The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Corpses that were kneeling, lying on the ground, or leaning jerked and stood up. Their arms flailed as if they were drowning. The ceaseless murmurs and chants of “Who am I?” persisted amongst the eerie cacophony of the shuffling husks.

Meng Qi was creeped out and his hair stood on his skin when the voice of the Dominator of the Six Samsara Realms boomed suddenly.

“The Carefree Valley has been found. The third portion of the enigma of Zhenwu’s fall is accomplished.”

“The fourth portion of the enigma of Zhenwu’s fall: Seek any traces which have been left by the Great Emperor Zhenwu in the Carefree Valley.”

Remaining indifferent, Ye Yuqi quietly instructed Meng Qi, “Do not use the physical senses of your body. Sense your surroundings with your spiritual awareness.”

Hearing this, Meng Qi closed his eyes and the aperture of his ears. He maintained a calmness that harmonized with his awareness of the Nature around him as the spectrum of his spiritual consciousness spread forth.

The senses of his perception spread forth like a sweeping wave, everything before him filled his spiritual vision to their very minute detail. The vast stretch of the entire mountain gorge before him would accommodate even a half of the entire kingdom of Hahler. Strands of sinister aura with the semblance of black fumes seeped out from the crevices and fissures of the ground of the lifeless land of dark rocks and stones. Tens of thousands of dried corpses laid about, their husks still bore the remnants of their disturbed souls.

Without his physical senses in play, Meng Qi’s spiritual perception found elements which had formerly escaped his notice. Traces of a malevolent sentience could be felt roaming about, merging with the pool of souls that swarmed and filled the entire gorge. Its cold and deathly aura branched like multitudes of tentacles, reaching into each and every disheveled husk of the corpses. Like its eyes and limbs, the corpses wavered as they stirred, rocking sideways as they moved.

“The corpses are subjects to the will of the mysterious sentience which gave off that cold moist feeling? But why are they chanting ‘Who am I’…” Meng Qi wondered aloud. With a calm and collected composure, he remained in vigilance with his hand steady on the hilt of his sword.

Ye Yuqi shook her head in answer, her opulent hair swaying as she said, “I know naught of this.”

Seconds passed in silence. The creepy and frightening din of the rousing corpses simmered down as the corpses returned to their former slumber. A deep, peaceful lull returned into the fold as if nothing had happened before.

Meng Qi kept his eyes closed, prodding at his surroundings with his spiritual senses. He examined the corpses and the nearby terrain in search of hints and traces.

Their skins had been deprived of moisture, looking gray and dark. The white robes and black mail that they wore had been reduced to a pitiable state, rotting and damaged after long years of languishing and neglect. “A mere touch would have had the armors and raiments crumble beyond repair.” Meng Qi hazarded.

The same could be said of their adornments, weapons, and books. Some had already been reduced into indistinguishable lumps of waste and filth. They were like pulps of organic grime and slime which had been drained of life and essence!

Suddenly, Meng Qi gave a slight cry of amazement. A piece of parchment was found by the side of one of the corpses. There were scripts of the ancient tongue of the Western Regions on the piece of paper.

He extended his hands and willed the parchment into his hands with his spiritual powers. Gracefully the parchment flew and landed in his palm.

Ye Yuqi, the Ice Fairy, reached over and peered at the contents of the paper. She recited its contents after a brief glance,

“The Royal Advisor is deranged.”

“Script on the parchment would suggest that it was written in a hurry. It might have been inadvertently left in the chaos.” Ye Yuqi observed.

There was but only the single sentence upon the piece of paper.

Realizing there was nothing more that Meng Qi could glean with his spiritual senses, Ye Yuqi closed her eyes. Her right hand beckoned. A similarly-looking piece of parchment glided into her palm from the side of another corpse which had been adorned and dressed lavishly.

“He has gone deranged!”

“The Royal Advisor…”

Similar messages have been written on other parchments they found.

A booklet of parchment paper drifted to them and fell into Ye Yuqi’s palm.

She riffled through the pages and recited its contents faintly, her raspy voice grew clearer as she continued,

“… Blessed was the folk of Bomi by the Emperor of the Netherworld. In their dreams, he spoke to them, gave them advice and counsel, imparted to them knowledge of the mystic arts and promised them Nirvana upon their demise. Have no doubt, for we are of the peasants of the Emperor of the Netherworld!”

Clear and concise, the opening of the booklet elaborated on the origins of the folk of Bomi’s fervent worship of the Emperor of the Netherworld.

Meng Qi stared blankly into nothingness as he pondered on the message read to him. A foreboding of dread occurring to him. “Does the Zhenwu Great Emperor’s sealing of the ‘Netherworld’ have ties to the lore of Bomi? Have The Emperor’s powers escaped the confines of the seal and began to speak to the common folk in their dreams?” he wondered.

“No… Impossible!” Meng Qi grimaced with shock.

“How could it be possible that the Netherworld still lives! It has been millenniums!”

“None would be able to withstand the might and wrath of one so potent today! The invincibility of legendary entities so ancient and dominant would have been able to reign with absolute supremacy in the present age where the ancient teachings of martial disciplines have all but withered and decayed!”

Ye Yuqi skimmed through the pages, reading chiefly the points which might be of importance, “… Through the counsel by the Emperor of the Netherworld in our dreams, and after the sacrifices of many masters, we have finally found the way into his kingdom. From now on, we need to prepare for the coming of the Emperor.”

“… For nine years we have labored as we waited with patience. In this day we shall receive the glorious coming of the Emperor of the Netherworld. The Emperor shall walk the earth with the full authority of the lands beneath his feet and we shall be eternally returned to his kingdom. In his bosom, we shall endure for eternity!”

“… the holy spirit of the Emperor fills me as I chronicled these glorious events with my trembling hand…”

“Here I am, preparing for my entry into the Emperor’s kingdom. Here I pray for the coming of His holiness…”

“No!”

“What is he doing!”

“He has gone deranged!”

“The Royal Advisor… Deranged… Could it be that the Royal Advisor was caught in fits of insanity during the ritual to unseal the Netherworld, and this was the overture to the tragedy and ruin of the land of Bomi?” Meng Qi thought aloud using the information they have gleaned thus far.

The sudden slip of his tongue did not go unnoticed. Ye Yuqi stared at him, “To unseal the Netherworld, you say?”

“Ah… My carelessness…” Meng Qi thought as he laughed dryly to dismiss the matter. None save for him had the knowledge that the Great Emperor Zhenwu was once here. Wryly, he explained, “By our findings, the God-Trapping Formation of the Five Elements has presently been inverted to face inwards. The people of Bomi had also prayed for the coming of the Emperor of the Netherworld. Thence my deductions that the Netherworld was sealed in the Carefree Valley.”

“Still, the legends of the ancient have all faded in the medieval ages…” sulked Ye Yuqi. She, too, bore the common beliefs that the sealed Netherworld has no possibility of being alive anymore. The sealed ancient legend had not the semblance of more mysterious and independent entities similar to the Azure Emperor.

Ye Yuqi murmured softly, trying to piece together the fragments of clues at hand, “The Asoka Blossoms of intoxicating properties. It is the ingredient of the Draught of Fading Misery. It also wipes clean one’s memories of their past reincarnation and erases one’s sorrows… The Nether Water of the Granny Meng, which allows one to release all recollections of their former reincarnations…”

“There is it! The Brew of Granny Meng and the Nether Water!”

The truth struck him like lightning. The Primogenitor’s deduction that revealed the impossibility that the Carefree Valley had no ties with the ‘Netherworld’!

“Deep are the mysteries and secrets of the ancients of old…” he wondered to himself.

Meng Qi’s belief and suspicion that the Great Emperor Zhenwu had arrived at the Carefree Valley due to the Emperor of the Netherworld grew stronger and stronger.

Convinced that nothing more could be reaped, Ye Yuqi decided to venture further. “We shall explore deeper inside,” she said. Gracefully she took flight, gliding forward. Chilly strands of mist swirled around her as she flew, like a true fairy from fables.

Meng Qi trailed close behind, drifting into the darkness that engulfed them whole. The grim, humid air of the dead grew thicker and heavier as they plunged deeper.

He handed the Flowing Fire to his left hand and wielded the Heaven Inflicted Pain on his right. He would have to risk being identified by his saber in the face of unknown dangers that might have awaited them.

For moments they flew. They were about to fly through some black mists ahead when Ye Yuqi exclaimed gently in surprise. Immediately she motioned to Meng Qi to descend.

“What is it?” Puzzled by the sudden instruction, Meng Qi asked.

Somberly Ye Yuqi spoke, “We shall walk through the mist first. For precaution.”

Carefully, they took their steps forward into the black mists that awaited. Immediately, sizzling noises could be heard! The protection aura that shrouded them was being eroded by the acidic mist!

A faint golden glow radiated on their bodies as they channeled their powers to bolster their protective aura. Gradually as they continued, Meng Qi felt increasingly hard to extend his spiritual senses and vision, losing control of his dharmic manipulation!

The pool of the force of Nature seemed dark and distant to him with the ambiance of death and evil. Blinded by the dark and his spiritual awareness, he tingled with fear, refraining himself from breathing in the air and drawing in any energies of Nature as if they were venom!

In just a split second, he felt the link between his Inner World and the Exterior severed brutally! He would have fallen back to the earth if he was flying!

Looking before him, he saw a large chasm before him. Dark and deep the cliff fall below, he could see nothing in the darkness, feeling naught of its depth and bottom. He could only see the dark mists rising from the bowels of the dark abyss.

The crack of the chasm before him was hardly wide. Meng Qi could make out the opposite edge not more than tens of meters ahead in the darkness. His Lightness skills would not be able to bear him over such distances, not unless if he had grappling hooks in his disposal.

“I have a foreboding that this is the core of the Nine Serenities…” Ye Yuqi’s voice rang through the darkness beside Meng Qi.

“The very center of the Nine Serenities?” Meng Qi asked aloud with confusion and doubt as he turned his head around in the darkness. He remained constantly wary of the mysterious black fog, in fear of dried corpses of strong foes that could leap out from within, namely the Merciless Tyrant or the Slayer Yaksha!

Showing no expression on her fair face, Ye Yuqi continued, “Yes. The very center of the Nine Serenities. Manuscripts of the ancient times had chronicled that demonic and ghastly aura abounds the Nine Serenities. But at a few areas within its core, the atmosphere and environment vary greatly from the Mortal Realm we live in. None save for those with powers of the Dharmakaya shall be able to traverse its depths unscathed.”

“The very fabric of its nature differs, thus our attunement with the energies of Nature was severed as well… Only one with powers of the Dharmakaya shall be able to overcome the differences whereas we would be as defenseless as a common folk in its depths…” Meng Qi thought, understanding finally.

Ye Yuqi gazed intently into the chasm as if peering through the veils of the mysterious black mist. She observed carefully for moments before she spoke with a rare and faint quiver, “The chasm was caused by a powerful blow from a sword. Of such monstrous force was the stroke that it smote the earth with such wrath that it tore through the substances of the void into the core of the Nine Serenities…”

“A strike from Zhenwu himself?!” The thought flashed through Meng Qi’s mind for a fleeting moment. Meng Qi pressed with another question to conceal the amazement of the revelation, “Can demons or evil spirits from the Nine Serenities emerge from here then?”

“The Nine Serenities is but lost from the Mortal Realm. Only strands of energies pass to and fro continuously. No demons nor evil beings from the Nine Serenities shall be able to step foot upon the Mortal Realm unless a passage between both realms is created,” revealed Ye Yuqi mysteriously, her voice firm and confident.

“Hardened by the experiences of Death Tasks and other challenges of the Samsara realms, a potent traveler of the Samsara such as her would hardly lack the understanding of the inner workings in the realms of the Journey to the West, the Apotheosized, and the Nine Serenities…”

“We shall fashion a grappling hook and leap over the black mists of the Nine Serenities. That should be fine then,” Ye Yuqi suggested.

A note of approval had nearly left Meng Qi’s lips when a sudden flash of inspiration dawned upon him, “One moment, Lady Ye. Let me first try with the Eight-Nine Mysteries technique.”

“I wonder if I can morph into an apparition to attune to the natures of the Nine Serenity and fly?” he wondered.

The abrupt suggestion had taken Ye Yuqi aback. They withdrew from the black mist.

Meng Qi produced the Ghost-Faced Jade in his keeping and sat on the ground. He had earlier mastered the Change of the Nether Spirit. The purpose of the Jade was to avoid any unwanted lapses in his conjuration.

Meng Qi rubbed his hands on the piece of jade and channeled his genuine Qi, consuming the ghastly aura emanating from within the jade. The spectral energies are channeled to various apertures around his body where they merged with his genuine Qi and slowly intensified.

It did not take long for the apertures to fill until ghastly visages began to take shape. They looked cold and deathly.

Meng Qi shook and transformed. His face took on a hue of green and gray and his skin became cold as a corpse. Life seemed to have all but left him with nothing but the shroud of pale deathliness upon him, resembling nothing but the Nether Spirits.

He rose to his feet and began to step through the black, corrosive mist. The forces of Nature answered his body’s call as the energies of the environment began to immerse his body. He once again wielded the natural forces at his fingertips!

Sure enough, the Eight-Nine Mysteries technique lived up to its position as one of the top martial disciplines of the Exchange List of the Dominator of the Samsara Realm! Beaming with delight, Meng Qi remarked to himself jubilantly,

“Call me the All-Terrain Combat Machine!”

Meng Qi held Ye Yuqi by her shoulder and took off into mid-air. Over the chasm, they glided over. He returned to his initial form after they have passed beyond the black mist.

A passage appeared before them through the gloom of darkness. A passage which was adorned by furnishings from the ancient times. Asoka Blossoms grew by the sides of the passage, its blazing red petals ruffled by a light wind in the cavern.

Sparing no opportunity for rewards, Meng Qi picked a few of the Asoka Blossoms before entering through the passage with Ye Yuqi.

Slabs of gray and white walled the passage they passed through. The passage was hewn from stone and laid with skill. Cold and yet shiny they shone amidst the shadows with a bleakness that resembled Death.

They continued for moments until a sight appeared before them that had Meng Qi jumping back with shock. His saber swung forward before him, for beyond them stood the Merciless Tyrant and the Slayer Yaksha. Both were standing on each side of an opened stone door.

The two deceased evils have been reduced into nothing more but dried corpses. Upon one of them was a large and deep cut where the innards of the insides peeked outwards. Dreamily, they stared into the blanks of the shadows, murmuring the phrases “Who am I?” repeatedly.

Meng Qi recovered from his shock and observed the corpses before him. All fear has now left him, save for a slight pity for the items and artifacts which still adorned the body of the Slayer Yaksha. Their magical properties seemed to have faded and decayed as a result of the corruption by the deadly and cold aura of death!

The deathly sentience that has settled in the caverns seemed more corporeal in form. Still, it had yet to exhibit any malevolent dispositions. It could have been due to their entry from the Gate of Life.

Out of the blue, a dark shape flew swiftly before them, speeding out from the opened stone door. Clothed in the black robes of a monarch and his hair shaped into a snake by a pin, it was the Emperor of the Netherworld who had earlier been slain by the Primogenitor Doumu!

With the similar expression of his counterparts, he flew away from them for another stone door.

He opened the door before him and looked back mysteriously, revealing a begrudging smile of malice!