The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Meng Qi was basked in the warm early morning sunlight when a gust of wind reminded him of the winter’s bitter coldness. Blearily blinking, he slowly roused from his sleep, and then suddenly leaped up, completely awake.

He had actually gotten drunk! Really drunk!

He really should not have committed such a blunder. Even if he had Gao Lan, who seemed to be on the Dharmakaya level, next to him, he should not have allowed himself to become utterly inebriated! Jianghu was a dangerous place. He should have been at least partially sober even if he were drinking!

However, ‘Drunken Immortal’ was indeed extraordinary. Not only did he not suffer from a hangover after waking up, his mind felt sharper and energy seemed to be coursing through his veins. The aftereffects of using the Sacrifice Formula even after consuming the Recover Pill had completely vanished…

Meng Qi checked his belongings and was relieved that nothing was missing. He turned to scan his surroundings and realized that the two of them had somehow returned to the dilapidated house at some point in time. Gao Lan was slumped against a pillar in the corridor, loudly snoring in his sleep while tightly hugging the “metal strip” and an empty wine jug.

“Brother Gao, Brother Gao…” Meng Qi tried to wake the man up.

Gao Lan shook his head and slowly opened his eyes. “What do you mean, ‘Brother Gao’? We’ve already sworn brothers, so just call me ‘Big Brother’!”

“Sworn brothers?” Meng Qi was baffled.

Gao Lan chuckled. “Third brother, you’re such a lightweight. I can’t believe you forgot how we cut off the chicken’s head last night and burnt yellow papers to become sworn brothers!”

“Uh…” Meng Qi gaped at Gao Lan, wide-eyed. He scanned his surroundings and noticed the ashes of some burnt yellow papers as well as a decapitated rooster in the corner.

“Where the hell did they come from!”

“You endured all kinds of verbal abuse to disturb many families before purchasing them…” Gao Lan was guffawing, evidently highly amused by the matter.

“What the hell! I don’t remember a single thing…” In the midst of his confusion, Meng Qi strengthened his resolve to abstain from alcohol henceforth. “Hold on, Big Brother, why am I the third brother?”

“Who else was there? Who else had made the oath as well?”

“I don’t know either. You were the one who said that ‘Second Brother’ didn’t have a nice ring to it and insisted on doing it in threes. I don’t mind small details like that, so don’t worry,” replied an indifferent Gao Lan while waving his large hand in the air.

“It seems that even when we’re dead drunk, we know how to lean towards the ‘beneficial’ stuff…” Meng Qi gently nodded and inwardly praised himself. Then it suddenly struck him that since he had become sworn brothers with Gao Lan, how were they going to settle their order of seniority?

However, he was not one to fixate on such issues. After contemplating it for a moment out of fun and amusement, he changed the topic and asked, “Big Brother, shall we go to Dragon Platform again?”

Gao Lan set the wine jug down and shook his head. “No, no, we’re not going back anymore. I carefully thought about it after waking up. If I tried my hardest yesterday and nothing happened, there wouldn’t be a difference no matter how many times I go there. Since I’ve obtained this strange ‘metal strip’, I’ll calmly ponder it and see if I can discover any clues. Hehe, just as well, we’ll be avoiding the other greedy fellows there. They aren’t in possession of the True Emperor Seal anyway, so they won’t be able to arouse the Sword of the Human Sovereign’s breath anyway. I really do have great foresight, devising such a brilliant plan that kills two birds with one stone…”

His quick-wittedness had touched him yet again.

He was indeed unafraid of the other people hunting for the Sword, but Southern Jin still had some Dharmakaya masters. Luo Denomination’s Dharma King was one of them, and if the few major sects and aristocratic families trooped over with their divine weapons, their advantage in terms of numbers would be frustrating as well.

“That works too.” Meng Qi was unaffected apart from a slight hint of disappointment at first. “I’m planning to find a place to quietly cultivate and turn my experiences and gains thus far into strength.”

“Big Brother, I have already promised to sell my friend the True Emperor Seal. If you still require it in future, I’ll help you borrow it from him.” Meng Qi’s next mission was nine months from his previous one. Two months had already passed since then, so Meng Qi was worried that Gao Lan might not have found any clues by the time his next task began. That would delay his plans of exchanging the Seal with Zhao Heng. It was not good to get entangled with preordained fate for too long, and thus Meng Qi intentionally gave Gao Lan a reminder.

Gao Lan generously replied, “Third Brother, you want it but fear karma. Don’t worry and just sell it. I’ll probably use it one more time at most. It shouldn’t be too much of an issue to borrow it.”

“You make it sound like you’re the real owner of the True Emperor Seal…” Meng Qi internally criticized.

Gao Lan continued, “You want to quietly cultivate and I want to ponder over the metal strip. It’s just nice that we’re together.”

He was very energized, what with his two eyes shining and an expression that seemed to be blatantly inviting Meng Qi to ask him for advice.

“Great! Big Brother, you excel in martial arts, so please do give me some pointers.” Meng Qi looked at Gao Lan with equally sparkling eyes. He was naturally not going to give up such an opportunity.

Gao Lan let out a hearty chortle in delight.

…

More than half a year later, at a riverside compound in a small city.

Gao Lan hugged the worn-out ‘metal strip” and tried to communicate with it in some odd manner. He resembled a madman with his messy hair and a face practically drowning in his overgrown beard.

Inside the room, Meng Qi was sleeping in a bizarre position. His knees were hugged to his chest, rounding himself into a ball.

Still as a Luohan statue, a dark gold glow slowly appeared around his body and grew increasingly brighter. His genuine Qi began flowing and his anterior Yin aperture point and other related aperture points linked together. It was deep and deathly quiet, as if he had reached the end of a cycle or the end of life itself.

Naturally, genuine Qi started pouring in like surging waves effortlessly engulfing the shore. His anterior Yin aperture was opened!

Meng Qi had broken free of his physical body and also practiced the “Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture”. Given that sufficient time had passed as well, opening his nine apertures was a smooth success!

All of a sudden, the filth in his body snapped and went wild, rushing towards his anterior Yin aperture point where it belonged. His entire body felt like it had purged all the foulness within and gave off a clean, crystal-clear feeling.

When something entered, something else would have to be expelled, and when there was growth and development, there would be decline. With these five elements, his mind and soul were ready. Meng Qi had never experienced such a sensation where he truly felt like his body was a part of heaven and earth, a heaven and earth that circulated between each other, and a heaven and earth with a special “scenery”!

It was just that entering and exiting such a world was still reliant on the outside world. He had not yet attained true detachment!

The various aperture points popped open as the cycle completed itself. Genuine Qi flowed out and solidified into a gaseous wall around Meng Qi’s body. It was a wall tightly pressed against his skin, and was none other than Protective Upstanding Qi!

With it, Meng Qi had finally mastered the Immortal Pressing Art. His ability to counter force using borrowed force had reached a new height!

It seamlessly merged into his flesh and became a part of the dark gold glow, strengthening its protective capability by leaps and bounds.

The dark gold glow was bright but not blinding. The seventh stage of Golden Bell Shield had been consummated and had now reached the first Order!

However, his genuine Qi was still operating. The dark gold glow turned into a faint golden that exuded solemness and tranquility.

“Boom!”

An illusory cry rang out and Meng Qi’s nine apertures burst open again. Eight Nine Mysteries caught up to Golden Bell Shield at long last.

Meng Qi’s opened his eyes. Countless specks of light appeared and randomly combined in constantly changing patterns in a dazzling display.

He closed his eyes again and his eyelids glowed a faint golden, holy and dignified. From that day onwards, his Eye aperture was no longer his weak point!

The clear faint golden flowed and the protective genuine Qi was invisible but powerful. Meng Qi had finally opened his nine apertures. The only thing between him and breaking the barrier between heaven and man was the Hidden Latch.

Exhaling, the faint golden faded and Meng Qi’s aura was drawn back into his body. He appeared just like the average person, but his eyes held a deep gaze that seemed to suck people in.

Since Eight Nine Mysteries had reached such a level, as long as his opponents did not attack his weak point and did not possess any Precious Weapon or had attained Oneness of Heaven and Men, their blows might not even leave a scratch, much less harm on him!

The daylight filtering into the house made the dust flying all around visible. When they fell onto Meng Qi, they involuntarily bounced off him, while Meng Qi’s inner force remained completely normal, as was his Protective Upstanding Qi.

His control was already near the Half-step level. It had already surpassed the stage of “impeccable control” to become “spotless”!

“I can finally start working on perfecting Eight Nine Mysteries’ Primal Aperture at Mid-brows’.” Meng Qi thought to himself, feeling good about it. He had benefitted from Transformation Strategy, the Immortal Pressing Art and Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth, and his mental strength had always been much better than those on the same level as him. As such, he could continuously execute Exterior-level killer moves. However, they had not been cultivated through official means, either arising from shortcuts or through applications and were therefore special. On the other hand, Eight Nine Mysteries was a Peerless Godly Kung Fu. The corresponding Dharma Access of the enlighten the Apertures was far superior to his peers’ in terms of its compactness and unlocking of the Hidden Latch. His Vital Spirit would reach new heights.

“At that time, Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth will improve even further and be near completion…” Meng Qi sat cross-legged as he thought about the possibilities the distant future held.

In that half a year, Gao Lan had been focussed on cracking the metal strip’s code. He seemed to be completely uninterested in anything else, apart from when Meng Qi took the initiative to ask him for advice. That allowed Meng Qi to find a separate discreet location to practice the “Tri-gem Wish Fist” and other types of Heavenly Primogenitor Kung Fu. In addition, owing to Gao Lan’s pointers and corrections, he saved himself a lot of time and energy and was able to convert the experiences and gains he had accumulated into strength. He had achieved total mastery of his bladesmanship and sword art, and now vaguely resembled a Great Master who had established his own sect.

Of course, that excluded “The Buddha’s Palm”, although Meng Qi had recently drawn some insights about its first set of skills, bringing its strength to be on par with the Exterior level.

While it was not powerful enough, it was still a positive aspect.

At the thought of that, Meng Qi’s right thumb folded between his middle and ring finger, and then he folded all four fingers down into an odd-looking fist. He punched the air. It was heavy and carried tremendous momentum, the dark gold glow giving off a clear and bright shine. It appeared extremely strong and fierce as if it were capable of blasting a hole right through a mountain.

Then, he unclenched his right fist and flicked his index finger outwards as it was surrounded by the dark gold glow. Using the strength of his physical body, he began inscribing words on the ground covered in bluestone slabs.

“Why is the Buddhism kung fu I’ve comprehended related to Vajra…” Meng Qi fell into deep thought. There was no way he was going to admit that it was the fighting style he was the best at.

That particular skill had been derived from Vajra and could be used with the fist, palm, and finger. Thus, Meng Qi decided to call it “Vajra Seal”.

“Forget it, such a pointless question isn’t worth my time. I better work on my Primal aperture and try to achieve the Heaven and Man Connection as soon as possible, so that I’ll have sufficient time to seek out my martial arts path and truly attain Oneness of Heaven and Men.” Meng Qi was about to get up when the world around him went dark and the scenery had changed.

Gao Lan, who had been pouring all his concentration and energy into the “metal strip”, suddenly spun around, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

…

Mystical puffs of air circled the area and there was a dense mist hanging mid-air. With a start, Meng Qi realized that he was back in Samsara Square. The familiar yet distasteful voice of the Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms rang out:

“Before the actual Samsara task, you must guide the newcomers. For every surviving newcomer, you will be rewarded with 50 Karma points.”

“After guiding them through you may build a relationship between the newcomer and your team through ‘written correspondence’. If they pass the Death Task in the future while your own team has yet to pass the second Death Task, they will directly join your team.”

“Warnings: One, you cannot intentionally harm others. Two, you cannot complete the task on their behalf. Three, you cannot donate Karma points to them. Four, you cannot plunder scripts or items. If the following rules are broken, your most valuable possession will be removed from you.”

“So after we’ve passed the death task, the model for guiding newcomers changed into something like this…” Meng Qi mused to himself as he took in his surroundings.