The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Apart from the mainstream martial artists and aristocratic families like the Gao Family from Chang Le, Meng Qi knew next to nothing about the North Zhou Dynasty sects and families. He had never heard of Confucian Temple, so he could only make a few perfunctory remarks in response. He was thinking about familiar sayings like “Awareness only goes as far as the mind” and “Knowledge and actions should go hand in hand”, and whether there is difference in strength between the current Dharmakaya master and the two Confucius Sect Saints was in terms of realms.

Gao Lan took two steps forward and suddenly released a light gasp.

Standing in the Dragon Platform and stepping onto its ancient road, Meng Qi felt somewhat like he were in a dream. He, some fellow who had not even opened the Hidden Latch between his eyebrows, had actually been implicated in a fight for the Sword of the Human Sovereign! If he had not already experienced Zhenwu’s Decoy Grave and The Buddha’s Palm, he would probably be at a loss for what to do. He was still a ball of nerves though, fearful of whether evil ghosts and demons would spring out any second.

Evil beings that could survive in Human Sovereign’s Dragon Platform had probably all been magnificently powerful people once. Even with Gao Lan next to him, there was no way Meng Qi could relax. This was not one of the Samsara tasks. There was no limit to the number of people that could enter, and it was not a controlled environment. All sorts of accidents could happen. Hence, upon hearing Gao Lan’s soft gasp, Meng Qi was so frightened that he whipped out his saber. On high alert, he scanned his surroundings but there was nothing there. There were no enemies or attackers around.

“What are you afraid of? If I can’t defeat it, you would die even if you had another nine lives to spare.” Gao Lan rejoiced. “I was only surprised that the Wang family’s old devil has also been here.”

“The Wang family’s old devil?” Meng Qi looked in the direction Gao Lan was pointing in and discovered that there was something in the distance. At a spot two steps further than Benevolent Saint, there was an incomprehensible feeling present. Upon careful sensing, he realized that there was a breath there that was hidden beyond heaven and earth. “He’s the ancestor of the Wang family of River East?”

Gao Lan nodded. With one hand behind his back and the other holding the True Emperor Seal, he began advancing again in large strides. “He’s the Wang family’s old devil, known as the Divination Saint back in medieval times.”

“He actually managed to go further than Benevolent Saint and Heart Saint,” mused Meng Qi.

“Gah!” Gao Lan spat. “He only managed to get two steps further because he relied on his divination arts. He gained an advantage because he deceived nature’s mysteries and used some tricks. His actual realm is probably around their level.”

“I see he has an aversion to those charlatans as well…” Meng Qi suddenly felt as if they shared an intimate connection and could not help but agree with the man’s opinion.

After a few more steps, the heavy stone door was almost within reach. Purple thunderbolts noisily crackled as they jumped about next to the door, and a fierce, unyielding feeling leapt at their faces.

“Overlord?” Meng Qi guessed.

Few had ever attained such a high level of the thunderclap skill, and the Thunder God of ancient times should already have passed away during the reign of Human Sovereign.

Gao Lan’s eyes were fixed on the purple thunder. “Yes. It’s unfortunate that because of the time gap, we’ll never be able to see Six Cutting of Overlord and Nine Annihilation at Heavenly Nights.”

His words were brimming with a thirst for battle.

Stimulated by his tone, similar emotions were evoked in Meng Qi. When he had thoroughly mastered everything he had learned in the future, he, too, would create his own Six Cutting of Overlord!

The crackling sounds emitted by the purple thunderbolts grew louder and louder as Meng Qi and Gao Lan neared the door. They danced about wildly as if rejecting everyone who came close, exposing their haughty and overbearing attitudes.

However, they were still nothing more than mere traces left behind in the Human Emperor’s Ancient Path and had no power. Gao Lan and Meng Qi leapt over them one after the other.

All of a sudden, they stopped. Next to the purple thunderbolts was a monk sitting with his legs crossed!

The monk was garbed in a dull dusty frock and his face was partially obscured. He had a skinny frame that emitted a colored glaze-like glow, exuding an air of tranquility, solemnness, carefreeness, and being free of all restraints.

“It’s a breath…” Gao Lan blew at the monk and the Golden Body swayed. Thankfully, it was just an illusion that did not contain any Gist of Trueness.

“Who is this monk, actually on par with the Overlord! There weren’t many monks who claimed the Buddha Effect Seat in medieval times. Could it be the Medicine Buddha? No, doesn’t feel right.” Gao Lan mulled over it as he considered the history of monks.

Meng Qi was making his own speculations as well. He tried to sense the unique traits of the Golden Body’s breath.

Out of the blue, a long sigh floated in his ear.

“That’s what it is.”

“Ananda?” Meng Qi blurted, shocked beyond belief.

There were still signs of his activity even after the reign of Human Sovereign!

“Ananda? The Great Arhat might still be possible…” Gao Lan furrowed his eyebrows and continued, “but after the Monster Saint passed away, the demonic cult retreated to places like Heavenly Sea Source and Ananda completely vanished from the face of the earth. I can’t believe that even after Human Sovereign’s reign, he’s appeared in this life…”

Meng Qi took a deep breath. Since Gao Lan was by his side, he dared to inch nearer to the Golden Body created by the illusory breath in an attempt to closely inspect it further. If he could find some clues, perhaps he could break free from Ananda’s pestering.

Unfortunately, it was a mere trace left behind in the Human Emperor’s Ancient Path, just like the purple thunder. Apart from its unique characteristics, Meng Qi did not find any actual gains.

“You do seem quite interested in this monk…” Gao Lan was still in the dark about Meng Qi’s bladesmanship and his background. “Since you possess a thunder-based long saber, I thought you would’ve paid more attention to Overlord.”

Meng Qi could not explain too much, so he gave a bitter laugh in response. “I’ve learned two forms of the Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmanship.”

Gao Lan gently nodded and did not probe further, for his mind had drifted elsewhere. The left hand that had been folded behind his back reached out and pressed against the crude-looking stone door before him. Then, he gave a mighty push.

The heavy stone door slowly opened without a sound. A sea of fire immediately appeared into Meng Qi’s view.

Flames surged, morphing into leaping serpents or phoenixes from time to time. The outer perimeter of the fire was a radiant gold that gradually progressed into bluish-white the further into the fire they walked. When they went even deeper into the fire, Meng Qi could not see anything at all because his sight had already been consumed by the flames that kept burning towards him.

“Even if Grand Sun came here, he’s nothing more than this.” Gao Lan sighed, showing a rare moment of seriousness.

Only then did Meng Qi manage to free himself from the flames that had consumed his sight and the sensation in his Vital Spirit. He quickly drew his gaze back and scanned the surroundings.

Surrounding the sea of fire were bizarre-looking stones of a deep grey color. They formed a platform in the shape of an arc with a jade-colored flight of steps that led into the air and disappeared deep into the flames.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!” A distant sound of colliding metal reverberated throughout the place.

Besides that, there were also shouts. Shouts of unwillingness, shouts of a refusal to yield, and shouts that swore they would survive were interspersed between the sounds of clashing weapons.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!” Meng Qi suddenly felt his blood boil. It was as if he had been transported back to the twilight of the ancient times. Long swords were cast and precious knives sharpened to slash through all obstacles and slay demons. It was the road to the Human tribe’s survival, and every inch of it was earned with bloodshed!

“At the end of the steps is the place where the Human Sovereign cast his sword.” Gao Lan showed off his knowledge of the area as he added, “The Sword of the Human Sovereign wasn’t considered a Peerless Godly Weapon in the beginning. But as the Human tribe, as well as other beings that had been oppressed, continued to polish it with an unwavering belief, and various Monster Kings, Monster Gods, and evil spirit saints were slain by the sword, we blood-dyed the sword body a crimson red. Only then did it slowly improve and finally reached the apex together with Human Sovereign!”

He brought Meng Qi towards the jade-colored steps as he explained. When they were near it, he suddenly drew a sharp breath. “Saint Emperor has been here before, as has Demonic Buddha.”

Meng Qi could not sense anything, and thus had no choice but to believe Gao Lan’s words.

Saint Emperor Qi was a powerful individual from the Human tribe who succeeded the throne after Human Sovereign had passed away. Later generations commented that he was not inferior to the Medicine Buddha who had yet to attain Nirvana then. However, for him to have made it this far, he had probably largely relied on skills and corresponding treasures.

As for Demonic Buddha, he could provoke the presence of Siddhartha Gautama. His reputation was most definitely deserving!

“It seems that Demonic Buddha didn’t obtain any gains after entering the place, so he tried to destroy Dragon Platform in a fit of rage.” Meng Qi surmised.

Gao Lan clucked his tongue loudly. “Perhaps he tried to force out Sword of the Human Sovereign but failed. That caused Dragon Platform to disappear and go into hiding instead, and was never seen again until near the end of the Kang dynasty.”

He stared at the jade-colored steps and his face darkened. “Rumor has it that there’s a Real Dragon of the Fire Property and an ancient Golden Crow hidden in the depths of these flames. It’s exceedingly dangerous. You wait here for me while I explore a little deeper.”

Meng Qi was still an ordinary person, so he indeed did not have the courage to incur the wrath of mystical beings. He simply agreed to Gao Lan’s suggestion and searched the area near the jade-colored steps to see if he could get any other gains.

Gao Lan stepped onto the stairs and slowly advanced. As he walked deeper and deeper, Meng Qi realized that his figure began to sway as if it were an illusion. The phenomenon seemed to be a result of the extremely high temperature of the fire.

When Gao Lan had crossed about half the distance, white puffs of smoke began circling around him and he felt like tens of thousands of fires had been lit inside him. The overwhelming heat forced him to stop moving forward. Instead, he sat down cross-legged with the True Emperor Seal in his hand and closed his eyes. As he calmed his soul, he activated a treasure and used the breath it contained and his own skills as bait to lure out the Sword of the Human Sovereign.

Since many people had arrived before Meng Qi, most of the items outside the jade-colored steps had been swept clean. He had no choice but to direct his attention at the strange grey stones instead.

“They remain unscathed despite the raging sea of fire… They’re definitely no ordinary objects…” Meng Qi cared about his image, so he first checked what Gao Lan was doing before he took any further action. When he saw that the man was entirely focused on seeking out the Sword, he hurriedly squatted down and began trying to retrieve some of the stone. He cleaved it with his palm, dug at it with his fingers, and hacked it with his saber until a tiny piece of rock fell off after a disproportional amount of painstaking effort.

“Extraordinary indeed… When I’ve reached the Exterior level, I’ll come back with Old Zhao the Fifth! I don’t believe we won’t be able to take one of them away with us!” He could only comfort himself as such as he sat down cross-legged and harmonized his Qi-circulation to recover his strength.

After some time, Gao Lan’s dejected cries shattered the peace and quiet. “Could it be that I’m not the fated Master of the Sword of the Human Sovereign?”

He had been trying hard for so long, but the sea of fire had not responded at all, looking no different from when they had first entered the place.

It seemed like he had thought it would be an easy feat… Meng Qi wiped some imaginary cold sweat from his forehead.

Gao Lan was an unusual character to him. Unlike other masters who ever so carefully concealed their emotions and were shrewd and deep, he showed all feelings in his face and was wild like a child.

“Hm, maybe my condition today isn’t that great. I’ll try again tomorrow.” Gao Lan had already convinced himself and was heading down the jade-colored steps.

Right when he was about to reach the bottom, he suddenly squatted down and reached into the flames, pulling out two items. One of them was long and narrow like a strip, while the other was lumpy. Both of them were a metallic black and appeared to be failures that had been discarded.

“Darn! And I was even elated for a moment, thinking that the Sword of the Human Sovereign had come to me!” Gao Lan’s disappointment was written all over his face.

Meng Qi was afraid that he would lose control and go crazy, and quickly said, “How bad can it be if it appears in Dragon Platform? Brother Gao, look at how they haven’t melted despite being in the fire. How can they be mere ordinary objects?”

Gao Lan took a deep breath and replied, “You’re right. Since I found it by coincidence, it’s also a sign. Maybe it contains clues about the Sword of the Human Sovereign.”

“It?” Meng Qi parroted, doubtful.

Gao Lan pointed at the strip-like item, “It.”

“I can’t perceive any clues on it, so it’s strange.”

“This should’ve been some leftover material from when they cast the Sword of the Human Sovereign. You can take it as a reward for lending me the True Emperor Seal, Brother.” Gao Lan tossed the lumpy metal piece to Meng Qi in a generous and carefree manner.

Meng Qi reached out to catch it. It was very heavy. A small lump like it was more than twice the weight of Heaven Inflicted Pain!

“Leftover material… Not bad, I suppose!” The unexpected fortune delighted Meng Qi very much.

After tucking away the metal lump, he saw Gao Lan intending to leave and whispered, “Brother Gao, do we return tomorrow?”

“Yep!” Gao Lan hugged the metal strip and nodded forcefully.