Unexpected Fortune (Seeking Clicks and Recommendations)

The filthy blood on the ground writhed, forming large blood characters:

"Side mission one: Kill 'Palm of the Universe' among the four innate experts of the enemy camp. Qi Zhengyan rewarded eighty Merit Points, Zhending rewarded fifty Merit Points, Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan each rewarded twenty Merit Points."

With the task completion prompt, Meng Qi was completely relieved, but out of habit, he walked to Tang Shun's corpse and poked it a few times to prevent any feigned death.

"It seems the reward for this side mission is mainly calculated based on the strength comparison between both sides..." Meng Qi casually said to Qi Zhengyan, then quickly walked to Jiang Zhiwei's side and asked with concern, "Miss Jiang, do you still have healing pills?"

Last time, when they besieged "Shapeshifting Scholar" in Daxiong Baodian, Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan were at full strength and far stronger than the enemy, so the final reward was relatively low. This time, however, Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan had less than thirty percent of their strength left and had forcibly interrupted their meditation, leaving their injuries unstable. The gap between himself and Qi Zhengyan versus Tang Shun was also enormous, hence the generous Merit Points.

Jiang Zhiwei spoke with difficulty, nodding lightly, and pointed her left finger at her waist.

Meng Qi reached out and felt a bottle-shaped object. It was a thumb-sized White Jade Bottle. When opened, a fragrant scent wafted out, with a single dark red pill lying quietly inside.

Meng Qi poured out the pill and fed it into Jiang Zhiwei's mouth, watching her swallow with difficulty before sitting cross-legged and closing her eyes in meditation.

Then, without delay, Meng Qi ran to Zhang Yuanshan's side and asked if he had any healing pills.

Zhang Yuanshan was even more severely injured than Jiang Zhiwei. His eyes were listless, his breathing weak, and he couldn't move. It took great effort for him to hoarsely utter two words: "Chest... pocket..."

Meng Qi reached out and fumbled in his bosom, indeed finding a white porcelain bottle containing five or six greenish-blue pills with a pleasant fragrance, like rain-washed bamboo.

At this moment, Qi Zhengyan, after taking his own pills, recovered a bit of energy and staggered over, watching Meng Qi feed Zhang Yuanshan the pills.

"If we had killed Tang Shun without using the 'Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart,' our reward would have been higher." Qi Zhengyan answered Meng Qi's earlier question while crouching down, skillfully handling Zhang Yuanshan's broken ribs, then carefully helped him sit in a five-heavens-facing-earth meditation posture.

Meng Qi watched with some envy. He had just begun his martial arts journey and hadn't yet had the chance to learn various injury treatment techniques.

Qi Zhengyan caught his breath and said to himself, "You must be very surprised that I had a 'Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart.' Haha, you might not even know what a 'Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart' is."

"Miss Qi's exchange of secret manuals and miscellaneous knowledge gave me a hint. I quietly traded the Long River Sword Technique, Setting Sun Heart Method, and other martial arts to the 'Lord of Six Paths Samsara,' saving up one hundred fifty Merit Points. I originally planned to exchange for a 'Heavenly Wisdom Pill,' but during this month, I failed to complete the condensation of the final orifice. Even with the 'Heavenly Wisdom Pill,' I couldn't break through. So, when I entered the second time, I thought of what you said earlier about 'exchanging hidden weapons and poison pills for self-defense,' and decided to hide a trump card."

"The 'Tang Flower' that Miss Qi exchanged for suited my needs, but the finished product's Merit Point cost was too high, and I had no time to study it. Later, I considered 'Sorrowful Crisp Breeze,' but its usage environment and technique were too restrictive, and the price was steep—a small bottle with antidote cost two hundred Merit Points."

"After several selections, I chose the 'Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart,' worth one hundred thirty Merit Points, capable of killing Orifice Opening experts. But who would have thought it would actually come in handy? Junior Brother Zhending, are you very surprised?"

Meng Qi looked at the rambling Qi Zhengyan, twitched the corner of his mouth, and said, "Senior Brother Qi, actually, that's not what surprised me."

"Huh? What surprised you? Using this 'Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart' isn't as easy as it looks. Originally, only Orifice Opening experts could use it, but with special techniques, a Major Qi Accumulation cultivator can still unleash it at the cost of severe self-injury..." Qi Zhengyan paused, then explained the details of the dart in detail.

He didn't hide the backlash injury, as anyone with eyes could see his current state.

Meng Qi suddenly laughed: "Senior Brother Qi, what surprised me is that after your severe injury, you seem like a different person—no longer so silent, but chattering like an old woman."

I already guessed about the Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart, alright!

Qi Zhengyan silently turned his head, watching Zhang Yuanshan heal, then sat cross-legged himself, trying to recover some strength.

After a while, Zhang Yuanshan's breathing went from weak to clear, and Meng Qi finally relaxed—he had managed to survive. On the other side, Jiang Zhiwei's pale, bloodless face regained a bit of color.

After initially stabilizing his injuries, Zhang Yuanshan slowly opened his eyes and pointed at the white porcelain bottle: "Grass and Wood Life Pill. Take one too."

He spoke as concisely as possible, afraid of aggravating his injuries.

Meng Qi was only lightly injured, and the pill couldn't restore his Iron Cloth Shirt, so he hadn't paid it much mind. But since Zhang Yuanshan mentioned it, he didn't stand on ceremony, poured out a pill, and swallowed it.

A cool sensation spread through his chest and abdomen, and his internal energy began to circulate.

Suddenly, his mind cleared as he remembered something. He rushed over to Wang Jin's corpse in three steps and picked up the round black cylinder.

"This is a Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle! A hidden weapon even more expensive than 'Tang Flower'!" Meng Qi was ecstatic, turning the needle cylinder over and over, stroking its mechanism.

Even though the silver needles had already been fired, rendering it temporarily useless, this item was still priceless. At worst, he could go back and exchange for corresponding silver needles from the Lord of Six Paths Samsara to replenish it.

In the "Exchange Catalog," even a single-use, scrapped "Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle" was worth four hundred Merit Points. The one in his hand should be usable two or three times!

As for exchanging for silver needles to reload, Meng Qi hadn't looked closely before, but he guessed it wouldn't exceed one hundred Merit Points.

Having been in a state of "poverty and hardship," Meng Qi suddenly felt he was about to "strike it rich."

Daxiong Baodian was filled with broken walls and collapsed beams, burning fiercely as torrential rain poured down, occasionally sending up puffs of white smoke.

The sky was pitch black, lightning had stopped, and the area was like a ghost realm.

Two figures, one chasing and one fleeing, headed toward the back mountain, as fast as birds in flight.

The former hunched over, with traces of Buddha light dissipating; the latter was wrapped in a hurricane, like a demon from heaven.

On the highest cliff of the back mountain, a small pagoda covered entirely in glazed tiles stood, shimmering with a pure and solemn aura under the starlight.

Dark clouds gathered, starlight was blocked, the glazed pagoda dimmed. Xinji fled to this spot, then suddenly stopped, sitting cross-legged before the pagoda, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Realized you can't escape?" Du'er Cha's left chest was torn, revealing a clear handprint as if cast in gold.

At the corresponding spot on Xinji, a fist wound had pierced through his body.

Meng Qi tucked the small "Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle" cylinder into his bosom and walked to Wang Jin's corpse, intending to pull out the gleaming blue needles one by one to see if he could save some Merit Points.

Just then, his vision suddenly darkened as dark clouds covered the starry sky above.

Clouds gathered, and the wind grew fierce.

"Du'er Cha came to the back mountain?" Meng Qi was startled, abandoning the poison needles, and ran back to where Jiang Zhiwei and the other two were meditating.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw the distant Glazed Pagoda shimmering with light, and understood: "Du'er Cha must have chased Master Xinji here. Let's hide for now, so he doesn't kill us casually after finishing Xinji."

After all, his left eye was ruined entirely because of Jiang Zhiwei, and he harbored a bone-deep hatred for it. When the time came, he certainly wouldn't mind killing them, her accomplices, along the way.

Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan were at a critical moment in regulating their injuries. They barely managed to nod, agreeing with Meng Qi's opinion and letting him take charge.

If they interrupted their healing now, they would have no ability to act, so there was no difference between interrupting and not.

Qi Zhengyan had mainly suffered backlash, still retaining basic physical strength. His face flushed red as he stopped his meditation and asked directly, "Where do we hide?"

Meng Qi glanced at the forest on either side and instinctively pointed to the familiar right: "Let's hide in the woods first."

"At Du'er Cha's level, this kind of forest won't block his senses much," Qi Zhengyan said hesitantly.

Meng Qi said firmly, "If Master Xinji dies, Shaolin will soon fall, and our Main Quest will be complete. We only need to avoid Du'er Cha for a moment, and we can return to the Samsara space."

He now somewhat regretted not knowing much about hidden weapons. Otherwise, he could have pulled out the poisoned needles and reloaded them into the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle barrel, giving himself a bit more means to fight back.

But the needles had been used once, their potency greatly reduced, making it hard to threaten Du'er Cha anymore.

The situation was urgent. Qi Zhengyan dared not say more and could only choose to trust the "Shaolin monk" Zhending. He turned and carried Zhang Yuanshan on his back, running side by side into the forest with Meng Qi, who carried Jiang Zhiwei.

After running for a distance, Meng Qi suddenly stopped, his expression stunned as he froze in place—because that giant red boulder stood right in the familiar spot.

This boulder really existed?

Was there a secret passage here too?

Meng Qi was shocked and bewildered, his emotions surging uncontrollably.

Boom!

Lightning flashed, thunder exploded, and rain suddenly poured down.

"Du'er Cha..." Meng Qi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly thought: if they hid in the secret passage, they could avoid Du'er Cha's search. And this world shouldn't have any demons or monsters; the dangers inside the passage wouldn't be too high.

"Hide here?" Qi Zhengyan looked at Meng Qi. "Sigh, I wish we'd prepared more hidden weapons and poisons. When you're weak, they really work well..."

Meng Qi ignored Qi Zhengyan, who had become talkative again. Carrying Jiang Zhiwei on his back, he stepped forward a few paces, walked behind the giant red boulder, and began groping around just like Zhen Guan had done.

There really was a mechanism?! Meng Qi suddenly felt a movable bump.

He took a deep breath, gently twisted it, and a faint creaking sound arose. An entrance appeared on the cliff wall!

It really existed?! Meng Qi's heart churned with shock and disbelief.

Qi Zhengyan looked at him in confusion, then at the dark, lightless entrance, unable to figure out when he had learned about this secret passage of Shaolin.