The Oriole Behind

Meng Qi carefully searched the stone chamber with a fire starter but found nothing else. Still, he was more than satisfied—obtaining the true intent inheritance of an Outer Scenery level saber art and comprehending the remnant form of the first stance was already an incredible stroke of luck!

On the way back, Meng Qi hesitated over whether to share this discovery with Jiang Zhiwei, Zhang Yuanshan, and the others. Logically, in a similar situation, anyone would choose to keep the secret, reserving the saber art as a last resort. That was perfectly understandable, and Jiang Zhiwei and the others would surely accept it. But they still had to work together on future reincarnation missions, and such an approach wouldn't help deepen their mutual trust. Besides, what he had obtained was a true intent inheritance—they couldn't take it from him even if they wanted to, since he could only recite the remnant form of the first stance for now.

However, if one of them later betrayed him, all his martial arts would be clearly known to the enemy, leaving him with no hidden cards at all.

"Junior Brother Zhending, did you find any enemies?" Seeing Meng Qi return, Qi Zhengyan, who had been silent for a long time, asked. Zhang Yuanshan and Jiang Zhiwei still had their eyes closed, meditating, as if completely uninterested.

Meng Qi pondered for a moment and made a decision: "No enemies, but there's a remnant form of the first stance of the 'Ananda Breaking Precepts Saber Art' on the mountain wall."

He decided to conceal the true intent inheritance but be honest about the saber art he had obtained, using this show of trust to earn the trust of Jiang Zhiwei, Zhang Yuanshan, and Qi Zhengyan, laying a foundation for cooperation in future reincarnation missions.

"Ananda Breaking Precepts Saber Art?" Jiang Zhiwei opened her eyes, startled. Clearly, her earlier indifference had been feigned—she had simply followed her own habits and the rules of the martial world by not asking what others gained during solo actions, to avoid conflict. Meng Qi's honesty shocked her.

Similarly, Zhang Yuanshan and Qi Zhengyan couldn't maintain their composure, looking at Meng Qi with surprise.

"Yes, but it's only the remnant form of the first stance." Seeing their astonished expressions, Meng Qi nodded inwardly—this was exactly the effect he wanted.

"A remnant form is fine. I remember there's an entry in the exchange list for 'Completing Remnant Forms.' The less incomplete it is, the fewer Merit Points needed—at the very least, it might cost less than a tenth of the original." Jiang Zhiwei chuckled lightly. "Little Monk, you really didn't need to tell us about this kind of encounter. Everyone has their own secrets. I do, and Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Brother Qi surely do too."

I can complete the remnant form? Meng Qi's excitement surged. The "Severing Purity" he had comprehended was only slightly incomplete—it probably wouldn't cost many Merit Points!

This lifted his spirits considerably, and he grinned. "We've been through life and death together, and we'll definitely need to work together in the future. If I hid the saber art, it'd be easy to miscalculate our strength when planning ahead. Besides, it's just one remnant stance."

He explained from both emotional and practical angles, focusing on getting them to acknowledge the bond of "friendship."

"Little Monk, you really didn't have to. When planning ahead, you just need to say roughly what level of enemy you can handle—you don't have to reveal every trump card." Jiang Zhiwei smiled radiantly. Though she thought it unnecessary, Meng Qi's honesty still pleased her—it proved he truly saw them as comrades who had shared hardships.

Meng Qi blinked. "I didn't think of that..."

Jiang Zhiwei laughed so hard she shook. Zhang Yuanshan couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. "Junior Brother Zhending, lucky it's us. If there were someone with ulterior motives, your Ananda Breaking Precepts Saber Art would lose its element of surprise. You're still too young and inexperienced in the martial world."

His gaze was warm, his smile sincere—clearly, he had gained more recognition for Meng Qi.

Qi Zhengyan, who had just rambled about his own experiences, nodded at Meng Qi's openness. "Sometimes, if your companions know you have a trump card, they'll panic less and stay calmer, which might make the enemy more cautious and ruin the surprise. So as long as your intentions are good, we won't mind if you hold back appropriately."

This was also a subtle explanation for his earlier concealment of the "Child-Mother Soul Separation Dart."

After this frank exchange, their relationship seemed to have truly grown closer.

"Senior Brother Qi, after getting injured, you've really become talkative." Meng Qi teased, then quickly changed the subject before Qi Zhengyan's face darkened. "Besides that, there's a stone door embedded in the mountain wall, with 'Righteousness, Kindness, Benevolence, Do Not Enter This Door' written on either side..."

He recounted the other findings, hoping Zhang Yuanshan, Jiang Zhiwei, or the others might have clues.

Du'er Cha's gaze dropped, following the traces of a hasty retreat through the forest. He snorted lightly. "Truly greenhorns."

Following the residual marks Meng Qi and the others hadn't had time to erase, Du'er Cha slowly walked forward and soon reached the vicinity of the Crimson Boulder.

"Oh?" He noticed the tracks ended there, so he looked around warily.

His body still trembled without pause, sweat beading on his forehead—he was clearly not at ease.

After confirming no one was around, Du'er Cha frowned in confusion. They couldn't possibly have the ability to fly or burrow—how could they vanish into thin air?

Could they have deliberately erased the traces after realizing they were left behind?

Du'er Cha paced back and forth a few times, then followed the nearby marks again, noticing one trail disappearing behind the Crimson Boulder and another ending before a cliff wall.

He stood still in thought for a moment, then expressionlessly walked behind the boulder, extending his right hand to search for a mechanism.

Such tricks might fool others, but how could they deceive someone who had roamed the martial world for years?

Wasn't it just a secret passage?

The traces you left were far too obvious—you don't seem like disciples allowed down from a famous sect, but rather like rookies!

Still, these rookies are far too strong...

"'Righteousness, Kindness, Benevolence, Do Not Enter This Door'... never heard of it." Zhang Yuanshan frowned in thought for a moment, then shook his head.

As his words fell, a grating sound suddenly echoed. The four looked up in shock to see Du'er Cha, his face crisscrossed with scars, standing quietly outside, waiting for the secret passage entrance to fully open.

"How did he find it!" Meng Qi was horrified.

Qi Zhengyan, shocked and filled with regret, spoke bitterly: "We forgot to erase the traces..."

At the time, with lightning and thunder, wind and clouds raging, he and Meng Qi had been panicking to take cover, and lacking prior experience, they had forgotten to wipe away the marks.

Hearing Qi Zhengyan's words, Meng Qi's heart sank. Was this their own doing?

No, he couldn't give up!

Before the entrance was fully open, Meng Qi lunged forward, trying to turn the mechanism inside to close it again and hold their ground, while carefully observing Du'er Cha, thinking about how to respond if he couldn't stop him.

"He's lost his left hand, arm, and shoulder—white bone exposed, trembling all over. He must be heavily injured, with little strength left..." Meng Qi's right hand touched the mechanism as he made a preliminary judgment of Du'er Cha.

Du'er Cha waved his right hand lightly, and a gust of wind swept out, directly blowing the off-balance Meng Qi back several steps, preventing him from closing the entrance.

Meng Qi's chest and abdomen ached, his breath caught, and thoughts raced through his mind:

"Even if his strength is nearly gone, he's still beyond what Senior Brother Qi and I can handle. What should I do?"

"My strongest martial art is the Ananda Breaking Precepts Saber Art, but it's only a remnant form!"

"Ah, the remnant form is only incomplete at the end—the beginning is whole. It can form the complete saber intent before striking..."

"Bluff him into retreating?"

"Yes! He's heavily injured. When faced with an opponent and technique he's unsure of, he'll definitely choose to avoid for now. Then the Main Quest will be complete!"

In that brief instant, thoughts flashed through Meng Qi's mind one after another. He quickly reached a decision, planted his feet firmly in a stance neither narrow nor wide, and gripped the Monastic Blade tightly in his right hand.

The entrance was wide open, but Du'er Cha did not attack directly. Instead, he silently walked toward the mountain wall.

His behavior—speaking not a word, unleashing not a single move—put immense pressure on Meng Qi and the others. Jiang Zhiwei and Zhang Yuanshan both stopped their healing, forcing themselves to stand, ready to fight to the death.

"Prepare to die." Du'er Cha spoke with authority, raising his right fist.

Meng Qi recalled the incomplete technique in his mind, slowly extending the Monastic Blade, Saber Intent about to burst forth.

But at this moment, Du'er Cha suddenly flew backward, his right fist striking a giant tree.

Amid the howling wind, silvery laughter rang out. A white figure darted out from behind the tree, her form ethereal, like a fairy singing, dodging the punch.

Crack. The giant tree snapped in two, toppling backward with a heavy crash.

The white figure stopped not far away. She was a stunning young woman in a simple white dress.

"Just a slight surprise at seeing the Secret Passage, and you noticed me," the young woman said with a smile. "I was planning to wait until you killed them before making a move."

Seeing this young woman, Meng Qi blurted out in surprise: "Xiao Zi?"

The young woman's features were unmistakably those of Xiao Zi!

True, the previous Xiao Zi had been at most pretty, but now her brows and eyes seemed to have opened up, gaining an elusive, ethereal, and unpredictable quality. She had transformed into a beauty of peerless grace, no less than Jiang Zhiwei.

"Xiao Zi? Don't mention that fool." The young woman's beautiful eyes sparkled as she spoke with a half-smile. "I am Gu Xiaosang."

Gu Xiaosang? Meng Qi had heard that name from Xiao Zi. Hearing it now, spoken by a face nearly identical to Xiao Zi's, felt especially eerie.

As they spoke, Du'er Cha's attacks continued unabated, but without the Dark Clouds, rain, thunder, or lightning—only the howling gale.

Gu Xiaosang, however, remained unhurried. Her robes fluttered as if she were dancing in the wind, and she even found time to speak to Meng Qi.

"Gu Xiaosang, so it's her." Zhang Yuanshan muttered gravely. Jiang Zhiwei pursed her lips, and Qi Zhengyan instinctively took a step back.

Gu Xiaosang's reputation was clearly immense!

After dodging for a while, Gu Xiaosang said with a smile, "Great General, if you keep attacking me, I won't hold back. How about this: you kill them first, and then I kill you? Sound good?"

"With you?" Du'er Cha snorted coldly, his attacks growing fiercer.

"If you were in peak condition, two of me might not be your match. But now? With your left eye blinded, your mind plagued by sword qi, and having taken Xin Ji's desperate Great Strength Vajra Palm and Nian Hua Finger each once, how much strength do you have left? Thirty percent? Twenty percent? Or ten percent?" Gu Xiaosang laughed lightly as she floated backward, dodging Du'er Cha's lethal strike.

"Even so, killing you is like killing a chicken." Du'er Cha's voice remained authoritative, but his figure suddenly changed direction, dashing toward the forest.

He fled without hesitation!

A true barbarian warlord!

Gu Xiaosang's figure moved like a ghost, like a fairy, somehow blocking Du'er Cha's path. Her slender hand extended, index and middle fingers joined like a short sword, leisurely pointing at Du'er Cha's brow.

At the same time, her lips parted slightly, murmuring words. Suddenly, an ethereal chant descended around them:

"The mortal world is a prison, all beings suffer, reincarnation never ends, sorrow never ceases. Pity the people of this world, a god descends from heaven. Wusheng Laomu, Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss!"

"Wusheng Laomu, Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss!"