The First One

Every hair on Meng Qi's body stood on end. Could they have come to a world with ghosts and spirits? Though things like Golden Bodies, Dharma Bodies, and Dao Bodies sounded lofty and mighty, surely capable of making evil ghosts vanish into thin air, he and the others were still only at the level of ordinary martial arts. They seemed to have no way to fight ghosts!

What should they do?

Just as Meng Qi's legs felt filled with lead, unable to advance or retreat, a snow-bright sword flash streaked past and struck directly into the empty air above the "evil ghost."

Huh? Had she been bewitched by the ghost, causing her sword move to miss?

For that instant, Meng Qi thought the strike had gone wrong and failed to hit the ghost.

In the blink of an eye, with a slap, the black shadow dropped straight to the ground. Its limbs flailed, but it could not rise for the moment.

Zhang Yuanshan darted over, forming a finger sword with his right hand and tapping downward. The black shadow immediately stopped moving.

"Putting on an act and playing tricks." Jiang Zhiwei sheathed her longsword and gave a soft snort.

Only then did Meng Qi see that an inconspicuous guide rail had been installed along the stone wall overhead. A rope hung down from it, swaying back and forth, with only half of it remaining.

"Ha ha." Meng Qi gave an awkward laugh, feeling slightly ashamed that his poor eyesight had frightened him with such an ordinary mechanism.

Looking ahead, Jiang Zhiwei smiled. "Senior Brother Zhang and I have already opened our Eye Apertures, equivalent to the initial stage of your Buddhist Heavenly Eye. Although the firelight here is dim, and the rails and rope were concealed by the surroundings, they still could not escape our eyes."

Eye Apertures, Heavenly Eye... Only then did Meng Qi understand what the Orifice Opening Realm truly meant. He asked instinctively, "But what does this have to do with martial arts?"

What Meng Qi could not understand was how ordinary martial arts could develop to the point of the Heavenly Eye.

"The eyes are the liver's aperture. Once one has achieved Major Qi Accumulation, opened the qi channels, and completed the initial tempering of the body, martial cultivation turns toward the organs and apertures." Zhang Yuanshan took something from the Black Clothed Man's mouth. As he straightened up, he casually explained, then looked at the others. "He is still alive. He was unable to take poison and kill himself. Does anyone have a method to force the Hidden Emperor Fortress's specific arrangements and circumstances out of him?"

His acupoint strike had been both precise and timely, preventing the Black Clothed Man from biting through the ** in his mouth.

Meng Qi nodded gently. He now roughly understood the Orifice Opening Realm, and his heart burned even more fiercely for the martial cultivation of this world. As for methods of interrogating captives, though Meng Qi knew of quite a few tortures from past curiosity, either they did not suit the present setting or were unsuited for a swift interrogation. Thus, following Zhang Yuanshan's lead, he looked toward Jiang Zhiwei, Qi Xia, and the others.

Qi Xia stepped forward and forced a somewhat strained smile. "This little sister does know an acupoint technique that may be worth trying. I only ask that you not find this little sister too cruel."

She had ordinarily been a pampered young lady. Now that she was trapped in the Reincarnation World, she could not settle her emotions so quickly and was somewhat dazed. Even her polite smile seemed heavy with worry, and in the matter of forms of address, she had allowed Meng Qi, this very young Sectarian Monk, to take advantage.

"Could it be the Great River Gang's Thirteen Hands of Soul Searching?" After a moment's thought, Jiang Zhiwei guessed the martial art Qi Xia intended to use.

Qi Xia smiled bitterly. "Though it is called Soul Searching, it is no more than acupoint torture."

Zhang Yuanshan nodded lightly and cupped his hands. "Then I ask Junior Sister Qi to make a move, so that we may sit back and reap the benefits."

"Hmph, a yellow-haired brat pretending to be some famous Great Hero. The plays say it well: great villains resemble the loyal..." Yan Wujiang, standing beside Meng Qi, muttered very softly. It seemed the cowardly and wretched man greatly disliked people like Zhang Yuanshan, who could seize control of the situation no matter the circumstances.

Meng Qi glanced sidelong at him and said nothing. Was this fellow not afraid of being abandoned?

Yan Wujiang gave the Young Monk a disdainful look and continued muttering softly, "They have not even opened their Ear Apertures. What am I afraid of..."

Tsk, a cautious sailor sails for ten thousand years. Meng Qi smiled without speaking, watching Qi Xia squat before the Black Clothed Man. She pressed together the index and middle fingers of her right hand into a sword shape. After regulating her breathing for several breaths, she swiftly tapped the Black Clothed Man seven times.

Then, as though something had shoved her away, she rose to her feet, her head covered in cold sweat.

Hah, hah. Beastlike roars issued from the Black Clothed Man's throat, followed by wave after wave of miserable screams. Though the Thirteen Hands of Soul Searching kept the sounds low enough that only those nearby could hear them, they were shrill and chilling, raising goosebumps all over Meng Qi's body.

"Ah... stop, please, please... ah... I, I'll talk..." At last, the Black Clothed Man could endure no more and cried out in surrender.

Qi Xia exhaled softly, squatted down again, and tapped him five more times. "Talk. I need to hear whether what you say matches what we know."

Sweat poured from the Black Clothed Man like slurry, soaking his clothes through. In a hoarse voice, he revealed the Hidden Emperor Fortress's detailed arrangements and the Fortress Lord's situation.

Squatting on the ground, Zhang Yuanshan began drawing a map according to his description. Generally speaking, if someone lied out of thin air without planning it beforehand, once the arrangements they described were turned into a map, there would inevitably be more or less some contradictions—unless it was extremely simple.

"Looks right." Zhang Yuanshan studied the completed map and said in a low voice, "This Hidden Emperor Fortress is built within underground caverns. It is extraordinarily vast and filled with mechanisms. We do not have much time."

"Then we are not going to rescue the four great experts?" Qing Jing immediately asked. After hesitating, he continued, "By his account, the Hidden Emperor Fortress Lord seems to have opened all six apertures of the eyes, ears, and nose..."

The Black Clothed Man naturally did not know the Fortress Lord's exact cultivation, but some details in his account gave Qing Jing and the others cause for speculation. For instance, piercing mosquitoes and flies with embroidery needles in the dark of night, or detecting poison before consuming it despite being poisoned by traitors several times.

Meng Qi glanced at Qing Jing. This fellow was not entirely self-willed and stubborn after all.

"Yes, we cannot be careless. From the map, the mechanisms trapping the four great experts are on the eastern and western sides respectively. Factoring in the time to break the mechanisms and breach the guards, we must split up." Zhang Yuanshan rose to his feet and spoke steadily. "Junior Brother Qi, you should have achieved Major Qi Accumulation already, correct?"

"Ashamed. I achieved Major Qi Accumulation five years ago, yet have never been able to open an aperture." The taciturn Qi Zhengyan answered with cupped hands.

"Then I ask Junior Brother Qi to join Junior Brother Qing Jing and me on the eastern side. We will strive to rescue Great Hero Ma Lianghan and Great Hero Tan Wenbo as soon as possible." Zhang Yuanshan laid out his suggestion. "As for Junior Sister Jiang and Junior Sister Qi, look after Junior Brother Zhending and Chieftain Yan. It would naturally be best if you can rescue the remaining two great experts on the western side. But should your strength prove insufficient, do not get entangled. Rescue one if you can, then come directly to the center to meet us. I have estimated that three great experts cooperating to hold them back will be enough."

Originally, he had wanted Jiang Zhiwei, the strongest martial artist, to act alongside him. But considering that sending Qing Jing and Qi Xia, both near the threshold of Orifice Opening, to rescue people on the western side had little chance of success—perhaps they could not rescue even one—he decided, for the sake of caution, that he and Jiang Zhiwei would split up to save people. Of course, while handing the burdens to them, he also had to correspondingly "lighten" their task.

"There is no need for that. We can act together and rescue just two of them. How can ordinary Orifice Opening Realm experts compare with those who inherit the legacies of great sects?" Qing Jing said with a trace of pride.

It was common knowledge that Orifice Opening Realm inheritors from major sects, who had mastered numerous supreme arts, could often defeat ordinary martial artists of the jianghu who had opened two to four more apertures than they had.

Of course, quite a few inheritors of major sects had also capsized in the gutter due to insufficient jianghu experience. Therefore, all sects now gave their inheritors all kinds of training in jianghu experience. For example, from what Meng Qi knew through Xuan Xin, before outstanding Shaolin disciples left the Mountain Gate to travel the jianghu, they spent half a year in the monastery where they could be poisoned or ambushed at any time. Other than the attackers being highly skilled and antidotes being kept nearby to ensure they would not die, everything else was real. This taught disciples leaving the mountain how to recognize and handle all kinds of situations.

If major sects did not know how to compensate for their own weaknesses and conduct specialized training against methods such as assassination and poisoning, they would long ago have been swallowed by the river of history, becoming mere subjects of nostalgia over tea and after meals, rather than still standing at the pinnacle of the universe!

"It is still better to be cautious." Zhang Yuanshan pondered for a moment. After all, this was their first Reincarnation mission, and he had yet to grasp the temperament of the Lord of Six Paths Samsara in assigning missions.

Qing Jing curled his lips, unable to say anything more. Looking at Jiang Zhiwei, he said, "Do not keep us waiting too long. Otherwise, we will act on our own."

"What kind of hero boasts with his mouth? If you have the ability to say it, do you have the ability to fight me again?" Jiang Zhiwei said with a beaming smile, not the least bit concerned by Qing Jing's veiled mockery.

There was no need to take the taunts of a defeated opponent to heart!

Qing Jing's face turned iron-blue, his lips trembling. "If... if I had opened my Eye Apertures too..."

He could not continue, because like Jiang Zhiwei, he was only a little over sixteen. Yet she had already opened her Eye Apertures while he had not. He had clearly already lost.

Frowning in dissatisfaction with himself, he headed toward the fork ahead. "Senior Brother Zhang, do not waste any more time."

Zhang Yuanshan called for Qi Zhengyan to follow. Jiang Zhiwei then turned her head to Meng Qi. "Little Monk, remember to stay close to me. If you get too far away, I will not be able to save you in time."

As she said this, her smile blossomed like a hundred flowers in bloom. "After all, you and I are neither kin nor friends. If you die here, I will not be too saddened."

Meng Qi's face instantly turned dark and awkward. He hurriedly quickened his pace and followed behind Jiang Zhiwei.

At this moment, sound after sound of black shadows rushed out from the fork ahead. Some carried swords, some held axes, and some gripped Steel Forks.

Jiang Zhiwei flicked out her right hand. Her sword howled like a dragon's cry, enclosing three Black Clothed Men around her. With several swishing strikes, she slit one man's throat.

Meng Qi saw blood spray forth, staining a patch of ground and wall red. An unreal feeling immediately rose within him, as though he were watching a movie in a cinema and none of it had anything to do with him.

Fortunately, he had already experienced transmigration; scenes of slaughter paled beside it. He quickly came back to himself and ducked behind Jiang Zhiwei, keeping within the reach of her longsword.

Jiang Zhiwei's sword danced forth, graceful and elegant, forcing the remaining two Black Clothed Men to stand back-to-back in support. Meng Qi watched every exchange without blinking, constantly thinking, If it were me, how would I use the Arhat Fist against them?

At the same time, Qi Xia moved like flowers winding around trees. She did not attack often, but every time clear light flowed over her Water Dividing Thorn, a Black Clothed Man fell. Qing Jing's saber momentum was stern, containing a vast and majestic intent. Every swing of his blade appeared nothing special, yet the Black Clothed Men facing him seemed to have their minds shaken, their movements slowing by half a beat before they were cut down directly.

Zhang Yuanshan did not show off. He went all out, his longsword tracing a semicircle and drawing several long sabers outward from the ring. Then he sent his sword forward; parting flowers and brushing willows, he dropped three Black Clothed Men to the ground in an instant.

Qi Zhengyan's swordsmanship was quite rigorous, with occasional wondrous moves. Surrounded and attacked by three Black Clothed Men, he still gravely wounded one of them. Given more time, it seemed he would have no difficulty taking them down.

"Huh, wasn't Miss Jiang supposed to be the strongest? The other three have each killed at least three Black Clothed Men. Why can she not take down the remaining two?" Amid the flashing blades and sword shadows, Meng Qi did not feel much weight from the deaths of the Black Clothed Men.

Ah!

Suddenly, a scream rang out. Meng Qi instinctively turned around, just in time to see Yan Wujiang, timid as a mouse, pierced through the back of his heart by a longsword thrust from a crack in the stone. Blood gushed out in streams, and he was clearly beyond saving.

"So some stone walls are hollow behind them..."

"The first one..."

Meng Qi watched Yan Wujiang's face twist in extreme agony as he collapsed, and felt ice spread through his entire body.