Chapter 90

Meng Qi took a deep breath, preparing to rise and fight for his life. He was weak and powerless, and his injuries were not stable, but An Guoxie, who was chasing him down, must not be in much better shape!

However, as soon as he gathered his energy, his dantian throbbed with pain, and he felt weak and listless, watching helplessly as An Guoxie approached, waving his left hand to seal several of his major acupoints.

The aftereffects of the "Self-Sacrifice Technique" and the cold water immersion were worse than he had imagined!

Meng Qi did not despair, for he realized that An Guoxie had not killed him outright, which meant he still had some use. As long as he was alive, there was still a chance!

Cough, cough, cough. An Guoxie coughed violently and laughed maniacally, "You are the most troublesome opponent I've had in the past five years, and the one with the lowest cultivation level. To catch up with you, I completely ignored my injuries, damaging my essence. Fortunately, I didn't let you escape, hahaha!"

Those who could be killed at will were not true opponents.

His injuries were severe, and although he still retained about 60-70% of his strength, the continuous pursuit after a brief rest had further damaged his essence.

However, as long as the damage to his essence was not continuous, it could still be restored with the help of medicinal pills and cultivation techniques. But a miraculous technique that could open the Yintang point during the Qi Condensation stage was a rare opportunity that might never come again!

"Tell me the cultivation technique that opened your Yintang point, and I might spare your life," An Guoxie said bluntly after catching his breath.

Meng Qi suddenly understood; this was the reason An Guoxie had pursued him so relentlessly!

If he had known this earlier, he could have taken a different approach!

His biggest mistake was underestimating An Guoxie's desire to capture him. Normally, An Guoxie would not risk damaging his essence or jeopardizing his future advancement just to complete a task for Old Man Ku. But a technique that could easily open the Yintang point and help him reach the Half-Step Outer Scenery realm was worth the risk!

The misjudgment stemmed from his knowledge of the true nature of the "Great Transformation Technique," which made him underestimate its value in the eyes of those who did not know the truth. Otherwise, An Guoxie would still be healing, and Meng Qi could have taken his time to recover and return east without being captured.

Feelings of regret and frustration briefly surfaced but were quickly suppressed by Meng Qi. It was too late to dwell on these thoughts; he needed to focus on finding a way to escape.

"What makes me believe your words?" Meng Qi asked calmly.

To be honest, he could not reveal the "Great Transformation Technique" to An Guoxie because he had already traded it to the Lord of the Six Paths for a different technique. If he revealed it again, he would be eliminated.

An Guoxie smiled wickedly, "Little monk, you are in my hands, like meat on a chopping block, at my mercy. I won't swear a divine oath, and you don't need to believe me because you have no choice but to believe me."

"Desire creates a weakness. If you don't swear, I will never speak," Meng Qi probed to find An Guoxie's limits. He actually did not know what a divine oath was.

An Guoxie's smile faded, and he looked at Meng Qi coldly, "Little monk, dying is not that easy. Rest assured, I will make your life worse than death. Alas, there's a lack of torture tools here, so I'll take you back to 'Hale' for proper treatment. By then, heh heh, you'll be crying and begging to tell me the technique, and asking me to kill you."

He looked up at the sky and muttered, "I've been chasing for almost two days. I wonder how the old ancestor is doing. If I capture the little monk, I shouldn't be punished, right..."

He grabbed Meng Qi's back and quickly returned to Liusha Town.

...

In Liusha Town, the streets were sparsely populated, and the towering poplar trees still stood in various shapes, but they were covered in a thick layer of sand, appearing gray and lifeless.

The distant hill had collapsed, turning into countless boulders that buried the surrounding area.

The battle between grandmasters was truly terrifying!

An Guoxie had already sealed Meng Qi's mute point and upper body acupoints, and bound his hands behind his back. He led him to the "First Family of the Desert."

He was confident in the old ancestor, believing that even if the grandmaster Xuanbei could survive, he could not turn the tide. If that were the case, he would have been detected by the grandmaster's senses long before reaching the town.

Entering the inn, the few guests in the hall turned to look at him. Upon seeing An Guoxie's distinctive white hair and young face, they all lowered their heads, silently eating their food, and the noise ceased.

This included the three bandits, who had previously been relieved not to have targeted Xuanbei and his disciples. From the battle they had witnessed, they knew that if they had tried to rob them, they might not have died, but they would have been "converted" to the monastic life, making their lives worse than death.

Now, seeing Meng Qi captured by An Guoxie, they felt even more the power of Old Man Ku's lineage.

"Nine Lady, did the old ancestor kill the monk?" An Guoxie asked, addressing the woman with a face that looked as if someone owed her 30,000 taels of silver.

Qiu Jiuniang lifted her head and slapped the table, "You can call me Nine Lady?"

An Guoxie snorted, "Others may fear you, but I don't. Answer my question honestly."

Qiu Jiuniang's eyes seemed to be brewing a sandstorm, "Old lady told you to get lost, did you hear? Get lost!"

An Guoxie was furious, but seeing Qiu Jiuniang's cold gaze, he calmed down. The one who could intimidate Nine Lady was the old ancestor, not him. If he angered her and was punished, as long as no one died, the old ancestor would not intervene, as he had many important matters to attend to. Moreover, Qiu Jiuniang's background was mysterious, and no one knew what trouble might arise from provoking her.

A wise man does not seek trouble, so An Guoxie lowered his head and said, "Please, innkeeper, tell me about the battle."

Qiu Jiuniang's lips moved slightly, her face showing disdain, and she spat out a single word:

"Get lost!"

An Guoxie took a deep breath, pulled Meng Qi into the hall, and called out, "Who can tell me the result of the battle between the old ancestor and the monk?"

The leader of the three bandits, the one with a waist knife, flattered, "Big Brother An Guo, the old ancestor and the monk fought all the way to the desert. After that, we don't know what happened."

An Guoxie's eyelids twitched. The monk was that strong?

At that moment, a waiter brought the dishes and said with a smile, "I heard from the innkeeper that they were evenly matched and fought deep into the desert, and no one has returned yet."

An Guoxie pondered for a moment and decided to leave Liusha Town immediately with the little monk, returning to Hale to avoid the monk turning back if the old ancestor failed to kill him.

On the way, he would interrogate the monk for the technique and kill him as soon as he got it!

He paused and asked again, "What about the other little monk?"

Had his three disciples completed their task?

The waiter answered without hesitation, "As soon as the two grandmasters entered the desert, the little monk ran out of the inn, saying he was going to find his master and senior brother. He then entered the desert and disappeared."

Zhenhui was looking for him? Meng Qi felt a sudden warmth in his heart, but Zhenhui's Qi Condensation was not yet complete, and the desert was vast and dangerous. Would he get lost?

This worry quickly faded as Meng Qi realized his own situation was more dire. He needed to focus on escaping from the "White-Headed Vulture" first!

An Guoxie cursed under his breath, "Three useless fools, unable to capture a little monk with incomplete Qi Condensation! Wait until the old ancestor deals with you!"

He thought the Maha Subduing Demons Fist, which explored the mysteries of life and death, had frightened the three fools, making them hide far away.

After asking more detailed questions about the battle, An Guoxie carried Meng Qi and rushed into the desert.

Qiu Jiuniang lifted her head, watching them disappear, her gaze deep, lost in thought.

Then she took out a piece of paper, wrote:

"Old Man Ku and Shaolin Xuanbei fought to a draw, entering deep into the desert. Xuanbei is expected to be severely injured, while Old Man Ku fled in defeat, underestimating his opponent and lacking the will to fight to the death. Xuanbei's hatred is deep."

"Xuanbei's two disciples: one is missing, and the other was captured by An Guoxie. They may set a trap to lure Xuanbei into a deadly situation."

"Both sides have the potential to be swayed."

...

She licked her lips, looking unusually alluring, then sighed and muttered:

"Since ancient times, the will of heaven has been hard to fathom..."

She rolled up the paper, put it in her pocket, and did not sign it.

...

In the desert, An Guoxie did not dare to delay, wanting to return to Hale as soon as possible. He carried Meng Qi and hurried along the way.

However, his essence was damaged, and his injuries had only recovered to about 60-70%. Continuous travel was too much for him, and by evening, he had to find a sheltered spot among some weathered rocks to start a fire, cook meat, and meditate.

Meng Qi ate a few pieces of antelope meat and drank some water, which alleviated his weakness and fatigue. However, his forehead was still hot, and he felt dazed, as if he were seriously ill.

To his surprise, his cultivation of the "Sinew Forging and Bone Tempering Canon" had improved his constitution and recovery ability. With the continuous flow of liver qi after opening the acupoints, the sealed acupoints had already loosened, and fine threads of internal energy were beginning to gather.

He carefully and slowly circulated his energy, trying to break through the sealed acupoints. Although this was a basic technique of the Golden Bell Cover, it was not specialized and rather shallow, but it was better than nothing.

Throughout this process, Meng Qi kept an eye on An Guoxie, noticing that after taking healing pills, he was focused on recovering and had no time to pay attention to anything else.

It had been half a day since the acupoints were sealed, and they had loosened considerably. Therefore, Meng Qi's attempts to break through them were becoming increasingly successful.