The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Jiang Zhiwei wiped her sword, cleaning the blood that stained the blade, as she walked next to Meng Qi. “Are you okay?” she asked.

She paused momentarily, feeling rather embarrassed. After all, she was the one who caused the injury on Meng Qi’s left shoulder.

“Don’t worry. It’s just a minor wound. At most, it was the last burst of Sword Qi that hurt my meridians. I’ve taken a Hundred-herb Bolus earlier. It wouldn’t take long for me to recover,” said Meng Qi, trying to comfort her. He smiled and continued, “If not for your hesitation in that instant you wielded your sword, I would be crippled if not dead by now.”

He was gratified to know that Jiang Zhiwei still remembered him even as she was possessed by evil spirits and felt a sliver of hesitation before giving him a deadly blow.

Jiang Zhiwei was still suffering from the lingering fear, though she was also feeling emotional. Her face flushed red as she said, “It was like I was trapped in a never-ending nightmare where everything was hazy and unclear. I couldn’t remember anything, only feeling the thirst for flesh and blood and the desire to kill. Even when I encountered something that felt familiar, the sense of familiarity came too slow for me to regain control of my body. It wasn’t until I was about to use my Anatta Sword that the sense of familiarity became strong enough to influence what was beyond that nightmare.”

“I’m incredibly flattered that you still remembered me even after being possessed,” Meng Qi said jokingly. He then added more seriously, “If you met someone else, we’d have a serious problem in our hands…”

“I would’ve caused a really huge mistake…” she replied, putting it in a way that he had deliberately tried to avoid.

“It’s over. Don’t keep it in your heart.” He instantly shifted the topic immediately and said, “I thought Mr. Su would have given you some kind of amulet to shield you from the invasion of Primogenitor Devil’s awareness.”

Jiang Zhiwei was quiet for a moment. “He did give me one…”

She paused before continuing, “It probably won’t work for such possession by other awareness, though. After all, there’s not much value for the enemies to possess my mind except during a Samsara task. If they try to sneak into Sword Washing Pavilion, Master will notice. If they try to learn the Supreme Methods of the Sword through my memories, they will only find the parts that I’ve understood.”

“Besides, Master is always secretive on this matter. I never knew why, so I never relied on it.”

“To be honest, your will and swordsmanship should put you close to the level of the Great Master. If Primogenitor Devil hasn’t been at Dharmakaya level during his peak, your swordwill would’ve crushed his one trace of awareness. He wouldn’t have succeeded in possessing you otherwise.” Meng Qi couldn’t help saying so for he worried that this incident might affect Jiang Zhiwei’s confidence.

She chuckled. “Still, I’m no match for you with your spiritual mystiques and Buddha’s Lamp. I’ve been thinking of studying a spiritual mystique after this task, but since my Nine Acupores would be open by then, I could start studying the Dharma Access in the Supreme Methods of the Sword straightaway. It concentrates on the acupore point of my mid-brows.”

She had nearly reached her last natural acupore point. Once this task over, she would go into seclusion and open it.

Her gaze suddenly drifted and she looked around as if she was looking for their companions. “Little monk, you used the Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth to rouse my memories the last time we were in Zhenwu’s Decoy Grave. You used it again this time to stimulate my mind. What did you see?”

She had been holding this question back for some time, but who didn’t have a sense of privacy?

Meng Qi coughed a little. “Chicken-slaying Sword God.”

Jiang Zhiwei kept a straight face, but eventually couldn’t help laughing. “That’s the first nickname in my life.”

“Seriously? Not even one nickname from all your seniors and juniors in the Sword Washing Pavilion?” Meng Qi asked in surprise. Wasn’t nicknaming others a hobby that all humans shared?

Jiang Zhiwei lamented, “I consider myself an outgoing person, but perhaps Master’s reputation was too grand and my talent was considered outstanding. The elders were fond of me and treated me like their own disciples, while my peers and juniors admired and complimented me. Few tried to befriend me.”

Meng Qi sighed to himself. So talents had their own set of problems…

The two didn’t continue their conversation, both agreeing to stop in consensus. They focused on finding their companions and guarding against any sneak attacks.

Meng Qi felt a lot more confident about what would come next now that he had rescued Jiang Zhiwei first. As long as they didn’t encounter all three of their possessed friends at once, it shouldn’t be too risky to win them in a fight.

After a while, they saw someone dashing out from behind the wall in front of them. That person held a long sword that glowed with a dark gold light, displaying a dashing sense of elegance and extravagance. It was the fifth Imperial Prince of the Great Jin Dynasty, Zhao Heng.

He spotted Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei as well. He stopped in his tracks and his momentum seemed to rise. He adopted an imposing stance, appearing to fade into his surroundings. He seemed very alert.

“Brother Zhao, are you okay?” Meng Qi noticed that Zhao Heng’s eyes were clear. He didn’t seem to be possessed by Primogenitor Devil.

Zhao Heng replied in a deep voice, “You aren’t possessed by Primogenitor Devil?”

Meng Qi burst out laughing. “How can a mere Primogenitor Devil possess someone like me?”

He knew Zhao Heng would believe them more if he said so.

Zhao Heng felt himself relax after sensing Meng Qi’s confidence and pride, as well as the Buddha’s Lamp hanging in front of his chest. “A trace of Primogenitor Devil’s awareness tried to possess me but happened to have a talisman. They destroyed each other.”

What coincidence? He probably had plenty of talismans ready for all sorts of situations, Meng Qi thought. This was the way the rich handle such incidents.

He held Buddha’s Lamp and said, “Fourth Prince, no, Fifth Prince, prevention is always better than cure. I hope you’ll allow me to shine the lamp on you, lest there’s any filthiness or part of Primogenitor Devil’s awareness left.”

The light from this bluish white lamp could reach every corner of the world. Devils could never hide from it.

Zhao Heng’s face twitched when he heard the way Meng Qi casually changed the way he addressed him. Though he still called him a prince, Meng Qi showed no sense of respect at all as if he was talking a hooligan. Nonetheless, he nodded. “That’s a good idea. I can see if there’s any awareness left in you two as well.”

This wasn’t a matter where anyone’s word could be accepted at face value. Once someone lied, everyone would be endangered.

As the bluish white lamp became larger, its light grew bigger. After Meng Qi gave it a gentle shake, the light filled the space. A warm and peaceful feeling emerged as the light shone on them. A faint yellow glow could be seen around Zhao Heng’s body, but there wasn’t any trace of Primogenitor Devil’s awareness or filthy Devil Qi. Of course, there was none on the other two either.

Zhao Heng was relieved to see this. “The reason why I’m being so on guard because I came across Yushu earlier. I was put under the control of her Dragons’ Vast Cries and I was nearly infused with evil spirit too. It took me so much effort to escape her.”

That foodie? Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei exchanged glances, their excitement was hard to hide. “Where was she? The Buddha’s Lamp can rid of all the Primogenitor Devil’s awareness in her!”

“I’ll lead the way.” Zhao Heng turned and started walking without another word.

The three of them walked around the dark mountains covered with a hint of luster. The bellows of the devil and Zen chanting became clearer as they went deeper.

…

A green light penetrated the dark and serene cave. Bluecloud Progenitor stood still against the wall as her nostrils emitted faint traces of the glow that enveloped her body.

After a while, an aggressive trace of breath approached her. It contained Devil Qi foul enough to make one lose control, yet it was mixed with strong Zen capable of displaying any desire for murder and blood. It was peaceful and solemn without a hint of filth.

Bluecloud Progenitor had already stopped the absorption of Vital Qi by her body, pretending to be dead.

The particular breath paused for a while when it came near the cave before going away immediately.

Bluecloud Progenitor heaved a sigh of relief. She could feel the cold sweat dotting her forehead underneath the mask. How could such an accident happen?

She was about to fly back to the entrance after killing two evil spirits at the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery when a black hurricane suddenly swept the area violently, leaving her no space to hide. What was more, there was even a trace of Primogenitor Devil’s awareness mixed in that hurricane!

She knew none of this could affect her, yet when the hurricane disappeared, she had entered the core area by accident. Fighting those scary monsters had almost cost her life, and it took her huge effort to escape this area.

How could such a thing happen? She hadn’t done anything yet! Based on her research, there shouldn’t be such accidents inside a Demonworld Fragment. That was unless the Primogenitor Devil was completely awake. Even so, it wasn’t time for his awakening yet!

Bluecloud Progenitor considered what might have caused the accident as she waited for the breath to be gone for sure.

She probably wasn’t the reason for it. She only killed two evil spirits at the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery in the outer-ring. That couldn’t be more common in a Demonworld Fragment. If that caused the accident, it would have happened when they had just stepped inside the Demonic World!

Had she ever wanted to do something that would cause the accident?

Of course!

Bluecloud Progenitor didn’t tell the whole truth earlier on. What she really planned to do was to first help Meng Qi and the rest destroy the channel to the Demonic World. Once they had returned to their own world, she would instantly summon Primogenitor Guangcheng and Yun Zhongzi by setting up formations and burning specific talismans. With three of them working together, reckless as it may sound, she would challenge the half-awake Primogenitor Devil without the help of Fate-protecting Triratna. That way, she might find the impartation of the first form of the Buddha’s Palm.

This was the backup plan of the Immortals, in case of any emergencies. Bluecloud Progenitor hadn’t been truthful to Meng Qi and his companions. If she couldn’t get it for herself, she wouldn’t let the Myths get their hands on it either.

But these were all her expectations. Nothing was concrete yet.

Could Meng Qi and the rest have done something to trigger the accident? Stunned, Bluecloud Progenitor suddenly looked at the entrance.

…

On her golden phoenix, Matriarch of the West sat near the foothills. After a short while, a starlight broke through the sky and reached where she was.

“Is everything alright?” Military Star asked. He looked tall and robust, wearing a mask and black clothes.

She told him briefly what happened as she led the way.

“Humph! They’re merely a team who survived the Death Task. How dare they mess with our business!” Military Star said disdainfully. “Can you confirm their real-world identities?”

“While I was looking for the Fate-protecting Tripod in Evergreen Temple, I only knew that the one using a blade could use the Violent Thunder Shocking the Sky.” Matriarch of the West explained in details as they flew toward the Skyscraping Mountain. “When I fought him in the Heaven-reaching Hall, I learned that one is skilled in sound attacks and seemed to be able to use a tune at the Dharmakaya level. One is a Destined Ruler while the other seemed capable of using art under Half-step Exterior Scenery level in advance. He could attack with thrilling lights from afar. There was another one who seemed to be using the Anatta Sword. Likely a disciple of Su Wuming. But there could be others who exchanged for that sword art.”

Military Star’s voice turned deep as he said, “Besides exchanging for that sword art, one can only learn it at the Sword Washing Pavilion. Where can they get so many Karma points from?”

“What if she is? Do you dare to provoke Su Wuming?” Matriarch of the West said, her voice as cold as ice.

Military Star was suddenly quiet.

“Su killed Patriarch of the East. No one knows how much he understands about us and Samsara. It’s better not to invite any trouble from him.” Matriarch of the West stared forward. “Unless you want Heaven Sovereign to rescue you at the risk of exposing his true identity?”

Military Star took a long and deep breath. “I won’t mess with him but we have to check on his disciple’s friends to see if there’s anyone who fits your description.”