The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

“Do you think it’s possible that Zhenwu Great Emperor was worried that his immortal Dharmakaya would regain wisdom and turn into an evil ghost, thus casting this Dragon-subduing Stand and building his mausoleum beside the netherworld?” Having read all kinds of novels in his previous life, Meng Qi was quite imaginative.

Jiang Zhiwei’s face became grim. “That’s possible.”

The one howling in the depth of the mausoleum was possibly his evil ghost.

The idea that Zhenwu Great Emperor’s Dharmakaya had turned into an evil ghost made their hairs stand on their ends. Such a mighty monster would be capable of destroying heaven and earth.

Fortunately for them, their task didn’t involve dealing with evil ghosts. If the Mystery of the deceased Zhenwu Great Emperor would be so easy to decipher, it wouldn’t be a serial task. Thus, they ruled out this possibility after a short discussion. Though reasonable, it was ambivalent to the description of their task. They decided to go further to look for more leads.

After bypassing the Dragon-subduing Stand, they made their way down the stairs where black mist rose from the ground.

Jiang Zhiwei found ancient scripts inscribed on both sides, reading: “This is the end of my long and arduous cultivation journey.” They were similar to the handwriting that read: “Those who enter will die, those who obey will live.”

Meng Qi exhaled. “Could that be something Zhenwu Great Emperor left behind after building the mausoleum, crossing the netherworld, and going to place where he died?”

Jiang Zhiwei gently nodded. “Seems like it.”

Since steles erected at the gate of the Zhenwu’s Decoy Grave were likely carved by him, it wasn’t an exception here either.

“There might be some ancient secrets hidden here.” Ruan Yushu, hugging her Phoenix-perching Zither to herself, peered at the seal characters curiously. It was a rare glimpse of her girlish side and it made her look adorable.

Meng Qi said doubtfully, “But Zhenwu Great Emperor was a top ancient superpower and every character he wrote should be awe inspiring. Why do these characters look so ordinary?”

Jiang Zhiwei burst into laughter. “Did you think these top superpowers would be incapable of controlling themselves? They could understand the most profound Dao, absorb sun and moon, unleash the chaos, and freeze a realm with only one word. But they could also be ordinary, no different from you and I in the mortal world.”

“I see. I thought I could carve out some of his handwriting to exchange for Karma points or for some other use…” Meng Qi said regretfully.

Jiang Zhiwei bit her lower lip and barely managed to suppress her laughter.

Ruan Yushu said coldly, “Your intention is a waste of valuable resources.”

He gave a dry laugh, before suddenly frowning. “I keep getting the feeling that something isn’t right. How about you guys?”

“Same here, but I can’t tell what is it.” Jiang Zhiwei turned and glanced at him before looking at Ruan Yushu. She didn’t sense anything unusual.

“There’s nothing wrong with us.” Ruan Yushu tightened her hold on her zither as if she was being immersed in a horror story.

Meng Qi pondered over this momentarily but still found nothing out of the usual. He lowered his voice and said, “Then let’s move on and continue to follow the ruins.”

The further down the stairs they walked, the thicker the mist became. The mist was now ink black, so dark that they could barely make out the words carved on both sides of the wall.

“In my life, I have nine regrets. Firstly, I still have two powerful opponents left to conquer. After 50 battles, big or small, I always ended up getting a tie with Sky-killing Taoist and Devil Lord.” Jiang Zhiwei felt excited upon reading this, wishing that she could witness the battles between ancient superpowers.

Meng Qi was hanging onto her every word. “Who’s Sky-killing Taoist?”

“He was the head of Evil Gods of the Nine Serenities who enjoyed the same reputation as Devil Lord. He used his own Blood Essence and Underworld Sea, the bottom of Nine Serenities, to cast an incredibly powerful Divine Sword. The sword was called the No. 1 Killer by Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms.” Jiang Zhiwei was familiar with sword-related anecdotes.

Realization suddenly hit Meng Qi. “The master of the Nether Sea Sword!”

There were many Peerless Godly Weapons, but only 10 that could be listed on the first page of the Exchange List. Meng Qi read all the descriptions no matter how wordy they were and knew the No. 1 Killer-Nether Sea Sword. He couldn’t relate the sword to Sky-killing Taoist at first, for Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms didn’t include his name in the item description.

“Yes.” Jiang Zhiwei’s beautiful eyes instantly brightened. “At the end of the ancient times, the period after Zhenwu’s disappearance but before Devil Lord’s death, Sky-killing Taoist had an earth-shaking battle with Feng Xi, the Monster Saint. Oppressed by phoenix true fire, he couldn’t escape from the Nine Serenities. Left without a choice, he could only retreat to the depth of it. After that, he seemed to suffer from some large unknown changes and later lived in seclusion. Sky-killing Taoist never showed up since then. Rumor has it that he’s dead.”

She continued, “It wasn’t until 10,000 years ago that his so-called successor showed up in succession with the Nether Sea Sword. They didn’t establish any sect, nor did they affiliate themselves with any aristocratic families. They upheld the principle of killing, causing big calamities in the world, and disrupting the rules of heaven and earth. For example, the most famous one was the death of ‘Seven Killing Taoist’ at the hands of Demonic Buddha.”

Meng Qi felt like he was swimming in the sea of history, finding the changes from the ancient time to antiquity time to be spectacular.

Jiang Zhiwei’s voice became even softer. “According to my master, a swordsman like us will have two regrets in our life. The first is that we won’t be able to witness the Human Sovereign and Nether Sea Swords; the second is that we can’t read the complete edition of Jietian Seven Skills of the Sword.”

“When we’re alive, we should experience those rare adventures.” Meng Qi felt braver and more confident and instantly.

Jiang Zhiwei nodded in agreement but suddenly paused. “Why do I feel like something isn’t right?”

“I don’t feel it though?” Meng Qi looked at her before looking at himself again, finding everything to be normal.

Jiang Zhiwei couldn’t tell what it was either. “We better move on as soon as possible.”

The ink-black mist became much thicker, turning the seal scripts invisible. Meng Qi couldn’t read ancient characters so he quickly passed by with the Heaven Inflicted Pain in his hand.

“The second regret: the Heaven Interception Seven Skills of the Sword isn’t complete and I’ve only learned three of its moves. Heavenly Primogenitor…”

He stopped, wondering how was it possible for him to be able to read these words. He felt rather regretful. Could these characters have developed some sort of intelligence? It felt like they were explaining themselves to him upon seeing him.

The words suddenly disappeared as if they had never existed, leaving no traces behind. Meng Qi was wide-eyed, not understanding who did this. Why did they erase the words? Could these words be related to some ancient secret?

“Could it be the work of those Zombies?”

“Or someone else?”

He was about to open his mouth to discuss this when a self-mocking smile appeared on his face. He was all alone, so what was there to discuss? It wasn’t like he was schizophrenic!

The ink-black mist continued to dance in the air and he could no longer see the handwriting on both sides of the wall. Meng Qi held his saber in his hand and carefully walked down the stairs.

All of a sudden, a bolt of electrical light flashed as a long spear showed up out of nowhere. It cut through the mist like a rapid residual shadow.

Sizzle! The mist was dissipated as the electrical light pierced the sky and illuminated the whole place.

“Eh? Why did the electrical light become so much slower?” Compared to the one that struck Jiang Zhiwei earlier, this one was just a little faster than the Xiao Zhenhai, the “Aurora Electric Sword”. Furthermore, the earlier one also came from a further distance.

“Wait a minute. Where’s Zhiwei?”

“Where did Zhiwei and the rest go?”

Meng Qi felt an abrupt shock. The fog that muddled his mind seemed to have finally subsided. He finally figured out what was wrong!

Ever since he stepped on the staircase, he had been slowly beginning to forget his companions. The first person that he forgot was Brother Qi, then little foodie, and finally Zhiwei. If not the electrical light provoking some of his memories, he would gradually turn into a zombie!

Meng Qi struggled hard to suppress the fear that rose in him. He lifted his saber and blocked the spear charging at him.

The long spear followed an odd trajectory as if it wanted to whip or cut him. It was like punishment from heaven itself, strong and dragon-like.

Why did he found this move so familiar? Meng Qi suddenly thought of the Crippled Moves of “Five Thunder Bombardment of Sky”. This move felt like a derivative of one of those moves.

Naturally, he also switched up his long saber to counter the move. The saber trembled in a curious manner, and every tremble felt like the strike of a Sky Thunder.

The Thunder Punishment was so fierce and strong that even the heaven was terrified.

This was one of the derivative moves that Meng Qi had been mulling about, yet was never able to understand its Essence of Knife Dao. Now that he was facing this move himself, he felt as if he understood something.

With the Knife Qi turning into Thunderbolt Python, his saber pierced through the black mist and illuminated the pitch black darkness.

Bang!

Two electric lights hit each other, sparking brightness everywhere as if a rain of electricity was falling. Their explosive sound shook Meng Qi’s soul.

Meng Qi inclined his body and nearly stumbled. If he hadn’t borrow some force from the Immortal Pressing Art, and that Golden Bell Shield along with the Eight Nine Mysteries were known for their strengths, he wouldn’t be able to stop the attack even if it was deliberately slow and restrained!

He would have failed even if he used his Precious Weapon earlier!

Furthermore, he didn’t have the time to use his Exterior movement, the “Violent Thunder Shocking the Sky”.

The silhouette dressed in a loose robe turned around in midair, carrying his long spear. His indifferent gaze fell briefly on Meng Qi before he disappeared into the darkness again.

Meng Qi didn’t delay his journey any further. Under the illumination of the electric light, he immediately turned around to find Jiang Zhi Wei and the rest.

Their gazes were empty and lifeless. They were following behind him like a group of zombies.

Meng Qi’s temperament changed instantly, looking like a wizened person who had experienced countless years, as he exerted the “Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth” on himself.

With the black mist becoming weaker, a golden glow appeared and engulfed the mist instantly. Meng Qi then recalled all his memories.

He took a step forward and unleashed his spirit to connect with Jiang Zhiwei, helping her recall her memories.

Her deep sea of spirit began to rise and fall, quite unlike the still and quiet heart of a zombie. Sensing this, he knew she was just like him. If she felt even the slightest threat, she would be able to recover part of her memory.

Drawn forth by the Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth, the golden glow skyrocketed to the sky and dispelled the mist like carps filling the vast sea.

An adorable little girl was seated, holding a sword much taller than her in her arms. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to let any of it fall…

An agile teenage was immersed in practicing her sword art. Her face was shining with attentiveness…

After seeing those two memories, Meng Qi saw the mist dispel and Jiang Zhiwei regained her consciousness. He quickly retrieved his spirit.

Meng Qi felt somewhat guilty, wondering why he felt like he was peeping on someone else.

“Are you okay? What about those two?” The first thing Jiang Zhiwei did was to worry about him.

Meng Qi felt warm in his heart. “I’m fine. I’d better use my supernatural power to rouse them.”

Just then, the ink-black mist suddenly disappeared completely. He saw someone shrouded in the darkness coldly staring at them. The man wore a black robe and a crown with a flat top on his head. He was thin and had a pair of deep eyes.

“Zhenwu Great Emperor…” Meng Qi couldn’t help holding his breath. The figure disappeared as the last of the mist faded.

Ruan Yushu shook her head and made a soft noise as her eyes became clear again. She held her zither tightly and her voice shook as she asked, “Are you guys alright?”

“We’re fine. Did you recover your memory?” Meng Qi asked.

Ruan Yushu nodded. “Dried dragon fish.”

She used just three words to show that she had remembered everything.

“Book of the Chaos.” Qi Zhengyan’s expression changed ever so slightly before returning to normal.

Meng Qi wasn’t too sure and worried about any possible risks. Thus he used his supernatural power again, coupled with One Heart Affecting Another, and checked their hearts without awakening their miserable memories.

Enveloped with a golden glow, their hearts were clear without any hint of the mist.

Meng Qi retrieved his spirit, feeling somewhat regretful. If he chose to awaken Ruan Yushu and Senior Brother Qi first, what would he see? Would he see delicious food or hatred against oneself?

With half of his spirit consumed, he didn’t dare to be careless anymore. He sheathed his saber and took out the “Buddha’s Lamp”.

With its motionless fire, the lamp emitted a warm light and stopped any mist and darkness from entering its illumination.

The deeper down they traveled, the more vigilant they became. At the bottom, they saw a tomb with another tomb inside.

“A tomb within a tomb?”

There were ancient seal scripts in front of the tomb that read:

“Zhenwu’s Grave.”