The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

When Meng Qi regained his consciousness, he was in a room with dim light. The room was six or seven feet from east to west, and five or six feet from north to south. A couch was placed beside the wall. A dead man, who left behind a strong and forceful aura, was sitting on the couch. Obviously, he was at least a guru when he was alive.

The hair of the dead man was tied in a loose bun, and his silver hairs were more than his black hairs. There were some deep wrinkles between the eyebrows and at the corner of eyes. However, unlike the dead, his skin was still glossy. He had a mature-looking face with clear-cut features. When he was young, he must have been an exceptionally good-looking man.

At the first sight of the dead man, Meng Qi was a little stunned because he and the man looked somewhat alike. It was as though the man was a middle-aged version of himself.

However, after taking a careful look, Meng Qi found that the similarity between their appearances was only twenty to thirty percent, which was very common.

Meng Qi, who realized that he did not encounter any strange incidents, breathed a sigh of relief and began to look around the room. Apart from the coach, there was only a rush cushion. The walls, containing a powerful forbidden enchantment, were made of iron-like green bricks which were sparkling with light. The only exit to the outside world was the thick and heavy stone gate facing the couch.

“This place ought to be a closed room for the man to heal his injuries.” Meng Qi nodded his head slightly. The problem was that he did not know the identity of the corpse and the exact situation.

Slowly, he walked toward the corpse, which brought along a very light breeze. As soon as the breeze blew, a lot of dust soared up from the corpse’s body. The originally well-preserved body seemed to have lost all its power as it turned greyish-white inch by inch and instantly disintegrated into powder. Even the bones, that were as strong as a Low-Grade Precious Weapon, were no exception.

In the blink of an eye, the sitting corpse had no trace left in the world.

“The man had passed away in a sitting posture due to heavy injuries. Since there was a deprivation of vitality after he was injured, his body had become extremely fragile.” Meng Qi concluded, “He was dead five years ago.”

As the corpse was destroyed, there was nothing else special in the room. Looking at the stone gate, Meng Qi decided to explore the forbidden enchantment. He spread his spirit outward to have a peek at the outside world.

…

Two men and three women were standing outside a greyish-white stone gate. All of them had a strong aura.

There was a cliff nearby the people. The rosy clouds were slowly flowing around the cliff, which made this place look like a fairyland. At a glance, one could not even see the bottom of the cliff as it was so deep. The greyish-white stone gate was at the other side of the cliff. A lot of vines were growing around the gate which created a quiet and serene atmosphere.

The foremost person in the group was a middle-aged man who dressed in a golden robe made of brocade. His robe was reflecting sunlight, which made him look like a sun.

With a glint in his eyes, his mood went slightly out of control which caused the rocks under his feet to melt. That was a result of a leak of his power.

“The Envoy of the Left, why is the Master not coming out from the Isolated Practice yet? He said that he would only take ten years at most, right? We’ve been waiting for three days already,” asked a youthful lady in a purple dress.

Although she had a youthful appearance, her real age must be older than that because of the sophisticated look in her eyes.

The middle-aged man in a golden robe turned around with his hands behind his back. While suppressing his emotions, he pretended to be calm as he said, “The Purple-Moon Idleman, stay calm. As we all know, it’s hard for one to tell the specific time and date of completing the Isolated Practice. Moreover, the Master was defeated by the Witch of the Black Mountain. Not only he had to heal his injuries, but also he had to move up the Divine Conjuration of Ether to the highest realm with his great wisdom. In this way, he would be as powerful as the Three Great Gurus and the Witch of the Black Mountain. He might even attain enlightenment and be the first one who flies up to heaven after the Mythological Era.”

He had described an ideal prospect in order to comfort the Envoy of the Right and the Three Great Idlemen.

An elegant and mature woman with a graceful body figure looked at the greyish-white stone gate and smiled bitterly. “Even the patriarch of our sect who created the Divine Conjuration of Ether didn’t manage to move it up to the highest realm. He could merely describe the realm by deduction and imagination. Thus, the patriarchs of all generations have regarded the highest realm as nonsense because it can never be attained. I wonder if our Master, the most outstanding disciple ever of our sect, can succeed in doing so and surpass all the patriarchs.”

The woman was the Envoy of the Right of the Sect of the Ether. Although there were some doubts in her tone, she was actually looking forward for her Master’s success.

The Purple-Moon Idleman sighed, “The Taoist Master, Foolish Monk, and Female Monarch, have been called the Three Great Gurus for many years. Their powers are far beyond an ordinary Great Guru and close to the Gods and Demons. For so long, only the Witch of Black Mountain – the supreme being of the Heresy – can make it to their realms. The Master is still one step behind. If he can’t rise the Divine Conjuration of the Ether to the highest realm, it’s true that he can’t compete with them.”

Five of them gradually became quiet. As time passed by, the greyish-white stone gate still remained closed. Surrounded by rosy clouds, the bleak and desolate atmosphere around the gate seemed to be everlasting.

“The Master wouldn’t have passed away in a sitting posture, right?” The Purple-Moon Idleman could not help guessing.

She made this guess because it was common for the people to lose their lives during Isolated Practice due to demon possession or other crises.

The other two idlemen, too, had a worried look on their faces.

The Envoy of the Left was also feeling anxious and could hardly calm himself down. “Let’s wait for one more day. If the Master hasn’t come out by then, we will activate the forbidden enchantment using the token and get in contact with him…”

Before he could finish speaking, the world suddenly became dim. The bright sun and rosy clouds disappeared all at once. As the surrounding turned hazy and chaotic, they could not even distinguish between near and far, and top and bottom. Even the passage of time seemed to be affected!

The five people were startled when they heard a heavy noise of a door opening.

The stone gate was opening slowly!

“Is the Master coming out?” The Envoy of the Left and Right, and the Three Great Idlemen were surprised and shocked at the same time. They were surprised by the fact that the stone gate was finally opened, which meant that the Master was done with his Isolated Practice. However, they were shocked because being in the chaos, they found it difficult to be interconnected with the Heaven and the Earth. It seemed that there was no Law that corresponded to their Exterior View anymore!

What a terrific realm!

Once the stone gate opened completely, a tall and strong man appeared in front of them. His elegant green robe was swinging in the wind. Although he was surrounded by a familiar aura, his appearance looked rather unfamiliar.

“Master?” The Envoy of the Left was the first one to respond. He asked in surprise, “Have you returned to your youth?”

After observing carefully, the Envoy of the Left found that the appearance of his Master was somewhat similar to that of the past, but all his hair had turned black and the wrinkles had disappeared. Even though his Master had a young and handsome face, he gave people a mature and sophisticated feeling. This contradiction had made him exotically charming.

Did the Master really set foot into a realm that no predecessors had attained before, therefore making him younger?

However, even though his body was not aging and decaying, it did not mean that he was not getting old!

The Envoy of the Left and the other four people were all making a same guess: such mysterious ability could only be acquired after entering the highest realm of the Divine Conjuration of Ether!

The terrific and mysterious realm demonstrated by the Master had indirectly proved their guesses right!

Meng Qi was the one who pretended to be the Master of the Sect of the Ether. After eavesdropping their conversations for a long time, he had an idea. With his hands behind his back, he slowly moved forward and said in a calm and unhurried tone, “Where is the Witch of the Black Mountain now?”

It seemed that the Master had really broke through the realm because the first thing he asked was the whereabouts of the Witch of the Black Mountain! Looking at the elegant back view of the Master, the Envoy of the Left quickly replied, “Three years ago, the Taoist Master had collaborated with the Foolish Monk to kill the Witch of the Black Mountain, but he managed to escape. Since then, his whereabouts have become a mystery.”

“But I’ve received a secret information that the demon hidden in the Lanruo Temple has something to do with the Witch of the Black Mountain. Perhaps we can work from there.”

Meng Qi nodded and said, “Lead the way.”

“Yes, Master.” The Envoy of the Left stepped forward quickly and flew out of the cliff.

Just then, looking at the youthful face of the Master, the Purple-Moon Idleman blurted out, “Master, have you moved up the Divine Conjuration of Ether to the highest realm? What’s it all about?”

Meng Qi patted his robe, took a step forward and stood on the rosy clouds. He said without any intonation,

“The ether is dead, but the sunset sky will take over it.”

“The ether is dead, but the sunset sky will take over it…” Filled with a sense of astonishment, the Purple-Moon Idleman and the others were murmuring the words to themselves.

…

At a city near to the Lanruo Temple, the city gate was shut tightly and the streets were empty. The paper money that flew around gave people a chill to the bone.

Although the Envoy of the Left knew that his Master had reached an unprecedented realm, he was still cautious in taking every action. Thus, he decided to arrive at this city first to get a basic understanding of the situation of the Lanruo Temple.

A lot of people from Jianghu were gathering at a restaurant. Some of them were wearing white turbans as a sign of mourning, some were panicking and looking around nervously, some were holding blades or swords and eager to get into a fight.

Meng Qi, dressed in a green robe, was sitting by a window with the Envoy of the Left while listening to the chatter of the people around them.

“Ah, the Taoist Master from the South and the Female Monarch from the North never stop fighting against each other. Now that so many places in the world are destroyed, all sorts of demons and ghosts are coming into view one after another!”

“Yeah, we better not go out of the city! I heard that even the Lanruo Temple is haunted…”

In the voices of chatter, a handsome swordsman, who carried a sword on his back, stepped in the restaurant. The bright, energetic man was wearing elegant white clothes and gazing around as proud as a peacock.

Behind him was a pretty lady who looked at him with admiration.

The handsome and spirited swordsman went straight to Meng Qi and the Envoy of the Left. He raised his chin slightly and said arrogantly, “You are from the Sect of the Ether, right? I’ve accepted an entrustment by the Village of the Huang Family to seek revenge on you for robbing their secret scriptures seven years ago.”

The Envoy of the Left was quite shocked. He couldn’t help looking at Meng Qi, his Master… There was no way for the outsiders to know that the Master had actually completed the Isolated Practice. On top of that, they were only stopping by this city incidentally. How could this fellow know that they were from the Sect of the Ether?

Given the fact that the Envoy of the Left did not say anything, the young swordsman assumed that he had admitted their identities. He laughed aloud and said,

“It’s time for you to die!”

A small blood-red pennant suddenly appeared in his left hand. As it came into sight, the Envoy of the Left had immediately felt a sense of danger. With a gentle wave, a lot of blood was surging out of the pennant.

This treasure was strong enough to threaten a guru! The young swordsman felt ecstatically happy to see his surprise attack turned out to be successful.

Just then, at a speed faster than human sight, the mature-looking man in green robe raised his right hand. His fingers were slender, powerful and as fair as a jade. With a single flick of his finger, the blood was surging backward. His fingertips were not even corroded!

How could it be possible? The young swordsman was instantly wrapped in blood waves and turned into a pool of blood.

Meng Qi was just about to ask the stunned lady for some information when he suddenly felt an abnormality in the world. At the moment, he could not feel anything except for the senses around his body!

However, at the next second, the senses of Meng Qi were recovered. The pool of blood on the ground had disappeared, so did the pretty girl.

Suddenly, the voices of chatter came to his ears.

“Ah, the Taoist Master from the South and the Female Monarch from the North never stop fighting against each other. Now that so many places in the world are destroyed, all sorts of demons and ghosts are coming into view one after another!”

“Yeah, we better don’t go out of the city! I heard that even the Lanruo Temple is haunted…”

Aren’t these the conversations I heard moments ago? Meng Qi was shocked.

Just then, a handsome swordsman, who carried a sword on his back, stepped in the restaurant. The bright, energetic man was wearing elegant white clothes and gazing around as proud as a peacock.

Behind him was a pretty lady who looked at him with admiration.

The same fellow again? He’s not dead? It’s exactly the same scene as before! Meng Qi was in complete shock as he thought. As the scene had stirred his emotions, a slight aura was leaking out, causing his chopsticks to drop to the ground.

With a flash of shadow, the energetic swordsman was squatting in front of Meng Qi. He picked up the chopsticks and smiled in a flattering manner.

“Sir, here you go, your chopsticks.”

What’s happening… Meng Qi had a feeling of being in a dream.