The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Heaven-Destined Temple in Wen An, River East.

Day after day, Kill-Stopping Cultivator would hack and hew on the firewood with her hatchet. Her elegantly shaped eyebrows that frowned with an intensely concentrated expression would have alluded affairs of great fascination or divinity rather than the mere drudgery of cleaving wooden blocks.

“Thud!” The hatchet slipped from her hand and suddenly fell to the ground.

She looked at the hatchet in a daze. Tears began to trickle from the corner of her eyes. Without a word, she bent to pick up the hatchet and made her way to the abbot’s courtyard.

“Master Abbot, I have decided to return to the grasslands.” The waves of emotion that had just stirred, she had calmed with sheer will. Once serene and peaceful, she appeared before the Heaven-Destined Cultivator. Her gaze was cold and distant, like the stillness of a peaceful lake.

Heaven-destined Cultivator gave her a meaningful glance. He waved his hand as he acquiesced her choice, sighing, “Go if you must. This is fate.”

…

A young lean man walked through Gegengol. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were drenched in blood. A saber hung at his waist. Step by step he trodded down a path, terrifying passersby by his chaotic appearance and scary presence, no one dared to lock eyes with him.

He had rested and re-attuned his Qi energies after taking some medicine the night before. Most of his injuries had recovered. Still, he remained in such a miserable yet intimidating appearance for one reason: the last man he had to meet.

Reaching the wilderness at the edge of Gegengol, Meng Qi paused and beheld the vast sky and boundless grassland that filled his entire view. “You can come out now,” he muttered flatly as if speaking to the air itself.

Glittering sunshine spilled onto the grassy field, gleaming like flecks of gold.

From among the foggy radiance of the bright sunshine, emerged a man!

He wore clothes emboidered with gold, shining with blinding radiance in the sunlight. He stood tall and large in girth. He kept no stubbles of hair on his cheeks save a beard. His eyes were long and squinted like that of a serpent’s.

“How did you sense my presence?” he asked, hands behind his back.

Meng Qi made no gesture to turn around. He gazed far into the prairie vista as if he was enjoying the panoramic sight before him. “Wolf King left final words before his passing,” he said without a look at his unsought guest.

“He was awashed with guilt and regret?” sneered the man in gold.

“I looked deep into his eyes searching for any glimmer of remorse or guilt and found none. Before his last breath he voiced his final regret. He said he felt none, save a pang of dissatisfaction that he had not the pleasure of slaughtering you, the chieftain of the Wolf-Slaying League himself.” Meng Qi basked in the warmth of the sun and his body swayed with the breath of the prairie breeze, his soul and his form harmonized with Heaven and Earth as if he was one with Nature.

The man sank into a momentary silence. “After he killed Xing Nanxun, I knew one day it’d be our heads that he’d go after. The establishment of the Wolf-slaying League had naturally rendered Wolf King useless. If we had waited for him to make his breakthrough and achieve the Exterior, he’d definitely draw attention or be hunted down by the big shots given his temper. This was quite unfavorable to us.”

“So you betrayed him and tried your best to get a blade that was no longer obedient to you killed before he achieved a breakthrough?” Meng Qi chuckled. He didn’t wait for the man’s reply and continued, “But unfortunately, you people are afraid of one person and couldn’t make the kill yourself. So you put on an act and forced the job on me.”

The expression on the golden-clothed man’s face stiffened. In a deep voice, he said, “How long have you known this? There’s no way that Wolf King would say such things before his death!”

“I made a guess after listening to Narisu’s words and witnessing the situation at the Bayan Valley, but I didn’t think you’d tell me the whole story yourself.” With a faint smile, Meng Qi turned around.

The man looked surprised. “Wolf King didn’t say anything?”

“Of course not.” Meng Qi was all smiles.

“Then just now…” The man narrowed his eyes.

“I was bluffing.” Meng Qi’s smile made him look like a fox.

The man wasn’t angered. Laughing instead, he said, “Interesting! Su Meng’s madness and persistence is well-known, but who knew he’d have such a crafty mind?”

“That’s because I’ve suffered one too many disadvantages. Naturally, I learned to be a little smarter.” The corner of Meng Qi’s eyes throbbed slightly.

The man’s smile vanished and he turned to look up at the sky, appearing to be somewhat excited and expectant.

“Now that Wolf King’s dead, she’ll definitely return.”

“She’ll return to lead us all.”

Meng Qi smiled, saying nothing.

“Aren’t you afraid of her taking revenge?” the man asked.

Meng Qi raised an eyebrow. “She’d have to be able to find me first.”

Bearing the grudges of the Myths and several evil spirits, Meng Qi meant that he wouldn’t lose sleep over adding one more to that list of enemies!

The man nodded. “Although Wolf King’s dead, the Wolf-slaying League lives on. We’ll still think of you as our brother.”

“Since you’ve already vowed those unspoken words before the Eternal Sky and totem, you can’t leave even if you want to.”

Meng Qi burst into a hearty laughter. He stepped forward with just one sentence from far away,

“I’d hope you all would still treat me as a member of the Wolf-slaying League when I returned to the grassland.”

Watching him disappear behind the slope, the man thought that Meng Qi’s words were somewhat strange.

…

A room in a small blue tower, in the Six Fan School’s headquarters in Luoyang—

Many arresters dressed in maroon outfits remained as still as sculptures after seeing what was written on the slip of paper on the floor.

‘Killing Blade had killed Wolf King in the Bayan Valley.’

That short sentence had evoked complete turbulence in their minds.

Without the need for a description, that short sentence alone was enough to shock them. It was as if they had seen a confrontation between masters of the peak enlightenment period.

So even though the message was short and brief, no one could keep their composure.

It was the first time in many years that the second place in the Ranking List of Young Masters had killed the first!

After all, Wolf King wasn’t an ordinary master. He was the first on the ranking list, the one who killed four Half-step masters in a row, whose momentum was so insane that it stupefied all of Jianghu!

And yet such a mad and formidable person was killed in the Bayan Valley without so much as an explanation. How could they not be astonished?

A thought crossed their minds at that moment. Killing Blade Su Meng was like Evil Lord and his image nearly overlapped that of Outer-sky God Sword Su Wuming, Mad Prince Gao Lan, and Evil Master Han Guang!

“Could, could this be fake?” one arrester asked quietly, making a valiant effort to break through the stiff atmosphere.

The arrester that delivered the news glanced at the envelope and lowered his voice to nearly a whisper out of fear of causing some kind of alarm, “It’s an urgent report sent seven days ago, coming from two North Zhou Dynasty and grassland spys. It should be true. Besides, Killing Blade was indeed traveling around the north.”

“This is a matter of utmost importance. It’s so shocking that we’d better be conservative. Let’s discuss it after we receive detailed information in two weeks, or perhaps a month’s time. We’ll not consider this for the upcoming list,” the leading Green-ribbon Arrester said with a gulp.

The other arresters nodded fervently.

“Wise words.”

They were still digesting the news, unable to accept it so soon.

Inside the room of the Super Arrester in charge of intel-gathering in the headquarters of the Six Fan School, someone else had seen this piece of news.

“Hurry! Inform Su Ziyuan instantly and see if this is true! I want a detailed account of the entire process!” The lead arrester commanded his trusted aide as he rapped on the table inside the office. He then stood up and started pacing back and forth.

If this was true, he’d have to reevaluate Su Ziyuan’s potential!

If Meng Qi’s potential before had awed anyone and made him a noteworthy person, and allowed them to slowly consider how to treat him, then his splendor right now could no longer be ignored. No matter what Meng Qi’s true strength was, they couldn’t afford to neglect him any longer!

Meng Qi shouldn’t be underestimated on the basis that he hadn’t achieved the Half-step Exterior Scenery realm, or that it was ‘merely’ the first place on the ranking list, or that he was considered a pest in Jiang Zheyan’s eyes. His potential was no longer just potential, to the point that he reminded others of big shots like Su Wuming, Gao Lan, and Han Guang!

For Su Wuming, how long did he take to go from the first place in the Ranking List of Young Masters to top three of the Terrestrial Rankings? A mere four to five years!

What about Su Meng? He wasn’t even 20 yet and had a long stretch of time ahead of him. In everyone’s eyes, he could basically be considered an Exterior expert and a shoe-in to be a grandmaster in the future!

Naturally, that was working on the assumption that he wouldn’t die prematurely.

Not long after, the same note appeared in the hands of the many big powers.

‘Killing Blade had killed Wolf King in Bayan Valley.’

…

Meng Qi was completely unaware of the report to the Six Fan School. He was undergoing hermetic training to stabilize his realm.

Since he had come to understand that his initial path was located beyond the Oneness of Heaven and Men realm, his Inner World was naturally at its optimum when breaking through. Moreover, it was in harmony with his body and mind. He ended up using only two months to surpass He Jiu, Wang Siyuan, and others, who had spent two to three years of their time on their path. The feeling of his every movement being assimilated with heaven and earth disappeared, and he seemed to have returned to his true self!

Something like this had nothing to do with one’s aptitude and depended only on self-reflection. With one’s nature and opportunity skewing the odds, some people would be faster than others. Everyone was different and couldn’t be compared.

Meng Qi stood up, his hand holding a clump of dust. It was the dust of the Bodhi-seed. The seed had exhausted its spiritual nature three months ago but he wasn’t willing to throw it away. So he decided to keep it on him, hoping to be able to enlighten another Exterior-level Buddhism cultivation method. However, with him repairing his realm and losing the seed, what he could garner was limited.

But during the time where he had ‘waited’ for Wolf King, he had successfully comprehended a cultivation method called the Acalanatha’s Manual through the power of the Bodhi-seed and his mental state back then.

The cultivation method was one that he could major in, but he hadn’t started practicing it yet. He decided to save up Karma points to exchange for the Exterior-level manual for his Eight Nine Mysteries.

Precisely for this matter, he was currently rushing to one of the north entrances to the Immortals, the Moon Mirror Lagoon in Lulong.

Having reached the consummate stage of the Oneness of Heaven and Men realm, he urgently needed to grasp the cultivation method for his next step to prevent any ignorance during his breakthrough!

Rushing day and night, Meng Qi reached Lulong in just half a month’s time. He saw the lake that was as clear as a mirror, reflecting the white clouds in the blue sky—the painting was the lake, the lake was the painting!

He found a quiet place, changed into the outfit of Heavenly Primogenitor, and lit the Immortal-traveling Charm. A familiar scenery appeared before his eyes, with the same entrance and silhouette.

He saw Qu Jiuniang, who wore the mask of Bluecloud Progenitor, standing at the entrance of the Immortals.

“Pretty strong, aren’t you? ‘Killing Blade had killed Wolf King in the Bayan Valley.’ You’ve completely stepped into the limelight!” Bluecloud Progenitor’s words of praise were laden with sarcasm. But with a change in topic, she instantly returned to normal. “Considering how many masters Wolf King killed, I’m sure you made off with a generous loot.”

Emitting a green light, she rolled up Meng Qi and flew toward the Azure Palace.

“Wolf King was a person who carried few things. He left only a sword behind,” Meng Qi said, chuckling.

“A sword… That’s not bad…” Bluecloud Progenitor’s tone was full of envy. “What are you here for? To receive your mission for the year?”

Meng Qi had completed two missions in his first year alone and basically didn’t have to do another one in his second. Besides, he was barely six months into his second year.

“I’ve comprehended three cultivation methods from the Buddha’s Palm. I’ve come to show them to you all based on our agreement,” Meng Qi replied honestly.

Bluecloud Progenitor said, “Huh? That’s pretty fast. Three Exterior-level cultivation methods?”

She suddenly felt a jab of bitter hatred. If she was the one who had received the Buddha’s Palm back then…

“Yes.” Meng Qi smiled. “Progenitor, would it be cheaper if I exchange the cultivation methods for the Exterior-level manual for the Eight Nine Mysteries with the organization?”

Named cultivation methods weren’t allowed to be inherited externally, so Meng Qi didn’t think of looking for Lord of Purity and Magic. He decided to buy it from the Immortals.

“It’s exactly 9,000 points. But since you’ve comprehended three cultivation methods from the Buddha’s Palm, that’d be pretty useful to Progenitor Lingbao. He’d personally compensate you a bit. I think you’d be able to buy it for a little over 8,000.” When it came to Karma points, Bluecloud Progenitor always seemed so full of zeal and meticulous in her explanations.

Relieved, he said, “Then let’s hurry and go.”

He still lacked enough Karma points to make 10,000 but he basically had enough for the price Bluecloud Progenitor had mentioned.

She glanced at him. “It just so happens that Primogenitor Lingbao is currently at the Azure Palace. I’ll take you to him.”