Chapter 548: The Dilemma
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Meng Qi ignored the advancing perils coming from Thunder God. The third eye on his forehead shone with a dazzling brilliance as he sought to maintain his concentration on Howling Lunar Hound.
The Hound was immersed in visions of his younger self when his vim and verve were at their peak. In his dreams, he was engaged in concupiscent lechery with a fox demon. Her skin was fair as snow and smooth as silk while her skills in bed satisfied the deepest of his carnal hunger.
Suddenly, boils and blisters swelled from the silky and fair skin of the fox demon. Her body began to rot and disintegrate while fetid pus oozed from the bursting blisters. The innards of her body and her bones began to become visible where the parts of her body had completely broken down as if she had been dead for a long time.
The sight of the rotten flesh and the stench of the corpse nearly brought vomit to the lips of the Hound. His body shook uncontrollably as he fought the retching urge to throw up and faint.
Images and memories of the amorous experiences of his past hit him and flashed before him like it was yesterday. The visions unfolded before him with convincing reality and truth. But all did not end well for him in his dreams. Some of his partners disintegrated into decaying corpses, throwing him into vomiting fits; some of his partners turned into demonesses and succubuses, trying to drain him of his energies and vigor; some restrained and held him while they inflicted upon him painful and tormenting tortures that endured for eternity through all his life and different reincarnations!
His powers would have been able to allow him to dispel the illusions of phantasms with ease. Yet the nightmares that assailed and tormented him were figments created from his own memories, the true experiences of his life have been addled by a touch of Meng Qi’s enchantment, robbing him of any means to defend himself against Meng Qi’s mental assault!
He could not free himself from the endless torment of the visions of his reincarnation. His will and spirit crumbled from within him as tears welled in his eyes. His physical self, the great, giant hound remained still, a staggering presence that belied his inner frailty.
Meng Qi ignored the gust of brownish-sandy dust blowing towards him as he clenched his fists tightly and struck mercilessly at the head of the giant hound.
Twinkling sparkles of gold encircled Meng Qi, the trails of the floating sparkles formed the shape of a golden Karmic Lotus. Flashes of Darkness and Light intertwined and shone down on him like an illumination from the heavens as if he was a sacred being, imbued with the powers of the Buddha’s blessing.
Meng Qi’s fists bore down on the head of his foe. The powers that slumbered within the Howling Lunar Hound sprang in response, shrouding the giant hound with a dark purple gloom that glittered faintly with flashing stars.
The layer of protection had but only held Meng Qi’s fists for a brief moment, only to have the blow piercing through the final line of defense!
Bang!
Upon his head, the Tri-gem Wish Fist struck with horrifying destruction! The blow had torn asunder the skull of the Hound, oozing brain fluid flowed from his head wound. But still, Howling Lunar Hound was not dead! Instead, he was recovering from the hallucinations tormenting him with the extreme pain that stabbed at him!
The gust of sandy dust hit Meng Qi precisely, disorienting him.
A bright radiating brillance shot out suddenly, piercing the mist of brownish-sandy dust! A talisman hidden in Meng Qi’s robe shone and Meng Qi disintegrated into the void! He reappeared over the head of Howling Lunar Hound with Flowing Fire gleaming furiously in his hand!
On the other hand, Thunder God from the Ninth Heaven had not been lazing after unleashing his magical artifact. The form of Thunder God gave a loud and furious cry, summoning all the energies of Lightning that he could muster, drawing them all to him as if he was standing on a great ocean of lightning. The force he amassed unto himself was so great and destructive that it could have destroyed everything that stood in his sight!
“Die!”
Thunder God bellowed beneath his towering Dharmic Form, lunging forward and hacked furiously with his large saber. Darkness befell the entire surroundings around them, with only the crackles of electricity protesting in the dark, as if they have been thrown into the darkness of space where Heaven and Earth have yet to took form.
The Eight Stroke of the Purple Thunder: the Thunderous Cleave of Insolence!
A technique of the Dharmakaya level!
Split bolts of purple lightning tore through the darkness from the large saber of Thunder God before converging and merging as one once more, speeding towards Meng Qi. The moisture in the air simmered and shuddered the fabrics of Nature by the fleeting shafts of lightning snapping savagely.
Adamantly, Meng Qi ignored everything. Flowing Fire pierced resolutely toward Howling Lunar Hound who was regaining his consciousness.
Meng Qi stole a glance sideways and noticed the thunderous attacks of his foe reaching him. A huge bulge grew on his back and two new arms sprang out of his back. One of the arms reached up and caught Heaven Inflicted Pain that Meng Qi had tossed up into the air earlier whilst the other held in his grasp the Nine Zen Beads.
A second head sprouted from his torso and stared eye-to-eye with Thunder God from the Ninth Heaven. His conjured Dharmic Form attuned itself with the energies of Nature and channeled his powers. The gloomy darkness around him seemed even more distinct than ever.
“Die!” bellowed Meng Qi in return, his Heaven Inflicted Pain slashing forward with fury.
Flowing Fire stabbed desperately at the Hound as Meng Qi expended all that remained of his strength to deliver the killing blow!
Boom!
The purple lightning bolts were split apart by Meng Qi’s frenzied retaliation and exploded at both flanks. The resulting explosion was so great that the entire isolated dimension shook and shuddered and the magical powers of the magical artifact, the Yin-Yang Separation Handkerchief, nearly faltered and collapsed.
Everything was thrown into a chaotic pandemonium. Meng Qi was thrown backward by the force of the terrifying explosions. Residual charges of electricity weaved around him as he fell.
The glaze of gold over his body glinted but its effect was broken, the glaze of gold cracked and shattered. Blood trickled from his eyes, his nose, his mouth and his ears. The protection enchantment of the Eight Nine Mysteries technique glowed faintly, its radiance lacked a great deal of its luster but it did not crack and burst into pieces.
With the Protective Glazing Light enchantment, a partial conjuration of his Big Bang technique and the defensive properties of his Eight Nine Mysteries technique, it was sufficient to allow Meng Qi to weather the onslaught of Thunder God of the Ninth Heaven with minimal injuries.
Thunder God looked to his comrade, Howling Lunar Hound. A wisp of flames and the fires of a dragon’s breath appeared on his forehead and began to burn hungrily. Black fires of hell sprouted from under his feet consuming the Hound from below. At the wound inflicted by Meng Qi’s blow with the Flowing Fire, another wisp of flames burst forth, tongues of flames that emanated the aura of Humanity. The three flames devoured the body of the Hound and reduced him to ashes and cinders at the moment with the three flames converged. A soot-blackened Space Ring fell to the ground. Sparkles of lightning bolts with the semblance of a dragon weaved around the ring.
In Meng Qi’s hand, Flowing Fire burned proudly in blazing red. A drop of blood remained briefly on its tip before it was absorbed by the sword.
He had finally slain Howling Lunar Hound, despite emptying his bag of tricks and magical artifacts as well as risking injury with a reckless abandon!
Intense rage filled Thunder God so much that his eyes were filled with blood-lust, his bewildered stare laced with shock and anger! The sight of Meng Qi and his dead comrade seemed to send him a message,
“The Hound has been slain, and you are next to follow!”
Anger boiled within Thunder God. He realized the error of his actions: he had chosen to attack Meng Qi and had used his magical artifact in the effort to force him away from Howling Lunar Hound instead of dragging his comrade to safety with his grasp of lightning bolts. The lightning bolts in the forms of dragons would have hauled his comrade away for him to recover from the tormenting hallucinations instead of succumbing to a fatal stroke which had ultimately spelled his death.
Still, as he pondered further, the blame of the Hound’s untimely misfortune could hardly be his. Even without the Thunderous Cleave of Insolence, Su Meng’s new limbs would have allowed him to maintain his assault on the already incapacitated Howling Lunar Hound nevertheless. There was no certainty that his comrade could be withdrawn into safety with Meng Qi’s frenzied and daring inclination. He would even bereave himself of the opportunities to injure Su Meng and force him to reveal his hidden aces.
“Who would have thought that Su Meng would have such an abundance of potent magical artifacts?”
Whereas he had exhausted the entirety of his fortune, only to have redeemed two magical artifacts. He had to enlist the help of a comrade and borrow the use of the Yin-Yang Separation Handkerchief to be certain that his scheme would bear fruit!
Despite his willingness to assist him and fight by his side, Howling Lunar Hound had jealously refrained from expending his own stores of magical artifacts. A trait of his comrade which was so different from himself. With the talisman that allowed Su Meng to sustain the first onslaught of his attacks, in no way would the outcome of their first skirmish be different, albeit with the possibility of Su Meng sustaining heavier injuries.
His hateful gaze bored into Meng Qi as he growled,
“Let us see if you still have anything left up your sleeves!”
“Killing you should hardly be difficult with my present level, my strength, and your injury!”
“And I still have one more artifact hidden up my sleeve!”
The ancient runes of the Seal of Thunder on his Dharmic Form began to shine brightly. Once again the energies of nature bent only to the call of the Thunder God, the pool of nature’s essence yielding nothing save for the element of lightning.
Meng Qi would not have been able to recover and heal himself if he had not been able to mimic the properties of the Purple Thunder Force. He sensed the shifts that had occurred to the pool of nature’s energies in their surrounding, that all his other martial disciplines had been severely weakened save for the Purple Thunder Bladesmanship.
“Die!” Thunder God cried again, charging at Meng Qi. His saber shone coldly with bolts of electricity that formed into dragons as he unleashed the Purple Thunder Bladesmanship of his own. His blows grew stronger and heavier, building momentum like a destructive cyclone. The lightning bolts flashed ceaselessly with the surging force of his attacks, crackling and snapping ferociously. Deafening roars of thunder and the purple shafts of destruction pummeled with its full wrath, tearing and shuddering the fabrics of nature mercilessly.
Meng Qi could find no flaws in the perfect execution of his blows and attacks which rained at him in cascades of wonton bloodthirsty devastation, leaving him no room to exploit and recoup. He dodged and parried the flurry of annihilation as best he could, his inadequacy in the grasp of the element of lightning and the Dharmic Form of his foe had left him no choice but to defend himself with desperation.
Around them, the earth was scorched, charred and battered by bolts of purple lightning as fuming craters abounded the battlefield. Still, Thunder God had barely been able to land so much as a scratch on Meng Qi.
The lack of finesse in Meng Qi’s blows and parries belied a dangerous peril. A dull shade glowed at the blade of his saber. In his hands, Heaven Inflicted Pain weighed like a mountain. The swings of his saber, so terrible and deadly, would have been able to kill with just a mere graze, reducing foes to bits and pieces by annihilation.
Thus was the joust of raw power and strength, where even the Purple Thunder Bladesmanship could potentially be outvied!
A stroke of Meng Qi’s freshly-honed discipline of the Virtual Purity Sabersmanship, the Upheaval of Land and Sea! The discipline utilizes the full aptitude of the Eight Nine Mysteries technique. Meng Qi would have been able to deliver even greater damage had the Heaven Inflicted Pain bore a greater weight. Coupled with the Vairocana Swordplay and the Unmoving Golden Lotus executed by his other two arms, Meng Qi would have been able to defend himself effectively against the Thunder God of the Ninth Heaven!
Nevertheless, Thunder God was a veteran of the chaotic turmoils of the Samsara realm. His extensive experiences in combat and his skills urged him into patience and restraint, compelling him to wait for the effects of Meng Qi’s conjuration of his new limbs to expire. He understood that Meng Qi’s present level of power would not allow him to sustain the magical effects for long.
A grim dread began to creep into Meng Qi’s mind, noticing that Thunder God practiced prudence in his offense and not rushing himself. The steady assault that his foe employed had not allowed him any flaws to exploit nor had he any more artifacts to utilize in such grave a moment. He had initially thought that Thunder God would be left shaken and unsettled by the death of Howling Lunar Hound. But things did not seem to be going too well for him...
He was not a man that waited for death to knock upon his doorstep notwithstanding. Bracing himself, he continued to defend himself against the blows of the Thunder God until the strain of sustaining his new limbs became unbearable. He gave a loud, thunderous roar which emitted tiny sparks of electricity,
“Die!”
Meng Qi’s body convulsed wildly and began to grow into the size of a huge, muscular giant. Power and strength pulsed in his veins and sinews that even the air around him cowered and trembled with fear. The sheer monstrosity of his powers thrown the surrounding energies of nature into a tumultuous storm, reshaping the order of nature of their surroundings and the dimension. Over his head the giant raised Heaven Inflicted Pain, and down he struck with terrifying wrath!
Dark clouds converged atop his head and bolts of lightning flashed angrily. From within the plumes of gloomy clouds that enveloped the skies over their heads, five rays of lightning descended like the Judgement of Heaven.
Boom!
Bolts of thunderclaps, fine and blue in color rained down along the path of the huge saber hacking down on its foe.
The Law Phenomenon enchantment and the Five Thunder Bombardments technique!
The radiance of the lightning bolts illuminated the entire dimension, the cacophony of its screeching and snapping crackles filled the entire void that the magical artifact sustaining the dimension, the Yin-Yang Separation Handkerchief stood on the brink of collapse. Thunder God of the Ninth Heaven beheld the sight before him with powerless helplessness, briefly torn with forlorn desolation at the judgment of the thunderous rage befalling upon him.
“Still, he was adept in the techniques of the element of Lightning!” He reminded himself, rallying himself and steeling himself with the resolve to meet his adversary head-on.
The Dharmic Form of Thunder God grew in size and stature, the marks of the Seal of Thunder on his body glowed brightly, drawing all natural energies of the lightning element and the dispersed bolts of purple lightning unto himself.
Thunder God from the Ninth Heaven hacked with his large saber!
Boom!
The brilliance of the eruption of the huge purple flash before Meng Qi blinded him. What followed was the searing blazes of purple lightning and flames that rolled at him like waves, reminding him of the nuclear detonations which he had seen from documentary footages in his former incarnation. The waves of annihilation had flattened the ground around him and were rushing unto him!
Thunder God had unleashed techniques of the Dharmakaya level at the loss of his lifespan!
The ninth stroke of the Purple Thunder discipline, the Damnation of the Divine Judgment!
Immediately, five streaks of lightning, the azure bolts of the Judgment of Heaven plunged from the sky into the atomic explosion.
The shades and hues of the nature vanished that instant. Everything went white before him in a glaring light that obscured his sight.
Meng Qi regained his sight moments after. The concussion and shock of the terrible explosions shook his ears and shuddered his Vital Spirit. A terrifying deluge of purple lightning bolts rained down on him.
His body glowed faintly with gold, the shield of the Eight Nine Mysteries desperately trying to protect him. Hails of lightning bolts impelled upon his back. Meng Qi tried frantically to resist the shelling of doom that rained annihilation and death on him and knocked him down. But Meng Qi tasted blood in his mouth.
The effects of the Law Phenomenon faltered and failed, his auxiliary limbs and head vanished.
Blood poured from the right hand of the Thunder God, tricking down the hilt of his saber down to its electrically-charged blade. He staggered a few steps backward, but he had sustained lesser damage than Meng Qi, save for the slight portion of his lifespan forfeited.
Still, he pushed himself further, not wanting to allow Meng Qi any moment for respite. With renewed resolve, he stomped forward and hurled himself at Meng Qi.
As he had desired, he had successfully forced Meng Qi to abandon any hopes of fleeing.
Meng Qi breathed hard as he witnessed the coming of another barrage of purple lightning. With not a moment to lose, he crushed the Reincarnation Talisman which he had produced when he was being knocked backward earlier.
A green glow appeared to engulf Meng Qi and draw him away into the Samsara realm.
Instead of feeling dismayed by Meng Qi’s plan to escape, Thunder God was overjoyed. He threw out a talisman, on which an odd and peculiar face was illustrated.
“And you think I have not thought of preventing you from using the Reincarnation Talisman when I know full well that you are a fellow Samsara traveler?”
The seal that he threw out vanished into the greenish glow along with Meng Qi.
Thunder God heaved a breath of reprieve. He reached down to the ground to retrieve the Space Ring of his deceased comrade, the Howling Lunar Hound. Oddly, he seemed unruffled by Meng Qi’s disappearance.
Nobody triumphed against the will of Dominator of the Six Samsara Realms. There were no means to deter the effects of the Reincarnation Talisman. Still, his newly-acquired magical artifact allowed him to impede one from accessing the Samsara Square. Thus, he could rest assured that Meng Qi would not be able to redeem more artifacts and instruments to aid him in his battle.
Still, the effects of his artifact could not halt the two-month duration in the Samsara realm that the Reincarnation Charm accorded to its users. Nevertheless, Thunder God was hardly troubled. He was confident that Su Meng would not have leap over the hurdles of the Celestial Ladder from the Second Fold Heavens in the two-months duration of training in the Samsara realm.
To make things worst for his quarry, Thunder God had left word to his fellow members of the Myths before he had sprung his trap on Su Meng. His other comrades would be arriving at any moment. The longer Su Meng elected to remain in the Samsara realm, the longer would time pass, allowing his allies more time to reach his side. Su Meng shall not be able to fly out of his clutches this time, no matter what tricks he had kept hidden up his sleeves!
“Su Meng would be wise to return as quickly as he can after healing and recuperating to avoid depleting more precious time,” thought the Thunder God.
“As for me...” Thunder God sneered coldly as he produced an elixir from his robes and swallowed it. He rummaged through the contents of the Howling Lunar Hound’s Space Ring, seeing if there were useful tools or artifacts.
“I’ll avenge your death, comrade!”
...
“Alert: The effects of the Reincarnation Charm are hindered by the Visage of the Dominator. Disturbances are in effect.”
“Access to the Samsara Square is barred upon the termination of the effects of the Reincarnation Talisman.”
“Kindly select the dimension or realm to return to. The longest duration of stay shall be up to two months. Termination prior to the time limit is applicable.”
Pitch-black darkness, gloominess, and chaotic bleariness obscured his sight momentarily, followed by the vision of images of the Samsara realms that he had once visited flashing before him. Nostalgic memories of his time in the realm of the Twelves Holy Beasts of the Zodiac, the realm of Duo Ercha, the realm of the Journey to the West, and dimension of Sword Emperor, the realm of the Nine Villages returned to him as the sceneries of the different realms passed him by.
He was hardly alarmed by the sudden notice of the restriction. It would hardly be surprising that Thunder God from the Ninth Heaven had prepared measures, being an experienced traveler of the Samsara realms. His first order of business would be to heal himself as swiftly as he could while he racked his brain for solutions to the quandary awaiting him in the actual realm.
Otherwise, he would return as soon as he can and pit against his nemesis with the incomplete Fruits of Karma technique whilst enduring the potentially heavy drawback of it!
There could be no more dawdling, lest any unfavorable twists presented themselves!
Still, there was also the possibility of benign development, but Meng Qi was hardly one who would leave to fate the destiny of his own.
Meng Qi swallowed a Serenity Darkness Pill as he decided on the realms in the Samsara that he would go to.
Which of the realms would allow him to enhance his powers in the shortest possible time?
Meng Qi swiftly studied and weighed his options while the different views of the many Samsara realms flashed by.
Suddenly, his eyes fixated intently upon an image: the realm of Duo Ercha. It was the view of the passage from whence he had acquired the legacy of Ananda, the Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmanship. The passage where the inscription of ‘Enter not these doors, ye of virtues and compassion’ was located.
“The Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmanship... The Fruits of Karma...” Meng Qi thought quietly. ” From there, everything began, and there it should be if the concept of Karma does exist!”
In his mind, he felt as if a switch had been flipped. The gossamer threads of one’s Karma became visible to him as he slowly grew attuned to the true mastery of the Fruits of Karma technique.
“There shall be no more hesitation!” Meng Qi thought to himself as he selected the realm of Duo Ercha.
“I would just terminate the rest of my duration in the realm if things get hairy and just fight with the incomplete Fruits of Karma!”