Chapter 385: Exploring the Martial Dao

Wang Ping quickly pulled his attention away from his fantasies of the Great Grandmaster Rank. After all, nothing had been accomplished yet; any daydream was just an illusion.

Besides, he was the type to act the moment an idea struck him.

'No time to lose. Since I need to forge a path between the Great Grandmaster Rank and the Martial Sage realm, I should try right now!' Finding an opportunity, Wang Ping sat down cross-legged.

He actually had a concrete idea.

'The so-called Martial Sage, to put it bluntly, takes the "Self" to its absolute peak, constructs a purely subjective worldview unique to oneself, and uses it to overwrite reality.'

Having seen the First Seat strike with his own eyes, he naturally understood the outward manifestation of a Martial Sage. A subjective worldview overwriting reality triggered the phenomenon of the void shattering. That was the origin of the phrase "shattering the void." Therefore, dedicating oneself to studying how to shatter the void was putting the cart before the horse.

'The focus is still the "Self."'

'How to strengthen the "Self"—the Martial Dao's Divine Intent—to the point where it can construct a subjective worldview, and how to actually build one.'

Wang Ping had no idea how the First Seat had achieved it.

To banish the influence of all supernatural power and forge a subjective world entirely devoid of spiritual energy and magic—that was practically tantamount to rebuilding one's fundamental understanding of reality from the ground up.

It was like convincing yourself that pigs could fly or trees could run. It was pure fantasy; even tricking yourself into believing it would be incredibly difficult.

Yet the First Seat had done exactly that.

This proved that her "Self" had long since reached the absolute pinnacle.

'Just as I suspected. The First Seat might seem all smiles and laughter, but she actually harbors a deep-seated malice toward the Immortal Dao. Malice so heavy she would go to such lengths...'

Wang Ping swallowed hard.

No wonder she had been so displeased to see him practicing the Immortal Dao. It explained why she had been so eager to drag him into training, wanting him to continue on the Martial Dao.

'Unfortunately, there's practically zero chance I can construct her kind of magic-annihilating subjective worldview. At most, I can borrow that power through the profound nature of the True Martial Sage Physique and the "Subjective Self." For my own subjective worldview, I still have to incorporate the Immortal Dao.'

Wang Ping had even tried it.

For example, the world he lived in before he transmigrated had also been a place devoid of magic and spiritual energy. He had tried using that experience to mimic the First Seat's worldview.

However, he failed.

Because that was, after all, his world before transmigrating. To build a worldview like that, he would first have to suppress all thoughts of "transmigration."

It simply wasn't feasible.

After thinking it over, Wang Ping still decided to integrate the Immortal Dao. Compared to the fledgling Martial Dao, the Immortal Dao's system had long since been perfected to the absolute limit.

'Actually, the Immortal Dao also possesses the concept of a worldview. Isn't the Twenty-Four Qi the Immortal Dao's interpretation and understanding of the entire Cosmic Deep Space? Heaven has Twenty-Four Qi, and humanity also has Twenty-Four Gods. If I integrate the Twenty-Four Qi into the Twenty-Four Gods, what kind of changes will occur?'

This was Wang Ping's train of thought.

Simply put, he wanted to use the Immortal Dao's worldview, leveraging its foundation and experience, to mold his own. In theory, it should be feasible.

Moreover, this aligned with his vision for the Martial Dao. Simply trying to elevate Divine Intent wouldn't work; the concept was too abstract, and only the First Seat had truly reached the apex.

The physical body, however, was a different story.

'If I draw the imagery of heaven and earth's qi into my body to temper my flesh and elevate my internal Twenty-Four Gods, it should at least strengthen my physical body, even if it doesn't elevate my Divine Intent.'

Regardless, it was worth a try!

With this in mind, Wang Ping immediately sprang into action. From within his limbs and bones, a stream of qi that he had specifically set aside was immediately drawn out of his dantian.

Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi!

This was the portion he had deliberately kept when he regressed from a Corpse Dissolution Immortal to the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer. Even back then, he had harbored the intention of practicing the Martial Dao.

The next second, this heaven and earth qi—condensed with a murky radiance and floating with the imagery of subterranean spring veins and the ghostly gates of the netherworld—was guided into his body by Wang Ping. He accurately directed it toward his kidneys, the organ corresponding to "Essence" in the trio of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, which immediately brought Mingyou's Daoist theories to mind.

'The kidneys are the yin position of the human body...'

The water of earthly yin was inherently the most extreme yin among qi. Entering the yin position of the human body was a perfect match. Thus, Wang Ping quickly felt a change in his body.

The imagery of the water qi shifted within the gods of his left and right kidneys.

Specifically, the imagery involved concealing, then hiding, and finally manifesting brilliantly—just like a Kun fish hiding in the abyss before taking flight and transforming into a Peng bird. This imagery fed back into his kidneys.

Immediately after, this feedback spread to a certain body part heavily associated with the kidneys.

Coincidentally, just like the Kunpeng, this body part usually lay hidden in the abyss. When needed, blood and qi would surge into it, transforming it into a Peng bird—a giant bird.

And then—nothing.

Yes, all the unusual changes came to an abrupt halt right there.

Wang Ping could feel that his two body gods—the left and right kidneys—had perfectly digested the imagery of the Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi, yet it hadn't produced any mystical effects whatsoever.

He even felt like he had completed a portion of his subjective worldview's construction, but the primary function of this subjective worldview was simply giving him a giant bird that could move up and down, left and right, back and forth—hiding away or standing tall and majestic, completely at his command.

Aside from that, there was absolutely nothing.

'Fuck!'

Wang Ping gritted his teeth in fury. He wasn't a lecher; what use did he have for this giant bird? Was he supposed to fight magical duels using some sort of bladder-sword technique?

He opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Lian Ruzhao and the four Martial Dao Great Grandmasters. Five pairs of wide eyes stared back at him, brimming with anticipation and intense curiosity:

"How was it?"

Lian Ruzhao spoke first. "I saw your qi signature shift just now. You must have an idea for the Martial Sage realm. Tell me about it; let me help you analyze it."

Wang Ping was struck dumb.

After all, how was she supposed to analyze this? Analyze his giant bird? Wang Ping could only shake his head and offer a vague explanation: "I tried using my internal Twenty-Four Gods to contain the Twenty-Four Qi of heaven and earth. But the result was just a forced analogy. The power isn't reliable, and it couldn't truly birth any transcendent mystical effects."

"The Twenty-Four Gods and the Twenty-Four Qi..."

Lian Ruzhao furrowed her brows. "How did you come up with that idea? Did that idiot Chenlong lead you astray? I knew he didn't know how to teach."

"Don't forget, the Twenty-Four Qi only represents the present state of things. The complete qi of heaven and earth consists of thirty streams. Just because the Great Rebellion eradicated them doesn't mean they never existed."

"Forcing a correspondence will naturally result in a flawed analogy."

"Unless you can find the remaining six body gods that I failed to discover, but that's highly unlikely."

At this point, Lian Ruzhao shook her head. "Regardless, it's always good to try. Maintain this mindset and just keep working hard."

"There's no need to rush."

Looking at her, a thought suddenly sprang to Wang Ping's mind, and he couldn't help but ask, "First Seat, now that you've broken through to Martial Sage, is your lifespan still restricted?"

"Why do you ask?"

Lian Ruzhao blinked, answering casually, "If I had to say, as long as my 'Self' doesn't waver, I should be able to live on indefinitely."

"But the same can't be said for others."

Hearing this, Wang Ping looked toward the four Great Grandmasters and instantly understood. Without a doubt, these four were already incredibly old by Mortal standards.

"This is my fault."

Lian Ruzhao sighed. "You should be able to tell that these four seniors are different from a Great Grandmaster like Chenlong. Their combat prowess rivals the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer."

"This combat power didn't come from nowhere; it is the result of shattering their destiny stars. Thanks to that, these seniors broke free from the shackles of destiny early. You can think of it as them taking the life tribulation that normally appears at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer and triggering it at the second layer, using it to break through their Realm."

"However, that was like pulling up seedlings to help them grow."

Lian Ruzhao shook her head. "The precious assistance from destiny was spent bridging the gap between the second and third layers, leaving nothing to help a Great Grandmaster break through to Martial Sage."

"It's not quite like that."

Nearby, Chan Master Longshu spoke in a low voice. "We are ultimately Mortals. In the torrent of destiny, we are as insignificant as dust. We hold no real weight at all."

"If cultivators are distinct currents within the torrent of destiny, each with a specific flow, then we are mere grains of sand. It was only because Little Zhao elevated the Martial Dao and added weight to our fates that we were able to transform from sand into reefs, barely gaining the qualifications to face a life tribulation."

"But that doesn't mean we could have used it to reach the Martial Sage realm."

"Because this kind of life tribulation is too weak. In the Immortal Dao's Qi Refining, a life tribulation that is too weak offers very limited help toward actually refining qi, right? I imagine the principles are universal."

"Therefore, I don't believe it was pulling up seedlings to help them grow."

"At least for pure martial artists, shattering the destiny star is the perfect step for the Great Grandmaster Rank. Breaking through to Martial Sage requires far too much assistance; Mortal fates likely just aren't enough."

"However..."

At this point, Chan Master Longshu turned to look at Wang Ping. "This Realm is likely quite useless to you. After all, you are also a cultivator."

As a cultivator, Wang Ping didn't have a destiny star at all; he only had a Kunpeng destiny form. The concept of shattering a destiny star simply wouldn't work for him.

'This is going to be difficult.'

Wang Ping couldn't help but scratch his head, but then he suddenly realized something. If he compared his martial arts cultivation to the Immortal Dao, he was actually only at the level of the Tribulation Transcending Second Layer.

The reason he was able to fight against the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer was initially due to the Heavenly Martial Campaign Profound Armor, and later because of the mystical enhancements of the Immortal Physique from Clasping Mountains and Leaping Seas. These were external conditions unique to him. The core essence of his status as a Martial Dao Great Grandmaster had never actually undergone a qualitative breakthrough.

'So that's it!'

Wang Ping suddenly understood. 'I was aiming too high. A Great Grandmaster equivalent to the Tribulation Transcending Second Layer shouldn't be dreaming about the Martial Sage realm, which rivals Qi Refining. I need to break through to the third layer first.'

For this step, the solution provided by the First Seat and the others was to shatter the destiny star.

However, he couldn't use that method.

'Is this the struggle of pioneering a new orthodox path? It's literally crossing a river by feeling the stones. Finding the optimal, universal method is incredibly important...'

Wang Ping couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

At this point, practicing martial arts had become even harder than immortal cultivation. But looking on the bright side, the greater the difficulty, the greater the resulting achievements would be.

With this thought, he quickly perked back up.

Unfortunately, time waited for no one.

The next second, a bright light descended from the sky. Mingde stepped out from within it, holding a treasure box in his hands. The moment he appeared, he spoke with a smile:

"Junior Brother Huashen!"

The Dao Child of the Zhaoming Realm handed over the treasure box and said, "This is the token of the Dao Lord you are to meet in the Grave Star Sand Sea."

"It also contains the cosmic map of the Grave Star Sand Sea."

"That Dao Lord's dojo is known as Wuwei. Junior brother, you can enter it with this token. After that, the Dao Lord will make arrangements for you."

Hearing this, Wang Ping accepted the treasure box, his expression somewhat complex.

How should he put it? Even though he was now a Xuan Yi Dao Child, someone with a True Monarch backing him, and Mingde's performance thus far had been excellent...

He still couldn't help but think:

'This thing isn't a trap, is it?'