The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The dazzling purple-colored lightning aura crackled as Meng Qi struck the barrier. The half-open protective barrier was breached like a torn fishing net, revealing the inside of the room. Bodhisattva Jingyan was bare naked. A layer of sweat, seemingly sparkling and moist, coated her fair skin as it blushed with supple pink with a pungent fragrance of aphrodisiacs. There were two men by her sides, dazed and torpid with ecstasy.

Bodhisattva Jingyan stretched out her right arm while she drew a circle in the air with her left. Strands of gossamer threads materialized and formed a webbed barrier to protect her against the sudden assault of her enemy.

Her eyes caught the sparkle of a blue and black orb which glinted dangerously and mysteriously as if it contained countless destructive bolts of lightning.

The Blackwater Thunder!

A Secret Treasure of the Fifth-fold Heaven!

Meng Qi’s doppelganger, which he had conjured using the Living Propagation technique, was still weaker than his true self, whereas the Bodhisattva Jingyan was an actual Exterior practitioner with great powers. An actual battle of powers and skills would expose the doppelganger’s nature as a mere conjuration of the Living Propagation technique. This revelation will cause his plans of diversion to crumble and the current incarnation of the Mystic Fairy will guard the Extinctive Blade of the Overlord without it leaving her sight. Thus, Meng Qi had immediately used his Secret Treasures to end the skirmish as soon as possible!

Seeing the Black Thunder hurled towards her, Bodhisattva Jinyan’s pupil contracted to the size of a needle tip, as fear and shock gripped her.

She was no stranger to incendiaries such as the Blackwater Thunder. She knew that if it struck her, it would corrode her body and gnaw at her flesh until nothing remained. Thus, she had not reached for her magical robes. Instead, she stretched her fair and slender arms and pulled both of her male consorts to her front to shield her from the effects of the Blackwater Thunder.

Bang!

The accursed incendiary exploded with a huge, deafening eruption of black lightning bolts that rushed forth like the rolling churns of waves. The foremost male consort was hit by the blast of the explosion and was reduced to cinders. The second consort tried to frantically claw his way to safety, but to no avail. The obsidian bolts of electricity bared their fangs upon his flesh and consumed him an instant later.

With the human shields absorbing the first and second waves of the attack, Bodhisattva Jingyan’s hands danced with a flurry of motions, forming different seals with her hands. A small vortex appeared before her like eyes blinking open. The aura that emanated from the vortex was hardly powerful, but a deathly chill radiated from it.

Blasts of explosions continued, forming a black sea of destruction that swept forth and struck the vortex. However, upon colliding with it, the first wave of destruction was negated by the force from the vortex and vanished. There was a brief moment of respite for the Bodhisattva, but the magic of the vortex had barely been renewed when the second tide loomed near.

Without sparing a moment, Bodhisattva Jingyan summoned her inner powers and slammed her feet, avoiding the incoming tide of death. Having avoided getting hit by the blasts of the explosion, there was no need to fear the corrosive effects of the exploded incendiary.

Nevertheless, her motion was still a tad slower than the deadly tide of waves released from the Blackwater Thunder. The onrushing tide of black and blue came very close to hitting her.

At that moment, Meng Qi felt a staggering presence of a powerful entity which caused his thoughts to slow down. He could only helplessly watch as a white and slender palm descended from the sky and held the entire Aquatic Temple in stasis.

“The current Bliss Bodhisattva?”

“To think that it was not the Mystic Fairy who came, but the Bliss Bodhisattva instead!”

“It was indeed a trap!”

In just mere moments, the tide of the battle was overturned. The huge palm slammed upon the black-bluish sea of death, completely extinguishing its threat without any need to stop its force.

It was fortunate that only Meng Qi’s doppelgangers were present. Despite the temporary freezing of their thoughts, they were still under his control lest he would fare no better than the Emperor of the Netherworld when was similarly struck by the Progenitor Doumu during their encounter at Bomi. He was simply too paralyzed to use any martial skills, secret conjurations, and even his own weapons!

Meng Qi’s body disappeared in that instant as the white, pearly palm crashed down hard. His presence suddenly ebbing from her sight made the Bliss Bodhisattva gasp faintly in surprise.

Knowing that the vestiges of the destructive powers of the Blackwater Thunder still remained, the doppelgangers hurled themselves at the blast. They turned back to strands of hair and were blown to smithereens by the blast.

A lotus seat appeared in mid-air, looming over the Aquatic Temple with the terrifying presence of the Bliss Bodhisattva stretching farther and farther that it enveloped the entire landscape, trying in vain to locate Meng Qi.

………..

Led by a servant girl, a male disciple stepped into the Hall of the Mystic Fairy. His eyes caught the imposing sight of the current incarnation of the Mystic Fairy. Stammering and spewing unintelligible gibberish, he bowed and paid his respects hurriedly and looked upon a huge, black saber that rested on a stand upon an altar behind the seat of honor of the hall.

Gu Xiaosang and Meng Qi remained in the hall, watching the rest of the male disciples.

Bang! The deafening din from the exploding incendiary of the Blackwater Thunder came from afar. An aura with the divine semblance of a deity or an immortal rose from its slumber, growing in presence and force. It was the current incarnation of the Mystic Fairy.

But she had not reacted the way Meng Qi and his companion hoped for. She did not leave with haste from the Hall of the Mystic Fairy, due to the Bliss Bodhisattva being there to see to the disturbances. Instead of worrying about the disturbance, her most pressing concern was to concentrate solely on the search for the Killing Blade.

Up in the air, plumes of white clouds clustered and form a vast sea of clouds. Strands of divine energies descended on the outskirts of the Plain Lady’s Paradise, encircling the entire dimension with a translucent barrier that separated the Paradise and the outside world.

The present Mystic Fairy, hardly distressed by the disturbance and the commotion, conjured the magical barrier to seal off the entire Paradise to keep her prey from leaving its trap!

“You will never be able to leave once you have stepped into the boundaries of the Paradise, regardless of what you came for!”

Nevertheless, this was among the scenarios that Meng Qi had expected. Without any worry or hesitation, he cried out with feigned fear as planned.

“What has happened?”

“What has happened to the Plain Lady’s Paradise?”

His sudden display of frantic anxiety roused the crowd of male disciples that began to stir and panicked on their own. In the midst of horror and confusion, the entire hall was thrown into anarchy.

At the very moment, a figure flew into the hall. In a sweet but stern voice, she cried,

“Silence!”

Meng Qi could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the figure. It was a face that he knew!

She had round eyes and thin eyebrows upon her oval face, emanating a stout character laced with tender softness. It was Liu Shuyu, the daughter of the Purple Roc Arrester, Liu Shengming of the Six Fan School!

Clad in flowing robes of white, she walked with an accentuated elegance in the midst of her usual grace. There was a distinctive whiff of divinity that bespoke of her powers that were Half-step away from Exterior.

“To think that she would turn out to be a member of the Sect of the Plain Lady! And she seems to enjoy a high standing within the order! But she grew up in the capital of Luoyang. Since when has she come to the Plain Lady’s Paradise?” One by one, questions boiled endlessly within him. Suddenly, he remembered of Shan Xiumei as both her and Liu Shuyu seemed to share an uncanny resemblance!

“Could it be that Liu Shuyu is the Nirmanakaya incarnation of the successor of the Mystic Fairy?”

Just when Meng Qi was beginning to understand, the cacophonic ruckus caused by the male disciples simmered and died down due to the steadying roar of Liu Shuyu.

A thin smile crossed Gu Xiaosang’s face. “Fret not over the disquiet of these ignorant fools, Sister Liu Luo.”

“There has been a disturbance at the site watched by the Bodhisattva Jingyan, Sister. It could have been caused by the Killing Blade. And there were only the two groups led by you who had entered today. I am concerned that Killing Blade’s plans were to use this chance to closely examine the Divine Weapon. Please forgive my concern.” Liu Shuyu looked at the “Shang River Fairy” before her uncertainly.

Meng Qi’s heart thumped with dread. But then he recalled of the Successor of the Mystic Fairy thwarted by Gu Xiaosang and the mole working for the latter within the Sect of the Plain Lady who had a great standing within it. The two matters might hardly seem connected yet Meng Qi could not help but wonder if there was more than meets the eye.

He looked again at Gu Xiaosang, who was not worried nor anxious about Liu Shuyu’s suggestion. Understanding that Gu Xiaosang might yet have tricks hidden up her sleeve, the anxiety boiling within him subsided gradually.

At this moment, the defensive barrier was being held by powers of the current incarnation of the Mystic Fairy who had sworn to flip through every brick and stone and comb through every thickets and fen for traces of her quarry!

“Your suggestion is a counsel of prudence, Sister Liu Luo. How can I ever begrudge you for such a thing?” The imposter of the Shang River Fairy who was actually Gu Xiaosang in disguise remarked with a thin smile.

Hearing thus, Liu Shuyu clasped her hands together and formed several hand seals. She conjured a huge shroud of light that engulfed all the male disciples. For reasons unknown, she had left only Meng Qi outside.

“Execute.” Gu Xiaosang’s voice suddenly rang in Meng Qi’s ears.

In such pressing circumstances, time was of the essence. Meng Qi didn’t ask anything and remained steadfast to their already-planned course of action. He shook the Map of Mountains and Rivers to release Guo Xi. He was still in a dazed state, an aftereffect of being mind controlled. Meng Qi flew into the Map, sensing the mark of possessorship of the Secret Treasure and hid within it.

On the other hand, Gu Xiaosang produced a black, little sachet. She released the true Shang River Fairy who was similarly dazed and befuddled while she hopped and disappeared into the little sachet.

The Map of Mountains and Rivers and the little black sachet fell on the ground before they were retrieved by Liu Shuyu who stowed them away.

She was the inside help that Gu Xiaosang had arranged for.

Who would have thought that she had employed the Successor of the Mystic Fairy as her mole within the Paradise!

After the switch, the newly-released Shang River Fairy and Guo Xi were still in a momentary state of loss. Their confounded and slow demeanor wouldn’t allow them to pass the scrutiny of the current incarnation of the Mystic Fairy who wielded considerable powers and keen senses. Thus they would need an inside help to maintain the ruse with his/her powers and mask their bizarre behavior from detection and scrutiny. This was the very responsibility entrusted to Liu Shuyu.

Without a mole of such competency, they could never slip away under the watchful eyes of the Mystic Fairy!

Liu Shuyu looked hesitantly at the sachet as she felt its folds with her hands. There was a momentary glint of malice in her eyes which quickly simmered down when she remembered the covenant that she made. Her fingers formed the hand seals needed for the ritual, moving as if she was plucking at the strings of a harp. She cast the spell upon Shang River Fairy and Guo Xi, both of whom appeared to be invigorated with renewed vigor.

She had barely completed the deed when the Plain Lady’s Paradise was fully sealed. The Mystic Fairy herself took into the skies, her senses scanning far and wide across the entire dimension. She stopped high above in mid-air, overlooking Shang River Fairy and her group from atop.

The entry of her group and the sudden appearance of the Killing Blade were too good to be a coincidence! There was no doubt about it!

The astounding aura of her presence came down heavily. The male disciples immediately froze in their movements and their gazes turned blank as if in a trance. The perceptive aura of the gaze of the Mystic Fairy bore down on each and everyone present that even their possessions did not escape her meticulous and careful inspection. Who could tell if Su Meng had indeed transformed into a stone or a jewel? He might be even be hidden in Secret Treasures that manipulated the elements of space and dimension!

The search of the male disciples came to an end. The Mystic Fairy cast her probing aura over Guo Xi. Liu Shuyu braced with intense fear, the only note of relief being that Gu Xiaosang had not left the Map and the little black sachet on the two but with her.

At the same time, she furtively hoped that her sorcery would be able to mask the fact that both Shang River Fairy and Guo Xi were still suffering under the effects of mind control.

It could be that the Mystic Fairy was more fixated on transformation enchantments or disguises, that she had neglected to examine for signs of mind control or manipulation. Swiftly, the staggering weight of her aura was lifted off Guo Xi. It rested momentarily on the Shang River Fairy before the Mystic Fairy turned to speak to Liu Shuyu,

“Well done. You have been quick and responsive to remedy the situation.”

She had noticed Liu Shuyu’s swift response earlier in first investigating the hall and therefore she commended the latter for her decisiveness.

The Mystic Fairy then withdrew herself from them and began to further extend her search elsewhere.

Liu Shuyu secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Her heart pounded with residual anxiety as blood rushed through her brain and her thoughts could barely process the unbelievable events that had transpired.

She quickly released Gu Xiaosang and Meng Qi before the male disciples regained their consciousness. She then drew back the Shang River Fairy into the Secret Treasures and returned them to Meng Qi and Gu Xiaosang, with Guo Xi untouched.

“You will now follow the lead of Sister Liu Shuyu, no, it’s Sister Liu Luo.” Gu Xiaosang’s eyes squinched playfully with a smile that dimpled her face like a fox.

Meng Qi nodded and transformed himself into a dark-colored stone that fell into the hands of Liu Shuyu, who stowed it away like a jewelry.

Liu Shuyu took another heavy breath and strode towards the Hall of the Mystic Fairy. She would not be allowed entry under normal circumstances. Therefore she would not have been able to infiltrate the hall along with Meng Qi in tow. But with the current ruckus around the Plain Lady’s Paradise, she could easily come up with any logical pretense for her unbidden entry.

There, the Hall of the Mystic Fairy stood in the center smoldered with still-burning scorch marks, having endured the wrath of lightning bolts. The place was filled with a quietness as if it awaited their arrival.

Gu Xiaosang watched the figure of Liu Shuyu disappearing into the Hall. The edges of her lips curled with hints of joy and shrewdness.