The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The heavy snowfall had just ceased and the air in the compound was a little bit sweeter.

Huangfu Fei let go of all emotions and concerns and asked for advice in the most proper manner. “Taoist Qingyuan, I’ve been practicing the Heavenly Night Spear Art for six years but I’ve never mastered the essence of it. I don’t know why. The same goes for the Five Thunder Skill. I’ve failed to grasp the main point of it and feel that I’m very slowly progressing without anyone to ask advice from.”

Consultations about kungfu always began with such general questions.

“Firstly, you have to practice a lot and use it often. Practice makes perfect. Only then will you be able to grasp the constant principle amidst the varied movements and realize its essence in doing so.” Meng Qi stood with his hands clasped behind his back and his scholar robes gently swaying in the wind. He looked carefree and beautiful.

He smiled as he took a few steps back and forth. “Secondly, listen more, observe more, and train more. Use your heart to feel it.”

“Besides those who were inherently powerful, most living beings acquire their skills after birth. It could be through imitations of their ancestors or heaven and earth, just like how some of the sects’ kungfu were learned from beasts. Man follows the earth, the earth follows the heavens, the heavens follow Taoism, and Taoism follows nature.”

“If you want to practice the Thunder Execution and its corresponding moves, it’ll be difficult to master it if you don’t observe lightning or feel the imposing power they hold within…”

“For example, the speed of lightning, the weight of thunder, the vastness of heaven, and the slowness of all other things in comparison can be experienced when watching a thunderstorm… If you look at this knife, its perfect roundness within seems like it could hold everything like a boundless void…”

Meng Qi’s sincere voice reverberated in the house. From time to time, he took out his long saber and demonstrated moves with it. Both Madam and Miss Huangfu felt at peace and remained thoughtfully quiet.

“It’s not enough to simply watch the thunderstorm. After all, the feeling of its momentum is fleeting and abstract. You must study your predecessors’ notes and combine them with your own thoughts…”

Huangfu Fei looked delighted after listening to his explanation. “I seem to understand it a bit better now. I’ll demonstrate the Heavenly Night Spear Art and the corresponding Five Thunder Skill from start to finish. Please give me directions along the way.”

…

One month later.

Huangfu Fei walked out of her room, ready for her daily consultation and practice.

She was dressed in a green robe, with a plain hairpin keeping her hair in place. She looked very much like the daughter of an ordinary family. However, her disguise couldn’t hide the rosy glow of her skin. It was difficult to play down her natural beauty.

After passing through the kitchen and greeting her mother, she stepped into the courtyard and subconsciously held her breath. That was because Taoist Qingyuan, who was seated under the tree, was hiding his imposing manner within. He was wrapped in his own spiritual energy, his entire being carrying an inexplicable emptiness. He seemed to be brewing something within, making it difficult to disturb him.

During this period of time, Huangfu Fei had often seen him sitting in such a manner. Her initial doubts were slowly numbed until she felt it was a common sight. However, the feeling of something brewing in his emptiness seemed to be intensified, influencing her own emotions and senses.

“Master Taoist, I’m here.” She snapped out of her trance and greeted him in the same way one would greet her master. She had long changed her way of addressing him.

It had only been a month of cultivation, learning through sparring and polishing her skills, but she felt that her current Heavenly Night Spear Art was almost two-fold heavens from what it had been like. It also felt like she had been suddenly enlightened about her Five Thunder Skill. If not for the lack of time, she might have been able to make a direct breakthrough!

The tree behind Meng Qi was ramrod straight, with withered and gloomy-looking leaves. He was seated with his legs crossed, eyes half open.

When he heard Huangfu Fei’s words, his eyes suddenly opened. His pupils were dim and deep like an infinite void.

Vast and simple and wide and boundless, he seemed to have transformed into the universe itself, gazing down from above… Huangfu Fei couldn’t help taking a step backward. It felt like Taoist Qingyuan before her was both reverent and fear-inducing, causing people to subconsciously worship him.

However, such a feeling vanished in the blink of an eye. It was almost as if it had been nothing more than a dream. She saw him smile.

“Today will be the last day I give you advice.”

After accomplishing the primary level of Eight Nine Mysteries, he had also worked on the Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture . The vast majority of skills in the enlightenment period no longer held any secrets for him. As long as he knew the flow of genuine Qi and the corresponding Dharma Access, he could quickly simulate them. By understanding a single principle, he was able to comprehend everything.

Moreover, something that secret overjoyed but also surprised him was that theHeavenly Golden Scripture cultivation method was strangely harmonious with his Eight Nine Mysteries. Hence, he needed only half a month to imitate the genuine Qi of Jade Virtual Sky-opening Skill using the Eight Nine Mysteries. He learned the 36 types of Jade Virtual Palm and could execute them in a pure and simple manner, completely unlike a beginner.

He pondered over and cultivated three types of Exterior tactics for the remaining half a month. He could simulate the first half of the Skythrowing Palm, quickly see through the mystery of Turning Heaven and Earth upside and down, and imitate it using Eight Nine Mysteries at about 80% of its normal power. On the other hand, he made relatively little progress in Standing Still and Tri-gem Wish Fist. He would probably require another month before he could succeed.

The reason he hadn’t been able to control his momentum very well a moment ago was his full mastery of the Jade Virtual Sky-opening Skill at the level of enlightening the Aperture s!

“The… the last time?” Huangfu Fei’s eyes widened. She looked like his words had greatly affected her and put her in disbelief.

Meng Qi slowly rose to his feet and smiled. “Everyone has to part someday. I still need to attend to some matters concerning the evil ghost.”

Huangfu Fei suppressed her sudden sadness and sincerely bowed. “Thank you for your guidance. I’ll use everything I’ve learned in this month for life.”

She had polished her Five Thunder Skill and Heavenly Night Spear Art to the point where they were almost perfect. She believed that, in due course, her father could rely on it to attain greater heights. Her own realm wouldn’t be limited to the ordinary Nine Apertures either.

“We’ve both benefited from it. There’s no need to thank me.” Meng Qi brushed off her gratitude with a wave.

Huangfu Fei bowed once more. “Master Taoist, Senior Brother is hiding in this city. I’m the only one know where he is. Shall we meet him today and retrieve the Black Tortoise Jade Pendant?”

She had devoted herself to martial arts this month and hadn’t been distracted by her lover.

“There’s no need to rush.” Meng Qi chuckled, his tunic swinging in a carefree manner. “First, watch how I perform this particular bladesmanship and try to understand it.”

He drew his saber and swung it in place. The saber momentum was sometimes as heavy as thunder, sometimes as fast as lightning, sometimes a vastness that could hold everything, sometimes causing time to slowly go by, sometimes strong and unyielding in the face of evil, and sometimes firm and tyrannical and destructive…

The knife energy tumbled around and seemed to transform into a silvery-white mass that wrapped itself around him. Such bladesmanship that would typically have struck terror into one’s heart had actually been used within that small boundary. Even Huangfu Fei, who stood nearby, didn’t feel the sharp intent or imposing aura of the wind.

Boom! A low sound rang out as he demonstrated his bladesmanship. It continued on and on as if displaying its strength before the fall of the divine punishment.

Suddenly, the knife light disappeared and the entire courtyard became quiet. It seemed that an unusual darkness had been produced.

Out of the blue, a bright light streaked down like it had come from the high heavens and brilliantly illuminated the courtyard.

Boom!

After the lightning came thunder, unusually heavy and loud, but Meng Qi deliberately controlled it. He only allowed a small number of sound waves to spill out.

The five types of essences—virtuality, heaviness, slowness, speed, and ferocity—seemed to blend into a single entity. Righteousness, firmness, and strength filled the void. On behalf of the heavens, five bolts of thunder struck!

Meng Qi had polished and mastered his Five Thunder Bombardment of Sky to a fairly complete degree. He was only one step away from merging it with his other skills and condensing them all into one move. He estimated it could be worth a few hundreds of Karma points!

Even so, by accumulating its momentum, his final stroke had also slightly surpassed the power of Violent Thunder Shocking the Sky!

The knife energy covered everything in its bright light, causing his figure to almost disappear. The sight of the thunderbolt marks remained frozen in Huangfu Fei’s bright, black pupils.

…

Afterward, Meng Qi left Qi Shaochong and Huang Ling each with a sign to contact him and meet him at different times. He then hid in the shadows and changed his appearance before quietly tailing them. After confirming that there were no problems, he led them to meet Huangfu Fei and Madam Huangfu.

At night, Huangfu Fei changed her clothes and led Meng Qi to an expansive manor in the city. She knocked on one of the remotely-located doors in a particular way.

The room was quiet at first before they heard the sound of rushed footsteps.

The courtyard door was pulled open and a man who looked nearly 30 appeared, wearing an overly emotional expression as he cried, “Junior Sister…”

Though she was in disguise, he could still recognize the girl he dreamed about all the time.

Huangfu Fei was also doing her best to control her surging emotions upon seeing her lover again. She tightly gripped her hands and was about to speak, when she suddenly remembered Taoist Qingyuan was next to her. She said shyly, “Grand Senior Brother, this is Taoist Qingyuan. Thanks to him, my mother and I were able to survive.”

He Canshang was near to achieving the Heaven-man Connection. The instant he saw Huangfu Fei, he had already noticed Meng Qi. However, he was feeling emotional and believed his Junior Sister would never harm him. Thus, he didn’t probe further and solemnly bowed at the Taoist.

“Thank you, Taoist Qingyuan. Word of your righteous actions has spread all over the world. You have my admiration for being able to defeat Green-blood Dragon King with only the level of enlightening the Aperture.”

Huangfu Fei gestured to Meng Qi to enter the yard and explained all that had happened in a hushed voice. “Big Senior Brother, the Black Tortoise Jade Pendant is related to the evil ghosts. It’s an ominous item, so please hand it over to Taoist Qingyuan.”

He Canshang gave a bitter laugh. “No wonder I couldn’t grasp any skill from it. On the contrary, I often had nightmares where I often heard someone sighing.”

He produced the Black Tortoise Jade Pendant as he spoke.

It was a jade pendant on the verge of shattering from being completely decayed by the ominous Qi. There was a tortoiseshell pattern carved onto it.

“Sighing about what?” Meng Qi’s interest was suddenly piqued.

He took the jade pendant, which was cold to the touch. He wondered how many tens of thousands of years had the pendant spent in the tomb.

“The voice seemed to mention the Carefree Valley…”

“Carefree Valley?” Meng Qi frowned and directed his mental energy at the pendant. It was cold and gloomy, and indeed, he heard a long sigh.

“Carefree Valley.”

The voice was lofty and majestic, piercing through the ages as it entered Meng Qi’s ear.

“Step three of the mystery of Zhen Wu’s death: Find the Carefree Valley.”

The calm voice of Dominator of Samsara in the Six Realms reverberated in his mind.

“I’ve never heard of this place.” He Canshang mistakenly believed that Meng Qi had posed him a question.

Huangfu Fei shook her head as well.

“If the Carefree Valley isn’t in the Nine Villages, then there must be clues about it in the main world…” Meng Qi thought.

If he relied on the Samsara tasks in hopes of encountering it, his chances would be very small and nearly impossible.

He nodded as a way of giving them his regards and vanished with a green flash. His unusually powerful Body Movements left He Canshang in a bit of a trance.

Huangfu Fei gave a gentle sigh.

“What’s wrong?” He Canshang asked.

“Nothing. It’s just that Taoist Qingyuan is really amazing, like a Thunder God who had descended from the heavens,” Huangfu Fei said, looking away.

…

At the Fountain-valley City near the Heavenly Village.

With his agile Body Movements, an escort darted left and right through the crowd like a fish. In no time, he had completely blended into the sea of people.

A short while later, he appeared in a secluded compound and scanned his surroundings. He cautiously pushed the door open and walked in, where he saw a man and a woman in the tunnel.

“The eminences of the Immortals aren’t here yet?” he asked in a hurry.