The Sage Who Transcended Samsara
chapter-275

Suddenly, the youth smiled. The genuine Qi surrounding him also quivered like stars following the moon or immortals worshiping the heaven. An air of honor and dignity, free from the mortal worries, thrived and burst from within him.

Meng Qi's senses were instantly blocked. His mind, muddled with genuine Qi, had to retreat as if thwarted by a flood. He could no longer sense the flow of the young man's genuine Qi and could only use his eyes to judge the Taoist's reaction.

This force was imposing and grand, but not solemn, so it didn't cause substantial damage to his mind. It merely closed the 'door' and prevented him from prying. This indicated that this young Taoist wasn't hostile.

"The Heavenly Emperor's Scripts is truly an outstanding supreme art." Meng Qi couldn't help giving a compliment. Besides fear, yearning, and consideration, any martial man would instinctively be amazed by such a strong yet delicate martial art.

This young Taoist was surely Qing Yu, the Five Emperors' Knife of the Xuan Tian Sect.

Qing Yu smiled. "In the ancient times, the Heaven Sovereign could control the world and repress many top influences. His authority was more than just a legend. The divine skill he left behind was naturally unparalleled."

He accepted Meng Qi's praise without any reservations.

After a pause, he smiled. "It's unexpected to have you here too."

"What do you mean?" Meng Qi was confused, sensing that something was off. He maintained his calm and said, "If you can come here, so can I."

Did his words have anything to do with the chaos in Maoling? Did Qing Yu think that they shared the same objectives?

He decided to just give Qing Yu an ambiguous answer and see if he could dig out more information.

It was also the main reason why Meng Qi had decided to use the identity of the Killing Blade. This way, he didn't need to try and get himself known. One attack would be enough to propel him to public attention. Temptation, menace, and other incidents would naturally follow. After all, a small action was enough to startle the culprits in the shadows. This allowed Meng Qi to save time, quickly find the clues, and get to the point.

A person's reputation, like a tree's shadow, was likely to bring many troubles, but could also bring unexpected consequences beyond imagination at the same time.

His Killing Blade title helped him appear like a master, allowing him to bask in the admiration and praise of the crowd. It was an additional factor. Though it was to his taste, it didn't confuse his judgment and choice.

Qing Yu took the tea and touched the knife on the table, his finger caressing the inlaid star pattern on the scabbard. "If that's the case, there's no hurry. We'll surely have a chance to spar in the future."

Picking up the knife, he stood up in a detached manner. He walked toward the stairs, passing by Meng Qi.

"He didn't give me a chance to ask him..." Meng Qi cursed in his heart.

Qing Yu stopped just as he was about to walk down the stairs. He turned around and waved his knife at Meng Qi.

"The knife is called the Time Sword. When I was 18 years old, I forged it using the old minerals hidden in the mountain and the lanugo hair of infants. They weren't excellent materials, so I just took their underlying meaning which presented the passage of time. It took me 49 days to complete it. I want to fight all the heroes with it."

Meng Qi tapped the blade with his other hand and muttered, as if to himself.

"This blade is called the Scar of Heaven. It can conquer heaven and leave my imprint on it."

He didn't use the Heaven Inflicted Pain because he feared that Samsara travelers would notice something off about it. After all, he received the blade from Dominator of Samsara in Six Realms. In the main world, no one had heard of it. Though he could use the excuse of the world being such a wide place that unknown precious weapons prevailed, he could never be too careful. He didn't want to be so careless like Mistress Su and her Exterior Method.

Qing Yu looked surprised, but soon smiled as he said, "The heaven will become older but not hurt."

In the ancient times, the heaven was another title for the Heaven Sovereign. The aggressive nature of the name of Meng Qi's blade was what prompted these words.

He turned around and walked down the stairs, fully demonstrating the quality of a Taoist.

Meng Qi's mouth twitched as he stared at Qing Yu's disappearing figure. He hated anyone who possessed the posture and quality that he desired. What was worse, Qing Yu even showed off in front of him!

When Qing Yu turned around to introduce the blade's name, how he wished to just swing his blade at him!

What kind of air was Qing Yu faking? Was he trying to leave a strong impression as to plant a seed for their future fight?

It wasn't like Meng Qi didn't know how to use mental tricks!

That was why Meng Qi played along and talked about conquering the heaven, so he could disturb Qing Yu's mind and push him toward being reckless during the fight!

Meng Qi wasn't sure how his trick would do since he knew so little about Qing Yu's strength and character. He could only sigh. Jianghu was such a dangerous place!

If he was distracted even by a fraction of a second, it could lead to his defeat in a battle of minds!

Naturally, this didn't mean that he found Qing Yu so loathsome to think of him as a bad person. Engaging in a battle was, in fact, a complicated issue. Effects of such battles of minds typically lasted only a short while. Since Qing Yu had said that their chance to spar would soon come, it wasn't unreasonable or impolite for him to start preparing. In other words, their spar had already started.

Meng Qi sighed, feeling as if he had learned something new again. He found a chair and got seated. The fifth floor wasn't divided into rooms and was designed in a way that resembled the hall. There were many tables here, but only one guest.

His eyes wandered, watching the great river flowing out of the city as if it had come from heaven itself. The river went on and on without an end, looking grand and magnificent.

"I'm looking forward to the battle between the Killing Blade and the Heaven Blade." Unknown to him, an old man wearing a straw hat and green clothes had made his way beside Meng Qi. Both his eyebrows and beard had greyed. With a smile, he held a purple clay teapot that gave off the alluring smell of tea.

Meng Qi smiled without turning his head. "Isn't it precisely the rule of the Hero Tower to create such opportunities? Tower Lord, I'm sure you've witnessed many impressive battles this way."

Based on the secret records of the Six Fan School and the fact that the old man could stealthily approach him, he figured this man must be Ren Pingsheng, Tower Lord of the Hero Tower, also known as Bizzare Man. His strength remained a mystery. The records noted him to be a suspected Exterior.

"When a man becomes older, he must find something interesting to pass time with. When I see vigorous young men fighting one another, I feel like I become considerably younger," replied Ren Pingsheng, not denying his identity. "Maoling is now a place full of underlying dangers and there is no shortage of such fights. I heard that the Unstoppable, the Astounding, the Master Lotus, as well as Tie Sheng, the Wolf King, have arrived. Even the Shapeless Sword who hadn't left his Dong Hai Sword Sect for over half a year has come."

Meng Qi took a breath. This man was so timely with his news, much faster than that of Six Fan School. What was his intention in telling him about it?

It seemed that Maoling was more dangerous than Meng Qi had thought!

And what was the role of Qiu Fei and the Dongyang Villa in this chaos?

"Why are heroes from around the world gathering in Maoling?" Meng Qi sipped his tea and watched the waves without looking at Ren Pingsheng, worried that his thoughts would be detected.

Ren Pingsheng chuckled. "Since you're here, how could you not know the reason? Why would you trouble me for an answer?"

Seeing as Peng Pingsheng was being tight-lipped and there was no way for him to force him, Meng Qi just ordered some food to eat. Peng Pingsheng left on his own after taking several sips of tea.

...

Su Meng, the Killing Blade, had appeared in Maoling. He defeated the guards of the Hero Tower with 12 moves and ascended to the fifth floor.

The news spread so quickly in Maoling and its surrounding cities as if it had feet. Meng Qi, on the other hand, kept a low profile and rented a yard to secretly spy on Qiu Fei of the Hua Province Assembly Hall.

Several days later, news came that Qiu Fei had left the hall and was headed for Skyfirst No.1 Casino.

He then used the Eight Nine Mysteries to shorten his height and adjust his muscles. With the material to change his appearance, he looked totally different from Su Meng, the Killing Blade. Disguised as a gambler rushing to the casino to win back his money, Meng Qi kept his distance a block away from Qiu Fei as he followed him.

He didn't feel much sense of responsibility to solve the crime and unveil the mystery for the Six Fan School. He only wanted to take this opportunity to improve himself.

Since the Death Task, he became more positive and proactive. After all, it wouldn't do if he continued to seek out opponents weaker or on par with him. He wouldn't learn anything or gain much. It would cripple his improvement. Burying himself in bitter and endless practice would be akin to walking only on one foot. In the future Samsara tasks, it would definitely be a handicap for him.

This time, there were too many great and rare challenges: the Dongyang Villa, the many mysteries that surrounded this case, the various ranked young masters stronger than him, and the possible gains. He could improve his abilities and judgment with the experience he would gain from fighting with the ranked masters. So how could he retreat from any difficulty he faced?

Naturally, he would only fight if he had the confidence that he could protect his life. But fighting with ranked masters and being hunted by Qiu Fei, a Half-step Exterior Scenery, could claim his life.

The Skyfirst No. 1 Casino was surrounded by four streets. It had a door in every street, to symbolize the endless inflow of prosperity.

After entering the casino after Qiu Fei, Meng Qi was shocked by the hustle and bustle inside. He could hear words like 'six', 'leopard', and 'the human card', as well as screams of sorrow and happiness here and there. The casino had everything that one would expect to find, such as dice and cards.

With his hearing, he could tell the number on the dice. So he played and betted some of his money while stealthily following Qiu Fei.

Qiu Fei hated the noise and headed straight for a VIP room.

Meng Qi pushed to move forward to follow him, but not daring to go too close for Qiu Fei was, after all, a Half-step Exterior Scenery!

Unlike the Half- Step Exterior monsters in the Journey to the West that depended on their instincts, Qiu Fei had the complete package of movement, genuine Qi, and weapons. Besides, he was skilled at Vital Spirit of Primal Acupore at Mid-brows. He was much stronger than the Transformation Strategy and the Immortal Pressing Art, inferior only to the Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth of the Exterior Level.

When Meng Qi closely followed Qiu Fei, taking advantage of the noise and the crowd, he suddenly sensed the danger.

Too late to draw his sword, he could only extend his hand to catch something.

A blue knife came flying up from below, aimed at Meng Qi's pubic region. This was one of the weak points of Thwart Kung Fu. It was hard for one to reach the consummate stage.

Meng Qi's five fingers opened like a blossoming flower, catching the knife. They were surrounded by an aroma of Zen. Having studied the Immortal Pressing Art for over one year, in addition to other kungfu, his dexterity had improved a lot.

Meng Qi's palm glowed with a dark gold light, preventing the knife from penetrating it. He managed to catch it instead.

The knife suddenly trembled and started struggling before breaking out of his grasp. Right at that moment, he had also turned around, wielding his Heaven Inflicted Pain.

The knife disappeared into the crowd, leaving no trace behind. Meng Qi allowed his genuine Qi to spread, but couldn't detect anyone in the crowd besides ordinary gamblers that neither had the intention to kill or any super art capable of doing so.

"What a powerful assassin..." Meng Qi was on high alert. When he turned around again, Qiu Fei was already out of sight!