The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Moonlight shone over their camp as Meng Qi paced back and forth. He was thinking that since his identity had been revealed somewhat, he might as well assume that Han Guang had already discovered his identity.

Under such pretense, he had to rethink things and find out why he had such an attitude, what his intentions were, and then think of a strategy. Even if he were wrong in his assumption, then at most he would waste some time. However, if he were right, then he would have hope of escaping!

He had messed with Han Guang’s affairs on more than one occasion, but what he did find out were not matters of life and death. In addition, he had grabbed the Three-life Jade Plate during his trip to the Celestial Court. Knowing Han Guang, he would keep his mouth shut even if he discovered serious matters as long as Meng Qi was still useful. He thus did not confront Meng Qi about his discovery, but the premise was that Meng Qi was still useful.

“What does he want from me? Could it be that I would be used as a messenger to distract the Orthodox Side? Possible, because Gu Xiaosang’s act to frighten Luo Hou is a bit suspicious. It has to be true because the Ashura Temple was shaken by the fact that Master Lu and Chong He had both evolved as Earth Immortals. Not to mention that Cao Xianzhi had just been killed, so she had to threaten him. At most, they had chosen the occasion that I was present to make the threat so that I could inform the Orthodox side and create suspicion and chaos among them.”

He also recalled that Han Guang had mentioned that he had some important matters to attend to the first time they met. He said he had an important task for the Devil of Malice. He was likely referring to the matter with the Hao Yue Clan, which was a matter of great importance. With Han Guang’s intelligence, he would have sent someone stronger and more cunning than the Devil of Disillusionment instead of someone he trusted. At first, Meng Qi did not find anything weird about Han Guang’s decision, but now realizing that Han Guang may have discovered his identity, he was beginning to get suspicious.

Han Guang was known as the “Evil Master,” which meant that he knew he should use people based on their skill and not on whether they were his henchmen. His past actions had fully proven that fact.

“In other words, it is likely that Hang Guang knew my identity the first time we met. Then he quickly decided to let “Killing Blade Su Meng” do his bidding because I’ve created miracles more than once. Not to mention that I am close to “Big Luo Goddess,” who was personally chosen by the Great Khan for the task. He thought that I might perform a miracle again.

“What does he know about my strength? He himself is a Samsara traveler so he knows what the Reincarnation Charm can do. He also knows about the four tasks that I have to complete, which includes sneaking into the Golden Tent and finding information. He has reason to believe that I would use the Reincarnation Charm and evolve into a grandmaster before going ahead with such a dangerous task. The difficult transformations of the Eight Nine Mysteries and catching the Devil of Malice would also prove this fact, so I could not use ‘I’m not a grandmaster yet’ as an excuse to fail the task.”

For that reason, he was confident that with Gu Xiaosang to help him, they could destroy other members of the investigation group and keep the secret to themselves.

What exactly does he want though? It looked like the affair with the Hao Yue Clan was connected to the Heaven-killing Axe. Otherwise, Gu Erduo would not care so much. Considering Han Guang’s honcho status, he’d definitely not want to see Gu Erduo beyond his control, so, of course, he wanted to know the secret.

“If he wanted to know the secret, he had to pretend not to know that I am Killing Blade Su Meng. What would he do after getting what he wants? Because he would not be able to return to the Golden Tent, how would he make sure that he would definitely get the secret?

“Gu Erduo would, of course, keep an eye on him. He could send another master to follow him and eventually get what he wants by creating chaos among the investigation group and the Hao Yue Clan!

“The master he sends would not be anyone known within the Golden Tent for the grandmasters were surely told not to let anyone out. Could it be the Faceless Devil? Or a member of The Myths?

“Anyhow, I must be keepan eye out for any followers!”

Meng Qi’s strategy was coming into shape, he knew what he had to prepare for and what the real dangers were. Of course, if his speculations were wrong, then at most he had wasted some brain cells.

Meng Qi heaved a sigh and sat back on the bed to adjust his Qi. He was waiting for the coming investigation.

Suddenly, a thought jumped into his head. “Since I am already a grandmaster, and in Han Guang’s eyes, Gu Xiaosang and I are a couple, then how could he be certain that one powerful master would succeed?” 

If his henchmen failed and he returned to the North Zhou Dynasty with the secret, then Master Lu and the Dharmakaya would have the opportunity to recreate Gu Erduo for they would be prepared. Plus it would also offset their loss from other battle lines. As far as Han Guang was concerned, he would love to see the two sides battle to the death and incur losses on both sides. Nothing made him happier than seeing a few Dharmakaya fall and complete chaos!

Meng Qi believed that if Gu Erduo could be killed with just the secret, then Saren Gaowa would have already announced it to the whole world. In fact Master Lu and Chong He could probably get him with one planned sneak attack, and they wouldn’t need to wait till now. The secret would at most create an opportunity to win.

Not to mention that when Gu Xiaosang returned, Han Guang could use her scheming with Su Meng to snatch the secret as an excuse and threaten her to hand the secret over to him. If all went according to plan, he could then tell Gu Erduo that he underestimated Su Meng’s transfiguration ability, hence could not discover him. By then all the blame would land on Su Meng, and Han Guang would be seen as innocent and thoughtful towards Gu Erduo!

“Damn, it feels like he has already won, no matter the result!” Meng Qi’s eyes twitched, but he knew he still had to go all in because he could just stand by and watch ‘an opportunity to win’ pass by.

No wonder they call him the ‘Evil Master’. Then please call me ‘scape goat’…

“I have to think of another way!”

Meng Qi took a deep breath. He calmed himself and decided to stick to his plan.

…

As dawn approached, the morning golden sun rays reflected off the river.

The Zigzag Eagle Tao Gesi walked out from the Golden Tent. He squinted his eyes as he glanced at the mother river. Then he went toward the already waiting grandmasters in big strides.

He had dark, rough skin as if he had been through many storms. Those short and thick eyebrows made him look like a common rough farmer, but everyone knew his strength. He had once hurt a top Exterior level master in a one-on-one battle. Wu Lihan was the only one he obeyed, but he had died. He refused to bow down to the strength of the Golden Tent masters. Finally someone reported his cocky attitude to Gu Erduo and had since been left out.

Tao Gesi squinted and thought, “Fortunately the Great Khan knows my strength and loyalty. He knows I won’t obey the weak so recently he has begun to trust me with important tasks. I have to give it my all and complete the task so that I will be rewarded!”

Tao Gesi stopped in front of his “team mates.” He glanced at them and saw a pretty, young girl.

She looked elegant and holy with eyebrows like mountain peaks, big, watery eyes, and golden robes. She was the Evil Desire Bodhisattva of the Sect of the Plain Lady. She had an angelic appearance, but she was, in fact, deadly with that seductive body… Tao Gesi salivated.

Next to her was a familiar face一the Ordained Shamaness Tuo Ya. She was tall with eminent features, but since her skin was covered by a glowing light, it was difficult to tell whether it was fair. She seemed disinterested and proud with a light colored Ruyi Sceptre in her hands… Tao Gesi’s cold eyes looked past her and saw another long-haired man. Half of his face was covered by his hair, and he had dark skin with dark eyes that also showed a hint of redness. His flesh and blood looked as though the Grand Sun was reflecting off him, and his lips were tightly shut. This man was the Zombie Fei Lian of the Life-changing Sect, but he was able to move freely.

Finally, Tao Gesi’s eyes landed on a monk in Lama robes. His skin had a golden glow and he had big ears. He had kind eyes, that roamed between Tuo Ya and the Evil Desire Bodhisattva.

“Damn dirty monk!” Tao Gesi cursed silently.

“Amitabha, donor, do you not know that I’ve taken the vow of celibacy? How could you call me dirty?” His voice reverberated in Tao Gesi’s heart.

This shocked Tao Gesi. “He has the Mind Connection Bead! Buddha of Desires has the Mind Connection Bead!”

No wonder he’s the apostatic evil master, ranked thirteenth on the Black List!

He tried his best to control his thoughts, and then glanced at Gu Xiaosang. She had delicate features and wore a smile on her face. She made him feel shameful about his own looks.

She was indeed the reincarnation of the Ajati Matriarch! Even the Buddha of Desires dared not offend her!

In his peripheral vision stood a mature man in elegant robes. He looked old with white hair. He was elegant and wore a half smile.

The Devil of Malice… He nodded with his mind made up. The Buddha of Desires was a top exterior level master with the Mind Connection Bead. He was not to be underestimated. Gu Xiaosang was the Goddess of Big Luo一he speculated that she was the reincarnation of the Ajati Matriarch, very mysterious. Though her strength had probably just reached the grandmaster level, she too was not to be underestimated.

He also had to watch out for Tuo Ya, who was prodigious with voodoo skills. On the other hand, the Evil Desire Bodhisattva and Devil of Malice had both been stuck in the 7th Heaven level for many years, so he need not worry too much about them. The Zombie Fei Lian was the weakest of the group, so he wasn’t a concern.

“The Great Khan received the news that Sarenbowa of the Hao Yue Clan has reconstructed the Wolf-slaying League and has appeared in the Weite tribe. Our first priority is to capture the leader of the Weite tribe and interrogate him about the whereabouts of Sarenbowa. He is rumored to be a member of the Wolf-slaying League, which means he has the protective spell. We will need Master’s assistance,” said Tao Gesi. Finally, he nodded to the Buddha of Desires.

Buddha of Desires smiled like the Laughing Buddha. “Donor, since you have given me so much respect, it will be my pleasure to help.”

“Showing off his mind connection bead again…”  The vein on his head popped as he commanded. “Let’s move!”

Everyone kept their distance from the Buddha of Desires because no one liked their having thoughts known.

They flew toward the Weite Tribe.

…

Tao Gesi captured the leader of the Weite Tribe camp and handed him over to the Buddha of Desires for interrogation, The Ordained Shamaness, Tuo Ya and Devil of Malice also pitched in.

Suddenly, he saw in his peripheral vision Goddess of Big Luo, Gu Xiaosang, move a step away from the Evil Desire Bodhisattva as though she did not enjoy being close to that kind of person. Her long fingers pinched together a few times with lightning speed and then stopped.

“What is she doing?” Tao Gesi wondered vigilantly, but nothing seemed to have changed.

A few moments later the Buddha of Desires spoke. “I have the answer.”

As he said those words, the Zombie Fei Lian suddenly became violent. With hatred in his eyes, he flew toward the Evil Desire Bodhisattva. His flesh and blood bulged up as though he was about to explode!

Had the Zombie lost control?

He actually lost control?

Tao Gesi witnessed what was happening before him, but he couldn’t understand.