The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

“Everyone will receive a deduction of 1,000 Karma points each for allowing the Samsara travelers of the Revolutionary Army to kill Liu Yuntao.”

The Dominator’s familiarly apathetic voice drifted to the ears of Wen Jing and the rest, who were standing on the ship floating on the river. Their frantic attacks on the camp of the Revolutionary Army came to a sudden stop.

“How did Liu Yuntao get killed with Miao Cong, who possessed a heaven-defying skill, around?”

“Did they carelessly fall for the opponents’ trap in a moment of arrogance? Is that why Miao Cong couldn’t come to her rescue in time?”

They hoped that Liu Yuntao’s death would drive Miao Cong mad enough to utterly thrash the enemies and accumulate enough Karma points for their team’s future plan.

Wen Jing used his trick to keep Feng Jintang occupied with maintaining the grand formation of the camp. He then moved away in preparation to rush to the West Hill with his teammates. They needed to make sure their plan was foolproof!

Over at the West Hill near the riverbank, lightning imbued with Yin energy thundered like the cracking of tarsal bones without an end. Miao Cong had a hard time breaking away from such an environment. Moreover, Meng Qi was flitting about and calmly thrusting his sabers and swords. It might look as if he was hitting inexplicable targets but his movements would always block Miao Cong’s subsequent attacks at just the right time and spot. Meng Qi’s grasp of the changes in movements was exceptionally precise!

Of course, Meng Qi did not let go of the opportunity of asking Taoist Chonghe for advice when the Pure Sun Sect was lecturing “Tao Te Ching”. He was able to clarify the minute differences between the components of the two main martial arts, which were the realms of his skill and movements.

According to Taoist Chonghe, he would gain a deeper understanding of the rules of heaven and earth with the improvement of his skill realm. Perhaps, he might even develop a comprehension at an even more in-depth level and used the comprehension to his advantage. He would thereby possess impressive knowledge and foresight. Thus, even without focusing on cultivating the changes in movements, his every movement would bring him back to his original state. He would be able to produce movements as beautiful and wondrous and as natural as the Grand Sun rising from the east or the stars revolving in the sky. This was one of the reasons why he could suppress his opponent using his realm alone.

With the advantage of having a superior realm, learning movements would be a much easier ordeal. Many Exterior experts, since they first enlightened their Aperture acupoints to reaching the Peak of the Exterior realm, were unable to fully grasp the Dharmakaya killing moves. But, once they worked tirelessly to cross the first step of the Celestial Ladder and become a grandmaster, they would always be able to grasp at least several movements. The only exception would be if they lacked skills. In other words, if his opponent was at the level of a grandmaster, Meng Qi would have a harder time trying to suppress his opponent on the basis of having Dharmakaya movements.

However, this did not mean that one’s movement realm would improve once one reached the skill realm. It was simply that cultivation would become relatively easier. One would still need to spend a great deal of time to learn, practice, and ponder until one gained full comprehension to combine one’s learnings to create a new move. Meng Qi, for example, had mastered so many supreme arts. He had purposefully exchanged for time to make up for this aspect after crossing the first step of the Celestial Ladder and was barely able to improve his movement realm enough to catch up to Jiang Zhiwei. His movement realm was now at the level of a newly-minted grandmaster.

One could be considered truly a grandmaster until his skill realm, movement realm, spiritual realm, foresight, and knowledge were all on the level of a grandmaster. However, the mental realm was most easily overlooked. The secular world of mortals was sunken in emotions and obsessions where power and desire took hold of human hearts. While mortals polish themselves, they were always being tainted with filth. If one failed to frequently cleanse one’s heart, one’s mind would gradually deteriorate without notice.

Right now, the Miao Cong who stood before his eyes had used a skill similar to the Twenty-seven Extremities to push his realm to the Peak of the Exterior realm. Despite that, Miao Cong was clearly lacking in skill realm, movement realm, spiritual mental realm, foresight, and knowledge. Were it not for Meng Qi’s plan causing his movements to turn slightly slower and forcing him into passivity due to Miao Cong’s frantic attacks, Meng Qi would have long grasped the flaw in Miao Cong’s changes in movements!

Once Meng Qi went on the offense to defend himself—his every move became a frantic attack and an initiative—he was able to incorporate Miao Cong’s movements into his own deduction. He was as agile and at ease as a dragon returning to the sea and a tiger leaping through the woods. He focused solely on what was in front of him and neglected his back. His sabers and swords were like dragons and phoenixes, each flying wing to wing now and then to interfere with Miao Cong’s changes in movements, forcing him to make a new change each time.

For a moment, Miao Cong swung his stick in all directions, turning it into a dark golden dragon that flew and circled in midair. He shattered one hill after another and created deep ravines. However, he always appeared to be having a difficult time, losing his previous frantic and continuous attacks. Miao Cong continued to roar, using the sound to attack as well as to vent the frustration in him. His emotions were so bottled up in him that he felt like he was having diarrhea. Just as he was happily venting to his heart’s contents, he was interrupted by someone—and this happened over and over again. How could he not be frustrated?

“Thud!”

Yet another hill collapsed. By now, five breaths had passed. Miao Cong’s breath was climbing to its peak again as he neared the Half-step to Dharmakaya realm!

He finally lost control of himself and swung his copper stick while roaring.

Though he wielded his stick in a sweeping motion, his actual speed was very slow. It gave Meng Qi the impression that the stick was exceptionally heavy.

“Snap!” The whole void, with Miao Cong at the core, was like a shattered mirror with its cracks crisscrossing across the surface. The cracks extended upward and downward and in all directions like it was an illusory cobweb.

Facing an ultimate strength, any sort of tricks were useless! With Miao Cong nearing the Half-step to Dharmakaya realm, what was the use of using impractical moves?

Currently, it was as if Miao Cong was integrated with heaven and earth. His every movement was like the rule of heaven and earth, as well as the Dharma and Logos. Miao Cong had made the wisest response: avoiding his shortcomings and focusing on his strengths!

The cracks rapidly spread. Though Meng Qi was able to detect many flaws in his moves, each of those flaws secretly harbored the danger of defeat. He had no way of getting near them.

This was Miao Cong’s unadulterated strength! His pure realm!

Left without a choice, Meng Qi’s Interior returned to the Chaos. The Saber of the Shattered Jade in his additional hand halted and then withdrew. Time seemed to have escaped from its stagnation as it flew.

The Primeval opened its eyes. This was Meng Qi’s Big Bang Technique!

The darkness was cut open, as did the ruination and cracks. The saber radiance transformed to manifest Yin and Yang behind Meng Qi, deduced an illusory world, and blocked Miao Cong’s attack.

The sixth breath had passed.

With this, Miao Cong had locked down on Meng Qi, who had lost his timing. Miao Cong moved forward along with the extending cracks while lifting his copper stick high up. With the support of his near Half-step to Dharmakaya realm, he threw all his strength into swinging his stick downward. The sky instantly turned dark as if the sky was falling along with Miao Cong’s stick!

What an unyielding momentum and might!

Even though Miao Cong’s emotions were running wild, his mind was clear and bright. He was particularly confident in himself and held no doubt about his victory. His strength would only climb as time passed while his opponent was already at his limit. With one or two more breaths, his opponent would no longer be able to maintain his Law Phenomenon. Even if Meng Qi had great secret techniques up his sleeve, how could he contend against a Miao Chong who would ascend to the Half-step to Dharmakaya realm in his final two breaths?

Moreover, he still had more than enough time to consume immortality elixirs!

It looked as if Meng Qi would not be able to dodge Miao Cong’s attack in time, but he suddenly fell and firmly landed on the ground with his feet. In his right hand, Heaven Inflicted Pain turned into soil. In his left hand, Flowing Fire manifested into the soil. The Saber Qi and sword light entwined like Yin and Yang to deduce a golden lotus after another. The lotuses became linked to heaven and earth and spread its power to a boundless place!

With a single sword strike, he unleashed the Standing Still technique!

“Kaboom!”

What reverberated from the falling stick was not a crisp sound but a booming noise of an explosion. Meng Qi felt himself swaying and his vision blurring. Blood began flowing from the corner of his mouth. The ground under his feet, with a radius of half a kilometer, caved in. The cobweb-like cracks stretched infinitely forward!

The seventh breath had passed!

Miao Cong let out a deafening roar as he swung his copper stick downward again. The stick seemed to carry an earth-ravaging force and a light ray peeking out from the pitch-black darkness. Having just activated his Heaven Inflicted Pain and Flowing Fire, Meng Qi could only clench his teeth and activate the Sword of the Mystic Turtle.

Thick tortoiseshells appeared to cover Meng Qi’s entire body. Meanwhile, his body turned increasingly illusory as he reached the limit of his Law Phenomenon!

“Pfft!”

The copper stick hit the turtle shell, making a dull thud. The torn airflow turned into dragons of gales that flew in all directions. Meng Qi tried his best to block this attack. His body shrank as the effects of the Law Phenomenon began to disappear.

Just then, taking advantage of the stalemate between the copper stick and the turtle shells, Meng Qi unleashed his magical power of changing according to the wind. He abruptly manifested his Vital Spirit and it sat cross-legged in midair. It pointed a finger at the sky and then another at the ground. The sounds of Buddha chanting reverberated all around:

“In the heaven and on earth, I, the Unique and Righteous, am everywhere and nowhere!”

Miao Cong felt a golden palm—so huge that it covered the clouds in the sky—flying at him. The palm was everywhere yet nowhere, leaving absolutely no room for Miao Cong to escape it!

His heart stirred and he frantically eased his wild emotions. However, his seventh breath had already ended, making way for his eighth breath. He was now in the Half-step to Dharmakaya realm. He forcibly suppressed the thought, leaving only the emergence of a little ripple.

However, this little gap was precisely what Meng Qi had been waiting for. His Vital Spirit’s left palm turned into a saber and hacked at Miao Cong in a fluttering manner.

The saber radiance was hollow; red dust was descending!

“What am I attacking is precisely your spiritual realm!”

Echoing in Miao Cong’s ears was the announcement of Liu Yuntao’s death. His madness burned like flames. The only thing he could see was his enemy. He swung his copper stick around like a madman, razing the West Hill to the ground and thrashing Meng Qi until he was no more than a pile of bloody mud.

“Here comes the ninth breath!”

Miao Cong relied on his superior realm to suppress his opponent and instantaneously escaped the influence of Meng Qi’s Vital Spirit. The rest of the scenery returned to his vision. His attacks earlier had swept Meng Qi away, causing the latter to cough up blood and sustain rather heavy injuries. Yet Meng Qi was not dead. Earlier, it was the illusion of the Mortal Dust Fall!

It was not that Meng Qi did not want to ambush Miao Cong when the latter fell into the trap of Mortal Dust Fall. However, Miao Cong’s madness was burning so wildly that he gave Meng Qi no chance at all.

“I still have one more breath! That is more than enough to kill you!” Miao Cong could feel his strength reach an unprecedented height. He had no doubt that he had surpassed the level of First Order of the Earth Rank. No effort would be needed on his part to kill this ant in front of him, even if Meng Qi had great secret techniques!

Suddenly, he stopped his movement. His eyes were full of shock and fright. On the other hand, Meng Qi was patting his robe and rising to his feet in ease as if he was not at all engaged in a battle. He smiled serenely at Miao Cong.

“What a pity that you won’t have the time that one breath would provide you. Your lifespan has come to its end.”

His words and tone were placid, but they were, in fact, an announcement!

Miao Cong’s Vital Spirit collapsed and his breath vanished, leaving only a shred of his obsession. He said in disbelief:

“Impossible! I have a very precise grasp on my lifespan. How could my final breath be skipped just like that?”

Meng Qi rescinded his two additional arms and smiled at Miao Cong. “To be honest, before you frantically burned your lifespan to achieve the Second Order of the Earth Rank, I could have used my full strength to create an opportunity to flee. I could even support Senior Brother Qi. But I didn’t do that. Instead, I stayed until our battle turned to a stalemate. I waited for you to turn even crazier and count down your lifespan by your breaths.”

“Why?” Miao Cong looked utterly perplexed.

Meng Qi pulled a straight face and said in feigned solemnness, “The Peach Garden has collapsed entirely and the lifespan of heaven and earth will be deteriorating for a certain amount of time until it regains stability again.”

“Such a deterioration would not be obvious to ordinary people who have several months, or several years, or several decades to live. In fact, it is virtually undetectable. But when there are only ten breaths or even shorter left in your lifespan, a period of deterioration is enough to skip the remnants of your lifespan.”

“That was why I wanted you to force you into this level of madness.”

Miao Cong wore an expression full of grievances that he could not fulfill his wish. “How did you find out about all of this?”

“Because I did them myself,” Meng Qi replied with a grin. Thanks to his robust physique, his injuries were rapidly healing.

Disgruntlement and remorse were reflected in Miao Cong’s eyes.

“Shameless!”

“I thought you were a tough guy who would face an enemy head-on!”

“Oh, I am really sorry for disappointing you.” Meng Qi unabashedly bowed at him.

“Thud!” Miao Cong collapsed once again, his obsession dissipating.

Wen Jing was crossing the river. Unwilling to be deprived of yet another teammate, he tried to bypass the warfront to help Miao Cong.

Just as he was about to move, he heard the voice of the Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms.

“Everyone will receive a deduction of 3,000 Karma points each for allowing the Samsara travelers of the Revolutionary Army to kill Miao Cong.”

“Miao Cong is dead? He got killed shortly after Liu Yuntao’s death?” Wen Jing’s pupils shrunk and he nearly fell into the river in his shock.