The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Meng Qi cast a glance at Nangong Chong without expression and then lowered his head slightly without a word.

“It’s very chivalrous of you.” Yan Chixia praised. Du Qinqin felt honored hearing it and her pretty face became radiant.

Ning Caichen blushed with embarrassment. He waved his hand and said, “No, no. I’ll be fine.”

It will be very strange to pass water together with another man. And I will not go far but just one step or two away from the hall. Swordsman Yan is here and I should be safe.

Nangong Chong chuckled and said, “You don’t need to mind me; I’ll face the other direction.”

Du Qinqin spat with disgust. Ain’t it a shame to pass water for Chong in the Exterior Realm!

Hearing this, Ning Caichen was relieved. He climbed out of the hole and saw Nangong Chong facing the opposite direction, then he quickly found a stone column, unfastened his belt and felt refreshed.

Suddenly a gust of chilly wind blew through the hall and Yan Chixia stood up. He lost his sense of Ning Caichen and Nangong Chong’s presence!

Such power those demons have!

He pulled out his sword on the back and moved out of the hole instantly, meanwhile he turned around subconsciously and found the mysterious stranger in the black robe still had his eyes closed, as if nothing had happened.

Du Qinqin also felt something strange. She became a bit scared and said, “Could you please help me to find Chong. It must be those demons taking him away. Please help.”

The Envoy of the Left Sun Junlin agreed and said by heart, “Master, why not take down these demons now?”

Sun Junlin said the same thing in the first round only this time he said it after Ning Caichen went out. It seems that even if people have the same attitude toward the same thing but will choose to speak out their opinions at different time… subtle changes like these inspired Meng Qi and he began to have a deep understanding of the human mind and an unpredictable future, which would help to improve his level of the Yuan Xin Seal.

He said calmly with both eyes closed to the Envoy of the Left and Du Qinqin, “Calm down. Those two will not be in danger.”

His soothing voice made Du Qinqin feel much more relieved, as if she’s under the protection of her parents when she’s still a child and nothing could ever harm her and her loved ones.

“Are you waiting for the right time?” She asked obediently and said not another word to ask Meng Qi to take action soon.

I’m enjoying the drama… Meng Qi silently answered.

…

The hall disappeared and Nangong Chong was surrounded by winding corridors. He sneered and took out an old-fashioned small bronze mirror from his storage bag and hung it over his head.

The bronze mirror was carved with deep flower patterns and radiated in all directions like the orient sun. The light dispelled fog and made all illusions disappear.

That very moment, Nangong Chong could see everything clearly again, the hall, the corridors covered by bird manure and weeds. And then he saw Yan Chixia running out of the hall.

He took out a small banner to conceal his breath and body and hid away in the dark. After Yan Chixia walked away in the direction of Ning Caichen, Nangong Chong carefully took out a Earth-Conveyance Seal and slipped out of the Lanruo Temple.

He had to meet the monk before he came, so that the mysterious man in black would never know!

…

Ning Caichen fastened his belt and suddenly heard a crying sound. He was almost scared to death and turned around quickly. Then he started to run but could not find the hall.

He was surrounded immediately by scented fragrance and got dizzy when smelling it. After he woke up, he found himself in a wing-room. There was one table, four chairs, and one bed placed neatly.

“Could it be that I studied too hard and got a headache?” Ning Caichen thought he was in the room in the inn. It seemed that he had forgotten that he had left the inn this morning and was going to spend the night at the Lanruo Temple.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Ning Caichen opened his mouth but the door squeaked and opened. A beautiful young woman walked into the room in a white veil. Her flawless eyes sparkled like deers’ eyes. Her dark and rough eyebrows and well-shaped body under the veil accentuated her grace and elegance.

Even a woman would find her extremely attractive.

“I think you entered the wrong room, Miss.” Ning Caichen stared at her for a second and then closed his eyes tight. He muttered to himself, “See no evil!”

The young woman said softly, “I cannot fall asleep in such beautiful moonlight. And I admire you for being so talented and graceful. I want to stay with you.”

“Hush! I have read classics written by saints and I know very well of the concept of honor and disgrace. How can I do such things to ruin your reputation and let others talk bad about you?” Ning Caichen said still with his eyes closed tight.

“It’s late and nobody will know.” The woman said tenderly.

“Gentlemen do the right thing even when no one is watching!” Ning Caichen waved his hand to the young woman, lowered his voice and scolded, “Leave me alone!”

Then he said in a friendly tone with thoughtfulness, “You are still young and innocent. Someone may have told you to do this. But if your parents or other people know about it, your reputation will be completely ruined. Do you want to end up sad and alone and jump into the river to end your life? Please go back home and forget about what happened tonight and never do such things again to humiliate yourself. I guarantee you that I will not mention it to anyone and your reputation is safe with me.”

Ning Caichen’s words were so sincere and he even expressed his concern about the woman’s reputation. The woman was a bit surprised and stopped crying. After a while she smiled and said, “So when will be a good time to be together?”

“On our wedding night of course!” Ning Caichen answered without any hesitation.

Just as he spoke the last word, the situation suddenly changed. Ning Caichen opened his eyes, feeling a bit dizzy. The young woman was all dressed up in a phoenix coronet and robes of rank. Her face was so pretty like a blooming orchid.

“Sweetheart…”

Ning Caichen was at loss and he looked around the room. Everything become red, red candles on the table and himself in a red bridegroom robe.

“Sweetheart. Why not come and help me to take off the phoenix coronet.” The woman said in a sweet voice.

Ning Caichen walked two steps and realized something was wrong. “We have not gone through the process of the three letters and six etiquettes and we did not bow to our parents. How can we go directly to the wedding night? This is illicit!”

The beautiful woman was surprised and suddenly started to cry, “Run away sir, the witch asked me to murder you!”

The situation changed again. The phoenix coronet and robes of rank, wooden bed, table, and red candles all disappeared. There were only winding corridors, ruined stone columns, and weed growing here and there with water surrounding it. It was dark and chilly.

The beautiful woman also changed back to her white veil clothes. She sobbed as she was frightened and extremely sad with self-disgust.

Ning Caichen remembered everything and he soon understood that the woman in front of him was a devil. But he was not scared after hearing what the woman said. He asked compassionately, “Are you forced to kill people by that witch?”

“Yes. My name is Nie Xiaoqian and I died when I was 18 years old. Then I was buried near the Lanruo Temple. The witch stole my soul and forced me to seduce and murder people. She asked me to seduce men and collect their Jin Xie so that she can absorb it and become stronger. I’ve done too many bad things that I can never forgive myself. But today I met you and you are being so kind to me. You even care about my reputation so I cannot…” Xiaoqian started to sob again. Suddenly she remembered something and said, “Be careful. Tonight happens to be Yin night. The witch can pull out all the stops, not only just to control the world of illusion. And it seems that you are special to them.” She stopped crying. “Crap. It’s soon going to be Yin time now. Hide yourself quickly!”

Ning Caichen was astonished at what she said. He walked toward her and said, “Miss Xiaoqian, I know Swordsman Yan Chixia and he is in the hall right now. He is capable of expelling demons. Let me show you where he is and let me help you!”

“Yan Chixia…” Xiaoqian stumbled and then felt happy and sad at the same time. Suddenly Ning Caichen grabbed her wrist.

“Let’s go to the hall right now.” Ning Caichen felt her skin so cold and her wrist so smooth and light. He took her by the hand and ran to the hall.

Nie Xiaoqian followed him for some distance and then asked, “Mr. Ning, is it not written in the book that it’s improper for men and women to hold each other’s hands, that we should value our reputations?”

“First things first!” Ning Caichen answered firmly.

Nie Xiaoqian grinned and looked at him tenderly.

They ran into the hall but could not find Yan Chixia. Right at the moment when they did not know what to do, the man in black stood up and folded his hands behind his back and laughed, “A white poplar with a bird’s nest on top. Am I right?”

How come he knew it already.

“I’m here because I want to take that witch down.” Meng Qi waved his sleeve and a strong wind came out and rolled Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian inside.

Now it’s time for him to take action!

With one stride, all the people in the hall were moved to the forest instantly including Nangong Chong who just went out of the Lanruo Temple. He found himself standing in front of a white poplar with a bird’s nest on top and the man in black with his hands folded behind his back.

He, he knows why I’m here? Nangong Chong was scared at this thought and did not pay attention to warm inquiries from Du Qinqin.

Meng Qi kicked with his right leg and many cinerary urns flew out of the ground. One of them went right into Nie Xiaoqian’s hands.

“Be careful of the witch…” Right after she spoke the last word, the whole forest seemed to come alive. Branches became hands and roots became feet, enclosing the land from all directions, blotting out the sky and earth.

Meng Qi folded his one hand on his back and stretched his right palm and said calmly, “Ask the Witch of the Black Mountain to come.”

He said those words with disdain.

Streaks of lightning flashed across the sky like dragons and snakes, lighting up the dark forest. The air is filled with the smell of the heavens.

The lightning slid down from the sky like water columns and went right into Meng Qi’s right palm and finally formed into a shape of a hand knife.

“Heaven’s Punishment…” the Envoy of the Left Sun Junlin gasped.

Boom!

The night burst into thundering red day. Lightning covered the whole forest and the forest became a sea of thunder!

The forest disappeared gradually. Only burned ground and the white poplar were still there.

“Where is the Witch of the Black Mountain?” Meng Qi asked to the empty ground and folded his right hand behind his back. All the others were astonished at the sight.

“You can never guess where he is! What you can do is just wait for him to come and kill you!” A hoarse sarcastic voice answered back weakly. The devil sneered and said, ” But it would be very unnecessary for him to come and kill you. Tonight the gate to the Nine Nether happens to be wide open and you and I will die together!”

After the last word finished, it all turned dark. An unholy aura came around from nowhere. Meng Qi felt that the rule of Heaven and Earth has changed in this world and a strong force almost like Dharmakaya was moving close rapidly!

“What is this…” Meng Qi thought.

Nangong Chong squeezed his protective talisman and felt extremely delighted.

“He hit the iron plate! He’ll be dead!” He thought.

Suddenly he saw the black figure step back and kick with his left leg like a whiplash. The figure’s tiptoe swirled around with black pinholes, broke down Nangong Chong’s talisman and kicked him right into his head.

He, he chooses to kill me? Nangong Chong was thrown into the darkness.

Suddenly, Meng Qi lost his senses again. He tried to use the fur of the Seal of the Dao to search for clues.

Use different methods to obtain different things and then make a whole picture out of it. He finally would know what the secret was!

“Hello, my archive point…” Meng Qi regained his senses and saw Nangong Chong, Du Qinqin, and the Envoy of the Left, also Yan Chixia and Ning Caichen walking quickly with small steps.

Nangong Chong looked at Meng Qi with a frightened look and Meng Qi looked back at him with a profound smile.

“Why did he kill me?” Nangong Chong was bewildered and decided to ask for help.

Meng Qi squinted his eyes and found something very interesting just now when he was operating the Seal of the Dao:

He didn’t find anything related with time going back. But at the moment when time went back to the present, Nangong Chong appeared by the help of some strange connection.

I have to find what this connection is…

In a spacious room, a silver-gray coffin-like metal cabin was placed in the middle and was dimmed with vague light.

Suddenly the light disappeared and the cabin door opened. A man wearing a weird helmet was inside. His body was covered with silver-grey cables.

The man took off the helmet and pulled out the cables and stood up. He was in his 20s and had an average face, looking a bit like Nangong Chong.

The man frowned and hastened out of the metal cabin. He walked toward the computer nearby. By his right hand, a big box carved with a black shadow was placed. The shadow had bloody red eyes and a line was written underneath:

“Masterpiece: The Witch of the Black Mountain!”

The man sat in front of the computer and searched for an online forum. He found one and logged in and posted a topic quickly:

“Has anyone ever met a hidden boss of the Sect of the Ether when going through the Lanruo Temple Dungeon? This is urgent and I’m waiting online!”