The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Chapter 1025: A Long Night

As the light faded away, along with the mirage reminiscent of the bottom of the ocean, the ruins of the Heavenly Court reverted back to its original state. However, the Illusory River that flowed around Meng Qi still faded in and out of view. The sound of rushing water echoed throughout the ruins. Anyone could sense that the speed of time flowing past in this moment was out of sync with before.

Meng Qi’s expression was solemn as he lightly adjusted the Bamboo Cloud Crown on his head. Wisps of auspicious clouds poured out from the Niwan Gong, followed by multiple arcs of chaotic light shining down, resembling sheets of water that cascaded from the eaves during a heavy rain. All of these enveloped Meng Qi in an ethereal glow.

He stepped forward and walked towards the exit of the ruins. As he approached it, he could increasingly feel how sluggish his movements were, as if his surroundings were a viscous material clinging to every part of him. It was as if he had fallen into a swamp. The lights of chaos that shone from the Supreme Endless Premier’s auspicious clouds shook uncontrollably as they condensed and solidified.

This was a barrier created by time. The extreme contrast in speed of timeflow had created a barrier, thus despite being in the same world, there was an invisible wall separating Meng Qi and the others, such as Han Guang and Bi Jingxuan. Meng Qi existed in a separate dimension, thus even if their bodies overlapped, nothing unusual would be felt.

The lights of chaos fell upon and dissolved the viscosity of his surroundings. However, in the process of doing so, the lights themselves began to harden and solidify. Meng Qi relied on a characteristic of Nirvana that was sensitive to fate and the stream of time to pull himself forward.

One step, two steps, the more steps he took, the harder it was to take another one. Suddenly, Meng Qi felt that everything happening around him had been paused. A murky darkness fell in front of his eyes.

The Supreme Endless Premier’s auspicious clouds had reached their limit.

Unfortunately, the Endless Seal was not yet complete. It could not simulate the true chaos of the overlapping of mirage and reality, nor the lack of time. Currently, the Kai Tian Seal also could not break through the restraint of time.

Meng Qi reached towards his waist, mentioning the Invincible Blade’s name in his mind. As expected, his hands felt the sturdy hilt of a blade. However, the Invincible Blade was still battling for dominance with the Devil Buddha Seal. Perhaps it was due to returning to ancient times, the Devil Buddha Seal had been restrained by heaven and earth. To avoid discovery by the Tyrant, the level of the Invincible Blade had returned to a Celestial Being status. As it was merely of a Celestial Being status, it won’t be of much use in the current situation.

Meng Qi patted the hilt of his blade, signalling it to conceal itself to avoid attracting the attention of the Tyrant. He turned and walked back to the center of the ruins, and sat down cross-legged under the scarlet door.

Judging from Han Guang’s individual ability, he shouldn’t be able to even come close to this kind of terrifying power. It was likely that he had borrowed the divine spirits of the Heavenly Court ruins, as the Celestial Ruler can traverse time, as well as manipulate fate and time. The Heavenly Court that fell with him naturally would contain remnants of his influence. He might have even had the assistance of the Time Blade.

However, the boundary of the world did not restrict nor correct itself. This might be evidence that Han Guang had not obtained the acknowledgement of the Time Blade, and therefore failed to retrieve it. This led to the spontaneous evaporation of the Xuantian Sect – not only their physical presence, but also the erasure of any relevant memories and records.

What was the Time Blade’s intention? Meng Qi pondered as he scratched his chin.

As there was no way to force himself out of here, then he shouldn’t waste this five years of time. He had to do something to hone his abilities, and ascend to the status of an Earth Fairy as quickly as possible, in order to escape his restraints.

Meng Qi wasn’t someone who gave up easily. As he wouldn’t accept Han Guang’s helping hand, then he wouldn’t remain endlessly stubborn in this kind of situation. That would only be a waste of time. The wise move would be to settle this between him and Han Guang after he got out of here.

Five years in a night?

Let’s see how much of that time I can cut when I escape this!

…

The morning sun cast its rays over the mountains, while a light breeze caressed the trees and grass. Devil Master Han Guang and Primeval Deity Bi Jingxuan materialized at the same time on the peak of the mountain.

“Did he really inherit the Jade Mirage and succeed in gathering the Premier Nine Seals?” Bi Jingxuan prodded tentatively.

Han Guang was standing there with his arms behind his back, dressed handsomely in a high crown and fine robes. His hair was still black as ink, but there was a certain haggardness to him that came with age. Upon hearing the question, he smiled and said, “If you don’t believe it, let’s wait for him to return. You can just ask him personally. He wouldn’t lie in such a situation, but I do have some advice for you.”

Bi Jingxuan furrowed her brows slightly, but did not speak. She seemed to be deep in thought, thinking about the Premier Nine Seals and the inheritance of the Jade Mirage.

Han Guang didn’t wait for her to respond. He continued, “The Three Heavenly Goddesses and her bloodline’s feud with the Jade Mirage Palace and the Tushita Palace took place twenty million years before you existed. Since then, one side had passed away whereas the other had gone into hiding, thus their conflict had long been forgotten. As a descendant with who knows how many generation gaps, if the feud sparks again, just seek the Heavenly Lord Yuanshi and the Heavenly Lord Dao De for revenge. Why would you make Meng Qi’s life harder for him, when you know that he has no control over it?”

After speaking, he turned and left, disappearing into the sea of clouds. Bi Jingxuan was left alone with her thoughts.

“Who is he?” a deep male voice piped up next to her.

She was shaken out of her thoughts as she sensed another presence. The Night Emperor Huo Lishang appeared on the other side of the mountain peak, dressed in flowing white robes. He was someone known for his passionate love for beautiful women and scenery.

“What are you doing here?” Bi Jingxuan asked.

With a bright smile, he answered, “Since returning to my hometown, my body and mind had been cleansed. No longer am I haunted by grief. Not only that, the Mother had promised to ensure my safe return to the future when the time comes. For that, I am here on her orders, to intervene in what was happening here on the Jade Emperor Mountain. Nevertheless, this is strange. I did not have the chance to intervene but everything is already over. It seemed like the guy just now was most advantaged in this situation. Who is he?”

Since the guy was talented in the art of transformation, talented enough to make a name for himself, she had been keeping tabs on him.

“I overheard Su Meng calling him the Devil Master,” Bi Jingxuan answered calmly, completely unfazed by the mention of returning to the future.

“The Devil Master?” the Night Emperor tapped his forehead lightly as he imprinted the nickname into his memory.

“Previously, I had an unfortunate encounter with Su Daiji. While we were standing off, she attempted to lure me into an alliance, claiming that she had Immortal Heaven Gu Erduo and Devil Master Han Guang on her side. I think he is Han Guang,” added Jingxuan.

“Han Guang!” the Night Emperor looked into the sea of clouds, shock gripping his heart.

He’s Han Guang? No wonder he was so adept at transformation!

This explains why he smirked at me when we ran into each other at Golden Turtle Island!

Even though there was a tiny chance that it was Su Meng wearing his face, I still gotta test him a little.

Despite thinking back at his painful encounter, the Night Emperor’s expression did not change. He yawned widely and said, “Since this matter is resolved, I have to return to the Void Hometown to report my findings. Until we meet again, Fairy.”

He teleported out of the Jade Emperor Mountain and circled around it until he identified a direction. Tracking the faint trail that was left behind, he started to stalk Han Guang sneakily.

Bi Jingxuan was still standing in silence at the peak of the mountain. Admiring the sunrise behind the sea of clouds, she sighed softly.

“The Devil Master is right, but I shouldn’t get too close to him. There should be a clear line between the bloodline of the Jade Mirage and the bloodline of the Three Heavens.”

After a pause, she summoned a Magic Cloud. She wanted to go far and wide, to see everything that the world had to offer. However, it felt like there was nowhere for her to go. Since she came to the Heavenly Court’s ruins at the Jade Emperor Palace to search for a way home, how could she leave without exploring anything?

After thinking about it, Bi Jingxuan decided to go to a nearby town instead. She shall ascend the Jade Emperor Mountain the next day, to avoid Meng Qi.

…

The Heavenly King of the Demonic Sword had returned in a hurry to his demonic sect’s hideout. He wanted to report about the white-haired Su Meng imposter to the Taishang Demon Wu Daoming. As someone who inherited the Demonic Claws, he would know many ancient secrets, perhaps he can identify Su Meng’s origins.

Going past the heavy defenses, the Heavenly King of the Demonic Sword felt as if he was in the depths of the Netherworld. At last, he came upon a gray stone door, “Master, I have something to report.”

“Come in,” said a clear voice that sounded vaguely melancholic.

The stone door slowly creaked open by itself, despite the lack of wind. Layers of spells and wards started to unravel. The Heavenly King of the Demonic Sword caught a glimpse of what was behind the door, prompting him to ask in a confused tone, “Master?”

The Taishang Demon in front of him was reclining on a stone bed. Everything below his waist was covered by wriggling masses of tumors. Those tumors seemed like they were alive, expanding upwards rapidly to completely cover Wu Daoming in them, in order to birth a demonic seed.

With a faint smile, Wu Daoming explained, “The demonic seed has taken shape. In one more day, I will be done with the morphing and advance to the status of a Celestial Being. My control over the Demonic Claws will improve in spades.”

“I thought the demonic seed would take forty nine days to complete its morphing?” the Heavenly King asked.

“This was true for the last morphing. However, that does not mean that it will be true for this time as well. This time, it will be completed in just one day,” said Wu Daoming.

So he had kept this hidden from the rest of the world. A few days ago in Luocheng, it was likely that his powers had been recovered, but he hadn’t shown any sign of it. Of course, if the Tyrant had not made a move, Master couldn’t have hidden it as he would have to fight tooth and nail to stay alive. The Heavenly King had a realization that the Taishang Demon had kept a few tricks in reserve which were hidden from everyone.

“What do you have to report?” despite the spreading of the tumors, Wu Daoming was no longer concerned for his safety. Since the demonic seed had taken shape, it wouldn’t be destroyed by anything other than someone of legendary status.

The Heavenly King of the Demonic Sword hastily summarized the events that involved the Su Meng imposter which turned out to be a White Haired Demon.

After listening, Wu Daoming nodded slightly, “We shall further discuss this matter after I’m done with this.”

“My heartfelt congratulations to Master for advancing to the Celestial Being status. With that, the world is yours!” the Heavenly King bowed as he congratulated.

The Taishang Demon’s eyes turned cold, “When I get out of here, I shall kill the other Celestial Beings in sacrifice to the Heavenly Kings!”

He was brimming with confidence.

…

Dense wisps of smoke wafted lazily through the air, cast upon the Earth by the Plain Girl Fairyland. On the river, they condensed to form a ship that was isolated from the outside world.

With the greeting hall of the ship, the Tyrant, with his deep contours and sharp angles, was lounging on the tallest armchair. He had one arm around the Fifth Generation Mysterious Fairy, while the other hand was caressing the scabbard of the Invincible Blade next to him. Despite his lack of training in the mystical arts, his dominating aura still imbibed the entire space.

Sitting on lower armchairs were two guests. One of them was a sensual seductress, a fox spirit, Su Daiji. The other was a bronze-skinned Gu Erduo, his aura swirling around him. He had set down his Scorpio Axe next to him to mitigate the overwhelming tyrannical aura.

“Tyrant, since you are taking over the world by yourself, do you ever feel the loneliness of being invincible?” Su Daiji attempted to start a conversation with a sunny smile.

The Tyrant looked at her with pure arrogance in his eyes, lacking any trace of lust, “There are still Celestial Beings that I haven’t cleared, gods that I haven’t defeated, and demons that I haven’t removed. What is this invincible that you talk about?”

He was clearly disdainful of his company, but his tone remained courteous. They were not his enemies. His true enemies were those who wouldn’t die completely, those who kept returning to be a thorn in his side.

Gu Erduo had heard about the Tyrant from Han Guang. He put on a wide smile and he said, “As expected of the Tyrant, you do have far-reaching ambitions. Since your enemies are that strong, I’m sure that you wouldn’t be against learning the mystical arts to enhance yourself?”

“My Tyrant’s Six Decapitations are as good as any inherited ability or skill,” answered the Tyrant proudly.

Su Daiji’s smile turned cunning, “Your Tyrant’s Six Decapitations are certainly impossible to counter, but with knowledge of the grand mystical arts, you would be even more powerful.”

“Grand mystical arts?” the Fifth Generation Mysterious Fairy asked. The Tyrant did not seem annoyed by her question.

“Yup. To be precise, the art of Yi Qi Turning San Qing,” Gu Erduo replied.

“Yi Qi Turning San Qing?” the Tyrant grunted. He nodded slightly, “Where can I obtain this? If it falls under my possession, you guys would benefit, too.”

“If you, the Tyrant, would help me get rid of several enemies, then I would be more than happy to reveal where this mystical knowledge was hidden.”

Right after his last word, he noticed that the Tyrant’s gaze turned cold. His ears picked up the sound of a blade, and he instinctively shifted the Scorpio Axe in front of him.

The flash of a purple blade really seemed like a dragon that escaped its restraints. It shone on Gu Erduo and Su Daiji, the Tyrant’s arrogant voice echoing around the hall, “You have the nerve to negotiate with me?”

…

Zhuo Chaosheng had just returned to the sword sect of Heaven and Earth when he received a message sent from Luocheng.

“Conquering five sects with one sword… masterful manipulation, creating arrays with a single slash…” The message in Zhuo Chaosheng’s hands held more details than what could be gathered from the outside world.

“Creating arrays with a single slash…” He stood up and started pacing while muttering to himself. It was clear that he was gleeful upon hearing that.

Despite being capable of that himself, he had never used it in battle before. This person could! If he had known that Su Meng’s sword skills were this advanced, he should have asked for a spar when he could.

Nevertheless, it’s still not too late to ask for it now!

Zhuo Chaosheng summoned his disciples and instructed them to search for Meng Qi.

…

The long night dragged on for what seemed like forever. Meng Qi had combed every nook and crevice of the Heavenly Court ruins, but he did not find the Time Blade nor any similarly useful items.

As of this day, he had trained vigorously for more than three years. He had enough experience, it was a crucial time for him to try.

Clash!

The light of an illusory blade flashed. The sound of something shattering echoed throughout the area, accompanied by the sound of explosions.

He had melded the Kai Tian Seal with his blade and used the Heaven-Earth Shattering blade intent on one of his acupuncture points, attempting to forcefully turn its Interior Realm into its own universe!