Chapter 752: Subterfuge

Chapter 753: Subterfuge

Leaving the scene of battle, Meng Qi deviated off the course towards the States of Qi and Lu, moving instead in the North-West direction as a diversion to ward off any pursuers out to destroy the “Remnants of the Jade Virtual Palace”.

He was seriously injured in this battle, losing half of his torso, two limbs, and a head, in addition to the damages incurred by his Vital Spirit. These were hardly wounds that could be healed in a short time. Most grandmasters would have long been dead if struck with such devastating injuries. With himself relieved of any immediate danger, for now, Meng Qi felt no need to use his last remaining Immortality Elixir of East Pole. The healing potions and elixirs he had procured from the Huamei Heights would suffice. Master Lu had given him some potent medicinal elixirs when he visited him after his bout against the Blue Stair Assassin.

“It will take a little more than a month for me to fully recover…” Meng Qi wondered, assessing his subsequent plans. He would wander around and learn more about Nature and assimilate the experience he had gleaned from his battle. There should hardly be any danger of incurring the wrath of any more grandmasters, otherwise, he would consume his Immortality Elixir of East Pole to expedite his healing.

He reached a small valley filled with dense trees and vegetation and a peaceful brook that trickled gently. Meng Qi halted and looked for a tranquil spot and buried the remains of Taoist Chixia there and erected an empty tombstone.

“I have taken your life to avenge the former King of Chen. This ends our present enmity.” Meng Qi muttered reverently with his palms clasped together. “You are truly invincible in battle. This comes sincerely from a foe who respects your prowess in battle. Your mastery of the magnetic forces was equally amazing too. Out of my respect and admiration, I bury your remains here so that no beasts nor plunderers defile your remains or disturb your rest.”

Many a time warriors might encounter foes or opponents who they might revere or honor in duels against one another. This was one such gesture of respect and admiration from Meng Qi towards Taoist Chixia, despite their earlier animosity and sides.

With the experiences he had acquired from this battle, Meng Qi had figured out how to use the Contrivance of the Grand Sun and the Glowing Beast of the Diametric Charge to simulate the effects of magnetic forces like how Taoist Chixia did. This could prove useful for him in the future.

And this was all due to the Eight Nine Mysteries that allowed its wielder to replicate the strengths foes or allies alike!

On the other hand, Meng Qi would have wanted to study the ways to detach his shadow, physical body, and Vital Spirit, if not for the current disability of the Blue Stair Assassin.

Finishing with the remains of Taoist Chixia, Meng Qi disappeared deep into the thickets of the valley, where he found a quiet spot to heal himself and inspect the spoils he had gathered.

He respected Taoist Chixia’s acumen and skills in combat, but Meng Qi’s greed for treasures and valuables were hardly ignorable!

“I am a realistic person after all!” Meng Qi exclaimed to himself. He studied the archaic longbow. Blackish-green in color and ordinary-looking, the bow had two runic scripts that said: “Shan Hai” (Literally ‘Mountain and Sea’).

Meng Qi projected his spiritual senses into the awareness of the longbow and undid the enchantments that bound it. Having tasted first-hand the powers of the bow, he knew it was an Exquisite Precious Weapon. There were flaws in its construction, suggesting that it could be a replication of an actual Divine Weapon. Its string was extremely tight and strong that even Taoist Chixia, a grandmaster himself, had found it difficult to fully pull its string.

But the Golden Light Arrow it produced would be stronger if the bowstring could be pulled more. Moreover, the wielder of the bow would be able to imbue greater amount of auxiliary effects like the diffusing ability that Taoist Chixia had shown in the twilight of their battle. In the hands of a warrior in the peak of the Exterior Realms, the bow fully-drawn would produce a strike equal to a blow from a Half-step from the Dharmakaya Realm which would be able to destroy a fully-activated Kunlun Taoist Robe if the strike was at full-power upon impact, injuring the wearer of the Robes. Even Taoist Chixia himself had been able to penetrate the defensive shields of the Taoist Robes in their clash earlier and had left white patches of wounds on Meng Qi’s face.

The unstoppable projectiles of the Bow of Mountain and Sea were its greatest strength, where nothing would be able to slow down the speed of its projectiles even if their forces were reduced. Additionally, the speed of its shot would be greater the more its bowstring was drawn. Also, its range was more than twice or even four-times of what Meng Qi would be able to unleash with a fully-activated Heaven Inflicted Pain.

“In addition to Yushu’s music, we will now have another means of range offense.” Meng Qi mused, stowing the Bow of Mountain and Sea into his keeping as he wondered if the Bow might be a replication of the Bow of Cosmos fabled to be kept within the dungeons of the Chentang Pass.

Meng Qi riffled between the items in the Space Ring, finding many items which were valuable, including five jade bamboo scripts which contained powerful martial disciplines of the Exterior Realms which did not originated from the Golden Light Cave but were disciplines of magnetic forces manipulation and throwing weapons such as the Blizzard of Rays and the Night of the Falling Petals; all of which were disciplines of martial combat which Taoist Chixia had gathered himself. The late Taoist also had several notes on how to improve the techniques and disciplines kept for future posterity.

In addition to that, Meng Qi had also found an Escape Talisman of the Earthly Charge. An artifact of the top grade, a replicated God-tying Rope, a few bottles and flasks of healing medicines, an additional Magical Robe of the Diametric Charge, a jade ruler which was a Precious Weapon of the top grade, and a few exotic minerals and ores of magnetic properties such as the Galvanic Ores of the North Pole. The ores were clearly stored by the Taoist to be used if he had depleted much of his powers!

“His stores are indeed worthy of a grandmaster…” Meng Qi reflected as the edge of his lips curled with interest. The Magical Robe of the Diametric Charge would be an excellent replacement for his damaged Kunlun Taoist Robe until he could repair it. Despite being a tad lesser than his Taoist Robe, the Magical Robe of the Diametric Charge had the ability to conjure a forcefield around its wearer to deflect any incoming offense.

He put on the Magical Robe and stashed away everything else into keeping. He pondered upon the items he had found, namely the many replicated Five-colored Stones and the God-tying Rope. “These were the artifacts once used by Tuxing Sun and Deng Chanyu in the fable of the Apotheosis. Could it be that the Golden Light Cave of Mount Wudang was a martial sect that was a legacy of them both? But clearly, they did not identify their heritage as an issue of the Jade Virtual Palace, rather, they have marked Duke Huan and the rest as radicals or instigators of chaos.”

Meng Qi could only shake his head. That would be a mystery to be answered at some other time. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his recuperation.

His most pressing concern would be to achieve another breakthrough in his powers and try other ways to locate the all-elusive Jade Virtual Palace!

Five months later, in an old shrine situated in Linzi of the State of Qi.

A little girl, a few years of age, was following her mother who had come to the shrine to offer prayers. Captivated by the beauty of flowers she had seen, the little girl wandered into a passageway.

Suddenly, she gasped and let out a soft cry. She had stumbled upon a monster whose head was long and slender like legs set apart and has a mass of flesh for its lower limbs. Rolling on the floor, she noticed two long scars.

Her mother heard her scream and came to retrieve her. She stole a glance and admonished her daughter in jest, “Come with me. What is there to see about a man standing upside down?”

“A man standing upside down?” The little girl’s eyes widened with amazement, her gaze centered upon the two “scars” on its “legs” and realized that they were actually eyes.

Their eyes met for a second before Meng Qi got himself upright with a somersault and stood up. The end of his lips twitched with annoyance, “You have never seen anyone standing upside down before?”

In order to reinvoke the sensation when he had sensed the presence of the Jade Virtual Palace, Meng Qi had tried simulating death and even tried channeling the Immortal Primogenitor Form to his limit. But his labors had been fruitless, failing miserably each time that he had resorted even to the most laughable of ludicrous methods such as standing upside down but to no avail.

Startled by him, the little girl recovered her composure before an adorable smile broke on her face. “When you stand upright you look very well, Uncle .”

Saying that, she turned and left towards the main hall.

Meng Qi chortled as he rubbed his chin. “The words of a child are too honest, I’d say.”

He stretched himself, flexing his limbs as he reflected upon the past few months. He had been assimilating and meditating upon the experiences he had gleaned for the past five months, enjoying the peace while he pushed his powers further, reaching close to the Realm of the Second Celestial Ladder.

He then casually strolled out of the old shrine and stepped into the busy streets of Linzi, beholding the crowds of people thronging about. Hawkers and vendors were scattered around, shoving their wares into prospective clients and soliciting business hungrily. The people around him were not dressed richly nor were they reeking with luxury, but they were shuffling about with a spryness and vigor which contrasted to the despair and gloom he had encountered in the streets of other countries he had seen.

Wandering through a few other streets and byways, Meng Qi could every so often hear the voices of preachers exhorting the virtues of Mohism: Love with Impartiality, Mutual Benefits and Refrenation of Senseless Violence. Many interested young people congregated around them, listening intently with flames of passion and conviction burning in their eyes.

“Not bad…” Meng Qi reflected. He felt a mild joy creeping into himself; an elation that stemmed from his sense of accomplishment.

In the Residence of the Minister over the Masses.

Bai Song sat atop the seat of honor, surrounded by students of Mohism who knelt at his feet as they listened to his preaching. Zhao Bai sat by his side.

“The Juzi has taught us to Love with Impartiality and not judge others by their wealth and standing…” Bai Song instructed when the students had concluded their reports on official affairs. “Moreover, we must practice humility and modesty since we have secured our position in the State of Qi.”

Zhao Bai clambered to his feet suddenly, his voice trembling as unintelligible murmurs escaped his lips.

Feeling strange, Bai Song raised his head, confused with his companion’s sudden behavior when his eyes caught a glimpse of a figure standing by the door clad in old clothing and a sagely headdress whose face felt startlingly familiar.

A smile of amazement and pure elation, in recognition of Meng Qi, broke upon his face as he staggered to his feet, exclaiming, “Juzi!”

He clumsily raced forward and was about to fall to his knees to genuflect so as to pay his deepest respects to the Mentor of their order when he felt a strong but gentle force lifting him. A soft and gentle voice rang in his ears, saying, “We Mohists stand not on mundane formalities.”

“Juzi?” A few of the other Mohists kneeling below gasped, many of whom wielded executive responsibilities of the order’s operation. They were awe-struck, eyes widened with disbelief. Had the Juzi whom they have worshipped and revered for so long had finally appeared?

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They rushed to their feet, scrambling to surround Meng Qi with the excitement and fervor resembling that of the gullible and innocent girls from his past on Earth who chased after their adored idols and rockstars.

“How fares the State of Qi today?” Meng Qi drifted slowly to the front, asking indifferently without any hint of aloofness or loftiness in his voice.

Bai Song, with evident effort in calming the quiver of passion in his voice, replied, “Masters Kang and Ruan have left us not more than two months ago. We have now been enjoying the grace extended by His Highness, the Prince of Qi along with the support accorded by the one from the shadows. A great many of the nobles who opposed us have been removed, allowing us to cleanse the country and the royal court of all unethical and corrupt practices. In order to promote meritocracy, we are organizing auditions and examinations to attract many talents. We have also been promoting public education in the surrounding areas of Linzi, albeit with unknown effects thus far.”

“With their feudal lands divested from them, a portion of the nobles have decided to acquiesce to the public sentiment and compete equally through merit and ability instead of privilege and rank. The rest that still resisted our ideals have retreated to the borders, preferring to languish with the State of Lu.”

“Furthermore, all transit dues have been abolished aside from the borders.”

Bai Song continued with his report of their success as he tried to conceal the elation of their triumph.

“There is no need to be so emotional. Speak slowly.” Meng Qi remarked with a nod as he turned to look at the rest of the acolytes, bowing deeply with respect.

“I hereby extend to you my deepest gratitude in place of the people who have been suffering around the world and those who have been unjustly oppressed. I thank you all for your sacrifices; the blood, sweat, and tears that you have shed for the greater good!”

“Our blood, sweat, and tears… The Juzi is thanking us for what we have done for the people suffering around the world…” The students of Mohism felt themselves gripped by an inexplicable sensation, electrifying them with swelling emotions as they trembled uncontrollably and felt that they had lived up to their honor with pride!

Meng Qi had been sincere in thanking them. Deep within his heart, he felt sorry for not being able to lead them personally when it was him who had founded their revolutionary movement!

Bai Song and Zhao Bai were also caught up in the rhapsody of joy and triumph that had filled the room, feeling relieved that their labors have been recognized.

Meng Qi retreated to his seat and began to speak to his followers about the teachings of Mohism, providing them more practical suggestions and solutions rather than the theories and doctrines that he had preached in the past. It was Senior Brother Qi who had remarked about this to him long ago.

The students gathered around him listened intently, mesmerized by the knowledge and intellect of their revered leader.

………..

In the halls of a palace, Meng Qi met up with Xiaobai, Duke Huan of Qi. The latter was clad in Taoist robes.

“You have felt the presence of the Jade Virtual Palace then?” Duke Huan asked curiously, his white flowing brows rose.

Meng Qi nodded as he replied, “But I have tried many ways to reinvoke that sensation but to no effect…”

Meng Qi elaborated on the methods that he had tried to see if Duke Huan could notice anything wrong.

Duke Huan pondered quietly. At length, he remarked abruptly, “It’s a pity you have not tried other methods of torture such as roasting, dismemberment, and flaying…”

“Surely there’s no need to go that far…” Meng Qi mumbled weakly as he broke out in cold sweat.

Duke Huan chuckled playfully before he turned solemn. “The Jade Virtual Palace lies in a domain far away which is mysterious and unknown to all. It can be entered from anywhere in the world, yet it is not of this world. But I wonder if its re-appearance might have anything to do with the anomaly of Time recently. There have been occasional deviations in the pace of Time…”

“That could have been caused by the Dominator of the Samsara of Six Realms, I think…” Meng Qi remarked to himself, looking blankly at Duke Huan as he continued, “And what is your counsel, Uncle Master?”

Duke Huan fell into a silent ponder before saying, “Previously, you had felt a link between you and the item that King Zhuang of Chu had removed from the Jade Virtual Palace, and now you felt the presence of the Jade Virtual Palace itself. This is hardly a coincidence. It could be due to the moment when it was the greatest manifestation of your full strength, which could be when you surpassed a certain barrier restraining your potential; or, it could also be a heightened state of sensitivity when you were close to reaching the Second Celestial Ladder.”

“That might explain why even the enhancement properties of the I, the Unique and Righteous technique had not been effective either.” Meng Qi nodded gently.

Duke Huan suddenly giggled and continued, “But everything I said is merely conjecture. I will continue observing you. We might be able to find something from the delicate changes.”

“Continue observing…” Meng Qi felt a sudden chill and involuntarily uttered quickly, “You must know a few transformation spells of the Jade Virtual Palace, Uncle Master. Change yourself into a beautiful woman while you are observing me, I would be creeped out otherwise!”

Duke Huan was known to be a lascivious person in his youth. Now being close to Meng Qi, the conversations they shared have become casual and candid.

Feigning anger and rage, the hairs of Duke Huan’s brows stood on their ends and trembled as he exclaimed, “Get lost!”

“Right away, Uncle Master!” Meng Qi replied mirthfully with a grin. He would never have to be observed anymore.

The expression of Duke Huan turned blank suddenly, before he bellowed angrily, “Back here!”

He paused briefly before continuing, “Your mastery of the Heavenly Golden Scripture is lamentable. You will need some instructions from me again!”

“Of course, Uncle Master!” Meng Qi shouted in reply, sitting upright with attention.

Another three months came and passed swiftly. Meng Qi’s mastery of the Heavenly Golden Scripture had improved; so did his grasp of the Eight Nine Mysteries disciplines.

He was sitting quietly in a training room one day, working on his skills. The Realm of the Second Celestial Ladder would be within reach any time now.

In good spirits, Meng Qi felt his awareness entered an extraordinarily perceptive state. He once again saw the vision of a monumental and imposing palace complex.

“The Jade Virtual Palace!”

Next to him sat Duke Huan who noticed the salient

fluctuations of his aura. The elder opened his eyes warily.

Far away in the Golden Light Cave of Mount Wudang, King Zhuang of Chu’s Ruyi Sceptre began to shine brilliantly!

“Summon the two guests.” King Zhuang instructed his chamberlain with an appeased grin on his face.

In the tranquil valley where Meng Qi had buried the remains of Taoist Chixia, the grave broke opened as the two halves of his corpse leaped out. The halves merged together as one.

After a moment, “Taoist Chixia” flexed his muscles and stretched himself, as if getting acquainted with a new physical body.

He raised his head as he looked up high into the skies above. Energies swirled in the air around him, forming dark clumps of masses that materialized from thin air and gathered to shape into dark brown Taoist robe. The robes wrapped around Taoist Chixia, suppressing all traces of his aura.

He had created matter out of thin air!

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