Chapter Seventy-Six: The Sea of Qi

It seemed Judas had guessed Qin Tie’s confusion. Through the sound of his wings, he said, “Ignorant Meridians, you dominate this world with your metaphysical power, yet you have no understanding of the true principles of existence. Consciousness does not require a specific nerve or organ to exist—so long as an independent circuit is formed, consciousness can arise.”

Qin Tie sniffed, suddenly enlightened. “The scent…”

Judas praised him, “Correct. Insects have notoriously weak vision; more than ninety percent of their actions are triggered by touch and smell. Complex and diverse pheromones are nearly their only means of perceiving the world. As long as the cockroach swarm establishes a complete reflex mechanism through pheromones, the entire swarm becomes my brain.”

Ever since realizing that his neural center was his vulnerability, Adonsa had been searching for new vessels for consciousness, so that even if his brain was destroyed, he could continue to exist. This bizarre collective consciousness was one of the many forms Adonsa explored.

Qin Tie fell silent, deeply shaken. The method sounded simple, but even if it could be achieved, would the resulting consciousness still be considered his own?

Such a concept was incomprehensible to Meridians, who always centered themselves.

But for monsters like Judas, there was no such mental burden. As long as no more than one identical consciousness existed at a time, even if he died and was revived through a duplicated consciousness, it mattered little. In fact, this was the fundamental mode of existence for Adonsa and his reincarnated forms, divisions, and all his followers.

The reincarnated forms were essentially personalities restored after human brains were devoured by divisions. Until the secret of the soul was completely unraveled, a reincarnated form could be considered a new individual, inheriting only the former personality and memories.

Qin Tie gritted his teeth. “Then I'll slaughter all these cockroaches and see if you have anything else to say!”

“You have no chance, Meridian.”

Qin Tie, relying on intuition, deduced Judas’s tactics. Supported by Adonsa’s immense computational power, Judas was also probing for Qin Tie’s weaknesses.

Orderly cockroach swarms flew in geometric patterns, seeking minute openings amidst complex calculations.

“Found it!”

At last, a fleeting weakness appeared at the intersection of several formulas. A cockroach bravely charged in, only to be sliced in two and fall twitching on the ground.

More and more formula combinations were deciphered, and Qin Tie’s movement patterns were continually broken down. Cockroaches began breaching his defenses, surpassing his limits.

They crawled onto his resilient Meridian body, their mandibles—capable of chewing through steel—biting mercilessly, drinking his blood and injecting copious venom as they fed.

Qin Tie let out a howl, somewhere between crying and laughter. Cockroaches exploded from his Qi Meridian, yet more leaped onto him.

In the end, Qin Tie was covered in cockroaches, collapsing helplessly, with more than half his blood drained, yet he still held on.

He stared frantically at the sky, laughing wildly, and uttered his final word.

“Slash!”

An endless surge of blade energy erupted from every pore, carrying the faith and Qi Meridian of this tragic Martial Void, shredding all the cockroaches.

Streams of blood sprayed from the shattered cockroach corpses—the blood they had drawn from Qin Tie, scattered in mournful hues.

The falling bodies of cockroaches blanketed the ground in a thick layer, nearly burying Qin Tie. At last, he slowly closed his eyes, ending his life.

In the final moments, Judas’s massive cockroach body finally stirred.

He had been controlling the regeneration of his neural center all along, but Qin Tie’s supersonic slash was so powerful that it took until now to reconnect the severed tens of thousands of nerves.

With the neural center restored, his body’s self-healing was fully triggered, and Judas was truly, completely resurrected.

He gazed at Qin Tie’s shriveled corpse, opened his mandibles, and spat out a purple, soft-bodied creature.

————————————————

While Judas and Qin Tie battled, Lin Jicang heard a strange trembling sound.

The noise was hidden in the wind, unnoticed even by Judas, but it alone awakened Lin Jicang’s consciousness and drew him toward it.

He traveled through the dense forest, finally discovering the source—a recitation of Buddhist scripture.

“When mortals find love, it is as entering a burning house; troubles arise, and coolness disappears. Each step retreats, yet retreat is difficult.”

A monk in black robes sat on a stone, swaying as he chanted.

Lin Jicang shook his head. “No, no. In this world, how can one live without love? Even without romance, there is family, friendship. If there’s nothing at all, it’s no different from death.”

The monk, his back to Lin Jicang, smiled. “Yes, yes. The world is a fiery house; all beings suffer endlessly. Love and affection are the sources of all troubles.”

Lin Jicang laughed wryly. “Are you saying everyone should become monks like you?”

The monk turned around, pressing his palms together; his chest, cheeks, and limbs were all smeared with pitch-black blood.

“Since all beings are troubled, as if fallen into hell, then let me send them to ultimate bliss.”

An indescribable stench of blood rushed forward. Behind the monk were mounds of corpses—Meridians and abominations mingled—evidently, he was one of Zhang Liaoyuan’s agents, stationed here to block the enforcers and divisions.

Yet even with Lin Jicang’s keen senses, he had only just now realized it.

Such twisted madness, treating slaughter as a sacred rule, made Lin Jicang retreat instinctively, terrified. “You killed them?”

The monk shook his head. “I alone bear the sin of killing, and the donors shall dwell forever in pure land—what joy!”

“Maniac…” Lin Jicang murmured, his body trembling as his muscles heated up, triggering his own potential. For the monk clearly now regarded him as the next “recipient of salvation.”

“States arise from the mind; killing brings enlightenment. I offer this body to bear all evil, sending all the world’s people to ultimate bliss.” The Killing Buddha’s eyes shone with bloodthirsty red light, his posture and words growing increasingly solemn, as palpable murderous intent surged toward Lin Jicang.

The Martial Void’s will was a highly distinct brainwave, collectively called Delta waves, which at certain frequencies and intensities could profoundly affect others’ consciousness. At this moment, Lin Jicang felt utterly insignificant, like a lone boat drifting in a vast ocean of blood, while before him, a colossal Buddha bore down.

This was Martial Void: utterly lost in martial practice, unable to break through, twisting the mind in agitation, trading sanity for strength, willingly becoming a puppet to inner demons.

And the Killing Buddha’s power was clearly...