Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Ambush!

Flashing a quick glance, he searched through the entire scene of the main hall. There is no sign of the Mysterious Fairy. The thought immediately formed in Meng Qi’s mind.

Being a hero was one thing. Before entering the Plain Girl Fairyland, he envisioned different situations to deduce different responses. Perhaps the current Mysterious Fairy had already discovered that Gao Lan or a traitor was prying hence, she deliberately pretended while setting up an ambush to lure Gao Lan to jump into the trap on his own initiative. Or, she was extremely prudent, while appearing to be conducting isolated practice in solitude, she had already gotten away in reality, carrying the treasure that was prepared, and secretly transgressing in an unknown location.

Therefore, what he saw before his eyes was not out of his assumptions and preparations. Instead, he felt like the situation was as he imagined.

He wanted to be part of this, but how could he be as dignified and effortless as what his Brother Doubi imagined?

He should be aware of that since he asked for my help…

Meng Qi smiled wryly at this thought. He held the Invincible Blade at an angle as he examined the vast main hall for the tiniest clues with one foot inside the hall and the other outside, as if he was standing in two different worlds.

Meng Qi and Gao Lan’s Divine Senses spread and enshrouded the space. Suddenly, they gasped in unison.

Although the place appeared to be vacant with no one in sight, there were actually various illusive things drifting around such as memories, emotions, experiences, and stamps.

Meng Qi had an idea suddenly. A path appeared like a flick of a lightswitch, and the Principles of Karma revealed itself, thus allowing him to enter the Realm of Karma. It was an illusionary world in touch with one’s soul and spirit. Gao Lan’s eyes were glazed in pale gold, the light gleamed as if it was reflected off the water surface. His Holy Virtue was like water while his Meritorious Virtue was like a mirror.

In a moment, what they saw was no longer the same. A Buddhist temple stood before Meng Qi, and a Buddha sat high with a benevolent expression. His golden body was shrouded by white smoke from burning incense, illuminated by old green lamps. A monk in gray robes had his eyes lowered. He struck at a wooden block while reciting lection characters without any sense of time, as if he was serving penance. However, his young face which should have been young-spirited strangely contradicted with the situation.

Du du du, Amitabha, thus have I heard.

The monotonous sound of the wooden block reverberated with some kind of calming power. All of a sudden, a woman wearing a red wedding gown walked into the Buddhist temple. Her face was exquisite, a sense of playfulness in her past lingered in her eyes. Slowing her footsteps, she stood behind the gray-robed monk.

“Why are you here again?” the gray-robed monk still had his eyes closed, the noises from the wooden block remained constant. The tone of his voice appeared calm but it sounded like he was keeping people a thousand miles away.

The woman in the red wedding gown lifted the corners of her mouth. Her smile was as bright as ever and could bring joy to people subconsciously. Her voice was low and collected like she was talking about something that did not matter to her,

“Master, I’m about to get married.”

Crack! The wooden mallet held by the gray-robed monk broke unexpectedly and the noises of knocking the wooden block ceased abruptly. He froze like a mud puppet.

The smile of the woman faded slowly with a hint of beautiful sorrow. She continued,

“I don’t want to accept it, so I’ve decided to end myself.”

With a loud bang, the gray-robed monk sprang to his feet, almost causing the incense table to fall over.

End herself? The gray-robed monk’s eyes flew open, they were filled with panic and worry. He had no other emotions. He reached both of his arms in an attempt to stop her.

However, he could see with his bright black eyes that blood had already ran dry from the neck of the woman clad in the wedding gown. It was difficult to tell if she was wearing a red wedding gown or a bloodied gown.

His arms went right through her, he could not feel anything physical. His hands just went through her.

The gray-robed monk froze. He gazed straight as her figure started to fade before his eyes.

When a ghost appears before a monk, it is only to bid farewell.

Clang, the incense burner table crashed to the floor. Ash drifted all over the place, engulfing the monk. The scene slowly began to disperse until it merely lingered in the vast main hall.

What was that? Meng Qi slightly creased his forehead, doubt filled his mind. Just then, another picture scroll unfurled before both his and Gao Lan’s eyes.

On a sickbed, a woman with attractive features leaned against a pillow. Her cheeks were sunken, she appeared to be gravely ill. She was gasping for air at the moment. Her eyes which were supposed to give off wondrous beauty were starting to glaze over.

A middle-aged scholar held her hands tightly beside her. His eyes were filled with deep sorrow and sadness.

He had thick eyebrows with masculine features, but the mustache above his mouth seemed out of place.

When Meng Qi saw the scholar, a name popped up in his mind:

Wu Jizhen, the Frenzied Wanderer of the Six Seas!

He was the Great Guru who had an unforgettable relationship with one of the Nirmakayas of the current Mysterious Fairy!

Meng Qi began to understand.

All the scenes seen in the main hall were the experiences of the various Nirmakayas of the Mysterious Fairy. Could it be her lives that were manifested by fate?

She may have treated others badly, but others also ill-treated her!

Right then, the attractive woman shook Wu Jizhen’s arm meekly. Sincerely, she spoke,

“From now on, forget about – forget about me…”

Her voice faded as she lost her vitality. Wu Jizhen could not save her no matter how much Mana he tried to transfuse into her body. He lifted his head forcefully and let out a sorrowful howl, it was a woeful cry at his loss of his partner.

Since the experiences of different Nirmakayas emerged inside the Plain Girl Palace, the current Mysterious Fairy should be nearby! Realization struck Meng Qi as he used his Ground-Shrinking Technique to move towards the rear hall.

Unlike what he had first deduced, it looks like this was neither a trap nor an empty attempt. Rather, the choice of location where the Mysterious Fairy conducted her isolated practice was really strange, or it can be said that her current situation was confusing to others.

Was she trying to make a breakthrough?

Apparently Gao Lan had figured things out quicker than Meng Qi. With a flash of his Taoist Robe, his bright yellow figure had already appeared in front of him. The two of them passed through the two scenes, the Heaven-cherished woman who broke her ill-fated relationship but was forever forsaken in the path of Buddhism and the story of childhood sweethearts who will love one another for their whole lives, till death they will be buried in the same burial chamber, but in the end there was only one body.

The further ahead they went, the more they seemingly dwelled into the spiritual realm of the current Mysterious Fairy, witnessing hundreds and thousands of her different lives and emotions.

Suddenly, Gao Lan who was running ahead slowed down his pace. It was because a woman in plain robes was standing still by the door which separated the front hall from the rear hall. She had a pure and elegant poise while her eyes showed benevolence which could relieve all living beings. Her elegant demeanor was unrivalled in the current generation. She was also gorgeous and admirable.

She had her hair in an updo which was held together by a wooden hairpin, her appearance resembled a Grihapati.

Meng Qi then noticed that Gao Lan had stopped in his tracks, his eyes which were stern and cold were flooded with burning emotions of inexplicable astonishment and joy, as if he was a youngster who had fallen madly in love.

“Yan Ran…” he called out hoarsely.

Yan Ran? So this is my sister-in-law? Meng Qi stopped as well, while he studied her closely, he noticed that the woman in plain robes had many wounds on her body like she had endured a bloody battle. There were still a handful of enemies which appeared fuzzy around her.

“Gao Lan,” Yan Ran looked over with surprise.

A touched expression spread across Gao Lan’s face. He lifted his right arm and swung his sword, completely wiping out the surrounding illusionary enemies.

“Yan Ran, I’ll save you this time for sure!” he exclaimed with excitement.

“I will make sure that you can occupy the dominant position in the Tao body of the Mysterious Fairy!”

Taking a stride forward, Gao Lan stood in front of Yan Ran. Wanting to hold her, he reached his right hand out as she did the same with her slim hands.

Their hands connected but they went through one another.

Yan Ran’s face revealed an expression of indescribable regret. She called out to him once more in a smaller voice.

“Gao Lan…”

Her silhouette began to fade away, and her stamp disintegrated.

What is going on? Meng Qi could see the rear hall through Yan Ran. There he saw the current Mysterious Fairy sitting next to a coffin, her body was blurry as she disintegrated into the mist, there was no more vitality in her!

The current Mysterious Fairy passed away while sitting cross-legged?

Could it be that she lost control and backwashed as she was about to ascend directly to heaven in daylight, causing her to instantly pass away while sitting cross-legged, thus sending her Nirmakaya stamp flying and leaving its trace in the main hall?

The Mysterious Fairy was actually dead! Meng Qi could not believe his eyes. He had anticipated various situations and deduced different forms of development, but this was a huge plot twist for him.

I guessed the beginning correctly but I did not guess the ending…

The current Mysterious Fairy was not only not cautious, she also did not come up with any evasive actions. She had not guessed that Brother Doubi would launch an early attack to force his way into the Plain Girl Sect, all in an attempt to snatch her away. However, she died.

She died and Yan Ran who was her Nirmakaya will never have the chance to be reincarnated!

Brother Doubi’s years of preparation and his uncontainable dignity had met with such an ending, is this truly Heaven’s Will?

What is the Heaven’s Will?

The breakthrough of Dharmakaya had always been the main difference between humans and deities, it was also one of the biggest obstacles in religious practice. The chances of failure were high to begin with. Brother Doubi and him had been evading this possibility subconsciously.

Meng Qi jolted his head back towards Gao Lan, who was staring lifelessly at the disappearing figure before him, his hand was still in a clasping position. In a low voice, he called out,

“Yan Ran…”

Since ancient times, having excessive affection would only end with regret.

Boom!

The Plain Girl Palace began shaking due to the effect of the tension caused by Meng Qi and Gao Lan who had entered the place by force.

Both of them could not adhere to their plan of obtaining what they wanted and retreated speedily.

“Yan Ran!”

Gao Lan tilted his head back and bellowed, his voice echoed with inexplicable anguish.