The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

“This…” The man shrouded in a bloody-yellow fog of death lost his voice as he stared at the extinguished soul lamps.

“How could three Tai Shang Elders die at the same time?”

He did not know when the fight had begun, but the fact that the Elders were simultaneously killed was too shocking and unbelievable.

The three Tai Shang Elders had a particular skill set and a lifespan that stretched much further than that of those in their generation, making them masters of many generations. Besides a select few, their peers in the Jianghu were long dead. This was also what they had relied on. They all had the strength of the peak of the Exterior realm and were now armed with Netherworld’s bones as well as the Three Paths Formation that they had cultivated together for decades. Even though they were most definitely helpless against a Dharmakaya, how could a Dharmakaya who was heavily injured after a fight against Evil Master be a match for them? How could he kill the three Elders all at once?

Thud! Two of the bluish white lamps floated and the lid of the pitch-black coffin suddenly slid aside, causing the bloody-yellow fog of death to rise out of the opening as if it was a substance.

Out of the blue, a figure sat up straight from inside the coffin, whose breath seemed to have threaded together the past and present- it was filled with deathly stillness and depravity.

Through the dew-like mist, it could be faintly seen that he was made out of entirely white bones. Four of them were missing, including the bones of his hand!

The rest of his bones were covered in a thin layer of flesh that was not only freshly grown but also a clean skin that had never once rotted.

“Damn it!” he roared. It was as if his fury had sunk the entire old tomb into the Nine Serenities.

To think that Kong Wen did not fall into depravity after his severe injuries!

It turned out that he had left behind falsified hints and clues throughout the years. What exactly was he up to?

The three Tai Shang Elders as a team represented nearly half of the force of Life-saving Sect elites, including him. Never mind that they were armed with his very own Netherworld’s bones, losing them could not be considered as a trifling matter. After all, his painstaking efforts in excavating many old tombs had been unraveled just like that.

…

“I’m Kong Wen.”

His words were like strikes of Buddha’s Palm slamming ferociously at his heart.

His mind ‘shattered’ and his heart lost control along with it. The emotions swept him in waves, each taller than the last.

The one being suppressed here was Kong Wen, the abbot of Shaolin Temple and the third-ranked Dragon-subduing Arhat on the Celestial Rankings?

If this was true, then who was the one in the Shaolin Temple?

He had not heard of any news of late of monks getting into trouble. Furthermore, Primogenitor Lingbao had even deliberately pointed out that Abbot Kong Wen would be coming here to fight for the Primary Instruction of Buddha’s Palm.

The strand of karma of Kong Wen and Evil Master within the Fruits of Karma Formation…

The figure of Evil Master breaking the eye of the formation within the spiritual barriers of External Devil Lure…

Abbot Kong Wen who was criticized for not going all out in rescuing Qi Xia of Dajiang Gang and upholding the majesty of a Dharmakaya…

Abbot Kong Wen who was Due suspected of being involved in the tragic death of Qing Jing of Xuan Tian Sect in Shaolin Temple but managed to prove his innocence…

Abbot Kong Wen who killed Primogenitor Taiyi of the Immortals and confirmed his true identity…

The Shaolin Temple mastermind who had manipulated Duan Rui and his foster father to practice Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture backward…

The person guarding Duan Rui had died unfathomably, leaving no clues or traces around him…

The incident of Zhen Chang stealing the scripture back then was shrouded in mysteries…

Shaolin Temple’s sudden support for the Crown Prince and their collaboration with Pure Land Sect…

Meng Qi’s own expulsion from Shaolin Temple had been supported by a reason that aligned with the commandments and Shaolin’s philosophy, an argument so well made that he and his Master Xuan Bei found no fault in it. However, hadn’t President Wu Jing been a little too hasty? He should have brought Meng Qi back to Shaolin Temple and punished him in front of all the monks. Would that not be more effective in setting him as an example to deter the others? His actions had been too impatient!

In the past few years, there were many instances of troublemakers creating something from nothing in Shaolin Temple!

One particular thought instantly echoed in Meng Qi’s mind and a conjecture came to him in a flash.

Could ‘Evil Master’ Han Guang be impersonating the ‘Abbot Kong Wen’ who was currently in Shaolin Temple?

Meng Qi was shocked at himself as the idea came to him; he could not quite believe it.

It was unbelievable that Shaolin Temple, who was vaguely considered the number one sect, would be secretly infiltrated by the Devil Path.

He nearly threw the conjecture out of the window because there were still so many plausible explanations. For example, it was possible that Abbot Kong Wen had split up his good and evil nature to the extent that even his body was separated. There was also the possibility that the timelines in this world were out of sync. It was also likely that it was a strange phenomenon brought about by karma being in a different world…

The conjecture, however, became ingrained in him as soon as it had appeared. Following this line of thought, Meng Qi realized that this conjecture was able to explain other incidents!

During the Sumptuous Fruits Banquet, Six-annihilation Devilman had harassed him and appeared to have been waiting for help. In the end, the one who made it there was Thunder God from the Ninth Heaven. It seemed that Destruction Sect and the Myths were now a team!

Heaven Sovereign had emerged without any sign or warning yet had fallen just as quickly, rendering the efforts of the Half-step to Dharmakaya master of Zhao family from Luoyang useless…

Not many members of the Myths arrived then. It seemed to be a private task…

Six-annihilation Devilman had a secret technique that could pull the wool over the eyes of the world. Under the conditions whereby he did not demonstrate his full strength and was not under the watchful eyes of other monks, he could very well conceal his realm and true kung fu…

Like the fake Jiuniang from before…

Naturally, Abbot Kong Wen had not treaded in the Jianghu for many years since his battle with Evil Master and not met any of the Dharmakaya monks. Even the guarding of the divine weapon, Blade of Ananda, was left to President who oversaw the stupa and the Elders, who took turns taking up the responsibility…

The series of clues threaded together to form a brilliant, powerful chain. Meng Qi was increasingly horrified, feeling shocked beyond measure.

The ‘Abbot Kong Wen’ of the outside world was none other than ‘Evil Master’ Han Guang!

‘Evil Master’ Han Guang also happened to be Heaven Sovereign of the Myths!

This idea prompted another memory to surface on Meng Qi’s mind. Gu Xiaosang’s attitude toward the True Emperor Seal had been ambiguous and later said she had wanted it to bait ‘Evil Master’ Han Guang, who had disappeared for many years and seek for a collaboration. She called him the remnants of evil from the previous dynasty and said he should be having a different feeling about the treasure that possessed the significance of the symbol of Emperor. She concluded that perhaps he would secretly steal it.

However, the ones who showed up were not members of Destruction Sect but the Myths!

If his previous conjecture was correct, that would explain many things. ‘Evil Master’ Han Guang, who had been masquerading as Abbot Kong Wen, had to be careful in his every movement. He did not have the right to leave the temple or make his move as he wished. Unless his target was incredibly weak and could be killed from a distance, it would be easy to expose any existing secrets if he dispatched members of Destruction Sect. It was more appropriate to order the members of the Myths to do his bidding.

This assumption could also explain why, after he discovered clues, the mastermind did not try his best in trying to hunt him down and intercept him.

He was unable to do so because he was preoccupied with other things!

Furthermore, he could not dispatch his true subordinates lest any concerned parties discovered clues.

Meng Qi frowned when his line of thought led him here. Destruction Sect and Luo Denomination had been collaborating with each other for a long time. When Gu Xiaosang made her move back then, she was not just confirming the condition of the leader of the collaboration, but she probably also suspected that Evil Master was Heaven Sovereign!

“This damned woman! Only half of her words can be trusted! She either lies half the time or conceals half of the truth!”

Her ability to use Luo Denomination affairs to accomplish her objectives was truly an art in itself.

Meng Qi inhaled, taking in a deep breath. If Evil Master was Heaven Sovereign, then it was reasonable that Abbot Kong Wen would make a misstep and get himself imprisoned here. The incident of Gu Xiaosang entrapping Successor of Mystic Fairy was a good reference for this. Abbot Kong Wen, who would not have his guard up against such tactics, would naturally fall for such traps. Not to mention, Evil Master might have a genuine apotheosis secret treasure and the Myths assisting him.

Putting it this way, Evil Master was truly one of the most illustrious figures of his generation. He was an exceptional and formidable figure that could not be described as having mere ‘alarming talent’. In Meng Qi’s own words, Evil Master was practically the ‘protagonist’ of the previous generation. To think that his own Brother Gao Lan and Evil Master were jointly referred to as the two gleaming stars – what a great compliment from the Jianghu folks!

Of course, he had never witnessed the ‘callous personality’ of Gao Lan. He could not just assume that Gao Lan could not rival Evil Master.

When it came to the title of the ‘protagonist’ of the previous generation, Meng Qi had no doubt that it belonged to Jiang Zhiwei’s master, ‘Outer-sky God Sword’ Su Wuming.

He took a deep breath and discarded all the speculations running through his mind, trying hard to restore his calm.

The precondition of his conjecture was that the person entrapped on the sixth floor was indeed Abbot Kong Wen. He could not assume it was Kong Wen just because the person said he was. What if it was Evil Master trying to mislead others?

The reason for Meng Qi’s shock, despite having not confirmed the person’s identity, was the many doubts and clues that had been occupying his mind. They had left a deep impression on him and confused him greatly. It was a secret that he had been unable to find a key to thread all the clues together. The person’s words “I’m Kong Wen” had enlightened him!

Once he had regained his composure, Meng Qi asked loudly, “Senior, you’re Dragon-subduing Arhat of Shaolin Temple, divine monk Kong Wen?”

He narrowed his eyes to peer inside the formation and saw that the figure was indeed a monk!

“That’s me.” There was neither anxiety nor urgency in Kong Wen’s voice.

He seemed as if he wanted to continue and changed the topic after a brief pause, “Who are you, donor? How did you manage to enter the back mountain of Shaolin Temple?”

“Divine monk Kong Wen knows this is the back mountain of Shaolin Temple? That’s right. He’s an abbot after all; he’ll definitely have mastered the secrets of the sect…”Meng Qi was relieved and decided to be open and honest with Kong Wen to gain his trust. “I’m Su Meng, an abandoned disciple of Shaolin Temple. I was once under a disciple under Master Xuan Bei.”

He revealed his true identity because he intended to listen what the trapped ‘Kong Wen’ had to say. He would be able to determine the truth from the falsity and understand more secrets from there. There was, after all, no shortage of rumors of people accidentally breaking into secret territories. It was fine as long as he did not leak the secrets of the Six Realms.

However, Meng Qi was not prepared to save Kong Wen personally. Who knew if the person inside was truly ‘Evil Master’ Han Guang all along? Besides, this was beyond his power. He decided to let Kong Wen name his own savior and become an errand boy for him.

While he was speaking, Meng Qi had triggered his Golden Bell Shield. His entire body was wrapped in a layer of dark golden glow, making him look quite like the Luohan.

“Xuan Bei’s disciple?” Kong Wen sounded rather emotional. “I’ve besmirched my master’s name. I was trapped here not long after I brought him to the temple. How is he now?”

Xuan Bei’s induction into Shaolin Temple was probably two or three years before Kong Wen fought Evil Master. Kong Wen had carefully instructed Xuan Bei during that period of time.

Meng Qi understood that the conversation had turned to family affairs and this helped him confirm Kong Wen’s identity. Thus, he said honestly, “Master is a great talent who is fated with the Teachings of Buddhism. Even if he harbored regrets due to his Hidden Latch, he was still able to make rapid progress in his cultivation of Maha and overcome evil. He is now in the peak of the Exterior realm. Yes, he has been under the guidance of Kong Wen in the temple…”

“Han Guang…” Kong Wen sneered. He then sighed and said, “I knew they didn’t kill me because it would pose too great a cost to them. So it turns out that they’re also doing so because they didn’t want my soul lamp to be extinguished and expose their tricks.”

“They?” Meng Qi asked, doubtful.

Could it be that the members of the Myths also laid the formation to interrupt?

Kong Wen seemed to have eliminated part of his hesitation and slowly said, “In the past, the movements of Donor Han were exposed. Once I confirmed that there were no ambushes or conspiracies lying in the wait, I left behind the Blade of Ananda that had incomplete skills and rushed to where he was. I wanted to lure him into the stupa in the back mountain to wash him of his devil nature.”

“I had the upper hand in the beginning and was about to succeed when Donor Han used an object to forcefully drag me into this place.”

“There was not only a formation that entrapping me here, but also a Dharmakaya assisting Donor Han. Out of self-protection, I could only allow myself to be trapped here.”

Meng Qi turned pale with fright. “There’s another Dharmakaya?”