The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The stone door before them was opened while the stone entry before the Emperor was tightly sealed. With a heavy push, the stone slab rumbled and broke into a thin gap.

An onrushing wave of deathly chill swept upon them like a broken dam, passing through their bodies and sending shivers of dread that shook even their Vital Spirits. Meng Qi’s body glowed in a faint gold, his Eight-Nine Mysteries technique rose to his defense as the sweeping wave rocked him hard.

Silent and still Ye Yuqi remained despite the trampling surge that had unsettled Meng Qi. Blankly, she watched the Emperor of the Netherworld, now looking luminous as a pale apparition, as he slipped through the thin gap and vanished.

She stepped forward, passing through the Merciless Tyrant and Slayer Yaksha into the opened stone door before them. Another stone door loomed ahead.

“There is no feeling of a magical seal of the surroundings? Could it be that the people of Bomi have once lifted the seal on this place?” Meng Qi wondered aloud with furrowed brows as he followed closely behind.

The magical effects of the God-trapping Formation of the Five Elements and the mysterious blood-red mists that hovered about outside had indicated to Meng Qi of the magical seals that secured the area of the entrance. Yet, everything has been contrary to the outside since they crossed over the Gate of Life. No barriers, restrictions nor seals they have encountered thus far save for the deathly chill that followed them. “Has the folk of Bomi lifted the seals and barriers here before the cataclysm that had befallen them?” Meng Qi wondered, “If true, would there be any foul beings or beasts that lurked waiting?”

Nonchalantly, Ye Yuqi’s paces continued like a brisk walk in the park. “What have we to fear of demons that have yet to appear despite the absence of magical seals or barriers?” she said, “Do we need to fear for barriers and restrictions inside? Surely not.”

Ye Yuqi spoke with burning confidence and courage fueled by her skillfulness in combat and her profound experiences.

Meng Qi felt warmed by her unwavering confidence, a boldness that surfaced from within him. Without another word, he pushed forward, his sword and saber in hand.

Pushing the stone door open, they came into a wide hall of stone. There was a tall platform in the center of the room, upon it a casket of emerald-green jade. The translucent apparition of the Emperor of the Netherworld was standing before the casket.

Elaborate engravings adorned the walls of the stone chamber, tangling and curving together, forming signs that bore resemblances to Xuanwu, the mythological snake-tortoise. A grey gloom shrouded the engravings on the wall that might have once held powers of the unknown, left in neglect and forgotten.

“Engravings of the mythological tortoise and winged serpents… Could it be that it was the Devil-Rinsing Primogenitor was the one behind the chasm of the Nine Serenities earlier?” Ye Yuqi muttered, not noticing the green jade casket.

However, Meng Qi’s gaze was fixed upon the engravings of the mythological beasts entangling on the wall. On the wall was a door not hewn from stone nor granite, but drawn by brush and ink!

Simple and common was the door that was painted on the wall. Still, it held an unspeakable allure that held Meng Qi’s gaze. The crude edges of part of the drawing of the door converged with the head of the engraving of the Xuanwu snake-tortoise, forming a small bulge the size of a person’s palm.

“Who am I…”The deep voice of the Emperor broke the silence, interrupting their thoughts, “Who is he…” he continued chanting blankly into the dark. Ye Yuqi and Meng Qi looked back at the platform. The deathly chill that had followed them thus far was being drawn to the green jade casket, assuming a corporeal form within. A human form. In the form, they could feel the charm, the malice, the strength and the majesty of an evil being so great and powerful that it could have been able to destroy the entirety of Bomi!

“The great evil, the “Netherworld” is sealed within the casket? The Netherworld that slumbered till now?” The sudden thought flashed Meng Qi’s mind, its revelation so devastating that his eyes contracted with shock. He channeled his powers and amassed his strength in preparation of a strike, his energies building as his Inner World attuned to his Exterior Scenery.

This was one of the legendary entities of the prehistory ancient, one of the prime immortals of the fabled Nine Serenities who had held in his grasps the mysteries and keys of Mortality. He would not be any lesser compared to the former Thunder God of old, even stronger than any warriors of the Dharmakaya of the present by leaps and bounds!

How would they fare against such overwhelming adversity?

Meng Qi remembered something despite the assailing fear: If that is really the Netherworld, the legendary ancient of old, his vitality and strength might have been all but spent. Yet his remains… He could not help but felt a slight warmth of relief.

The relief and fear diminished as quickly as they came, leaving no traces that disturbed him. Steeling himself, Meng Qi remained as calm as possible, his sight cold as steel, keen as a blade.

The pool of energies that had been swirling about froze like an icy lake, the soggy and deathly aura still emanating strongly. Meng Qi felt as if he had been involuntarily drawn into another dimension, his attunement with Nature was severed once again.

Ye Yuqi’s breathing was yet unchanged, cool and composed. A twirling blizzard churned behind her, cold and terrible as a winter storm. The snowflakes glittered like flickering stars, swirling in the miniature storm and vanishing into the eye of the blizzard that resembled an abyssal vortex!

The unnerving cold and steely aura of her boiling powers that could have frozen and broken Meng Qi into shards of ice, only to be consumed by the callous vortex into nothingness, drew his breath away from him, despite not being her enemy.

“This is the visage of her Dharma form? A corporeal Dharma form that has achieved substance? Can it be conjured with such ease without deliberately unsealing all her apertures?” wondered Meng Qi in amazement.

“Is this the Blizzard Star Form, or the Stars Moon Form?”

Not knowing the true name of Ye Yuqi’s actual Dharm form, Meng Qi could only surmise that the conjuration was not within the plethora of techniques practiced by the Progenitor Doumu persona. Ye Yuqi herself seemed to have trained chiefly in the Art of All to None discipline. At some point during the culmination of her skills, she had merged the Star God’s Arrival on Earth technique with the Moon Frosty Palms technique which she had inherited and have pioneered a whole-new path which becomes her the most.

The blizzard spun in an endless spiral, throwing into the air shiny flakes of ice and snow that reeled gracefully around the entire stone chamber. Still, the humanoid form lying in the green jade casket remained dormant, as if indeed bereft of life following its endless slumber through the ages.

The spectral figure of the Emperor of the Netherworld rocked and swayed as if he was in a trance. His sight was fixated on the contents of the casket, ceaselessly chanting,

“Who am I… Who is he…”

Dense and wide was the soggy and deathly chill that blanketed the stone chamber. Obscured by its sheer evil and terror, Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi could not discern the appearance of the humanoid form in the green jade casket using their spiritual vision. They both shared a look and broke into a slow walk forward. They held their breaths tight, bracing themselves as tense as a nocked arrow as their paces led them up the stairs of the platform.

The lid of the casket had been tipped over to aside, they noticed. Meng Qi crept closer, hoping to steal a glance at the mysteries within.

In the coffin lay an elderly man, clothed in black, majestic robes of a king. Wrinkled and gnarled was his face, his white, flowing hair held in the shape of a bun by a hairpin which looked like a serpent. The elderly man lay in the casket, placid and still as death, seemingly dead and stiff. Yet, the elderly man shared the entirely same appearance as the spectral form of the Emperor who towered just over him!

The shock came down on Meng Qi like the swift smite of a lightning. A flurry of thoughts swept through him immediately.

Just when he least expected it, the eyes of the elderly man in the coffin opened suddenly!

His eyes were dark and grey and his pupils as crimson as blood!

Meng Qi felt his hair stood, his shock made worst by the stabbing chill of death that roiled around. The soggy and deathly cold had thickened and took a form most foul and evil. The air around him shuddered by the squall of energies that shook even the ground beneath his feet. The foul and deathly aura would have pervaded his mind if not for his now wide-awakened Vital Spirit, roused to his nerves by the piercing cold.

“He is awakened!”

“The one who could possibly be the legendary Netherworld of old has been awakened!”

A virtual silence stretched from the platform, its reaches spanning far and wide across the chamber while the soggy and deathly aura of the Carefree Valley swelled and churned in rage and malice as if baring its fangs. Apparitions appeared from nowhere, in creepy voices they began chanting,

“Who am I…”

The apparition of the Emperor who stood before the casket broke into a sinister smile. Without warning, he hurled himself towards the elderly corpse in the casket, immersing himself in the deathly aura that continually gushed inwards!

The opened eyes of the elderly man gazed at the ceiling of the stone chamber dreamily. Hoarsely he croaked,

“Who am I…”

“You are the Royal Advisor of Bomi,” the steely and raspy voice of Ye Yuqi came suddenly, breaking the eerie silence.

Meng Qi vividly envisioned the pieces of the puzzle falling into place as the words of Ye Yuqi registered in his mind!

It was him!

The elderly figure rose from the depths of the casket. The sheer pressure and stress of the deathly aura alone made Meng Qi and Ye Yuqi stepped back. The torrent of energies that follow then forced them down the steps of the platform.

“Such power and strength! He should be a Dharmakaya! No, his might dwarfs even the Heaven Sovereign and Cui Qinghe during the incident in Luoyang!” thought Meng Qi. He could barely keep his eyes open by the onrushing surge of energies.

“Yes, Yes! I am the Royal Advisor of Bomi!” cried the elderly figure, a glint of delight across his face. A sudden somber gloom filled him suddenly as he spoke, “But why was I lying in here?”

His gaze turned towards Ye Yuqi and Meng Qi, seeking an answer.

Deeply Meng Qi spoke, “You have discovered the Carefree Valley. You have found the true whereabouts of the Emperor of the Netherworld, the ancient Netherworld long sealed within.”

The elderly man patted the edges of the jade casket and exclaimed, “No. I have not found it. I have but only found traces of the energies of the great Emperor of the Netherworld!”

His red eyes bored into them, full of questions while he continued, “What came thereafter?”

“You are asking us of the deeds you have done with your very own hands…” Meng Qi thought with a mild annoyance. “A fit of insanity took hold of you,” he uttered.

“Insane? How am I insane?” The elderly man bellowed in rage. A sudden strain of fear fell upon Meng Qi’s back, every inch of his muscles and tendons squeezed and convulsed tightly as the crushing terror shook him.

Somberly Meng Qi replied indignantly, “Those who are insane would surely claim otherwise. Especially when you yourself have no memory of what you have done!”

“Is it so? I am insane…” The elderly man’s demeanor shrunk and left in its place was someone who was lost.

Ye Yuqi was stunned. Seldom was she dazed in shock. The outcome of the incidents had progressed beyond her comprehension.

Just when Meng Qi was beginning to believe that he might have a way of manipulating the situation to his favor, the elderly man turned cross. “I know very well what I am doing,” he replied, vexed.

“Really? And what is it that you have done?” Meng Qi interjected swiftly, not losing sight of the opening.

The elderly man raised his head with pride. Swelling with arrogance, he exclaimed, “I am the Royal Advisor of the Kingdom of Bomi. By a stroke of fortune, I have discovered the Carefree Valley and had detected the scent of the great Emperor of the Netherworld. By his graces, I have been able to meditate on his aura and from it, I have found the secrets to immortality and have claimed the powers of the Dharmakaya!”

“And you feigned to have received visions from the Emperor, instructing you to summon the people of the Kingdom, when you were actually trying to use the aura of the worshipping masses to lift the seal? You would then usher in the coming of the Emperor of the Netherworld?” quipped Ye Yuqi calmly.

“Yes, indeed. That is true,” answered the elder blankly. He broke into a roaring laughter, “But not to usher in the advent of the Emperor. Instead, my schemes were to allow me to fully inherit the energies and aura of the Emperor so that the lives of the people would continue to live on as a part of me! With the collective powers of the masses at hand, I shall be able to traverse through the pains of Life and Death!”

“And thus people claimed that you were deranged…” The edges of Meng Qi’s lips curled. “What of the true Emperor of the Netherworld?” He asked.

Slowly the elderly man raised a hand of his, a finger pointed to the stone door which had been drawn on the wall. “Behind that door,” he said, “I heard the whispers of the Emperor of the Netherworld. His roars of rage… Still, my efforts to open the doorway has been in vain. Nothing I did has opened the door not even one bit, not even my success. The seal is bound by the laws and order of Nature. It cannot be opened by force.”

“I see. So the Netherworld has been sealed behind that door…” Meng Qi thought to himself, not looking back. His spiritual senses stretched to the edges of the door, trying to unravel the secrets that lie within.

Out of nowhere, Ye Yuqi broke her momentary silence. “You mentioned ‘success’. What of the success? You succeeded in sacrificing the entire population of the Kingdom of Bomi?” she asked abruptly.

The elderly man fell into a brief stupor as if raking through his mind for the correct answer. “No,” he denied firmly, “It was no sacrifice. They now live as a part of me. I was amassing the Souls of All Creatures. A regress to the origins to help us all traverse the pains and torments of Life and Death.”

A triumphant glee line across his gnarled and wrinkled face. “Since the cataclysm of the Demonic Buddha, great changes have taken place on the Heavens and Earth. Not even the great Bodhidharma, the founder of Shaolin who has been acclaimed as an esteemed monk of Buddhism who has great understanding and grasp of the teachings of the Buddha and has been blessed with tremendous talents would be spared from the rigors of death.” he taunted proudly, “Even if he were to claim the powers of the Great Arhat, the Maha Bodhisattva, or even the levels tantamount to that of a Buddha, he would have still suffered death by the end of his journey.”

” You speak as if you knew him, the great Patriarch Bodhidharma himself…” The sudden thought flashed through Meng Qi, sending cold shivers down his spine.“A most bizarre and weird old thing you are!”

“But I am different,” continued the elder, “I have been bestowed the inheritance of the powers once held by the great Emperor of the Netherworld. Through that, I have been able to study the mystic rituals of amassing the Souls of All Creatures and have relieved myself of the torments of Mortality. The journey has brought me to where Bodhidharma had reached. Instead of ending my journey there like he once did, the point was but a mere beginning for me!” He ended his words with an inclined chin, seemingly filled with intense pride over his achievements. He turned into a frown immediately, “But what is it that has driven me to this long slumber?” whispered the elder again.

He swung his head towards Ye Yuqi swiftly. Still swelling with pride and arrogance, he asked as if seeking recognition, “Girl! I sense you have with you an item left to you by one who has powers equal to that of a Dharmakaya. Ask him! See if my words are true!”

From whence unknown, in Ye Yuqi’s hands was an authority pass shaped like a sword. A brief silence followed as she focused her attention momentarily on the pass as if she was communicating to it.

“He says you have deviated from the correct path.” replied Ye Yuqi.

“Absurd!” bellowed the elder, his eyes went wide with rage and defiance. The soggy and deathly aura thrashed and rocked wildly like a tempestuous storm at its peak, its angry waves crashed and tossed with pure fury. Spectral figures of apparitions rose into the air, towering over them. The visages of their faces shifted endlessly, changing from the elder’s appearance to that of their own. In unison, the ghostly phantoms roared.

“Absurd!”

Their thunderous voice shook the entire cavern, filling Meng Qi with an intensely staggering murderous intent that filled the entire chamber with hatred and evil.