Chapter 584: Release the Skeletal Hand

“The Netherworld’s Skeletal Hand, a Divine Weapon level object. It was the Evil God of the Nine Serenities, the Netherworld’s, Skeletal Hand, but it has lost its original power due to some strange reason, rendering it unable to reveal its miraculous strength. Its current value is unknown.

“To uncover the strange reason, 8,000 Karma points are needed.”

The voice of Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms rang out, making Meng Qi remember about the Primary Instruction of the Divine Palm. As he paid the 8,000 Karma points, he cursed in his mind, “Coward!”

Immediately, his Karma points decreased to 12,700 but the voice of Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms was still emotionless.

“In the last years of the ancient times, Evil God of the Nine Serenities, ‘the Netherworld’, found that his time was limited, and he could not break through in his immortal body. He decided to abandon the Netherworld Divine Physique, and let one of his Vital Spirits enter Samsara for a chance in the next life.”

“The Netherworld entered Samsara?” Meng Qi listened with a serious face. He became more bewildered by Samsara.

But his mood did not affect the account of the Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms. He continued in a loud and calm voice.

“Before entering, the Netherworld hid his Divine Physique somewhere. His reincarnation in the next life would fetch the physique to refine Divine Weapons or even Peerless Divine Weapons. And in case there would be an accident, he sealed the Skeletal Hand to condense its breath and hide its power. Normal people can touch it, but only he can release it.

“Once it awakens, the Skeletal Hand can control other parts of the Netherworld’s Divine Physique.

“Time flew by and the Samsara reincarnation of the Netherworld didn’t appear. Someone else obtained the physique, but they didn’t discern the hand’s value and have placed it casually.

“Worn out by time, the seal is now in its poorest condition. It’ll just take extra 2,000 Karma points to break it, thus releasing the breath of the Netherworld.”

Meng Qi could not help shivering. “This is the strange reason: The Netherworld gave up his Divine Physique but left himself a ‘back door’. He entered into Samsara to find that he lost it in his next life. But since then, he disappeared and has never returned.”

“Where has he gone?

“Can his reincarnation succeed in the end?”

At this thought, Meng Qi somehow remembered the Extinctive Blade of the Overlord.

By chance, the Overlord acquired the Thunder God corpse and the Ancient Thunderous Pool, which were used to refine a Peerless Godly Weapon. The weapon became overwhelming in medieval times and well-remembered throughout history.

It sounded just like what Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms had described!

“Did the Thunder God leave his corpse and Ancient Thunderous Pool on purpose? To pave the way for his reincarnation?

“Who is his reincarnation? The Overlord? Or someone else?”

If he had acquired the corpse and pool and refined them into Peerless Divine Weapons, it was most likely to be the Overlord. However, there was never a rumor that he was the reincarnation. And being as proud as a peacock, the Overlord would never conceal something like that.

“Additionally, it’s hard to say whether the Overlord or the ancient Thunder God was stronger. One thing’s for sure, they were both in the realm of legends. Is it possible that his reincarnation won’t surpass his previous life?

“Is it a coincidence that I got the Thunder God impartation when I had no choice but to do whole-body imbuing in the face of the energy of Nine Heavens’ God Thunderspear? Or are there other reasons?”

These kinds of thoughts left Meng Qi with a heavy head. But he soon collected himself and got back to breaking the seal.

With Meng Qi’s 2,000 Karma points, the Skeletal Hand, which used to glitter in the dark, broke out sparkling. It shone so brightly that space was sometimes black and sometimes white. Without the restriction from the Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms, the lights could have reached the entire Immortal-tracking Alley or even the Azure Heaven.

An old breath emerged. A blood-red river seemed to flow into Meng Qi’s heart. The river had no beginning or end. It flowed to nowhere, carrying obsession, death, confusion, and depravity with it. Just by sensing it, Meng Qi felt that his energy was being drained and his memory started becoming blurry.

Meng Qi shook his head to get rid of the feeling. When he looked at the Skeletal Hand again, he discovered something different, even though it was still ordinary. He found the Skeletal Hand formidable!

“The Netherworld Skeletal Hand, a Divine Weapon level object, the hand of the Evil God of the Nine Serenities, ‘the Netherworld’. It’s now unsealed and free from the Netherworld’s summoning and controlling, but it’s still connected to his reincarnation.

“It can control the Netherworld’s remaining body and other spiritual creatures; it can also refine Divine Weapons.

“When used as a weapon, it can take the enemy’s vitality and erase his memory upon contact. The enemy who is under the Seventh Heaven of the Exterior will die at once; even if the rival is higher than that level, he will be badly hurt. The owner who is under the Fourth Heaven of the Exterior can’t release the attack whereas when he’s under the Seventh Heaven of the Exterior, he can apply once every three days. Usage of more than five times would greatly wear the raw Skeletal Hand. The Skeletal Hand is worth 21,000 Karma points and can be exchanged for 18,000 Karma points.”

“Not bad… it seems that I have to refine it into a Divine Weapon so I can maximize its value.” Meng Qi nodded in thought. He possessed the Skeletal Hand of the Netherworld and Oceanic Dominion Pearl, and now it seemed high-time he refined a Divine Weapon of his own. But, what he would refine and what materials he would need remained unknown. Moreover, the apotheosis was imminent; he might need both of them. For example, the Skeletal Hand could control the spiritual creatures!

“I’ll wait until the apotheosis is over, then find the Divine Weapon refinement map on the Exchange List.” Meng Qi arrived at a decision.

As for the cost of refining the Divine Weapon, he did not know, nor did he need to know now.

…

Seven days later, Meng Qi put on the Heavenly Primogenitor mask and wore a black robe to attend a party held by the Immortals for official members.

This kind of gathering was nothing significant; it was only for members to keep in touch.

In front of the Azure Palace, Meng Qi saw that “Bluecloud Progenitor”, Qu Jiuniang, was waiting for him. Since exposing the identity and the looting of Peacock Demon King, she could not run the Immensity Sea Hotel No.1 anymore. She was now looking for a new identity—perhaps she would stealing someone else’s, or maybe she would wander into remote islands on the East Sea, or roam the Southern Wilderness.

“You earned big bucks in the Immortal-tracking Alley.” Qu Jiuniang sounded bitter. She seemed to be annoyed that she did not get a share.

“Fortunately, you don’t know about the Immortality Elixir of the East Pole.” Meng Qi secretly appreciated the virtue of “Immortal Taiyi”, Yan Wuwo, for not telling the secret.

Though he was happy inside, he did not show it. “I’m just a broker, the big money goes to others.”

“The Primogenitor summons you to the quiet room to wait; he’ll introduce you to other official members.” Qu Jiuniang had just been waiting there to pass the order, and then she led Meng Qi in.

There were many Primogenitors in the Immortals, but the one who was called solely “the Primogenitor” was usually Primogenitor Lingbao.

Walking in the front for a while, Qu Jiuniang could not help asking, “Are there any other deals like this? I’ll be kind… I’ve been doing intelligence business for years, I’m sure I can help.”

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Meng Qi forced a smile. “Not yet, but I hope that we have the chance to work together in the future.”

“Stingy, penny-pincher…” Qu Jiuniang felt his indifference as she whispered under her breath, without realizing she was also being scolded.

After a few more steps, Meng Qi’s eyes fixed on a figure. In front of a lotus pond, a man was dressed in a moon-shaped crown and Taoist robes, along with a pair of straw sandals. He looked graceful with his mask— he was none other than the Lord of Purity and Magic.

The man was observing the green lotus in the pond, lost in thought.

Qu Jiuniang said telepathically, “The Lord of Purity and Magic just finished his third Death Task and will soon become a grandmaster. But he lost two members; one is our official member, Green-sky Fairy. He’s kind of down now.”

“I see…” Meng Qi nodded and was ready to pass by. As the Lord of Purity and Magic turned around, their eyes met.

“I’ve known about you for a long time but we’ve never met. Today we finally meet each other. The matters in this world are indeed impermanent,” said the Lord of Purity and Magic with a wry smile.

Meng Qi cupped one hand in the other before his chest. “Indeed they are.”

Qingyuan took off his mask and revealed his handsome face as he introduced himself. “I’m Cao Xianzhi from the Caos.”

“Cao Xianzhi?” Meng Qi had heard that name before. He was a remote relative of the Caos in Peijing. He started out just like a Rogue Cultivator, and then he showed his ability and earned the appreciation of the Caos. In the end, he even ranked among the top three places. People often compared him with “Modest Deity of the Earth”, Cao Er. That was why Meng Qi had heard of him.

It was said that after entering the Exterior, this genius turned mediocre, spending 11 years to pass the first step of the Celestial Ladder. Since then, he was seen as an example of exhausting one’s potential. Now, people got to know that he was delayed by the Eight Nine Immortal Tao since the cultivation required a lot of resources.

“I’m Su Meng.” Meng Qi greeted him back, even though he already knew his name.

Qingyuan smiled. “When the Doumu said you entered the Third Heaven, I didn’t buy it. Now I see it’s true, I really envy you.”

Despite what he said, he was not bearing any self-pity or jealousy. He probably remained calm because of the challenging times.

“I just had some Chances.” Meng Qi always acted humble in front of people who were not close or rivals.

Qingyuan did not care about it and looked back into the main hall, which was full of people with masks.

Meng Qi saw “familiar faces” such as Immortal Taiyi and Primogenitor Nanhua. They were the official members attending.

All of a sudden, the Lord of Purity and Magic sighed. “It’s not the same crowd from when I first came here. They’ve changed a lot.”

The passage of time and the danger of Samsara struck him hard.

He glanced at Meng Qi and took a breath. “So, other than my first companions, I don’t care about the rest of them. I may be heartless and ruthless, but I have to be because you never know when they’ll die.

“And my first companions, they’re already gone.”

He seemed to deliberately say these things to remind Meng Qi, or he was just reminiscing. The Death Task really brought back sad memories for him.

Meng Qi remembered Zhang Yuanshan, Fu Zhenzhen, and others. Emotions swept over him as well.

After a while, Qu Jiuniang urged him to leave. She was also emotional.

“Drunk Xie as ‘Chun Yangzi’, Ren Pingsheng as ‘Pao-P’u-Tzu’, and Xue Rui as ‘Yun Zhongzi’, and many many others, they all used to be my teammates, now there are only three. You never know when they’ll die someday…”

Meng Qi just listened on their way to the quiet room. Upon their arrival, Qu Jiuniang left but he sat cross-legged, waiting for the Primogenitor.

“Let’s go.” Primogenitor Lingbao had somehow walked into the quiet room.

Meng Qi rose and followed Primogenitor Lingbao into the main hall.

“We have 27 official members, two have recently died, and three are caught up in affairs. Today, we have 22 members present…” Primogenitor Lingbao gave an introduction along the way.

The members in the hall felt that breath was approaching and they all looked toward the door. Primogenitor Lingbao walked in, followed by the Heavenly Primogenitor.

Suddenly, they felt the same thing.

…

It was still cold during the early spring in February; Meng Qi had just acquired the seventh change. Suddenly, the view changed and he landed in the Samsara Square.

The Apotheosis mission had begun!

Meng Qi sighed upon seeing Jiang Zhiwei, Qi Zhengyan, Ruan Yushu, and Zhao Heng show up together.

Meng Qi had yet to greet them when the voice of Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms rang in his ear.

“The remaining three have met the minimum requirements, thus there’ll be no division.

“It’s 500 years after Apotheosis, and Saints are nowhere to be seen and the schools of thought are withdrawing.

“Main task: Choose one of the various schools to preach their principles to countries. If one single country accepts its principles, the task is done and the award will be 2,500 Karma points; if none of the countries accept it, you’ll stay in the Apotheosized World until you pay 2,500 Karma points to leave.

“After three months after the task has begun, your strength and cultivation won’t upgrade any longer and there’ll be a barrier between here and your original world.

“Now please select your school. If you fail to choose in 10 seconds, I’ll randomly pick one for you.”

Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei looked at each other. They had no time to hesitate. The two immediately stepped forward to choose.

The lights in the air were stretching and shrinking. Characters flashed and finally they appeared as the following:

“School of Mo!”