The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Dark-colored stones littered the Gobi Desert as far as the eyes could see, with the occasional yellow sand peeking out. However, they were all stained with a bloody-yellow layer of liquid as if strange raindrops had fallen on them. The deathly stillness seemed to have intensified.

Dressed in a yellow frock, Kong Wen had a red cassock draped over his shoulders. He carried a cane with nine tin rings in his right hand, and three spotlessly white bones entwined with pitch black aura in his left. The bones included a hand and ribs, radiating contradictory feelings of depravity and aloofness.

“What a pleasant surprise.” His drooping white brows swayed gently as he stared into the distance calmly. He seemed to be muttering to himself and the void.

With him in the center, it was strewn with shattered bones adorned with ripped shadows of flesh and blood. It was as if a starved monster had just swept past this place.

“Shards of Cosmic Glow, Demonic Dharma, the connection between Han Guang and Heaven Sovereign…” Meng Qi pondered over Kong Wen’s explanation, feeling as if he had reaped a great harvest this time. Whether it was truly Kong Wen who was trapped inside the formation or if his words were true, they were at least able to assuage some of his doubts. Furthermore, the stories corresponded with each other and showed no obvious flaws.

In particular, the theory of Shards of Cosmic Glow had brought him closer to his exploration of the secrets of the World of Samsara. Even though there were still many worlds that did not conform to the descriptions, the theory could still explain some of them. If he happened to come across such worlds, he would be able to take advantage of this knowledge.

“Abbot, the formation of the sixth floor is strange and unpredictable. It merges all the previous five formations in one and is abnormally dangerous. No one under the level of grandmaster can foray deep into it. I fear it’s beyond my power to rescue you. Do you have any ideas?” Meng Qi took the initiative to offer his help in order to show his sincerity.

The capabilities of grandmasters would only allow them to enter deep into the formation. However, it would take someone far stronger than they to destroy the entrapping formation that Han Guang and the mysterious Dharmakaya had laid from outside.

Even those like Patriarch Bodhidharma, who had received the blessing of Bodhisattva, had to call it quits on the seventh floor of the true pure land. Without taking special measures and possessing corresponding strength, one would definitely fail to enter.

More importantly, Meng Qi was unable to ascertain if it was truly Kong Wen who was trapped inside the formation. Even if he had the capability to rescue him, he would not dare do so. It was wiser to ask for help from a master!

Kong Wen chuckled and said calmly, “I must stop you even if you wish to rescue me. The difficulty of the sixth layer far exceeds that of the previous five layers. Even if this belongs to the Shards of Cosmic Glow, I fear you must cross the second level of the Celestial Ladder before you can move forward. I don’t wish for you to harm your life to save me.”

He paused before continuing. “If the donor is merciful, please run an errand for me. I will definitely reward you once I leave this place.”

Trapped in this formation, Kong Wen was unable to demonstrate any of his strength or hand him any objects. Even if they did not involve the skills of Shaolin Temple, it would be a challenge to teach Meng Qi as it was hard for the master to even deliver words, much less teach or demonstrate. He could only give Meng Qi a verbal promise at this point.

If the one trapped inside was the true Kong Wen, Meng Qi must try his best to rescue him even if there was no promise of a reward. Putting aside Kong Wen’s relationship with his Master, he ought to work hard just based on the fact of Kong Wen’s enmity with The Myths. The enemy of an enemy was, after all, a friend!

“Abbot, where should I go?” Meng Qi asked.

“There are two places that you must go. The first is Lanke Temple. The divine nuns of Shui Yue Nunnery can help you enter the temple. The second is Huamei Heights. Donor Lu is an amiable person whose strength underlies his gentle, upright demeanor. Furthermore, I’ve once had a day-long discussion of meditation and swordsmanship with him. I know his strength surpasses what the world knows of him. We won’t have to worry about Donor Han finding out,” Kong Wen said quietly.

“It’s reasonable to seek help from Lanke Temple but why will he not ask for assistance from his own sect and go for Master Lu instead…?” Meng Qi’s brows furrowed. Kong Wen’s choices puzzled him.

However old Chong He was, a Dharmakaya was the strongest before his death. The strength accumulated over the years would be an advantage. No matter how strong Master Lu was, how could he be more powerful than Chong He?

Did Master Lu break through the barriers under everyone’s nose and took a step ahead of the other Dharmakayas? Or was this a simple case of contradiction between Buddhism and Taoism?

Perhaps Kong Wen had become suspicious of those within his sect because of the precedent of Han Guang. Could he have chosen to be prudent after determining from various signs that Chong He had similar experiences as Han Guang?

“I do not know which members of the Shaolin Temple Donor Han has contaminated. Donor Su, you’d best delay informing them of this matter lest we expose our plans,” Kong Wen said as a reminder to him.

Meng Qi trusted none of the monks of Shaolin Temple aside from his Master and Junior Brother. He accepted the reminder and nodded. “Abbot, will you tell me what type of Dharmakaya Han Guang is and are there any special methods that he uses? Even if our plans are exposed, Master Lu and the monks of Lanke Temple will have a great chance at success if they know this in advance.”

As a new Dharmakaya, Han Guang would definitely try his best when fighting Kong Wen. That would be the key to linking him with Heaven Sovereign!

Kong Wen appeared to be pondering over it for some time but did not pause and said smoothly, “Donor Han ought to have condensed the Six-annihilation Demon’s Body of Destruction Sect, but based on my observation, his Dharmakaya is a great departure from that.”

The disposition of the Demon’s Body, Nine Serenities, and Netherworld were all of the evil nature, second only to Devil Lord and Sky-killing Taoist. They were known as the theory of heaven and earth extinction.

“What are the differences?” Meng Qi asked in a low voice. With the existence of illustrious individuals like ‘Progenitor Doumu’ Ye Yuqi and ‘Flying Yaksha’ Yan Wuwo, he suspected that Han Guang was also one of the mainstays of the Devil Path. Han Guang had likely taken them as a reference to create a Dharma Form of his own and claim Dharmakaya from there.

Kong Wen replied, without having to give a direct answer, “His six-armed Demon’s Body had four fewer arms. The original malevolent and hideous expression became bleary, giving off a dignified, aloof feeling. More importantly, the Demon’s Body was wearing the emperor’s robe and crown instead of black armor. Instead of looking like an exterminator, he looked more like an extinguisher and a ruler. Perhaps this was a result of Donor Han merging new paths of Six-annihilation Demon’s Body or a hidden path of Six-annihilation Demon’s Body.”

“Form of Diabolic Monarch? Form of Diabolic Emperor?” Meng Qi could practically confirm that Han Guang was indeed the “Heaven Sovereign”!

The appearance of the two “Heaven Sovereigns” could be explained if Han Guang had a good enough excuse to leave Shaolin Temple and misled the people he had brought. It was also likely that those who came with him were under his control. With the capability of a Dharmakaya to travel a thousand miles, it would not be a challenge to show up out of the blue.

Meng Qi listened carefully as Kong Wen described the characteristics and abilities of Han Guang’s Dharmakaya. When Kong Wen was done, Meng Qi made a deep bow in place of his Master and left.

The matter of Heaven Sovereign was of great importance, particularly now that it was known that he had the assistance of a mysterious Dharmakaya of the past. If Meng Qi kept this a secret from the Immortals, it would likely result in great losses and bitter failures for the organization. He decided to report this to Primogenitor Lingbao but he would have to consider carefully how much of the truth he should reveal.

…

Inside Mistress Su Fairyland of Fish Sea.

The Primordial Charm of Purity had ceased the changes in the Dharma and Logos and turned it into the eye of the formation to assist Immortal Yunhe in creating the Plenitude Grand Formation.

From time to time, there would be Golden Crows seeking refuge in the formation and adopting corporeal bodies. There would also be Chinese Astrology Jin transforming into everlasting rainbows brimming with desolation. The rainbows laid down layers upon layers of killing formations. If anyone beneath the realm of a peak grandmaster and unequipped with a divine weapon were to enter this formation, the formation would instantly crush him into fine powder within seconds.

However, the graceful and wonderful Mystic Fairy drew strokes inside the formation with her divine weapon, a bamboo brush, without any intention whatsoever to start a fight. With her fluid movements all around, she was able to eliminate the intangible murderous intent.

With the power of Mistress Su Fairyland and the effect of the Dharma and Logos as her support, she was even able to gain the upper hand.

Suddenly, Jiang Zhiwei had arrived at the edge of the evolved Mistress Su Fairyland and connected with her sword art, taking advantage of the axis of the force of heaven and earth. However, it was beyond her power. Even though she had a precise grasp of her sword art, she could only create short durations of shaking and fluctuations.

Even if this was merely a dreamland that the Mystic Fairy of the current generation had created out of a little breath of Mistress Su Fairyland, it felt complete and wholesome. Its realm was much higher than Jiang Zhiwei’s!

Jiang Zhiwei wore a solemn and respectful expression. Her lips were slightly pursued. Her sword art had become proud, aloof, and apathetic, though it was not of the ruthless and unfeeling kind. Rather, it was a sense of indifference that treated all living things as equals. Her serene eyes were like two deep pools of water.

“Heaven and earth are heartless!”

“There are no differences between devils and immortals!”

“Living things are all one!”

Her movements scattered the sword light everywhere as if they were the blue dome of heaven looking down upon the earth. Before long, she had finished demonstrating a complete set of an Exterior sword art.

With the unfolding of her sword art and demonstration of every style, her breath climbed higher and higher. Her movements became increasingly apathetic. Every time her senses reached its limit, she would break through to make a new one.

Just as Jiang Zhiwei’s breath was so apathetic that it nearly lost all presence, a sword light emerged out of the blue and connected with heaven and earth. There was no trace of it before arriving, carrying with it thought-provoking loftiness.

Jiang Zhiwei followed the trace of the sword light and hacked in its direction. The dim sword light spilled on the ground and emerged in its undistinguished state.

“Supreme Apathy!”

“The core of the nine major killing techniques of Swordplay Sutra of Supremacy!”

Jiang Zhiwei had once again gained the opportunity to comprehend the impartation of Gist of Trueness after stepping into the Exterior realm. She had comprehended the very basics of Cessation of Future and Supreme Apathy using Anatta Sword. However, Supreme Apathy was too arcane a technique. She had barely mastered it and still needed to accumulate momentum and draw upon the power of Dharma and Logos to use it. If she used it in a fight, she might not be able to do well.

The sword light had no distinctions in strength or thickness. No part of it was weak or impure. It seemed as if it would pierce through Mistress Su Fairyland yet it also appeared to be trying to fuse with it.

Pfft!

The noise resounded uninterrupted and converged together. Slight difficulties appeared in the operation of Mistress Su Fairyland. Jiang Zhiwei grasped this opportunity to turn into a sword light and escape!

“Good thing I managed to execute Supreme Apathy, or else I’ll have to use Twenty-three Swords Skill…” she thought.

The damp air of Fish Sea entered her nose, making her feel refreshed all over. She was looking for traces of the Yin-Yang Separation Handkerchief when she spotted a figure floating in the air like a fairy. It was Mystic Fairy’s Nirmanakaya!

Mystic Fairy’s Nirmanakaya had also seen her.

…

In the dimension of the Yin-Yang Separation Handkerchief.

“Thunder God from the Ninth Heaven” was laying down a formation in the place Meng Qi had disappeared from while examining Howling Lunar Hound’s Space Ring.

The formation had little power to kill. It was purely meant to latch onto Meng Qi upon his return and prevent him from hiding. That way, his secret treasure and killing technique would be able to lock onto Meng Qi at once, leaving him no chance to escape.

Once he was done with the formation and succeed in stealing two secret treasures, Thunder God carried his thunder saber and headed to the opposite of the formation in high spirits. He felt delighted thinking that his objectives would be fulfilled this time.

“Whether you return early or late, your death is written in stone!”

The thought had barely surfaced on his mind when he saw a bright green light radiating and Meng Qi appearing inside the formation.

“So careless?”

“He’s not even going to try and hide?”

This was a great surprise for Thunder God. Holding the secret treasures and his thunder saber, he was prepared to strike at any time.

It was then that he noticed that something was off. The figure’s breath was far weaker in reality compared to its strong appearance!

“It’s a fake!”

The light of the formation flashed and tied down the hidden Meng Qi, highlighting his figure.

Thunder God was about to strike after changing his target when he suddenly felt Meng Qi’s breath become clouded and vacant. He then saw strings of gleaming stars drifting through Meng Qi’s eyes.

Meng Qi thrust his Heaven Inflicted Pain in an ordinary manner, without even exuding saber Qi or lightning.

However, that movement was enough to send tingling sensations down Thunder God’s scalp. Even though the strike seemed to be coming from a distance, he felt as if the saber was gliding past his body. He felt a burst of cold air as if he had lost an article of clothing in a flash. How strange!

He triggered the secret treasure but everything was still. The karma link between him and the secret treasure seemed to have disappeared!

“This…” Thunder God’s eyes instantly widened.

He then saw Meng Qi return his saber into its sheath. Meng Qi’s green robe billowed in the air as he sighed and said,

“You’re already dead.”

“I’m already dead?” Thunder God was stupefied. His vision instantly darkened.

He fell to the ground with a loud thud, all breath leaving his body. Not even his presence was felt!