The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

As his mind and sense organs slowed, Meng Qi felt everything in front of him come to a standstill.

Suddenly, a fierce wind passed by as if it was removing the seal of stillness. Everything soon returned to normal. Devil Qi was rolling again. The black and white world was tinted with bright colors. The bloody river continued to flow.

The black clouds that were gathered by the previous meteorological changes were still sprinkling their tears—spots of rains continuously fell to the ground.

Drip, drop, drip, drop! Many of the dark shadows faded as they screamed in pain, leaving just a few of them intact.

Smokes and clouds gathered together and became the mummy again. But its Devil Qi became weaker with almost identical Buddhist light.

The Vital Spirit above Jiang Zhiwei’s head had burned so much that it had become weak and transparent as if it would disappear at any time.

She pinched her eyes shut as her Vital Spirit returned to her head. Her face was pale, giving an image of fragility and weakness. Worse still, dark blood was trickling down from her Seven Acupores.

She slowly fell to the ground with increasingly weak breathing. Even so, her grip on her sword remained firm.

Meng Qi really wanted to rush to her, help her take a Recover Pill to sustain her life, and seize the time to detonate the passage. However, he remained still without losing his judgment. If he didn’t help the Buddhist light outflank Devil Qi, he would render Jiang Zhiwei’s strike at the expense of her life a total waste. They would all die by then.

It was finally time! Meng Qi planned to activate his Sacrifice Formula again.

Based on the confidential scripts of the Shaolin Temple, an injured person might die instantly after using the Sacrifice Formula twice in a row.

Meng Qi knew that he likely wouldn’t die after removing himself from his common body, but he might end up a good-for-nothing with all his meridians broken. In that case, a Recover Pill wouldn’t be any help to him and he wouldn’t be able to help in blowing up the passage, either. But if he couldn’t destroy the enemy in front of him right now, there wouldn’t anything to follow up to.

He only hoped that Qi Zhengyan would utilize all the resources he had accumulated thanks to his wealth and awaken Zhao Heng. They could then kill off the Half-step Exterior Scenery evil spirit as soon as possible and blow up the passage.

Just as he wanted to execute his heart sutras, a hand suddenly fell upon him out of nowhere. It was a small palm without much flesh but the fingers were long and slender. It was a beautiful hand.

Its five fingers were constantly changing and taking various forms as if displaying the secrets of life—the blossoming of a flower, the birth of a baby, and the germination of a seed.

A faint green light enveloped him and he felt as if he could hear the sound of a seed breaking the mud to germinate.

The seed, tiny as it was, managed to push the heavy dirt to grow. This was the strength of life.

This wasn’t an illusion. Countless patches of grass had grown around him, knitting a freshly green net.

Bluecloud Progenitor? Meng Qi was overjoyed. Their savior was here!

He rushed to Jiang Zhiwei without a second thought and dropped his Flowing Fire so he could retrieve the Recover Pills.

The palm had hit the mummy squarely on its head, which was already heavily wounded by the Twenty-three Swords Skill. It then injected strong vital vigor into its body.

Bluecloud Progenitor happened to witness Jiang Zhiwei’s attack as she arrived. Even as she felt shocked, she also felt a sudden urge. It was the urge to make her move.

She had thought the monster to be frightening so she planned to launch an attack with Primogenitor Guangcheng and Yun Zhongzi. But the monster was weaker than her expectations. It had to spare some of its attention to oppress its Buddhist light. More importantly, it allowed a bunch of kids who had yet to achieve the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery to severely injure itself. Its Devil Qi was almost scattered, nearly giving up the control of its body to the Buddhist light.

How could she stay put after seeing such a perfect opportunity?

If she didn’t accept the gift that God had sent her, she would suffer the consequences!

Ah!

The monster squeaked sorrowfully and gushes of black gas spewed out, polluting the green life strength. Its formidable Devil Whelm was everywhere, forcing Bluecloud Progenitor to step backward.

The Buddhist light took the opportunity to regain control of the body by completely outflanking the Devil Qi. It also drove the Devil Qi beneath its torsos. Although its head was still mummified, its face looked lenient and merciful as it said, “Namo Amitabha.”

Bluecloud Progenitor didn’t dare to launch another attack. She was afraid of helping the Devil Qi outwit the Buddhist light.

The monster was insanely powerful. She had hit its head with her full force but left only a faint palm-print without causing substantial injuries. If the Devil Qi and the Buddhist light took turns to attack her, she would wind up dead.

Using his genuine Qi, Meng Qi prompted Jiang Zhiwei to open her mouth. He then helped her take the Recover Pill while speeding the efficiency of the pill inside her body.

Jiang Zhiwei’s Vital Spirit had become slow in dissipation but couldn’t be contained. Meng Qi was so worried that he wanted to ask Bluecloud Progenitor for help.

A Buddhist light irradiated Jiang Zhiwei, controlling her Vital Spirit and sealing it inside her head. This allowed her Vital Spirit to fade at an incredible speed.

“Amitabha. I’m not of much help. Since I’ve confined the Vital Spirit inside her body, she would be saved if you can find a man who could condense a Golden Body in seven days.” The mummy placed its palms together. In its yellow frock and red cassock, it was the very picture of a superior monk.

Meng Qi exhaled. They had Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms backing them up, after all. “It’s not a problem,” he said.

Qi Zhengyan was relieved to see their situation turned better. He stopped trying to struggle and allowed himself to faint.

…

A green-robed man sat cross-legged upright on the ground in a stone room. He appeared very young but carried an unspeakable vicissitude. He seemed empty inside as if he was there in person but spiritually somewhere else.

Clang! The long sword upon his knees had unveiled half of its body, but he had completely sheathed it at this point.

After confirming that no one was inside the Skyscraping Palace, Military Star and Matriarch of the West flew inside through the same window Meng Qi had broken into.

…

“Amitabha, I’m Jiuzhen.” The mummy introduced its Dharma name.

Earlier, Bluecloud Progenitor had already guessed his identity and state. Even so, she was still confused and doubtful. She remained alert while waiting for him to continue.

Now that he had come across a cassock-attired mummy in the Demonworld Fragment, Meng Qi didn’t even have to use his brain to know it was Jiuzhen. He gently laid Jiang Zhiwei down and went up face-to-face with the mummy without an expression.

Jiuzhen lamented, “I came to the Demonworld Fragment with my Buddha Treasure to eliminate Primogenitor Devil, but just as I was almost succeeded, I had sadly neglected something. This world was, in fact, indestructible. It took the chance to imbue its awareness in my body. We’ve existed in an interwoven state ever since then, suppressing each other for so many years.

“I should be long dead but survived to this date because of the awareness. However, I don’t consider this as my luck. I’ve been looking forward to the rare chance where I could kill it.

“Earlier, I sensed a treasure related to Primogenitor of Buddhism appear and realized my chance has come. I spared no effort to draw you in, but Primogenitor Devil managed to gain control of my body after I consumed too much of my strength. I sincerely apologize for almost killing you.”

Damn it! Meng Qi couldn’t help scolding the old monk after considering the misery that befell his friends. He was the root of all of their sufferings.

But at the same time, he finally understood why everything went astray. It was because he used his Buddha’s Lamp.

Bluecloud Progenitor nodded gently. Her doubts had dispelled after seeing the bluish-white lamp hanging in front of Meng Qi.

“May I borrow your lamp to aid me in eliminating Primogenitor Devil?” Buddhist Monk Jiuzhen asked sincerely, putting his palms together.

Bluecloud Progenitor frowned, finding that something was off. But, in front of Jiuzhen, she didn’t dare to do anything outrageous.

Meng Qi was considering if he should get something out of the deal. After all, the lamp was worth so many Karma points. Then inspiration hit him. He recalled how Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms had described the lamp: ‘It seems to be the successor to the Cold Jade Buddha.’

“Of course. The destruction of Primogenitor Devil is an act of righteousness that will return peace to this world,” Meng Qi said heroically, all while wearing a grave look. He took off the lamp and handed it to Buddhist Monk Jiuzhen.

A ferocious but satisfied smile emerged on Jiuzhen’s mummified face. He accepted the lamp and bowed with one hand. “Amitabha. Your kindness will definitely welcome the blessing of Primogenitor of Buddhism.”

He sat cross-legged, holding the lamp in one hand and placing the other before his chest.

In a serene and merciful voice, he said, “In your lifetime, you knew only murder and blood. Your greed clouded your judgment. Having spent so many years being intertwined with you, I understand your obsessions well. I’ll rid you of your malicious intentions and bring you with me to the pure land.

“In Avalokiteshvara’s journey to enlightenment, she finally understood that all the five senses of the human are void. With this understanding, she finally relieved herself from all sufferings.

“Shariputra, everything in front of you is vacuum…”

The chanting was quiet and solemn, holy and mysterious. Their hearts were at peace, allowing them to think about life.

The lamp on Jiuzhen’s left hand burst with a bright light and cracks grew on his body. The dim breath of Primogenitor of Buddhism rose.

The endless light illuminated the infinite world.

They filled the entire Demonworld Fragment with warm and clear light, rapidly dissolving all the Devil Qi as if they were the sun melting the snow.

With a series of crackling sounds, visible cracks appeared in the black sky.

Inside Jiuzhen’s body was a painfully struggling devil shadow. It couldn’t stop itself disappearing. Jiuzhen’s own body was shining with a golden glow before fading midair.

“Bald Ass Jiuzhen, you make it sound so poetic but you simply just wanted to kill me!” Primogenitor Devil roared.

It burst out in laughter as if it had given up struggling.

“Prajna Paramita is Dharani of Manito, Great Bright, and so on. It’s indeed capable of alleviating all miseries… ” Jiuzhen’s expression was lenient and joyful. Both the Buddhist light and the light from the lamp became overwhelmingly bright, blinding Meng Qi’s eyes.

The faint black gas disappeared completely in the brightness, leaving only an manic laughter echoing around them.

“Do it! I’ll be immortal for as long as desire exists in your heart!”

The Buddhist light dissipated and the entire Demonworld Fragment became clear and peaceful. The sky was full of cracks as if it would collapse at any second.

Military Star and Matriarch of the West had rushed to the dark passage but stopped in their tracks. The entrance was cracking!

They looked at each other in surprise. “Did the Immortals take the Buddha treasure?”

…

Jiuzhen revealed his Golden Body—an eight-armed Luohan. But his glow was faint and barely there as if it could fade at any time.

“Amitabha. It’s all thanks to you.” Jiuzhen put his palms together and bowed to Meng Qi with a smile. “I have nothing but an almost broken Buddha treasure left. Please accept it.”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Bluecloud Progenitor was instantly shrouded in green light as she pounced on him.

Unfortunately for her, Jiuzhen was much faster. He opened the Vertical Eye of his forehead and an emerald Bodhi-seed flew out, hitting Meng Qi on the mid-brows.

Confused, Meng Qi felt himself becoming dizzy before darkness enveloped his vision entirely.

In the darkness, a colossal golden Buddha emerged with one hand pointing to the heaven, and the other to earth.

With words full of zen, it said, “I’m the only one between heaven and earth.”

The Buddhist light flourished and dispelled the darkness, carrying with an endless universal logic. But a terrible headache was shattering his head. He instantly withdrew himself from this feeling before he could comprehend anything.

He happened to see Jiuzhen disappearing with a smile as he resumed his consciousness. A green powder was thrown in his eyes—it was the Bodhi-seed earlier.

With this Buddha treasure, did it meant he had to grasp the Gist of Trueness of ‘I, the Unique and Righteous’?

It didn’t seem right. He could tell from Jiuzhen’s smile that he had cracked the Bodhi-seed on purpose.

For the moment, Meng Qi couldn’t feel the joy that came with gaining such a priceless treasure. His mind was fraught with illusions of him being hunted to the ends of the world. His sight was full of the scheming Bluecloud Progenitor.

Damn it! The Buddha’s Palm would attract the greed of everyone. They were going to return to the main world. He wondered if their treaty was still valid…

Even if he successfully returned to the main world and escaped Bluecloud Progenitor, he would still be everyone’s target after she exposed him…

Even if the Immortals wanted to obtain this kungfu secretly, the Myths would publicize this information. They could just say that the Immortals or Meng Qi and his companions had obtained the first move of the Buddha’s Palm…

Various thoughts crossed his mind and he instantly locked down on one of them. With a serious expression, he decisively said to Bluecloud Progenitor,

“Progenitor, I want to join the Immortals!”