The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Meng Qi and Gu Xiaosang bypassed the Monster-slaying Stage and the same dense mist and path condensed out of white clouds met them. On their right was a sea of seemingly bottomless floating clouds that looked as if someone had bored through them. On their left was a pond with a width that measured tens of meters. The surface of its water was soundlessly bubbling and emitting a white gas that swirled and formed clouds. It made the entire pond look like a fairyland, making for a striking contrast against the dark and gloomy Celestial Judgment Gate.

Next to the pond was a slanting stele with seal script etched on it.

“Fairy-banishing Pool!”

This was the lake capable of annihilating Bone of the Immortals and Dharmakaya masters and rewinding one’s Interior to its initial state!

With the Dharmakaya masters behind them eyeing them like two predators, Meng Qi lost his earlier desire and did not stop to test if he could collect water from the pond. He dashed like the wind, leaving residual shadows behind him, in an attempt to pass through the place and find the Three-life Temple as soon as possible. He wanted nothing more than to complete the contract and remove himself from such danger.

Just then, someone stepped out of the dense mist that shrouded their path. His tall figure was enveloped in a black robe. The man wore the mask of the ancient Sun God.

He said placidly,

“I have been waiting for you for a long time!”

Before his voice even faded, he bent his body at the waist and sent a punch flying at them. Purple clouds swirled in the air, making for a contrast in his morality. He invoked no changes and the movement itself was so simple that it could even be considered clumsy.

Even so, Meng Qi could detect a subtle change in his surroundings. The Five Elements turned indistinct and the four divisions of the 28 constellations returned to their disoriented state. It seemed that all the rules of the world, as well as the dense mist, were plunged into a confused state – they lack both form and nature at the same time!

Without the suppression of the Celestial Judgment Gate, few grandmasters could survive after influencing the surrounding Dharma and Logos. If there was an Exterior expert here to link with such a Force of Heaven and Earth, the decline of his strength would have been massive. In the worst case scenario, his strength might even diminish to the point that he would be in the realm of enlightened Apertures.

“Xi?”

“The one who cultivated the Five Tais and Five Virtues and attempted to rewind the Infiniteness? Xi?”

Meng Qi recognized the identity of this member of the Myths through his characteristic mask and skill. It was unsurprising for Xi to cross the second layer of the Celestial Ladder to become a grandmaster. What surprised Meng Qi was the fact that he managed to get ahead and intercept them.

The seal had been intact before they entered the Peach Garden. There had been no fork in the road on their way until they reached the forked paths of lightning, fire, and the Chaos at the Monster-slaying Stage and Demon-slaying Stage. It was impossible for him to quietly overtake them!

In any case, Xi possessed unique skills as well as strange and remarkable abilities that could conceal him from Meng Qi and Gu Xiaosang. But what about Dharma King Dushi who had always been following after them in the dark? How did he manage to hide from a Dharmakaya master?

However, Meng Qi could understand why ‘Xi’ would choose to openly attack them instead of going for an ambush. That was because this was the condition of Saint Virtue Li of the Five Tais and Five Virtues. Defiance would cost him virtue and merits!

Xi’s body moved in tandem with his fist and closed a distance of tens of meters in the blink of an eye to hit Gu Xiaosang. The punch carried tremendous momentum, sending rays of black and white light fluttering and condensing a dot of purple light in front of the fist.

Gu Xiaosang did not panic. With a respective press and twist of her hands, numerous vortexes appeared in front of her. It was as if the void had collapsed to form them!

Their surroundings came to resemble the deep and serene seabed. Each of the vortexes was introverted and implicated the body, hands, and feet as they resisted the momentum and power of the punch.

Pfft! The punch soundlessly perforated the vortexes that looked like they were collapsed parts of the void, annihilating their incorporeal form and returning them to their original state.

This punch seemed impossible to block!

The innocent and pure-looking Gu Xiaosang fashioned her fingers into various postures, forming all sorts of changes that carried the flavor of the mortal world. It all finally condensed into a single finger. It seemed just right yet also seemed to be decreed by fate. She pointed the finger squarely on the fist.

Her long and slender finger, as fair as jade itself, was firmly placed atop the fist. The steady and powerful fist turned indistinct as time seemed to freeze at that moment. The scene seemed to have come out of a strikingly beautiful painting.

The black and white lights swirled around the radiant purple light and poured into Gu Xiaosang’s body through her finger. It was as if she was the ‘being’ that birthed all living things and the final home of all living creatures – the Vacuum Hometown!

The power imbued in Gu Xiaosang’s one finger had engulfed the force of Xi’s seemingly invincible punch!

The white lotus swayed before finally falling, with heavenly music shrouding it. Gu Xiaosang flew backward, light as a feather, separating herself from Xi.

Even if the difficulty in connecting with heaven and earth in the Celestial Judgment Gate meant that the gap between a grandmaster and a Peerless Master Pro was reduced, the reduction was not as complete as in the Grand Formation of Luoyang. Moreover, Gu Xiaosang’s expertise did not lie in her physical strength. She naturally had to evade the brunt of the attack.

Meng Qi did not remain idle while the two of them were exchanging blows. While the indistinct Five Elements and chaotic four divisions of the 28 constellations might suppress others, he was a cultivator of Eight Nine Mysteries and the Heavenly Golden Scripture. Such an environment was essentially his home ground!

Meng Qi exerted strength in his abdomen and secretly provoked his Interior. His force flowed from his thigh to calf to the sole of his feet and finally piercing the ground of white clouds.

“Thud!”

Airflow gushed from the spots where his feet touched the ground, force instantly propelling Meng Qi to Xi’s face. He lowered the saber in his right hand, looking as if he was paused and solidified.

“Boom!”

With another burst of air under his foot, he abruptly thrust his saber forward as if he was a dragon returning to the sea after escaping its shackles.

The bright yet plain sword light flared, cutting through the darkness and bleariness. The Chaos split to form Yin and Yang!

“Kaboom!”

Wherever the sword light passed, a wake of stimulated Yin and Yang energies appeared. Every now and then, the booming of thunder would follow along with the sound of light disappearing.

Xi, who had just forced Gu Xiaosang to retreat, pointed his thumb at a particularly odd spot without a second thought upon seeing Meng Qi’s attack. The colors of heaven and earth dimmed as the Virtue of Darkness became restrained. The spot where his finger touched was exterminated with a loud bang. It was as if whatever that was in the spot had returned to the absolute beginning. His finger appeared slow-moving but it could always transform in accordance with the changes in Meng Qi’s saber radiance and intercept the latter’s attacks.

“The absolute beginning” could birth all sorts of changes!

Just as Xi’s finger and Meng Qi’s saber were about to collide, the latter suddenly thrust his saber upward at a slant. His control could be dubbed abnormal to think that he would take advantage of such a fine gap to change his move!

This was the embodiment of his control over his body after bitterly cultivating his bladesmanship, realm, and Eight Nine Mysteries for a long time.

Clang!

The saber struck Xi’s shoulder after barely missing his thumb. Dark yellow light flared up. The golden pagoda that toed the fine line between existence and nonexistence appeared and obliterated itself along with the saber radiance.

Meng Qi felt neither shock nor anger. He thrust his sword, Flowing Fire, at the most precise moment and pointed it at Xi’s midbrows.

This was his true killer move!

The moment the pure sword light swiftly made its way to Xi’s face, Meng Qi could not help the tremor in his hand. His sword was inexplicably thrown off and the only thing that his blade cut was a strand of Xi’s hair. It was as if his sword could not bear to injure Xi!

“Saint Virtue…” Having lost such a good opportunity, Meng Qi had no choice but to make a backward flip and try to avoid Xi’s fist that was shrouded in black and white light. He could feel coldness creeping down his back as well as prickling all over. It was as if there was another enemy hiding and waiting for a chance to deal him a killing blow!

Suddenly, a streamer that looked like it was formed out of the void and an illusion at the same time soared and began striking Xi from all directions in all sorts of odd manner. Gu Xiaosang’s figure appeared illusory like she was a fairy. She kept Xi so busy that he had no time to go after Meng Qi.

However, a sudden idea came to Meng Qi and he put on a show of being in a sorry condition. He barely evaded Qi’s fist and purposefully revealed a great flaw.

The void shattered, leaving lightning, flames, and Chaotic Hole to form a path. There were six forks in the path in total, all of them beginning in front of the Monster-slaying Stage and Demon-slaying Stage.

Gao Lan lifted his right hand and made a gentle press. The purple and green lightning instantly became docile and lost its fierce and unyielding Yang energy. The lightning ushered him through a safe passage out of the place.

On the other side, waves coming from Han Guang rippled as he set foot on the fiery hell. The burning flames suddenly froze like they were paintings of purple lotuses on blue-and-white porcelain, each of their petals so vivid that they looked real.

They went on their separate paths so that Dharma King Dushi would be confused as to who to go after. While the latter might be able to stop one of them, he would miss the other.

Dharma King Dushi cared not at all. Unexpectedly, his transparent figure blended into the shattered void and emerged in front of Gao Lan in a flash. Then, just as quickly, he appeared above Han Guang’s head. He was like a fish back in the water in this environment. While it was not possible for him to prevail over two Dharmakaya masters, it was not difficult for him to obstruct them both for a short while!

If these two pursued and attacked him after he left the place, where would he find the energy to acquire the treasures?

Just as Meng Qi’s footsteps turned messy, he instantly detected a sinisterly cold sword Qi and lightning aiming for his head and Yuzhen meridian point. The attacker possessed exceptional speed, so fast that Meng Qi could almost only sense him and not capture him.

“He took the bait!”

Meng Qi took a step backward and unexpectedly crashed into the sword Qi with the back of his head!

Yet, it was at this moment that the sword Qi abruptly vanished. Meng Qi’s vision lit up with a glimmer – a sharp glimmer that stole all vitality and breath!

How could Star of Northern Dipper be unaware that Meng Qi was a cultivator of physical protection skills?

However, he noticed Meng Qi’s smirk and the scarlet sword, Flowing Fire, that seemed as if it had been waiting for him all along.

The sword light flew high up into the firmament and split apart into strands of light of uniform strength. They linked with one another to form waves of changes. In an instant, they engulfed Star of Northern Dipper.

“Clang, clang, clang!”

Following the crisp ringing sounds, Star of Northern Dipper reappeared in a distant place with blood gushing out of his entire body. That attack earlier had even destroyed several of his secret treasures.

He did not dare to directly confront Meng Qi. Moreover, the injuries that he sustained were fairly severe. Thus, he made the decision to retreat in the direction of the Monster-slaying Stage.

On the other side of the battle, Xi’s entire body erupted with rays of light. There were lights of purple, yellowish black, and black and white hues. There were also white gas of Virtue of Darkness and waves of Saint Virtue. Behind his back, the Five Elements condensed to form a phoenix – a phoenix that bore the Five Virtues!

The phoenix charged forth recklessly in a haphazard manner. It was unsure if Gu Xiaosang’s streamer found it difficult to get close to the phoenix or it was ‘avoiding’ the latter. Somehow, the phoenix managed to crash straight through the streamer.

Gu Xiaosang’s expression remained ever serene. Two white lotuses blossomed in the depths of her eyes as a smile played at her lips. She extended her arms and moved her fingers. The streamer suddenly separated before meeting again near Xi as if it was trying to form a circle around him.

Meng Qi could feel the undulation in the void as if part of it was being cut up.

Strands of the streamer had mostly rejoined one another, leaving several still lingering and blending into the void. Together, they formed a translucent cage that shrouded Xi.

“Just how strong is the Demoness’ grasp on the force of the void?” Meng Qi could not help but feel this way.

Gu Xiaosang chuckled after glancing at Xi. “I am guessing that you came here through the Road of True Fire.”

She did not try wearing down and killing Xi so as to not waste their time. She relayed her voice telepathically, telling Meng Qi, “Make haste, my husband. I fear there will be changes if we delay any further.”

Gao Lan traveled along the path of lightning and used a single punch to force Dharma King Dushi’s retreat. However, he was nowhere close to the end of the path!

Gao Lan’s expression turned grimmer when he saw how Dharma King was also obstructing Han Guang. Moreover, there was also Qui Qinghe catching up from behind. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and spread his right hand. He said, displaying his imposing aura full force,

“Come, my sword!”

His voice had not even faded when a sword flew out from his waist and rapidly repelled the unshakeable darkness. It radiated a dazzling splendor. Carvings of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, creeks, and rivers decorated the front of the sword body. On the back were carvings of demons bowing their heads and members of demonic cult crawling, and on the sword hilt were humans writing, farming, fishing, and herding – all forms of human activities!

Light erupted from within the sword and the grudgeful aura dissipated. The entire Celestial Judgment Gate became pristine; all of its illusory True Dragons and lightning remnants had vanished. All of its suppression collapsed as well.

Inside the void, Dharma King Dushi was thrown backward by several steps. He blurted out,

“The Sword of the Human Sovereign!”

Gu Xiaosang had just taken a step forward when she felt this immense and boundless breath that had reached its peak. The expression on her pretty face changed ever so slightly to reflect her turbulent emotions. She muttered to herself,

“The Sword of the Human Sovereign…”

This was the second time Meng Qi saw her losing her composure.

At that moment, Gu Xiaosang was no longer a flawless creature in his mind. There were still things that would surprise her and upset her plans. He found that the trauma that he harbored for a long time had dissipated a great deal.