The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The gentle undulation of the bluish-green seawater caused a surge of waves that resembled the blossoming of a splendid blue gem. The sea stretched as far as the eye could see. It was such a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

The wavering consciousness of “Sword Manic” He Qi permeated the sea in an undetectable manner. The reflection of innumerable fish and the undulating seabed appeared in his mind. He also detected the numerous strange creatures and objects in the deep sea untouched by sunshine but found no signs of a trench or the Blue-blooded People.

This did not surprise him. If the Blue-blooded People could not even fool his perception, they would have long been found. Why would the grudge between the Eastsea Sword Village and the Formless Sword Vermin lineage go so far back otherwise?

He Qi, a Dharmakaya master, was a decisive person who would not repeatedly confirm the auguring with the Book of Luo. However, he did feel some confusion as he glanced at Old Master Ruan.

He could not understand the clan’s enthusiasm in hunting down the Blue-blooded People. Not only did the family run around to contact other parties, they basically spared no effort. They even sent two of their four grandmasters here, including Old Master Ruan who was a great grandmaster. In other words, excluding the grandmaster in Luoyang, only one grandmaster was guarding the family manor in Langya.

In stark contrast, the Master of the Wang family carrying the Book of Luo was the only representative of his family. Similarly, while Eastsea Sword Village and the Blue-blooded People had a deep grudge against each other, the former merely sent He Qi and Huang Taichong.

Old Master Ruan had his head lowered, looking as deeply focused as the still water inside an ancient well. He Qi could not decipher anything from his expression.

He then looked away and began stretching his limbs to turn himself into a formless sword light. He quietly plunged into the sea. The rest remained hovering in midair under the cover of the Book of Luo.

Moments later, the sea began bubbling and simmering. It intensified instantaneously as if the water was boiling.

Slosh! Following the resounding of a gloomy, husky sound, the water abruptly collapsed and swiftly swirled to form a massive vortex.

The vortex turned larger and deeper as it swirled at a frantic pace, pushing water in all directions.

Suddenly, a pure and sharp sword light spiraled out from the center of the vortex.

Sword Qi surged to fill the void. The vortex instantly scattered, its pieces rushing forth in all directions.

Slosh! The sea was torn apart as if it sustained an injury that cut deep enough to reveal the bones underneath. Third Childe of the Ruan clan, Ruan Chengde, could vaguely see the grotesque and variegated seabed.

The sword light dashed out of the sea before turning to plunge into it again. The whooshing Sword Qi seemed to have engulfed the entire area.

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

As a dull crash suddenly resonated, undulating waves emerged somewhere on the sea. A colorless mass rapidly took on a deep blue color as it tried its utmost to resist the Sword Qi attack.

“They’re really here!” The thin, ethereal-looking Third Childe of the Ruan clan narrowed his eyes. Holding his zither, he charged at those “waves”.

He may be fast but someone was even faster. The Master of the Wang family with his fluttering wide sleeves left the cover of the Book of Luo and reappeared next to the formation of the Blue-blooded People within seconds.

Meanwhile, the High Priest of the Blue-blooded People had not realized that enemies were at their door until He Qi’s attack. His body was currently translucent, his blue blood flowing to form strange, mysterious seal script-like marks. He did his utmost to trigger the formation.

If he could fully activate the formation, it would be enough to block He Qi and the others for a period of time. That was more than enough time for him to escape!

The waves converged above the deep blue water. They were linked to the eye of the water springs as if forming an indestructible wall of defense along with the neighboring sea territories.

Right at the critical moment when a change was about to be triggered in the formation, the Master of the Wang family simply thrust his sword. It landed on top of the deep blue waves.

The radiance glowing from within this particular section of deep blue swelled as if it had consumed a grand tonic. It absorbed all of the force coming from the eye of the water springs, surpassing his own limit in an instant. The gleaming radiance above the water began to form a crack.

Crack! A wince-inducing sound reverberated as the crack extended at an incredible speed. The seemingly flawless formation collapsed and disintegrated in a span of seconds!

The formation was in a state of partial concealment and complete defense. Not even the Master of the Wang family could shatter the formation easily, but the changes between stillness and movement allowed him to draw support from the Book of Luo and carve out an opportunity.

This was their plan all along!

With the collapse of the formation, the trench was laid bare for all of them to see. Inside the trench was a web of densely-packed caved-in areas, each of them covered in deep blue as if they were abundant pools of water.

The mass of deep blue stretched and elongated as it gradually awakened. It was all of the Blue-blooded People!

However, the most striking thing residing in the trench was the towering blue tower that flickered with a metallic luster. On both sides of the tower were wing-like ornaments. On its bottom was a huge shallow disc.

It was engraved with the portrait of an imposing-looking God whose feet were treading on a black dragon. Water serpents hung from its earlobes.

In front of the great tower was the High Priest whose blue skin was decorated with patterns. He was telepathically relaying his voice to several Exterior masters next to him. “Go up and block one or two of them for the time being. I’ll be praying for the force of the Ancestral God to descend on them!”

Most of the Exterior masters were Blue-blooded People. Only one was a white-haired man with an ordinary human appearance. In the face of their descending enemies, the human and the Blue-blooded People were joined in opposition. “Yes!” they replied in unison.

Their voices were still resounding when Third Childe of the Ruan clan entered the trench, his fingers strumming the strings of his zither.

Following an indescribable quiet cry in the water, a terrifying yet honorable-looking phoenix emerged behind him. The phoenix had the head of a fowl, the chin of a swallow, and a body of multi-colored feathers. Unfolding both wings, it flew toward the highest of heavens.

Slosh, slosh. The boiling water inside the trench rapidly turned into steam.

With the cry of the phoenix sealing the Vital Spirit of the Blue-blooded People, their blood boiled and vaporized.

Heavenly Phoenix Cries, torched mountains and boiled seawater!

Third Childe of the Ruan clan had chosen to use the more powerful 12 Magical Sounds of Langhuan in the absence of ordinary humans.

Seeing the tragic death of his descendants, hatred gleamed in the eyes of a grandmaster level Blue-blooded person. Borrowing the force of the water, he ducked out of the way and was poised to go all-out in attacking Third Childe of the Ruan clan.

Clang!

The sudden clear, pleasing sound of a bell reverberated from a distance. Old Master Ruan had his hands tucked into his sleeves as a zither floated in front of him, its tail tainted with burn marks.

The sound waves spread far and wide as the boiling seawater came to a standstill. The surviving Blue-blooded People were sealed, the condensed droplets that they sprinkled froze in midair. The droplets were pure, limpid, and indescribably beautiful.

The strongest sound of the 12 Magical Sounds of Langhuan, Clock Quaking the Three Dimensions!

The Blue-blooded grandmaster instantly stopped, his movements turned sluggish. The strange branches of arteries and vessels underneath his translucent skin became distinctively visible.

The sword light flew past, exploding inside the grandmaster. Numerous Sword Qi ravaged his body and annihilated him entirely. The sword light was none other than Huang Taichong.

Typically, he would need to exert a great deal of effort to defeat this Blue-blooded grandmaster. However, with the help of Third Childe’s Heavenly Sounds of Langhuan, it was as simple as cutting through a vegetable.

Seawater gradually began to flow backward to fill the vacant space. “Sword Manic” He Qi, a grandmaster in his own right, did not use his entire strength. Rather, he was confronting the old, gray-haired human Exterior master.

This was his main goal in making this trip!

“I didn’t think you’d still be alive,” he said, sighing.

The grey-haired human snorted. “Of course. I’m stronger than your father. I only despise that he has a great son!”

“What do you have to say when you were the ones who turned to the Devil Path?” He Qi’s eyes gradually turned cold. “Hand over the Sword Vermin Charm.”

The grey-haired man burst into laughter like a madman. “Turned to the Devil Path? That wasn’t what you said back when we were pondering the secrets of the Blue-blooded People and filling the deficiencies of the Formless Sword Qi together.”

He Qi hovered in front of the man, his hands behind him. “The distinction between good and bad lies in the usage of the secrets of the Blue-blooded People, not the secrets themselves. My family used those secrets to make up for our flaws in search of a supreme Great Path. That is as righteous and open as can be. On the other hand, you greedy people used numerous islanders as your materials to find a way to transform yourselves. You harmed heaven and turned your backs on your ancestors. How could this be called anything but the Devil Path?”

“You’re just full of dishonest rhetoric, aren’t you? Your family did all of this to make Eastsea Sword Village yours! You people became traitorous after seeing that our way was superior to yours!” The resentment in the eyes of the grey-haired old man remained as clear as day.

He Qi laughed. “Superior to ours? Uncle Gao, why don’t I restrict my strength to the Half-step level and have a fair spar with you? Let’s see who’s superior.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t dare answer your challenge?” The fighting desire in the grey-haired old man burned.

“If you lose, tell me where you hid the Sword Vermin Charm. Uncle Gao, you’ve always been a man of your word. I don’t suppose you’ll go back on your promise,” He Qi said placidly.

“Fine!” The grey-haired old man had always borne a deep grudge about this. Behind him, a deep blue vortex materialized. Every drop of water forming the vortex was a purple Gu Poison Bug. The bugs inhaled large amounts of Sword Qi and exhaled sharp sorption.

His body began disintegrating until not one speck of skin or drop of blood was left. Every inch of him had turned into a sword!

…

Over in the city of Langya, Meng Qi was sitting inside the Three-clearness Monastery while gazing at the Ruan family manor. After two days of consolidating his breakthrough findings, his cultivation was steadily parked in the Four-fold Heaven realm. Once he figured out what was going on in the Ruan family, he would have to consider Zhenwu’s Decoy Grave.

“Everything will be clear in a couple of days?” Frowning, he stood up and began walking toward the Ruan family manor.

Inside a certain courtyard in the city, a certain plain-looking, wrinkled old man suddenly opened his eyes. He could not restrain his surprise. “I can feel a wisp of the Ancestral God’s breath!”

“There’s a great change occurring inside the trench!”

He instantly got to his feet, exposing his nine fingers. Next to him were five companions.