918 The Furnace

The stars were so bright that they made the moon look dim. The shadows of the trees were dancing in the wind like demons.

Under the moonlight, a person in a green robe was holding a long blade while walking on the road.

Although he was going to do something that risked his life, he felt that it was worth it because he had already experienced a great deal throughout the twenty years in the Jiang Hu.

...

When Meng Qi arrived at the Samsara Square, the statues of mythical creatures, the white-jade floor tiles, the misty surroundings, and the Central Light Pillar had come into his sight. All of them looked so familiar as he had been here many times.

However, the state of mind of Meng Qi was no longer the same as before - he was neither feeling tense nor excited. He was just looking at this place quietly.

Since the Tree of Da Dao had been retrieved, there was no need to exchange anything else.

Just then, a light pillar surrounded by mist appeared. Zhao Heng, wearing a bright yellow imperial robe, was stepping out of the pillar. He had a black mustache above his lips. Looking like a real emperor, his aura was far more mature and dignified than before. In fact, he looked like a totally different person from ten years ago.

When Zhao Heng saw Meng Qi, he was neither surprised nor curious. Instead, he grinned and walked up to Meng Qi with big steps. Raising his right hand, he clenched it into a fist and moved it closer to Meng Qi.

Although the look in Meng Qi's eyes was still filled with a sense of dispiritedness, his expression was obviously softened. Smiling a little, he gave Zhao Heng a fist bump.

Bump!

"Finally, we can fight together again!" Zhao Heng drew back his hand and said with a smile. He asked nothing about the things that happened to Meng Qi in the past ten years.

Everyone seemed to have changed a lot with the passage of time. Zhao Heng, in particular, had become more calm and mature.

Meng Qi was about to say something when two other pillars fell from the sky. Jiang Zhiwei, wearing an light-yellow dress, was holding a longsword. Showing a bright smile, she was as still and confident as before. She seemed to be the only one who did not change much, probably due to her considerable experience in dealing with life-or-death situations that made her a strong and determined person.

Ruan Yushu, on the other hand, looked like she was still in her twenties. Having her hair tied in a bun, she was wearing an elegant white dress and carrying an ancient zither. She was as graceful as a fairy who had come down to the earth. However, the innocent look in her eyes had disappeared completely. With a fairy-like aura, it was as though she was going to leave the world of mortals at anytime to fly up to the Ninth Heaven.

She took a look at Meng Qi. After noticing his white sideburns, there was a mixed expression on her face.

Without saying anything, she kept the Phoenix-Perching Zither and took out a food container gracefully. Then, she went to Meng Qi, squatted down slowly, put the container on the ground, and opened the lid. Throughout the process, she did not look up at all. Then, she spoke in a soft and melodious voice,

"The Cloudy Date Cake… The Dragon Claw… Monster-crab soup… Stewed bamboo sprout… The Five Tastes of Dragon-Fish…"

Ruan Yushu took out the dishes one by one and placed them in front of Meng Qi.

Feeling in peace, Meng Qi watched her present the dishes while listening to her voice attentively.

"Last time, I treated you to all these delicacies," Ruan Yushu looked at Meng Qi with bright eyes while biting her lips unknowingly. "But this time around, I made them all by myself."

Meng Qi touched his lips with his right fist and closed his eyes. After a while, he opened his eyes, sat cross-legged on the ground, and tasted the food with chopsticks.

"The Cloudy Date Cake is newly-baked today. Compared with those that are kept in the formation, it is more fresh and natural. That's why it still smells good now…"

"The Dragon Claw is very crispy. If you eat it after the Cloudy Date Cake, it will taste even better…"

"As for the monster-crab soup, I've taken out the crab mustard, and cooked it along with two turtles…"

The voice of Ruan Yushu was full of joy. Standing next to her, Jiang Zhiwei and Zhao Heng looked at her with a smile. She has trained her cooking skill for ten years. How could anyone possibly belittle her effort?

Meng Qi was tasting the food slowly and appreciatively. Eventually, he finished all the dishes.

"They definitely taste better than last time," praised Meng Qi in a serious tone while putting down the bamboo chopsticks.

Ruan Yushu gave him a smile, and a dimple appeared beside her mouth.

Since Meng Qi and his teammates already possessed a lot of items after completing so many Samsara Missions, they did not need to exchange their good deeds for items anymore. Instead, they were going to save up their good deeds in preparation for the special mission of a Heavenly Weapon, or for the penalty of failing a mission.

Four of them were sitting cross-legged. As Jiang Zhiwei shared about the interesting experiences they had in the previous missions, Zhao Heng and Ruan Yushu were making some comments occasionally. The atmosphere was peaceful.

Just when Meng Qi thought that this precious moment would last longer, he saw a light in front of his eyes. At the same time, he heard the apathetic voice of the Master of the Six Dao of Samsara.

"After the fall of the Heavenly Court and the death of Gautama Buddha, the Demonic Sage - who has made a breakthrough in the realm - had led a team of great sages and demon fairies to invade the Spirited Mountain that is located at the core of the Buddhist Sect of Amidism. Thousands of Buddhas and demons had lost their lives in this war. Only the Demonic Sage and a few people from the Spirited Mountain managed to make an escape. Since then, the Spirited Mountain has been mostly destroyed, and the Buddhist Sect of Amidism has been hidden. They are nowhere to be found."

"Main mission: Return to the Spirited Mountain to search for the great sages and demon fairies. A mission success will result in a reward of fifteen thousand good deeds. A failure to complete the mission will result in a deduction of the same amount of good deeds."

"Side mission: Investigate the truth behind the war of the Spirited Mountain in the past. You will be rewarded an Immortal Pill of Good Fortune if the mission is completed. However, no punishment will be given if you fail to complete it."

As soon as the voice faded away, Meng Qi and his teammates found that they were inside a Grand Hall that was dark and dilapidated. The crumbling hall seemed to be a result of age and man-made destruction. Although they could see a table in front of them, there was nothing on top of it.

"This is the Grand Hall that once had the Green Lamp of Buddha…" Jiang Zhiwei had figured out where they were.

This place was deep inside the Spirited Mountain!

Although Zhao Heng had not been here before, he had heard Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu talking about their experiences in the Spirited Mountain. Therefore, this was not an unknown place to him.

Looking around, Zhao Heng suddenly sighed and said, "So, the Spirited Mountain is really related to the Buddhist Sect of Amidism."

Meng Qi was having the same thought, too.

The reward of the side mission was an Immortal Pill of Good Fortune that could assist people in becoming a Dharmakaya by integrating the spirit and the body. Although it did not play a decisive role, it could effectively reduce the risk of failure.

Why will the Samsara give us such a reward? He must be plotting something sinister...

As soon as this thought came to their minds, they could see everything clearly in the hall despite the dark surrounding. Without the Green Lamp of Buddha, the hall actually had nothing special.

Without hesitation, four of them carefully stepped out of the hall.

Just when they went out of the hall, the lightning flashed and the thunder rumbled. Thereafter, a lot of green lotuses were blooming around them. Along with the blooming of each lotus, the whole world was destructed and reborn in succession. As the nebula and galaxy occured, a Golden Cudgel - as huge as a mountain - was standing on the ground while holding up the sky. Suddenly, a roar as loud as thunder that seemed to come from the ancient age was heard.

"In my whole life, I, Lao Sun, am not going to strive for the future life!"

Interest flickered in the eyes of Meng Qi. Right after that, he closed his eyes and listened to the words with full concentration.

Following the roar, a voice full of resentment was heard - it was as though the person was gnashing his teeth.

"Ananda!"

...

In the Trayastrimsa Heaven, the mystical plants and flowers were growing everywhere, and the auspicious beasts were roaming around peacefully.

Inside an ordinary-looking palace with the plaque of Tushita Palace, an old man in a Taoist robe was sitting in front of an eight trigrams furnace. It was as though he had been in this position for thousands of years.

Suddenly, the golden-horned child next to him stood up and looked down.

"It's the Aparagodaniya again!"

"Could it be…"

He turned around, bowed to the old man, and asked in an anxious and doubtful tone, "Old master, should we interfere?"

"Just let him be," the old man in the Taoist robe did not open his eyes. Despite having white hair, his face looked youthful.

"W-why…" the silver-horned child was puzzled.

The old man in the Taoist robe had finally opened his eyes as he sighed.

"The Final Trial has come."

When he pointed his finger at the eight trigrams furnace, it was opened at once. A beam of terrifying light soared into the sky, penetrated the void and the crystal wall, and entered the universe silently.

Creak. The universe - having no sign of vitality and was almost fully-destructed - was shaken. As the illusory river of time occurred, the glistening light of waves was flying out and displaying some scenes that happened in the past.

At first, an ark was travelling across various wormholes, looking for a planet that could support life. However, the frequent explosion of stars had destroyed many of the neighboring planets.

The whole universe was dead silent. Nobody could help the ones who were on the ark.

With fewer and fewer sources of energy available, the aliens in the ark died one by one. In the end, it was like a silver-gray metal coffin, carrying a lot of corpses that once came from a highly-civilized planet. For years, it was floating in the infinite darkness without being able to reach its destination.

Going back to the earlier ages, within countless galaxies in the universe, all kinds of civilizations existed. Some of them were able to go across the Milky Way, some could only stay at their own planets, some were protected by gods, and thus being powerful enough to colonize many other planets, and some were constantly migrating and destroying every planet they landed on… following the outbreak of countless wars, only the most powerful civilization could survive…

Tracing back even more, there were fewer civilized planets. The inhabitants on the planets were holding wooden sticks and wearing animal skins. The stars were still vigorous, and many planets were still taking shape. Following the condensation of invisible matters, many gods were born.

As the light of waves sparkled again, they were brought back to the starting point of the universe. Energy storms were expanding endlessly and everything was in chaos.

In the light beam, the universe became smaller and smaller. Together with its past, present and destined future, it was thrown into the eight trigrams furnace silently.

The lid closed and the light beam disappeared. The furnace suddenly shook and made a clattering sound.

A scroll flew out from the knees of the old man in Taoist robe. After forming a Tai Chi symbol that wrapped around the furnace, a golden bridge that led to the Nirvana Realm had appeared!

The golden-horned and silver-horned children lowered their heads as they dared not look directly into the furnace. Although they could not imagine what the furnace was going to produce, the aura alone had made them tremble with fear. They knew one thing clearly:

The person inside the furnace used to be a prominent figure!