The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Gusts of strong wind blew inside Ze Luoju’s room in the endless night. Outside his door was the flickering of green light and the howling of a sandstorm. It was so chilling that one could not help but shiver, feeling out of place.

It was not until after midnight that things calmed down. Ze Luoju entered into a deeper layer of Dhyana, recovering his Vital Spirit and body.

Meng Qi remained still as if he was here just to watch Ze Luoju.

The horizon was highlighted with a stark red line as the Grand Sun gradually rose from the east. The air became cool and refreshing, carrying the dampness of an oasis quite different from the surroundings.

Meng Qi, like a mouse, still did not move.

One of the servants left a copper basin, towel, and a food box outside the room, waiting for Ze Luoju to open the door and take them himself. This went against the rules of regular households. It occurred because no one knew if and when the master inside the room would be practicing Kung Fu. It was impossible for the servants to wait on them at all times.

The sound of footsteps coming and going gradually increased. The formation inside the royal advisor’s mansion slowly closed, its purpose now reserved for warnings only.

It was the same for the formation inside Hahler. When the city gates were opened, desert tramps and traveling salesmen set out as Oasis citizens entered, bringing about the beginning of a busy day.

Meng Qi did not dare to approach Ze Luoju. Neither did he revealed any measure of his murderous intent. No matter how great his Eight Nine Mysterious was in concealment, his realm was still lacking and the current distance he had placed between them was his limit. If he took just a few more steps forward, Ze Luoju would definitely notice him!

This was the data he had gathered from sneakily approaching Qu Jiuniang. Why would he have acted so mysteriously when meeting her otherwise? He could have just knock on her door in the middle of the night openly!

Qu Jiuniang, who had just recently surpassed the first stage of the Celestial Ladder, did not notice him from this distance as he harbored no murderous intent. Ze Luoju, naturally, would not either!

Ze Luoju pushed the door open with a creak and walked out. No servants remained in the vicinity out of fear of his and Crying Elder’s disciples. They would never approach the disciples if they were not given commands. They never knew if they would be the next victim of their soul-drawing!

He was dressed in a black robe and his iconic black eye mask. His face was covered in a full beard, topped with a head of short, coarse hair. He had not changed since the last time Meng Qi had seen him.

The Aperture acupoints all over Meng Qi’s body jerked. The Grand Sun and Golden Crow belonged to the Celestial; the stars and universe blended into his Nine Apertures. They entangled with one another in a ceaselessly chaotic mess, evolving into a primal chaos.

With the emergence of the primal chaos, Meng Qi’s breath became even more serene, introverted, and unfathomable. It was as if he did not exist in this world.

It was at this time that he had already completed his preparations to make the changes.

Ze Luoju raised his right hand and the small food box rose, suspended in the air. He narrowed his eyes as he racked his brain over how he and his Master should work together to sneak an attack on Killing Blade.

“Now!” Meng Qi returned to human form and thrust his long saber at his target, splitting heaven and earth apart from the outside!

Ze Luoju felt his surroundings fall into darkness before a burst of bright saber radiance split open a primal chaos. The radiance charged at him with an unstoppable form at an unimaginable speed! It was just like the spilling of sunlight into gloom and doom.

“Who is it?” Ze Luoju had no time to prepare a more in-depth response to the attack. Instinctively, he raised his left hand to block the radiance and drew his long, narrow sword steeped in evil with his right hand.

“Pfft!”

The radiance sliced through the primal chaos and Ze Luoju’s left hand and elbow fell. He did not even have time for desertification!

“What kind of bladesmanship is this?”

“It’s as if there’s nothing this blade can’t cut!”

“Thud!” Ze Luoju’s left hand fell to the ground, losing its flesh in an instant. The radiance of the blade slid past his body, but the saber remained steadfast in its motion, arriving at the pit of his stomach.

Ze Luoju could not help but shiver at the acute sharpness of the tip, as well as the feeling of the primal chaos being sliced. He could feel just how fragile life was. It was as if the saber would sever him in half in the next minute!

“Whoo!”

The sound of wailing of ghosts resounded in the air, and a green ray of light wrapped around Ze Luoju.

The light was soundlessly severed in half under the force of the saber but Ze Luoju still managed to block that seemingly unstoppable chop in the end!

“Thud!” A green demonic stone fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Ze Luoju saw an opportunity and took it, swinging his own saber sideways and calling forth complete darkness. His Saber Qi was like a chilling wind hurtling towards Meng Qi’s face, tearing at his Nether Spirit.

Meng Qi’s blade struck his physical body and demonically devoured his Vital Spirit!

Ze Luoju had just wielded his Sinister Saber when he felt a sudden burning sensation even more terrible than that of the raging desert. His entire body felt parched. All he could feel was heatwaves in between the breaths that he took. The heat invaded his internal organs, burning all the way to his heart.

The heat was just soaring when he felt the bright Flowing Fire slash straight at him, like the rising of the Grand Sun. It melted away the cold wind and dissolved the vengeful spirits.

Wailing could be heard loud and clear. The Grand Sun descended, illuminating the courtyard and scorching Ze Luoju in an obviously mysterious trajectory. There were hints of refraction and reflection in the move that Ze Luoju could not grasp.

Left without a choice, he transformed his bladesmanship into a dance of disorderly movements that aimed in all directions in an attempt to stop Meng Qi’s sword.

“Clang!”

The saber and sword struck each other. The Sinister Saber burst into flames, prompting the vengeful spirits to cross over to the other side. Ze Luoju was forced to take several steps back after Meng Qi hit his weak spot, leaving him to make haste with a counterattack. However, his feet soon left ground and he suspended in near mid-air.

The sword was already resounding, its light dimmer and gloomier, as if the chilling winds had diminished it with layers upon layers of sand to bury it.

Meng Qi took the chance to trample the void by rising up, lifting his saber and roaring,

“Ze Luoju!”

His voice rang in the air like rolling thunder. The Green Lightening overflowed, shocking his target’s Vital Spirit.

“Is it him?”

“Killing Blade!”

Ze Luoju could not believe his eyes. He was instantly caught off guard, allowing the thunderous roar to strike his physical body and absorb his Vital Spirit.

Meng Qi bellowed once again,

“I’ve come for your life!”

Luoju’s saber fell, triggering the void to go from its sluggish pace to a rapid one as it inferred divine punishment. Dark clouds gathered and loomed overhead in the open.

“Boom!”

Five bouts of Green Lightening struck the ground one after another with a ferocious and harsh momentum, obliterating all evil as they imposed divine punishment!

Everyone in Hahler could see the thick bolts of lightening descending from the mass of clouds gathered above the royal advisor’s mansion.

Nothing that had unfolded escaped General Wusun Qi and King Yan Shiche’s notice. One flew over to the cardinal and activated the formation while the other soared in the sky, flying frantically towards the royal advisor’s mansion.

They did not choose to make their moves from afar as they could not lock onto the enemy’s breath. They would have smashed everything in the vicinity of the mansion.

Naturally, they would feel heartache if they damaged their own city!

Ze Luoju’s Sinister Saber slashed upwards in a mysterious manner, as if it was a vortex or a hurricane.

He could sense a feeling of desperation within the murderous intent Meng Qi exuded. He knew that as long as he could hang on for a little longer and wait for the back-up, the one who would have to worry about his life would be Killing Blade!

Even at this moment, he still did not understand why Killing Blade would appear in front of him so soon.

Had Killing Blade no need to stabilize his realm and practice his Exterior-level Kung Fu techniques?

If he did not need to do that, where did Killing Blade gain his confidence in killing him from?

Unless he was able to complete everything in about 20 days by bypassing the seize of the N-fold Heaven and hastening the cultivation process?

The sand rose and swirled around. The surroundings seemed as if they were completely dried up. The ground cracked, folding up into mid-air.

“Rumble!”

Green Lightening struck overhead, opening the curtains to a violent sandstorm that blocked the evil hole.

“Clang!”

Heaven Inflicted Pain felt exceptionally heavy in Meng Qi’s hand. When he brought it down, it split Ze Luoju’s Sinister Saber.

The Five Thunder Bombardment of Sky blasted Ze Luoju’s void open and his Seven Apertures spouted blood. Fortunately, he managed to steer Meng Qi’s saber just slightly sideways and prevented the saber from directly piercing him.

He had been forced into a defensive stance repeatedly, unable to unleash even 60 percent of his full strength. His pupils suddenly shrank in shock. He watched as the muscles in Killing Blade’s back bulged as he grew two arms!

“He grew two arms?”

While Ze Luoju was still grappling with shock, Meng Qi’s breath was building up like there were two of him. He lifted his newly-grown right hand and threw his palm downwards. The surface of his palm was faint and indistinct, sounds of rupturing came from his surroundings as if they were being crushed. The void withdrew as if heaven and earth had collapsed. In an instant, the attack left Ze Luoju with no chance of evasion.

Without anyone around to witnesses, Meng Qi unleashed his strength in its entirety!

“Go to hell!”

Under the ringing of Meng Qi’s yell, Ze Luoju stared at the clean, white palm charging at him. His own Sinister Saber was being restricted by Heaven Inflicted Pain, making it so that he could not respond in time.

His expression instantly turned malevolent and his eye mask ignited with green flames as he sent a ray of skewed flying light towards Meng Qi, striking the latter between his eyebrows. It was like a thirst for blood that emerged from the depths of an abyss, condensed after death, that could penetrate layers upon layers of defense!

“Let’s go together then!”

His attack this time was not only befitting but also ferocious. Ze Luoju knew only through exchanging his life for Meng Qi’s that he could force the latter to change techniques and find a chance for survival. That way, he could wait for the arrival of the troops!

Just then, a skull grew out of Meng Qi’s neck, that neither dodged nor deflected. The skull blocked the Sinister Light!

The sinister light entered his body, amid the rolling of thunder and the burning of the Grand Sun. Meng Qi’s Seven Apertures were bleeding but the palm that he threw had not slowed in the least.

Ze Luoju dispersed his entire body, sending the particles fluttering in all directions, in an attempt at survival.

“Pfft!”

Meng Qi’s right palm struck the violent sandstorm, turning heaven and earth upside and down as he did. He squeezed each speck of sand into nothingness!

Even though he could turn himself into specks of sand, how could he block the ultimate skill derived from the palm that could turn heaven and earth upside down?

“Ah…!” Ze Luoju let out a strangled scream. The sand merged to form his body once again.

His mind, however, was a complete mess as his head was smashed to pieces, spewing red, white, and green insides.

More importantly, Meng Qi’s palm had completely extinguished his Vital Spirit!

Only Ze Luoju’s eyes remained in his smashed skull, the pupils frozen in fear. Those eyes were filled with bitter resentment and disbelief.

For more than 20 days of ferocious fighting and more than a million meters away, he had waited the entire night to put an end to Sinister Saber!

Meng Qi lifted his two heads and four arms, raising Heaven Inflicted Pain and placing the Sinister Saber inside his Space Ring. He also swallowed the black pouch that Ze Luoju had carried with him at all times into his abdomen.

Flowing Fire then flashed, the flames burning wildly as it rapidly reduced Ze Luoju to ashes. The fire then spread outwards, obliterating all evidence of their battle in the courtyard while leaving several scorched letters on the ground.

Meng Qi put away his Precious Weapons and swallowed the Space Ring. His body shook and transformed into a mouse. He then soundlessly scurried out of the courtyard.

Just then, Wusun Qi had finally arrived at the royal advisor’s mansion but there was no longer any trace of the enemy, not even a hint of his breath!

He observed his surroundings with focused eyes but only saw large scorched letters in the middle of the damaged courtyard.

‘Killing Blade killed Ze Luoju here!’

“Killing Blade killed Ze Luoju here…” Wusun Qi was both startled and resentful. It was as if someone had given him a slap across the face.

“Killing Blade is too audacious!”

“To think he dares to come straight to Hahler, sneak into the royal advisor’s mansion, and murder Sinister Saber! He treats others like they’re nothing!”

With turbulent emotions, Meng Qi naturally avoided Wusun Qi’s attention by turning into a mouse. He safely made his way to the back garden and found his comrade.

Had he not left the message to distract Wusun Qi, it would definitely be suspicious that a mouse would still be left alive in the wake of such a great Exterior-level battle!

“That damned Killing Blade!” Wusun Qi roared in anger, unleashing his mental energy to search the vicinity. However, he found nothing!

At that very moment, the city gates were still open with plenty of traveling salesmen going in and out. Wusun Qi suspected that Killing Blade had slipped into the masses, but he did not know if the latter had already left the city!

“That damned Killing Blade…” The voice resonated far and wide, drifting to the member of the Immortals outside the mansion. It startled him so greatly that he felt like he lost a part of his soul.

“That was Killing Blade?”

“To think he would be this hot-headed!”

“But he seems to have succeeded!”

With the opening of the formation, several Exterior masters searched the entire city for Meng Qi but returned empty-handed.

It was impossible for them to blockade Hahler long-term. By the time Crying Elder returned, an entire month had passed with countless people having traveled in and out of the city.

Crying Elder was flying in mid-air with a grim expression. He stared at the city under his feet, his eyes burning with hatred.

He knew that Killing Blade, who had to devour a great number of spirits, would have long escaped this place!

In a tavern underneath him, a young man dressed like a desert tramp was sipping good wine. He had a long sword strapped to his waist. He looked up at the roof with a smile as if he was mocking the Crying Elder suspended in mid-air.

Even the tavernkeeper in front of him did not recognize that he was Meng Qi!

“It’s time to head for Bomi.” He put down his cup, a smile still etched on his face. He managed to hitch a ride with a caravan and left Hahler with them.