The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Was it not true that the Blue-blooded People, with their precise water manipulation ability, could massacre same-level peers beneath the level of grandmasters?

Was it not true that one could not escape the wrath the Blue-blooded People as long as one’s body had moisture and vitality?

To the Exterior experts on the ground, the remnants of the strong purple-green thunder imbued with potent Yang energy seemed like the most splendid part of a dreamland. It felt surreal to them. Were these fools that “Killing Blade” Su Meng had ravaged truly Blue-blooded People?

“Killing Blade” Su Meng had just condensed his Dharma Form and joined the ranks of Peerless Master Pros two days ago!

Did he perhaps come to obtain a strength equivalent to a grandmaster’s as soon as he became a Peerless Master Pro?

It would take more than just strength to fight the Blue-blooded People, though. What he had relied on was his realm. Could he perhaps possess corresponding secret techniques or treasures?

The answer came to them as they pondered upon it, easing their surprise. They realized just how terrifying it was that “Killing Blade” Su Meng could so ferociously annihilate two Peerless Master Pros and three peak Exterior experts even if he had help from secret techniques or treasures to counter the water manipulation ability of the Blue-blooded People.

Based on news from Eastsea Sword Village, the Blue-blooded People possessed no extraordinary talents besides their gift in manipulating water. Even so, a Peerless Master Pro would still possess a corresponding strength. This was especially true for those of the Formless Sword Vermin lineage who had turned to Blue-blooded People—they would not be weaker than ordinary Peerless Master Pros. “Killing Blade” Su Meng had been a frightening marvel earlier. He was so aggressive and ferocious that he crushed the enemies with unabashed strength after the initial ambush.

The strong thunder of the “Doom of Demons” entered the body of the remaining blue-blooded Peerless Master Pro, dehydrating all the moisture and paralyzing his body. He knew escape was impossible but rage flared in him when he heard how Meng Qi threw his words back at him and said he could take on 10 more. Clenching his teeth, he made his decision.

His physical body abruptly collapsed as if it was a tower of sand. It then turned into droplets that flowed into the vortex-shaped Dharma Form behind him.

The Dharma Form subsequently collapsed. It turned out that it was condensed out of blue Gu Poison Bugs so tiny that they were difficult to see. Sword Qi was concealed in it, existing between the states of illusion and reality. It suddenly disappeared, merging into the sea of Vital Qi.

He unleashed a protective spell at the cost of his life, pushing his Formless Sword Vermin to the point that it could merge into the sea of Vital Qi in the world and become its “droplet”. It was the same Vital Qi that martial artists inhale and exhale. He was trying to take Meng Qi down with him!

The formless Sword Vermin scattered in the sea of Vital Qi that undulated uncertainly. Ordinary people would be hard-pressed to detect anything unusual. The “ocean current” that Meng Qi’s engulfment produced quietly moved toward his Mouth Aperture, Nose Aperture, and the pores all over his body.

This Peerless Master Pro of the Formless Sword Vermin lineage composed himself, betraying no emotion so as not to be sensed by Meng Qi.

In the blink of an eye, he morphed into numerous Sword Vermin and appeared next to Meng Qi.

“He’s not taking precautions!” Su Meng had not guarded against this possibility and neglected to seal his Mouth Aperture, Nose Aperture, or pores.

This unexpected turn of events made him overjoyed. He prepared to take advantage of Meng Qi’s weakness and infiltrate the latter through these channels, ready to unleash Sword Qi the second he was inside. He would tear Meng Qi’s organs and damage his Interior, thus bringing Meng Qi down to hell with him!

He had just passed through Meng Qi’s Mouth Aperture, Nose Aperture, and pores when a sudden burst of heat hit him. Everything became red and countless tiny specks merged to form a single entity that emitted a terrifying force and high temperature. It then morphed into a boundless sea of fire.

He did not feel like he had entered a human body. Rather, it felt as if he had mistakenly entered the internal layer of a Grand Sun.

Just as this thought came to him, he felt his droplet-like Formless Sword Vermin begin evaporating in the terrifying heat. His perception of the outside world rapidly darkened and entered a state of deathly stillness.

“Impossible!” His final thoughts slowly dissipated.

“Grand Sun Transformation” —it was the transformation that Meng Qi finally completed after crossing the first step of the Celestial Ladder. If he cultivated this transformation to its depths, he could morph into a genuine Grand Sun. This was just his small attempt to turn his Interior into the Grand Sun but it was enough to eradicate the Formless Sword Vermin.

This was the might of the Eight Nine Mysteries!

Eight Nine Mysteries might not be one of the greatest in terms of its absolute offensive power and might but its ability to meet contingency, counter different types of opponents, and adapt to various environments was the best!

Meng Qi hovered proudly in midair. Threads of white Qi that rose all around him turned into a mist that seemed to harbor faint mirages of Gu Poison Bugs. The blue-blooded man who had caused such a stir earlier lost all breath.

“To die so quietly…” The same thought occurred to the Exterior experts watching the scene unfold. Then joy descended upon them.

Meng Qi pinched a dark blue Gu Poison Bug with his fingers; it was condensed out of the first blue-blooded Peerless Master Pro that he ambushed. Its blood was a different hue compared to the azure Blue-blooded People. He got nothing out of the others after the first one because he wanted to grab the opportunity and secure a victory. Without giving the Blue-blooded People a chance to gang up on him, he used “the Doom of Demons” of the Six Strokes of the Overlord at the most appropriate time to obliterate all the condensed Gu Poison Bugs.

As for the remaining Blue-blooded Peerless Master Pro, even though Meng Qi had long detected danger lurking in the sea of Vital Qi, he was on guard because it was his first time meeting one. He directly used the Grand Sun Transformation and vaporized the blue-blooded master!

“It feels so good to interweave the Dharma Form with Dharma and Logos!” Meng Qi inwardly patted himself on the back as he put away the Gu Poison Bug.

His first attack was the Big Bang Technique, a small trick repackaged from Let All Begone, as well as the manifestation of his Dharma Form. The resulting might exceeded even his expectations and caused grievous injuries to the Blue-blooded People whose realms were superior to his. From a strong initial attack that birthed Yang and Yin energies, he took a softer approach later on. His subsequent succession of bladesmanship then forced the blue-blooded master to his death.

Treading upon the void, Meng Qi flew toward the Zither of Limbo but did not grab hold of it. Instead, he used his soft Saber Qi to push the zither toward the Ruan family manor so that the family’s Exterior experts would not misunderstand his intentions.

He had just emitted his soft Saber Qi when multiple breaths soared into the firmament and linked with heaven and earth. This prompted a turbulence in the weather and numerous streams of Sword Qi to block his Saber Qi, counteracting it.

Meng Qi’s senses followed suit and he saw rays of light flying over toward him. There was no shortage of strong masters among them. These were all those masters who had dared not make a move against the blue-blooded Peerless Master Pros earlier.

“Bastards!” Meng Qi cursed in rage. “If you guys have any guts, you should’ve acted earlier! How shameless to show up only after I got rid of those Blue-blooded People!”

The aristocratic families in the vicinity of Langya dared not snatch the zither fearing the might of the Ruan clan. Even if they succeeded, they must still have the power to keep it, after all. Their family foundation was rooted in this place. Unless they could be ruthless enough to put the lives of their relatives at risk, they would not have the courage to make a move.

Of course, there was also no shortage of masters who were trying to help the Ruan clan. They betted on the clan successfully overcoming this obstacle instead of declining.

The other Exterior experts were those from dissenting sects who rushed over upon seeing the possible breakout of a great conflict between the Ruan clan and the Blue-blooded People. These included honorable masters who remained bystanders as well as those who were planning to take advantage of a crisis, such as in the aftermath of a lose-lose situation.

With such intentions, how could they not go all out after seeing that the divine weapon was in a controllable state? They would escape far away once they obtain it and seek refuge with one of the great heterodox powers. They could exchange the weapon for a reward and their protection. Besides, they were already used to the aristocratic families of the righteous path hunting them down.

Moreover, how much longer could the Ruan clan maintain their prestige after losing the Zither of Limbo?

Meng Qi took a deep breath upon seeing the masters charging at him, many of them ferocious Peerless Master Pros. He decided to use the Devil-rinsing Flag.

Even though damaged, a divine weapon was still a divine weapon. He would call forth a mist that would catch everything in one fell swoop!

Meng Qi was able to use two of the treasures that he possessed after crossing the first layer of the Celestial Ladder: the Devil-rinsing Flag and the Wrist Bone of Nether!

Unfortunately, the latter did not have the ability to attack opponents within a range. It was not suitable for such an occasion.

It would not matter if it was revealed that he possessed items on the level of a divine weapon. He believed anyone with working eyes would be able to tell they were either damaged or purely used as materials. It was unlikely that the strong ones would covet his items. On the other hand, his enmity with the great heterodox powers like the Sect of the Plain Lady and Destruction Sect had long overflowed!

The thought just occurred to Meng Qi when he heard a zither tune. The sound stunned the majority of the masters charging at him. Perhaps they saw the illusions of the phoenix and True Dragon. For a while, they could not come close to him. The sound had indeed come from the Peerless Master Pros and Exterior experts of the Ruan clan in an attempt to stop the masters.

“Chance!” Meng Qi immediately turned around and tried to give the Zither of Limbo a final shove toward the city of Langya.

Suddenly, an immense palm came flying. Dark and heavy, the palm emitted a terrifying suction force as if it was a magnetic-type skill.

Meng Qi dodged the attack while still hovering in midair. He felt his grasp on Heaven Inflicted Pain loosening somewhat.

“Six-apex Devil!” He recognized the newcomer to be “Six-apex Devil” Linghu Tao, a heterodox authority hiding in River East and a Peerless Master Pro ranked 93rd on the Black List.

Linghu Tao was not disguised as a senior monk today. Instead, he had a wide robe draped over his shoulders and wore a different face full of malevolence. His flesh wriggled as he spoke. “Hurry up and step aside, young one!”

“Huh, you dare call me ‘young one’ when you were the one trembling from the Blue-blooded People?” Meng Qi sneered. He planned to use his doppelganger to grab the zither.

Right at this moment, a thin and tall figure came flying over. His skin was ash-colored and his unique trait was particularly distinct.

“Saint Wan Shi…” Meng Qi recognized this to be another heterodox authority, a Peerless Master Pro who had nearly climbed the Black List.

In the time it took for this thought to enter his mind, another figure abruptly emerged beside him. It was the white-robed “Ledgerkeeper of Lives” Wang Siyuan.

“When did he show up?” Compared to the two heterodox masters, Wang Siyuan’s appearance stunned Meng Qi even more. To make things worse, he was totally unaware of Wang Siyuan’s approach.

“Could the Tathāgata Buddha Figure be capable of blinding senses and concealing premonitions of danger like the real Ebbing Flash?

“If that’s the case, it’s indeed terrifying!”

Wang Siyuan glanced at Meng Qi indifferently. “We’ll handle one each. Let’s see who’ll settle their opponent first.”

His words infuriated Linghu Tao and Saint Wan Shi so much that they nearly burst a vein. These two young ones were a little too arrogant for their own good!

The two of them were Peerless Master Pros of many years and had made a name for themselves. Their strength was publicly acknowledged. Who were these two newly-minted Peerless Master Pros to scorn them?

Meng Qi stared blankly at Wang Siyuan before smiling brightly.

“Deal!”

Wang Siyuan returned a small smile. He then saw Meng Qi quietly taking out a pitch-black skeletal hand with underlying whiteness.