The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Going around and returning to the starting point, Meng Qi changed his mind again and again. The affairs of the world were inconsistent.

Although it was only 6 days, Meng Qi felt, for a moment, as if he had experienced all the disasters and vicissitudes.

“How are you?” Jiang Zhiwei asked by Secret Voice-sending.

Meng Qi glanced at the old man and signaled for everybody to follow him. When they reached a corner, Meng Qi lowered his voice and told them everything about the small jade joss.

Both Jiang Zhiwei and Qi Zhengyan had heard that Meng Qi had a small jade joss, and that it had broken after the Samsara task. Beyond their expectations, Meng Qi, during his individual task, had found another identical jade joss with Yuan Meng’s letter, “Where to find Spirit Mountain”.

“The first joss was given by an unnamed old monk, and the second was left by Master Yuan Meng. According to Buddhism, you are the man of salambana,” Jiang Zhiwei said in a low voice. Holy Mountain was coveted, however, the real identities of the unnamed monk and Master Yuan Meng called for guard and precaution.

Qi Zhengyan said contemplatively, “Could it be Ananda?”

Ruan Yushu and Luo Shengyi knew nothing about the first jade joss, so they just kept silent. Peacefully and quietly, they listened to the story with envy.

Meng Qi had the same feeling. He hated to be manipulated and destined. “If it’s Ananda, the letter should say ‘So that is what it is’… The situation got out of hand and I can’t think at all for now. I want to go back to the temple and the pure land of Holy Mountain.”

Although Meng Qi had received the second jade joss when he was imparted with Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmanship, nothing could prove that the small jade joss was linked to Ananda. Meng Qi had come to Samsara because of the joss and he’d thought he would obtain the second one sooner or later. As for the appearance of Devil Lord and Demon Venerable as well as the pure land of Holy Mountain, they might have been caused by the changes from the activity of qi after Meng Qi wore the jade joss. Otherwise, the existence of adventures in every World of Samsara could not be explained.

And that could explain exactly why the Dominator of Samsara in the Six Realms had introduced the full Journey to the West background.

“Go back to the temple? I disagree. There’re so many monsters!” Luo Shengyi immediately opposed to Meng Qi’s suggestion. “Are you kidding me? Why would you venture to go back on the last day? For now, it’s the best to hide in the depth of the crypt, where you’re secure and stable, and stall for time.”

Qi Zhengyan did not say anything, nor did he approve.

Jiang Zhiwei laughed and said, “It’s my style. In fact, the monsters are hunting for us everywhere now, and the temples are the most vacant.”

The most dangerous place was usually the safest.

Ruan Yushu said, “If we stay here, whether we survive or not is not up to us but to the monsters. We can’t control it.”

“That’s true.” Meng Qi looked at Luo Shengyi and said, “We killed four monsters of Half-step Exterior Scenery. Other monsters will know our location and come to hunt for us. If we’re lucky enough and they start in another place, we can get back safely. If not, we’ll be completely annihilated.”

“In the crypt, the monsters can’t fly, but we lose our way of escape. If they come here, we can only fight our way out. Also, whether we can make it or not depends on how many Half-step Exterior Scenery monsters there’re.”

Meng Qi said in a solid voice, “I don’t want to entrust my life to illusory luck. The pure land of Holy Mountain is full of vitality and I need to grasp the chance. I don’t regret even if I die.”

After a pause he went on. “And we are not out of bravado or rudeness. If we go back to the temple, we can catch several small demons. We can torture them into telling us where the horizontal board of Big Leiyin Temple is and the number of large monsters in the temple. If it is beyond our ability or the horizontal board is taken away, we’d better go west across the temple. Then we hide in the places the monsters have already searched.”

“It’s dangerous to go near the temple. But, it’s also an opportunity.”

In other words, after crossing the temple and setting foot in a westward direction, they would be where the monsters had already searched. It would be easier for the monsters to neglect it. Although it depended on their luck, Meng Qi was confident.

After hearing Meng Qi’s analysis, Luo Shengyi grudgingly agreed. “One must know one’s limitations before one takes a risk.”

So they left most of their dry food and water with the old man and headed for the temple discreetly. Moving ahead for a while, they saw mottled exterior walls and decayed roofs, as well as small demons on patrol. Some demons along the way shouted, “The king dispatched me to patrol the temple.”

The corner of Meng Qi’s mouth twitched. “The slogan, adapted from Journey to the West, matches well with a patrol.”

He sank his mind and signaled to Qi Zhengyan to do the same. After a while, they captured a single demon as they had planned.

“Where’s the horizontal board?” Meng Qi asked. His eyes looked like a placid deep sea with countless whirlpools.

The small demon gave up resisting and said ignorantly, “Horizontal board?”

“What’s that? Is it edible?”

“It is the dilapidated wooden board where Chance is.” Meng Qi replied.

The small demon began to understand. “There’s no Chance in the wooden board. The Great King just threw it in a room.”

“Big Leiyin Temple was once the dwelling of the Primogenitor of Buddhism. Since the monsters know about the Holy Mountain, they must know about the board. Why did the Great King throw it?” Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei doubted, “Could it be a trap?”

“What did the Great King say about that board?” Meng Qi asked discreetly.

The small demon looked up and thought for a while, “The Great King said it’s written by a powerless Bald Ass, and it’s not useful at all.”

“Powerless Bald Ass?” Meng Qi’s face throbbed. He considered a possibility and asked in a low voice, “Did the Great King recognize the characters on the board?”

“Characters?” The demon was surprised. “They thought they were scribbles.”

“Illiterates are illiterates.” Meng Qi let out a sigh of relief, so did Jiang Zhiwei.

“I suppose so. How could the mountain kings have possibly learned Sanskrit? They don’t even recognize normal human characters!”

“Is there any other king in the temple?” Meng Qi asked.

“Only the Great King of Heisong Mountain. The others are out looking for people. I heard several kings met with tragic death.” The demon answered honestly.

Meng Qi then asked for details about the king of Heisong Mountain. The king, who turned out to be a Pig Demon, was too lazy to search outside and had returned to the temple to sleep.

“Could it be a family member of the second brother?” Meng Qi whispered. He was now more aware of the situation in the temple.

Meng Qi turned his head back. He looked at Jiang Zhiwei and the others. “This is a golden opportunity. I’m going into the temple. What about you?”

Since it was dangerous, Meng Qi couldn’t force them to take a risk.

“The opportunity must be seized,” Jiang Zhiwei said.

Qi Zhengyan nodded his head slightly, contemplatively. “The deaths of Senior Brother Zhang and Miss Fu have made me realize that I can no longer muddle along or cultivate myself steadily. I must proactively chase any chance to improve my strength. The Holy Mountain is not a dead end, but an opportunity. I won’t miss it.”

Qi Zhengyan who had once been speechless, now expressed his internal shift.

Meng Qi’s views had shifted too. He made up his mind. If he made it back alive, he would join the Six Fan School and become a Secret-searching Nark. With the resources and intelligence provided by the Six Fan School, he could proactively seek chance, challenge and historical remains. No longer would he be waiting.

Destiny is in your own hands.

“I have no problem.” Ruan Yushu answered briefly. The zither had been repaired. Her white robe was like snow, the plum blossoms were in full bloom and bright red.

Luo Shengyi thought that if there was just one king in the temple, they would definitely be able to handle it. And the pure land of Holy Mountain, where the Primogenitor of Buddhism lived, was pretty attractive. After weighing and considering, he nodded his head slightly and signaled he would follow.

The five of them availed themselves of loopholes and played Body Movements. In a second, they reached the wall. Supported by their left hands, they jumped into the temple as lightly as if a goose feather had landed.

Meng Qi was will-projecting. His mind was as tranquil as the surface of a calm lake, which reflected the surroundings. He hid himself from the small sleeping demons and approached the meditation room, where the horizontal board of Big Leiyin Temple had been left.

Suddenly, he heard a thunderous sound from the meditation room. Meng Qi was startled. He was afraid he had exposed himself.

Listening carefully, he realized it was the Pig Demon snoring loudly. What a relief. Meng Qi signaled to the others to be cautious.

They walked gingerly across the meditation room to another room. They saw that the horizontal board had been thrown to the ground randomly. Some demons had even peed on it.

Meng Qi walked up to it and put his jade joss onto the board. Nothing happened.

“Maybe I was wrong…” He thought with a frown.

Outside the temple was a large-headed and black-scaled fish demon. It was wearing a Golden Chain Mail Shirt and Phoenix-feathered Cap. Approaching gingerly, it was obviously Murky, the Great King of Emerald Waves, Murky, coming back for rehabilitation.

“You idiots don’t know a breath about Buddhism, do you?” Murky snickered in a very low voice.

As an ancient demon, it had been alive for eight or nine hundred years. It had once met a Great Sage and now guarded the Buddha Treasure. Although it was illiterate, it knew much more than other monsters.

The fish demon had been injured before and didn’t rival other monsters. So it lied and told the others that the Chance was with their enemy. Now it had healed, and soundlessly come to steal the horizontal board without mounting the clouds or riding the mist.

“Why didn’t anything happen?” Meng Qi wondered. Jiang Zhiwei and the others were on the lookout.

Numerous thoughts popped into his mind and made him totally blank, anxious and fretful. He took a deep breath to calm down. He recollected the general knowledge of Buddhism and the story of the Journey to the West.

“Holy Mountain… It is said in Zen that all human beings have Buddha nature. One is Buddha himself or herself. Holy Mountain is in his or her own mind… ”

“Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, hollow of slanting moon and three stars. Lingtai… heart…”

Gradually Meng Qi gathered his thoughts. “Maybe I should start this way.”

He stepped on the board, put the jade joss onto his heart and closed his eyes to induce them through intuition.

Meng Qi’s heart was as clear as a bright mirror, reflecting the board and the jade joss. All of a sudden, the horizontal board of Big Leiyin Temple gave out a crystal light from Meng Qi’s heart. Great light, great bravery and great mercy.

Light gathered and turned into an illusory door emitting Buddha light. The small jade joss flew into the door and embedded.

The illusory door opened heavily and sent out ambiguous light. The inside was invisible.

“It’s right here.” Luo Shengyi’s voice came into Meng Qi’s ears.

Meng Qi opened his eyes, only to see the illusory door, formed by a golden Buddha light, crystal and clear with Buddha sound. And the jade joss in his palm had fractured into fragments. It floated down. The horizontal board was full of Buddha cadence.

“Let’s go inside.” Sensing danger, Meng Qi did not hesitate to call Luo Shengyi and the others to follow.

Jiang Zhiwei was the first to walk into the Buddha light, and she immediately disappeared. Luo Shengyi, Ruan Yushu and Qi Zhengyan followed in turn. Before Meng Qi walked in, he suddenly remembered a plot in the Journey to the West and took the board with him.

There was Buddha light before his eyes and Buddha cadence in his ears. Meng Qi had a blurry vision of a lofty mountain whose summit could not be seen.

In the meditation room, the Buddha light weakened. The door swayed and gradually disappeared.

At that moment, Murky ran into the room, shocked at the situation. Then it took out a Buddha Treasure and transported to them.