Chapter 77

Zu Qiao felt a heat, his spirit spreading like a web, densely and intricately. Cui Xu, while battling, was equally focused, not looking elsewhere, not hearing anything else, immersed in his own world. Apart from the clashing of swords, the sound of a sword piercing flesh, and the enemy who swayed but never fell, there was nothing else.

No, he was not truly as focused as that; there was always something on his mind.

So, when Duan Xiangfei lunged towards the green jade coffin, anger surged in his heart, and malice rose in his gall, causing his expression to twist. He couldn't help but roar:

"You dare!"

At the same time, his web-like spirit spread, trying to divert Meng Qi's attention, then he darted towards Duan Xiangfei, determined to cut down this despicable man with his sword!

Suddenly, a brilliant sword light flashed, quickly filling his vision.

Like the east wind on a night of a thousand blossoms, more falling, like stars in the rain, this sword light was not transcendent, not detached, not sharp, not bloody, but instead filled with the aura of the secular world, like the flames of the Lantern Festival, symbolizing warmth and festivity.

Living in the same neighborhood, growing up without suspicion... That year on the Lantern Festival, the market was as bright as day... Last night in the bridal chamber, the red candles burned, waiting for dawn to pay respects to the in-laws... After finishing her makeup, she softly asked her husband, "Is the eyebrow makeup deep enough?"... Ten years of life and death, not thinking, yet never forgetting... One scene after another of beautiful and tragic memories interrupted Cui Xu's tranquility, leaving him unable to control his spreading spirit, unable to activate the Zu Qiao between his eyebrows.

For Cui Xu, this was the ultimate beauty and the ultimate pain. If it were to happen again, he would be willing to exchange a lifetime of tranquility for eternal companionship.

In the next moment, the sword light, carrying the memories of the past, struck his body, struck his heart, with a mysterious trajectory, impossible to resist.

Cui Xu's pupils contracted, suddenly enlightened, but unable to extricate himself, unsure whether this noisy red dust that broke his tranquility was an illusion or reality.

He turned his head to look at the green jade coffin, as if seeing that gentle yet smiling person, and smiled back at her, not dodging, not avoiding, his sword like a dragon, directly piercing Meng Qi.

At this moment, only with the resolve to die, to fight to the bitter end, could there be a hope of forcing the opponent to hold back, to gain a sliver of life!

This was exactly the same choice Jiang Zhewei made when she was ambushed by Cheng Yong. Cui Xu, indeed, was a master of his generation, the leader of the Twelve Divine Beasts!

Faced with this sword light, faced with the backlash of the red dust that broke his tranquility, Meng Qi gritted his teeth, his expression fierce, and did not dodge, did not withdraw his sword.

Who fears who in a fight to the death?

I have the Golden Bell Cover, I have the Master of the Six Realms, as long as I don't die on the spot, what do I have to fear?

The light faded, and the people separated.

Meng Qi and Cui Xu each took a few steps back, one with a sword piercing his right chest, coughing up blood, his lungs severely injured, the other with a deep sword wound on his chest and abdomen, visible to the spine, his heart beating.

"Good... swordsmanship..." Cui Xu said in a hoarse voice, but before he could finish, he collapsed to the ground.

His eyes lost their luster but still gazed at the green jade coffin.

Duan Xiangfei witnessed the final blow, stopped in front of the green jade coffin, looking at Meng Qi as if he were a monster, and after a few breaths, sighed, "Fortunately, I didn't attack you. This sword was a divine sword, surpassing all the secret techniques of the Snow God Palace."

Although his knowledge was limited, he also felt the subtle changes in the world, the feeling of the red dust, and sensed that the sword light contained the "law" and "reason" that all his martial arts lacked.

Meng Qi didn't dare to pull out the sword from his right chest, only stopping the bleeding by pressing acupoints, his eyes on the cold air condensing behind Duan Xiangfei:

"Killed Rat, rewarded with 60 good deeds."

"Killed Dragon, rewarded with 120 good deeds."

"Side quest two completed, out of combat, can choose to return within half an hour, forced return after half an hour."

He smiled at Duan Xiangfei, "Old Duan, cough, the 'Great Transformation Technique' wasn't finished, cough, continue quickly."

After the life-and-death battle, defeating a much stronger opponent, Meng Qi's playful nature emerged, calling Duan Xiangfei "Old Duan."

The reason he didn't directly choose to return was to try to trick the "Great Transformation Technique" out of Duan Xiangfei.

Duan Xiangfei looked at Meng Qi with a smile, also covering his wound, "If I say no, you will certainly use Mingcheng to threaten me, but I don't know if you are my match now."

Meng Qi chuckled, "No, cough, I'm just negotiating, but if my mood worsens, cough, I will kill indiscriminately."

He was trying to scare Duan Xiangfei, using the power of killing Cui Xu to intimidate him, telling him that if he didn't recite the "Great Transformation Technique," he would kill Duan Mingcheng.

"No problem, I was planning to tell you the 'Great Transformation Technique' anyway," Duan Xiangfei laughed.

Meng Qi was quite surprised, "Old Duan, cough, when did you become so generous?"

"We are both severely injured, and it will be difficult to leave before Luo Qing and his people arrive, so we need to agree on a story," Duan Xiangfei said with a smile, "Only if you also know the 'Great Transformation Technique' will you not accuse me of being the Palace Master of the Snow God Palace. After all, if you do, you will be coveted by others, and the sword technique that killed Cui Lao Gui will be coveted by everyone."

"Later, we will say that Cui Lao Gui was the Palace Master of the Snow God Palace, secretly forming the Twelve Divine Beasts to rebuild the Snow God Palace. Alas, my poor child, was kidnapped because he obtained a treasure map."

Meng Qi winced, "Old Duan, are you not afraid that Fei Zhengqing and others will expose you?"

"What's there to fear? Are they not Divine Beasts? Who would believe them? As long as we buy some time, even if someone suspects later, I will have recovered my martial arts, and the world is vast, where can I not go?" Duan Xiangfei smiled cunningly.

Meng Qi was stunned, sighed, "Old Duan, you, cough, are truly a sly old fox!"

Duan Xiangfei didn't say more, and began reciting the next two to three hundred words.

Meng Qi didn't ask if it was true, knowing that the Master of the Six Realms could verify it, and as long as most of it was correct, it wouldn't take much good deeds to complete it.

Thinking about it, the Master of the Six Realms is truly indispensable for travel and daily life!

When Duan Xiangfei finished, Meng Qi asked about many places he hadn't remembered well, then laughed, "Old Duan, cough, I won't wait for Luo Qing with you, you, cough, figure out your story."

"You really still have the strength to move..." Duan Xiangfei looked somewhat relieved.

"Right, cough, when you assigned the task, you said, cough, what mysterious gift?" Meng Qi suddenly remembered and couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Duan Xiangfei took a pendant from his neck and threw it to Meng Qi with difficulty, "This."

Meng Qi took it and was immediately stunned, his heart surging with shock.

Because the pendant was a small jade Buddha, full of compassion, vivid and lifelike, cool and smooth to the touch, exactly the same as the one he had broken!

The previous jade Buddha pendant seemed to be the key to entering the cycle of rebirth, and now seeing another identical one, how could he not be surprised, how could he not be shaken, how could he not be puzzled, how could his hair not stand on end?

"Where did you, cough, get this from?" Because of the intense emotion, Meng Qi coughed even more fiercely.

Duan Xiangfei looked at Meng Qi with confusion, "Could this jade Buddha pendant be related to the secrets of Buddhism?"

Seeing Meng Qi not answering, he continued, "When I was young, I went to Changhua Temple to pay respects, and the abbot, Master Yuanmeng, gave me this amulet, saying it would protect me from disasters and dangers until I was sixty, and after sixty, I should give it to someone with a karmic connection. For the next few decades, I had a smooth life, but after turning sixty last year, I encountered all these things, so I decided to give this jade Buddha pendant to you."

"Did Master Yuanmeng say anything else? Cough, did he say what would happen to the person with a karmic connection? Cough, is it also an amulet?" Meng Qi's face was uncertain.

Duan Xiangfei thought for a moment and slowly said, "He only said that after giving it away, it would no longer provide protection. As for other effects, he didn't mention."

"Where is Master Yuanmeng now?" Meng Qi asked weakly but heavily.

"He passed away over ten years ago," Duan Xiangfei answered clearly.

Meng Qi put away the "small jade Buddha," just about to ask more, when he suddenly heard the sound of chaotic footsteps in the corridor, and immediately silently recited "return."

With his severe injuries and no fighting ability, he didn't want to face others.

If he got into another fight, he wouldn't be able to return!

Luo Qing led the way, followed by Cui Jinxiu, the Dragon Roaming Sect Master, Ning Daogu, and others, who passed through the corridor and saw the situation in the ice cellar.

Cui Xu lay on the ice, his eyes gazing at the green jade coffin, a fatal sword wound on his chest and abdomen. You Tong's body was full of silver needles, blackened, and Duan Mingcheng's eyes were tightly closed, his breathing weak, his face pale.

Duan Xiangfei, leaning against the green jade coffin, stared blankly ahead, his body covered in wounds, clearly severely injured.

Two masters, one dead, one injured, how terrifying and horrifying was this?

The Dragon Roaming Sect Master and others immediately felt as if they had entered hell, and what surprised them even more was that where Duan Xiangfei was looking, there was a handsome, slightly delicate white-robed monk. His body was semi-transparent, a long sword piercing his right chest, his monk's robe tattered and stained with blood, but with his eyes slightly closed, he still had a transcendent air.

Illusory golden lotuses appeared, surrounding him, and when the lotuses disappeared, the monk was gone, leaving only a sense of tranquility.

"This..." Even Luo Qing, a master with a cold personality, was dumbfounded, this was like a scene from a myth!

Duan Xiangfei was the first to recover, and said loudly, "Cui Xu was the Palace Master of the Snow God Palace, the Dragon of the Twelve Divine Beasts, secretly plotting against me. Fortunately, I received help from Master Zhen Ding, and the conspiracy was shattered. Unfortunately, his divine sword opened the boundary between man and god, and he ascended into the sky, leaving me unable to challenge him in martial arts!"

"A divine sword?" Luo Qing's eyes narrowed, looking at the wound on Cui Xu's chest in shock.

"Ascended into the sky?" The Dragon Roaming Sect Master, Yue Shishi, and others opened their mouths involuntarily.

Such a thing was too unbelievable, but the scene just now left them no choice but to believe!

Thinking of Master Zhen Ding's divine sword that broke through the void, how stunning and awe-inspiring it must have been!