The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The shiny golden silhouette of an elaborate pagoda materialized over the figure of Xi. Streaks of bright rays of black and white colors zipped around the silhouette that glowed with the purple aura of the Virtue of Nobility. Like a Deity from legends and folklores, Xi closed the distance between him and Meng Qi. He smote furiously at him as if he was dispensing the judgment of Heaven, his fist striking with the terrifying force that even the air around them trembled at the destructive power he unleashed.

Feeling no need for talk and banter, Xi chose to eliminate Meng Qi to keep everything under wraps. The thick mists began to break apart and fade, and the aura of the energies of the Five Elements swirling around them was unstable and weak. This impeded anyone present to harness the forces of Nature where most practitioners of the Exterior Realms would lose more than half or even most of their powers!

But Meng Qi was unfazed despite facing such a powerful foe like Xi who wielded the strength of a Grandmaster. Even without the Heavenly Golden Scripture discipline which was the greatest of martial disciplines since the Moment of Creation, Meng Qi has the Eight Nine Mysteries disciplines which should be sufficiently helpful in such difficulties. He was not the All-terrain Combat Machine for nothing!

Through transformation and acclimatization to his surroundings, the greatest strength of the Exterior volume of the Eight Nine Mysteries discipline allowed its wielder to overlook certain restrictions that impeded a warrior’s attunement to the Dharma and Logos of Nature. To Meng Qi, the domain advantage of others would hardly matter to him!

However, Meng Qi still has reservations on his chances of winning. He knew he might even lose his life, for Xi was a Grandmaster who practiced potent martial disciplines that relied on the elements of Five Tais and Five Virtues.

With the Element of Virtues imbued unto himself. The powers of the Elements accorded Xi unrivaled protection and invincibility! Enchantments or curses inflicted by enemies would never harm him and including the Judgment of Heavens; not even demons and evil spirits could possess and hurt him!

Any one of the Elements of Virtues alone would have bestowed him mighty defensive powers, more so since Xi trained and assimilated all Five Elements of Virtues. This made him one of the greatest with defensive capabilities even amongst the ranks of Grandmasters. By his comprehension of the Elements of Virtues by the Fist Art of Five Beginnings and Five Morals he practiced, Meng Qi’s defensive capabilities put him above that of a Grandmaster, which was also the Realm of the Second Celestial Ladder. This meant that the defensive capabilities of the Eight Nine Mysteries discipline were comparable with the embodiment of the Elements of Five Virtues; and with Xi having the strength of the Realm above his, his defensive capabilities would be insanely powerful!

Even with the Law Phenomenon enchantment, it would hardly be simple to shatter the defenses of Xi. More so, with the limited duration of the Law Phenomenon!

More importantly, the Elements of Virtue and Merit protected one’s Vital Spirit from being affected by any psychological attacks. This would render Meng Qi’s unorthodox methods futile.

On the other hand, Xi has offensive capabilities comparable to the prowess of his defensive powers. His blows could shatter anything into dust that an ordinary warrior would have instantly died if struck by his attacks. Not even the Law Phenomenon-enchanted Meng Qi with his Eight Nine Mysteries could take more than a few blows from him without the risk of being mortally injured. It was due to the presence of Gu Xiaosang to help that he dared to fight against Xi earlier.

And now, with him alone against a foe of such power; having a Divine Weapon material ore would hardly help when he could not ensure it hits its target!

In the flash of an instant, the thoughts about the Elements of Five Tais and Five Virtues spun through Meng Qi mind. He scoured desperately for any solutions; whether to flee or fight. Should he use the Ancient Space-breaching Talisman one last time or should he fight with the Fruits of Karma technique?

But Xi left not much time for him to think. His fist came nearer and nearer, splitting the dense and thick fog as it came close to hitting Meng Qi’s face.

With a sidestep, Meng Qi evaded the blow that came from afar. His body grew in size, turning Meng Qi into a towering giant with two heads and four arms. His aura amplified and his Dharmic Form seemed to have merged with his physical body.

His eyes gazed down at Xi. The Heaven Inflicted Pain laid still in his grasp like a silence before a storm. Suddenly, in a blinding flash, the saber tore into the air like a dragon freed from its restraints before it came down hard at Xi, splitting the Elements of Yin and Yang, as well as the Elements of the Five Tais.

The cold eyes of Xi burned with fury from behind his mask. His body leaned forward and rushed at Meng Qi with a blitz, with no regard for Meng Qi’s attack!

“Clang!”

The flash of Meng Qi’s saber was stopped short by the golden silhouette of the pagoda. Ignoring the blow, Xi rushed furiously forward!

“Crack!” The silhouette broke asunder with the circling rays of black and white light dispersed. But Meng Qi’s blade did not slash at Xi, moving away from his vital parts and merely grazed his shoulder!

With the protection of the Elements of Virtues, XI endured the blow and seized his moment. His right fist smote once more with his immense wrath to lay waste to everything, eager not to leave any chances for Meng Qi to recover and defend himself.

Fortunately, Meng Qi employed his skills, conjuring additional heads and limbs. He raised into the air the Sword of the Mystic Turtle which shone brightly and conjured an auric wall shaped like the shell of the tortoise, blocking against the incoming blow of Xi’s fist.

“Crack! Crack! Crack!” The wall of aura exploded and broke at the massive force of Xi’s blow. If the Sword of the Mystic Turtle had not been a Precious Weapon of the Exquisite level, damage by force alone might have rendered it useless.

Bounced backward by the force of the explosion, Meng Qi reached out to his enemy via telepathy,

“I have no interest in the chrysalis of the Sun God and His impartation of skills. Shall we make a truce for now?”

Meng Qi had practically admitted defeat.

But the fury in Xi’s cruel gaze did not wither. Instead, he rushed forth without a response and struck at Meng Qi with his palm, only for it to ball into a fist, and then he extended a finger. He concentrated all his power and malice into the point of his finger, a technique similar to the skill of the Normalizing Finger.

Meng Qi brandished the Flowing Fire. The aura from the sword of flames formed multitudes of fiery strands which weaved into layers of nets that wore out the force of Xi’s blow.

At the same time, the Heaven Inflicted Pain hewed from atop. The aura of his blow split into fragments of energy that shot straight at Xi’s neck to retaliate!

A sword stroke cast by using his saber!

Xi showed no signs of faltering. The strands of purple aura shaped like wings behind him as he rose into the air. Like a relentless chariot of war, he raced straight at Meng Qi with the aura of the Elements of Virtue swirled and churned, morphing into the form of a phoenix.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

One by one, the slivers of auric blades strike continuously upon the same spot at Xi’s neck. The golden silhouette of the baroque pagoda shattered and returned to form, only to be broken again at each successive strike! The shimmering protection imbuement of the Elements of Virtue glowed and dimmed with defiance as the form of the Phoenix resisted the attacks that came one after another!

“Pfft!”

Xi’s Finger of Fading Spirit pierced through the webs protecting Meng Qi and stabbed into his shoulder with a massive explosion that blew away bits of his flesh. Blood trickled slowly from the wound he suffered on his neck.

Meng Qi staggered backward at the force of the Finger of Fading Spirit, his Vital Spirit recovering from the shock of the attack. He swiftly reached out once more to his enemy with telepathy,

“I can swear an oath if you are afraid I might reveal anything about this!”

A plea for mercy that came again and again!

With a heart of stone, Xi came again like a phoenix spreading his wings, his fists hammering with terrible destructiveness; unleashing his full powers as the perfect embodiment of the complete defense and offense!

Colors left from Meng Qi’s face. The Flowing Fire, the Heaven Inflicted Pain, the Sword of the Mystic Turtle, and the Purple Lightning Blade struck forth as one. The steel of the blades gleamed brightly like the sun as the auras of the advancing irons – summoned by the attunement of Meng Qi’s Inner Sphere and Exterior Scenery – hurled forward and converged upon a single point with tremendous force and weight!

The four weapons suddenly clashed together. The grinding steel emitted a large and terrifying flash that erupted and engulfed everything in a wave of heat that spread in a brilliance of pure white!

With his swords and sabers, Meng Qi unleashed the Destruction of Stars technique!

With what seemed to be his best effort, Meng Qi had created a brief opening for him to use the Ancient Space-breaching Talisman to escape.

“Boom!”

A glimmer of many hues stood out from the midst of the massive eruption of light. Shining with bright purple auras as well as black and white circling rays of light, the five-colored phoenix took flight with the majesty that humbled even the air around it!

Xi could hear pellets raining upon his flesh, causing several minor wounds all around him. He had forced his way through two layers of the ‘Destruction of Stars’ technique. With a twist of his body, he struck at Meng Qi’s legs.

“Bang!”

Meng Qi felt thrown backward, falling back into his normal size as he could no longer maintain the conjuration of his extra limbs and the Law Phenomenon enchantment. Glowing in a shroud of gold, he vomited a mouthful of blood. His current physical state… severely injured!

With a few adaptions, Xi came again with his thirst for Meng Qi’s blood!

Just then, Meng Qi turned severe. Despite the ordeal having shaken his Vital Spirit, he admonished,

“Many times I have pleaded for mercy and many times I have avoided combat. But still, you would not cease your aggression! Is this your observation of virtue?”

“Despite my transgressions, I have shown my desire to atone. But still, you struck at me with intense fury and bloodlust. Is this your observation of Merit?”

Meng Qi’s voice thundered deep into Xi’s ears. His body shook suddenly, the form of the ornate pagoda and the protection of the Elements of Virtue faltering.

With a renew and dignified expression, Meng Qi calmly swung the Heavenly Inflicted Pain!

But bracing himself for the incoming attack, Xi’s silhouette of the ornate golden pagoda and the protection of the Elements of Virtue faded instantly!

With malice in his heart, he had lost the protection of the Elements of Virtue which has deemed him unfit to uphold the qualities of Virtues and embody its bestowments. From the beginning, Meng Qi had never thought of fleeing from battle nor had he thought of actually pleading for mercy. It was a deception to turn the tables against his foe with a “tale” using his blades!

Being intertwined to the Sun God of old, either as the beneficiary of His legacies or as his reincarnation, Xi suffered various corresponding Karmic burden which would leave wounds in his mind and Vital Spirit. With the protection of the Elements of Virtues and Merit upon Xi’s Vital Spirit, Meng Qi could not employ any psychological techniques, leaving him with only the Fruits of Karma technique. But with the protection of the Elements of Virtue that also defended Xi against techniques affecting one’s Karma, Meng Qi could not be sure if the Fruits of Karma technique would work.

Under typical circumstances, it would be acceptable for one who practiced the Elements of Virtues to experience wrath and fury in battle, for the slaying of evil itself was a way of garnering Merit and Virtue. Meng Qi would hardly be able to penetrate the defenses of both in a typical fight. But his plea for mercy and evasion of combat was a ruse to bait Xi into a trap built of the tenets that governed Xi’s powers, crippling his skills from within himself!

Even though this might not entirely demolish Xi’s powers, but it was sufficient in lowering his defenses, allowing Meng Qi to seize the moment and execute The Buddha’s Palm technique!

“Who am I… who am I…”

Xi fell into a momentary stupor at being thrown into a sudden confusion.

Without losing his opening, Meng QI had sheathed the Flowing Fire, holding in his hand the Frost-eye Crystal that glowed blue with extreme chillness, with strands of frozen vapor swirling around it. He beamed with delight at Xi and slowly uttered,

“Farewell.”