The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The sun hung high above the sky and Wild Goose Lake reflected sunshine like a golden fish scale. Meng Qi stood by the lake and watched the wagon going away. Gao Lan’s figure disappeared finally. Meng Qi sighed.

Today’s Mad Emperor is the real emperor. He was a bit mad but still the emperor. He became much more mature than before.

After a long while, he murmured to himself, “I was going to give you the Kai Tian Seal and the Four Elephants Seal as rewards for your help… but since you want to be a good sport and leave right away, I’ll give them to you later. After all you have the Emperor Golden Book…”

Meng Qi smiled and shook his head. He then walked back to the forest and sat down inside the tree hole. He pressed light golden lights on his forehead and opened his ancestral acupuncture points and thrusted lights into his spirit.

Bang. Many pictures flashed in front of Meng Qi’s eyes. He saw the emperor standing in an illusory river carrying a sword and then turned around.

River branches joined together and different figures existing in the past and future jumped out. Some looked similar to the emperor.

Sword lights came out and streaks of star lights appeared in the void in colors of black or white.

The emperor was wrapped in sword lights. Heaven and earth changed into books written in ancient times, supporting his body rising up slowly. The emperor left the river together with karma and many different figures from it. He pulled them into his body and stepped into the limitless chaos, reaching the level of only me in the world.

Lights went out. Meng Qi carefully reflected on what he saw just now.

It was only Gao Lan’s understanding of Emperor Golden Book. It was not complete and not the original copy of it. Many key parts were missing. Meng Qi could not practice any arts out of it. But it was enough for him to use it as a reference for his own creation of letting go of the past.

Review the past and look into the future. This is the martial art that the emperor relied on entering the Nirvana Realm… Meng Qi suddenly understood. This might be the last or the second to the last page of the Emperor Golden Book.

He then soon had another question. Yuan Shi, Ling Bao, Dao De, Amitabha, and Bodhi were able to live through one and even several centuries. How come the emperor only lived for tens of thousands of years from the end of the Ancient Times to the beginning of the Medieval Times?

Was it because he fought with Demonic Sage and both were defeated and died?

It was none of his concern now. Meng Qi put The Mirror of Present Life in front of him, which changed to a smaller size after finding its master, as big as a palm. It was mellow and flawless, just like the lake on a sunny day. Golden lights inside flowed around like memories of this life and the next.

Suddenly, Meng Qi’s eyes changed color with his right eye turning white and his left eye black. Ancestral acupuncture points between his eyebrows opened and a colorless Dao Yi Glaze Lamp appeared and shone brightly, like countless complicated karma.

Black and white lights touched upon the mirror. Golden lights came out and filled up the sky. Many scenes of this life appeared in front of his eyes.

Meng Qi’s figure when stepping into World of Gods, defeating the Life-and-Death Fugacity Sect, killing the head of the Tower of Malevolence, seizing the Seven-Kill Tablet, exploring the Nine Levels of Heaven together with Gu Xiaosang… talking with Gao Lan, watching Jiang Zhi Wei Seeing True Self through the Dao and disappear at the end of mountain path, watching his master pleading, fighting with the enemy together with Gu Changqing and his junior, his childhood at the Shaolin Temple…

And then he saw pictures of his life on earth, working hard in an office, going to school far away from his hometown, sitting in his college entrance examination, his carefree childhood, learning to speak and being a little infant inside his mother’s belly.

Suddenly golden lights fell over into the mirror and everything returned normal.

My experience on earth is counted as this life, too? Meng Qi thought. He saw no kind of Su Ziyue’s childhood life but his own experience on earth. Does this mean this life is not related with the body but with the Primordial Spirit and soul?

Then he would have to make some adjustments since he was mistaken about this life before. From now on he should be careful when creating new martial arts and not to kill the wrong one.

Then Meng Qi took out his own Afterlife Mirror fractions. It was so mysterious, full of cracks and looked like glaze.

Dao Yi Glaze Lamp lights reflected on the fraction of the Afterlife Mirror. Different figures appeared on different parts of the mirror. Since it’s just fractions, it didn’t represent the next life but an uncertain future.

Among those figures were the Green Lamp monk that Meng Qi was familiar with, the scary man who shouted, “Come here blade,” the sad crying man who asked questions to the sky, the swordsman in white, the crazy Taoist, etc.

Then these figures all turned around. And their faces were same, Meng Qi’s face.

Suddenly the monk put on a smile.

And all the others put on the same strange smile as well!

They are the same person. They have a different future but are the same person! Meng Qi felt surprised. No matter what the future is, there’s going to be only one ending? Being merged and welcome one’s return?

There is possibility in everything. Meng Qi closed his eyes and calmed down. He started to think about solutions to cut the connection with the past by using The Mirror of Present Life, the Afterlife Mirror, the Dao Yi Seal, etc.

He tried to find a way out by reviewing the past.

Ten months, would I be able to create something during these ten months? Hopefully there will be good news coming soon about purchasing the Talisman of the Samsara in Fairy World.

…

A black awning boat was sailing in the river on a rainy night. Meng Qi sat straight in the cabin pondering.

After he arrived in the Xi Jian Pavilion, a new idea occurred to his mind. So he rented a boat rather than walking.

Before dawn, Meng Qi sighed heavily. He failed. It would not be that simple to create the Arts of Tyrant’s Six Decapitations. If not with the help of the Dao Yi Seal, he might not be able to create it in his entire life.

Meng Qi left the boat and headed towards the Xi Jian Pavilion without hiding his aura. He arrived at the front gate soon. Jiang Zhi Wei was already waiting there.

She wore light yellow clothes, warm and bright. She stood on the mountain pass, even prettier than the flowers on the two sides.

“April in the human world and all the flowery scents fade, peach blossoms in the mountain temple just start to bloom.”

Such beautiful scenery, I might not be able to see it again… Meng Qi sighed slightly. It was easy to say the words born to death. But in real life it was actually a narrow escape from death” Next year on the same date today, he might already be asleep in a tomb and would not be able to enjoy such beauty again.

Meng Qi walked alongside the mountain pass quietly with mixed feelings. Jiang Zhi Wei felt something and did not say a word either. They walked together towards the top of the mountain.

The sun rose from the east and rubified the clouds. Golden lights shone everywhere in an imposing manner. Meng Qi felt like he was reborn at this moment. He smiled and sent a message by heart, “I found the reincarnation of the Evil God Nether and completed the Zhenwu serial task. Can you guess what the final reward is?”

Jiang Zhi Wei thought for a few minutes and gave a sweet smile overshadowing the sun and sunglow, “You ask me to guess. That means it is something I’m interested in. Parts of the Seven Strokes of Heaven Interception, or General Principles?”

“You know me well. This is the Six Dao version,” Meng Qi smiled and answered. He took out the green seed and gave it to Jiang Zhi Wei.

Jiang Zhi Wei smiled and said, “It’s embarrassing for me to receive it since it’s you who finished most parts of the task. But I’ve gotten used to receiving things from you during all these years.”

All these years… right, so many years… Meng Qi’s eyes got wet.

He came to the Xi Jian Pavilion this time to give her the General Principles of the Seven Strokes of Heaven Interception but also to say goodbye.

After today they might not meet each other again.

Jiang Zhi Wei pressed the seed between her eyebrows and absorbed the knowledge from it. At last her eyes were covered with lights and she returned the seed to Meng Qi.

“This is the Seven Strokes of Heaven Interception…” she said in a low voice.

Meng Qi looked at it with a smile and said calmly, “I need to give this to Yushu, as well. Goodbye.”

Jiang Zhi Wei nodded and watched him walking away.

Meng Qi heard Jiang Zhi Wei’s voice after a few steps, “I’ll help you whenever you need me.”

She could see that Meng Qi was bothered by something but since he did not talk about it, she did not want to ask to intrude.

After a while, Jiang Zhi Wei added, “You’ll never be alone.”

Meng Qi closed his eyes and lifted his hands. He laughed and said, “I’m thick-skinned too. If I need help, I’ll definitely ask.”

But sometimes he could only face it by himself alone!

Jiang Zhi Wei stood at the top of the mountain and watched Meng Qi’s figure in his black robe disappear at the end of the mountain pass, with flowers all in full bloom.

This year, this day in this mountain.