The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The Hierarch could hear his heart beating fervently against his chest, as if it was pumping out blood like a geyser.

He had served the Ajati Matriarch for many years. He had only a vague understanding of how vast her powers were, but no legend could describe it, and no vast universe could compare to it. If the young man in front of him was truly her arch-nemesis, he must be really terrifying.

Even with the vast distance and multiple obstacles between them, Meng Qi captured him from a heavily guarded place effortlessly. That was beyond his knowledge of God. Furthermore, his opponent seemed as if he had no fear of the Ajati Matriarch, so whatever he said must be true.

The end of the world must be imminent, and the rules governing the earth and heaven must have slackened, for such a threatening individual was able to walk among mortals.

Then would the Ajati Matriarch herself reduce her Divine Aura to save him?

Don’t be scared, if I die, I will return to my true home! The Hierarch consoled himself, his faith overpowering his logic.

With his hands in his pockets, Meng Qi walked down the stairs slowly, approached the Luo Sect Hierarch and smiled, “Anything you want to say?”

What is there to say? The Hierarch’s intention of martyrdom was cut short, and questions filled his mind. He asked, “Did you capture me because I showed holiness on Earth?”

“The end of the world is coming. The limits have slackened, and the previous rules of heaven are irrelevant!”

He had the sudden urge to argue.

Meng Qi had not thought of what to ask, so he followed along with the conversation, “Who came up with the rule that showing one’s holiness is forbidden?”

“Uh…” the Hierarch was stumped, he had not expected that question. After a while, he replied, “I don’t know, all I know is that the Ajati Matriarch told us that we can rebel, but we cannot wantonly reveal our holiness. Up until twenty years ago, she came into my dreams to direct me, which was when I found out about the end of the world, and tried to acquire direct knowledge.”

The Ajati Matriarch would follow such a rigid rule of not revealing one’s holiness? Meng Qi was doubtful, and revealed a smile, “What else did the mother tell you?”

The Hierarch thought about it, but felt that it was not a big deal, and the person in front of him was so powerful that he did not feel the need to resist, so he just muttered, “To spread the religion, unite all sects, pay respect to the Ajati Matriarch, and return to our hometown together. Also, the Ajati Matriarch all told us not to act recklessly, and have a sense of moderation. The best course of action was to borrow the power of the mortal realm and do our best to not attract any wars involving gods and deities.”

See, our Luo Sect abides by the rules. No need to make things harder for me! The Hierarch added internally.

Meng Qi was even more confused. The Ajati Matriarch was the Golden Emperor in the past, and was now an influential figure in the Nirvana Realm. To have so many misgivings about spreading her religion on Earth was very unusual. Very unusual indeed!

What were her misgivings?

Meng Qi tried to test the Hierarch, he even used the Yuan Xin Seal on him, but the Hierarch seemed to only have limited knowledge. He was only familiar with the history of the Luo Sect, and only understood some concepts like the Heavens, but not enough to provide Meng Qi with useful information.

The mysteries of earth and heaven blurred. The Ajati Matriarch’s misgivings, and the Earth versions of Investiture of the Gods and Journey to The West… how interesting, how very interesting… Meng Qi exclaimed internally. He smiled at the Luo Sect Hierarch, and said in a deep, magnetic voice,

“A missionary should not be tempted by fortune, and should not use his powers to coerce and bully others.”

“A missionary should be clear headed and abstain from worldly temptations, he should contribute to society and help those in need.”

…

Upon hearing Meng Qi’s words, the Hierarch was confused, but he had the urge to correct his ways, to stand up and save those in need.

“The Ajati Matriarch, my true home,” he lowered his head and chanted. When he lifted his head, the young man with his hands in his pockets had disappeared without a trace.

…

The sun was already high in the sky when Meng Xiaoqi rubbed his eyes, letting his thoughts drift aimlessly while enjoying his Sunday afternoon.

That from now on, you will be my brother, that Myriad World Talisman, and that his crush asked him out for lunch, they were nothing but the dream of a bachelor!

He stretched and sat up, his head unconsciously turned towards his computer table. He saw the silver metal sheet and a note sitting idly there, untouched the entire time he was asleep.

Did it really happen?

Did I meet a ghost?

Or did somebody prank me?

Meng Xiaoqi suddenly felt like yesterday’s memories were just a dream. He shook his head and decided to ask his parents if they had any encountered anything weird, or if anybody had entered his room.

Coming out of his room, Meng Xiaoqi saw that his father had moved the couch and the coffee table to the side, and was doing Tai Chi. His every move was deliberate and purposeful. There was a small bowl on the dining table, containing a green liquid which looked pretty appetizing.

“Hey Dad, why are you doing Tai Chi at home? Aren’t you going out to do it?” Meng Xiaoqi had always been a glutton, so he walked to the dining table and lifted the small bowl, “What’s this?”

Usually that meant, “Can I eat it?”

“Herbal medicine made from boiling indigowoad root. I left a bowl for you. The after effects are really good!” he said while performing his Tai Chi. His posture was relaxed, his breath even and calm.

Indigowoad root? Purposely left one bowl for me? Meng Xiaoqi looked at the color of the liquid and sipped it. It was refreshing, with a faint sweetness, very different from the indigowoad root he was used to.

He took a big gulp. The liquid flowed down his throat into his stomach, and the cooling sensation spread to all parts of his body, seeping into every cell like a glass of cold water on a hot day.

“How…” Meng Xiaoqi was about to say how refreshing when his father cut him short. “You brat, you had good taste. The indigowoad root you chose was of excellent grade. I felt very energized after drinking it so I decided to do some Tai Chi to burn up some energy.”

I bought it? He looked at his father, confused, and noticed that there was steam rising above his father’s head, going as high as one foot three inches, which could not be blown away by the wind. His father’s movement became faster and very smooth. Meng Xiaoqi couldn’t believe his eyes.

For a moment he forgot about his confusion and asked his father, “Dad, you trained your inner strength?”

As an avid martial arts fan, this was his initial response.

Tai Chi can enable one to train inner strength?

“How should I know? Anyway, after I drank this herbal medicine made of indigowoad root, heat flowed all through my body. I feel energized. What great stuff!” his father noted cheerily.

The corner of Meng Xiaoqi’s lip twitched momentarily. It was just indigowoad root, it wasn’t as if eating it would give one the ability to fly?

As he thought of that, he was suddenly speechless, because his father did Tai Chi faster and faster, and green rays leaked out of his body, and as if the wind had solidified, he slowly rose and was suspended at least two feet in the air.

He really flew… Meng Xiaoqi’s mouth dropped in disbelief, his body frozen.

The heat spread away, the bright rays slowly faded away, and Meng Xiaoqi’s father finally landed onto the ground. He felt lighter, as if he had experienced a transformation those martial arts novels talked about.

Was it the indigowoad root? Meng Qi’s father looked at his limbs, surprised and wary.

At that moment, Meng Xiaoqi also felt heat churning through his body, seeping into his cells and creating miniscule changes, resulting in an itchy but comfortable sensation.

“Son, you finally know how to respect your mother,” Meng Xiaoqi’s mother walked into the room, pointing at him happily. “You bought some really great stuff this time, it hasn’t even been ten minutes and my wrinkles are all gone, my skin as tender as a seventeen year old.”

After showing herself off, Meng Qi’s mother suddenly asked, “This stuff must have cost a fortune! How much did you spend on it? Did you use the money you saved for your future wife? Both of us are old now, no need to waste so much money on us!”

Her concern was clear.

Meng Xiaoqi was befuddled, and he didn’t know how to answer. Just then, his phone rang.

Looking at the caller ID, it was his old colleague that he still kept in touch with. He even told him when he changed his phone number.

“Old Du, how may I help you?” Meng Xiao Qi asked directly.

Lao Du chuckled, “Meng Qi, you never told me you were doing so well.”

“Me? I’m not doing well…” Meng Xiaoqi got even more confused.

Lao Du laughed, “Cai Yang told me that you are the Myriad World Group’s chairman cum CEO. You still want to hide this from me?”

“Chairman, CEO?” Meng Xiaoqi looked at himself. What is going on?

“Not bad, now that you are successful, don’t forget about your brothers. Come have a drink with us when you are free,” Lao Du ended the call, figuring that it was enough to leave a deep impression.

Meng Xiaoqi did not even have time to process that call when other calls came in, all from old friends. They called to either congratulate him or kiss up to him. All of them revolved around him becoming chairman cum CEO of Myriad World Group.

Myriad World Group? After the mess, Meng Xiaoqi remembered the note which had the words Myriad World Talisman written on it!

Was it because of that? Meng Xiaoqi was not stupid, his forehead was drenched in cold sweat. But his body was at ease, as if he had a limitless supply of energy.

He ignored his parents and ran back to his bedroom. He picked up the note and the metal sheet and read it again.

What is this thing?

As he was mulling it through, his phone rang again, but this time it was Cai Yang.

Meng Xiaoqi’s heart sped up as he hit the accept call button.

“Hey, busy man. What do you think about having dinner tonight?” Cai Yang’s melodious voice came through the speaker.

Meng Xiaoqi hurriedly replied, “Okay, sure!”

“Then it’s settled, tonight at seven at Bai Hui Garden.” Cai Yang laughed, “I won’t bother you anymore, Mr. CEO.”

CEO… Meng Xiaoqi could feel his eyelids twitch. I am neither a chairman nor a CEO.

His peaceful life suddenly turned into a drama, Meng Xiaoqi was panicked and confused. He decided to tell his friends the truth.

Even though the title of chairman cum CEO did sound attractive, but the bottom line was that he was neither.

The heat in his body was unbearable, Meng Xiaoqi could not sit still, so he decided to go out for a jog, and once he calmed down, he would call them to explain.

He changed into his work-out clothes and walked down the stairs, prepared to do a lap around the old area.

Why did today’s situation sound like the fable of the fox repaying a kindness? He suddenly had a title and a lot of benefits out of nowhere. Meng Xiaoqi wondered as he ran. He had never saved a fox before, at most he fed some stray dogs and cats before. Unless it was a husky or a garfield which wanted to repay his kindness?

“What a nice car!” suddenly, a deep voice praised.

Meng Xiaoqi turned towards the sound, and saw a black luxury car parked outside of the residential area. It had a sleek and elegant design. Even though he could not identify the brand of the car, he could tell from its appearance that it was a luxury car, the limited edition kind.

How beautiful! He praised internally. The car door opened, and a fair lady wearing a white collared shirt stepped out and walked elegantly towards him, her hips swaying, looking as if she came right out of a movie.

A good car should definitely be paired with a beautiful person… Meng Xiaoqi saw the lady walking towards him and hurriedly averted his eyes, acting as if he was looking at the scenery.

The gorgeous lady stopped beside Meng Xiaoqi which made him nervous. Was his gaze too invasive that he was about to be slapped?

But he was just admiring her!

The pretty lady beamed up at him, revealing her teeth,

“Chairman, I am here to fetch you.”

Chairman… Meng Xiaoqi felt as if he had been hit by lightning, his body rooted in place. Curious gazes surrounded him.

Did I really become the chairman cum CEO?

This is not a dream…

He took out the metal piece, and without hesitation pressed the button in the middle.

The Myriad World Group must be connected to the Myriad World Talisman. He wanted to see what the owner was planning!

Ring, ring, ring… after three rings, the person on the other side replied in a deep voice,

“Hello, is there anything you would like to ask?”

Meng Xiaoqi took a deep breath and asked, “Who are you really? What are you trying to do?”

After a short pause, the person on the other side replied,

“Yes, do you know quantum mechanics?

What kind of stupid question is that… not far from the luxury car, beside the white collared secretary, Meng Xiaoqi was stunned, his hair blowing in the wind.

…

Meng Qi smoothed out the Myriad World Talisman in his hand as he lounged leisurely on the couch. He smiled, waiting for Meng Xiaoqi’s answer. Opposite of him was the short and stubby old man looking curiously at the metal piece.