Chapter 67

"North-South Passage" is a courtyard with a shop in front and a residence at the back. Meng Qi sat in the shadow of the eaves, watching Wu Cheng's bedroom opposite.

After leaving a "letter" in You Tongguang's study, Meng Qi hurried to the "North-South Passage" shop by the northern city water gate that night to monitor Wu Cheng's every move.

Since the Temple of Snow God had been destroyed for several decades, the remaining disciples had been secretly passing down their traditions, gaining rich experience. Therefore, Meng Qi believed that if he sneaked in to capture Wu Cheng and interrogate him, it would likely alert others. For example, there might be other Temple of Snow God members nearby observing Wu Cheng, and if they noticed anything amiss, they would immediately notify relevant people, cutting off all contact. Wu Cheng might also have a false tooth containing poison, ready to commit suicide to keep secrets...

Considering these possibilities, Meng Qi decided to try other methods first. If they failed, he would consider using force.

Thus, when Meng Qi used "dark clouds over the head" and "inevitable disaster" to scare Wu Cheng in the afternoon, it was not baseless. Since the Temple of Snow God claimed to be descendants of deities and aimed to break the boundary between humans and gods, they would naturally believe in immortals, deities, and fate more than ordinary people, making them more "superstitious." When faced with a "strange monk" and "curses," regardless of whether they verbally believed it, they would likely feel uneasy and anxious inside.

In such a state, Wu Cheng would likely seek psychological comfort, such as worshipping the Snow God or seeking help from higher-ups in the Temple of Snow God in Tian Ding City to "ward off disasters and resolve difficulties," to calm his emotions.

Of course, Meng Qi based his decision on the Temple of Snow God's proclaimed beliefs and the traces of its development into a cult over the years (information provided by Duan Xiangfei), but he did not have absolute certainty. If Wu Cheng showed no reaction, he would have to try another method.

Dark clouds obscured the moon, casting a faint light, and the surroundings were pitch black. Meng Qi, with his six eye-related acupoints already condensed, could barely see Wu Cheng's bedroom.

After a long while, a slight creaking sound suddenly came. Meng Qi focused his gaze and saw Wu Cheng push open the window, cautiously looking around, and then nodding slightly to the front.

Front? Meng Qi's heart stirred, following his gaze, and saw the side room's door slowly open.

It turned out there was another Temple of Snow God member monitoring Wu Cheng from the opposite side, and there might be more such people nearby... Meng Qi was secretly glad he hadn't simply and violently gone in to capture Wu Cheng.

Wu Cheng jumped out of the window, landing softly, showing considerable martial arts skills. Then he slipped into the side room and closed the door.

No candlelight or voices came from the side room, as if it were empty.

Meng Qi was about to go down to check when he suddenly remembered Fei Zhengqing's underground tunnel. He realized something and did not jump into the courtyard but looked around the nearby courtyards.

If there was an underground tunnel, it would have been dug to avoid detection, taking the shortest and least disruptive route. The side room was close to two courtyards to the west, and it would be too troublesome to dig through the courtyard to reach the east or north—otherwise, they would have chosen the east or north side room as the tunnel entrance.

Therefore, Meng Qi believed the tunnel's exit was in one of the two courtyards to the west. Even if the Temple of Snow God was extremely cautious, it would be at most one more courtyard to the west, and he could investigate them one by one.

He did not consider directly following the tunnel entrance, as he suspected other Temple of Snow God members were monitoring the side room, and entering rashly would alert them.

Standing up, Meng Qi quietly slipped into one of the courtyards to the west under the cover of darkness.

After a moment, Meng Qi judged from the occupants' conditions that this courtyard belonged to an ordinary family, so he sneaked into the other one, constantly pressing his ear to the roof tiles to listen.

Hearing deliberately suppressed breathing from time to time, he gradually felt more confident.

Based on which side room was closest to Wu Cheng's courtyard, Meng Qi didn't take long to hear Wu Cheng's voice:

"Thank you, Envoy Han, for your guidance. I have been so tense lately that I worried about a monk's idle talk."

A slightly aged voice replied, "Revering heaven and fearing the gods is the foundation of our Temple of Snow God, and there is nothing wrong with it. However, we must distinguish between fraudsters. Alas, the recent heavy losses and the disappearance of the Venerable have made everyone uneasy."

The Venerable has disappeared?

Meng Qi was not clear about the titles used in the Temple of Snow God's secret traditions, but he could tell that the Venerable's position was higher than Envoy Han's.

"Envoy Han, the Venerable hasn't...?" Wu Cheng stopped mid-sentence.

Then Envoy Han said solemnly, "The friend on the roof, please come down."

He has discovered me? Meng Qi was startled but did not immediately act to avoid a trap.

Envoy Han spoke again, "The friend on the roof, since you know we are from the Temple of Snow God, you should also know about the 'Great Transformation Technique.' I may not have mastered it, but my senses are extraordinary."

Hearing this, Meng Qi knew he was exposed but, confident in his skills, laughed and leaped down from the roof, knocking on the door and entering.

There were four people in the room: Wu Cheng, a hunched old man, and two others sitting on either side of the old man, seemingly his attendants.

"Ah, it's Mr. Monkey." The old man, seeing Meng Qi's monkey-faced mask, was taken aback, seemingly not expecting this.

He was dressed in a short brown robe, looking like a poor and busy person at the dock.

"The 'Great Transformation Technique' is indeed extraordinary," Meng Qi casually closed the door and pointed the sleep points of Envoy Han's two attendants.

Envoy Han did not resist, smiling, "The 'Great Transformation Technique' is indeed marvelous, but it is not as close to the divine as rumored. What brings you here, Mr. Monkey?"

Last night, Mr. Monkey easily killed Jin Ancheng, and Envoy Han, assessing his own strength as inadequate, decided to be honest about non-critical secrets and look for an opportunity to escape.

"Two reasons. The first is to inquire about the mysteries of the 'Great Transformation Technique.'" This was a purpose Meng Qi had just thought of.

Envoy Han asked doubtfully, "Do you want to force the 'Great Transformation Technique' out of me? You've come to the wrong person. Only those of the Venerable's rank can be taught the complete 'Great Transformation Technique.' I only know a little."

"Shouldn't you be familiar with the effects of the 'Great Transformation Technique'?" Meng Qi asked with a smile, appearing relaxed.

Envoy Han nodded, "Anyone who has deeply studied the Temple of Snow God is familiar with the 'Great Transformation Technique.' It focuses on the third eye, a technique to open the mental secret storehouse in the human body. Even if the practitioner does not ultimately open the secret storehouse, their mental strength will surpass that of ordinary people, allowing them to sense most things within a certain distance without seeing or hearing them."

This was not a secret, but not everyone knew it, so it was normal that Mr. Monkey did not know.

The third eye? Mental secret storehouse? Meng Qi became even more interested in the 'Great Transformation Technique' and smiled, "So that's how you detected me earlier."

Pausing, he cautiously asked, "If the 'Great Transformation Technique' is practiced to its peak, can it create illusions that are indistinguishable from reality, making it impossible to guard against?"

"How do you know?" Envoy Han asked in surprise, wondering how Mr. Monkey, who had just learned about the 'Great Transformation Technique,' knew about its terrifying effects when perfected.

"Because I fought such a person last night. Every strike only hit an illusion, and it took great effort to force him back. I suspect he might be your Venerable." Meng Qi deliberately revealed some information to see what Envoy Han would say.

"Impossible! How could you force back someone who has perfected the 'Great Transformation Technique'!" Envoy Han clearly did not believe Meng Qi's strength but soon calmed down, thinking, "The Venerable, who has full authority over Tian Ding City and the province, has been missing for days with no contact. He is likely dead. The person you faced was not the Venerable, and even if it were, his mastery of the 'Great Transformation Technique' would not be so terrifying."

"Could it be your Grand Master?" Meng Qi also believed a Venerable's 'Great Transformation Technique' could not be so powerful, otherwise, the Temple of Snow God would not be in secret.

Envoy Han shook his head, finding it amusing, and said, "It's not necessarily the 'Great Transformation Technique.'"

"Hmm?" Meng Qi expressed his doubt with a nasal sound.

Envoy Han said solemnly, "The 'Great Transformation Technique' is a technique to open the mental secret storehouse, but it is not the only one. If someone else practices the third eye and opens the mental secret storehouse, they can interfere with the opponent's senses during combat, causing them to make judgment errors and create illusions."

"Opening the mental secret storehouse..." Meng Qi repeated thoughtfully, then changed the topic, "I have another reason for coming this time, to ask about the Temple of Snow God's treasure, and now I have another question: why did your Venerable disappear, and when?"

He did not directly ask about Duan Mingcheng but tried to gather information indirectly.

Envoy Han smiled bitterly, "These two are related. To avoid making Mr. Monkey laugh, let me explain. When our Temple of Snow God split, the four Great Protectors each took a treasure map. Only when all four are combined can the treasure be found. However, human hearts are unpredictable, and in the end, only one of the Great Protectors continued the tradition, leaving us with only one treasure map."

"The other three maps: one is missing, one is in the hands of the 'Living God of Wealth,' and one was obtained by Duan Mingcheng, who also covets the treasure and has been in contact with us. Just as we were planning to join forces, the Venerable who went to negotiate with him disappeared along with him."

The missing map is in my hands... Meng Qi thought, feeling a wave of emotion. It seems Duan Mingcheng did indeed meet a mysterious person, but was not kidnapped by them, but rather disappeared together...

Of course, the Temple of Snow God's account might not be entirely true.

Regarding the Venerable's disappearance, Envoy Han mobilized many people to search, but before any news came back, they were pursued by Fei Zhengqing and had to go underground, making the investigation difficult and leaving no clues.

Meng Qi woke up Envoy Han's attendants and questioned them again, and their statements were highly consistent.

Seeing no more information, Meng Qi smiled, "Thank you for your patience, Envoy Han. I will leave now. By the way, could you write down the 'Great Transformation Technique' for me? Just what you know."

He did not plan to practice the 'Great Transformation Technique' yet, as Envoy Han might alter the text, but he wanted to see the cultivation methods for the third eye and understand the principles.

Envoy Han sighed, found paper and pen, and wrote down the first part, which was not the core of the 'Great Transformation Technique.'

After obtaining the first part of the 'Great Transformation Technique,' Meng Qi quickly left the side room and observed for an hour outside, seeing no one come to Envoy Han and Envoy Han not leaving.

He then changed direction multiple times and headed for the Golden Water Bridge.

As he was about to leave the northern city, Meng Qi suddenly felt a wave of doubt. Even if Envoy Han feared death, he didn't need to be so cooperative, answering many questions without being asked, such as when he suspected it might not be the 'Great Transformation Technique.'

Meng Qi's heart sank, and he retraced his steps, returning to the courtyard.

The side room was silent. Meng Qi felt something was wrong, poked a hole in the window paper, and peered inside.

The room was filled with fallen people. Envoy Han leaned against a beam, his face respectful, his expression frozen, and he was already dead!

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