The castle occupies a vast area, almost half of the southern city, with a training ground inside, for the Cui family and their close relatives to practice martial arts.

  The school grounds are paved with bluestone, facing the vast sky. On the east side is a one-zhang-high stone platform, which is where seniors watch and comment on martial arts performances every day.

  Today, the scorching sun is high in the sky, with not a cloud in sight. On the 10-zhang-long stone platform, rows of taishi chairs are arranged, and many renowned martial artists and seniors have already taken their seats. Behind them stand their respective disciples or younger generations.

  This allows them to witness the elegance of a battle between masters, deeply understand the true essence of martial arts, and take fewer detours.

  When Meng Qi arrived with Ning Daogu and others, the sun was already high in the sky, only half an hour away from noon. Cui Xuan wore a plain white robe, his hair tied back with a wooden hairpin, sitting on a chair with his eyes closed, a long sword placed horizontally across his knees, standing out from the surrounding noise, forming a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

  The two gentlemen standing in front of the steps were from the Cui family. After taking the invitation card from Meng Qi's hand, they glanced at it and said loudly: "Master Zhendingshi has arrived!"

  Suddenly, a beam of eyes shot over, and many Wulin celebrities were astonished and whispered to each other.

  "Is he really Zhēn Dìng?"

  "You're still too young, aren't you? How can you possibly defeat Mu's father and son?"

  "I heard that even the invincible Shen Hou almost lost his life at his hands?"

  "It's hard to imagine, it's really hard to imagine! Is this what they mean by 'heroes emerge in youth'?"

  "Alas, the rear waves of the Yangtze River push forward the front waves."

  Upon hearing these words, Meng Qi felt secretly pleased in his heart, but on the surface he remained expressionless, quietly reciting Buddhist scriptures as he slowly ascended the stairs and followed the maid to find his seat, exuding an air of detachment from worldly affairs.

  Ning Dao Gu, Yue Shi Shi and the other four heroes from Jiangnan followed Meng Qi closely, their skin taut, their footsteps light, their hearts racing as if they were about to jump out of their chests.

  So many great masters, so many famous predecessors, tomorrow they can't even see each other, but now they are right in front of them. How can they not be excited, how can they not be nervous, how can they not be thrilled?

  Even without the battle of the sect masters, this experience alone made them feel that it was not a wasted trip. This is also a kind of "seniority" in the Jianghu, at least they have become familiar with their seniors!

  That is the leader of Longyou Sect... That is the overall helmsman of the eighteen waterways in the south... One by one, famous figures appeared in the line of sight of Le Shi and others, they suppressed their excitement, lowered their eyebrows and eyes, and followed Meng Qi without looking around.

  After gazing at Meng Qi for a while, the famous martial artists withdrew their gaze and began discussing the matter among themselves. Occasionally, someone would arrive and be greeted by the maidservants, while others would leave to observe Bai Yi's movements at the entrance. The scene appeared somewhat casual and chaotic, as they were all high-ranking individuals. Cui Xuan closed his eyes again, and with only Cui Jinxiu and Fei Zhengqing present, they couldn't maintain order in the room.

  Under such circumstances, Meng Qi suddenly stood up and smiled at the maid: "I want to go to the toilet, but I don't know where it is."

  The maid was quite surprised, she always thought that the senior would not appear in such a situation with similar "needs", Ning Dao Gu and Nie Yao also had similar expressions.

  Surprisingly, the maid still led Meng Qi to the backyard and pointed at the toilet: "Master, it's over there. Do you remember the way back?"

  "Remember, you don't have to wait for me." Meng Qi replied calmly.

  The maid hurried back to serve other noble guests, without saying much, and left in a hurry.

  Meng Qi took a deep breath and unfolded his body method, dodging the servants in various parts of the courtyard as he snuck towards the dungeon where You Tongguang was being held.

  Perhaps because of the broad daylight, everyone's vigilance was not high, Meng Qi passed through the most bustling courtyard smoothly and arrived at the dungeon in the southwest.

  A patch of trees was deliberately planted here, separating the dungeon from the inner courtyard, making it look quite gloomy.

  The outer wall of the dungeon was built with giant stones, and a heavy iron gate isolated the inside from the outside, while two fierce men with knives guarded the entrance.

  Meng Qi picked up a stone and flicked it with his finger, hitting the wall on the other side.

  Crack! The sound made the guards turn their heads at the same time and look towards where the sound came from.

  Just then, Meng Qi spread his arms like a giant eagle and swiftly pounced on them, punching their heads with both fists.

  Bang bang, Meng Qi's fists, which were no bigger than a sand basin, were equally powerful and directly knocked the two to the ground, where they fainted.

  After bowing down to their acupoints and dragging them into the woods, Meng Qi swaggered to the front of the iron gate, grasped the door ring, and knocked loudly.

  The sound was rhythmic, three long and two short, repeating for three rounds.

  After a moment, the iron gate let out a heavy creaking sound and slowly retreated backwards.

  After the gate was slightly opened, the person inside found something wrong through the gap. Who is the white-robed monk with a somewhat out-of-the-world intention guarding the door?

  They reacted extremely quickly and immediately wanted to close the iron gate again.

  Meng Qi slapped his palms out and pressed them against the iron gate, using all his strength to push forward.

  "Open it for me!"

  Meng Qi let out a low growl, his skin turning a dark gold as the muscles in his arms bulged.

  The two men behind the door suddenly stumbled backward, unable to stop the iron gate from opening.

  Too violent! Too barbaric!

  I just thought he was a transcendent and virtuous monk, a handsome and elegant Buddhist monk, but now it seems that he is just a roughneck!

  The two people behind the door looked at Meng Qi, whose face was a bit ferocious due to his full-force eruption, and felt that they had been deceived by his appearance just now.

  Meng Qi jumped into the dungeon, sealed off their escape route before they could call for help, searched out the key, knocked them unconscious and threw them aside.

  "What a loss of face." Meng Qi patted his white monk's robe, gripped the Buddhist knife tightly, accelerated his movements and rushed down the stairs.

  All the way, Meng Qi's goal was clear, that is, the deepest level of the dungeon. The people he met either fainted with a knife on their back or sealed their acupuncture points, and there was no one who could match him.

  Perhaps no one expected someone to break into the dungeon, and the scattered guards and masters were unable to form an effective gathering, producing a collective advantage. Adding to Meng Qi's strange movements, he quickly broke through without causing any ripples, and even outside of his route, they didn't know what had happened here.

  Descending three floors, Meng Qi saw the narrow iron gate described by You Tongguang, and then found the key on the body of the guard beside him, inserted it and opened it.

  When Meng Qi reached out with his right hand to touch the iron gate, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if what lay inside was not a dungeon, but an ice cellar.

  Of course, this had no effect on Meng Qi, who had endured the invasion of the cold turtle's icy intent. With a light push, the iron gate slowly opened.

  Behind the iron gate, frost condensed, and a stream of cold air rolled up along the narrow corridor from the bottom.

  Meng Qi's face was calm as he directly rushed into the tunnel and headed towards the bottom.

  This path is about 10 zhang long, and Meng Qi saw the scene at the bottom after a few breaths.

  There was indeed an ice cellar, with square blocks of ice arranged on both sides of the corridor, shining with a dazzling and dreamy color under the illumination of torches. Among the piled-up ice blocks, there was a coffin made of green jade, emitting a faint glow.

  Meng Qi's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he slowed down his pace, for at the exit of the narrow corridor stood a person with white hair and a ruddy complexion, always wearing a benevolent smile - it was none other than You Tongguang!

  Behind him lay a young man with his eyes tightly closed, his face pale and blue, and a faint white mist rising from the top of his head.

  "You're here." Yu Tongguang smiled and greeted him.

  There was a transparent and imperceptible ice wall between him and Meng Qi before, separating the inside from the outside.

  Meng Qi replied calmly and quietly: "I'm here."

  "Judging from your expression, it seems like you already know something." Yu Tongguang had his hands behind his back and still wore a smile on his face.

  Meng Qi stroked his sword and slowly said, "Those who should know already do."

  "Knowing there might be a trap, why come?" Yu Tongguang stretched out both hands.

  Meng Qi smiled for the first time: "Had no choice but to come."

  "Do you regret it now?" Yu Tongguang did not ask Meng Qi why he had to come.

  Meng Qi sighed: "Some tests are aimed at your courage and judgment."

  "Your courage is commendable, but your judgment seems a bit off." Yu Tongguang chuckled.

  Meng Qi shook his head: "I've been thinking, why can other gods be certain that Shen Hou is an imposter, and why they believe I have the ability to threaten the White Robed Sword God."

  "So you've come around?" Yu Tongguang's smile faded.

  "Of course, Mr. Zi Shu." Meng Qi stared into You Tongguang's eyes.

  "You're the one who's been saying that I'm a threat to Luo Qing, but I don't understand why you're so certain. Can you tell me why?"

  "Didn't I tell you, I have a lifesaving treasure? Lord Cui and Mr. Chen Long, did they retreat knowing it was impossible?" Meng Qi saw that he didn't know about the Violent Rain Pear Blossom Needle, how could she possibly tell him.

  It was precisely because of the matter of Xiang Shen using himself to deal with Luo Qing that Meng Qi connected the twelve Xiang Shen and Master Cui Ke for the first time. Among his two abilities that could threaten Master, "Duan Qing Jing" knife method had not been used yet, and the violent rain pear flower needle had only appeared once. Only the black shadow had been seen, and after analysis, Meng Qi felt that it was 70-80% likely to be Cui Ke.

  Thinking of this, things become simple and clear. From the beginning, they knew that Shēn Hóu was fake, because no one would be foolish enough to deal with "their own people". The test the next day was purely a show, first to make themselves think that most of the testers at the time were Xiangshen, second to measure their own martial arts.

  However, Cui Xuan's judgment was slightly off. By relying solely on the clarity of his knife intent, he had initially eliminated sensory distractions and did not use the violent rain pear flower needle. As a result, Luo Qing basically did not lose combat effectiveness, but only lost the initiative, and was caught off guard - at that time, they had to take action, because after Luo Qing's sword move paused, Cui Xuan could retreat far away, and by then, Luo Qing wouldn't even give them a chance to be caught off guard.

  Without waiting for You Tongguang's response, Meng Qi continued: "I didn't expect that Chen Long was actually the master of Cui City. No wonder he is a sect master."

  "Alas, after Xiao Min's death, my fifth brother changed completely. He kept talking about the boundaries between humans and gods, and the concept of life and death. Then he came up with this 'Twelve Gods' organization and started collecting secret martial arts manuals." Yu Tongguang sighed, "What can we brothers say? No matter what, we'll support him, and we'll also gain many benefits from it."

  At this time, Meng Qi saw a few lines of words condensing behind You Tongguang's back, with cold air surging:

  "Failed to assimilate into the Twelve Signs."

  "The investigation has cleared up the secrets of the Twelve Gods."

  "Branch quest completion confirmed, reward 150 good deeds."

  "Branch quest two triggered, kill the young mouse, reward sixty good deeds, kill the dragon of the fifth branch, reward one hundred and twenty good deeds."

  Meng Qi's smile deepened: "You've set up such a big trap, it shouldn't be just for dealing with me, this little monk, right?"

  You Tong nodded and looked behind Meng Qi: "Mr. Xian Yin, come out."