The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The rest of the elixirs were sealed from taking effect, leaving only one intact pellet for Meng Qi’s use. He did not know if the elixirs would be effective on dwellers of the mythical world but in the event of failure, he was prepared to use his Immortality Elixir of East Pole to save Du Huaishang. If Du Huaishang died or remained comatose, the collapse of the Revolutionary Army would only be a matter of time. Meng Qi would be instantly annihilated for failing to complete the main task.

Of course, he was working under the assumption that the Immortality Elixir of East Pole would be capable of healing Du Huaishang.

He appeared to be having an idle chat with his friends inside the tent but that was merely a doppelganger manifested from a strand of his hair. He himself had secretly left for the camp of the main battalion. With his Eight Nine Mysterious in the Six-fold Heaven realm, it would take a genuine grandmaster to notice something wrong.

Meng Qi changed his appearance as patrolling soldiers, guards, and officials as he walked and soon arrived at the vicinity of the heavily-guarded camp of the main battalion. He then morphed into a flea, a creature that he could only turn into after reaching the first step of the Celestial Ladder, and patiently waited for familiar faces.

The sun began setting as time passed. The bitterly cold wind worsened as if the Winter God of the North Pole had descended. A man resembling an ape demon habitually rubbed his hands as he walked out of the impenetrable main camp. His expression was bleak as if many concerns plagued him.

Suddenly, he felt a pat on his back and subconsciously turned around all while wondering how his senses had failed him, allowing someone could sneak up to him without his knowledge.

If someone truly wanted to ambush him, why would he pat him on the back?

His gaze froze just as he turned around and a look of delighted surprise crossed his face. “It’s you, Master!”

Meng Qi smiled serenely. “Heavenly King Du should be suffering quite the calamity after being attacked. I am here to handle this matter.”

He had developed a liking for muttering unfathomable words to himself ever since learning the Jade Virtual Divination and receiving guidance from Duke Huan, Xiao Bai. Yet, he hated it when someone did it to him.

His colleagues were his enemies!

Instantly, the ape demon-like man lost control of his breath, causing the ground around him to cave in a little. He saluted Meng Qi joyfully and said, “Master, you are truly our Red Coat Army’s lucky star!”

“Looks like there are really deities and demons aiding Eldest Brother in the dark! During the siege of Daning, Master had come to our rescue. During the crucial point of his growth, Eldest Brother chanced upon a divine weapon and managed to rope in a 2nd Order Master, Immortal Wanshi, as an aid. He then speedily climbed up the ranks and became the most illustrious character of the Revolutionary Army. Right now, in a time where Immortal Wanshi is unable to help Eldest Brother, Master came once again!”

“Who would believe it even if you say there aren’t any deities and demons favoring Eldest Brother?”

Meng Qi could guess what the man was thinking and thought to himself, “The deities and demons favoring you all is called the Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms. Of course, he also favors the other side. I wonder just what he is thinking of…”

“Hou Yue, did something happen?” an elegant yet evidently aged voice drifted from Du Huaisang’s tent. The ape demon-like man’s breath turbulence had been particularly obvious.

Hou Yue glanced at Meng Qi. “Master, please excuse me while I go in and inform them.”

Even though he was now an Exterior expert and an Eighth Order master of the Earth Rank, he was still unable to comprehend Master’s thoughts. He could only tell that Master had become umpteenth time stronger than before. Perhaps the deities and demons had interfered in his fate and lessened the restrictions placed on him?

Meng Qi nodded. He stood in the shadow near the tent with his hands clasped behind him.

Moments later, Hou Yue lifted the tent door and stepped out. He invited Meng Qi without so much as an expression, hinting that it was inconvenient for Immortal Wanshi to come out to meet him due to the members of the Revolutionary Army spying here.

In a flash, Meng Qi weaved through the layers of half-opened protective spells and entered the tent like a ghost. He saw two figures inside. One was the chief that he had once met, the second-in-command of the Red Coat Army named Hu Zhigao, nicknamed Qilin of Ningnan. The other one was a man dressed in a navy robe with his grey hair secured by a wooden pin. He had a protruding forehead and a tough aura. Hanging from his waist was a black sword. Though he did nothing but stand there, he commanded all the attention as if he was the core of the environment.

“This must be Immortal Wanshi…” Meng Qi made a rough guess.

Sure enough, the elderly Taoist glanced at Meng Qi and made the most solemn of bows. “I am Wan Shi. Honored to make your acquaintance, my Taoist friend.”

Meng Qi returned the bow. “I have long heard of your name, Immortal. We have only arrived and are unaware of the details. Would you please give us a brief explanation?”

“We?” Immortal Wanshi looked around but saw no one else.

Hu Zhigao could guess that Meng Qi was referring to the people he had met the last time. He muttered quietly, “Where are they?”

Aside from an added layer of maturity and restraint, there was not much change in the Master since the last time he saw him. The Master still appeared lofty in his white robe and was as refined-looking as ever. While he embodied neither the trait of a deity nor a demon, his pair of eyes were like the sparkling night sky, encompassing all. Those staring deep into his eyes would inadvertently be drawn into them.

“We wanted meet you directly but were led to the Lord of the Naval Conquests instead. I had no choice but to disguise myself and come to Heavenly King Du’s tent myself,” Meng Qi said, concisely summing up everything that had happened.

The ape demon-like man blurted out, “That damned Zhu Shou is trying to benefit from our misfortune!”

Hu Zhigao chimed in, saying, “Fortunately, you are aware that ‘Lord of the Naval Conquests’ Zhu Shou is wildly ambitious, cunning, and ruthless. Taking advantage of the fact that Eldest Brother is comatose and that Immortal couldn’t leave, he is trying to rope in ‘Marquis of Nine Mountains’ Miao Hu, ‘Duke of Land Subjugation’ Feng Jingtang, and ‘Great Heavenly King’ Liu Shunshui and take over the Revolutionary Army. Moreover, he has repeatedly pushed to become the temporary wielder of the Sword of Divine Mandate in the name of righteousness.”

He then added, “The three mentioned are top-tier masters and chiefs of the rest of the army.”

“Rest assured that we will not be blinded by him.” Meng Qi smiled serenely.

Immortal Wanshi let the topic drop once he saw that Meng Qi understood the truth well. “The common folk has been suffering under the rule of the imperial court for a long time. When the people of one place rebelled, others followed suit as well. In a flash, the imperial court lost half of the country. The Eighteen Revolutionary Alliance was on the rise and heralded Heavenly King Du as the new master of the country. We had planned on crossing the Nu River and going on a crusade against the imperial court while their army was suffering low morale. But the imperial court refused to be defeated. They gathered masters and dispatched the main forces of their army around the city. The commander was none other than one of the only three masters of the First Order that Erudition Hall had ever awarded, ‘Martial Monarch’ Du Gushi.”

When Hou Yue heard this name, he subconsciously muttered, “Peerless talent despite his inferior lineage, an outstanding character, humble yet prideful, well-versed in physical attacks and weaponry, considered unparalleled in the world, the self-proclaimed title of Martial Monarch, a rare First Order master in this world…”

He was reciting the commentary made by the Erudite Hall.

“Du Gushi is in the Peak of the Exterior realm at the very least. Even if he hasn’t reached the Half-step to Dharmakaya realm, he would still win over the majority of his same-realm peers. Just like my current situation in the Sixfold Heaven…” Meng Qi thought as he listened to their explanation.

Immortal Wanshi continued, “Du Gushi is joined by four top-tier masters. Those four are more or less on par with our forces here but are more hostile toward each other. Thus, we plan to take advantage of our momentum and cross the river at once while they are suspecting each other.”

“Several days ago, we focused all our strength on offense and had a fierce battle with them on the river. I fought Du Gushi head-on and created a temporary chance for Heavenly King Du to activate the Sword of Divine Mandate to severely injure or even kill the former. However, at the critical moment, we were ambushed by an unforeseen enemy and Heavenly King Du was left heavily wounded. Had the Sword of Divine Mandate not automatically protect him, I wouldn’t have succeeded in snatching his body from Du Gushi and his mysterious ally, even at the cost of my life.”

“Unforeseen enemy?” Meng Qi asked with an unchanging expression.

“Is it a Samsara traveler from the other camp or someone from the Blood Sea Rakshasa Sect?”

“It is rumored to be a person who had secretly pledged loyalty to the imperial court. He is so mysterious that the Erudite Hall awarded him the title of Second Order master and the nickname ‘Lord of Shadows’ only after the battle. Right now, the Crown Prince of the imperial court managed to stabilize public morale with the arrival of the Saber of the Emperor. This prevented the four masters from openly rebelling. Moreover, the appearance of the talented newcomer had also reversed the situation.” Immortal Wanshi sighed. “Currently, their side has seven top-tier masters and several dozens of mid-tier masters. They also have divine weapons holding down the fort. With Heavenly King Du comatose, Zhu Shou and the rest are harboring disloyal thoughts. It is hard for our army to go against the imperial court while facing internal and external strifes. Perhaps the next time they attack us, we will fall apart.”

“In such a situation, we chose self-protection.”

“Judging from his words, the Red Coat Army seems to be thinking of retreat!” Meng Qi was startled. “Did I fail my task before even starting it?”

He suppressed his complex emotions and said in a lofty, unfathomable manner, “If you retreat now, your favor will be reversed and you will never sway the imperial court again.”

For the sake of his task, he had no choice but to lie.

“What do you have in mind, Master?” Hu Zhigao immediately asked.

The war may have plunged the world into such chaos that it was like a raging inferno fueled by oil but it also forced the imperial court as well as the Revolutionary Army to straighten their internal affairs and mend their ways. Given enough time, they might be able to suppress all the disloyal masters, regroup after the setback, and put an end to their decline.

Meng Qi said confidently, “Now the crux of the matter is Heavenly King Du. Once he recovers, he will be able to wield the divine weapon and crush the disloyalty brewing in the hearts of Zhu Shou and the others with our help. The world is now influenced by the Revolutionary Army and not the imperial court. If we stabilize the affairs here, we will draw the volunteer soldiers from all parts of the country to come to our aid. On the court’s end, any attempts at trying to reform or change will cause infighting. When that time comes, the one facing internal and external strifes will be them!”

He made such wild remarks and feigned such confidence precisely because he knew Hu Zhigao and the rest were unwilling to retreat. Either way, these people only needed come confidence. Reasonable or not, they would not know the difference as they were so deeply involved in the matter that their judgment was affected.

Hu Zhigao’s eyes gleamed before immediately dimming. “Unfortunately, no medicine is effective against Eldest Brother’s peculiar wounds. He could only hang in there, half-alive.”

“That is why I am here,” Meng Qi said with much confidence.

Immortal Wanshi stared intensely at him before moving out of the way and inviting him into the rear of the tent. Meng Qi saw Du Huaishang lying on the bed with a pale face and closed eyes. His breathing was weak. A golden sword with a wide hilt swirled around him, emitting a breath so terrifying that Meng Qi’s heartbeat quickened.

“People are always saying I’m unimaginably fortunate but Du Huaishang obtained a divine weapon while still being in the Five-fold Heaven while none fell down from the heaven for me…” Meng Qi retorted sarcastically as he spread his perception to envelop Du Huaishang. Compared to Immortal Wanshi, he would naturally be able to find out more with his top-notch skill of Heavenly Golden Scripture and considerable experience.

“His Vital Spirit is so frail that it does not have the strength to recover. The wound had pierced deep into his body and there the bleeding won’t stop…” These strange conditions gave Meng Qi the idea of using his Penetrating Stare technique.

He saw only a formless and illusory black gas swirling around Du Huaishang’s Vital Spirit like it was a spirit!

Meng Qi muttered to himself, “The assassin had used the force of a strange and mysterious curse to cultivate the Gu Poison Bug. If we don’t remove the bug and lift the curse, even the most powerful elixir will be useless.”

His words enlightened Immortal Wanshi, who had a vague clue of Du Huaishang’s condition in the first place. Realization suddenly dawned on him. “How can we remove the bug?”

“The bug is already entwined with Heavenly King Du’s Vital Spirit. Without a suitable technique or the elimination of its master, recklessly removing the bug will only endanger Heavenly King Du’s life.” Meng Qi recalled the information on Gu Poison Bugs that he had gathered when targeting the Blood Sea Rakshasa lineage.

Hu Zhigao and Hou Yue were instantly dispirited. “We don’t even know who is the master of the bug, much less where…”

Just then, they saw Meng Qi taking a step forward. His eyes were suddenly serene and deep as bright and illusory strings of stars started swimming in his pupils. When they looked into his eyes, they found their minds swaying.

“Huh?” Immortal Wanshi blurted out. He began to discover the profound and mysterious side of Meng Qi.

When a strand of karma stretched out of from within the Gu Poison Bug, Meng Qi used the Jade Virtual Divination to deduce the identity of its master.

Moments later, Meng Qi closed his eyes and opened them again. The mythical phenomenon were all gone. He smiled and said, “I have found the approximate location of the master of the bug; I will find him.”

Since Immortal Wanshi’s presence was needed to suppress the Red Coat Army and prevent internal strife, he was not a suitable candidate for taking down the master of the bug. Meng Qi did not think highly of the rest, so he volunteered for the job.

“Thank you, Master.” Hu Zhigao and Huo Yue gratefully accepted the offer.

“Will you be going alone?” Immortal Wanshi asked.

Meng Qi nodded. “Yes. The rest will stay here to aid you in controlling the situation.”

The Nu River was a unique river. Though he could find a way to quietly cross it, Qi Zhengyan was the only one among his friends who could do the same. Moreover, the Revolutionary Army was in a state of internal turmoil. Jiang Zhiwei’s character was too “direct” while Ruan Yushu was too “upright” despite her brilliance. Zhao Heng lacked ways of guarding himself against strange techniques. That left Qi Zhengyan as the most suitable candidate. While he was away, he needed Qi Zhengyan to take charge of the situation.

“Why don’t you have your companions stay in Zhu Shou’s place? I suspect that someone in the army is secretly reporting to the imperial court. I hope your companions will help me investigate this,” Immortal Wanshi said.

With all eyes on them, it was hard for them to act.

Meng Qi agreed, remembering that his doppelganger was still there. Then, with Immortal Wanshi’s help, he sneaked out of the camp and approached the Nu River.