng Qi said firmly, "If Master Xin Ji dies, Shaolin will soon fall, and our main mission will be completed. We only need to avoid Duo Er Cha for a moment to return to the cycle space."

He was now somewhat regretful for not knowing more about hidden weapons. If he had pulled out the poison needles and reloaded them into the 'Rain of Pear Blossoms Needle' tube, he would have had more means to counterattack.

However, the poison needles had lost much of their toxicity after one use and would be hard to threaten Duo Er Cha.

The situation was urgent, and Qi Zhengyan did not dare to say more, only choosing to trust "Shaolin Monk" Zhen Ding. He turned around, carried Zhang Yuanshan on his back, and ran into the forest with Meng Qi, who was carrying Jiang Zhwei.

After running a distance, Meng Qi suddenly stopped, his expression stunned, because the red boulder was standing in the familiar place.

Is there really this boulder?

Could there be a secret passage here?

Meng Qi was both surprised and stunned, his emotions fluctuating and hard to calm.

Boom!

Lightning struck, thunder roared, and the rain poured down.

"Duo Er Cha..." Meng Qi was silent for a moment, suddenly thinking that if they hid in the secret passage, they could avoid Duo Er Cha's search. In this world, there should be no demons or monsters, so the danger inside the secret passage would not be high.

"Should we hide here?" Qi Zhengyan looked at Meng Qi, "Sigh, if only we had prepared more hidden weapons and poisons. When our strength is weak, their effects are really good..."

Meng Qi ignored the now chatty Qi Zhengyan, carried Jiang Zhwei a few steps forward, and walked behind the red boulder, feeling around like Zhen Guan.

Is there really a mechanism?! Meng Qi suddenly felt a movable protrusion.

He took a deep breath and gently pulled it. A faint sound of "click, click, click" was heard, and an entrance appeared on the cliff wall!

It's really there?! Meng Qi's heart was filled with shock.

Qi Zhengyan looked at him in confusion, then at the dark, lightless entrance, unable to understand when he had learned about this Shaolin secret passage.

Page break for AD start

Page break for AD end