958 The Universal Fragmen (1/2)
The Qing Emperor? This is unexpected! Meng Qi was feeling shocked as he did not expect the mission to involve the Qing Emperor, Dong Wang Gong.
Among the five emperors of the ancient times, the Celestial Ruler was having the highest status and realm that overpowered all the other emperors. The Fire Emperor was coming from the Archaeozoic era, thereby having the greatest amount of Five Virtues and other resources. The Black Emperor, on the other hand, was a disciple of the Heavenly Primogenitor, thus he had a close connection to both the Heavenly Court and Taoism. Being more commonly known as the Great Emperor Zhenwu or Dang Mo, he had the greatest network. Next, the Golden Emperor was the head of all fairies. However, after the fall of the Heavenly Court, she had cut off the connection with the past and thereby leaving behind the least legends and stories. Lastly, the Qing Emperor was the most mysterious one ever.
Not only did he have a Taoist body called Lord Taiyi, but he also had another Buddhist body, namely the Pharmacist Buddha. Apart from being one of the Almighty Nine Taoists, he was also one of the Buddhas of the Three Horizontal Worlds. His Eastern Pure Land, alias the Vaiduryanirbhasa, was one of the most prominent Pure Lands in Buddhism. Being a God of Heaven and one of the Five Emperors, it was needless to say that he was a great man full of mysteries.
It was said that the Qing Emperor had passed away in a sitting position during the ending phase of the ancient times. The Pharmacist Buddha, on the other hand, had died during the Middle Ages. Lord Taiyi was the only one who had no record of death. Instead, he had been gradually minimizing his involvement in the mortal world, and eventually, he disappeared from the scene. Hence, those who knew the relationship between these three bodies suspected that the Qing Emperor was still alive. Obviously, Luya thought so, too. After mentioning the name of Qing Emperor, he had deliberately explained that he was looking for Lord Taiyi rather than the Pharmacist Buddha.
Meng Qi purposely frowned and said, ”The Qing Emperor was one of the five emperors of the ancient times, whereas Lord Taiyi was one of the Almighty Nine Taoists. Both of them were prominent figures of their own generation. You do know that it's nearly impossible for me to search for him, right?”
”Moreover, perhaps the Qing Emperor, Lord Taiyi, and the Pharmacist Buddha had died already.”
Although Meng Qi was saying so, he was actually thinking the opposite.
Luya said with a smile, ”Of course, I do have some clues of where the Qing Emperor or Lord Taiyi is. If I don't, why would I waste the time and energy of both of us?”
”What clues do you have?” After organizing his thoughts, Meng Qi could somehow guess why Luya wanted to find the Qing Emperor. It must be something to do with the Core Fragment of the Hao Tian Mirror.
Luya was the son of God Hao Tian, whereas the Qing Emperor was a mighty person who had obtained the incomplete soul of the Hao Tian Mirror and re-forged it. Thus, there might be some connection between God Hao Tian and the Qing Emperor.
A part of the land they were standing on was suddenly isolated, as if it was sunken into the riverbed of the river of time. Luya looked around and said, ”In the Real World, someone has seen a mad man before. Sometimes, he is dressed as a Taoist priest who wears a blue robe and a bamboo crown. He is tall and thin, with ordinary facial features. He likes to squint his eyes into a narrow line. Other times, he will be wearing a weird green robe. Despite his dishevelled appearance, he has a handsome face.”
”It's referring to two different people, isn't it?” Meng Qi asked on purpose.
Luya said, ”No. The former image is often used by Lord Taiyi, whereas the latter image - aside from the dishevelled appearance - seems to be an accurate depiction of the Qing Emperor. Also, they have one thing in common - they have been mumbling 'Who am I, who am I' all the time.”
Meng Qi was stunned. He is the strange Taoist priest that I met before!
In the past, Meng Qi had encountered a strange Taoist priest who was wandering outside the Immortal Valley. Also, in the journey of sailing to Donghai, he had come across with the same person again!
Nevertheless, Meng Qi was so distracted by the priest's abnormality of repeating ”Who am I, who am I” over and over again. Unconsciously, he ignored the fact that the priest's appearance had been vastly different from the first time they met. According to the gatekeeper of the Immortal Valley, the ordinary-looking priest who wore a blue robe and a bamboo crown was tall and thin. Also, he liked to squint his eyes into a narrow line. Later on, when Meng Qi met the priest at Donghai, he was wearing a weird green robe and having a dishevelled appearance despite his handsome face. If the priest did not utter the words ”Who am I, who am I” repeatedly, he would never think that they were the same person!
Could it be true that the strange Taoist priest was the Qing Emperor, Lord Taiyi who had saved people from suffering, and even the Eastern-Sun Deity?
If that was true, the priest was actually the only alive martial artist in the current era who was at the peak of Zao Hua Realm!
”I know you've heard of the strange Taoist priest. Also, you have the treasured scrolls of calligraphy of the Eastern-Sun Deity. Thus, I hope you can track him down using these clues,” added Luya. ”After you find the Qing Emperor - or you may call him Lord Taiyi, just tell him, 'The top floor of the Nine Levels of Heaven...' then, your mission will be completed. If you succeed in doing so, I'll help you to remove one more name from the List of Deification.”
The top floor of the Nine Levels of Heaven? What is the secret hidden underneath these words? Meng Qi could not help thinking. However, knowing that Luya would never explain it further, he resisted the urge to ask Luya about that.
At the same time, he was resisting the urge to ask another question, What is the use of the Demonic Peach that is hidden inside my body?
Meng Qi had been very curious about the Demonic Peach that was passed down from the Archaeozoic era. Luya, being a well-known figure in the Archaeozoic era, might know something about it. However, knowing that the Demonic Peach was definitely a precious item, he was worried that Luya might covet this item. If that happened, his life would be at risk.
Just then, Luya stroked his hand on the List of Deification. Immediately, the golden words of 'Jiang Zhiwei' flew out from the list and broke into pieces. Something had broken out of the bondage and went into the void.
This is the time! Meng Qi had taken a move. Following closely behind the aura of the thing that had broken free, he lit the Dao Yi Glazed Lamp and activated the Tyrant's Invincible Blade.
As he broke through the barriers, the darkness in the surroundings kept flying backward. Suddenly, everything brightened up. Following behind the aura, Meng Qi had returned to the Real World and arrived at the Xi Jian Pavilion. He was currently outside the quiet room of Jiang Zhiwei.
Due to the current peaceful world situation, the defensive formation of the Xi Jian Pavilion was not activated fully. That was why Meng Qi could enter the pavillion effortlessly.