The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Silence pervaded the expanse of the Three-clearness Palace. Fumes from the burning incense danced upwards into the air, giving off an air of divine surrealism to whosoever eyes laid upon the three sculptures. The great and magnificent Heavenly Primogenitor, the all-knowing Primogenitor Daode, and the mighty and far-reaching Primogenitor Lingbao sat silently. As described by the legends and fables depicting them, they observed with indifference at the vanities and torments that Man endured.

Meng Qi sat below the statues of the Taoist Trinity, his figure stood out from the backdrop of the three figurines behind him. Clad in black, fitting clothes, his eyes were half-closed on the deadpan look of his face. The atmosphere of immeasurable depth and stillness radiating from him made the approaching He Jiu felt as if it was Meng Qi who was the true master of that abode, and the Taoist Trinity behind him were his conjured Dharmic Forms.

One of the Primordial Beginning, one of the End of All Things, and one of the Ubiquitous Enlightenment!

He Jiu could hardly help but feel overwhelmed by the tense pressure weighing on him that he almost bowed his head with reverence as if he was meeting with the actual Primogenitors of the Taoist Trinity!

“You have come.” Meng Qi uttered flatly, his eyes still half-closed.

He could vaguely guess the reason of He Jiu’s visit. He Jiu was a fellow martial practitioner that he respected and admired. Meng Qi has longed for a duel with him ever since he reached the levels of the Exterior. Still, his wish was never fulfilled for their paths rarely converged. Unlike their previous duel in the Happycloud Heights where there were considerable differences between their powers, this would be a duel between two warriors of equal or similar strength. A situation where they would not have to rely on differences between numbers to even the odds of their duel!

Thence, Meng Qi had purposefully sat before the statues. With the likenesses of the statues to augment the atmosphere manipulated by his Dharmic conjuration, the Immortal Primogenitor Form, his presence and stature peaked rapidly to the best of his condition. With his best, he would duel one of his most respected peer, He Jiu. This would be the most earnest gesture of respect that Meng Qi would show him!

He Jiu took a deep and heavy breath as he took in the entire view and mood of the space he stepped into intensely. He did not look at Meng Qi, instead, his sight was fixated upon the sculptures of the Taoist Trinity,

“And so I have!”

Bold and adamant, He Jiu was awash with confidence that he would overcome the adversity that awaited him!

At that very moment, they shared an unspoken understanding that hinted no need for more words. Meng Qi’s eyes blinked open suddenly. Darkness befell instantly, throwing the entire hall of the Three-clearness Palace into a gloom. The expanse around them was swiftly filled with a mood of phantasmal buoyancy between reality and fantasy!

Driven by the aura of swirling energies, He Jiu’s gaze lowered upon Meng Qi. Their eyes locked upon each other, burning with competitiveness!

Crack! Crack!

A brief glimmer of flash sparked and crackled in the blackness of the hall as the combatants both faded from sight.

High above in the sky, strong blasts of winds sliced ravenously like sharp blades. The figures of Meng Qi and He Jiu materialized amongst the choppy gale.

Afraid that the clashes of their blows might cause collateral damages to the surroundings of Langya, they had tacitly agreed to take their duel to the sky, knowing full well that their similar powers made it hard for them to rein in the forces of their blows.

Meng Qi gripped the hilt of his blade. He did not swing the blade at his opponent, instead, he drew the blade closer to him. Illusions of his Dharmic Form came into shape from all his apertures and converged as one. There was a sudden stillness as if Time has slowed.

That very moment, He Jiu howled suddenly with laughter. Two flashes of Sword Qi shot from his eyes.

But that was not all. Multitudes of auras of Sword Qi tore from the apertures of his nose, his ears, his mouths and all other meridian points around his body. In shades of green and white, some were rigid and some were deft, some were cold with malice whilst some burned with intensity; all of them streaked all around Meng Qi, enveloping him as the barrage of lights fell upon him.

Yet, above all, the slews of Sword Qi assailing him did not come at him directly. Some encircled him, some curved from above him and some winded to his back before coming at him; all of them surrounding him in a cocoon of bladed aura before striking at him!

Meng Qi could feel the astounding pressure of the Sword Qi filling the space around him then. Blurs of dazzling rays of lights filled his sight that he could neither tell top nor bottom, only the staggering tenseness of impending doom threatening to reduce him to dust!

“Good!” Meng Qi exclaimed in his heart. There was no fear. Only the aggressive thirst to win.

“This is the reason he is a worthy opponent!”

Chink!

His saber groaned anxiously as it escaped its scabbard. The restraint that has been holding it back. With the cry resembling that of a dragon, there came a sudden burst of purple brilliance that broke the fleeting stillness.

Most people would have elected to remain on the defensive as a more cautious approach to handle He Jiu’s assaults. They would brandish their sabers in flurries of arcing strokes that would shape a round, defensive sphere around them to defend themselves against the raining onslaught of He Jiu’s Sword Qi. But Meng Qi had other designs. Seeing that he and He Jiu wielded similar strength and power, the momentum of his offense was critical to his victory; and the effectiveness of his offense relied on the dominating disposition of his style. He could not tolerate losing the initiative!

The roar of his blade reverberated through the air. The saber bared its fang as it swung upwards, glinting ferociously as it curved dangerously with the huge force that he had channeled during the brief stillness earlier. Suddenly, the huge flash of purple light split into hundreds of different shafts of glimmering lights! The flashes of bladed auras poured all around him. Some dashed swiftly whilst some zipped slowly through the space, some streaked clumsily whilst some curved gracefully; all of the bladed auras surrounded him, following the strokes of his blade that encompassed all around him.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The bladed auras conjured by Meng Qi collided with each and every Sword Qi summoned by He Jiu, nullifying each other and dissipated into oblivion. None remained as peace returned to the skies around them!

It was a discipline of the sword despite using a saber! The techniques, the Annihilation of Blades and the Return of the Ten Thousand Swords! With force against force, Meng Qi had invalidated the offense of his opponent!

“Good!” He Jiu’s voice thundered with laughter, fading once more from sight.

Sensing an impending stroke, Meng Qi swung his saber to his back instinctively.

Clang!

A ray of light materialized and was dangerously close to hitting Meng Qi, only for the Sword Qi to be parried by his blade.

The Formless Sword Qi indeed! Formless, shapeless and untraceable!

The bolt of Sword Qi disappeared as swiftly as it came. Peace and silence resumed as if nothing had happened.

Meng Qi released his Eye Aperture, allowing his sight greater degree of perception. Still, he could find no traces of the Sword Qi conjured by He Jiu. He listened closely with his Ear Aperture. But he could hear nothing save for the winds whistling dangerously!

“Extraordinary indeed… That he shifts freely into his formless state at will…” Meng Qi grimaced at his conundrum. His senses of sight and hearing were devoid of their uses to him.

Another tingling sensation came without a sign. Trusting his own instincts, Meng Qi swung his blade downwards.

Clang!

Meng Qi’s blade hit another faint bolt of light which had been aimed at one of Meng Qi’s weak points.

The bolt of light dispersed once more and vanished without any trace.

Pacing over white, swirling clouds, Meng Qi expanded the range of his spiritual senses to amplify his sight and hearing amidst the rough and grueling winds. Still, he found nothing of the Formless Sword Qi that He Jiu has morphed into!

“Do I really have only the forewarnings of the Eight Nine Mysteries to depend on?”Meng Qi asked himself. There was no panic. It was hardly the first time he had found himself in such a quandary; his opponent’s methods were quite similar to that of the Wolf King which he had slain long ago.

But during his encounter then, he was able to rely on his Precious Weapon to detect the presence of his foe. On the other hand, He Jiu’s Formless Sword Qi could escape the detection of even the most proficient warriors of the Exterior levels, rendering the awareness of his Precious Weapon useless!

Clang!

Meng Qi held his saber upright, just in front of his forehead, and deflected another blow of Sword Qi aimed at his head.

Clang!

There was barely time for another breath, Meng Qi’s blade immediately swerved downwards and parried another blow.

“This cannot continue!” Tapping into his extensive experiences in combat, he cleared his mind and calmed himself. After quick thinking, he closed his eyes and sealed his Ear Aperture!

There was nothing; only darkness and silence. With his sense of touch shut off from him, he could feel nothing from the rolling winds brushing past him. Meng Qi felt disconnected from the rest of the world and Nature that he could almost scream in anguish at the destitution.

He endured the tingle of horridness and channeled his powers. The Immortal Primogenitor Form came into shape within him, preparing itself for any unknowns.

Another dread fell on him with a chill. With his eyes still closed, Meng Qi swung his saber aslant at another salvo of Sword Qi.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Bolts of Sword Qi rained continuously upon Meng Qi who flailed his saber frantically around him like a true blind man. Shafts of purple lightning crackled at the clashes of the blows.

He had discontinued the use of his physical senses and relied only on his sixth sense. The peaking potential of the Eight Nine Mysteries discipline to predict dangers culminated in the manifestation of the essence of the discipline of the Eight Nine Mysteries – the “Premonition of Perils”! With it, Meng Qi held his own against the Formless Sword Qi!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The exchanges of blows stalled into a stalemate; He Jiu threw everything he could at Meng Qi and the latter resisted his efforts leaving no room for He Jiu to exploit.

To Meng Qi, a battle of this fashion was the very worst to him. He was being deprived of the chance to use the many Dharmakaya-leveled techniques at his disposal for he could not even lock on to He Jiu. A hurried attack would not do him any good, for it would only expose him to reprisals by his opponent. The “Doom of Demons” technique has but one weakness: the technique, despite inflicting damages to every part of a selected area, could not attack the small area of space around him which was like the eye of a storm. The Doom of Demons would be of no use if He Jiu could hide right around him.

Moreover, He Jiu’s attacks pinpointed on the weak points of Meng Qi, namely the Hidden Latch aperture and his forehead and Meng Qi could do nothing. With only the defensive enhancement of the Eight Nine Mysteries discipline, he could only wait for He Jiu to miss his actual weak points and retaliate, for He Jiu did not know which weak points were already strengthened by Meng Qi’s defenses.

But He Jiu was in a similar quandary to Meng Qi. He has to disappear immediately each time his attacks were foiled by Meng Qi and he could not carelessly use any fatal moves lest Meng Qi would be able to lock onto him instead. Meng Qi’s prowess to soak up damage was hardly new to him.

Still, both the combatants were certain of one thing: the fight would not continue for long. He Jiu’s transformation into the Formless Sword Qi required the use of his Dharmic Form, and he would have long suffered internal injuries from the prolonged use of his Dharmic Form if it not for the fact that he was close to attaining the level of the First Celestial Ladder. Still, he suffered great exhaustion each time he transformed. It would not be long until his powers are spent!

Like He Jiu, Meng Qi’s use of his Dharmic Form to increase the efficacy of his predictions by the Eight Nine Mysteries discipline had also taken a heavy toll on his powers. Not even the reviving effects of the Immortal Pressing Art could do him much good.

This was a battle of persistence! A struggle of endurance and tenacity!

“This cannot continue!” The duo in a deadlock shared the same fleeting thought; a sudden impulse that occurred to them by their experiences and instincts in battle!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Despite hungry for a solution to his quandary, the loss of the senses of sight, hearing, and touch has rendered Meng Qi stranded in a limbo where he was isolated from the world outside, enduring a lingering desolation. But the Immortal Primogenitor Form that he conjured had not stopped functioning. The threat of the Formless Sword Qi has forced Meng Qi to maintain the Dharmic Form. But aside from strengthening his sixth sense, the Form allowed him to perceive the imperceptible, sensing more than he ever could!

He could sense the gossamer strands of starry threads crisscrossed densely across the sky…

He then sensed a pool of energy, the force that drove the Sun forward in its labor of rising and setting every day…

In the thick of the thrashing winds, he could sense the undulations of something unknown; its presence as silent as death, yet it festered dimly with vigor…

The laws and orders, the Dharma and Logos of Nature inspired the purpose of every single form in the world, both animate and inanimate. Without form or substance, the tenets of Nature’s purposes manifested in multitudes of embodiments around that one would only be astounded and overwhelmed by its greatness if one had to try to comprehend Nature with one’s mundane senses of hearing and sight.

This very moment, by a stroke of chance, Meng Qi abandoned the use of his physical senses and immersed himself in the flow of Nature by relying only on the Immortal Primogenitor Form and his spiritual senses. This allowed him to capture the essence; a partial “Truth” of the world and fractionally passed the hurdles of the level of the First Celestial Ladder!

He believed that He Jiu had sensed it too.

For this was the very reason that warriors would challenge only opponents who share equal or greater strength to a duel!

As battles like these required utmost concentration. One had to expel all thoughts of doubt and their mundane self to embrace only the cruxes of Energy, Qi, Spirit, and Will to experience the feel of trueness and the intangible!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Meng Qi’s saber clashed continuously with the incessant assaults of the Formless Sword Qi. He seemed to understand the uncanny excitement that tingled through him, but yet it was inexplicable and abstruse. But there was no time for him to assimilate on what he felt, for the pressure that his opponent was laying upon him was piling up!

Clang!

The sounds of the clashes echoed through the void in the sky, the Heaven Inflicted Pain tirelessly parried the Formless Sword Qi assailing Meng Qi.

Another glimmer of a sword flashed dangerously again. But suddenly the shaft of light burst into bits. Meng Qi’s blade passed through the scattering lights like an illusion. Yet, the sprinkling of lights returned as one again and shot straight at Meng Qi!

The Formless Sword Qi, the embodiment of Formlessness! Where it could be anything its wielder willed!

He Jiu had finally stepped up to claim the initiative by revealing the soul of his most potent conjuration!

Realizing that the tides of the battle were changing swiftly, Meng Qi found himself falling closer and closer to danger and defeat. But with steeled nerves, his blade swung back and deflected a blow that was close to striking at his forehead. His left hand formed a pointing gesture with his index and middle finger like a sword and slashed at another beam of light aiming at his weak spot. He braced himself and hurled himself at the rest of the rays of light raining upon him!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The hail of lights bombarded Meng Qi’s body, but his body glowed in gold defiantly, leaving only spots of white scorch marks on him.

With the climax of their battle expired, He Jiu could no longer maintain the resilience of his transformation into the Formless Sword Qi. Meng Qi, his eyes still closed throughout the entire barrage before, felt something. The Immortal Primogenitor Form within him sprung to motion!

Meng Qi’s saber rose into the air above his head. Enraged bolts of lightning converged on it as if the blade itself was made of lightning!

“I have you now!” Meng Qi bellowed to himself and swung his saber down hard. The many Dharmic Forms he conjured flickered briefly with only the Immortal Primogenitor Form maintaining its prominence.

Boom!

So heavy was the blow that struck at an empty space in the air that its force distorted the fabric of Space, nearly collapsing it. There was a brief stillness of energies channeling when suddenly came another deafening explosion!

Boom!

Lightning bolts of sweltering heat scattered the clouds and turned the skies around them into a sea of lightning, annihilating everything around Meng Qi with equal retribution of fury and destruction!

A glimmer of Sword Qi pulsed weakly in the billowing waves of the sea of lightning. He Jiu was forced to reappear, suffering the fierce and relentless pricks of the crackling bolts.

He has been exhausted and was close to being utterly crippled.

In Meng Qi’s mind, the faint traces of his opponent’s Sword Qi finally revealed itself! It had appeared to him on its own, without the use of his physical and spiritual senses!

It was as if something had been unlocked within him, the “immateriality” in the elements of Nature was suddenly “visible” to him!

Meng Qi’s eyes blinked open; so did the figure of the Immortal Primogenitor Form in him. The translucent silhouette of the figure flew out from his body before it burst and shrouded the entire sky, extending far into all directions around the world, weaving and entangling itself with all incorporeal fabrics of Nature!

Everything around him turned dark suddenly, where he could see no sky nor land, no Sun nor winds.