The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

It was a golden vertical eye, simple and unpretentious, yet carried a hint of sacredness. It gave off a subtle shimmer.

Qi Zhengyan picked up the object and placed it against his mid-brows, telepathically communicating with it. Then, after a short while, it let off a series of ripples in the airflow and disappeared just like that.

“Senior Brother Qi, try and see if it works!” Meng Qi felt a surge of excitement as this was what he had pictured previously: Qi Zhengyan wearing a Golden Chain Mail Shirt, with a Phoenix-feathered Cap on his head and a sacred Vertical Eye upon his mid-brows.

Qi Zhengyan exhaled and a golden Vertical Eye opened on his mid-brows, emitting a reddish light. A crimson glow enveloped his surroundings and a dense ethereal mist rose around him. It was truly enchanting.

“Not bad!” Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei gasped in unison. The former was admiring the imagery, whereas the latter was referring to the effect. She said, “A golden Vertical Eye is very fetching. You really get a sense of the Immortal Path from it. Any white mist, crimson glow, or cold light isn’t really odd at all.”

Most importantly, the eye wasn’t simply something that can conceal its user. Without being evoked, it would still provide partial protection against spiritual intrusions. It could identify demons and ghosts and, in a roundabout way, increase the effects of the Azure Blizzard and White Cloud Smoke. Once evoked, it could also alter the weather. If used to good effect, it might be the difference between winning and losing—such as creating a sandstorm in the desert to raise the stakes, and with its ‘spiritual impaling’, the user could direct offensive within the Half-step Exterior Scenery level.

That was working on the premise that Qi Zhengyan’s strength was only on the enlightened Acupores level. It would allow the use of Precious Weapons to be optimized in the Half-step Exterior Scenery level at most. Everything else was rather secondary.

Qi Zhengyan’s expression changed as relief washed over him, even though he didn’t smile. “In the past, I looked down on the Immortal Path brothers. I see now that my perspective has been too narrow. Their continued impartation to others is proof enough they shouldn’t be underestimated in some areas.”

After completing the identity concealment preparations, he spent another 500 Karma points on the Swordsmanship of Icy Cold Light’s Vast Snowfall to increase his strength. To date, he had only one kind of Exterior lethal move. If repeated too often, his opponents could easily anticipate and defend against his moves.

“I should be able to stimulate venus Acupore points in the next mission and cultivate the Purple Star River. With its increased power, the moves it brings should be equivalent to having over 1,000 Karma points of Exterior lethal moves,” Qi Zhengyan lamented. His cultivation could finally attain level five of the Book of the Chaos.

Meng Qi’s expression was ‘sincere’ as he said, “I look forward to it.”

For a long time, he had yearned to express the Purple Star River form—a purple energy, like glorious starlight. He found it to be cool just thinking about it!

Qi Zhengyan abruptly stepped inside the Central Light Pillar without saying another word.

“Senior Brother Qi, what are you doing?” Meng Qi asked, bewildered.

Qi Zhengyan said dully, “To see whether Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms can verify if the order of the nine postures of the Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture order, when adjusted correctly, is actually effective.”

“Ah?” Meng Qi’s expression was blank.

“I noticed Duan Rui’s nine postures were still effective even when incorrectly cultivated. That means, if they’re correctly cultivated, they should also be effective,” Qi Zhengyan calmly replied. He then went on to verify his hypothesis.

Regardless of how he muddled and visualized the sequence, Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms always gave him the same cold response. “… If you wish to make adjustments to the correct sequence, you need 300 Karma points.”

“In accordance with cultivating the correct sequence of the nine postures, book one of the Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture, movement cultivation method of enlighten the Acupores has been evaluated and upgraded to the Exterior entry-level…” Qi Zhengyan relayed the verification results to his friends.

Meng Qi was so shocked it took him a moment to find his voice. “Why didn’t I think of that!”

So there wasn’t any need to complete it first. It was enough to cultivate the nine postures and then make up for the difference after breaking through the Half-step Exterior Scenery, or after attaining a certain amount of Karma points…

“Perhaps you’re more of a perfectionist. Besides, I’ve only just thought of it.” Qi Zhengyan was still expressionless, but his mouth seemed to twitch into something resembling a smile.

Meng Qi momentarily blanked before regaining himself. By then, Qi Zhengyan had already adjusted the sequence, leaving him with 180 Karma points left.

“Yushu, what about you?” Meng Qi tried to distract himself.

Ruan Yushu made a noise of acknowledgment, replying, “I’ll first alter the sequence of the nine postures.”

Meng Qi fell into silence once again.

“Well, it’s already completed. It’s more effective and should work for two or three years…” Jiang Zhiwei tried to comfort him, but she couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

Zhao Heng, with his hands behind his back and a smile on his lips, observed the two of them going about their ‘special’ way of cultivating their friendship.

“My Blue Sky Seal is broken. If my family finds out, I won’t be able to give them a proper explanation. So I need to redeem another one.” Ruan Yushu stopped discussing the Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture and went on about her plans to score another one.

Meng Qi looked at the Exchange List and found the Blue Sky Seal. He discovered that it was an immortal symbol of the Exterior that could head off disasters. It cost 1,800 Karma points but wasn’t that amazing. However, those that were truly amazing would be unusable or ineffective, given Ruan Yushu and Meng Qi’s current strengths.

“For the remainder, you’ll need to exchange an Exterior-level musical score. Though you already have the Eight Non-human Sounds and Guanghan Curse, they’re still rare after all. You should really use something that doesn’t instantly identifies your clan,” Meng Qi said as regaining his mental faculties.

Ruan Yushu nodded. “If I’m not playing my Phoenix-perching Zither, people can’t tell that if it’s anything special, so they won’t be able to recognize me. The key point is the music itself.”

She selected a piece of music effortlessly with uncanny familiarity, finding what she wanted so much quicker than Meng Qi ever could.

“The Returning Curse, an Exterior-level killing tune that directly inflicts damage to the Vital Spirit and flesh. It costs 1,200 Karma points.”

She was left with 80 Karma points after the exchange. She planned to use them for information exchange on their next mission.

“Naturally, I’ll redeem Exterior-level sword strokes. I can’t keep using the Hitting the Sea nor Twenty-three Swords Skill.” Jiang Zhiwei gave a smile when she noticed everyone’s attention on her. She said indifferently, “I have redeemed the Sword-enshrining Tower’s Hatred for the Heaven and Earth from the 108 Swords of The Incomplete Heaven and Fragmented Earth. But I’m stuck without the Primary Instruction, so I can only use it as an enlightened killing move. It’s still a long-standing wish of mine to study it.”

When she discussed sword art, her body seemed to glow from within. She looked so striking that others couldn’t directly look at her.

The Sword-enshrining Tower was one of the Six Sword Sects. The 108 Swords of The Incomplete Heaven and Fragmented Earth was derived from their fundamental sword art, the Thirteen Annihilating Sword Practices. It was quite a famous Exterior-level sword art. The user would be unleashing a relentless murderous intention, with every nine blades linking together. This made it a lethal move in the Exterior.

“Zhiwei, your sword art has found its essence and has achieved Dharma and Logos. If you use more of the Exterior-level lethal moves of the Sword-enshrining Tower, any Samsara travelers you meet will think you’re a Disciple of the Sword-enshrining Tower,” Meng Qi said.

Jiang Zhiwei said nothing else and instantly redeemed the Primary Instruction for 1,000 Karma points. She then spent another 460 Karma points to equip and integrate the other 8 styles of the Hatred for the Heaven and Earth. She used 300 Karma points to adjust the sequences of the nine postures, leaving her with 2,100 Karma points.

She pondered for a moment before saying, “It’s not enough to have the Sword-enshrining Tower moves. We should redeem Exterior sword strokes from as many different sects and families as possible. If we confuse our opponents’ vision and hearing, we can sometimes mix in the Hitting the Sea.”

“When it comes to Exterior lethal moves, the Six Sword Sects is naturally our best option.” Meng Qi smiled and began looking at the basic sword art of the Six Sword Sects and the corresponding derived sword strokes of the Exterior.

“I’ve already thought about it. Let’s take the Azuremoon Immortal-falling Sword of the Azuremoon Sword Sect,” Jiang Zhiwei answered instantly. How could Meng Qi compare with her knowledge of sword arts in the main world?

The Azuremoon Sword Sect was one of the Six Sword Sects, which included the Sword Washing Pavilion, the Huanhua Swords Sect, the Sword-enshrining Tower, the Snow Mountain Sect, the Eastsea Sword Village. The Sword-enshrining Tower, the Huamei Heights, as well as the Pure Sun Sect were all sects of the North Zhou Dynasty, whose disciples were predominantly female.

Meng Qi wasn’t familiar with the sect that Jiang Zhiwei had mentioned and took a cursory glance at everything they offered. He discovered that one of their fundamental major arts was the Immortal-extincting Sword Method. The Azuremoon Immortal-falling Sword was its derivation.

He was taken aback. The Immortal-extincting Sword Method?

Could there also be the Immortal-destroying Sword Method, the Immortal-ensnaring Sword Method, and the Immortal-slaying Sword Method as well?

He scanned the list and, to his surprise, found them!

However, a note was written underneath the Immortal-destroying Sword Method listing. It said: ‘Out of stock.’

“Azuremoon Immortal-falling Sword? Not bad…” He nodded thoughtfully.

The grand total for the sword art was 6,000 Karma points, with the Primary Instruction costing 1,000, and five sword stroke styles at 1,000 a piece. Jiang Zhiwei redeemed the Primary Instruction as well as the first stroke style, Azuremoon Washes Clear-sky. She was left with 100 Karma points.

The team then forked out 80 Karma points each to redeem information on their next mission.

“Long ago, when the gods and demons still visited this world, they left behind many descendants, as well as supreme arts and Precious Weapons. These all brought both chaos and prosperity to earth.”

“The royal family has lost its way and the Emperor cares little about the martial arts, with uprisings and rebellions abound.”

“Find the descendants of the gods and demons and you can acquire the keys to heaven!”

“Main task: Go to Daning and liberate the leader of the Red Coat army, ‘Peacekeeping Heavenly King’ Du Huaishang. Then kill the mastermind pulling the strings, ‘Jade Eye Flying Dragon’ Zuo Hanfeng. The reward is 1,000 Karma points for task completion, but a corresponding deduction of the same amount if you fail.”

Meng Qi and the rest looked at each other. Unfortunately, the next world would likely be filled with supreme art of the gods and demons, and no shortages of Exterior-level experts. However, the world wasn’t in utter chaos yet so the enemies on the main task shouldn’t be too strong.

Either way, the world would mostly be made up of people still in their enlightenment phase. That was unless it had the degree of the horror of the main world or that of Journey to the West.

“Martial arts from gods and demons, experts equipped with Precious Weapons. Look like there’s no particular item that we can use to target them.” Zhao Heng frowned.

Meng Qi chuckled. “At least there are still the strikes available from the Exterior’s secret treasures, or other similarly helpful treasures. It’s just that they won’t have the direct suppressive abilities of the likes of the Demon-revealing Mirror or the Demon-subduing Pagoda.”

The human tribe was relatively diverse compared to demons and ghosts and, as such, there was no obvious way of controlling them.

“Let’s first take a look at what objects are useful. We should all get as many Karma points as possible so we can try and redeem at least one object next time around,” Jiang Zhiwei suggested.

With the team’s strength, objects that were too potent would be pointless. They only had to select a few items from the sub 3,000 Karma points category, such as a (pseudo) God-tying Rope.

After deciding on the item, Meng Qi was left with 350 Karma point. Though he had to visit the Nine Villages World after joining the Immortals, where he couldn’t use a Recover Pill if he got hurt there, he still had leftovers of the healing elixir that he had gotten from the Six Fan School. Things weren’t too bad.

Zhao Heng was the first to leave after staying for a while. Thanks to Meng Qi’s candidness regarding the Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture, they had become rather close. He found them to be people worthy of befriending.

“Little monk, what is it that you want to discuss in private?” Jiang Zhiwei asked, having held back her curiosity for a long time.

Qi Zhengyan and Ruan Yushu’s eyes were also intently fixed on him.