The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The face of Qu Baimei was old and yellowish, but his eyes were shining like a crystal. After wearing the mask, Qu Baimei looked like the real Immortal Yellow Dragon who had become famous after the War of Deification.

He turned out to be a member of the mysterious alliance mentioned by Yin Feilong moments ago!

In fact, Qu Baimei was the one who disclosed information about Dongning Island and Purple Cane Island to the other members in the alliance. After they took over both islands, Qu Baimei had gained a lot of benefits as well.

It’s lucky that I got the chance to join the Fairy World years ago. Otherwise, I won’t be as successful as I am now. Qu Baimei thought to himself.

In the first half of his life, Qu Baimei was merely an ordinary martial artist. Although he was the owner of Chang Hua Island, many rivals were casting their eyes on him. Moreover, most of the people on his island were planning to revolt against him. Actually, the status of Chang Hua Island at that time was very low in the Fairyland. It was nothing compared to the Heavenly Way Alliance. If it was not geographically close to the mysterious Golden Turtle Island, the Fairy World would not have chosen him to be its member.

After acquiring various magic arts, Miraculous Elixir and secret treasures from the Fairy World, he had been training hard and making great strides. Eventually, he became a guru. Since then, Chang Hua Island had become one of the most powerful forces, and slowly, it was getting famous in the Blue Zone Off the Sea. Among the Seven Seas and Twenty-Eight Worlds ruled by the Heavenly Way Alliance, Chang Hua Island was one of the most prosperous islands, mainly due to its famous South-North City Square.

Moreover, after witnessing the power of Lord Ling Bao, Qu Baimei had become more firm in his decision to join the Fairy World. Apparently, many members of the Fairy World were as strong as the Five Old Deities. Although he had only seen a few of them, there were more people that he did not know. For example, Buddha Dou Mu had mentioned about a remarkable person called the Heavenly Lord Yuanshi a few years ago.

Qu Baimei had been very satisfied to be able to work with people who were as strong as the Five Old Deities. Actually, he had even suspected that Lord Ling Bao and the Heavenly Lord Yuanshi were among the Four Strange People, Three Demons, and Five Old Deities. Therefore, he did not expect the inspecting ambassador of the Heavenly Way Alliance to have come to him.

“Heh, asking a member of the Fairy World to help confronting the Fairy World. Yin Feilong has certainly found the ‘right’ person. Unfortunately, he is doomed to die dissatisfied. Perhaps he won’t even know why he loses his life,” Qu Baimei adjusted the mask of the Immortal Yellow Dragon, stepped out of the bedroom and was about to lurk into the guest hall.

I feel sorry for Mo Ning who has been covering me up, but I have no choice!

As some of the traded items might appear to be suspicious, Qu Baimei had been behind the scenes all the time – Mo Ning was the one who did everything for him. Once the plan was at risk of being exposed, Qu Baimei would be abandoning this chessman and cutting off every connection with him. In this way, he would not be exposed.

Qu Baimei had always been cautious after joining the Fairy World!

After taking a few steps, Qu Baimei stopped his footsteps abruptly as he thought of something. Everyone knows that Yin Feilong has visited my island. If he were assassinated here, I would be suspected to be a member of the mysterious alliance. It’s better to be extra careful. A better way is to bring Yin Feilong to Mo Ning, so that I can kill both of them together. I’ll destroy their corpses and eliminate all traces to make people think that Mo Ning is the one who kills Yin Feilong due to the exposure of his identity.

This is a perfect plan because a dead person won’t be able to tell the truth.

Thinking of these, Qu Baimei took off his mask – he was no longer the Immortal Yellow Dragon, but the owner of Chang Hua Island. Walking back to the guest hall, he cupped his hands and said, “Sorry to have kept you waiting, envoy. Let’s go now.”

Yin Feilong smiled and said, “Thank you for leading the way.”

Two conveyance lights soared up and went straight to the shore. A white-haired old man was living in a small wooden house around the shore. He was a strange guy because he was doing the same thing – fishing on the sea – every day. He was the person Yin Feilong was looking for, Mo Ning.

“He’s here,” Qu Baimei sent a secret message to Yin Feilong.

As the conveyance lights landed beside the wooden house, a Restrictive Spell that covered the whole place was activated. At once, the waves were surging so high that they blotted out the sky and blocked the view of the outsiders.

Mo Ning, who was brewing tea and cooking fish in the wooden house, noticed the change in the surrounding immediately. His face looked ashen because he knew that the time has come – the owner of the Chang Hua Island was going to kill him!

A greenish-black ghost appeared behind Yin Feilong. As he smacked his hand downward, the whole world turned dark. The ghost was opening his mouth wide, as if it was going to swallow up the small wooden house.

Just then, Qu Baimei had taken a move. As he wielded the golden longsword silently, the waves went even higher. Along with the raging waves and storms, the longsword was about to stab Yin Feilong from the back.

Although both of us are gurus, I’ve been in this domain much longer than him. In addition, I’m supported by the defensive formation of my island. So, he will surely be killed!

Puff! Along with the sound of bubble popping, the body of Yin Feilong was twisted and covered with black. He was not hurt at all.

Qu Baimei’s heart skipped a beat. In the next moment, he saw a black shadow that was being separated from Yin Feilong’s body. It was a blurry shadow with two horns that looked like a ghost from the Nine Nether.

“Yin… Yin Master…” Qu Baimei blurted out, feeling utterly shocked.

He was Xu Bei, alias Yin Master, the owner of the Island of Ten Magnificence and one of the Five Old Deities!

Yin Feilong, standing next to Yin Master, showed a smile. As expected, Qu Baimei had fallen into his trap!

From the beginning, Yin Master had already known that Qu Baimei was a member of the mysterious alliance. However, for some reason, he did not kill Qu Baimei directly. Instead, he was waiting for Qu Baimei to expose his own identity.

As Yin Master pointed his finger at Qu Baimei, cold air was gathering at his finger tip. Then, it pierced through the golden sword beam and hit Qu Baimei’s forehead.

In an instant, a black flame was gushing out of the body of Qu Baimei, burning him to ashes.

The Immortal Yellow Dragon from the Fairy World was dead.

“Old deity?” seeing this, Yin Feilong was puzzled.

Their original plan was to capture the soul of Qu Baimei – without killing him – and use him as bait to capture more members of the mysterious alliance.

Xu Bei, the Yin Master, said in an apathetic voice, “There is a curse on his body. Once he discloses certain secrets, the curse will be activated. If that happens, I may not be able to stop him in time.”

“This…” Yin Feilong kept silent for a while and said, “Old deity, did you get the information you want?”

Yin Master said, “Yes, but limited. The mysterious alliance is called Fairy World. All the members are using the names of ancient deities as their nicknames, but their identities are unknown. The strongest members among them are called Lord Ling Bao and the Heavenly Lord Yuanshi.”

“Lord Ling Bao and the Heavenly Lord Yuanshi…” repeated Yin Feilong. How dare they use the names of ancient deities as their own nicknames? Aren’t they afraid of being struck by lightning?

Having the guts to do this, the two leaders of Fairy World must be unbelievably strong!

Yin Feilong paused and said, “Old deity, what should we do next?”

Yin Master was looking at the distant sea with worried eyes.

“Qu Baimei had known a lot of things. Since there is real evidence that he is a member of Fairy World, it’s better for us to wipe out as many members as we can, leaving no chance for their revival.”

Speaking of this, he pondered for a moment, “Leave behind some false clues. I want the Fairy World members to think that the Chang Hua Island is exterminated. They will certainly follow the clues in order to investigate into the death of Qu Baimei.”

“Got it!” Yin Feilong’s eyes were brightened. This is undoubtedly a good way to catch a fish!

I can’t wait to find out the real identity of the Fairy World members. Let’s see who “Lord Ling Bao” and “Heavenly Lord Yuanshi” really are!

…

When Meng Qi went through the Ocean’s Eye and arrived at the Chang Hua Island, he found that the island owner’s mansion was being razed to the ground.

“Old man, what’s going on here? When I came here last time, the island doesn’t look like this!” seeing that many traders had also been curious about what had happened, Meng Qi stopped an old man nearby and asked him directly.

There was a fearful look on the old man’s face. He could not even organize his speech very well, “It… it’s said that the island owner had known some secrets, which led to the extermination of everyone in his mansion last month. At that night, there were fire dragons all over the sky. Their attacks were like a huge sun that fell down from the sky – even the walls of my house are cracked!”

Qu Baimei had known some secrets, therefore he was exterminated? Was it something to do with the Golden Turtle Island? Meng Qi made a guess. In recent years, the Fairy World has been assigning Qu Baimei to investigate into the disappearance of Golden Turtle Island. He might have really found some clues.

“Qu Baimei had always been kind to people, not to mention that he was a senior member of the Heavenly Way Alliance. Why was he being exterminated all of a sudden?” Meng Qi pretended to be puzzled.

The old man looked left and right, lowered his voice and said, “As a mortal, I don’t really know what happened exactly. But it’s said that Yin Feilong – the inspecting ambassador of Heavenly Way Alliance – had visited the island owner just before the extermination happened.”

“The inspecting ambassador? I wonder where is he now?” Meng Qi asked.

The old man laughed and said, “Well, he is an inspecting ambassador, so of course, he has to travel around to inspect different places. But every year, he will be spending several months at home on the Island of Ten Magnificence.”

The Island of Ten Magnificence… it’s an island owned by one of the “Five Old Deities of the Heavenly Way”, Xu Bei… Meng Qi nodded his head and changed the topic. He talked about the local products of Chang Hua Island, and whether this place would be less prosperous after this incident.

On the next day, Meng Qi traveled to the Island of Ten Magnificence by ship.

…

Both the Island of Ten Magnificence and the Chang Hua Island belonged to the Blue Zone Off the Sea. As the teleportation circle that sent people to other zones was on the Island of Ten Magnificence, Meng Qi had to take a ship or fly to it from Chang Hua Island.

The ship was large and grand. It was sailing smoothly due to the formation that protected the ship from the strong wind and waves.

Meng Qi, disguised as a trader, was enjoying the sea breeze and the beautiful night scenery on the deck.

The night sky looked like a piece of black curtain inlaid with sparkling gems. Its reflection in the sea was like a dreamlike Milky Way that was flowing on the water. Being surrounded by the boundless dark-blue sea, Meng Qi was having a fresh mind.

He would arrive at the Island of Ten Magnificence in two or three days.

Just then, a luxurious ship appeared in the distance. The whole ship was decorated with exotic flowers and glazed lamps. The lamps were shining brightly, making Meng Qi feel like it was already daytime. The ship owner seemed to be a fellow who was afraid of the dark and loneliness.

To Meng Qi’s surprise, a few other traders on the deck were startled for a long time before they mumbled,

“The Night Emperor, the Night Emperor!”

They stood up and faced the ship in a respectful manner.

The “Night Emperor” – Huo Lishang – is one of the Four Strange People, and among the Two Emperors and Two Monarchs. After getting the information from Qu Jiuniang and the Fairy World, Meng Qi was familiar with the names of the powerful martial artists in the Fairyland.

The Night Emperor, Huo Lishang had just become a Dharmakaya twenty years ago. He was famous for his mysterious magic arts and strong personality. It was said that he was not any weaker than the Five Old Deities, and his power was comparable to that of an Earth Fairy.

The original name of Huo Lishang was unknown. He often lamented that the true nature of the living creatures was being polluted by the external environment after they were born to the world. It was like a kid who had always been wandering outside without knowing the way back home. It was sad to see how the living creatures were making painstaking efforts and undergoing all kinds of suffering before they could return home. Therefore, he had decided to live an unrestrained life and indulge in all kinds of sensual pleasure. He would be spending all his time drinking and enjoying his life, without dwelling on the great sadness caused by the departure of one’s true nature!

As time went by, he had decided to name himself as Lishang, which meant sadness over departure. He was truly a living legend.

“The Night Emperor always acts at will. If he is in a good mood, he may invite us to his ship for a feast, and gives us some rare items or magic arts,” one after another, the traders gathered on the deck. Looking at the luxurious ship in the distance, they hoped to get invited.

The Night Emperor was well-known for his unrestrained style. Once, he was sailing on the sea alone. When he came across with another ship, he invited all the traders to his ship and satisfied their wishes. He derived great pleasure from doing this. Ever since then, people had regarded him as the Wish-Granting Bodhisattva.

As the Night Emperor’s ship got closer, a voice suddenly came to their ears.

“I’m going to drink until the morning comes. The more people who drink with me, the merrier it will be. Would you like to board my ship for a feast?”

“Who in the world can refuse the invitation of the Night Emperor?”, “Thank you, Sir Lishang!” The traders were replying at the same time.

Meng Qi was watching silently with great interest. Since this was the first time he met such an extraordinary Dharmakaya, he decided to follow everyone else to board the ship of the Night Emperor.

As expected, the ship was filled with exotic fragrances that came from various kinds of blooming flowers. An ordinary-looking gardener was pruning the flowers with joy and enthusiasm.

At the first sight of the gardener, Meng Qi had thought of Mister Luda.

When Mister Luda was making sculptures, he carved them with full attention and a serious attitude. Similarly, this gardener seemed to be really passionate about what he was doing and enjoying the present moment to the fullest. He made Meng Qi think of the shooting star that flashed across the sky. Although it was short-lived, he was still trying to grasp the most brilliant moment and enjoy it. Looking at him, Meng Qi felt that life was full of joy and beauty.

Feeling that someone was staring at him, the gardener turned around and greeted Meng Qi with a smile.

“Based on the thousands of novels that I’ve read, this fellow might be the real Night Emperor, Huo Lishang…” Meng Qi’s mouth twitched for a moment. Anyhow, he was very sure of one thing – this gardener was definitely not an ordinary person.

Keeping his countenance, Meng Qi stepped into the hall together with the other traders. Some exquisite delicacies were served on the tables. Next to each table, there were some beautiful maids.

A man in a white robe was sitting at the foremost table that was surrounded by flowers. Showing a bright smile, he was leaning on a beautiful woman with an attractive body figure. He looked just like a playboy.