The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

“The first movement of the Buddha’s Palm?” Meng Qi nearly cried out, feeling restless on the inside. It was the Buddha’s Palm!

It was the supreme art of Buddhism. Only the Buddha’s Palm and the Jietian Seven Skills of the Sword were considered supreme up to this point. It seemed that one could truly detach himself from worldly issues only when practicing them. Even if Meng Qi’s Eight Nine Mysteries was said to be on a par with it, it was still inferior in terms of Karma points and Saint Buddha, the Primogenitor of Buddhism.

Even without a Primary Instruction, any one movement of the Buddha’s Palm was already an incomparable treasure. Dharma had discerned many Divine Skills through the third movement of the Buddha’s Palm and formed a branch of the Shaolin Temple. Similarly, Blood-blade Mendicant had discerned two large fundamental magic arts through the fifth movement and laid the foundation for the Jin Gang Temple. Both were mainstream martial arts with a history spanning thousands of years. There was no shortage of Dharmakaya experts showing up to attack the temples every now and then, but they had always survived the calamities time and again.

Despite the fact that the development of the temples was the result of many eminent monks and the Buddhism magic arts that they collected or created, it was irrefutable that their foundation lied in the Buddha’s Palm. More than half of their supreme arts were derived from it.

That truly demonstrated how precious and extraordinary the Buddha’s Palm was!

To gain one moment was to gain many Divine Skills and supreme skills. It was to gain the foundation of the mainstream martial arts!

Now, the real Buddha’s Palm had appeared in front of Meng Qi. How could he not be surprised, shocked, and hopeful? And how could he not be frustrated and dejected that he had encountered the Buddha’s Palm too early? His strength was still lacking and he didn’t have the ability to study the art. Even if he somehow miraculously gained the art, it would just spell disaster. An ignorant person might be innocent, but wouldn’t save him from the jealousy of others!

Meng Qi wasn’t the only one surprised. Having always been firm and calm, Jiang Zhiwei’s expression also changed as well. The foundation of the Sword Washing Pavilion came from one of the swords of the Jietian Seven Skills of the Sword. In the face of an art that was just as famous as her swordsmanship, how could she treat it with disregard?

Ruan Yushu remained silent, seemingly as if she had forgotten to breathe. Qi Zhengyan also finally lost control of his expressionless face, making for an entertaining sight. He had thought the skill was close to the level of the Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture, but who knew it would be the first movement of the Buddha’s Palm?

Zhao Heng’s breathing became labored and a fleeting sense of greed crossed him. The greed quickly turned into vigilance and frustration. He shared the same thoughts as Meng Qi.

“A Samsara traveler once entered this world and found a manuscript from the outer layer of the Heart-forgotten Cottage. The manuscript jotted down several of Buddhist Monk Jiuzhen’s writings before he left for the Demonic World. Based on his words, he received the first movement of the Buddha’s Palm—I, the Unique and Righteous—and discerned several Zen martial arts. He later imparted those arts to his disciples, except for Buddha’s Palm. He had to take it with him to the Demonic World to completely tame Primogenitor Devil using the Buddha treasure that contained its gist of trueness. He hoped for an outstanding person to retrieve the art from the Demonic World in the future, allowing the supreme art of Buddhism to be passed down generation-to-generation after his death.”

Bluecloud Progenitor’s explanation was detailed, lest Meng Qi and the rest suspected a catch. She continued, “The traveler was complacent back then and concealed his findings. He planned on entering the Demonworld Fragment to retrieve the treasure after he gained more strength but unfortunately died in his next Samsara task. His relics were kept in the World of Samsara and one of our reserve teams found and reported it recently. But unexpectedly, one of the members was disloyal and approached with the Myths with the information for a better reward. He then broke away from our team.”

“I see.” Having just survived a life-and-death battle recently, Meng Qi was able to calm down himself quickly and dispelled his greed and frustration. “What do you need to us to do?”

It wasn’t until today that he found out the first movement of the Buddha’s Palm was called ‘I, the Unique and Righteous’. However, it was evidently Zen in nature rather than an aggressive art. The word ‘I’ didn’t refer to the individual but rather the Buddhist nature, one’s conscience. The word ‘I’ was unique and righteous because of the concerns of the illusory world!

Bluecloud Progenitor was stunned when she realized that Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei were the first ones to calm down. They didn’t ask about the Buddha’s Palm either. From this, she managed to get a more intuitive impression of their natures and sensibilities. “Those from the Myths are tyrannical in their strength. Even if it’s only against Xi, I’m afraid even Primogenitor Guangcheng had to team up with either Yun Zhongzi or I to win. Therefore, I’m afraid that only when Primogenitor Guangcheng teamed up with Yun Zhongzi or me can we not be defeated, even if there was only Xi. Star of Northern Dipper and Military Star are stronger than Yun Zhongzi and I. Never mind that they still have Matriarch of the West. In an open confrontation, we can’t win even if we team up with you.”

“We can only try to forcibly outmaneuver them. If we can’t have it, we won’t let them get to it either!”

“What should we do?” Meng Qi couldn’t help admiring her. Like them, Bluecloud Progenitor was also a determined person. She was capable of restraining her greed and resisting the temptation to make a resolute decision.

She replied, “When Xi left for the Heart-forgotten Cottage, Primogenitor Guangcheng also went there. While Yun Zhongzi was fighting Military Star for the Country-stabilizing Seal, I went to the Evergreen Temple to search for the Fate-protecting Tripod. That was where I came across Star of Northern Dipper and Matriarch of the West by chance.”

“In other words, they didn’t send anyone to guard the channel of the Demonic World at the beginning. They were counting on Skyscraping True Devil to keep everyone out, including Yun Zhongzi and I. However, things are different now. Skyscraping True Devil will definitely be heading for the cottage after receiving Corpse Demon’s report, ignorant of the presence of Xi and Primogenitor Guangcheng there. That means there are only three demons remaining to guard the Skyscraping Palace.”

“We can rush there, but so can Star of Northern Dipper and Matriarch of the West. The problem is, they’re faster and stronger than us.” Meng Qi believed that the Myths wanted to make use of this time difference to avoid Skyscraping True Devil, avoid the concentration of manpower, and waste their energy. If they head to the palace now, they would likely find the three demons already dead and the channel to the Demonic World guarded by Star of Northern Dipper, Matriarch of the West, and perhaps even Military Star.

This contradicted their previous inference. With the presence of the Immortals, the Myths would definitely send their men to guard the channel to the Demonic World lest both parties tried to end their cooperation after Skyscraping True Devil had left.

Bluecloud Progenitor nodded. “It’s true that I’m injured, so I can’t go any faster than Star of Northern Dipper. They’ll kill those three demons, get the Demonic Crystal, and guard the channel. Therefore, they’re our targets.”

“Military Star is still far away so we’ll definitely get there before he can with my guidance. Xi should still be stuck in the Heart-forgotten Cottage since a Dharmakaya superior had left a Buddhism array there.”

“But even if we teamed up, I’m afraid we’re no match for Star of Northern Dipper and Matriarch of the West.” Zhao Heng frowned.

Once there was an intersection of inside and outside, even the most basic of actions would gain the aid of the power of heaven and earth. Even if Meng Qi activated the Violent Thunder Shocking the Sky by the Purple Thunder Force, stimulating his saber, it would only help him gain similar power. Moreover, Star of Northern Dipper wasn’t some bully without skill like Murky. If Bluecloud Progenitor couldn’t hold him back, they might be left defenseless against him.

Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu both possessed Dharmakaya-level movements: the Anatta Sword and the two sounds of the 12 Magical Sounds of Langhuan. The former had a precious weapon, the latter had the heart of the zither. Their large movements also possessed an Exterior entry-level lethality. It wasn’t difficult for them to kill Murky if the five of them took concerted action. However, it was different from the normal Exterior. It didn’t have any precious weapons, Exterior movements, supreme arts, or secret martial arts. They could only resist.

If their opponent was North Dipper God, who could take certain precautions against it and the effects of Ruan Yushu’s 12 Magical Sounds of Langhuan were poor, they might not even be able to hit him. Even if he didn’t fly, he could escape the positioning of the large movement simply through his Exterior-level speed.

Looking at Meng Qi, Bluecloud Progenitor asked, “You use the Eight Nine Mysteries, don’t you?”

After entering the World of Samsara, Meng Qi and his friends had altered their appearances. It was hard to conceal their temperament completely and they were still good-looking, but they were unrecognizable unless someone was familiar with them. Of course, once they engaged in battles, it was easy for them to be distinguished through their unique skills.

Meng Qi was shocked that she could tell. There wasn’t any movements that were in line with Eight Nine Mysteries in its enlightenment period and few movements in line with its Exterior level. The previous Karma points on open display weren’t high, similar to the mortal body Hard Kung like the Golden Bell Shield. And it wasn’t unlike there weren’t any supreme arts that could turn his skin a pale god. How did she determine that he was using the Eight Nine Mysteries?

Through his substance flow of genuine Qi? But she first has to see other people utilizing the Eight Nine Mysteries!

“Our team’s Lord of Purity and Magic uses the same art,” she said indifferently.

Damn it… He had been planning to call himself Lord of Purity and Magic! He suddenly felt irreconcilable hatred for the one who had stolen his nickname.

“Yes.” He had no choice but to nod and admit it.

Bluecloud Progenitor continued, “Eight Nine Mysteries is adept at change, concealment, and imitation to avoid disaster. This is just right for our purposes. I’ll tell you the external Qi-conducting route of Primogenitor Guangcheng’s Skythrowing Palm and the concentrated Dharma Access of his momentum. When I’m engaged in a battle against Star of Northern Dipper, you can make a sudden attack at him with your imitation of Skythrowing Palm. He’ll definitely believe it to be a trap and think that Primogenitor Guangcheng has unmasked himself and disguised himself as you to kill him.”

“When that time comes, I’ll take the opportunity to injure him greatly or perhaps even force him and Matriarch of the West to retreat.”

Both the Immortals and the Myths were masked to completely cut off any search, preventing others from seeing their true appearances. Therefore, it was easy to believe that Primogenitor Guangcheng was disguising himself as Meng Qi.

“So it wasn’t merely a magic weapon. It’s a palmsmashing art as well…” Meng Qi’s mind turned so quickly that Bluecloud Progenitor couldn’t begin to catch up.

“As expected, we need to take a risk,” Meng Qi said, looking thoughtful.

Bluecloud Progenitor said, “If Star of Northern Dipper sees through our trick, I’ll help you to leave even if I can’t defeat him. The Immortals will bear the Karma points you lose due to the failure of your task.”

After all, the only other opponent was the newcomer Matriarch of the West. As long as she could keep Star of Northern Dipper busy for a while longer, there wasn’t any problem for Meng Qi and his friends to escape. After all, she was a real member of the Exterior. She could surely make it.

“If we succeed, we’ll enter the Demonic World immediately. We’ll separate, kill the strong evil spirits, and gather all the Demonic Crystals. You can then blow up the channel from the inside, closing it off and giving the Myths no alternatives,” Bluecloud Progenitor said, explaining the whole plan.

They didn’t have any objections. Their task was to blow up the channel. Whether they blew it up from the inside or outside, they could still choose to escape.

The only problem was whether Bluecloud Progenitor would turn against them. In a low voice, Meng Qi asked, “This concerns the Buddha’s Palm. How can you assure us that you won’t kill us after this?”

The Soul-pledging Oath was effective against Exterior experts and had a corresponding indenture in the Six Realms of Samsara. It was also notarized by God. Unfortunately, it was too expensive for them.

“If the Myths gain the Buddha’s Palm, we’ll be popularizing it. There’s no difference whether or not we kill you. But if we can’t, the Demonic World will become one. Even if you use the Samsara talisman, you can only return to the Skyscraping Palace. With your strengths, we don’t have to worry about you coming back to search for the treasure,” Bluecloud Progenitor said, telling the truth without any hint of contempt. “Of course, I have a Six Realms contract. We can all sign it.”

She suddenly paused and laughed, somewhat in a sneering tone. “In the World of Samsara, you have to prepare a set of martial arts and miscellaneous movements. That way, it’ll be difficult for your opponents to figure out your true identities even if you use your unique skills. At most, they’ll think that too many travelers had exchanged for the same items.”

Meng Qi and the rest sucked in a breath. Had Bluecold Progenitor already largely figured out their identities?