Chapter 188: Two “Swords” ###
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Luo Shengyi and Ruan Yushu had a.s.sumed that something went wrong when Meng Qi was summoning the Sky Thunder, and it resulted in his Genuine Qi running helter-skelter and his blood boiling. Thus, they had intended to help him suppress his inner problem on arriving at w.a.n.ghou Lane before meeting the Fourth Prince.
But after he took out the “Pill of Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing”, a sort of elixir to which they were no stranger, they came to realize the abnormality. Nevertheless, due to their ignorance of the situation in the imperial palace, it was impossible for them to immediately expect that the relic of the Demon Venerable had fallen into the hands of the old emperor. Thus, they did not have a definite thought in spite of quite a lot of speculations.
As the youngest daughter, who was from one of the 14 major aristocratic families and enjoyed the ardent favor of the elders, Ruan Yushu had heard many anecdotes. So she could make a vague guess at Meng Qi’s current situation. Cool, while interested, she gazed at Meng Qi. It was the first time she had seen the real situation!
As the “Pill of Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing” melted in his mouth, a thread of chilliness spread through his throat to his stomach. It largely alleviated the searing heat, which resulted in Meng Qi’s surplus inner power, and began to reconcile them and lead them to rush to the Nose Aperture.
He had just finished concentrating the Nine Aperture acupoints related to the Nose Apertures. Distributed in a peculiar way, they could respond to the world exteriorly and communicate with two lungs interiorly after being integrated as a whole. They lit up one by one like dazzling stars in Meng Qi’s dark vision after he closed his eyes.
In the midst of stars, the Nose Aperture were partly hidden and partly visible like a gate which shut down a pa.s.sage where the interior and exterior world connected.
Meng Qi ran all his inner power and connected them with the efficacy of the “Pill of Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing”. They flowed towards the Nose Aperture like raging waves pounding on the sh.o.r.e. The pain from his body and soul being torn seemed not so unbearable against the explosive pain from swelling.
“Bang!”
With a burst of invisible sound, the “gate” formed by the Nose Aperture was open under the impact of the seemingly endless inner power and medicine after several breaths.
Everything was going normally while seeming to be a bit different. The fragrance of the trees, the moistness of the night wind, the slight sweat of Luo Shengyi, and the glimmers of the sweet scent of Ruan Yushu—all of these went into his nose in clear layers.
As both of his lungs became extremely powerful, most of the junk Qi in the universe was shut out by his Nose Aperture in a minute. The pure Vital Qi in the universe flooded in, soaking his lungs and meridians, remolding his body and enhancing his Genuine Qi.
It was how Nose Aperture played their role in practice. With them as the core and the Mouth Aperture as the supplement, the pract.i.tioner could inhale pure Vital Qi once they were opened. They could help the pract.i.tioner get twice the result with half the effort and a faster recovery in Genuine Qi during fights. Thus, Seven Apertures opened was considered the mark of accomplis.h.i.+ng the primary level of the Enlightenment Period and the preliminary formation of the inner world. Meng Qi came desperately close to this level, lacking only the Mouth Aperture.
As the remaining inner power slowly flowed in, filling Meng Qi’s empty meridians after the former inner power flowed toward the Nose Aperture, he did not have the feeling of swelling anymore. It was not long before Meng Qi completely cultivated the inner power. Then his inner force reached the peak again, being at least doubled compared with when he fought against the Evil Prince, and almost equaling to that of an average Seven-Aerture master.
At this level, even Meng Qi’s Palm Gust could kill a person.
“I’m done.” Examining his situation, Meng Qi indicated that he did not need Luo Shengyi’s help.
Luo Shengyi smiled and said, “You have opened Six Apertures?”
From such a short distance, how could he be unaware of Meng Qi’s breakthrough? However, not knowing what was going on, he did not have to take a risk. The double Karma points gained from the main task were more than 1,000.
Meng Qi extended his left hand to show the Demon Venerable Stone, which was empty without invisible jelly in it and appearing dark yellow. It was transparent and chilly. He said, “The relic of the Demon Venerable had fallen into the hands of the old emperor, and my body was imbued with inner power the moment I got it…”
It was not until this time that he was finally free to relay what had happened.
“Were it not for our desire to watch whether the old emperor was alive or dead tonight, the Crown Prince might be ready to overwhelmingly finish off other Imperial Princes and come to the throne in another few days. Then we won’t even be able to figure out why we lost in the main task,” Luo Shengyi said with emotion, taking a deep glance at the crystal of the Demon Venerable.
As a lone wolf from Jianghu, he was always fervent with lucky chances because the paths of normal promotion were too narrow and rare.
Considering this crystal could count as a rarity due to its capability of holding inner power, Meng Qi took out a black cloth, which seemed like fur but was not, to wrap up the crystal.
He just realized that, before picking it up, he needed to wrap up the crystal with this black cloth to separate it from his flesh.
As the black cloth unfolded, four big lively characters appeared on it:
“That’s how it is.”
“That’s how it is…” At the sight of the four characters, Meng Qi was dumbfounded like being struck by lightning. With countless thoughts rolling in his mind, he could not calm down. The scenes he had experienced when comprehending “Mortal Dust Fall” emerged one by one.
There was a monk who could not be seen clearly, he only knew that he had a distressed expression on his face.
As his body shrank, he became a child who was adorable and cute and loved by his parents. When he grew up, he was respectful and filial to his parents. Meanwhile, his parents prioritized him over everything. When his parents ended their long lifespans, watching their coffins, he said with a long sigh, “That’s how it is.”
Born into a royal family, he was adored by everybody. When he grew up, he got his power and imperial seal. He decided a person’s life and death with a word. He killed numerous people when he was angry. He promoted others when he was happy. 10 years later, he left the palace and only said, “That’s how it is.”
As an extraordinary genius, the Demon Venerable had entered the realm of Great Grandmaster before the age of 30. He united the Demon School, which had been split up for generations, by himself and became the most splendid master after the founder of the Demon School. Afterward, he integrated the nine volumes of Scripture and thoroughly understood them, which rendered him only half a step away from breaking through s.p.a.ce. Then he contended for hegemony and killed Great Grandmasters. All those who could fight with him for more than three rounds were considered world-famous masters. The current old emperor, who was the Crown Prince at that time, was overwhelmed by the Eighth Prince, who was supported by him, and almost lost the throne.
At his peak, when the age of the Demon School was coming, he was suddenly enlightened and floated far away. He became a monk accompanied by The Old Buddha with the Altar Lamp, only leaving four characters on the paper: “That’s how it is.”
Meng Qi felt numbness on his scalp. He is Ananda? He is still alive?
The Demon King was a big power in the time of the Demon Mess as well as an unsurpa.s.sed big shot in the ending time of the Myths. Her time finally came to an end and the medieval times began when Human Sovereign was born, who cast the Sword of the Human Sovereign in the Dragon Tower and overawed the world with it. Ananda and she were from the same time, which was at least 100,000 years ago. How could he possibly still be alive?
Could it be that through generations of reincarnation, during which he was willing to fall into Samsara and drown in the sea of bitterness, he finally comprehended the Buddhist doctrines but had forgotten himself?
The sea of bitterness was like a dream, and worldly things were unreal. It was just as well to forget them… For no particular reason, Meng Qi suddenly had more understanding of Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmans.h.i.+p.
“What’s the matter?” Noticing that Meng Qi suddenly stopped and stared at the black paper in his hand in a daze, Luo Shengyi and Ruan Yushu stepped back and asked him quizzically.
The characters were so big that the two could see them clearly. However, they could not understand why the four characters “That’s how it is” had such great magic power that could render Meng Qi, who always kept stable and calm at the crucial moment, to forget the current urgent situation.
Taking a deep breath, Meng Qi said with a smile, “I thought the Demon Venerable would have left his experience of martial arts, but I didn’t expect that it would be four such inexplicable characters. So I am a little surprised at the moment.”
He did not really know Luo Shengyi and Ruan Yushu that well. Thus, it was temporarily unnecessary to tell them about Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmans.h.i.+p. He could discuss it with Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan after he returned.
Now he was a little afraid and alert. “If Ananda was still alive, would there be any hidden danger for him to keep practicing the bladesmans.h.i.+p ? Was the bladesmans.h.i.+p related to him living in such a strange way?”
“Before figuring out the matter, he should practice and use Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmans.h.i.+p as little as possible…” Meng Qi secretly thought that, but soon smiled ruefully. In the hazardous World of Samsara, if it were not for Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmans.h.i.+p, he would have been killed long ago. For instance, obviously this task was a task for leading newcomers without being too dangerous. Nonetheless, due to his choice, it kept changing the entire way with increasing difficulty. He not only kept using Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmans.h.i.+p, but also used the imprint of Thunder G.o.d, which could be used only twice.
Certainly, corresponding harvests would be ampler.
“I should acquire other Exterior moves as soon as possible, instead of completely relying on Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmans.h.i.+p!” Meng Qi made up his mind.
Carrying the crystal and restraining his thought, Meng Qi quickened his pace to head to w.a.n.ghou Lane with Luo Shengyi and Ruan Yushu. At the moment, the clamor and thunder in the imperial palace had disturbed most of the capital.
Out of the imperial palace, there was no more storm and lightning. In a hurry, the three soon reached the Fourth Prince’s residence in w.a.n.ghou Lane.
“I need to meet the Fourth Prince for something important related to the sudden change in the imperial palace,” Meng Qi directly said to the gatekeeper.
The Fourth Prince was disturbed by the commotion, but failed to figure out the situation at the moment. Therefore, the Manor was brilliantly lighted and heavily guarded without people coming and going.
Recognizing Meng Qi, the gatekeeper did not dare to neglect him. He turned around and went inside to report to the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince was also a man of determination. He came out to meet Meng Qi in person, accompanied by old Sword Emperor—Under such a hazardous circ.u.mstance, he must prevent Meng Qi from a.s.sa.s.sinating him.
Meng Qi was struck by a thought and then said in a deep voice, “Fourth Prince, I have two ‘swords’ and was wondering, which one do you want?”
The Fourth Prince realized his implication and solemnly asked, “Which two?”
Meng Qi looked solemn and said, “One takes momentum as the blade, gold and iron as the edge, courage as the ridge, will as the head, and itself as the clamp. It can chop a neck at the top and extinguish a liver and lung at the bottom. In a rage, you can kill an enemy in a short distance with his blood sprinkled five steps away. With it, you can repay an obligation and hatred while going anywhere you want. It’s the sword of a swordsman.
“The other one takes brave people as the blade, incorrupt people as the edge, virtuous people as the ridge, loyal people as the head, and heroic people as the clamp. It’s unprecedentedly upright, supreme when being lifted, not descending when being pressed, and unsurpa.s.sed when being used. At the top, it follows heaven to comply with the sun, moon, and stars. At the bottom, it follows the earth to comply with the four seasons. Between them, it soothes public opinions to pacify the world. Once you use this sword, it’s like thunder. Within the whole country, there won’t be anyone who doesn’t take orders from you with allegiance. It’s the Sword of the Sovereign.
“Fourth Prince, which one would you like to choose? Are you willing to discard the other one?”
The Fourth Prince was extremely shocked by his words, even the Sword Emperor was slightly moved. The surrounding soldiers and swordsmen all gazed at the Fourth Prince with conflicting feelings, waiting for his decision.
As the Fourth Prince paced up and down with his hands behind his back, a resolute expression gradually appeared on his face. He looked at Meng Qi and said in a deep voice,
“I’ll choose the Sword of the Sovereign.”
After saying this, he felt quite relieved as if he had cut off something, while the guards and swordsmen looked excited.
“Really? If you choose the Sword of the Sovereign, would you like to grant me all the swords in your study?” Meng Qi appeared to be testing him with a further question.
Concerning the swords in the Fourth Prince’s study, about 10 of them were Refined Weapons, and others were Hundred-time Tempered Weapons with background stories.
With a laugh, the Fourth Prince said, “The Sword of the Sovereign isn’t in my hand. You can choose any of my swords if you want, except for the two granted by my master.”
A master was like a father, so the swords granted by him certainly could not be given away.
Immediately upon saying this, he stared at Meng Qi and his companions, waiting for them to present the information which was worth the swords.
“The Crown Prince committed regicide and the Left Chief Minister poisoned the emperor. The emperor died!” Meng Qi shocked them as expected.
At a time like this, those who got the information a quarter of an hour earlier could react faster and do more things than others!