The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

“Taiyi (third tone)? Taiyi (first tone)?” Meng Qi repeated in a low voice and many thoughts came to his mind.

If it was Taiyi (third tone), was it referring to the Immortal Taiyi — the Qing Emperor’s Tao body? Afterall, no other Taiyis could make such a terrifying monster — one who required nine supremes to give their lives remains to suppress — remember and shout about it other than him.

If it had shouted Taiyi (first tone), then which mighty person was it referring to? There wasn’t anyone named “Taiyi (first tone)” during the time immemorial period, although there was a legend about the Eastern Emperor Taiyi (first tone) on the earth he was born.

There were too many clues so far and it was really hard to guess.

Meng Qi thought of something strange as he pondered. He looked at the Immortal Yunhe and said, “When did this tomb of the nine immortals first appear?”

The Immortal Yunhe already had suspicions on this. Without thinking, he said, “My grandmaster moved our sect into the caves because of the demons creating chaos on Earth. But after the demons were suppressed, he didn’t return to the caves to guide our sect back to Earth. Hence, we can determine that this incident happened between the demons creating chaos and the passing of the Emperor.”

“This could also be proved by another thing — since the beginning of the Divine Emperor, there have been scattered records of the tomb of the nine immortals.”

“At that time, both the Demonic Sage and Emperor were alive and had attained the Nirvana Realm. What kind of monster was it that they couldn’t destroy it and the nine immortals had to make such a decision?”

Yunhe let out a bitter smile and said, “I don’t understand either. I once asked the elders of the Snow Mountain Sect but was told that they had to keep this secret for generations. If they said just a word of it and let outsiders know about the monster and have corresponding thoughts, it would be able to escape. Even if a Snow Mountain Sect disciple gets to know about this secret, he would have to stay in the nine immortal tombs for the rest of his life.”

In other words, this monster would be able to escape from the seal once there are traces of its existence in the outside world? Meng Qi’s countenance changed as he listened. Even if the suppressor of the monster wasn’t some big shot like Gautama Buddha or Yuan Shi, but to do something so unpredictably magical was enough to prove how terrifying the monster was at its peak — it was at least of the same level as a creator!

“The Snow Mountain Sect developed from tomb guards passed down from generation to generation, it has many hidden secrets…” Meng Qi sighed.

Yunhe nodded and said, “It was able to pass down from the years of the Divine Emperor until now, withstanding the storm. The deep history of the Snow Mountain Sect is probably inferior only to the Wang family of Jiangdong and the fairies of the Plain Girl Sect. We cannot look at just its surface.”

After saying more things related to the Snow Mountain Sect and not getting any more clues, Meng Qi changed the topic to creating weapons. He sought advice from the Immortal Yunhe with all sincerity and brought out the concept of the Myriad World Knowledge Ball for discussion.

The Immortal Yunhe surprised upon hearing this exclaimed, “Bold idea! I’m truly humbled.”

Thereafter, he enthusiastically analysed the possibility from the angle of weapon creation and gave Meng Qi many useful suggestions.

After a few days, Meng Qi gained much knowledge. However, being a beginner in weapon creation, he needed time to digest and didn’t ask for more. He stood up and stepped into the Universal Nature Door.

…

On a crowded street, there were all kinds of traps and weapons, prosperous and convenient.

In a mansion’s inner compound, Fang Huayin who was in a simple tight outfit was basking in the morning sun as she practiced her moves — slow as though she was carrying a mountain on her shoulders yet natural and beautiful.

Fang Huayin stopped and opened her eyes before walking slowly to the outer compound. Many people of the pugilistic world had gathered in the martial arts hall and were waiting for her arrival.

“Heroine Fang…” greetings filled with respect came one after another when Fang Huayin appeared. Strictly speaking, these people were considered failures — they couldn’t practice Taoism or learn the art of trap weapons due to various reasons but were unwilling to waste their whole life and stay at the bottom forever. Therefore, they chose the path of practicing qi and martial arts.

As one of the representatives of this path, Fang Huayin also had a similar experience. She had always made no discrimination in teaching and been generous with her advice. Even without approval from her teachers and specific inheritance, she was able to achieve Heaven and Man in One. She was able to teach others from a higher position and using her own experience, hence benefiting everyone who asked for her advice. Her name had spread like wildfire in the world!

Fang Huayin greeted with a smile and walked to the stage of the martial arts hall. Looking firm and calm as she stood at the edge, she signaled the people below to ask questions.

She answered every question in a way that was easy to understand and thought-provoking, and even made a few demonstrations.

Time passed and it was noontime. Fang Huayin looked around and said calmly, “Alright, that’s all for today.”

After a series of thanks, the people of the pugilistic world left systematically. Fang Huayin lamented as she watched their disappearing figures — if she hadn’t had the chance to meet her teacher and Elder Jiang, she would still be struggling like them and not see any hope.

The crowd gradually lessened and Fang Huayin was about to leave when she suddenly saw a green-robed man standing in the martial arts hall with his hands behind and looking quietly at her. He was like a reef in the sea, revealing himself along with low tide.

He seemed to be there all along but didn’t interrupt her. He looked the same — the same face as in her memory, just with added maturity and a little vicissitudes of life.

Fang Huayin opened her mouth halfway but no voice came out. Her vision suddenly became blurry and her mind blank.

“Not bad,” Meng Qi nodded his head slightly.

Fang Huayin suddenly woke up from her daze and jumped down the stage. She rushed to Meng Qi and fell on her knees with watery eyes and trembling voice, “Teacher, your disciple pays her respects to you!”

At this moment, there were only a few people left in the martial arts hall. They all looked over in astonishment as they didn’t understand why Heroine Fang paid respect with such formalities.

“From today onward, you shall be my official disciple,” Meng Qi slowly started talking.

Fang Huayin had mixed feelings upon hearing this — happy beyond words and also tearing up. She immediately knelt and bowed to pay her respects to her teacher again.

Before the remaining people at the martial art hall could react, Meng Qi turned and walked toward the exit as he said, “Follow me back to the sect.”

Fang Huayin stood up and followed Meng Qi out of the mansion without packing. After a change of light and shadow, she was already beside a door before she realized.

It’s him? The few people left in the martial arts hall suddenly came to realization only then.

It’s him!

They quickly rushed to the door but there was no one left.

…

After stepping out of the Universal Nature Door, Fang Huayin saw the smiling Immortal Yunhe and bowed again in surprise and suspicion. She then followed her teacher out of the quiet room and left the peak before flying up into mid-air with the help of an unknown force.

She saw that below her was boundless desert, barren and desolate, something that she had never seen before. It was as thought she came to another world.

“The world that you were in previously was the cave opened up by Immortal Nature, and here is the birthplace of Immortal Nature,” Meng Qi explained casually.

Fang Huayin was totally shocked upon hearing this. Although she didn’t know what the cave was, it didn’t hinder her understanding of these words.

“Let’s go find your senior first,” Meng Qi waved his left hand and the two of them disappeared.

…

In Northern Zhou, a tower ship was swaying on a lake, creating ripples.

He Mu and the head of the local Noble Sword Sect Zhu Qing were sitting opposite each other while tasting fish soup and enjoying the scenery.

After he had known of Mister Su making a comeback and appearing in Northern Zhou and the grassland border, he immediately went up north. But before he arrived, he heard of the Frenzied Blade killing the Poison God in the Southern Wasteland and could only slow down his journey and lament about going the wrong direction.

“I’ve long heard of your name, Hero He. And today I see that what I’ve heard is indeed true,” Zhu Qing raised his cup smilingly.

He Mu raised his cup and toasted, “You’ve overpraised me.”

The two of them chatted for a while before Zhu Qing got to the point, “Hero He, as a self-learner, it’s really admirable that you could reach where you are today. If you had a sect as a support, you might have already crossed the first level of heaven.”

“Although I’ve not experienced the hardship of being a self-learner, I’ve seen many and can fully understand.”

He tactfully expressed his intention of drawing He Mu over to his side, hoping to convince him who was well-known for his swordsmanship to join his sect.

The Noble Sword Sect was a well-known major sect locally. It had produced gurus and now there were also top experts in it. Although Zhu Qing was also just a first-class expert like He Mu, he was qualified enough to say that to He Mu who was a self-learner.

As He Mu wasn’t sure of Mister Su’s exact thinking, he had never talked about his teacher nor relied on his name. Other than a few people, the rest all thought of him as just a self-learner.

He Mu replied seriously, “Thank you for your good intentions, but how could I join another sect when my teacher is still around?”

“Your teacher is still around? May I know which senior is your teacher?” Zhu Qing asked curiously. He had never heard of He Mu having a teacher.

He Mu shook his head and smiled, “I’ve not gained recognition from my teacher, so I dare not say his name.”

“You’ve not gained recognition from your teacher with your age and cultivation?” Zhu Qing said in shock. “Aren’t the expectations a little too high?”

Even for top powerhouses, they would also do their utmost to groom a first-class expert below the age of forty!

He Mu was about to answer when his vision suddenly turned blurry. He saw a green-robed man floating on the lake — he looked mature and handsome with graying temples and an unbelievably deep disposition.

“Mister, Mister Su…” He Mu stuttered.

Zhu Qing followed his glance, and he felt that this green-robed man was strangely familiar.

Meng Qi only said, “Follow me, your teacher, back to the sect.”

With this, he turned and entered the sky.

Teacher? This is Hero He’s teacher? Zhu Qing couldn’t help but took a few more glances. Suddenly, his body stiffened when he recalled why he found him familiar.

The latest Heavenly, Earth, and Man List was placed right in his house!

And he understood from different channels the image of every expert on the Heavenly List!

Your teacher? Elated, He Mu hurriedly bid farewell and quickly followed up.

Zhu Qing only became sober after the three silhouettes disappeared.

He Mu’s teacher is actually him!

A wise head makes a closed mouth. He Mu is actually a Dharmakaya supreme’s disciple!

No wonder he could merge his internal and external spirits at such a young age!

…

A conveyance light fell on a deserted old temple beside a lotus pond.

“Teacher, this is our sect?” Fang Huayin looked around and asked in astonishment.

It was only now that He Mu realized there was a tough-looking lady beside his teacher. Fang Huayin felt his gaze and turned toward him with a smile. In a low voice, she said, “My greetings to you, Senior. I am your junior, Fang Huayin.”

With his left hand behind his back and a metallic black bamboo whip in his right hand, Meng Qi said with a smile, “It wasn’t in the past, but it will be in the future.”

Huh? He Mu and Fang Huayin were both a little puzzled.

Look, at this place Meng Qi raised the Mountain-Moving Whip and pointed it at the outside of the temple. An ancient lamp emitting black and white circulating light appeared in his eyes. Around him was an indiscernible gushing of an illusory river which sounded low and magical, as though it had created resonance in the world with its wonderful rhythm.

Right after that, Fang Huayin and He Mu felt the deserted mountain moving and the ridges and peaks nearby changing. Great changes happened in a matter of seconds.

Thump!

The mountain peak changed along with the movement of heaven and earth; the deserted mountain gradually became beautiful with clouds and gushing springs. It had turned into a place very suitable for practising martial arts.

Fang Huayin was speechless from what she saw. She already knew more than ten years ago that her teacher was very powerful, but she had never imagined him to be this powerful — moving the mountains with just a word, he was simply a deity in the mortal world!

He Mu was also stunned, muttering to himself, “Set the rules of the world with one word.”

Meng Qi drew back the Mountain-Moving Whip, tapped gently at void space with his left hand, and the old temple instantly underwent changes — the stone bricks rearranged themselves and the mountain door re-erected, and became a small Taoist temple.

“Our sect originated from the Kunlun Jade Mirage Palace,” Meng Qi turned and looked at his two disciples, “From now on, this place shall be called Kunlun Mountain, and this temple the Jade Mirage Palace.”

“The Kunlun Jade Mirage Palace…” He Mu and Fang Huayin repeated the name before suddenly reacting and said in unison, “Teacher, we’ve set up a sect just like this?”

It sounded like undertaking a lost orthodoxy and resetting up the sect!

“Yes, a trivial matter like setting up a sect doesn’t require any fanfare. Those who should know will know,” Meng Qi said without taking it to heart before turning to a serious expression. “Follow me to pay your respects to the grandmaster founder. Our sect was established by him personally and our core martial arts were also created by him.”

When he spoke, the ancient Buddha statue moved and changed, looking more like clay than stone.

Grandmaster founder? He Mu and Fang Huayin calmed themselves down. Full of respect, they faced the statue and prepared to follow their teacher to bow.

Their grandmaster’s identity wasn’t mentioned, but any expert who could set up his own sect is worth respecting!

The statue turned into a priest whose age was indiscernible. He looked majestic and honorable, boundless and primitively simple.

Meng Qi bowed solemnly and said, “Pay your respects to the grandmaster founder Heavenly Lord Yuanshi.”

He Mu and Fang Huayin bent their bodies together but immediately stiffened.

Grandmaster founder Heavenly Lord Yuanshi?

Heavenly Lord Yuanshi?

The Heavenly Lord Yuanshi who existed only in legends, the head of Three Pristines worshipped by Taoists and the one who started the world?

Our sect was established by him personally?

They felt like they were listening to a legend — it was very unreal.

Today, most Taoist sects adhered to the Three Pristines. But since ancient times, none had ever claimed one of the Three Pristines as their founder. At the most they just said that they were related to Confucian orthodoxy!

For example, the Pure Yang Sect had something to do with Lord Daode, but they never dared to say their founder was the Grand Supreme Lord. Nature Sect’s founder was Immortal Nature, and not Lord Lingbao.

But their teacher sounded very convincing as though it was real, so they didn’t dare to suspect their own teacher of lying!

With mixed emotions of shock, absurdity and joy, they paid their respects to their founder. Thereafter, they followed their teacher to pay their respects from a distance to their external grandmaster Divine Monk Xuanbei.

After two simple bows, Meng Qi turned and sat cross-legged below Heavenly Lord Yuanshi’s statue. His breathing — deep and chaotic — and the statue enhanced each other.

He said looking at He Mu and Fang Huayin, “The Kunlun Jade Mirage Palace is considered re-established, and the two of you are the direct disciples.”

He Mu and Fang Huayin knelt and bowed to their teacher again before listening to his instructions.

“Our sect does not have too many rules and regulations, but just a few commandments. One, do not deceive or betray your teacher and ancestors. Two, do not commit evil. Three…” Meng Qi briefly stated seven commandments and then his expression turned solemn. “If you make any errors in the future that bring on any disaster, you will be expelled from the sect.”

“We will remember the commandments firmly in our hearts,” He Mu and Fang Huayin quickly replied.

Meng Qi nodded slightly, “Our sect’s core martial arts are the Premier Golden Stamp and the Arts of Eight-Nine. The former includes the Premier Nine Seals which is divided into Wuji, Daoyi, Kaitian… the latter could avoid disasters, achieve immortality, is ever changing and extremely strong…”

He briefly introduced the core inheritance of the Kunlun Jade Mirage Palace. He Mu and Fang Huayin were bedazzled from hearing and were full of anticipation.

After saying this, he shifted his gaze to He Mu, “You’ve already merged your internal and external spirits during the dark trial and attained Exterior Realm, so you can’t practice these two rituals.”

Just when He Mu’s expression turned gloomy, Meng Qi continued, “But I’ve comprehended the Seven Strokes of Heaven Interception’s outline and created a corresponding martial art. The Seven Strokes of Heaven Interception can be reached from most practices, just like the relationship between the Buddha’s Palm and various practices of Buddhism, so you can develop in this direction.”

Happy and surprised, He Mu instantly knelt and bowed, “Thank you, teacher!”

With a flick of his finger, the portion of Meng Qi’s own understanding of the martial art turned into light and entered between He Mu’s brows.

“You’re still in the realm of Heaven and Man in One, and both the Premier Golden Stamp and the Arts of Eight-Nine are known for their inclusiveness. You can choose to specialize in one and slowly adjust your inner world,” Meng Qi looked at Fang Huayin.

It was frustrating when you have too many good choices, and Fang Huayin got to fully understand this. After her expression changed a few times, she finally said, “I want to learn the Premier Golden Stamp.”

Meng Qi bent his finger again and flicked the light transformed from the enlightenment piece of the Premier Golden Stamp before saying to the two, “Regardless of whether it is your specialization, you can both comprehend the Premier Nine Seals and benefit from them. But there is no need for that now, wait until you up your level or adjust your inner world.”

“Among the Premier Nine Seals, you can’t practice the Daoyi Seal; Fantian, Yinyang, Wuji, and Xukong’s true inheritance are not with me, only their scriptures can be written; as for the remaining Wuji, Sixiang and Yuanxin, you can do your best to comprehend them when the time comes.”

After he finished instructing, Meng Qi said, “Do you have any questions?”

He Mu frowned and asked, “Teacher, the Jade Mirage Palace only has three of us now? We are not mass recruiting disciples?”

A sect like this is really too insubstantial!

“No need, we still have some sect elders. Also, there are no fixed rules for taking disciples, it all depends on one’s willingness. There’s no need to recruit aggressively, as long as every generation has a few successors in the pugilistic world, just like the Lanke Temple,” Meng Qi answered.

Then he smiled, “I have no issue if you want to mass recruit. The reason why I don’t teach too many disciples myself, is because I’m lazy.”

He Mu and Fang Huayin were speechless at once.

A mountain, a Taoist temple, a teacher and two disciples — the Kunlun Jade Mirage Palace was set up just like this. Not long after, every top powerhouse got to know about this new sect.

Head of the sect, Primitive Emperor Su Meng!

…

Two waterfall-like sword beams went across the sky, cutting in the direction of the enemy. After criss-crossing, the enemy was split into two.

“This monster is really powerful, he is famous not without reason,” the Xijian Pavilion’s disciple Fang Qiu said after panting.

Another Xijian Pavilion’s disciple Jiang Lan said while wiping his sword, “That’s because he met us.”

“The Nine-Ringed Snake has been a well-known evil figure for years. It is said that he had a magical encounter more than ten years ago that made him stand out from the heterodoxy and self-learners where survival is difficult.”

Fang Qiu laughed, “Unfortunately things went too well for him later on and he became a little swollen-headed. Let’s see what kind of encounter he had!

As he spoke, beam from his sword flashed and he picked up the Nine-Ringed Snake’s Mustard Ring.

“Good skills… he had a magical encounter indeed, it’s his specialization…” Fang Qiu inspected the inside of the Mustard Ring, “Hey, there’s a tattered notebook written in ancient characters.”

He flipped to look at it and his face gradually turned solemn, making Jiang Lan feel doubtful before he leaned over, “What’s written on it?”

Fang Qiu took in two deep breaths before saying, “It’s left behind by a servant of the Golden Emperor’s’ Queen Mother of the West in the past. She survived the fall of the Nine Levels of Heaven and recorded many secrets, such as the secret entrance to the Jade Pool, the meeting of the Qing and Golden Emperors, the Haotian Mirror’s core fragment and the Eastern Emperor Bell’s fragment inside the Jade Pool, who the Eastern Emperor was…”

Jiang Lan’s face turned more solemn as he listened on. These pieces of information were too important — they could be called a great encounter, or even become the key to a sect’s prosperity!

“This is indeed part of what the Nine-Ringed Snake got from the magical encounter more than ten years ago, but the Jade Pool is too dangerous and he didn’t dare to go, keeping this a secret,” Fang Qiu decided.

Jiang Lan looked at Fang Qiu, “What should we do?”

Fang Qiu replied, “What else can we do? With our current abilities, going to the Jade Pool would be fraught with grim possibilities so we better not try our luck. If we hide in it, we might end up like the Nine-Ringed Snake in the future. We’d better hand it to our sect and let the elders explore.”

“We’ve made such great contributions and would definitely get a share as long as there areDO results from the exploration. We could use this to enhance ourselves, what’s most important are things that could be obtained!”

Jiang Lan hesitated for a while, “Alright!”