662 Brute Force for Naugh (1/2)
The green light and breath blossomed like fireworks. Master Cao who hovered in the air above Peijing, Cao Feiyue, and several other grandmasters came to understand that they had been deceived.
Shocked and infuriated, they tried to dispatch a grandmaster to rush back to the Earth Fairy Lake, control the Eye of Frost, and leave the treasures. But how could Chong He, with his Seven Strokes of Heaven Interception, give them the chance to do so?
It might be impossible to break through the combined forces of formation, divine weapons, Earth Immortal's metamorphosis, and grandmasters. But it posed little or no problem for a Dharmakaya master like Primogenitor Lingbao to temporarily stop them. Master Cao unleashed his sword art, giving rise to a deadly stillness that pervaded the air. He sealed off the vicinity and bitterly resisted the Primogenitor with the aid of the Earth Immortal's metamorphosis, divine weapon, and formation.
There were many resident Exterior experts witnessing the birth of the treasure within Peijing. Their anxiety was all for naught as they were trapped inside the formation!
Meanwhile, the masters residing in neighboring small towns instantly turned into fleeing lights and ran in the direction of the Earth Fairy Lake.
Seeing this, Jiang Zhiwei put away the map and left the Frost Fire Valley. She flew toward the lake as well to intercept and block them!
Kaboom!
Hundreds of thousands of thunderclaps boomed. The Mystic Turtle rose into the air and morphed into a red mist. However, it rapidly condensed into rain that extinguished the lightning. Entangled, they ferociously tore each other apart and caused a violent aftermath. The fallout swept across the entire hall, giving rise to black water radiance and the manifestation of the Mystic Turtle and Flying Serpent.
Had the protective spell not isolated Zhenwu Great Hall, this collision would have crushed everything within a few hundred miles into powder!
Holding the Devil-rinsing Flag, Meng Qi felt that all the strength in his body was drained. The seismic waves flung him high above, past the small tree that bore the impartation of the Seven Strokes of Heaven Interception. He then fell to the ground behind the tree.
This was all the result of Meng Qi's conscious efforts. He wanted to temporarily obstruct the seizing even if he had to exhaust the Devil-rinsing Flag. Borrowing the force of the aftershock, he approached the tree.
Seeing how close the green leaves were, Meng Qi took a deep breath and was about to operate the Nature-involving Knack. He wanted to borrow the Will of Heaven to expedite the Dharma Form and the protective spell.
The metamorphosis of the Earth Immortal, whose eyes were absorbing and emitting lightning bolts, wore no expression on his face. He muttered to himself, ”The door is open, the door is open...”
Bearing the brunt of the corroding force of the black water and red mist, Meng Qi charged ahead to the small green tree without stopping. Simultaneously, he raised his left hand and wound rope-like bolts of purple lightning around the six treasures.
Meng Qi was expressionless when he saw this scene. He took several steps in retreat and gave up trying to use the Nature-involving Knack. He stared coldly as the Earth Immortal's metamorphosis seized the treasures.
The jade box containing the gleaming Celestial-river Sword was the closest to the Earth Immortal's metamorphosis. In the blink of an eye, it was pulled away by the rope-like purple bolt of lightning.
Everything unfolded so quickly that he could barely catch up. A nearly incorporeal black gas abruptly soared above the jade box, polluting the lightning. It gushed out and charged at the Earth Immortal's metamorphosis.
”Argh!” The Earth Immortal's metamorphosis emitted an astonishing cry as the black gas smothered him. Purple lightning bolts sprouted from his eyes, ears, and every pore of his body in a brutal, unyielding manner. Together, they broke down the black gas.
Seeing that the two sides were about to balance, fluctuations began emerging from the other five items. They were as dark as the treachery hidden in one's heart or as incorporeal and invisible as a curse. Following the Thunderbolt Python, they bubbled up and ended up next to the Earth Immortal's metamorphosis.
”Argh!”
The black gas penetrated in and out of the Earth Immortal's metamorphosis as his eyes rapidly dimmed as they absorbed and emitted purple lightning. The screams resounded ceaselessly as if he was in great pain.
Watching this, Meng Qi felt his face twitch slightly as if he could empathize with the metamorphosis' suffering.
These were treasures that Zhenwu, the Great Emperor, left for Meng Qi. There was no way the Emperor would not stop others from trying to obtain them.
Even without Zhenwu's spirit informing him, Meng Qi would still stop in his tracks to probe these treasures and carefully distinguish them. He would rather spend a long minute than making haste through a second.
There was no other reason than the fact that there were too many people who paid for their greed with death. Whatever traps, falsity to cover up the truth, curses on the treasures, an esteemed master's spirit lurking inside – these were all ruses to seize the treasures!
This was not a game where one could get a fresh beginning after death. Facing the relic of a great power and an ancient treasure, how could one try and directly seize it? Was that not digging a grave for oneself?
Meng Qi would not let down his guard even if nothing went wrong in several attempts out of ten. If the item did not directly affect his life or death, he would rather give it up than act recklessly.
In similar circumstances, any martial arts master with even the slightest bit of experience would understand the need to follow a mandatory procedure.
The first step was to determine the items and verify their authenticity. This was to prevent one from ignoring the authentic one for a fake.
The second step was to probe for traps. Having none would be the best case scenario but if there was any; one must deal with it accordingly or trigger it from a safe distance.
The third step was to use a secret technique to sense the treasure or its box to determine if there was any hidden curse or countercharge.
The final step was to examine if there was any trap or spirit left on the treasure. However, the concealed danger in this step was often very well hidden. There was also a chance that it would not flare up immediately. Therefore, one could carefully take the item after an initial inspection and verification. Other worries could be handled in the future.
Meng Qi believed this was what the forefathers of the Sword Washing Pavilion and Zhenwu Sect did.
The capture of the Buddha's Palm taught Meng Qi a lesson, warning him against being careless, carrying the intention of getting lucky, and hesitating. Once he obtained the treasure, he must unleash all his tricks to escape.
However, the premise to all this was either having the treasure snatched by someone else or he had carefully verified the treasure to be authentic!
When Meng Qi suddenly saw the treasures while standing in the hidden corner, he did not allow greed to blind him and render his accumulated experience useless. He was exceptionally careful, knowing that recklessness would cost him those treasures.
”I am someone who has read novels after all. At the end of 'A Deadly Secret', the treasure was found to be laced with poison and the greedy plunderers died tragically after going mad. Why would it be otherwise in a world filled with ancient great powers, Gods and Buddhas, Immortals and Saints, all sorts of curses?” Meng Qi was a little smug as he stared at the devastating condition of the Immortal's metamorphosis.
In the span of time it took to take a breath, the black gas had subsided. With the dispersal of the curse, the Earth Immortal's metamorphosis fell on his face. The strand of obsession vanished, leaving a certain degree of damage on his physical body.
”Fortunately, this thing's brute force is for naught! It's brain-dead and operates solely based on its obsession!” Meng Qi quietly sighed. He summoned what little strength he had left and took large steps forward to firmly grab the small green tree.
If there was any intelligence left in the Earth Immortal's metamorphosis, how could he directly obtain the treasure? The countercharge would have killed him. His best course of action would be to eliminate competitors and buy himself plenty of time to verify the treasure.