The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Wow! The Great Sage!

Hearing the scream, Meng Qi felt a mixture of amazement, excitement, fear and doubt. Did I just meet the Great Sage Sun Wukong?

He had been his childhood idol!

If he imparted me with the Eight Nine Mysteries and Immortality Spell, I would be able to achieve success and win recognition. I would also be beyond the Triple Realm and Five Elements. I would reach the peak of my life….

Meng Qi was lost in his daydream.

The scream, again and again, echoed in his ears, as if flowing restlessly from ancient times.

“Is it Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?” Jiang Zhiwei remembered the introduction from the Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms.

Meng Qi was awake. He heard the shout “I will never cultivate myself in my afterlife” now and then as if the echoes were overlapping.

“I think so,” Meng Qi said with a frown. “Maybe this was the site of a Holy Mountain Battle hundreds of years ago.”

So his shout is everlasting. I doubt it.

The place was dark, thunderous, windy and covered with green lotuses. Meng Qi struggled to figure out the situation around the Jingu Bang, but he could not understand it.

Ruan Yushu saw what was happening. She said, “The Jingu Bang seems to be pressing something.”

“Is it?” Meng Qi replied casually. “The Jingu Bang has grown to such a scale. It supports the sky and reaches the earth. It is probably pressing something. Maybe Ruan Yushu is right.”

Could it be the ancient Buddha Bodhisattva?

Is the Great Sage on the other side of the Jingu Bang? Did he master the changes of heaven and earth?

Jiang Zhiwei pressed her lips into a smile. “The Holy Mountain Battle is a mystery. There are various explanations for it. Shall we continue on?”

Meng Qi looked at the cracks and visible cyclones. He saw thunder lights and green lotuses which seemed to contain universes. He let out a sigh of relief and calmed down. He said in a low voice, “In light of our strength, we should stop. We’d better walk along the edge and find a safe place. Even if monsters come in through the illusory door, they won’t know our location thanks to the complex terrain. We should be able to make it to the eighth day.”

None of us have reached the Half-step Exterior Scenery level. As soon as we touch the dark cracks, we will be dead. Never mind the horrible thunder-light lotuses. Besides, the ancient Budhha Bodhisattva, the Great Sage and the Monster King battled here. There is a great chance that the space will collapse, and black holes will form. If someone driven by his greed and strength hasn’t reached the level of the Exterior, he would be a fool to go inside.

“Okay!” Luo Shengyi had gotten rid of his common body, and he no longer seemed to covet the treasures that were hidden in the Holy Mountain. Now all he wanted was to escape. He agreed with Meng Qi immediately.

Qi Zhengyan nodded his head. “It’s horrible inside the Holy Mountain. In the real word, the last time something similar happened was during turbulent days. At that time, the Demonic Buddha was alive, and the world was dark and chaotic. A great many ancient books and records were lost. The scene can’t be seen now. I’m afraid only the Wang family of River East recorded it.”

Jiang Zhiwei was not a reckless girl. She smiled and said, “We can’t practice divination, so let’s choose a side randomly.”

Swordsmanship involved the combination of oneself, one’s heart and the sword. Jiang Zhiwei knew nothing about divination. All she understood was the tacit agreement after her sword and heart merged with the outer world. Although she matched Gu Xiaosang in realm, she had not learned anything like the White Lotus Deducing.

Ruan Yushu held her zither. Her long hair fell on her shoulders and stretched to her chest. Her eyes were clean and unsmiling. She seemed to be indifferent about where to go.

Meng Qi followed his intuition. He walked ahead with Jiang Zhiwei abreast. Ruan Yushu and Qi Zhengyan were in the middle. Luo Shengyi was behind them.

At the pillar by the stone door, Murky held its breath and hid well. Without the protection of the Buddha treasure, it did not dare go closer. It could only keep them at arm’s length. It could hardly hear their conversation.

Its legs were trembling. The scream of the Mokey King echoed in its ears. The miserable memory popped into its mind. Even now the memory was unbearable.

“Great, Great Sage? I’m here to help you…” It deceived itself and others. In fact, all it cared about were the weapons, treasures and impartations of the Great Sage and the Monster King.

If I had an impartation, would I be so weak after hundreds of years?

“Are they looking for another safe path?” Murky wondered why they did not go inside, and instead made a detour. Though confused, it followed them discreetly.

After a while, Meng Qi and the others still had not gone inside. They merely sought for cracks and caves here and there. Murky came to realize that they did not plan to go inside. “They want to hide themselves.”

“What the f*ck! Nobody to help me explore the way. Do I have to take the risk myself?” Murky was angry. “The boy is destined for Buddhism. If I enter the pure land of the Holy Mountain, he might be useful. How can I leave him free and unfettered? Watch for my brutal tricks!”

I must beat the dog before the lion.

It observed for a while before deciding to kill the girl in the plain white dress. “Last time, the concealed weapon she used injured me severely. For now, she is the most dangerous among them. Who knows whether she has another concealed weapon or not.”

I’ll kill her first. Then I will force the others to explore the way for me.

Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei were scrupulous along the way. They were watching for monsters and looking for a safe place. However, they had not found anything yet.

Meng Qi had taken off his common body and opened the Seven Apertures. Now his Vital Spirit and body were harmonious. He was stronger and more spiritual. His well-shaped body and facial features made him distinctive. Suddenly, he felt a chill, as if his bare feet had stepped on ice in cold winter.

“I can smell something.” He turned his head and swung his Purple Decease Sword backward without thinking.

The Sword Qi surged into the sky and brightened the interior of the Holy Mountain. In the depth of the mountain some dilapidated temples appeared dimly.

The ground was so solid that even the Sword Qi could not crack it. Only a cloud of dust rose.

At that moment, a steel fork suddenly stabbed at Ruan Yushu. As the fork came forward, it gained momentum. If one was hit by it, they would be sliced into pieces.

Although nothing could be seen in the blue sky, they sensed it was Murky that had attacked them.

“Look!”

The Sword Qi was silky. It cut off the water and made a splash in all directions, as if rain was pouring down.

The sword cut off the water, but it failed to stop the falling steel fork.

Fortunately, what Meng Qi had done saved time for the others. Jiang Zhiwei jumped up and pulled out her Long Sword.

The sword light was dazzling. The sea split in half. Luo Shengyi’s right arm expanded. He pounded the fork heavily with his fist.

CLANG!

The sound spread. Jiang Zhiwei fell back and spat out blood. They fought shoulder-to shoulder. Finally, they managed to defend themselves.

Qi Zhengyan wielded his Dragon Stripe Golden Sword powerfully. Murky was frightened and trembling. As a fish demon, it was most afraid of dragons.

A beam of light flew out of the sword. Wherever the light went, there was fog and chills. The sword hit the waves behind Murky and the water froze gradually.

The waves rolled and the ice chilled. Murky screamed and jumped up. It tried to attack them again.

This is the most reliable and effective method. I can’t believe they can resist my second attack.

Ruan Yushu was aware that Murky was aiming at her. As the others defended her, she took out a piece of elixir from her ring and swallowed it. Then she bit her tongue and spat a drop of Blood Essence onto the zither.

TThe red Blood Essence spread over the surface of the seven strings with rhythm. The zither was dyed a beautifully dim crimson.

Ruan Yushu let go of the zither. It floated in front of her. Then she pressed the strings and played it.

From the sky came a loud and sonorous singing. It was indescribably wonderful and could overshadow any kind of birds’ chirping.

Murky felt as if it had been hit by a thunder. It fell down to the earth like a rock.

The singing was the Heavenly Phoenix Cries of the Heavenly Sounds of Lang Huan.

As the treasure of the Ruan family, the Heavenly Sounds of Lang Huan could only be mastered by gifted people.

Despite that, Ruan Yushu’s hands were trembling. She was pale and weak.

“The opportunity must be seized.” Meng Qi pulled out his Whisper Sword.

He hadn’t used the Purple Thunder Bladesmanship or the Purple Decease Sword in the beginning, because he’d been aiming to create opportunities for Jiang Zhiwei. Now he played the Sacrifice Formula and wielded his Purple Decease Sword.

The knife energy was light and noiseless. It spread across farms, paths and towns to the smoky sky.

The Holy Mountain swayed suddenly. Puffs of anger and grudge billowed into the sky.

“Ananda!” They heard a sound.

The sound had existed in the Holy Mountain for a long time. The scream of the Great Sage had been so loud, it had been difficult to hear. But now, it was strengthened by the Qi activity.

Murky could not get rid of the sound, as if it had been restrained by a phoenix’s singing. Confronted with the Mortal Dust Fall and driven by its desire, Murky burst out. “I must go inside and find the weapons, impartations, and elixir. I have to obtain the Real Body and become a big monster. I will return to the Emerald Waves Lake as the Great King of Emerald Waves.”

Meng Qi’s mood fluctuated, and so did the waves around him. The waves were cut off by the Whisper Sword.

CLANG!

The weakening Whisper Sword failed to damage Murky’s Chain Mail Shirt and black scales.

The swordwill was on fire. Jiang Zhiwei took a deep breath. She was determined to forge ahead.

Without her common body, her strength improved a lot. With the help of Luo Shengyi, she behaved differently this time. She cast a secret spell, and the swordwill was on fire again.

How wonderful! The Long Sword terminated everything on its way. It managed to reach Murky.

Meng Qi had hit Murky. It ran away from the Mortal Dust Fall. The power of the Heavenly Phoenix Cries was coming to its end. The sword light, however was still near.

Its eyes became red. It opened its mouth and disgorged a black Monster Core. The Monster Core was different from the one of the Half-step Exterior Scenery. It was already well-formed. The waves were rolling. Heaven and earth were changing. And the Interior Scenery was appearing.