The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Silvery light blanketed the courtyard, trees and grass alike appearing fresh and pure. The melodious sound coming from the Guqin was soothing, light and shadow overlapping each other so naturally that they looked like illusions. Gan Ruoxu, Xu Feixiang, and Wu Ju felt as if everything before their eyes were an exact scene from the Legendary Celestial World.

Since it was the Celestial World, it was obvious that the stoic lady with the Guqin was none other than the Fairy Chang Er, herself.

Ever since Taiping Dao created the art of theurgy, no matter what path the National Guard Temple, the Five Dominoes or Huang Jindao took, they had never witnessed any immortals descending onto earth. They would only hear of someone borrowing the power of the fairy gods at most.

At this moment, the worldly perceptions of Gan Ruoxu, Xu Feixiang, and the others seemed to have been overturned. They just stood and stared in confusion, taking no action, as the light in their eyes subsided. Their surroundings were eerily quiet. Chang Er’s refined features held a chilly aloofness to it.

“Was it you people who opened the passage?” Chang Er opened her mouth, a melodious voice flowing from her delicate lips.

Xu Feixiang shuddered and finally jerked out of her trance; her teenage heart fluttering, fear instinctively emerging. She stuttered, “Y-yes Ms. Fairy, it was I who opened the passage.”

Chang Er was in fact Ruan Shuyu; she had, with the help of Meng Qi, altered the Restrictive Spell on the Seal Script of the Core to arrive. Faintly, she ordered, “Do not let this matter spread.”

She lightly trod out from the tactical formation, her steps so light that she almost appeared to be floating as she moved away from the courtyard.

“Roger that, Ms. Fairy,” Xu Feixiang agreed without hesitation. Gan Ruoxu and Wu Ju nodded along despite their confusion.

Before she finished speaking, Xu Feixiang noticed that Chang Er was about to leave the courtyard. She immediately called out, her voice anxious and questioning, “Where are you heading to, Ms. Fairy?”

Ruan Shuyu turned to look back at them, her gaze serious as if she did not understand why Xu Feixiang had asked such a question. “Your room, of course.”

“A-alright, I will lead the way, Ms. Fairy,” Xu Feixiang’s heart exploded with pleasant surprise and she quickly tagged along behind the fairy.

Watching the silhouettes of the two beauties, one taller and one shorter, disappeared from sight, Gan Ruoxu and Wu Ju slowly returned to their senses. They turned to look at each other, not surprised to see the shock evident in each other’s eyes.

“I can’t believe that the legendary Chang Er just descended like this…” Gan Ruoxu sighed in wonder. “Besides, since I have gotten the God Master’s blessing, and Lin Fengxiao has established a connection with the Great Emperor Zhenwu of the Five Emperors, to be honest, it does feel like a great storm of chaos is brewing.”

Wu Ju nodded lightly in response, and let out a sigh, “It is indeed Chang Er, to be able to shine like that! It is no wonder that she was given the title of one of the most beautiful female fairies in the Heavenly Court.”

Although Gan Ruoxu felt that Wu Ju’s revelations were not exactly relevant, he could not help but nod in agreement. Chang Er was undoubtedly worthy of her title.

After a short while, Wu Ju had finally shook himself out of his daze. He slapped himself on the face, crying despairingly, “Senior, one of you was given a tablet by the God Master himself, while the other has a fairy who descended just to protect her from harm! I am the only one who has tried countless times over the past many years and have gotten nothing to show for my efforts. Comparison is indeed the thief of joy!”

Upon hearing this, Gan Ruoxu was suddenly reminded that when he received the Stone Tablet, the God Master seemed to have planted an idea in his mind. So he lowered his voice and said, “Junior Wu, when I connected with the God Master, he decreed that not only would he bestow upon me a tablet, he would also grant me a chance to repair a piece of my equipment. From what I can see, your broken thorn has been getting quite worn out from frequent use. Thus, I want to pass on to you this favor. Even if you don’t manage to upgrade from this broken spike to the complete Nine-Pronged Trident, you would still be able to unleash the full radiance of the spike like before.”

People had always said that God’s will was unquestionable since ancient times. Heavenly Lord Yuanshi, as part of the widely revered Heavenly Lords, was equivalent to God’s will. Their intentions and thinking had always been absolute yet unpredictable. But today, the God Master had issued such a surprisingly straightforward decree – it was understandable that Gan Ruoxu would find it weird. However, he did not dare to question the God Master, and so this weird feeling immediately dispersed.

Wu Ju felt joy flush through him, but he quickly tried to quell it with a dismissive wave of his hand, “No, no! How can I accept such a big favor from you?”

Gan Ruoxu gave him an indulgent smile, “When the assassin appeared at the river, it was you who saved my life. Let me offer this opportunity to repay that debt. Let’s stop beating around the bush. If you still view me as a brother, just hurry up and put that broken thorn into the tactical formation.”

Since Gan Ruoxu had made his intentions so clear, Wu Ju could not insist on rejecting it any further. He was delighted by his offer anyway. Semi-reluctantly, he said, “Thank you, Big Brother.”

He pulled out the spike, which was blanketed in a dim blue glow. He stepped toward the edge of the tactical formation. Just as he was about to set it down, a wave of hesitation washed over him. This was his precious family heirloom, what if he lost it?

It was not long after his hesitation had arisen before he realized how stupid a thought it was. He immediately let out a chuckle at himself. Who was he to question the Heavenly Lord Yuanshi? Being of higher rank than all deities, he was the oldest and most powerful Heavenly Lord. For what reason would he desire a mere insignificant, unimpressive broken spike given by Marshal Tianpeng?

His grip loosened, and the broken spike fell swiftly onto the center of the tactical formation.

Once again, Gan Ruoxu carried out the two major procedures, the sacrifice for the praying fire and meditating while thinking of Heavenly Lord Yuanshi. To his delight, the pure white light appeared, and the tactical formation melted into a sea of stars.

He collected himself and began to chant the honorific title of the God Master.

The galaxy began to move like spiraling arms, engulfing the spike. Gan Ruoxu immediately felt like he saw the depths of the universe, as if he had passed through heaven and earth, seen the Lingxiu Peak and the Jade Palace. He saw the Heavenly Lord Yuanshi who was wearing the image of a green-robed priest. The priest picked up the spike, a simple glaze lamp indescribable by color and language appearing in the depths of his eyes. Black and white continued to divide and flow, the whole process vague and mysterious but wonderful at the same time.

And so, he lowered his head and continued to chant.

“Heavenly Lord Yuanshi…”

Meng Qi held the broken spike that originated from the Nine-Pronged Trident in his hands while casting the Principles of Karma, attempting to uncover any clues.

The lines of stars grew prominent as the vast starry sky seemed to descend. The world of karma flickered in and out, enveloping the broken spike into its embrace. It instantly became a part of that world. There always was a result to every action, and correspondingly an action to every result.

Tracing the line of stars, Meng Qi’s gaze skipped past Wu Ju and one of his ancestors, finally settling on a giant burning ball of fire. This was many times larger than most of the stars he had encountered while traveling solo in the galaxy.

The scorching heat and brilliant radiance dominated the horizon, followed by a sudden scream of terror.

“I don’t know anything…”

The voice cut off abruptly. The Principles of Karma in Meng Qi’s eyes began to circulate. He got ready to seize the connection with the advent of air, but the path in front of him was still vague and uncertain. With his current ability, it was still impossible for him to penetrate through the barrier and arrive at the scenario.

It was indeed the star of Vairocana in the Heavenly River of the Celestial World, where Pigsy lost his life… Meng Qi nodded to himself at the realization that he was obstructed by the Nine Levels of Heaven.

But what does ‘I don’t know anything’ refer to?

In the beginning, he originally did not have any doubts regarding the death of Pigsy. Ananda the Devil Buddha even personally admitted that he was the Pigsy who was executed by the God of Thunder of the Ninth Heaven. He was caught in the act of betraying the Celestial Ruler, moreover, it still was not the time for a turning point, so he was punished with execution.

However, after finding out that Wu Ju’s ancestor managed to receive the gift of a fragment of the Nine-Pronged Trident, Meng Qi started to develop doubts. He went over the entire matter again and found a few suspicious points.

Ananda the Devil Buddha did not admit it personally!

He only listened in silence while Meng Qi voiced his analysis, refusing to comment. It was not until the mention of Zhenwu when he finally spoke up.

And the most important part was, was the power of the God of Thunder of the Ninth Heaven really incapable of destroying the body of Pigsy, who was merely a transcendent?

In the past, his knowledge and experience were indeed insufficient. Seeing that even the star was unable to cremate Pigsy’s body, he reasoned that the God of Thunder of the Ninth Heaven just happened to not be able to destroy it. On top of that, the matter was of urgency as the Great War of the Heavenly Court was about to begin, not to be delayed, so he also killed Gao Cuilan and falsified the murderer. In hindsight, the God of Thunder of the Ninth Heaven in the Creative Realm series would definitely be powerful enough to burn Pigsy’s body down into ashes without leaving a single trace behind!

In addition to that, the remnants of the Nine-Pronged Trident and the screams of ‘I don’t know anything’ point to a different conclusion, not the one that he had initially came up with.

Of course, this did not necessarily imply that Pigsy was still alive, as the communication of the theurgy of the universe would realistically be able to retain the imprint of heaven and earth or their corresponding authorities. It was a part of the Principles of Nature of heaven and earth. For example, if Pigsy was still alive while connecting with Marshal Tianpeng, then his ability of Tiangang Thirty Six Changes should be the ability bestowed while utilizing direct knowledge. If Pigsy had already fallen, then it would only have been possible to connect with the corresponding authority of the title of Marshall Tianpeng – thus obtaining control of the navy of 10,000 of the Heavenly River.

From Wu Ju’s direct knowledge, The True Dharma of the Heavenly River, it was indeed quite difficult to conclude that Pigsy was still alive. Meng Qi believed that the matter regarding the nine-pronged trident and broken thorn was due to the incomplete destruction of Pigsy’s body and the absence of a new Marshall Tianpeng so that the corresponding authority was still linked to Pigsy. Wu Ju’s ancestor pleaded for the gift, and with the help of this link, managed to clear the path to the star of the Heavenly River, and secured the most precarious part of the nine-toothed rake next to Pigsy’s body.

“There is something mysterious on this side of the universe, for it to have such close connections with the Celestial World,” in deep thought, Meng Qi stroked the broken fragment of the nine-pronged trident.

While he was in the Jade Palace, he had attempted the tactical formation of connecting with the fairy god to plead for a gift, but it was to no avail due to the fall of the Nine Levels of Heaven. Its interval with the Real World was extremely strong and difficult to penetrate, whereas in the universe Gan Ruoxu was in, the interval was relatively more fragile and even contained cracks, which enabled the existence of such an effective theurgy.

However, it was a pity that he was unable to descend to the other side of the universe. He had to find another way to enter the Heavenly River to obtain Pigsy’s body and search for clues.

To this day, the giant star that once left him drowning in his own fear could no longer threaten him!

Yin and Yang flowed while the roles of life and death were reversed. The broken spike seemed to gain life in Meng Qi’s palm. Its blue glow gradually grew deeper, turning as sharp as a Heavenly Weapon.

With a gentle toss, the broken spike was thrown out of the Real World and back into the center of the tactical formation.

Zhao Laowu had retreated as a measure to prepare for advancement. He became the first in line to the throne of the Great Zhou Dynasty, after the current emperor. Not only did the Forces of Living Beings not reduce, they even increased. He released his burden, pressing on with only the necessities, his soul sparkly and clear. Even if there were improvements in his ability, he had already started his self-imposed isolation. He wanted to train his Dharmakaya, thus, he was unreachable by any means of communication. Even then, he did not need a whole decade.

…

Light and shadow gradually dissipated, chased away by a blue glow that blossomed through the courtyard, making it look as if it was underwater with light spilling through the waves. It was a dreamy view.

“It really does feel more powerful!” Wu Ju’s eyes were wide and bright, his delight evident on his face and in his voice.

Gan Ruoxu let out a sigh of relief, bathing in Wu Ju’s admiring gaze.

The pair realized that it was getting late, so they hastily cleaned up their mess and were just about to return to their rooms when they caught Xu Feixiang passing by in a hurry.

“Where’s the fairy, Senior Xu?” Wu Ju asked as he extended a hand to block her path.

Gan Ruoxu also spoke up, “Junior Xu, didn’t the fairy go to your room? Why are you still running about outside?”

A subtle smile danced on Xu Feixiang’s lips, “The fairy is aloof, and unapproachable. I’ve given it much thought, and I’ve finally come up with this brilliant idea.”

“What idea?” Gan Ruoxu and Wu Ju asked in unison.

The smile on Xu Feixiang’s face grew, “I was thinking, the fairy had the Jade Rabbit as her companion during her time at the Moon Palace. So I decided to run over to the kitchen and get her a warm, cuddly rabbit to ease her loneliness. Hopefully, she would like it and warm up to me.”

“Good idea,” Gan Ruoxu praised.