The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

In the lush mountains where trees were flourishing, sunlight shone through the leaves and created golden spots on the ground.

The silhouettes of the gray-robed monk Meng Qi and Mu Yunle gradually went far away and eventually disappeared at the end of the mountain road.

After an unknown amount of time, there was suddenly a gathering of bloody flashes, forming a vague silhouette. Bloody eyes, heartless and cruel, it was none other than the Rakshasa of the Bloody Sea!

“Where did he go…” the Rakshasa of the Bloody Sea was full of vitality, covering the barren mountains in an instance to look for every bit of Meng Qi and also the young girl from the Huanhua Sect as described by the Bodhisattva of Joy. He discovered traces of two persons stopping here previously, but they were long gone and couldn’t be found. With his attainment, he could only have a faint grasp but unable to make an accurate detection!

After some pondering, his silhouette suddenly fell apart as flashes of blood swirled in the air. As it became dimmer, he disappeared in mid-air.

The mountains returned to silence.

…

“Master, this is Licheng,” Mu Yunle changed into a pale green dress, looking fresh and smart as she pointed at a nearby city road.

Licheng wasn’t too far from the barren mountains where the ruined temple was. With the two’s walking speed, they arrived at the city gate in less than a day. On the way, Mu Yunle saw that Master Zhending still didn’t speak much and had a weariness from going through the vicissitudes of life. As she didn’t dare to ask questions hastily, she kept quiet throughout the journey and felt suffocated.

Meng Qi nodded. His gray robe flowed gently he wasn’t wearing any prayer beads in front of his chest. As he walked into the city and onto the streets, he was able to choose the direction with extreme familiarity at every turn of the corner. He neither asked for directions nor spoke.

This made Mu Yunle feel puzzled. Master Zhending seems to be very familiar with Licheng, so why did he want me to lead the way?

Turning her dark dewy eyes, Mu Yunle pretended to ask casually, “Master, have you been to Licheng?”

“No,” Meng Qi answered concisely, as though he had no interest in anything.

“Where in Licheng do you want to go to?” Mu Yunle become more baffled. Although her teacher and other seniors were all powerhouses, it was her first time meeting a mysterious supreme like that!

There was the sound of a flowing river and trees rustling in the wind. Right after Mu Yunle’s question, Meng Qi stopped in front of a small courtyard in front of the river.

Crack, crack… the beautiful and musical sound of chopping wood echoed around them. There was no feeling of obstruction or stagnation; the firewood seemed to naturally split in two with the fallen axe. The intervals between the crackling sound seemed to have gone through measurement, always having the same length without any difference!

Mu Yunle’s expression turned solemn just by listening. Slightly startled, she felt both puzzled and amazed.

Although this looked like the little things in everyday life, she definitely wouldn’t be able to do it at this level if it were her. Neither were her seniors nor her teachers likely to be able to do it. Just by listening to the sound at the other side of the wall, an image of a formidable and lonesome swordsman naturally came up in her mind!

Accompanying the crackling sound was the sound of heavy breathing. To Mu Yunle, it was a sign that the body was uncontrollable which appeared only under the most fatigued situations. Unless his condition was extremely bad, an exterior expert would never show such a distinctive breathing sound.

However, she showed no contempt for this as the heavy breathing transmitted a strong suppression to kill, displaying only a feeling of insignificance. This frightened her and sent a chill down her spine. Shocked and shaking all over, she was unable to draw out her sword.

If the intention to kill burst, how terrifying would that be? The unreal might materialize, with dark clouds covering the entire city and killing all lives in an instance!

The ability of the chopper inside the courtyard is definitely no less than that of teacher’s, or even surpassing… if his killing intents couldn’t be self-controlled, he would probably be more terrifying than the present Bodhisattva of Joy and look more like a world-destroying demon. Among the Dark Rankings, he could almost compete with the Demon Emperor… Mu Yunle spontaneously thought of this.

Having being captured by the Bodhisattva of Joy before, she felt that the chopper in the courtyard was more terrifying just by comparing whatever that was shown. However, she was unable to make an affirmative judgment on his specific abilities. There was too wide a difference in the level of attainment after all.

In her comparison with the Demon Emperor, she subconsciously ruled out the Devil’s Claws because of what her teacher the Green Lotus Prince once said. Under normal circumstances, the Devil’s Claws weakened instead of strengthening the Demon Emperor. The Demon Emperor had to constantly suppress the Devil’s Claws to prevent being corroded by evilness and losing his wits. But, of course, if the Demon Emperor released the Devil’s Claws during a critical moment, that would definitely suppress a Dharmakaya expert temporarily!

Exactly which great demon is inside? Why haven’t I heard of them? Mu Yunle recalled the famous demons she knew of but none matched the chopper in the courtyard.

He’s not on the Terrestrial Rankings or the Dark Rankings despite such abilities?

She couldn’t help but take a glance at Meng Qi, feeling both a little terrified and excited. She had thought that being from an orthodox sect with top influence, having considerably outstanding knowledge, and knowing most powerhouses in the pugilistic world, there wouldn’t be a situation where she didn’t recognize someone. Who knew that Master Zhending was an exception, and the heretical character who appeared because of his visit was another exception. The world is so large that the number of hidden experts was far more than what she knew!

Mu Yunle felt that a whole new pugilistic world had been unveiled by Master Zhending. It was slowly appearing before her eyes, very novel and interesting.

Thereafter, she saw a peaceful looking Master Zhending walk over and gently knock the door of the courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, a woman dressed as a taoist priestess was holding an axe and chopping firewood, focused yet showing irritation. She was tall, and had a high nose and almond-shaped eyes with an air of coldness. Her hair wasn’t held up in a crown but fell freely instead.

Tok tok tok. There was the sound of knocking on the door.

The woman was startled, as though she was awakened from her dreams. It was only until then that she realized someone was at her door!

“Who’s that?” she asked coldy, controlling her killing intents.

“I am Zhending,” the low and dull voice went in from outside the door.

A feeling of familiarity transmitted into her ears and her eyes widen.

“It’s you!”

The enemy she thought of all the time! The killing intent that arose because of him had her use her entire strength in order to control!

Her killing intent suddenly burst and the yard turned dark, as though there were dark clouds gathering. The door of the courtyard silently turned into rotten wood, losing its vitality as if it had reached the end of its life.

This woman was the Killing Priestess – the Wolf King’s teacher, Sharen Gaowa. The acupoints all over her body lit up, emitting dim seductive rays that connected all the way to her right hand, turning into a three-foot three-inch strange sword. It was entirely black with neither shine or markings, old and frightening. The trees inside the courtyard withered in an instance, turning into debris. Gaps started forming on the ground and extended in all directions.

Then, the gaps suddenly stopped when they reached the edge of the courtyard. The killing intent penetrated silently, but still couldn’t get out of the courtyard!

With the death of the door, the Killing Priestess saw the enemy whom she missed day and night.

She was slightly startled. The masculine, arrogant, and unstoppable man in her mind had turned into a gray-robed monk with a haggard face and deeply-hidden emotions akin to that of a dead volcano. His eyes looked dull, with deep weariness – weariness from having experienced the vicissitudes of life and disheartenment.

He actually became a monk again, facing the oil lamp and Buddha?

He became a monk when he was making his way to the top?

She was stunned for only a short instant. The momentum of the Killing Priestess rose to the extreme, but her killing intent could never go past the wall of the courtyard. It was as though there was an invisible barrier.

She said coldly, “Are you here to eliminate hidden dangers?”

The burst of killing intent and power shown by the Killing Priestess made the heart of Mu Yunle who was outside the door pound faster. It was her first time seeing a Great Guru go all out, with a momentum filled with killing intent. It all seemed like an illusion in front of her. She unconsciously moved a step and hid behind Master Zhending. Although his back view spelled of loneliness and despair, it strangely made one feel safe.

The strength of the chopper in the courtyard was indeed like how she had imagined. Other than a Dharmakaya, she was definitely in the top three in the heterodoxy world. She would definitely cause a huge stir if she appeared in the pugilistic world, but she was spending her time with firewood in a small courtyard. Again Mu Yunle thought of Master Zhending who could defeat the Bodhisattva of Joy and also not lose to the chopper, but chose to face the oil lamp and Buddha statue in a ruined temple with lotuses. Once again, she exclaimed of impermanence and the passing of past glories.

Who exactly are they? Why did they choose an ending like this?

Ten years ago, or even twenty years ago, did Master Zhending and the chopper inside the courtyard have a reputation in the pugilistic world that was no less than the Demon Emperor and Taishang Supreme Sword?

Mu Yunle thought about it with infatuation.

Meng Qi moved with the killing intent and stood beside the door. His eyes were dull and emotions dead as he shook his head.

“If it weren’t for your protection in the past, I might have died at the hands of the demons. After that, the world changed and it is difficult to define enmity. I had thought of finding you and killing you to eliminate future troubles, but I didn’t feel good about that after all.”

The Killing Priestess said coldly, “It is destined that I saved you. I do not regret it.”

“What’s the use of saying all these now? Don’t tell me you can repay with your life?”

Mu Yunle listened with her ears straight, not wanting to miss out any words. Beautiful and sad stories flashed across her mind one after another.

“Your killing intent is not from within you, it’s due to the influence of the Deep Sea Sword,” Meng Qi said calmly. He wasn’t wavered by the killing intent, looking as though he had seen through the world.

“So what?” the Killing Priestess’s emotions fluctuated slightly.

Meng Qi looked at her and said with sincerity, “You’re not the owner of the Deep Sea Sword, but merely the keeper. Only if you bear to let it go will you regain a new lease on life.”

The Killing Priestess curled her lips and laughed coldly, “You wanna disrupt my killing intent with this and indirectly eliminate hidden dangers?”

As her voice ended, she suddenly moved. The shineless sword in her hand suddenly appeared in front of Meng Qi’s chest, as if it had always been there.

Meng Qi looked at her peacefully with his hands hanging and didn’t move.

With a stabbing sound, the deadly sword went right into Meng Qi’s chest. Blood didn’t flow out but was absorbed instead!

“You…” holding the sword in her hand, the Killing Priestess looked blankly at the gray-robed monk before her. She only felt that his body was real, while her killing intent and the aura of the sword disappeared in a swift with the crazy stabbing through Su Meng’s wound.

“Ah!” Mu Yunle screamed. She wanted to draw out her sword to help but was unable to do so under the enormous pressure.

Why didn’t Master Zhending resist but instead use his body to receive this terrifying stab?

Meng Qi’s face was pale, his expression peaceful. His eyes were filled with weariness as he said slowly, “This stab is in return for saving my life.”

His breathing went down suddenly, but he didn’t die right away. His body shook slightly as though he couldn’t stand properly.

The Killing Priestess’s sword aura and killing intent disappeared into thin air as she looked blankly at the hideous wound and at the dead-looking eyes. Suddenly, she felt that her heart was empty, and it was an unprecedented peace and tranquility.

Her tears suddenly flowed down. Releasing her right hand, the shineless sword disappeared. She turned round and left without looking back, and no one knew where she went.

Mu Yunle looked blankly at this scene, feeling as though it was a dream.