Chapter 391: Wang Ping Is Dead For Sure!

Outside the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Wang Ping had fled all the way here, with Jing Lang pursuing unhurriedly behind him, until Jing Lang finally caught sight of the magnificent secret realm rising slowly within the furnace.

“Hah!”

Jing Lang’s eyes brightened. Within the arc of light radiating from that secret realm, he seemed to see jade palaces and celestial pavilions—a vision steeped in the profound aura of worldly shifts and the relentless passage of time.

A secret realm of the Great Rebellion!

Even so, he forced himself to remain composed and did not attack rashly, not until a voice echoed in his ear: “It’s highly likely to be real. Don’t let him inside.”

Instantly, Jing Lang’s heart surged with excitement!

These words came from a True Person; they absolutely couldn’t be wrong.

At that thought, Jing Lang cast aside all restraint. He drew a stone sword from his sleeve, formed a hand seal, chanted an incantation, and slashed at Wang Ping from afar.

As the slash fell, the stone sword instantly transformed. Billowing wood qi sensed the aura of earth-yin water on Wang Ping’s body and swiftly rose into a color as deep and dark as an abyss. Bridging the Cosmos, it landed unerringly on Wang Ping’s position in the blink of an eye, swallowing his figure whole.

“Boom!”

This color was ultimate yin-earth qi. Shaped like a deep marsh capable of containing yin water, it was none other than earth-yin earth. The Nine-Marsh Obscure Demon-Suppressing Qi was the absolute bane of earth-yin water!

Wang Ping took the brunt of the radiance head-on.

His previously unhurried movements grew heavy and sluggish. The water qi magic power that had kept him free and elusive was continuously drained by the radiance, just like water sinking into a marsh.

Immediately after, Jing Lang drew out a silver awl.

“Bang!”

This time, an earth-shattering thunderclap echoed through the Cosmos. The searing light of lightning and fire tore across the deep void, instantly striking Wang Ping’s immobilized form.

Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Azure Thunder Qi.

Heaven-yang wood!

In stark contrast to the suppression of earth-yin earth, heaven-yang wood was born from earth-yin water. In theory, not only did the two not conflict, they should complement one another.

However, when wood qi became excessively robust while water qi was suppressed and weakened, this mutually generative relationship would flip into wood draining water qi, becoming incredibly dangerous.

Jing Lang timed this perfectly. He was a Qi Refining practitioner, whereas Wang Ping was merely a Corpse Dissolution Immortal. By comparison, his wood qi was undeniably overwhelming. At the same time, Wang Ping was pinned down by his earth-yin earth; with his water qi countered and at its weakest, this double-layered debilitation fit the exact pattern of wood draining water qi!

Seeing the lightning crash down...

Wang Ping didn’t try to take it head-on. His figure abruptly turned illusory and dissipated. With the Carefree Wandering in motion and the Kan Trigram reinforcing him, he sought to escape the danger zone.

Yet almost simultaneously, Jing Lang’s Daoic voice echoed through the Cosmos:

“Water naturally seeks to hide, and earth-yin water excels most at this path. Yet it finds itself countered by earth-yin earth, and further drained by heaven-yang wood qi. Thus arises the shift where water attempts to hide, only for wood to siphon it dry.”

A Daoic discourse!

In that instant, Wang Ping truly had nowhere to run. Jing Lang voiced the Daoic discourse while personally shaping the very pattern it described, pushing its might to the absolute limit.

“Boom!”

The howling thunder illuminated the deep void and sent shockwaves through the Cosmos. It smashed accurately into Wang Ping, causing him to stagger as his illusory figure was forced back into a solid state.

‘So this is Human Yin Wood...’

Adapting to Changes and Yielding for Wholeness Qi. Just as the name implied, as long as there was a corresponding medium, this qi could freely shift among the Twenty-Four Qi at will!

Jing Lang had successively drawn out two spiritual materials—the stone sword and the silver awl—which corresponded respectively to the Nine-Marsh Obscure Demon-Suppressing Qi and the Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Azure Thunder Qi. Shifting between them showcased the formidable power of the Adapting to Changes and Yielding for Wholeness Qi. As long as it was a qi of heaven and earth, it could shift to counter it.

Moreover, residing squarely in the human position of the Three Talents, it could not be countered itself.

Because it had virtually no natural predators, it remained the only dominant lineage of the wood qi tradition to this day. This was exactly why the wood qi tradition had fought so fiercely to preserve it in the past.

“Cough...”

Wang Ping stumbled amidst the lightning, feeling his magic power steadily wasting away beneath the cycle of generation and suppression. If this continued, he feared he would be trapped and ground down to death.

Realizing this, he instantly changed his form.

“Screech—!”

A piercing cry tore through the void, drowning out even the ceaseless peals of thunder. Following that, a dragon-kun breached the abyss, took flight, and morphed into a peng bird, its sky-obscuring wings snapping wide open.

Manifestation Through Borrowed Qi!

Fusing the form of a kunpeng with the Carefree Wandering, Wang Ping instantly pushed his profound arts to their peak. Hitting the absolute threshold, he finally broke out of Jing Lang’s encirclement.

Without pausing, the kunpeng flapped its wings in rapid succession. In a few flashes, Wang Ping hurtled furiously toward the Eight Trigrams Furnace, plunging straight for the secret realm.

“He wants to force his way into the Eight Trigrams Furnace?”

“He’s already a Corpse Dissolution Immortal. Is he not afraid of the Heaven’s Will Profound Blade?”

“It’s possible. If that really is a secret realm of the Great Rebellion, perhaps the Heaven’s Will Profound Blade won’t interfere... He wants to use the Eight Trigrams Furnace to hold us off.”

“Stop him!”

It wasn’t until this moment that most of the Qi Refining practitioners harboring designs on Wang Ping threw caution to the wind. After all, Jing Lang had delivered several heavy blows, and no one had stepped in to help Wang Ping.

Since that was the case, why should they hesitate?

A second later, Wang Ping watched a twelve-colored rainbow ignite across the Cosmos. A massive drum sat within the light, booming with a resonance that shook the Dao foundation.

Heaven-yang earth, the Sun-Dwelling Mysterious Rainbow Inconstant Qi.

The Drum of Purging Vice and Quelling Turmoil!

Wang Ping had previously seen the illusion of a True Person use this Spiritual Treasure inside the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode. However, limited by cultivation, the Spiritual Treasure hadn’t displayed its true might.

Now, wielded by a Qi Refining practitioner cultivating heaven-yang earth and struck with full force, it finally unleashed a power that stood head and shoulders above all other forms of qi. Every drumbeat pierced through the Cosmos, carrying a bizarre and profound force. Riding the waves of the drum was a resonant Daoic voice:

“The form of the kunpeng symbolizes the transition of plunging into the waters and riding the heavens.”

“The kun dives deep into the abyss; the peng mounts the sky to soar. It harbors concealment and evasion, but also brilliance and light. This perfectly aligns with the yin-yang changes of the Kan Trigram, allowing it to grasp its profundities.”

The Daoic discourse rode upon the drumbeats.

Amplified by the drum, the discourse’s ability to shake the Dao foundation spiked instantly. Pure words had achieved a terrifyingly real and tangible power!

‘What a terrifying Drum of Purging Vice and Quelling Turmoil!’

Despair washed over Wang Ping’s face.

Though they both used Daoic discourse, the cultivation of the heaven-yang earth Qi Refining practitioner before him was far inferior to Shasheng’s; the man couldn’t pinpoint the shifts of the Qian Trigram veiled within his destiny form.

And yet, augmented by the Drum of Purging Vice and Quelling Turmoil, the discourse commanded nearly the same devastating power as when Shasheng shook his Dao foundation with the Subduing Dragon Sanskrit. Under its influence, the colossal, sky-spanning form of the kunpeng suddenly lost its stable profundity, showing signs of disintegrating in just a few short breaths.

Witnessing this scene...

Outside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, three more figures of Qi Refining practitioners materialized in succession. The looks they cast at Wang Ping carried a clear mix of pity and lamentation.

Wang Ping was dead for sure.

Qi Refining practitioners under the command of two True Persons had joined forces to deal with a single Corpse Dissolution Immortal. Even if this Corpse Dissolution Immortal used to be a Dao Child, this was undeniably an excessive show of force.

Who could survive such an onslaught?

With this thought in mind, one of the three figures immediately stepped forward. With a mere thought, the void tore open, and a torrential heavenly river surged forth in an instant.

The Hanging River Endlessly Circulating Qi.

Heaven-yang water!

Just as the water qi tradition was not exclusively made up of water qi cultivators, not all water qi cultivators fell under the water qi tradition’s rule. The Immortal Gate had always been deeply interconnected, weaving everyone into a tangled web.

The Qi Refining practitioner making his move right now was exactly such a case. His name was Xie Yunzheng, known by the Dao title Tianhan. He belonged to the same generation as Tianxing and was quite a veteran Qi Refining practitioner. Unfortunately, his comprehension and background were vastly inferior to Tianxing’s. Thus, up to this day, he had only cultivated a single strain of qi, with no hope of breaking through to attain the Dao as a True Person.

Because of this, he had always wanted to find himself a powerful backer.

Yet he had no desire to join the universally despised water qi demonic path, aware he lacked the skills to survive there—nor did he possess anything that might catch the eye of a True Monarch.

Thus, he had dawdled his life away until now.

But right now, he had to consider whether this was his one and only chance in life. Contributing under the watchful gaze of a True Person would serve as a clear declaration of his stance.

If he missed this, he might never get another shot!

Thinking this, Tianhan took a deep breath and immediately moved to block Wang Ping’s path. Seeing someone else take the lead, the remaining two Qi Refining practitioners cast aside their hesitations.

“Boom!”

In an instant, two more streams of heaven and earth qi manifested.

One was none other than the Nine-Marsh Obscure Demon-Suppressing Qi, while the other was a rather rare strain known as the Concealed Brilliance and Nurturing Purity Depleted Storage Qi—an earth-yin metal qi.

They were all attacking!

In the distance, Jing Lang burst into roaring laughter at the sight. This was the inevitable tide of events; this was the Immortal Gate’s most common practice of kicking a man when he was down, of everyone gathering around and beating a dog that has fallen into water.

Five Qi Refining practitioners joining forces against a mere Corpse Dissolution Immortal who had lost the backing of the Water Qi True Monarch! Even if he was formidable, could he truly defy the heavens?

“Bastards... Don’t force my hand!”

Seeing this, Wang Ping seemed frantic. He gnashed his teeth and roared, “I’ve laid an inescapable trap inside the secret realm! This whole thing is a snare designed to slaughter you all!”

“The Heaven’s Will Profound Blade has long agreed to help me! Try me, and I’ll chop you all to death with a single strike!”

At his words, Jing Lang, who had pursued him all the way here, remained entirely unmoved. On the other hand, the three Qi Refining practitioners who had just stepped up to block Wang Ping’s path were startled.

After all, it didn’t matter to Jing Lang; he was trailing behind Wang Ping, so any misfortune wouldn’t land on him first. The three of them, however, were standing directly in front of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, with the Heaven’s Will Profound Blade right behind them. If the two really were colluding, catching a sudden blade to the back might not be fatal...

...but suffering an injury in an unequivocally victorious battle would be a massive loss.

Especially when it came time to divide the spoils after killing Wang Ping. If you were injured and lacked combat power, you couldn’t blame the others for bullying you into taking a smaller cut.

Hell, if you were severely wounded, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for them to just carve you up along with the loot—that was just how the Immortal Gate worked. One couldn’t afford not to be on guard!

Startled by the realization, the three immediately wavered.

The airtight blockade cracked open, creating a flaw that Wang Ping instantly seized upon. Igniting his Carefree Wandering, he slipped past the obstruction in the blink of an eye.

“Boom!”

He entered the Eight Trigrams Furnace!

“Clang!”

Almost at the exact same moment, the blade light of the Heaven’s Will Profound Blade flared up. Yet it wasn’t particularly bright—it was clearly holding back, allowing Wang Ping to speed unopposed toward the secret realm.

A second later, Wang Ping vanished into the secret realm.

The moment his front foot crossed the threshold, the Heaven’s Will Profound Blade actively extinguished its blade light. It didn’t launch a single strike, returning to its original cold, impassive state.

Seeing this play out, everyone who still harbored lingering doubts completely dispelled them.

It was absolute proof! This was definitely a secret realm left behind by the Great Rebellion!

Charge in!