A New Mission (Seeking Clicks and Recommendations)

"Looks like the Lord of Six Paths Samsara has a bit of a cold sense of humor..." Meng Qi quietly curled his lips.

After discovering that the Small Jade Buddha he carried had mysteriously broken in two when the first Reincarnation World ended, Meng Qi had suspected that it was the triggering medium. He had deliberately buried it in a corner of the Servant Courtyard, hoping to interrupt the "summoning" of the "Lord of Six Paths Samsara," but now it seemed to have had almost no effect.

However, Meng Qi discovered that when facing the "Reincarnation World" once again, he actually felt a faint sense of anticipation. He wanted to become stronger through the "Reincarnation World" and break free of his current constraints.

"Forget it, Little Junior Brother. The Bodhi Courtyard is keeping an eye on this matter. I don't think they'll mistreat us. I'll return to my room and calm down for a while." Meng Qi pretended to ponder before speaking to Zhenhui.

Zhenhui had already been staring eagerly in the direction of the Martial Arts Hall. Now, he could not help turning back to look at Meng Qi. "Senior Brother, this isn't like you!"

You understand me quite well... Meng Qi grumbled inwardly. How did this usually foolish Little Junior Brother suddenly become so clever? "Little Junior Brother, it's fine. We need to figure out the reason first."

Zhenhui nodded as if he understood, then hurried back to the Zen Room ahead of Meng Qi to sit in meditation and practice his skills. He was currently at the crucial stage of opening his Dantian, so he was unusually diligent.

Meng Qi already fully believed in the might of the "Lord of Six Paths Samsara." Without avoiding Zhenhui, he shut the door, sat cross-legged, and regulated his breathing.

His breathing grew longer and calmer. Meng Qi gradually subdued the fear and dread in his heart. His vision suddenly went dark, then brightened again, and he found himself on the White Jade Plaza.

Nothing here had changed. White clouds wove across the sky, mist swirled all around, and statues of Immortal Birds and Divine Beasts appeared and vanished amid the haze.

"Little Monk, catch the blade!" Jiang Zhiwei's crisp, oriole-like voice rang out as a Monastic Blade flew toward Meng Qi in a beautiful arc.

Meng Qi swept out his right hand and caught the Monastic Blade with ease. He then saw Jiang Zhiwei standing prettily not far away, her apricot-yellow dress swaying gently in the breeze, while Zhang Yuanshan and Qi Zhengyan also approached with their robes fluttering.

"Your martial arts have improved quite a bit." Jiang Zhiwei smiled as she spoke, without the frustration or anger of having to undertake another Reincarnation mission.

From the way Meng Qi had caught the blade, she could roughly tell his current level.

Seeing these familiar faces, Meng Qi felt more at ease than he had in Shaolin Temple. He chuckled. "This humble monk doesn't want to meet Buddha while still in the prime of his life."

As he spoke, he stroked the fine-steel Monastic Blade.

"Heh, it's rare for you to sound so much like a monk." Seeing Meng Qi's movements, Jiang Zhiwei nodded slightly. "I knew you would have trouble obtaining an unsharpened Monastic Blade in Shaolin, so I prepared one for you."

"Then I must thank you, Miss Jiang." Meng Qi deliberately addressed her that way.

Before Jiang Zhiwei could retort, his expression turned solemn. "Miss Jiang, Senior Brother Zhang, Senior Brother Qi, after returning from the last mission, did you discover anything unusual about yourselves or your surroundings? I found that the Small Jade Buddha I carried had cracked."

He had decided to be honest about this matter rather than beat around the bush. After all, it was of great importance. If he asked vaguely, Zhang Yuanshan and the others might overlook clues. Besides, now that the Small Jade Buddha had broken in two, it seemed to have lost its function. Losing Zhang Yuanshan and Jiang Zhiwei's trust because of this would be exceedingly unwise.

Jiang Zhiwei furrowed her brows and thought carefully before slowly shaking her head. "I didn't discover anything similar."

"Neither did I." Zhang Yuanshan pondered before answering firmly. Qi Zhengyan likewise shook his head in denial.

"Looks like the Small Jade Buddha breaking was merely an accident." Meng Qi nodded lightly, but he faintly felt that things were probably not so simple. He simply had no clue for the moment.

"By the way, there's one very important thing that happened in the Daxiong Baodian that I haven't told you about yet." Unable to make sense of Meng Qi's Small Jade Buddha either, Zhang Yuanshan began telling Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan about the two mysterious organizations, "Immortal Traces" and "Mythos," while Jiang Zhiwei occasionally added details.

"Hiss..." Meng Qi drew in a breath. "Could the root of this Reincarnation World lie in our own world?"

Zhang Yuanshan had already grown quite accustomed to the word "world." He said thoughtfully, "Our world has had Daoist Masters and Buddhas, Demon Emperors and Demon Saints. It has had the Mythological Era, as well as many mighty figures who once dominated the heavens with a turn of their hands. Even now, Dharma Body level Land Immortals are no weaker than the Gods, Buddhas, and Immortal Saints of old. They can move mountains and fill seas, enter and leave Azure Nether. If the 'Lord of Six Paths Samsara' originated here, it wouldn't be strange."

"What happened to those great figures back then?" Meng Qi had always been curious about this. How could such mighty beings have vanished into the River of Time?

Jiang Zhiwei knew that Meng Qi was a novice wandering the martial world. She smiled, revealing shallow dimples. "According to rumor, some died at the hands of other mighty beings, while others perished when their lifespans ran out."

"When their lifespans ran out?" Meng Qi asked in surprise. In his mind, anyone who could be called a God, Buddha, or Immortal Saint should surely have attained Eternal Longevity.

Jiang Zhiwei sighed deeply. "The laws of Heaven and Earth are fixed. Even Gods, Buddhas, and Immortal Saints face the worry of their lifespans ending. Though they may obtain lifespans of several thousand, ten thousand, or even more years, in the end they cannot escape the fate of becoming a mound of yellow earth."

"Since ancient times, countless astonishingly talented great figures exhausted their minds and wisdom seeking all kinds of wondrous methods—extending life, resurrection, possession, the Divine Path, the Ghost Way. Unfortunately, these were only useful for a time and could not free them from the laws of Heaven and Earth. Thus, some of these great figures built tombs, seeking a path to remain forever after death, while others silently vanished into the River of Time. I fear that only the Daoist Master and Buddha of legend could transcend Heaven and Earth and remain indestructible through countless tribulations."

"Of legend?" Meng Qi asked sharply. "Aren't they indestructible through countless tribulations?"

"Before the Mythological Era, Daoist Masters and Buddhas had already become rare in the world. If the Buddha had not emerged to suppress the Demon Buddha when he tried to destroy the Buddhist lineage tens of thousands of years ago, the people of the world would probably have assumed that they had also successively passed away. The shattering of that assumption gave every powerhouse hope." Zhang Yuanshan's face was full of emotion. "It is rumored that Buddhism possesses an alternative path of cultivation that exists alongside the world, but unfortunately, that is merely a rumor."

Meng Qi slowly exhaled. "So even Gods, Buddhas, and Immortal Saints grow old and die."

He was still young, so he did not feel much about lifespans running out.

"It can't be considered growing old. Mighty beings who can prove the Dao Body and Dharma Body only decay at the moment before death." Qi Zhengyan's expressionless face held a faint yearning.

"Decay only at the moment before death? I wonder how long the lifespan of a great figure who has attained an Arhat Golden Body is?" Meng Qi asked curiously.

Zhang Yuanshan shook his head with a laugh. "Junior Brother Zhending, it's too early for you to worry about that, isn't it? Hmm, as for current Dharma Body level Land Immortals, under normal circumstances, their lifespans can reach two or three hundred years. However, it is rumored that during the Mythological Era, the lifespans of similar great figures were dozens of times longer. Perhaps Heaven and Earth underwent some change."

Extremely few texts from the Mythological Era had survived. Only various unreliable stories had been passed down, so later generations could only base their views on speculation.

"This mission will have newcomers entering." At that moment, the voice of the Lord of Six Paths Samsara rang out, mighty and imposing.

As soon as the voice fell, it seemed as if a great sun had descended. Its dazzling radiance pierced the eyes of Zhang Yuanshan and Jiang Zhiwei, the two experts who had opened their Eye Apertures, causing them to shut their eyes instinctively.

When everything returned to normal, Meng Qi saw four people lying on the white jade tiles—two men and two women.

"Damn it, he really dared to come!" The first to wake was a burly man. Wearing a brown outfit stained with grease, he cursed as he sprang up, then raised the long blade in his hand and hacked toward the nearest person, Meng Qi.

He seemed to have been waiting for an enemy. Without even observing his surroundings, he attacked directly.

The other two women and one man happened to wake at that moment. They heard the curses and saw the scene of the blade swinging down.

"Ah!" The delicate young woman in a lotus-colored dress screamed. She hugged her arms to her chest and trembled violently.

Beside her was a seductive married woman. She abruptly pulled a hairpin from her head, her expression tense, as if afraid that the vicious man would hack at her.

The middle-aged man in a wide robe and long sleeves furrowed his brows. He surveyed the surroundings from the corners of his eyes, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

The moment Meng Qi saw the burly man swing his blade, he roughly understood the situation. His body slid away, and he flashed behind the man like a ghost. With the back of his Monastic Blade, he struck him directly, sending him staggering.

"Stop!" Once the burly man barely steadied himself, Meng Qi shook his head and shouted. The man's strength should be at the Minor Qi Accumulation level, equivalent to Zhen Liang, but he possessed several more points of the ferocious aura of someone fighting for his life. He was considered quite skilled. If it had been Meng Qi a month ago, he would certainly have been flustered upon encountering him. But now, after long-term sparring with Zhen Miao and countless exchanges against all kinds of opponents in the Martial Arts Hall, dealing with him was as easy as cutting vegetables.

The burly man also noticed the abnormality in his surroundings. Shocked and suspicious, he held his blade horizontally and looked at Meng Qi. "May I ask, Your Excellency, what is going on?"

Overawed by Meng Qi's strength and the inexplicable change, he hurriedly lowered his stance.

Thinking that guiding newcomers might earn Merit Points, Meng Qi swept his gaze across the four newcomers' faces. "You should have already noticed that this place is unusual, right? This poor monk is Zhending. I'm not all that different from you, except that I arrived in this 'Reincarnation World' a little earlier."

"Reincarnation World?" The middle-aged man in the wide robe repeated in a low voice as he slowly stood up.

Meng Qi pointed at the Central Light Pillar and gave them a rough explanation of the "Lord of Six Paths Samsara." "So, here you can use Merit Points to exchange for peerless martial arts, divine weapons, Immortal Pills and Marvelous Medicines, and anything else you can think of."

"'Buddha's Palm'? 'World-Shocking Book'? 'Heavenly Emperor Jade Book'?" the burly man asked, breathing rapidly.

Meng Qi pointed listlessly at the light pillar. "You can go take a look yourselves."

He had explained everything, yet there had been no Merit Points reward. He would never do this sort of thing again!

"Great Master, Divine Monk, this young woman... this young woman doesn't have the strength to truss a chicken. Could you reason with the 'Lord of Six Paths Samsara' and ask it to send me back? I swear I'll keep my mouth shut." The young woman in the lotus-colored dress hurriedly stood up and looked at Meng Qi pleadingly.

Meng Qi sighed and pressed his palms together. "Amitabha Buddha. Benefactor, do you think that's possible?"

The girl's eyes had already been brimming with tears. Now, the tears slid down her cheeks as she whimpered softly, "Mother, Mother, save Xiao Zi..."

Meng Qi felt deeply about similar situations. He turned to look at Jiang Zhiwei, signaling for her, as another woman, to comfort the girl. As for whether Xiao Zi could survive the subsequent Reincarnation mission, that would depend on the circumstances at the time. If they lacked the strength to spare, Meng Qi, Jiang Zhiwei, and the others probably would not sacrifice themselves for a stranger.

Jiang Zhiwei's lips moved as she used Sound Transmission. "Little Monk, what does the 'Lord of Six Paths Samsara' mean by this? Why did it bring along an ordinary girl? Oh, that older man probably has the strength of the Orifice Opening Realm."

She had always believed that the Reincarnation World was similar to selecting gu, with young martial artists as its targets.

Meng Qi shook his head, indicating that he could not guess. Suddenly, he remembered something. He called out to Jiang Zhiwei, who had walked to the crying girl. "Miss Jiang, have you broken through?"

With strangers present, he kept his question vague.

"I have." Jiang Zhiwei patted Xiao Zi on the shoulder and began quietly comforting her.

"Divine Monk, my name is Xiang Hui. I beg you to be merciful and take good care of me." After looking through the exchange list of the Central Light Pillar, the burly man quietly sidled up beside Meng Qi, nodding and bowing with obsequious eagerness.

Meng Qi's previous strike had made him feel that the Little Monk's strength was unfathomably deep and that he should be stronger than the other three.

Meng Qi gave Xiang Hui a mocking, knowing look. Just as he was about to speak, the surrounding scene suddenly changed. Mountains and rivers overlapped, while light and darkness alternated.

"The Northern Barbarians have seized the Central Plains, acting against the natural order and slaughtering the common people. Shaolin's monks have joined the righteous armies in various places to resist them."

"To completely eradicate this threat, the Northern Barbarians' Great General Du'er Cha is preparing to lead numerous experts and a great army to Shaohua Mountain and destroy Shaolin."

"Du'er Cha secretly bought off many monks within Shaolin. This journey is certain to succeed. Fortunately, a righteous hero sacrificed his life to send out this news."

"Main Quest One: Split into Two Groups, break through the interception of the experts sent by Du'er Cha, and deliver the list of traitors to Shaolin. Time limit: three days. Those who fail to arrive by the deadline will have fifty Merit Points deducted. When the Reincarnation mission ends, those without enough Merit Points will be killed! Those who arrive successfully will each be rewarded with fifty Merit Points upon entering the temple."

"Main Quest Two: To be issued after Main Quest One is completed."