645 String Movements

The numerous blood shadows condensed into a sea of black, surging ferociously towards the Zither of Limbo. The entire sky turned red as the sea turned crimson. It was especially scary and eccentric.

On the other hand, Meng Qi had become extremely huge, more than 10 feet in height. Dharma and Logos intertwined at both his hands and his head and they were unable to separate from each other. Each of his movements seemed to be able to affect the weather and the surroundings.

Moreover, he was exuding a domineering force that made it seem as if his small body wascapable of filling the world. The masters of the heterodox path felt their hearts beat faster, preventing them from moving forward. It was as if they could be killed just with one simple glance.

With the additional breath of Sword Vermin Charm of Gao Qianyuan and the Blood Divine Bead activated by the Oracle of the Covenant, many wanted to retreat. These criminals were known for their malice and ferocity and dared to use all methods to survive. Furthermore, they could already see Ruan Bogao struggling and Anti-Gambling Monk, Six-apex Devil, and Saint Wan Shi retreating.

If they moved forward some more, they could be killed!

Killing Blade and Ledgerkeeper of Lives were incredibly impressive to be able to achieve such a feat just after crossing the first step of Celestial Ladder. It was truly impossible for anyone to compare with them!

Meng Qi, who had used Law Phenomenon, seemed to be of the sixth-fold Heaven. He held a pitch black flag in his right hand as his strength kept pouring into it. Then, he slashed out with it as if it was a sword.

He didn't hesitate or calculate, and did not even seem to consider anything else. As a true gentleman, it was alright for him to be a little greedy sometimes. But in critical times, he would do all he wanted to do. He would strive to have a good time, feel at ease, and be pleased with himself.

He was not sure of how others think, but Meng Qi firmly believed in this.

Splash!

Red mist covered the sky and sounds of water splashing engulfed them from all directions. A vast and boundless breath appeared, with immense pressure that made even many experts of the Exterior shivered in fear, unable to control themselves. Their thinking slowed down and many were stunned, some were even unable to activate the Force of Heaven and Earth, plummeting directly into the sea.

"Another material of divine weapon?"

"No, this horrifying feeling is that of a divine weapon itself!"

"A true divine weapon!"

They looked up blankly and saw Meng Qi, who had occupied the Heaven and Earth, holding a small black flag that was full of tiny cracks. The immense red mists engulfed the sky, making it dark and lifeless, with waves of black light emitting from the flag that seemed to inverse the sea and sky. The clouds were no more as wind propelled waves forward, changing all Dharma and Logos in its path.

Splash!

The black flag gave out immense and uncountable light that condensed into boundless mystical water. The sea had disappeared, and all strange organisms appeared together with those Exteriors that had just dropped inside.

It had just taken a portion of the sea!

The mystic water surged and flooded the sky. All was submerged except for water.

Thud!

Mystic water clashed with the sea of bloody shadows, making a slight thud of a collision. A loud boom then ensued, deafening all ears and creating a buzzing noise in all's mind. Everyone sank for a few feet.

At the same time, an Ancient Calculating Charm appeared in Wang Siyuan's hands. It was an unremarkable object made of rotten wood.

He threw the charm into the center of the action, where the Blood-Shadow sea and the mystic waters met. That was where Zither of Limbo was at!

Kaboom!

Blood red collapsed with pitch black and water surged tens of thousands of feet. However, blood shadows were immediately engulfed by the mystic waters and they disappeared without a trace.

Kaboom!

The collision between the two terrifying forces led to the slowly falling Zither of Limbo being thrown up once more.

Kaboom!

Mystic water assimilated into the blood sea and spread towards the Blood Divine Bead.

Even though the main material of a divine weapon proved to be strong, it was nothing compared to a real divine weapon like the Devil-rinsing Flag, which was already in tatters and was no longer as powerful as it used to be.

Seeing this, fear and reverence seemed to appear in the ancient eyes of the Oracle of the Covenant. Seals appeared on his left hand and the ancient book of his Dharma form suddenly split open.

Dharma Form collapsed into a vortex, swallowing the Oracle of the Covenant and Blood Divine Bead inside together.

Splash! The mystic water swallowed everything so that nothing except itself remained!

Far away, the Oracle of the Covenant appeared once more, while his Dharma form behind him turned dim with weakening breath. Greed, wrath, and hatred appeared in their eyes. The Blood Divine Bead in his hands appeared to be contaminated by the mystic water, with cracks appearing on its surface. It seemed as if it would break if one stared at it for a few more times.

Meng Qi flew out. He was unable to maintain Law Phenomenon and changed back into his original form. Devil-rinsing Flag was strong indeed but much energy was spent as well. At this moment, he couldn't even move his own fingers!

Seeing such a situation, Nine-Finger Blue-Blooded Devil Gao Qianyuan, who had been shaking in the midst of the collision and could only use Sword Vermin Charm to protect himself, laughed out loud. He charged towards Zither of Limbo and used his sword Qi to strike the mid-brows of Meng Qi.

Meng Qi ground his teeth and utilized the Sacrifice Formula. Initially, in Shaolin Temple, he had only obtained part of the skill until the enlightening of apertures as he was still weak back then. Thus, it was only worth two or three hundred karma points. However, he was an Exterior now and the effect of the skill was unknown. But he can only gamble now!

As Gao Qianyun had already taken back his Sword Vermin Charm, Ruan Bogao had escaped from the danger and immediately played with the strings on his Zither. The divine weapon concerned the survival of his family. If the entire nest collapsed, how can any egg be safe?

For ordinary aristocratic families, the presence of divine weapons did not matter much as they would have status and resources matching that of their power. However, Ruan Clan depended on the divine weapon to achieve their status today, and they had already offended many masters and powerful forces. Their skills and resources were enticing to many as well. It would be hard to say what would become of them without their divine weapon. Even though they had many allies, it would be impossible to rely on them for aid over and over again.

One faced immense pressure at the top. Once they fail, they can no longer live!

Ruan Bogao attacked! Gao Qianyuan immediately used the Sword Vermin Charm again to resist against the sound of the Zither while flying towards the Zither of Limbo. The Heterodox Demons below all were either injured or had escaped, making space for the Exterior of Ruan Clan to use his power. Unfortunately, the difference between their realms was huge and he was unable to top Gao Qianyuan.

Only the Oracle of the Covenant did not lose heart. He hurried back, glancing at both Zither of Limbo and Meng Qi's Devil-rinsing Flag!

At this moment, Zither of Limbo, which was further away from the Ruan Clan, suddenly stopped. The Ancient Calculating Charm fell on it and collapsed into many divinations, suppressing the breath of ancestors and gods.

Zither of Limbo had already felt a sense of danger in the collision of divine weapon level strength just now and was on the verge of awakening. With the help of Ancient Calculating Charm, its breath tumbled as it was about to break through all limits and contamination.

The Oracle of the Covenant and Gao Qianyuan stopped glancing at each other and they lost all desires to fight. They would need to suppress Zither of Limbo before it broke through the limits placed by the breaths of ancestral gods or any contest over it will be reduced to a joke.

Formless Sword Vermin, God carrying the Ancient Script, Sea of Vital Qi, and numerous white lotus all appeared at once. The two masters used all their strengths. One transformed into numerous Gu Poison Bug while the other reached out using a giant hand. Both were trying to grab Zither of Limbo and prevent its awakening.

Meng Qi had no more strength left. He used Yin-Yang Seal and the Immortal Pressing Art to engulf Vital Qi from its sea so as to regenerate strength. He had tried using Sacrifice Formula but it seemed to be useless. He would have to use another method!

Tiny dark blue Gu Poison Bugs and the palm of White Lotus Spirit seemed to have reached Zither of Limbo and were about to suppress its breath when ethereal music appeared from the Ruan family manor.

The sound was not made by either gold, wood, silk or strings. It was not even made by any normal Zither as the sky and the ground shook. Dharma and Logos were its strings as the Sound of Tao was played!

Cling!

A string of Zither of Limbo vibrated as if it was resonating and accompanying the music.

Meng Qi felt excited and delighted as he listened to the music. "Has Little Foodie achieved the Exterior realm? The Heart of Zither is finally shining!"

Even though she did not climb to Heaven in one step and had no Heaven's Punishment, she would be able to succeed as long as she persisted and continued ahead in the path forward. She would be able to venture forth with her fortitude, opportunities, and talent. Even though she had fallen behind at the start, she would not always remain like that.

The heart of the Zither played Dharma and Logos as it produced melodious music.

The interest of Zither of Limbo seemed to be aroused, or perhaps it had confirmed the breath of Ruan Clan. One of its strings vibrated once more.

Clank!

The sound shook all and the breath of ancestral gods solidified. Sword Vermins and the Hand of White Lotus stopped at once.

The breath of Zither of Limbo suppressed the ancestral god. The strings moved faster and faster and an order appeared as music was formed.

Drops of deep blue water droplets were forced out. A divine weapon had appeared!

The Oracle of the Covenant and Gao Qianyuan did not hesitate and fled immediately.

As soon as they had started their retreat, the music changed. A colorful phoenix fluttered its wings and caught up with Gao Qianyuan.

Gao Qianyuan felt a strong sense of danger. He was lucky that he had used his Sword Vermin Charm to resist against the Phoenix.

At this moment, Dragons' Vast Cries appeared and a True Dragon's claws caught the escaping Oracle of the Covenant!

The Oracle of the Covenant detonated the Blood Divine Bead!

Kaboom!

Blood Shadows appeared in the sky, surrounding the illusion of the True Dragon. The Oracle of the Covenant took the chance to escape, with bloody scars all over his body. He was badly injured.

Thud!

Countless Gu Poison Bugs tumbled and covered the Phoenix. Gao Qianyuan took the chance to fall into the sea with his charms and tokens and escaped.

The power of the divine weapon was apparent here. As long as it was awakened, it would be difficult for any to snatch it.

Seeing this, Meng Qi heaved a sigh of relief and opened the Devil-rinsing Flag purposefully, allowing the Exterior masters here to know that it had been damaged near the point of destruction. This was to allow the rest to know that Devil-rinsing flag would be destroyed in a battle with him unless they could kill him in one strike.

Compared to the divine weapon, the material of divine weapon was much less enticing as even an incomplete Oceanic Dominion Pearl had been exchanged for Immortality Elixir of East Pole by Gao Qianyuan. Furthermore, no one knew the origin and use of the Wrist Bone of Nether.

Zither of Limbo fell into the arms of Ruan Bogao.

The wind had stooped and the waves returned to their calmness.

Evening at the Water Pavilion, inside the Ruan family manor.

Master Ruan had a white cloth on his head. He stared admirably at Meng Qi and nodded in approval. "If not for the fact that you had used your divine weapon until it was on the verge of destruction, Zither of Limbo would most likely be lost. I must return the help."

Even though he had Dharmakaya and Book of Luo, they took a period of time to return to Langya due to the long distance.

He stopped and laughed. "Even though most of our main materials of divine weapons were gifted to the Wang Family, we still had many treasures left as we had many generations of impartation. You can choose any one of them."

It would be incredibly difficult to cultivate a divine weapon from its material, and even Dharmakayas had a low chance of success. The Ruan Clan had tried numerous times to no avail.

Meng Qi pondered and smiled. "Why should the elder be so polite? If you really do want to repay, I'll need only one item and one promise."

Seeing that the Ruan family had suffered much, Meng Qi could not bear to ask for treasures. He turned to seek other benefits.

"What item? What promise?" Master Ruan did not frown as he seemed to be willing to accept all.

"The item would be the breath of ancestral gods left behind by Zither of Limbo. The promise would be for the elder to aid me using Zither of Limbo when I get in trouble in the future," Meng Qi said with a stern face.

He wanted to try fixing Devil-rinsing Flag using the breath of ancestral gods. The aid by a Half-step to Dharmakaya using a divine weapon would be of immense help too.

"Sure!" Master Ruan agreed immediately. "Why only once? Tens or hundreds of times, the Ruan Clan will rush to your aid as long as you need us!"

"The Ruan Clan indeed has a strong literary and artistic atmosphere and is extremely emotional..." Meng Qi did not know whether he should compliment them or lament.

Master Ruan retrieved those deep blue droplets and passed them to Meng Qi in a Jade bottle. He then laughed, "Alright, there is no need to talk to an old man like me. Twenty-First Lady is waiting for you at the Lady's Pavilion."

Meng Qi bowed and left. Following a servant girl, he passed the courtyard into the Lady's Pavilion. It was outside the boudoir of Ruan Yushu and one could hear natural music created by the movements of the tidings of water.

Ruan Yushu was wearing a long white dress as if she was a fairy from a painting. She opened the lunchbox that she was holding as she saw Meng Qi enter the pavilion, and placed two date-red cakes on a plate.

"This is Sea Date Cake. This type of date is extremely rare and its fragrance is irreplaceable. There are only two left in the house now, and I had always kept them in my formation" Ruan Yushu said calmly.

She then took out plates after plates.

"Chicken's feet..."

"Thick soup of monster crab..."

"Braised bamboo shoots..."

"Dragon fish with five flavors..."

Meng Qi listened as he smiled until the entire table of Lady's Pavilion became full with food.

After the introduction, Ruan Yushu raised her head while biting her lower lips.

"Please try them. Their ingredients were extremely rare. I, I am usually reluctant to eat them."

Her eyes were joyful yet unwilling.