The Sage Who Transcended Samsara
chapter-1168-30041322

It was late at night when Yu Banshan and Qi Jinxiu stepped on Kunlun Mountain, hiking up along the initially familiar path. Along the journey, there were an abundance of reiki and numerous rare and unique plants.

They walked for two hours without noticing the time. The mountain road was still winding and bending in front of them with no Taoist Temple in sight. The atmosphere was very different from when they left the mountain.

“Is it true that it’s hidden within the clouds…” Qi Jinxiu murmured.

Yu Banshan wore a solemn expression, releasing his spirit to sense the surroundings, but there was no Jade Palace amid the quiet and serene mountains.

He thought for a moment before he flew up and overlooked the place from above. The fog and clouds in the dark secluded the view of the place and his spirit could not see through it at all.

Descending back on the ground, he looked at Qi Jinxiu and said, “Let’s search for it again. We can’t give up so easily.”

They roamed the mountain path throughout the entire night. Upon daybreak, Yu Banshan and Qi Jinxiu found that they had returned to the entrance of the mountain.

As they turned their heads to look behind their backs, fog and clouds shrouded the mountain peaks. However, there was no trace of the Divine Man.

“It is hard to encounter celestial fate again once you lose it…” Yu Banshan could not help but sigh.

Qi Jinxiu stared blankly at Kunlun Mountain and heaved a long sigh, “Indeed, you can meet the celestial fate by chance but you can never seek for it.”

“Don’t give up, Jinxiu. In the celestial world, divine skills are easy to gain and plenty of guides are always available. We can even practice on our own. Maybe, we will encounter celestial fate again in the future, after we have made progress.” Yu Banshan looked at the peak of the mountain and said in a determined tone, “Let’s reside in this town.”

…

The aura of Meritorious Virtues wafted out of the Myriad World Talisman before him. Ethereal images of copper coins danced around with the Nether Skeleton erected in the center. Continuous sound of streaming water echoed across the atmosphere.

Meng Qi was sitting upright on the cloud bed. He stared at his self accumulation as he murmured to himself.

“Can these be used to forge any Heavenly Weapons or Ling Bao?”

Forging peerless matter was never only about gathering the materials, but also requiring a good time, an advantageous place and harmonious personnel. The furnace must be started up when it was at the right opportunity of Da Dao and the crux of Qi Yun. Currently, it was an opportune time as the climax of the Final Trial was approaching together with the rain of the stars and the return of the mighty people.

It was then his left hand shuddered. A light laugh echoed in his mind, “Why should daddy be troubled? You will never succeed in forging it anyway.”

Daddy… the corner of Meng Qi’s mouth twitched as his reply resonated, “Why can’t I succeed?”

With the simultaneous presence of the Present Life Fruit, Green Lotus Seed of Chaos, and his breakthrough to the Legendary Realm, Gu Xiaosang had been successfully revived and had returned, possessing the Congenital Virtue. However, the threat of the Golden Emperor had not been tackled. If they were discovered, the Jade Palace would definitely be sieged by the Twelve Oracles. A major number of them were the Great Mediums of the Creation Realm, like the one he conjectured – Zhen Yuanzi who reigned the world!

That was why Gu Xiaosang hid herself in the acupuncture points on Meng Qi’s left hand after the brief conversation, using him as a cover. She was waiting for the opportunity of the Legends, waiting for more mighty people and Great Mediums, who were of similar strength to the Golden Emperor, to return.

Of course, the Golden Emperor would somehow sense her resurrection and would send people to probe Meng Qi. It was inevitable for Meng Qi to face tough challenges. Hence, he took out the best materials he had, in hopes of forging a peerless Ling Bao besides his Invincible Blade as a backup.

Gu Xiaosang chuckled, “Even the Buddha Jumps Over The Wall has its own choice of materials. You can’t just put all the good materials inside the stew. It doesn’t work like that, daddy.”

Meng Qi slightly nodded in assent. He understood the message Gu Xiaosang was trying to send. By recklessly mixing materials that were either nearly congenital or more, they might bland out each other and produce an unfavorable result. In fact, the result had always been destined. It seemed like he had to search for the secret to forge weapons or devise the correct combinations of materials with different natures.

He disregarded the said matter temporarily and said in a solemn tone,

“Don’t call me daddy…”

He could not help but quiver every time he was called by Xiaosang. It gave him goosebumps. Xiaosang’s buffoonery never seemed to come to an end. Her thoughts were sharp and unpredictable, constantly putting him in a mixed feeling.

After witnessing the resurrection of Gu Xiaosang, as a Legendary mighty person, Meng Qi had been keeping an eye on his own mind. He attempted to steer clear of the disturbance caused by the beautified memories. He was able to recall overlooked details and conjecture her plot rather accurately. He understood that she was using him and was a true witch. She had not changed. She was dangerous but alluring, like a poppy flower.

At the same time, he continuously checked on his feelings for Gu Xiaosang. Ten years of dull sitting, ten years of torment, and ten years of suffering were not feigned. But, there were many differentiations when he studied it closely. For instance, he confused the Devil Buddha into thinking that he had received a fatal blow, surrendered, and lost his motivation to fight back. With this, he was able to control the earthly body in the World of Gods in secret to make further preparations.

On the other hand, he was driven by guilt, pity, and grief that was brought by empathy. The same situation, a similar fate and a common goal made him feel that they were partners of the same belief and that they shared the same challenges. They could almost be deemed as Taoist Partners. More importantly, Gu Xiaosang died for him and beautified his memories. He carried an abundance of emotions and sentiment toward Gu Xiaosang.

Today, everything was restored to how it used to be. To her, he was more of someone she wanted to take advantage of rather than someone she had feelings for. However, if her true heart was to be unveiled, was it true that she only saw him as a passerby, whom she had completely no feelings for?

He went through his memories one by one. Xiaosang, the girl who always teasingly addressed him as her husband, who loved to pull tricks on him, who happily put on a show with him with perfect coordination. Wearing a white fur coat, she stood pure and alluring under the glamorous lights. Xiaosang, who always threatened to attack him, but never seemed to use her full strength to kill him every time…

The scenes flashed across his mind as Meng Qi sighed in secret.

Even a mighty person in the Legendary realm was not able to comprehend love thoroughly. However, it was undeniable that he had feelings toward Gu Xiaosang. It might have started when his memories were beautified or even earlier. He did not know exactly when he had started to fall for her…

As for Gu Xiaosang, she was a witch who was already hard to fathom. Meng Qi was unsure if she had any feelings for him other than using him. It was unclear if she had the same feelings from sharing the same problems, happy memories and the shocking learning progress with Meng Qi. He also could not make out if she genuinely rejected to cooperate with the Devil Buddha.

Perhaps being unfathomable was the actual definition of witch.

Nevertheless, Meng Qi noticed something intriguing about witches. When they intended to take advantage of someone, they were never frugal with words of love and affection, appearing to be deeply in love. They could easily address anyone as their husbands. “Do I have to save your life a hundred or a thousand times and I die before you for you to believe in me?” Similar phrases could always be said with the perfectly portrayed sorrow and sadness.

Nowadays, she only talked about the plans and using him. Although she teased him occasionally, she did not act like before, talking about how she was so deeply in love and how she would give up her life for him.

“Oh,” Gu Xiaosang dragged her voice, lowering her tone with a hint of amusement. “It looks like you prefer to be called as my husband…”

…Meng Qi had underestimated the boldness of the witch who stopped at nothing. With a mixed feeling, he changed the topic, “What’s so special about the fruits from the ancient Fusang tree?”

It was the third time he asked. During the previous two times, Gu Xiaosang had purposely diverted the attention with some filthy talk.

This only made Meng Qi more curious about Gu Xiaosang, unaffected by her resurrection and return.

How did she learn the hidden uses of the Present Life Fruit?

How did she enter the realm of the ancient Fusang tree and climb to the very top?

Why does she often act like she has the ability to foresee and plan beforehand, to the extent that a Nirvana Legend like the Golden Emperor, who has not been sealed, also suffered a loss?

All the doubts he had about her did not tarnish Gu Xiaosang’s charisma but made her more attractive than ever.

Meng Qi even suspected that she did not randomly choose to hide in the acupuncture points in his left hand. It was because the Demonic Peach from the flat peach garden was also in his left hand!

However, the secrets within were yet to be revealed.

Therefore, her presence in his left hand was able to offset one of his great inadequacies.

How could the experience and knowledge of a Nirvana Legend be merely extraordinary?

Gu Xiaosang chuckled, “Husband is indeed a determined person. I think you’re not giving up anytime soon. I, as your wife, thought that I could share the fruit with you after I have found a way.”

She paused for a moment before she continued, “The ancient Fusang tree is nurtured by the blood of God Hao Tian and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, taking the fall of the last era as its fertilizer. Its fruits are certainly extraordinary. However, even that being is unclear of its effect in detail, but only suspects that the fruit might contain broken fragments of the Heavens of the Internal Realm from either God Hao Tian or Eastern Emperor Taiyi.”

As she spoke, she did not specifically mention the Golden Emperor or the Ajati Matriarch, avoiding to be detected.

“The Heavens of the Internal Realm?” Meng Qi nodded as he pondered upon the phrase. Upon reaching the Nirvana Realm, is the Internal Real World forming and subliming to another Heavens and Myriad World?

The Heavens of the Internal Realm that originated from the two emperors in the previous era was hidden in the fruit. The fruit is invaluable, although the way to use it has yet to be found…

Amid the serene night, Meng Qi held the fruit in his hand and studied it closely while Gu Xiaosang hummed a melody that resembled a nursery rhyme, lively and carefree. Apparently, she was pleased as she had successfully resurrected and hid herself away from the Golden Emperor.

Upon hearing her words, Meng Qi smiled, “You’re like a little girl when you sing a nursery rhyme.”

“Daddy, I am always a little girl…” laughing gleefully, Gu Xiaosang spoke in a coquentry manner. Then, she reminisced, “My mother sang this to me when I was very young…”

“Your mother? You seemed to have met your mother when you were affected by the Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmanship the first time, am I right?” as Meng Qi reminisced, past memories flashed across his mind.

“Yes,” Gu Xiaosang replied in a muffled voice before giggling in a silly manner. “Husband, do you remember the promise we made back then?”

“If I am revived, we should enjoy every night…” she raised her tone flirtatiously, almost able to consume his spirit. He was briefly swamped by gelidity. As his heart pounding, he gulped instinctively. Then, he witnessed his left fingers as they slowly moved downward.

“Stop!” the corner of his eyes twitched.

How is this enjoying? With my own hand?

Gu Xiaosang spoke as though she was wrongly accused, “Your wife does not have the audacity to reveal herself. I can only compensate my husband in this way…”

Meng Qi wiped the sweat off his forehead with his right hand. He regained his composure and looked at the Nether Skeleton.

“There are some things that I ought to do now.”

Luo Shengyi’s reincarnated soul was detained in Hell. Meng Qi could not intervene in the matter as he had not achieved the Legendary realm back then, but now he could pay a visit to Hell with the help of the Nether Skeleton!

The Emperor of Feng Du could not possibly be awake at all times!