The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The eastern horizons glowed bright red; majestic mountains and rivers could be seen beneath their feet. Mister Luda and Immortal Chonghe positioned themselves in a horn-shaped formation, focusing their carefully-refined energies onto each other.

Suddenly, Immortal Chonghe broke the silence and asked, “The Wang family from Jiangdong has chosen to lay low again. However, they delivered a kit with some words written on it. ‘Suffering from small situations doesn’t affect a big one.’”

“It’s good if the big situation is not affected,” Mister Luda replied as he caressed the handle of his sword with his right hand. In a plain tone similar to him reminiscing about his lover, he continued, “The future is hard to predict. Lots of things will change. What we have predicted is, at most, very likely to happen.”

He did not mention anything about the present small situation. It was not an act of deceiving himself, but that he had actually prepared himself for his possible demise this upcoming battle.

Immortal Chonghe laughed benevolently, “I have some small thoughts. I left Grand-Teacher’s Three Swords in the sect. I only brought my own family’s troops.”

The heavenly troops from Chunyang’s Zongzhen Sect was known as the Upper-Holed Blade, and was split into three. The factions were known as Greed, Lust, and Troubles, hence the name Three Swords.

“Without the suppression of the Heavenly Troops, relying on the elders’ treasures is not really appropriate. Without any worries, there is a freedom to further more cultivation.”

Mister Luda did not mind. In his opinion, partitioning the sect and subjecting it to a potentially fatal assault was more important compared to one army of Heavenly Troops. Concentration and devotion was the route to victory.

“I do realise this,” Immortal Chonghe laughed, giving off an aura of a real immortal.

Mister Luda’s right hand suddenly tightened his grip on his sword as he remarked calmly, “They’re here.”

From afar, purplish-green streaks of lightning, which appeared like pythons, flashed across the sky.

Chink! The Single-Hearted Sword, which had evolved from an ordinary sword to a well-known one, was released from its sheath, illuminating the region.

…

The sects and nobles who had been warned congregated in Changle City, for fear of being vaporised by the powers of the plains and the unorthodox pitting themselves against each other.

In a short time, Changle City was crowded. Pandemonium took over as people scrambled to purchase the already scarce rations.

In an unnamed alley, a brawl broke out amongst many exponents. Walls were smashed, affecting many passers-by. The court of Beizhou, along with the aristocrats of Changle, were too busy to solve this problem. They were content to let the brawl continue on, as long as it did not escalate beyond a certain level of severity.

One passerby fell down and hurt his arm, giving them a hateful stare as he made a detour, limping towards an ordinary house.

As he passed through a few rooms, he ventured into a spacious hall. Many men and women were seated on the floor, as their heads bobbed around. Looking at their attire, they were not ordinary people; they belonged to the lower echelons of the martial arts world. An altar was erected at the front of the hall, with a white-coloured figure of a goddess sitting on a lotus flower. She looked young and beautiful, with a benevolent look on her face.

A figure of leadership standing at the side led the session with some sutras:

“Life is like a living hell. The people are continuously suffering. The catastrophes are relentless. Have mercy on us, Lifeless Mother of the World!”

As the words of the sutra drifted into his ear, the passerby’s expression turned sincere. On the inside, he was secretly happy that the number of siblings he had over this period of time had rapidly increased.

He assumed the posture of the other people and recited with concentration, “Lifeless Mother of the World . . .”

Similar scenes were panning out in the cities of Changle, Peijing, Lulong, and the Vast Plains. The only difference was that some of them were praying to the Lifeless Mother, while some of them were praying for self-improvement.

…

As he passed by Changle, Meng Qi felt heavy in his heart as he noticed the slightly chaotic situation. With the breakout of war, he was unsure how many exponents would perish; he was unsure of how many civilians would lose their family and homes.

Although Buddha Yue Moni would try to stop the over-poisoning of the living souls, it was inevitable that some tragedies would occur.

The sooner this battle ended, the better!

Thick rays of light permeated through the city skies, all the way to the Sword-Enshrining Tower. With Meng Qi’s speed, he still needed a day and a night to reach his destination.

This place was mountainous, with steep slopes everywhere. What was unique was that the highest peak here branched out from the mountainside. There was no sight of any trees or fragmented rocks; there was only a row of long swords embedded into the ground. The generations of disciples from the Sword Enshrining Tower could bury their swords here upon their deaths, if they had attained nirvana.

Meng Qi scaled the peak swiftly, only to see more and more swords forming a barrier in front of him, seemingly to prevent him from trespassing. The Sword Enshrining Tower started to prepare the formation to protect the mountain, named The Imperfect, Fallen Formation.

“I, Meng Qi, request to see Landlord Qiu,” Meng Qi thundered.

The landlord of the Sword Enshrining Tower, Qiu Wansheng, was a respected figure in the pugilistic world. He belonged to the same generation as Old Master Ruan from the Ruan family in Langya. His temper was fiery; his strokes were vicious. He also liked to conceal his shortcomings — this habit had never changed throughout his life. Hence, he was an accomplished pugilist. He occupied the sixth spot in the Terrestrial Rankings, and his nickname was Blazing Fire.

In an instant, the foggy airs emanating from the swords concentrated at one spot, forming something like a mirror, showing the numerous swords in the tower. Qiu Wansheng was dressed in black, his hair all white, showing a stark contrast between the way he dressed and looked. He held a long, narrow sword in his right hand, which sparkled brightly. It was known as the Lifeless Sword, which was one of the divine weapons in the Sword Enshrining Tower. The meaning of the word “lifeless” in this context was different from that of “The Lifeless Mother;” it meant that no one survived under the blade of the sword.

Qiu Wansheng looked strong, with a well-defined jawline. The cheeks of his face glowed slightly red; his personality was evident at all times. Four gurus stood behind him. “Thunderbolt Sorcerer” Ma You, “Heaven-Piercing Sword” Nangong Hen, “Invisible Peach Blossom” Li Sinong, and “Solitary Pigeon” Yu Wujiu.

Although Yu Wujiu and Li Sinong were more junior, they were still respected figures in the Terrestrial Rankings. They were, in fact, ranked higher than the other two elders. Li Sinong was ranked 90th with a skill level equivalent to the Eighth Heaven, on par with Shuiyue Nunnery’s “Thousand Hand Buddha”, Ming Fa. Yu Wujiu was merciless in his strokes, as he chased the extreme. His skill level was equivalent to the Seventh Heaven; he was ranked 139th in the Terrestrial Rankings. With the demise of Elder Ku and the Buddha of Six Desires, their rankings were due to rise.

It was a critical moment, hence the Sword Enshrining Tower recalled all its gurus.

“Swordsman Su, what’s your purpose for visiting?”

The Sword Enshrining Tower was not acquainted with Meng Qi, but knew that he was somewhat related to Immortal Chonghe. Hence, Qiu Wansheng’s attitude towards him was cordial.

Meng Qi waved his hand and replied, “Owner Qiu, I entered the plains because I obtained some important news that is related to the Sword Enshrining Tower.”

Qiu Wansheng had a fiery temper. In a straightforward manner, he barked, “Swordsman Su, please speak frankly. The Annihilation Sect has the magic of disguise — they are the best at impersonation. At this moment, I do not dare to open the sword formation and let you in.”

Although Qiu Wansheng was impulsive and brash, he had an element of cautiousness to him as well. After all, he had lived till today, and he had been the owner of this tower for a long time.

Meng Qi, understanding the reasons behind Qiu Wansheng’s cautiousness, replied loudly, “The Annihilation Sect has courted one exponent from the Sword Enshrining Tower, and made him the Faceless Heavenly Demon. Twenty-three years ago, he was behind the massacre of the Junyang family in the Vast Plains. Thereafter, the identity of the Faceless Heavenly Demon was maintained by other magicians and demons.”

His tone sounded convincing, as if the Faceless Heavenly Demon was part of the Sword Enshrining Tower, which was some way off Gu Xiaosang’s deductions. After all, it was better to believe in something than nothing at all — it was better for the Sword Enshrining Tower to maintain a higher level of vigilance!

“Nonsense!” Ma You boomed. Qiu Wansheng and him shared a common teacher; naturally, they shared the same fiery temper as well.

“The Faceless Heavenly Demon is so valued by the Annihilation Sect. He should be a guru after all. Those who manage to achieve the rank of guru in a sect should be loyal to the sect! Elder Nangong is our elder after all. Although he might be eccentric, he has always been fair. He has never intervened in the sect’s affairs. How could he be the Faceless Heavenly Demon? Nephew Li and Nephew Yu have been raised by him as well. They are upright people. How could they be evil?”

Nangong Hen retorted with suspicion, “Don’t tell me that you are an impostor from the Annihilation Sect, coming here to deliberately sow discord and weaken us internally? You want to weaken our formation?”

Without proper concentration, the Lifeless Sword would never be a divine weapon.

Nangong Hen did not have this name initially. Instead, it was due to his inability to let go of past resentments that he changed his last name to “Hen,” which translated to “hate.” With the demons that resided in his heart, he turned eccentric after he attained the rank of guru.

Li Sinong pouted and spoke silently, “Although you are related to Immortal Chonghe, Su Meng’s involvement with the demoness from Luo Sect has been spreading amongst the unorthodox sects. The story is ambiguous. It’s better to be wary of his words.”

By saying that, he had essentially accused Meng Qi of defecting towards the demonic faction.

Li Sinong’s swordsmanship was exquisite. In killing her enemies with her sword, she had only used a single stroke. Hence, she earned the nickname: Invisible Peach Blossom. Although she had an angelic appearance, she turned into a demon when it came to killing other people.

Yu Wujiu nodded lightly, not saying a single word. However, his mannerisms showed his agreement with the others.

Their sense of familiarity with each other far trumped Meng Qi’s. Evidently, they were more willing to believe those that they felt they were closer to, instead of believing some unfounded rumour.

Qiu Wansheng’s eyebrows twitched as he remarked in a deep voice, “Swordsman Su, thank you for the goodwill. However, the Sword Enshrining Tower lives in harmony. The elders are upright, while those who are of the same generation show love towards each other. There will not be such instances of betrayal!”

If not for Immortal Chonghe, Qiu Wansheng would have accused Su Meng of deliberately sowing discord and ruining the reputation of the Sword Enshrining Tower.

Seeing that his good intentions were being trampled on, Meng Qi felt a surge of fire rise within him. However, he suppressed it swiftly and reminded the crowd yet again, “Owner Qiu, it’s better to believe in something than nothing at all. It’s better to be more vigilant!”

“No need to speak further!” Qiu Wansheng gave a short, firm and stubborn reply.

Meng Qi’s veins were bulging out from his head at this point. Would being more vigilant hurt?

…

“Life is like a living hell. The people are continuously suffering. The catastrophes are relentless. Have mercy on us, Lifeless Mother of the World!”

The sounds of chanting reverberated across the plains. Small, white spots of energy congregated on a particular spot; Gu Xiaosang sat cross-legged atop a white lotus platform, her hands clasped together as she maintained a serious-looking expression.

She seemed to be holding some glass pearls, as the spots of energy slowly diffused into them, forming a statue of a goddess. It looked as beautiful as Gu Xiaosang, but gave off a more sacred and ethereal aura.

As the goddess took shape and increased in size, Gu Xiaosang was slowly engulfed by it. Eventually, it grew to a height of 20 feet.

As the atmosphere expanded and became one with the void, the surroundings started to become blurry and indistinguishable.

The statue suddenly stood up; the white lotus platform flew into its eyebrow, causing it to come to life. Gu Xiaosang’s breath was slowly revealed.

The statue took a stride forward, going in the southern direction. Accompanying him was the Annihilation Sect’s Demon of Six Annihilations; it was eighteen feet tall, dressed in black armor. It had six arms and stood tall and stern over the land. It felt somewhat like dharmakaya.

The statues of the Lifeless Mother and the Demon of Six Annihilations, blessed by dharmakaya, made their way southwards to disrupt the various sects, in order to garner attention. This was also to prevent any reinforcements from being sent southwards.

Along the main assault path, the leader of the Golden Tent Warriors, Hasula, waved his hand and ordered, “To Peijing! The Cao family will lead our urgent assault on the Sword Enshrining Tower!”

The entourage consisted of the Golden Tent Warriors, Longevity Sect’s Saman, Temple of Joy, the Plain Girl Sect, certain demons from the unorthodox sects, and the Life and Death Sect, who had just opened up the Nether Spirits Formation!