Unexpected Windfall (Please Click and Recommend)

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

"Side Quest One: Kill one of the four Connate masters from the opposing faction, 'Palm of the Universe.' Qi Zhengyan will be rewarded with eighty Merit Points, Zhending with fifty Merit Points, and Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan with twenty Merit Points each."

With the quest completion prompt, Meng Qi finally let out a breath of relief. Still, out of habit, he walked over to Tang Shun's corpse with his saber and prodded it a few times, just in case he was playing dead.

"Looks like the rewards for this side quest are mainly calculated based on the difference in strength between the two sides..." Meng Qi remarked casually to Qi Zhengyan. Then he hurried over to Jiang Zhiwei and asked with concern, "Miss Jiang, do you have any more healing pills?"

The last time they had surrounded and killed the "Shapeshifting Scholar" in Daxiong Baodian, Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan had been unharmed and far stronger than their enemy, so the final reward had been relatively low. This time, Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan had less than thirty percent of their strength left, and they had forcibly interrupted their recovery, leaving their injuries unstable. Meanwhile, the difference in strength between Tang Shun and Qi Zhengyan and Meng Qi had been enormous, which was why the Merit Points were so generous.

Jiang Zhiwei struggled to speak, but gently nodded and pointed to her waist with her left hand.

Meng Qi reached over and felt something bottle-shaped. It was a small White Jade Bottle about the size of his thumb. When he opened it, a rich fragrance wafted out, and a dark-red pill lay inside.

Meng Qi tipped the pill into Jiang Zhiwei's mouth. He watched her struggle to swallow it, then sit cross-legged and close her eyes to meditate.

Then, without wasting time, Meng Qi hurried to Zhang Yuanshan and asked whether he had any healing pills.

Zhang Yuanshan was even more gravely injured than Jiang Zhiwei. His eyes were unfocused, his breathing faint, and he couldn't move. After great effort, he managed to rasp out two words: "My... chest..."

Meng Qi reached into his robes and rummaged around. Sure enough, he found a white porcelain bottle containing five or six jade-green pills, their fragrance as refreshing as bamboo after rain.

By then, Qi Zhengyan had taken one of his own pills and recovered a little. He staggered over and watched as Meng Qi fed a pill to Zhang Yuanshan.

"If we'd killed Tang Shun without the Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart, our reward would've been higher." As he answered Meng Qi's earlier question, Qi Zhengyan crouched down and deftly treated Zhang Yuanshan's broken ribs. Then he carefully helped him sit up and settle into a meditative posture, palms and soles turned skyward.

Meng Qi watched with envy. He had only just begun learning martial arts and hadn't had a chance to study how to treat different injuries.

Qi Zhengyan caught his breath and continued on his own, "You must be surprised that I had the Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart. Heh, perhaps you don't even know what it is."

"Miss Qi's decision to exchange for manuals and miscellaneous knowledge gave me the idea. I secretly 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 and fifty Merit Points. At first, I planned to exchange them for a Heavenly Wisdom Pill, but I couldn't finish tempering my final acupoint this past month. Even with a Heavenly Wisdom Pill, I wouldn't have been able to break through. So when I entered the second time, I remembered what you said about 'exchanging for hidden weapons and poison to protect yourself.' That's when I decided to hide a trump card."

"The Tang Flower Miss Qi exchanged for suited my needs, but the finished product cost too many Merit Points, and I didn't have time to study it. Later, I took an interest in the Sorrowful Crisp Breeze, but it had too many restrictions on where and how it could be used. It was expensive, too: a small bottle with its antidote cost two hundred Merit Points."

"After considering several options, I settled on the Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart. It cost one hundred and thirty Merit Points and could kill an Orifice Opening master. I never imagined I'd actually have to use it. Junior Brother Zhending, aren't you surprised?"

Meng Qi looked at Qi Zhengyan, who was chattering on and on, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "Senior Brother Qi, that's not what surprised me."

"Huh? What surprised you, then? The Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart isn't as easy to use as it looks. Ordinarily, only an Orifice Opening master can use it, but with a special technique, someone at Major Qi Accumulation can still launch it at the cost of severely injuring themselves..." Qi Zhengyan paused, then launched into a detailed explanation of the dart.

He didn't hide the fact that the backlash had badly wounded him. His condition was plain to see, unless you were blind.

Meng Qi suddenly laughed. "Senior Brother Qi, I was surprised that after you got badly hurt, you seemed like a different person. You're not so taciturn anymore—you're nagging like an old woman."

I'd already figured out the whole Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart thing, all right?

Qi Zhengyan silently turned his head to watch Zhang Yuanshan recover, then sat cross-legged himself and tried to regain some strength.

After a while, Zhang Yuanshan's breathing grew stronger. Meng Qi finally relaxed; at least Zhang Yuanshan had survived. Meanwhile, a little color returned to Jiang Zhiwei's face, which had been as pale as death.

Once his injuries had stabilized somewhat, Zhang Yuanshan slowly opened his eyes and pointed at the white porcelain bottle. "Grass and Wood Life Pill. Take one, too."

Afraid that speaking might aggravate his injuries, he kept his words as brief as possible.

Meng Qi had only suffered minor injuries, and the pill couldn't restore his Iron Cloth Shirt, so he hadn't thought much of it. But since Zhang Yuanshan had mentioned it, he didn't stand on ceremony. He tipped out a pill and swallowed it.

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

Suddenly, his mind cleared and he remembered something. He dashed over to Wang Jin's corpse and picked up the round, black tube.

"This is a Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle! A hidden weapon even more expensive than the Tang Flower!" Meng Qi could barely contain his excitement. He turned the needle tube over and over in his hands, running his fingers across its mechanism.

Even though the silver needles had already been fired and the weapon was temporarily useless, it was still worth a fortune. He could always exchange with the Lord of Six Paths Samsara for replacement needles when he got back.

On the exchange list, a Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle that had been used once and was now spent was worth four hundred Merit Points. The one in his hands should be good for two or three uses!

As for replacing the needles, Meng Qi hadn't examined the exchange list closely, but he guessed it would cost no more than a hundred Merit Points.

After being "dirt poor" for so long, Meng Qi suddenly felt as if he was about to "strike it rich."

Daxiong Baodian was strewn with broken walls and rubble. The collapsed beams burned fiercely as torrential rain poured over them, sending up clouds of steam.

The sky was black, and the lightning had stopped. The whole place resembled a ghost's domain.

Two figures raced toward Back Mountain, one pursuing and the other fleeing, swift as birds in flight.

The one in front hunched over as flecks of Buddhist light faded around him. Behind him, a whirlwind coiled, and his presence was as fearsome as a heavenly demon's.

On the highest cliff in Back Mountain stood a small tower entirely covered in glaze. Under the starlight, it shimmered with a serene, solemn aura.

Dark clouds gathered, blotting out the stars and dimming the glaze. After Xin Ji fled there, he suddenly stopped, sat cross-legged before the tower, and smiled serenely.

"Have you realized you can't escape?" Du'er Cha's robe was torn over his left chest, revealing a clear palm print, as if it had been carved from gold.

A matching fist wound had pierced straight through Xin Ji's body.

Meng Qi tucked the compact Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle into his robes, then went over to Wang Jin's corpse. He planned to pull out the thin, faintly blue needles one by one, to see if he could save himself some Merit Points.

Just then, the sky above him darkened. Clouds had blotted out the stars.

Clouds gathered overhead, and the wind began to howl.

"Did Du'er Cha go to Back Mountain?" Meng Qi was startled. He abandoned the poisonous needles and ran back to where Jiang Zhiwei and the others were meditating.

He was about to speak when he saw the Glazed Pagoda shining in the distance. He understood. "Du'er Cha must have chased Master Xinji there. We should hide for a while, in case he kills Master Xinji and then casually takes us out, too."

After all, Jiang Zhiwei had blinded his left eye, and he hated her for it. He would surely have no qualms about killing the rest of them as her accomplices.

Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan were at a critical point in recovering from their injuries. They could only nod with difficulty, leaving the decision to him.

If they stopped their healing now, they would be completely helpless, so it made no difference whether they stopped or not.

Qi Zhengyan had mainly suffered from the backlash and still had some strength left. His face flushed as he interrupted his meditation and asked bluntly, "Where should we hide?"

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

"With Du'er Cha's level of cultivation, trees like these won't do much to block his senses." Qi Zhengyan hesitated.

Meng Qi replied firmly, "If Master Xinji dies, Shaolin will soon fall, and we'll complete our Main Quest. We only have to avoid Du'er Cha for a little while before we can return to the reincarnation space."

He regretted knowing so little about hidden weapons. Otherwise, he could have pulled out the poisonous needles and reloaded the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle, giving them one more way to fight back.

But the needles had already been used once, so their poison had lost much of its potency. They would hardly pose a threat to Du'er Cha now.

Time was pressing. Qi Zhengyan didn't dare argue and could only trust "Shaolin monk" Zhending. He turned, carried Zhang Yuanshan on his back, and ran into the forest alongside Meng Qi, who was carrying Jiang Zhiwei.

After running for a while, Meng Qi suddenly stopped, staring in astonishment. The Crimson Boulder stood in its familiar place.

Was this boulder really here?

Could there be a Secret Passage here, too?

Meng Qi was shocked and bewildered, his emotions in turmoil.

BOOM!

Lightning split the sky, thunder crashed, and rain came pouring down.

"Du'er Cha..." Meng Qi fell silent for a moment. Then it occurred to him that if they hid in the Secret Passage, they could avoid Du'er Cha's search. This world shouldn't have any demons or ghosts, so the passage probably wouldn't be too dangerous.

"Are we hiding here?" Qi Zhengyan looked at Meng Qi. "Sigh, I should've prepared more hidden weapons and poison. They really come in handy when you're weak..."

Meng Qi ignored Qi Zhengyan, who had started rambling again. Carrying Jiang Zhiwei, he took a few steps forward and felt around behind the Crimson Boulder, just like Zhen Guan had.

There really was a mechanism?! Meng Qi suddenly felt a raised section that shifted beneath his hand.

He took a deep breath and gently pulled. A faint grinding sound rose, and an entrance appeared in the cliff face!

There really was one?! A storm surged through Meng Qi's heart.

Qi Zhengyan looked at him, then at the dark, lightless entrance, unable to figure out when he had learned about this Shaolin Secret Passage.