Chapter 407: Evil Path of Fire

Inside the Wuwei Buyi Dao Field.

As Wang Ping gradually retracted the Innate Limitless Palm Imprint formed by the convergence of the five elements, the imprint shrank steadily, rapidly reducing from the scale of a star to the size of a mountain.

At the center of the palm imprint, a dim light vibrated faintly as it tried to break free. Yet, no matter how hard it struggled, it couldn't escape Wang Ping's grasp. He forcefully pressed it into the Yaoming Pot, using earth-yin earth to suppress earth-yin water. Finally, he slammed the stopper shut, sealing the entity completely inside.

"Hiss..."

When the many qi-ingesting practitioners in the dao field looked at Wang Ping again, their expressions had entirely changed. Their previously egalitarian gazes were now laced with sudden awe.

No wonder he was the reinforcement personally appointed by the Dao Lord.

He was truly extraordinary!

It was a good thing they hadn't engaged in a Dao debate with this man earlier. Otherwise, given this display of power, no matter how eloquently they spoke, he would have just slapped them in the face.

For a moment, a busybody even smiled and sent a voice transmission to the only double-fold qi-ingesting practitioner present.

"What do you think, brother? If you had been the one to step up just now, would you have been confident in taking down that immortal gate qi refining practitioner? It looks to me like Fellow Daoist Kunyun isn't any weaker than you."

"..."

Hearing this, Feng instinctively pondered the question. If he had stepped up, he naturally could have taken down the shadow as well, but he was a double-fold qi-ingesting practitioner after all.

Wang Ping's cultivation was clearly inferior to his own.

Reaching this thought, Feng quickly found his answer. "This Fellow Daoist Kunyun is indeed formidable, but his strength doesn't lie in his cultivation. It lies in that Spiritual Treasure."

He turned his gaze toward the profound ring behind Wang Ping's head.

"This treasure can commune with ghosts and gods, turning the dead to his own use. It would be one thing if there were only one or two, but there are a full six... It must have been bestowed by a mighty figure."

Six Qi Refining yin spirits weren't actually that impressive individually; their strength was quite limited. The terrifying part was all six attacking at once, with Wang Ping even able to assist from the sidelines. With a lineup like that, whether facing a qi refining, qi nourishing, or qi ingesting practitioner, it would be hard to find a worthy opponent within the first layer.

He could only chalk it up to the nature of water qi.

They either used a higher realm to bully a lower one, or used superior numbers to gang up on the few. If they weren't exploiting raw numbers, they were exploiting mechanics, making it absolutely clear they would never put themselves at a disadvantage.

'However... it isn't completely without a counter.'

As the saying went, there were no invincible Divine Powers in this world. Even great accomplishments had their flaws, let alone the profound mysteries of a single Spiritual Treasure. There was always a way to deal with it.

'Ultimately, these are still ghosts and gods. Their fundamental nature is clear. As long as one finds a Spiritual Treasure that counters ghosts and gods, dealing with them will yield twice the result with half the effort.'

Of course, in this day and age, such Spiritual Treasures were very rare. After all, when it came to suppressing ghosts and gods, one couldn't avoid mentioning the Great Rebellion, Human Yang Earth, and Origin-Governing Battle-Axe-Wielding Fate-Governing Qi. Unfortunately, after the destruction of the Great Rebellion, most of the Spiritual Treasures associated with this qi were damaged. Very few were left in the world.

But it was an idea, at least.

Meanwhile, the distant Wang Ping chuckled softly.

"My meager tricks have made a fool of myself before the Sect Master."

He stowed the Yaoming Pot before flying back to the Dao debate platform. Cupping his hands toward Yi Xuangong on the stage, he said, "I have apprehended this immortal gate spy."

"How does the Sect Master plan to deal with him?"

At this, Wang Ping's face filled with righteous indignation. "To tell you the truth, the people I hate most in my daily life are these qi refining practitioners of Biyang's."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Yi Xuangong finally spoke in a quiet voice, "Thank you for your assistance, Fellow Daoist. This person is most likely a demonic cultivator of water qi, which is how he managed to hide until now."

Saying this, he shot a pointed look at Wang Ping.

Yet Wang Ping remained completely unmoved. He even nodded and said, "The Sect Master is right. It is exactly this group of demonic cultivators who ruined the reputation of us water qi practitioners."

"Good and honest people like me are often thought to be sinister, venomous villains just because we cultivate earth-yin water. Tell me, Sect Master, isn't that an injustice?"

Seeing how thick-skinned Wang Ping was, Yi Xuangong lost all desire to continue the conversation. He simply shifted his gaze back to the Dao debate platform. "An immortal gate spy is a matter of grave importance... Junior Brother, continue hosting the debate. Fellow Daoist Kunyun, come with me. Let's have a good chat about how to handle this."

Hearing this, Wang Ping finally nodded with a beaming smile.

"Very well."

Immediately afterward, the two walked one after the other, soon arriving at the main hall in the center of the dao field. As soon as they entered, Yi Xuangong hastily sealed the interior from the outside.

Wang Ping, in turn, immediately pulled out the Nine-Nine Profound Art Immortal-Felling Sand.

"...There's no need for that, Fellow Daoist." Yi Xuangong's eye twitched slightly at the sight. "I merely wanted to prevent anyone from eavesdropping. I have no intention of trapping and killing you."

Wang Ping responded earnestly, "I naturally trust the Sect Master."

"That is good."

Yi Xuangong stealthily deactivated a killing array he had half-activated and sighed. "The demonic path of water qi truly lives up to its reputation. May I ask your true name, Fellow Daoist?"

"Kunyun."

"...I heard Xia Qinghou mention that you are the Dao Child of water qi, Fellow Daoist, and it seems your name isn't Kunyun," Yi Xuangong said, staring at Wang Ping with piercing eyes.

"He misremembered."

Wang Ping didn't bat an eye. Smiling, he said, "Senior can just call me Kunyun. Rather than focusing on me, perhaps Senior should give me an explanation regarding this fellow daoist?"

After speaking, he took out the Yaoming Pot once more.

Seeing this, Yi Xuangong let out a sigh. "His name is Xia Qinghou. He is a qi refining practitioner from the immortal gate's Protector Courtyard, who came here carrying the will of a True Person."

"What did he say to Senior? And what was your cooperation?" Wang Ping smiled. "Senior can trust me. After all, I was indeed personally appointed by the Dao Lord, and Senior has seen the token. Make no mistake, the Dao Lord and my lord have reached an agreement. I am here to help you."

"Help us?"

Hearing this, Yi Xuangong suddenly let out a cold sneer. "If Fellow Daoist truly wishes to help us, then stay out of this and watch this dao field be destroyed."

At those words, Wang Ping immediately frowned.

"Has Senior... betrayed us?"

"Absurd!" Yi Xuangong snapped his head up, golden fire seemingly burning in his bright eyes. Startled, Wang Ping hurriedly raised the Nine-Nine Profound Art Immortal-Felling Sand.

"...Hmph."

Looking at the Nine-Nine Profound Art Immortal-Felling Sand in Wang Ping's hand, Yi Xuangong regained his composure, yet he still insisted, "No one is more loyal than me."

"Countless years have passed."

"If I weren't loyal to the Dao Lord, I wouldn't have been the first to cultivate the Glowing Bank Willow back then, resulting in my cultivation stagnating without a sliver of progress to this day."

At this point, Yi Xuangong seemed to recall some past event, a deep contempt surfacing in his eyes. "Compared to me, those other four are the ones who should be spat upon. If not for them, how could the Dao Lord have remained heavily injured to this day, ultimately forced to abandon the Dao to cultivate the truth and seek an alternate path?"

"The other four..."

Wang Ping raised an eyebrow. "Brocade River Smoke, Sunken Valley Field, Trigram Staff Coin, Plentiful Forest Bell... Weren't these four profound mysteries left unmastered by anyone?"

Yi Xuangong glanced at him.

"You really did kill Luo Chang and the others, refining them into yin spirits?"

"Don't speak nonsense. I didn't. It's a pure misunderstanding," Wang Ping denied decisively, claiming he had gathered all this intelligence outside the dao field.

Yi Xuangong immediately said in an eerie tone, "Beat them to death first, then listen to their yin spirits talk, right? That's how water qi always gathers intelligence!"

Wang Ping: "..."

Sigh, Senior had blocked off every possible excuse. How was an outstanding junior like him supposed to operate now? The reputation of water qi had been completely ruined by this Biyang's crowd!

Left with no other choice, Wang Ping awkwardly changed the subject. "Senior mentioned the other four earlier. What did they do to leave the Dao Lord heavily injured to this day?"

"Hmph..."

Yi Xuangong shook his head. "What else could they have done? Naturally, they betrayed the Dao Lord. They took away all the profound mysteries, heavily damaging the dao lineage established by the Dao Lord."

"Took them away?"

Wang Ping was taken aback. What kind of betrayal could allow the four profound mysteries personally created by the Dao Lord to be taken away...? At that thought, a sudden guess formed in his mind.

"The Brahma Nation?"

Exactly. Only the Brahma Nation possessed such methods. Through their Brahma Dharma reincarnation, they could wash away a cultivator's original foundation, convert it for their own use, and integrate it into the Brahma Dharma.

"Correct, the Brahma Nation," Yi Xuangong continued. "Back when the Great Rebellion was destroyed, those four were lured in by the Master of Secret Traces. After being converted, they were taken to the Brahma Nation, taking the four profound mysteries with them. The Dao Lord's lineage suffered a grievous blow as a result, missing four out of five parts. Because of that, his severe injuries haven't healed for years."

"Even this final piece, the Glowing Bank Willow."

"The Master of Secret Traces has always coveted it as well. However, His Lordship has always refused to become an arhat under him, defending it to the death to this day. And the Master of Secret Traces seems to have his own misgivings too."

"Only because of this have both sides managed to live in peace."

"As for those four, after arriving in the Brahma Nation, they underwent a complete transformation and took on an entirely different appearance." Here, Yi Xuangong suddenly let out a cold sneer.

"But I'm sure you have seen them, Fellow Daoist. After all, those four are now quite famous in the Brahma Nation; there is hardly an immortal gate cultivator who doesn't know of them. Moreover, the profound mysteries they took away were revised by the Brahma Nation and are now orthodox dharmas practiced by countless people."

Four people, orthodox dharmas of the Brahma Nation, practiced by many... Ah.

Given that the explanation had gone this far, if Wang Ping still didn't realize it, he wouldn't deserve the title of water qi's Dao Child. "The Four Great Wisdom Kings of the Brahma Nation!?"

Yi Xuangong nodded.

"Brocade River Smoke became the Great Tara Wisdom King."

"Sunken Valley Field became the Great Golden Wheel Wisdom King."

"Trigram Staff Coin became the Great Joy Wisdom King."

"Plentiful Forest Bell became the Great Majesty King."

"I alone have defended the Glowing Bank Willow to the death, remaining by the Dao Lord's side for countless years to protect this dao field. If I am not loyal, then who is?"

Wang Ping gathered his thoughts upon hearing this. "Then why does Senior want the dao field to be destroyed?"

"Naturally, it is for the Dao Lord!"

Yi Xuangong sighed, his voice full of bitter pain.

"The Dao Lord contacted the fire qi, intending to use his own dao lineage to trigger the human yang fire. He wants to switch to cultivating the Li Trigram, abandoning the Dao to cultivate the truth. But how could the fire qi harbor any good intentions toward the Dao Lord?"

At this, he even cast a glance at Wang Ping.

"Of the immortal gate's five qi, only the water and fire qi were expelled from the Purple Tenuity Enclosure. The water qi is famous as a demonic path, but what do you think the fire qi is known for in this world?"

"The monster path!"

"The demonic path merely has a detestable style and has done too many evil deeds. But the monster path has completely deviated from the orthodox dharma! The crux of it is the human yang fire. This so-called qi of civilization and karma eats people. Furthermore, it specifically devours dao lineages to fuel its own growth. Its true essence is a peerless, gargantuan monster!"

"Take this Star Grave Sand Sea, for example."

Yi Xuangong's voice deepened. "This is the handiwork of the fire qi. After every transformation of the immortal dao, the fire qi seizes the opportunity to devour all the eliminated dao lineages until nothing remains."

"Then it tosses them aside like worn-out shoes."

"We are all just embers left behind after being burned by the fire qi. Fire is merely the surface. This sinister method hidden within is the true meaning of the Li Trigram—the ultimate yin within the yang!"

"If it hadn't failed to swallow the Living Buddha back then and instead been outsmarted by him—forcing it to spit out all its accumulated foundation of many years—the fire qi would probably be the number one power in the world today."