The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

As an epoch-making masterpiece, the game had a lot of active online forums. Using NangongChong as his username, Nangong Chong posted a new thread on a forum and refreshed the webpage after ten seconds. He saw three replies.

User Laughing_at_the_sky_with_a_blade_in_my_hand replied, “The first floor is mine!”

User Love_NieXiaoqian_the_Most replied in second place, “The thread-starter just wants to get more replies, over.”

User Cute_NingCaichen replied third, “The thread-starter fights so hard to get experience points. I’ve been in this dungeon for more than ten times and passed it with various ways. Where on earth is the hidden boss?”

NangongChong immediately replied, “Really, I didn’t lie. He is so strong that he can compete with the Foolish Monk without being in a disadvantageous position. He seems to be the Master of the Sect of the Ether. Has anyone encountered him? I’m waiting for some guides and advice. I’ve been trapped in this dungeon for a long time!”

“Are you kidding? I’ve even gone inside the altar of the Sect of the Ether. Their master is the former Envoy of the Left, who hasn’t even entered the seventh level of Heaven in the Exterior Realm. I can defeat him effortlessly. Where is the hidden boss that you mentioned?” a user named Fahai scoffed at Nangong Chong.

Love_NieXiaoqian_the_Most supported, “Absolutely. Do you know how scarce and powerful a Great Guru is? When I met the Foolish Monk in the Lanruo Temple, I thought that a Great Guru was nothing more than that. But when I fought against the Female Monarch and the Taoist Master, I realized that the Foolish Monk was just being merciful to me. His main duty is to expiate the sins of the dead instead of defeating others in battle. How could an unimportant person like the Master of the Sect of the Ether be at the same level with him? Amitabha, you are either fooling us into replying to your thread to level up quickly in the forum, or you’re having a hysterical episode. It’s time for you to see a psychiatrist.”

Feeling a constant twitching in his forehead, Nangong Chong resisted the impulse of cursing, so as to avoid being banned to post by the administrator. “What I said was true! He is a mature and sophisticated man in a dark-green robe, but he has a young appearance. According to the Foolish Monk, he has moved up the Divine Conjuration of the Ether to an unprecedented realm called the rise of yellow sky.”

Fahai said, “Hahaha, don’t you know that the last realm of the Divine Conjuration of the Ether was imagined by the founder of the sect? How could anyone achieve it? Even if you want to fool us into posting more replies, please, at least be more professional.”

Before Nangong Chong replied to anything, a user called Gods_and_demons_dancing_like_mad joined the discussion. He was a forum user with many medals of honor. “In fact, it’s not impossible. From a hidden mission, I found that the former Master of the Sect of the Ether had challenged the Witch of the Black Mountain before, but he was defeated. Since then, he has gone missing. Perhaps he is the hidden boss!”

A fellow named The_slayer_of_demons appeared, “How is that possible? Someone on the Internet has already discovered this plot. He found that the former master had already passed away in a sitting posture in a closed room!”

Gods_and_demons_dancing_like_mad seemed to have held hatred towards the The_slayer_of_demons. He sneered at him at once, “Don’t you know that this game has added a component called the butterfly effect? A minor change in a system can have large effects elsewhere. Couldn’t it be that the thread starter has done something that changed the fate of the former Master of the Sect of the Ether from dying to breaking through the realm? There are a ton of recommended posts in the forum that discuss these kinds of things. Looking at your reply, I suppose you are a primary school student coming from the other forum!”

The_slayer_of_demons immediately replied, “What’s wrong with primary school students? A lot of students can play games better than you, loser.”

Gods_and_demons_dancing_like_mad challenged, “I dare you to say it again! If you’re really that good, come and challenge me in the game. Believe it or not, I’ll hack you to death!”

The Witch of the Black Mountain was an epoch-making game that could be played on a single-player mode and multiplayer mode on the Internet.

The_slayer_of_demons replied, “Are you brave enough to fight me? I’m at the eighth level of Heaven in the Exterior Realm, and practicing the Pith of the Dragon and the Tiger.”

“Only a dog will be a coward!” Gods_and_demons_dancing_like_mad was not backing off.

The two of them quarreled for hundreds of replies in the thread. Nangong Chong was staring at the thread blankly and trying to stop the argument in a weak tone, “Hey, don’t quarrel. We can have a friendly discussion regarding the hidden boss.”

“Dog, don’t be a coward!” The_slayer_of_demons completely ignored Nangong Chong.

Gods_and_demons_dancing_like_mad fought back, “The one who is a coward will be a dog!”

“Haha, it’s fun to see the thread starter being upstaged by the two fellows on the ninth floor,” one floor below Nangong Chong, a person named Yingning_is_my_wife replied.

Cute_NingCaichen posted a sweating emoji and wrote, “These two people have nothing better to do.”

Within a short while, many onlookers gathered here, and someone had finally got back to the thread starter’s question. A person named Braving_the_wind_and_dew said, “Pictures or it didn’t happen. No. Videos or it didn’t happen. Did you record what you’ve seen?”

Finally being noticed, Nangong Chong almost felt like bursting into tears. “For some reason, I couldn’t record any videos ever since the hidden boss came out.”

“What? Although I’m not very educated, you don’t cheat me… Where did you save your archive point? Maybe you can go around him so as to avoid getting in contact with him?” advised Braving_the_wind_and_dew. Even though he was still suspecting that the thread starter might have cheated them in order to get more replies, he felt that his attitude was fairly good.

Nangong Chong answered sadly and indignantly, “Blame my hands. I’ve saved my archive point at the LanHe Temple, right next to him. I shouldn’t need to start all over again, right? I’ve put in so much effort in this game since the beginning.”

“Sweat. What kind of epoch-making masterpiece is this? For the sense of reality, we’re only allowed one archive point. Last time when I was stuck in a dead end, all I could do was start all over again,” Braving_the_wind_and_dew showed empathy. “However, the hidden boss you mentioned has never been encountered by anyone before. What have you done?”

Nangong Chong felt that he had been wronged. He said, “I’ve been following the guides of the top players. Just like everyone else, I accepted the Village of the Huang Family’s entrustment and did not do anything out of bounds. Oh yeah, by the way, the version I’m playing is the trial version of the Ten Years’ Collection, so perhaps they’ve added a hidden boss in it. My uncle works in the core group of the Canopy Game Company, so he has asked me to try out the trial version and give some opinions.”

“So it turns out that you have an uncle working in the Canopy Game Company…” replied Braving_the_wind_and_dew.

Love_NieXiaoqian_the_most said, “Give me a break! Now that I understand you’re not here to cheat us of more replies. You’re here to show off!”

“Does the thread starter have a girlfriend, or a boyfriend?” replied Yin-Yang_Idleman.

“Thread starter, please share your experience of playing the trial version of the Ten Years’ Collection!” Yingning_is_my_wife sent a picture of a person prostrating himself on the ground.

After a series of replies that were off topic, Braving_the_wind_and_dew said, “Is the hidden boss an enemy of yours?”

“Not really,” replied Nangong Chong after pondering for a moment. He had decided to ignore those people who were spamming replies in order to get experience points.

“I don’t think that’s a problem then,” Braving_the_wind_and_dew sent a sighing emoji. “Just be respectful to him and don’t show any bad intentions. With the help of the boss, you don’t even need to do anything to pass the Lanruo Temple dungeon. Even if he is hiding his malice, he won’t kill you until the critical moment. By then, the Foolish Monk would have arrived. As a merciful person like the monk, he will surely protect you.”

“Don’t think about the gains yet. After you pass the dungeon, try your best to level up, then only you think about taking back what’s yours.”

Nangong took a glance at the advice and slapped his thigh. “What he said was right. I was being too greedy before this. Without him, I’ll be trapped in a dead end.”

“Thank you, my friend. I’m going to try out what you’ve said. If it really works, I’ll treat you to a meal!” Nangong Chong walked quickly back to the metal cabin.

…

In the hall of the Lanruo Temple, many thoughts were running through Nangong Chong’s mind and he slowly put on a big smile. Seeing that Meng Qi was still sitting there with his eyes half-closed, he dared not interrupt him. He stayed where he was and chatted with Du QingQing.

Meng Qi was recalling the inexplicable connection that he felt moments ago. After the occurrence of the connection, the aura and Primordial Spirit of Nangong Chong had appeared first, then only followed by the emergence of his body. If he could retrospect to that specific moment again by using the power of the Seal of the Dao and Karma Transfer, he might be able to discover the secret of turning back time.

He made up his mind and decided to look on coldly as a bystander. The things that happened afterwards were the same as the first time: the Envoy of the Left, Sun Junlin proposed to kill the evil spirit directly; when the cold wind blew, Yan Chixia could not sense Ning Caichen anymore; Ning Caichen had met the crying Nie Xiaoqian and knew that the ashes of the dead were hidden under a poplar tree that had a crow’s nest. Then, he pulled her back to the hall. Although Ning Caichen was a weak scholar, Nie Xiaoqian was moved by his noble spirit that was in line with the proverb, “Despite facing tens of millions of people, I will fight for justice bravely.” Thus, she decided to tell him her background, her self-hatred because of harming people, and the horrible witch that was manipulating her. She also mentioned that the Witch of the Black Mountain was planning for something big.

The only difference this time was that Nangong Chong was not seduced by the beauty. Thus, he had time to activate his secret treasure, display his martial arts and kill many evil spirits along with Du QingQing. Things continued to unfold. At the critical moment of being chased after by the evil spirits and Yaksha, Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian finally met Yan Chixia and were rescued by him. Then, Yan Chixia brought them back to the hall.

It seemed that the evil spirits and Yaksha in the Lanruo Temple were not completely cleared away. The cold wind whistled around the hall, and the whole area was full of faint traces of shadows. The shadows had made the walls, doors, and windows, congeal with a layer of dark-colored ice which was swaying and shaking.

Among the evil spirits, many of them were quite powerful that their combat capabilities were just slightly lower than Yan Chixia. As the spirits were attacking as a group, Yan Chixia had no choice but to activate the forbidden enchantment ahead of time.

On the other hand, Meng Qi was still leaning against a pillar with his eyes half-closed. He seemed to have understood the inexplicable connection better. There were many conjectures that needed to be verified.

The hour of Yin was approaching. Just then, several tentacle-like branches appeared outside the window.

In the dark night, a lot of terrifying demons had appeared, which put Yan Chixia and the others in danger.

Nangong Chong, however, heaved a sigh of relief. Even though the arrival time of the Foolish Monk was uncertain, one thing was for sure – he would never come later than the hour of Yin. In other words, he was going to arrive soon and save Nangong Chong from danger.

Suddenly, Nangong Chong saw the mature green-robed man stand up slowly. A thought came to his mind, Is this guy who’s going to kill the witch? But we haven’t found the crack of the Nine Nether yet!

Just when Nangong Chong wanted to remind Meng Qi about that, his vision was blurred for a second. At the next moment, he saw Meng Qi standing in front of him with his right hand raised high. He had gathered darkness – that seemed to have contained a broken world – in front of his palm.

The five fingers of Meng Qi that were fair, slender, and powerful, were hitting downward.

Crack!

Nangong Chong’s head was broken. While the blood and brain fluid spurted out, he had a strong feeling of resentment when he thought,

“He must be crazy!”

Meng Qi squinted his eyes and grabbed the chance!

Although his body was still standing, the Primordial Spirit of Meng Qi had left his body. He activated the Seal of the Dao and used the mental cultivation method of Karma Transfer!

Since the Primordial Spirit and body of Nangong Chong could re-appear with the help of the inexplicable connection, Meng Qi wanted to try it in a reverse way!

When the metal cabin was opened, Nangong Chong flung down his helmet and rushed to the computer in anger. He posted a thread again.

“Fuck! The boss had something against me!”

Right after he posted the thread, his vision became dark. The computer turned off automatically, and the lights in the room went out.

“Fuck! A blackout?” Nangong Chong was almost raging. But when he looked out the window, he saw a city with bright lights. A frown creased his forehead. “Only my circuit breaker is tripping?”

He was about to stand up and check the circuit breaker when he suddenly heard a sound of electricity. Looking back at the metal cabin by instinct, he saw many silver-white electric currents leaping out of the helmet and the silver-grey cables. Then, they converged into a small electric ball.

Zi! Zi! Zi! The electric currents got brighter and brighter, and the electric ball became bigger and bigger. It illuminated the room, as though there was a silver snake dancing.

The buildings outside the window were blacked out and the whole city area became dark. It was a regional power outage!

The electric ball was like a condensed thunderstorm. It stretched and lengthened until it gradually formed a figure of a naked man. With thunder marks on the body surface, the man had beautiful facial features and an elegant and mature temperament. He was the hidden boss.

Nangong Chong opened his mouth bit by bit, and eventually it became an O-shape.

What on earth did I just see? There was a blank look on the face of Nangong Chong. Looking at the flickering silver snakes in front of him, he did not even know where he was.

As Meng Qi looked around, a layer of electric current had wrapped around his body and turned into a green robe. Then, he noticed a large box with the words An Epoch-Making Masterpiece: The Witch of The Black Mountain.

A dark shadow that had a pair of fierce red eyes could be seen on the cover of the box. There was a contemptuous and apathetic look hidden in the eyes.

Meng Qi’s body, which was temporarily formed by the electric current, could not carry the Primordial Spirit for too long. When he let out senses to his Noumenon, he felt that the passage of time was so slow to the point of almost stopping.

He looked back at Nangong Chong, smiled a little and murmured to himself,

“It’s kind of interesting…”