"No life for the old mother, true emptiness of hometown!"

  The ears are filled with ethereal sounds, the eyes are met with delicate fingers gently tapping, and in an instant, there is a feeling of one's soul escaping and being outside of the physical world.

  He knew it was bad, rapidly changing his body shape in an attempt to avoid the finger, but the surrounding air suddenly became heavy, layer by layer collapsing towards the opponent, as if there was a huge vortex hidden there. As a result, he involuntarily "surged" towards the vortex, as if welcoming that finger.

  After Gu Xiao's finger pointed out, Meng Qi and others only saw that Duo'er was like a lost soul, abandoned resistance and dodging, and actively came forward, as if eagerly returning home.

  "Is this sorcery......" Meng Qi looked at this strange scene with great astonishment.

  Her fingers brushed against the petals as she examined her eyebrows, then turned to Xiao Sang Bao and opened her mouth with a serious expression. Her voice was like a silver bell, clear and ethereal:

  "No life for the old mother, true emptiness of hometown!"

  Something that made people's hair stand on end happened, Duo Er suddenly revealed a peaceful and joyful smile, and whispered:

  "No life for the old mother, true emptiness of hometown!"

  His body under his head suddenly swelled, then rapidly contracted, the skin was dry and withered, the muscles were sunken, a stream of blood light gathered, converged on his brow, and surged into Gu Xiao's index finger and middle finger.

  Gu Xiao's face was as white and delicate as jade, becoming increasingly radiant, as if it could drip with water.

  "Mu sheng lao mu, zhen kong jia xiang......" Duo er cha ruan ruan dao di, ping he xi le de nian zhao zhe ge zhou yu ban de jing wen, sheng yin yue lai yue di.

  Translation:

  "No birth old mother, true empty hometown……" Duo'er softly fell to the ground, peacefully and happily reciting this mantra-like scripture, her voice getting lower and lower.

  Gu Xiao Sang withdrew his right hand and looked at Meng Qi and the others, compared to before, he was even more spirited and radiant, shining with a beauty that made people feel ashamed of their own inferiority.

  "If it weren't for the last time's mistake, wasting good deeds, why would I need to be cautious about taking action myself? However, the good deed of killing a person is enough." Gu Xiao Sang casually broke off a branch and walked towards the entrance with a smile, "The great general has been hit by the 'No Life Finger', it will take a while before he can return to his 'True Empty Hometown'. Although it's brief, there's still plenty of time to kill him."

  She looked at Meng Qi and the others, who were all on guard, and smiled as she gently swayed a branch: "Hehe, it's also fate, if I hadn't made a mistake, how would I have used that thing and been thrown to you as a newcomer. Who should I kill? I'm having a hard time deciding, why don't you choose one for me? After I kill him, we can all go our separate ways, anyway, we won't meet again when we get back."

  She rested her left index finger on her chin, her eyebrows deeply furrowed, as if this question was too annoying. Such a beautiful scene, if there were those who would take the initiative to relieve the beauty's worries.

  Meng Qi and the others had just opened their hearts to each other, deepening their emotional ties, and they were all clear-headed, so they didn't fall for this trick of sowing discord. Each of them was on high alert, guarding the entrance tightly, with thoughts racing in their minds as they pondered countermeasures.

  Gu Xiao's eyes sparkled with amusement, and she smiled slyly: "You're also in a difficult situation? Well, let me think carefully... Ah, yes! Killing an ordinary disciple of the Huahua Sword Sect would be pointless, it would only stain my hands and waste my good deeds."

  Qizheng's face sank like water, although he knew it was Gu Xiaosang's provocative words, he still felt insulted and resentful. Why couldn't he compare to others?

  Her gaze shifted to Zhang Yuanshan's face, and she nodded slightly: "Among the secular disciples of the True Martial Sect, the Zhang family is one of the three main pillars. If you kill me here and fake the True Martial Sect's technique, it won't be difficult to stir up internal strife."

  Zhang Yuanshan's eyes narrowed and he spoke calmly: "Witch, are you saying that the elder I sent is a reckless and ignorant person?"

  "It is." Gu Xiao Sang surprisingly nodded in agreement, "I don't understand divination, I didn't guess that this situation would occur this time, so I didn't exchange the True Martial Sect's secret technique. The matter of framing someone is a bit difficult."

  "But if I don't stir up internal strife and simply kill you, I would somewhat regret wasting a good talent. In the True Martial sect, this generation's Yang Tai, Yang He, or even the Yao brothers all have more martial arts talent than you, and their abilities far surpass yours. None of them can compare to your composure and skill in gaining the favor of our seniors, whether it's studying the 'True Martial Seven-Cutting Scripture' or the 'Taiji Divine Power's' Qigong chapter's true intention transmission."

  She smiled brightly like a flower, speaking words of veiled sarcasm and provocation.

  Zhang Yuanshan suddenly smiled and said, "My martial arts talent is not as good as my fellow disciples, it's a natural thing, what's there to be disappointed about? The heavens are balanced, diligence can make up for clumsiness, what am I desperate for?"

  Since Gu Xiao Sang wants to sow discord and kill with words, Zhang Yuan Shan is happy to engage in a war of words with her, as long as he can drag it out until Duo Er's death, everything will be fine.

  Gu Xiao San was taken aback for a moment, biting her lower lip with her teeth, and said with a hint of a smile: "When I heard you say that, I really wanted to kill you."

  She "forced" herself to turn around, smiling at Jiang Zhen: "I heard rumors earlier that Miss Jiang is the most promising figure among the younger generation, and will become a sword god like Su in the future, suppressing the nine sects of the left way. This made me itchy and unbearable, I couldn't wait to see her and get rid of her quickly, now it seems there's an opportunity."

  Jiang Zhiwei showed no signs of anger or fear, calmly opening her mouth: "Whether or not there is this opportunity, first ask the sword in my hand."

  Gu Xiao Sang looked at Jiang Zhi, whose expression was as calm as Su Wu Ming's, and slightly furrowed his brow: "Could it be that you still have a last resort? Can you still use 'Sword Without Self'? Your injuries are so severe, it doesn't make sense. Could it be that you've exchanged for the Tian Mo Jie Ti Da Fa or some other life-risking technique?"

  She actually asked out the doubts in her heart frankly.

  "Just try it and you'll know." Jiang Zhiwei said with a calm smile, her bright and radiant complexion adding to her already snowy white face, making her even more charming.

  Gu Xiao San hesitated for a moment, then smiled and looked at Meng Qi: "Master", actually I most want to kill is you.

  "Huh?" Meng Qi felt inexplicably puzzled, thinking that he and Qizheng Yan were on the same level, or even lower than him, at least for now.

  Gu Xiao's head drooped slightly, her face flushing with a faint red: "Because it seems like Little Purple has some feelings for you."

  "What's the reason?" Meng Qi also happily chatted with her, trying to drag out the time.

  Gu Xiao Sang raised his head and smiled like a fox: "This is the best reason, whatever she likes, whatever she wants, I will destroy them all."

  Meng Qi had this idea alone.

  "So, 'Master', rest in peace, Amitabha." Gu Xiao Sang threw away the branch and elegantly clasped her hands together.

  Meng Qi took a deep breath, the surrounding din gradually faded away, his eyes only had Gu Xiao Sang, inside was a clear and calm atmosphere, then he raised his sword, pointing to that boundless place.

  Gu Xiao's face was tinged with a smile as she quickly approached Meng Qi, ignoring Jiang Zhiwei and the others.

  Suddenly, she felt that all the sounds around her had been sucked away, and there was no longer any wind or rain, nor could she hear the rustling of snakes and insects. It was peaceful and serene, clear and worry-free.

  Her smile froze as she saw Meng Qi's sword flash up, a burst of light flashing, and the sound of a sudden crack appearing out of thin air.

  The calm is broken, the noise returns, and suddenly, a tender child's voice echoes in my ear, "Mother, mother". My mind involuntarily recalls past events, some sad, some joyful, and my emotions are hard to calm.

  Her face suddenly changed, and she retreated several steps, shaking off the invading knife intent.

  When did this monk have such a high level of knife skills?

  Seeing Gu Xiao Sang retreat in a hurry, Meng Qi couldn't care about his exhausted physical strength, his legs went soft, and he directly pounced on the mechanism, turning it.

  With a flash of steel, Meng Qi threw out his dagger and sealed off the entrance before Gu Xiao Sang could react.

  Bang! The sword cut through the hidden protrusion behind the nearby red boulder, and Meng Qi gritted his teeth and swung out with his right fist, destroying the mechanism inside.

  "What are you doing?" Zhi Zhengwen asked in surprise.

  "Destroy the mechanism, we can't get out, and she won't be able to come in either!" Meng Qi leaned against the stone wall beside him, his hands and feet trembling.

  Jiang Zhiwei nodded: "As long as Duo'er investigates her own death, we can return directly. Being trapped here to die is no big deal."

  "This is indeed a good idea." Zhang Yuanshan revealed a hint of a smile.

  Qizheng Yan held his sword and stood near the entrance, still worried that the mechanisms outside had not been thoroughly destroyed.

  Jiang Zhi smiled and looked at Meng Qi: "I didn't expect you to have grasped the knife intent of 'Duan Qing Jing'."

  She saw that Meng Qi was just bluffing and only used a part of his knife intent to scare off Gu Xiao Sang, buying precious time to close the entrance.

  "This formula is not incomplete at all. As long as you have an epiphany in your heart, and prepare according to the changes of the heart method, the knife intent will naturally burst out." Meng Qi had roughly recovered some physical strength.

  Zi Zhengyan didn't know much about this level of moves, and Zhang Yuanshan also didn't understand the true meaning of the "True Wu Seven-Cut Manual" and the introductory part of the "Taiji Divine Merit" when he watched them being passed down. He could only practice according to the secret manuals rewritten by his seniors based on their own experience, and wasn't very clear about the intent behind the knife moves.

  Jiang Zhiwei smiled slightly and looked at Meng Qi with a hint of a smile, taking advantage of the other two not paying attention, she quietly opened her mouth and made an "O" shape.

  Meng Qi immediately understood her meaning:

  "Come on!"

  …………

  In front of the mountain wall, Gu Xiao Sang stared blankly at the closed entrance, and suddenly raised a clever smile.

  Then she turned around and walked towards the forest, passing by Duo Er Cha Shi, with a swing of her sleeve, letting him close his eyes forever.

  …………

  "Who is Gu Xiao Sang?" Meng Qi quickly changed the subject, he was also very curious about Gu Xiao Sang's identity.

  "Are you familiar with the Nine Paths of Evil Demons?" Zhang Yuanshan asked solemnly.

  "I know." Meng Qi had heard Xuan Xin mention it before.

  Zhang Yuanshan nodded: "Gu Xiao Sang is the holy girl of 'Luo Jiao' in the nine evil paths, this is a cult that was once powerful in the era of the gods, with the 'Wu Sheng Lao Mu' as its main deity, deceiving people into returning to the 'True Void Hometown', and according to the rumors spread by Luo Jiao, Gu Xiao Sang is the reincarnation of this generation's 'Wu Sheng Lao Mu'."

  "We know her because she has made three moves, all of which have surpassed the enemy and opened up eight avenues, making her the fourth on the human ranking list with a loud reputation." Jiang Zhiwei also followed up.

  "What is the Human Rankings? It seems like there's also a Land Rankings and a Heaven Rankings?" Meng Qi had always wanted to understand this but never had the chance.

  Zhang Yuanshan lightly smiled and said, "This is a list set up by the Great Jin imperial family to rank the top masters in the world, trying to stir up their competitive spirit, making them kill each other, weakening one another. The original list is at the Six Flap Gates headquarters in Shendu."

  "Although everyone knew what Zhao meant, those who traveled the world had different preferences. Some didn't like wealth, some didn't like power, some didn't like wine, and some didn't like to gamble. But apart from a few enlightened individuals who were content with their simple lives, who didn't crave fame? As a result, everyone tacitly accepted the ranking list, but secretly, there was much more contention."

  Jiang Zhi nodded slightly and said, "The Heavenly Rankings are the rankings of the top cultivators in the world. Since the creation of the Heavenly Rankings, there have been at most 14 or 15 people on it, and at the very least, only 7 or 8 people. Currently, there are 10 people on it, with your sect's leader, Master Fang, ranked third. The Earthly Rankings, on the other hand, rank the top cultivators outside of the Seven Heavens, listing only the top 200. They are basically the strongest figures in the world, and my master is currently ranked first on the Earthly Rankings."

  She was rather proud of this.

  "The Human Ranking is a ranking of young masters, because they are in the stage of opening up, there are many things that can be overcome by fighting, so even if you have opened nine apertures, it's not necessarily possible to rank in the top. This list currently only ranks fifty people." Zhang Yuanshan added.

  Meng Qi was just about to ask Jiang Zhiwei if she had entered the rankings yet when a line of gray words suddenly appeared on the wall:

  "General Duer's body has been found, Branch Quest 2 is complete. Rewarding Gu Xiao Sang with 200 Good Deeds, Jiang Zhi Wei with 100 Good Deeds, and Zhang Yuan Shan with 50 Good Deeds."

  "Duo Er Cha Shen Wang, Shaolin Lun Xian, Main Quest 2 Completed Ahead of Schedule, Rewards 100 Good Deeds Each."

  "Return immediately."