The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Nine Serenities had existed since the beginnings of heaven and earth and were the origins of the evil spirits, evil avatars, and ghosts in the world. There was no lack of tyrannical Inborn Spirits like Devil Emperor, Sky-killing Taoist, and this so-called Netherworld.

Though the god could never compare to several of the most famous gods of the Nine Serenities, it was nevertheless still a great power and a cardinal symbol of life and death. There was no way for the current Dharmakaya to compare with it!

Could the disaster of Bomi be a result of the country’s attempts to dig a passage to the Nine Serenities and return Netherworld to the world?

Or was it Zhenwu Great Emperor who had sealed Netherworld in the Carefree Valley?

Meng Qi’s mind was swamped with so many thoughts that he felt almost suffocated. He took a deep breath and told himself that the distance between the ancient times and the present spanned more than a million years. Even if Netherworld was truly sealed in the Carefree Valley, the god would have long exhausted its life. This was merely the third step of his serial task. It was impossible for him to confront such a great power head-on!

“Emperor of the Netherworld…” Slayer Yaksh’s eyebrows knitted.

Meng Qi understood that Slayer Yaksh was wondering why the leader of his organization would use the nickname Emperor of the Netherworld. He pretended as if he had not heard him and looked around.

The only things inside the hall were the passage leading to this place and the carved murals on the walls. It seemed like a dead end, without anywhere for them to move forward to.

Jia Zhen, who had been mostly quiet the entire time, walked in front of the mural of Emperor of the Netherworld. He kneeled before the wall and made a solemn kowtow.

Without warning, an entrance opened up between him and the mural as dark and moist air instantly gushed out of the opening, revealing slanted stairs that led downwards.

“Old Jia…” Slayer Yaksh took a sharp intake of breath. How did Jia Zhen know how to open the entrance?

Jia Zhen appeared calm and unperturbed in his scholarly outfit. “I once encountered something similar to the worship of evil avatars, thus know that if we can’t find any clues, we can try kowtowing in front of statues or murals to demonstrate our sincerity.”

“I see.” His logical explanation eliminated most of Slayer Yaksh’s doubts.

It did not matter to him whether or not Jia Zhen was telling the truth or what plans he had. With their leader Emperor of the Netherworld following them, he could just stand on the sidelines and watch. Who knew if they could open a secret entrance or two and gain even more?

The five of them said no more and stepped inside the new entrance.

This passage continued to lead them downward, deep into the ground. The cold and damp feeling became even heavier and they could hear the faint sound running water drifting into their ears.

They had no idea how long they had been walking when the passage started widening to form a grey brick-paved square. A dark, deep cave appeared in their line of sight. On the side was a circle of orchid-like flowers with seven petals and bright red stamens.

“Asoka Blossoms!” Slayer Yaksh cried out in disbelief.

For there to be Asoka Blossoms growing near the entrance, that meant this place was indeed the living entrance!

Those who lacked Jianghu experience would have dashed toward the cave to enter first; however, Slayer Yaksh was a well-informed and deeply shrewd person. He was on high alert, putting his guard up against any Nether Spirits or comrades who harbored malice.

Meng Qi stood in the middle of the team and followed Slayer Yaksh into the square. He thought to himself:

“One step, two step…”

If the ancient manuscripts were accurate, an intruder would encounter a formation every three steps he took if he did not carry an identity symbol of the Carefree Valley. This would happen as long as the God-trapping Formation of the Five Elements was not broken, even if the place outside the living entrance had been transformed into a square. Coupled with the great masters guarding the entrance, these layers of defense could effectively delay the enemies until reinforcements from within the valley arrived.

But everything had been turned upside down now. Who knew what changes the illusory formation would bring?

“Three steps!” Meng Qi had just finished counting when a layer of mist rose around him, severely inhibiting his vision and senses. He felt as if heaven and earth had abandoned him.

Meng Qi condensed his breath and began to probe his surroundings. He recalled his position earlier and took a step forward.

The scene before his eyes changed sharply with every step he took. The mist became thinner, allowing him to observe a silhouette looming ahead. The grey-haired figure held a Chinese Astrology Jin sword in his hand and his manner was timid as he looked around vigilantly. It was ‘Devil-slaying Sword’ Yang Zhenchan.

This was the opportunity that Meng Qi had been waiting for! He held his breath and was on high alert as he turned the sword in his left hand. In his right, he was grasping the handle of Heaven Inflicted Pain.

He was still treating Yang Zhenchan as an opponent at the peak of his strength and used his full strength like a lion fighting a rabbit!

His Aperture acupoints were all opened but his Dharma Form did not emerge, only operating within him. The Golden Crow, the Grand Sun, as well as the stars were rapidly contracting and gathering in the Celestial. The Celestial moved forward and gradually turned into the primal chaos.

The aura that Meng Qi exuded turned faint and dark and his breath became unclear. In the next second, an ordinary breath emerged on the surface of his body. It was the same kind of breath he typically displayed but concealed the anomalies underneath.

He stared at Yang Zhenchan, who was cautious and on alert, and found no opportunity to ambush him. As a result, he made a deliberate step forward.

Yang Zhenchan cautiously looked in all directions, carrying his sword, not giving Nether Spirits nor possible traitors any chance.

When he heard the crisp sound of footsteps, he turned his head to look in the direction of the sound. His sense of alarm was at its peak.

He saw Meng Qi walking out with both hands behind his back, displaying no signs of hostility.

“‘Cultivator Grand Sun’ Shen Bao…” Yang Zhenchan relaxed a little at seeing a familiar face. Meng Qi stepping out so openly without trying to sneak an attack also diffused his concerns. However, he was instantly on his guard again against possible traitors.

Meng Qi found his chance at the moment when Yang Zhenchan was still relaxed and had yet to raise his guard. Having sensed the change in Yang Zhenchan’s breath and the light grasp he had on his saber, he thrust forward and saber radiance lit up.

His vision dimmed as if the saber radiance tore through the fabrics of heaven and earth. It was as if there was nothing that the saber could not cleave and nothing that could compel it to stop!

Yang Zhenchan had just noticed the attack when the saber radiance had arrived before his eyes.

Feelings of violent ferocity and unswerving determination suddenly emerged in his eyes, eliminating all traces of his previous timidness. The Sword Qi around him condensed and the sword in his hand defied common sense, directly raising the posture of the hard-to-be-linked Sword Qi.

Clang!

The saber radiance directly slashed the sword!

Yang Zhenchan’s response was, unexpectedly, faster than that of Ze Luoju. His movements were even more profound and just apt, landing right in front of the saber radiance.

Clang!

The saber radiance’s Big Bang Technique hacked the sword and sent it sprawling to the right. Yang Zhenchan’s chest and abdomen were split open, revealing his organs. The cut ran from his mid-brows to navel.

Yet, in the end, Yang Zhenchan was still able to block the attack. The blow had merely injured him!

“He’s acting weak to catch his enemies off guard…” The thought crossed Meng Qi’s thoughts but he calmed his state of mind. He wielded the sword in his left hand and with each inch that he thrust closer at Yang Zhenchan, flames would flare like explosions in the depths of the Grand Sun.

Borrowing the force of the explosions, the saber radiance and Meng Qi traveled faster than they had ever before, charging straight for Yang Zhenchan’s mid-brows!

Yang Zhenchan had fallen into a precarious situation but his gaze was still fierce for he had found his final chance at survival. He thrust his sword repeatedly, his Chinese Astrology Jin bursting forth. His sword light moved at an unparalleled speed, swiftly penetrating the vortex of heat to hit Meng Qi in the mid-brows.

He had gone on the offensive to meet Meng Qi’s attacks and use the latter’s speed to slow him down!

Though Yang Zhenchan had launched his attack later than Meng Qi, he was even faster and seemed capable of bringing the latter down with him. This forced Meng Qi to change his movements.

The line ‘outstanding and exceptionally agile sword art’ written on his file could not be false!

The mist around them rolled and tumbled as if it was drawn to their sword lights. But under the absorption of the God-trapping Formation of the Five Elements, there was no substantial loss or change in the slab or mist.

Just as the two were prepared to drag each other to their deaths, the muscles in Meng Qi’s back bulged and grew two arms, and a head grew from his neck.

He knotted fingers on both hands and golden lotuses began blooming one after another around him. The flowers, connected to the earth, were a boundless sea of extravagance and dignity.

Clang!

The lotuses blocked Yang Zhenchan’s sword light but his sword was unmatched for them. His realm and strength were all above that of Meng Qi. He broke through the golden lotuses and was about to pierce both of Meng Qi’s heads.

Meng Qi’s body began to violently bulge, tearing his clothes apart. The sword light’s aim went from his head to his chest.

Clank! The sound of iron hitting gold resonated. The sword, whose power had been largely dissolved by the golden lotuses, only left a white mark on Meng Qi’s body.

On the other side, Meng Qi’s grasp on his sword remained firm as if he had decided on trading his life for his opponent’s. The second Yang Zhenchan’s sword pierced his chest, he had pointed at the former’s mid-brows!

Yang Zhenchan’s eyes were round, carrying both ferociousness, astonishment, as well as disbelief in them. When the sound of collision reached his ears, his vision was already darkening.

Meng Qi exhaled as he watched Yang Zhenchan become limp and his blood gushed down Flowing Fire. He felt nothing but gladness that he could enlarge his figure despite having not cultivated the Law Phenomenon. Otherwise, Yang Zhenchan’s dying attack would have stabbed him and left him with severe injuries that he would not recover from for some time.

“What an outstanding sword art, as expected from a person who had inherited his family’s Dharmakaya…” The head and arms that Meng Qi grew shrank and disappeared.

Flowing Fire appeared to be delighted to be absorbing blood, flaring up as its blade expanded and contracted. Gradually, it condensed into a jade-like sword body, with an underlying scorching heat. It no longer swallowed flames as it used to.

Meng Qi waved the sword and felt that it had become lithe and dexterous, bending to his every will like it was an extension of his arm. Its strength was enough to melt stones.

“It’s finally evolved into an item of Nth Order…” Meng Qi felt both delighted and moved at this turn of events.

He suddenly noticed that Yang Zhenchan’s corpse was rotting at an indescribable speed. Even the Chinese Astrology Jin sword in his hand was full of rust.

Within seconds, all that was left of Yang Zhenchan were bones, piles of mud-like flesh and blood, and a shattered sword.

Meng Qi frowned when he saw such changes. “Is this outcome the result of Yang Zhenchan’s karma or due to the formation? Judging by the fact that even the Precious Weapon is rusting, I’d wager it’s the latter…”

Yang Zhenchan seemed to have traded everything he had just so he could refine pills. He kept only all sorts of spiritual grasses on him yet they had all lost their vitality and turned into mud.

Meng Qi sank into silence and changed into another pair of similar clothing. He burned his torn clothes and took large steps back into the mist.

The formation returned to normal after some time and the mist disappeared.

Slayer Yaksh stared at his companions who were obviously further than he had recalled them being. Just as he was about to speak, he smelled the stench of rotting corpse and discovered Yang Zhenchan’s remains. He recognized it to be Yang Zhenchan from the dead wood-like rusting sword.

“You killed him!” He pointed at Meng Qi, his momentum surging as if he was about to attack the latter at any time. Merciless Tyrant and ‘Primordial Chaos Devil’ Jia Zhen were also on alert, ready to fight.

Meng Qi’s lips curled. “Why are you accusing me? In my opinion, you’re the murderer!” he said, sneering.

He pretended to look annoyed by a baseless accusation.

Slayer Yaksh narrowed his eyes and his voice seemed to carry vortex in them as he spoke. “Earlier, you’ve specifically told us to invite Yang Zhenchan. If it’s not you, who would it be?”

“I only mentioned him because I’ve heard about your meeting.” Meng Qi deliberately pointed at the damaged vest that he had deliberately worn again. “Then who was the one who ambushed me earlier?”

The wound that Meng Qi had sustained from the ambush was on the vest. Even if he could alter his bones and reverse his hands to land a palm attack on himself, the force and resulting palm print would be different. The rest would be able to easily distinguish it to be fake.

It was not as if he could pull his arm down, attach it to the wall, and ram his vest into his palm!

Recalling the ambush, Slayer Yaksh gradually eased his hostility toward Meng Qi. His cold gaze swept past Merciless Tyrant and Jia Zhen.

Jia Zhen tried to smooth things over, saying, “It’s not necessarily the work of a traitor. It’s possible that there are some invisible monsters hiding inside the passages of the country of Bomi.”

Slayer Yaksh nodded, heightening his vigilance.

Seeing that they had largely eliminated their doubts and did not gang up on him, Meng Qi felt a rather satisfying sense of accomplishment. “It feels pretty good to be a traitor…”

When they took another three steps forward, mist once again shrouded them.

With his own precedent of ambushing Yang Zhenchan, Meng Qi became more alert and deliberately changed his position.

The mist rolled and disappeared after some time, allowing Meng Qi to spot Slayer Yaksh.

He was about to speak when his eyes suddenly froze upon seeing a corpse lying on the ground. The corpse was torn in half and the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys had fallen out.

“It’s him!” Meng Qi was shocked.

The horrible condition of the corpse was not what shocked him. Rather, the person who had died was the one person that he never thought would have anything happen to him.

Merciless Tyrant!