The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

The guest house was located on top of a lone mountain, lower only than the main peak of the mountain range. Overlooking the sea, the courtyard gave its residents a great view of the island. Not only was the vista mesmerizing, but the environment was also soothing.

Led by Le Huan, Meng Qi and Ying Ning eventually arrived at the entrance. Ying Ning suddenly stuck her tongue out and shyly said, “Mr. Tyrant, Bodhisattva Lian Yu’s Dharma Form mesmerized me. I’ve just become sober now and remembered that there are some sect-related matters that I have yet to report. Please rest while I go. I’ll return as soon as possible.”

She waited for Meng Qi’s approval before turning and running back to Joy Palace in a great rush. Le Huan could not help giggling when she saw this.

After sending Le Huan away, Meng Qi sat cross-legged on the bed inside the tidy and quiet room. He pondered over his next move. He was supposed to meet the current Bliss Bodhisattva tomorrow, so Merciless Tyrant must disappear tonight. However, a sudden disappearance would cause suspicion about Merciless Tyrant’s objective in entering the island and cause grandmasters to search the island carefully and prevent everyone from leaving.

“What if I pretend that I was upset about Bodhisattva Lian Yu’s probing and escaped because I was wary that she harbored unscrupulous intentions?”

“Not the most compelling excuse, but reasonable enough…” Meng Qi’s eyes were half closed, with his radiance concentrated in his Interior. After Merciless Tyrant’s disappearance, he would morph into mouse-like creatures and speed down the mountain, evading the spirit beasts. Then, he would disguise as one of the street beggars.

Those beggars were the only men who would likely go unravished!

If he disguised as a “Refreshment”, he might be inexplicably chosen to “serve” one of the disciples. He was not experienced in sex and would be unable to retain his disguise in bed. If he hid well among the beggars and refrained from propositioning, he would have no worries for a short while. He could then enter the small town, look for news, and find a male disciple who has an opportunity to comprehend the Extinctive Blade of the Overlord.

He made an instantaneous decision without formulating a more elaborate plan. Sometimes, an intricate plan could invite even more mishaps.

Before long, Ying Ning returned to the courtyard. When she saw Meng Qi meditating with closed eyes, she excused herself and went to rest in a wing room.

Outside, the moon and breeze were gentle in the darkening sky. Meng Qi was waiting for his chance to “escape” when quiet sounds of moaning drifted to his room from the Joy Palace. The charm was so appealing that it struck him deep in the bones and teased his spirit and soul. Despite the sound being indistinct due to the considerable distance, it seemed to be luring his deepest desires.

“Bodhisattva Lian Yu!” Meng Qi’s heart throbbed, feeling a gentle stir in his Vital Spirit as his imagination went wild.

Every nook and cranny of the small town and mountain peaks followed suit, emitting the highs and lows of moaning and groaning. Some were as quiet as a moan, some as drawn-out as a sigh. Some were heart-stirring while others were filled with pain. Some were gentle as the sounds of a pipe lullaby, some as raspy as having sand in the mouth. The noise was so sensual that blushing listeners would find it nearly impossible to resist the temptation.

For a while, Meng Qi found himself submerged in the sea of bliss. An indescribable fragrance invaded his nostrils. With the feminine voices brimming with sensuality swirling around him, he felt as if he was soaking in a warm bath. The mild temperature of the water soothed him greatly, opening up every pore in his body. It numbed him. A tingling sensation crept from the soles of his feet to the tips of his hair.

“No!”

“This isn’t the simple sound of lovemaking!”

Even as he felt his consciousness turning bleary due to the stimulation, he had a bad premonition. He once again activated the heart sutras of his Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmanship to visualize the Gist of Trueness of the Buddha’s Palm. The inextinguishable Primeval materialized in his Interior, suppressing his restless physical body and Vital Spirit.

Right at this moment, Ying Ning’s voice drifted from the next room to give him a reminder. “Mr. Tyrant, well, be careful of the formation.” Her voice sounded as if it was steeped in water, so soft and smooth that it was like a feather caressing a bone. It was such an emotional and seductive voice that Meng Qi felt tingling in his scalp.

“What formation?” Meng Qi asked, trying his utmost to contain himself.

Ying Ning staggered over from her room, pushing his door open. “World-crossing Fairy Formation. It’s not activated against you, Mr. Tyrant. Well, it’s a seduction attempt through a decadent display of pleasure in hopes that you’ll be unable to stop yourself from being engrossed in bliss.”

Her breathing was labored as if she was also under the influence of the formation. She seemed to be seeking consolation as she stared at him with gleaming and mesmerizing black pupils.

Taking a deep breath, Meng Qi abruptly extended his right hand and tapped her midbrow with the tip of his finger. She groaned softly and then fainted with her Vital Spirit sealed.

The enticement of this formation surpassed even that of Bodhisattva Lian Yu’s Dharma Form. If he kept a pretty and aroused woman next to him, he might fail to resist the temptation.

Sensing his surroundings, he realized there were people coupling in every corner, all the way from the main street in the small town and winding roads up to the mountain peaks. The entire Lihua Island seemed to have turned into a pure land of carnal desire, bringing with it a demonic feeling of great bliss!

“Merciless Tyrant, do you not want to try?” Bodhisattva Lian Yu’s voice penetrated through the layers of mountains and rocks and arrived at his ears, the words were as clear as day.

Meng Qi felt his tailbone go numb. He was barely able to suppress the heat crawling up his chest.

“This is the chance I was waiting for!” Taking a deep breath, Meng Qi decided to make use of this opportunity to escape Lihua Island. This way, Bodhisattva Lian Yu would assume that he was fleeing in a panic because he could not endure the temptation.

Suddenly, a gleaming sword light came flying from another peak of the mountain and snapped a precipice near the Joy Palace. From a distance came a clear, melodious female voice.

“How dare you disturb one’s sleep in the depth of the night!”

The sounds of moaning and groaning ceased as Bodhisattva Lian Yu withdrew her powers at once. The sea of bliss was instantly vacated, revealing the reflected light from the moon and the night breeze. Everything returned to its peaceful, tranquil state.

“Sister Shang River, are you feeling resentful because you have to keep the bed warm by yourself? Were you unable to endure after hearing how happy we are? Did you lose sleep because of the loneliness?” Bodhisattva Lian Yu’s voice was sympathetic but Meng Qi could hear the concealed indignation in it. “Since your husband is dead, there’s no need to be faithful to anyone. Why don’t you come over to my place? I have all kinds of men for your choosing. They’ve long coveted you, Sister. They could never keep their eyes off your slender waist…”

“Humph!” Shang River Fairy interrupted Bodhisattva Lian Yu’s verbal humiliation. She said nothing else.

Bodhisattva Lian Yu, having regained her composure, turned to Meng Qi with a smile. “Please forgive me for disturbing you as I indulged in my pleasures this late at night. This is the custom of Lihua Island.”

“Fortunately, it’s only for one night.” Meng Qi intentionally displayed a hint of anger.

Bodhisattva Lian Yu gasped in shock. “I forgot to inform you that a reply from the Plain Lady’s Paradise has arrived. Sect Leader Bodhisattva is completing her hermetic training and will leave only in half a month. Please wait here patiently.”

“Is this for real?” Meng Qi was excited upon hearing the news, but it soon occurred to him that Bodhisattva Lian Yu might be deliberately concealing things in order to get more time to entice him.

He must not be careless!

“Humph!” Meng Qi made no other reply. He decided to stick to his plan—the seduction attempt earlier had given him an additional bargaining chip.

Shang River Fairy’s interruption made it inconvenient for Bodhisattva Lian Yu to continue. In the end, the island regained its tranquility. Only the quiet cries of animals and insects remained.

Meng Qi sent Ying Ning back to the neighboring room before meditating once more. He waited for the night to continue to deepen.

Just after midnight, a figure flew from Meng Qi’s head. Then, like a burst soap bubble, Meng Qi himself disappeared.

The green-robed figure with white hairs on the temples exuded an elegance that contained the vicissitudes of life. It was Meng Qi disguised as Merciless Tyrant!

“Merciless Tyrant” concealed his breath as he entered the void, quietly flying forward in the air in an attempt to flee from the island.

When he was nearly 10 feet higher than the main peak of the mountain range, his movements abruptly froze. He felt a barely-discernible danger. It was as if there was a mass of terrifying undercurrents lying in wait.

“Sure enough, Lian Yu has activated hidden formations to prevent my escape. But she has kept the formations concealed and in partial activation, perhaps out of fear that I’ll find out in advance. I should be able to break them all at once!” Meng Qi took a deep breath and used his Void-stamping Footwork as he waited for an opportunity.

Suddenly, the dark, bleary void next to him split open and a clean, bright saber radiance came flying out of it. It instantly slashed the concealed formation!

Whack!

The formation came into view as it shook violently, radiating rays of light everywhere. When a small chink appeared, Meng Qi stepped on it with both of his feet and flew out of the formation.

He was barely out of the formation when his figure abruptly disappeared. In its place was a strand of hair that inexplicably combusted into ashes. This was the doppelganger made by his Living Propagation. The real Meng Qi was still inside the formation.

Within seconds, a muslin-clad Bodhisattva Lian Yu appeared in the same spot. There was no trace of compassion on her face, only pure rage.

She looked around but found no sign of him. Her breathing became labored as if she was trying to suppress her fury that was about to explode.

“You were so impatient that you scared him off!” a voice next to Bodhisattva Lian Yu said. It came not from Shang River Fairy but from Ying Ning whose Vital Spirit had been sealed!

Lian Yu turned her head and furiously replied. “You were supposed to keep an eye on him! Who was the one who suggested going undercover for half a month?

“How was I to I know you’d give in to temptation tonight? I truly had my Vital Spirit sealed so I wouldn’t arouse his suspicion! Besides, he was so decisive that I didn’t have the time to stop him!” Ying Ning pouted, looking annoyed and wronged.

Meng Qi quietly fell to the woods while all attention was directed at the undulating formation. Morphing into a mouse, he evaded the spirit beasts and made his way to the small town at a normal pace.

Things were going well so far. The splendor of the formation terrified the spirit beasts so much that they had no strength to prey on him. Meng Qi’s journey to the town was smooth. There, he morphed into a beggar whose face was covered in sludge. Pretending as if he was near death, he hid in a corner, trying to be as discreet as possible.

In the days that followed, the island had a repressive atmosphere. Each disciple and Incense Stove knew that Bodhisattva Lian Yu was raging. In her fury, she had even killed several men. Thus, no one was in the mood to “console” the beggars.

Meng Qi’s consciousness enveloped all the streets in his vicinity, allowing him to eavesdrop on the conversations between disciples. He picked up some useful information. One conversation included the warning not to ravish some of the talented male disciples in the Bliss Bodhisattva lineage who would be likely to comprehend the Extinctive Blade of Overlord. For example, Shang River Fairy recruited a young man and a child with decent aptitudes. First, she sent them to comprehend the impartation of Overlord to estimate their likelihood of success. Second, she selected suitable Dual Cultivation candidates for her female disciples.

“Looks like it’s safe to sneak into Shang River Fairy’s residence; the chances are higher too. I wouldn’t be picked as long as I stay inconspicuous.” With this in mind, Meng Qi knocked a lonesome male disciple of Shang River Fairy unconscious and threw him into the Map of Mountains and Rivers. With his Six Apertures strength, escape would be impossible even without activating the treasure.

Meng Qi adopted the form of this inconspicuous-looking man who was in his early twenties. His thin and frail figure was clad in a white robe. Holding purchased goods in hand, he made his way up the peak of Shangshui.

After several days of “eavesdropping”, he now had a basic idea where the male disciples’ residences were. Once he reached halfway up the mountain, he turned and entered a mansion made of green bricks and black roof tiles.

There were many pairs of men and women training in the courtyard, drawing envy and jealousy from the uncoupled male disciples. They wanted nothing more than to replace the other men. Now and then, they would quietly curse the men with partners.

Someone laughed when he saw Meng Qi entering. “Brother Xi, did you manage to beg a female Bodhisattva to ‘console’ you while you were in town today?”

“They’re not in the greatest of moods today.” Meng Qi sighed, shaking his head. From the previous conversations, he came to know that the owner of his current appearance was named Guo Xi. He would often boast of going to the small town to beg for a female Bodhisattva’s “consolation” but it was mere empty talk for a coward like him. He would always have one excuse or another each time.

The courtyard full of provoked male disciples instantly roared with laughter. Their terrible moods subsided a fair deal. Sure enough, a person’s happiness was rooted in making comparisons!

While Meng Qi’s face “reddened”, he sniffed the air and distinguished the smell that belonged to himself. He walked toward the room where “his” smell was the strongest.

Taking out a key, he unlocked the room and entered it to make sure. Of course, there was no surge in his emotions.

Just as he was about to close his eyes to get a better sense of the situation here, silence descended outside.

“Come out, all male disciplines who haven’t found a partner yet.” A female voice pierced through each and every room with exceptional clarity.

Meng Qi frowned as he detected the breath of Shang River Fairy outside. He was feeling bewildered as he opened the door and gradually stepped out of his room.

Several male disciples walked past him at that moment, quietly discussing among themselves with apparent surprise.

“For the Fairy to come here personally, could she be…”

“Since she’s recently widowed, she must be in need of a new Dual Cultivation partner… Gulp…”

“The Fairy is as beautiful as she is strong. She’s full of feminine charm as well. If I end up being her husband, I would’ve spent all the good fortune I’ve accumulated in ten lifetimes and reached the peak in one step!”

“Haha! Those guys with Dual Cultivation partners must be regretting it now!”

Meng Qi’s lip curled as he listened to the disciples’ wild thoughts. Shang River Fairy was a Peerless Master Pro. Even if she was looking for a husband for Dual Cultivation, the man should at least be an Exterior expert. That was unless she could restrain her nature and begin her cultivation anew.

Upon reaching the courtyard, Meng Qi found the rest of the male disciples gathered. Standing in front were three women; the most eye-catching and striking one was the one in the middle.

The oval-faced woman appeared to be in her early twenties. Her skin was delicately fair and tender. Though her nose was not tall and straight, it lent her quite the adorable air. As a whole, she gave off a pure, cold impression. Her lively eyes were watery and she had a full chest. In her gracefully swaying white dress, she could be considered a remarkably beautiful woman.

The male disciples held their heads high and pushed out their chests without saying a word. Their eyes were brimming with anticipation and pleading.

Shang River Fairy’s apathetic gaze swept the men and her voice, like a flowing river, resounded. “Guo Xi, stay here. Everyone else can leave.”

“Me?” Meng Qi felt like he was plunged into a dream. His guard was instantly up and he was prepared to make a move and escape.

How could Shang River Fairy pick “him”?

“Guo Xi?” Gasps came one after another. No one could believe that Shang River Fairy had chosen Guo Xi!

Could it be that the demonic teachings of the Bliss Bodhisattva lineage had poisoned the Fairy and caused her to adopt a liking for “consoling” pitiful men?

Despite their disbelief, they dared not disobey the Fairy’s order so they retreated.

“Let’s go to your room.” Shang River Fairy’s eyes turned soft and mellow. In her coldness was a hint of bashfulness.

“Well…” Meng Qi was dumbstruck. “Don’t tell me that there would always be people with a unique aesthetic sense in this wide world?”

“Should I make my move after entering the room? I really don’t want to sleep with a widow!” Meng Qi’s mind was indescribably complicated as he led her to his room. He pushed the door open and made way for her to enter.

He followed her inside with his head lowered and closed the door. Before he could turn around, the cold voice of Shang River Fairy rang in his ears.

“Su Meng!”

“What?” Meng Qi had goosebumps. Feeling as if his soul had left him, he was about to make a break for it.

Shang River Fairy’s voice abruptly turned mellow, full of mirth and familiarity.

“Hubby, we sure are fated to meet.”

Meng Qi’s pupils shrunk in shock. It all felt like a dream.

It was Gu Xiaosang, the Demoness!