The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

At the borders of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Southern Wasteland, the townships were in disarray, but they prospered due to the booming trade of materials extracted from wild beasts and the warriors travelling south to chase their dreams. As of now, whether the people were indoors or outdoors, everyone in town felt a chill being sent down their spines. It wasn’t the freezing cold of the harsh weather, but the chill of fear that made their hair stand on end. It was the chill of having a sword hanging over your head, ready to fall at any moment.

What happened? Were powerful warriors having a fight-off nearby, or has a mighty wild beast run past the area? Young Liu Gu who was watching the Vertical Wing Talkshow earnestly shuddered. He stood out unconsciously and walked to the windows.

“What is that?” Liu Gu sputtered out. with just a glance, his face was filled with horror.

Not far from the township, a dazzling summit appeared out of the blue, towering above the clouds with no hint of its peak.

No! That wasn’t a common summit, but a sharp piercing sword! It was a magnificent ancient blade that pierced through the whole of the earth all the way to firmament!

The aura of the sword ran wild, as though it was a summit holding up the sky. The intricate carvings on the sword were a language of a dynasty unknown, but everyone knew it meant Celestial Killing. Liu Gu was dumbfounded as he remained rooted on the spot, for reality was suddenly wilder than all his dreams before.

This was his first time looking at a realm that surpassed that of celestial legends, and it sowed a seed deep in his heart.

The Luo Sect Oracles who were currently in the State of the South were suddenly very much wary of their surroundings. They seemed to have been stripped of an immense advantage in power by the sword array, and they could no longer feel their nirvana-like powers.

The communication between the reflected selves of all realms was affected, as the communication no longer flowed fluently like before. The absorbed energy decreased, too.

The powerful warriors surrounding the flying shields around immediately lost the resonance with the heavenly earth and skies; and as the growing wind created by the array worsened, the shields gradually fell to the ground with the warriors.

“Not only the powers of being all around is gone, even the forces and boundaries of the realms are also restricted…” the Celestial Lamp Ambassador discovered that the connection with his Void Hometown had weakened.

The Celestial Ceremony Ambassador looked up at the sky with a solemn look, and said, “The Fairy Slaying Sword Formation!”

“A real sword formation formed using the four Fairy-Slaying Swords!”

The Celestial Vase Ambassador’s mood fluctuated, and before he could make sure, he blurted out, “Lord Ling Bao’s Fairy Slaying Swords?”

Did the four most ancient swords finally appear for the first time after the demons terrorized the Earth?

Gao Lan and Su Meng really did prepare well, each of their methods was scarier than the one before!

…

Within the Gobi Desert, all the Great Sages of the demon race watched as the sword formation combined into one. They watched as the green Fairy-Slaying Sword began to appear. There was a short moment of silence between the several Demonic Great Sages and Qingqiu, who held the Black Golden Spear with Phoenix Wings. They each revealed a different expression.

“These are the four Fairy Slaying Swords? The strongest Ancient Death Formation?” the bulkily built, dual-horned Bull Demon King disguised his shock and asked calmly.

He was not born during the War of Deification, hence he had never seen the Fairy Slaying Sword Formation before. During the battle when the Heavenly Court fell, he did not partake in the battle due to his lack in abilities, and later on was even locked in Spirited Mountain, of which he had just recently managed to escape.

The fine features of Qingqiu turned somber as he said, “Yes, these are the Four Fairy Slaying Swords. When the demons raged the Earth, these swords were the ones who saved the emperor.”

Back when the Demonic Sage was ravaging all the realms, the battle was falling to their side. Although the emperor had cast the swords and poured his heart and soul into increasing the prowess of the Terran race, they still had a long way to go to equal the demons. Yet, when the Demonic Sage finally realized the danger of his enemy and planned to destroy them, he was obstructed by the Fairy Slaying Swords that were finally awakened.

“Interesting!” the Bull Demon King bellowed. He looked around at the Roc Demon King, Dragon Demon King, and the rest of the Sages, Glow and Raka. With a beaming grin, he showed off his pearly teeth and said, “In my opinion, the Fairy Slaying Swords have only awakened at the Legendary level, and all four swords are different in terms of their strength. Furthermore, we can all feel that the strength of the four swords aren’t equal, making it incomplete. It is obvious that they lack the sword manuals for two corresponding swords. Even with the Map of Formation, it will never be completed to the level of the legends. Hence, this formation can restrict us, but it won’t cause us any physical harm. So are we going to withstand this formation and march forth to take down the cities, or should we destroy this sword formation first?”

“Of course we should destroy the formation first!” The Roc Demon King responded without hesitation, “We can’t appear anywhere we like, and even the flying shields are tough to operate. To battle all the way to Changle City will waste too much of our time! There are too many uncertainties!”

The Dragon Demon King, Qingqiu and the rest agreed. Who would be blind enough to charge forth into the strongest Ancient Death Formation? Even if it was still incomplete, they still have to try breaking it from the outside first.

The Bull Demon King nodded his head and looked at Qingqiu, “So how should we break this formation?”

He did not know much about the Fairy Slaying Sword Formation. Although knowledgeable and experienced, it was hard for him to see what was wrong with the formation.

Qingqiu pointed at the vague green door in the midst of the Gobi Desert, “The first way, and the proper way is that we enter through the four doors, withstand the aura of the swords and circle through the Restrictive Spell all the way to the centre and control the caster of the formation. The rest will wait by the four doors and seize the four swords at any chance.”

“If you want to do that, we might as well take down a few cities on the way,” the Roc Demon King said. He swaggered along with his huge body, bringing down a sky full of mist and dampness. The rain fell heavily and made the Gobi Desert damp.

Qingqiu smiled softly, “Do listen to me, dear Sages. Since the Fairy Slaying Sword Formation is incomplete, we don’t have to go through all these troubles. We can fly into the sky and estimate the center eye of the formation, and destroy it from the top.”

“Alright! Let me try!” the Bull Demon King bent his knee and gave a strong jump. He disappeared from plain sight and reappeared in the night starry skies, watching the entire Real World from above. He can see the colors of the four swords: red, green, black, and white. They spread out and suspended the entire border of the Great Zhou Dynasty in a scary and terrifying aura.

His eyes fleeted all around, like the black and white tails of the Yin Yang Fish, whereas the surroundings were like the floating pieces of divination symbols, continuously breaking apart and recombing.

If one assumed the old bull was a brute who was terrible with details, they would suffer.

“Ha! Found you!”

Out of the blue, the Bull Demon King suddenly grinned and showed off his pearly white teeth. He suddenly pressed his right palm downwards, just like sunset, and it firmly pressed on the ground.

The aura of the swords dispersed the wind. The clouds crumbled and strong winds became nothing, revealing what was really in the center of the eye. It was Changle City that crossed all the nine states. It was the Heaven Conferring Platform that was worshiped by all five emperors!

And the person sitting on the Heaven Conferring Platform was wearing black robes and a bamboo crown. He calmly watched on as the four swords continued slashing around with ever-changing vision. He was none other than Meng Qi.

“Su Meng?”

“It was you!”

The Bull Demon King’s voice sounded hollow as it echoed in the sky, sending Changle City into scary storms. Looking above, it was like a huge hand had covered the sky, destroying the swords and ruining the auras, treating every living being like ants. If it happens to hit square onto the ground, Changle would become a giant handprint on the Earth.

In the face of the Bull Demon King’s wrath, Meng Qi continued sitting calmly. With a flick of his fingers, the four swords combined into one, bringing together with it the four Fairy Swords from Donghai, Icy Plains, Southern Wasteland, and the Desert. They shone so bright together.

Immeasurable powers of the sword rushed forth into a vision as space and time were combined into one. They merged into a sword with enough power to destroy the universe. Purple sparks on Meng Qi’s knees conjoined into a blade, soaring through the air with dominance.

The swords and the blade combined, slashing through the air to meet the gigantic palm!

The swords and the blade surrounded the palm and in a blink of an eye, the fallen palm was turned into ashes. Everything happened suddenly. The strong winds began to swirl again, while the clouds hung over the world, as if nothing had ever happened.

The perfect combination of the four Fairy Slaying Swords and the Tyrant’s Blade!

The Bull Demon King stood amidst the stars and his gaze became serious. The bleeding flesh and veins by his shoulders shuddered as a new arm was regenerated.

Among all the Great Sages who escaped the Seal, he was the only one who has recovered to the Creation Realm. Although he was no longer in his peak, he was still arguably one of the strongest in all the realms. He was just a bit too careless prior, allowing the combination of the four Fairy Slaying Swords and the Tyrant’s Blade to hit him. He lost the first fight by allowing the Fairy Slaying Formation to diminish his strength.

“It is, after all, the only Peerless Heavenly Weapon from long ago till forever,” he sighed, deciding that he will not hide his powers, but use all his strength.

Just as he was about to transform into a great bull that could withstand the strength of the heavens and the universe, the sounds of Namo Amitabha resonated. Shades of azure shone forth and a white lotus begin to appear. Then, Maitreya emerged out of nowhere, smiling sincerely.

“Maitreya, do you also plan on breaking the formation directly?” the Bull Demon King halted his transformation, and asked with a polite smile.

Maitreya smiled and nodded, “If we can break the formation directly, it is beneficial for all living beings to avoid the plight of war.”

Shameless… the Bull Demon King thought to himself.

Maitreya looked at him, “You’ve realized the truth, Mister. When you’ve reached our level, being shameless is nothing, kindness is nothing, cunning is nothing, and empathetic is nothing; every description created afterhand is nothing. The only crucial matter is understanding your own path, practicing it and not disobeying it. The rest are merely unrealistic bubbles of fantasy, a false form.”

“I built the Buddhist Nation to elevate all living beings. All mercy is irrelevant, only the path is truth.”

The Bull Demon King coughed, “Then I shall cooperate with you, Maitreya.”

One has already stepped on his predestined path, while the other has both his Dharmakaya and Sambhogakaya present; both of whom were more skilled and experienced than the Bull Demon King. With their cooperation, it seemed like the incomplete Fairy Slaying Sword Formation will be broken soon.

Just then, they saw the Heaven Conferring Platform shining. The lands of Great Zhou begin to shake, and the Real World begin to waver as well. The beautiful picture of mountains and rivers began to fall slowly, covering the Heaven Conferring Platform and Meng Qi!

“He is the Great Zhou Emperor’s younger brother. He can activate the Heaven Conferring Platform.” Maitreya mumbled, before calling out his Moniker, “Mister Bull, it seems like our only choice is to enter the formation to break it.”

The Bull Demon King heaved a sigh of frustration, he felt like there was nowhere he could exercise his powers.

Meng Qi sat above the Heaven Conferring Platform. Gao Lan had escaped Great Zhou with the help of the coverage provided by the Emperor’s Sword. He sought to visit all their allies and search for help.

The beautiful picture of mountains and rivers floated warily. Meng Qi looked at Shaoxuan and Xi’e, and with a clap onto the Emperor’s Jade Seal, he said, “Please proceed to the West and use the Sword Formation to hold back the demons.”

At the same time, he held the Invincible Blade and threw it into the void. With a flash of purple, it appeared in the Xi Jian Pavilion.

“Zhiwei, bring the Invincible Blade down south and stop the Luo Sect.”

“Alright!” Jiang Zhiwei said no more. Upon grabbing the blade, she stood up, as if she was a sharp sword being drawn out of its sheath.

Then, Meng Qi’s voice resonated around the thatched cottage in the mountains behind Huamei Heights, “Senior Lu, may I trouble you to travel to the Jade Emperor Mountain with Senior Su to borrow the Time Blade? Then, travel south together to stop the Luo Sect.”

“What about Maitreya? Who’s going to stop him?” upon hearing Meng Qi’s request, Shaoxuan responded in shock.

“Let him be for now. There will be someone who will disrupt him from far away,” Meng Qi smiled.