Chapter 409: Wang Ping's Unique Interrogation Method

At this moment, understanding dawned on Wang Ping. The first choice of his life tribulation had arrived: should he tell Yi Xuangong about the momentous matter of killing the Master of Secret Traces?

‘If I tell him, Yi Xuangong will most likely turn hostile.’

‘In his eyes, the two qi of water and fire—especially fire qi—are entirely untrustworthy. Water and Fire in Equilibrium is a dead end, a pure trap.’

‘He would rather allow the dao field to be destroyed and take the path of Earth and Fire Mingyi.’

Of course, this was only the perspective of a lower cultivator. The problem lay with the figure behind Yi Xuangong—Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong. What were his thoughts?

Whether it was Water and Fire in Equilibrium or Earth and Fire Mingyi, these paths were profound secrets to lower cultivators like them, requiring various methods just to grasp. But to a Dao Lord, these risks were laid out plainly in the open. He should have long since decided which to choose and which to discard.

So, the question remained.

‘Why did the Dao Lord force me into this dilemma? He clearly knows everything, so what is he trying to learn through me?’

Water qi, fire qi, and earth qi.

Wang Ping fell into rare, deep thought. He tried to put himself in Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's shoes and examine the two extremes of heaven and earth placed before him.

One was the proposal of the water and fire qi, with the price being the death of the Master of Secret Traces. The other was the proposal of the Protector Courtyard's earth qi, with the price being the destruction of his own dao field. In terms of risk, the Protector Courtyard's proposal was undoubtedly better. After all, the destruction of the dao field only meant the death of a group of lower cultivators; he himself would remain completely unscathed.

But the problem was—

‘Is the Protector Courtyard trustworthy?’

At this thought, Wang Ping snapped his head up and looked at Yi Xuangong. "Senior, if I may ask, did the Dao Lord personally tell you to seek Earth and Fire Mingyi?"

Yi Xuangong frowned.

"...No."

After a brief silence, he lowered his voice. "When Xia Qinghou sought me out, he brought a verbal decree for the Dao Lord. I was merely present to hear it."

Wang Ping broke into a grin. "Just as I suspected... I understand now!"

Yi Xuangong: "???"

The dao field's sect master looked totally lost. I asked you what momentous matter you were planning, and you say you understand? What does that even mean?

Wang Ping had no intention of explaining, though the logic was actually quite simple. If the Protector Courtyard was truly trustworthy, a True Monarch would have stepped forward to speak directly, just as they had for the two qi of water and fire. Why would they entrust a verbal message to a lower cultivator? Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong was undoubtedly suspicious of this exact detail!

As for the verbal decree itself.

Such a thing was extremely flimsy. A True Monarch could pass down a verbal decree, but so could a True Person. Monarch versus Person—the gap between the two was massive.

This determined whether their assistance would be reliable when it mattered most.

‘So the Dao Lord's true intent was to use my hands to figure out if this Earth and Fire Mingyi was genuinely a path provided by the Protector Courtyard and the entirety of the earth qi.’

‘Or if this was solely the work of True Person Hanguang Danyang!’

Having figured this out, Wang Ping immediately lifted the Profound Obscurity Pot. He gently stroked its surface, and soon, the treasure pot brightened, revealing the scene within.

"Daoist Xia!"

Wang Ping chuckled softly. The murky light inside the pot rippled, faintly revealing Xia Qinghou's figure. He stood stiffly, refusing to say a word.

He knew that from the moment he was suppressed rather than killed, interrogation was inevitable.

In all honesty, he would have preferred it if Wang Ping had just killed him. He also cultivated Earthly Yin Water, which allowed communion with ghosts and deities—a field the Protector Courtyard excelled in.

Because of this, long before he had arrived, he had left behind a divine seed within the Protector Courtyard.

The moment he was killed, that divine seed would activate, resonate with the qi of heaven and earth, and resurrect him as a Dao Deity of the Protector Courtyard.

Under those circumstances, it would be impossible for him to be turned into a Yin Spirit.

If Wang Ping thought he could kill him and refine him into a Yin Spirit to force him to spill everything, he would be playing right into Xia Qinghou's hands, allowing him to easily escape. But now, it was clear that his captor's mastery over Earthly Yin Water was remarkably deep, which was why Wang Ping had chosen to suppress him rather than kill him.

‘Even so.’

‘He shouldn't even dream of prying a single word out of me!’ Xia Qinghou's expression remained perfectly calm. With his dignified status in Qi Refining, he could simply lock his sea of consciousness. Who could possibly force him to speak?

Rest assured, True Person. I will not say a thing!

He still held onto hope. After all, his ability to reincarnate as a Dao Deity depended on his performance. If he leaked secrets and ruined the grand plan, everything would be for naught.

"There's no need to be like this, Daoist."

Looking at Xia Qinghou, Wang Ping smiled. "I've already tested out the fact that you serve under True Person Hanguang Danyang. There's no need for you to confess it."

Xia Qinghou gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Wang Ping continued, "Let me think... Although you work under True Person Hanguang Danyang, you cultivate water qi instead of earth qi."

"That obviously doesn't make sense. Therefore, I suspect that before you came to the Star Grave Sand Sea, you weren't one of the True Person's direct subordinates yet. Rather, he specifically selected you because you cultivated Earthly Yin Water, converted you into a core subordinate, and bestowed the Slumbering Dragon karmic merit upon you. Only then does it make sense."

Xia Qinghou's expression shifted slightly.

Wang Ping studied this Qi Refining practitioner directly under True Person Hanguang Danyang and chuckled. "No need to deny it. If I'm saying it aloud, it means I'm absolutely certain."

"Because you're far too weak!"

Wang Ping paced around the grand hall, his footsteps echoing sharply.

"As a True Person's direct subordinate who possesses a karmic merit, even if you are inferior to me, you shouldn't have been completely helpless, lacking even the will to put up a fight."

"From this, it's clear you're a recent recruit who was forced into this role... So, why did True Person Hanguang Danyang single you out?"

"Just because you cultivate water qi?"

Wang Ping mused aloud as he spoke, then suddenly smiled.

"Furthermore, the karmic merit he gave you was Slumbering Dragon—a merit that, without knowing the details, could easily be mistaken as being related to water qi. He was clearly trying to frame someone."

"But this framing couldn't be directed at the dao field or the Dao Lord. Others might not see through your true allegiance, but how could a Dao Lord fail to notice? Therefore, this was a show for someone else—for the people outside the dao field, the ancient cultivators who came to besiege the Wuwei Buyi Dao Field."

"Why put on a show for them?"

"To make them believe the dao field was connected to water qi. That's right, you might not know this, but True Person Hanguang Danyang absolutely knew in advance that I was coming."

"This way, water qi could no longer remain hidden."

"However, before the Eight Trigrams Furnace incident, water qi had never actually taken action. Logically speaking, there was no need to guard against it so heavily."

At this point, Wang Ping clapped his hands loudly.

"Ah, I get it now!"

"You were sent here after the Eight Trigrams Furnace incident! You are a piece that the True Person reset on the board only after his schemes at the Eight Trigrams Furnace failed."

"..."

At this moment, Xia Qinghou was utterly lost.

‘Did I just say anything? I didn't, right?’

‘And shouldn't I be the one getting interrogated? Why is the guy in front of me doing all the talking? And after every few sentences, he claps his hands and acts like he just had an epiphany.’

‘What the hell is going on?’

"Yes, yes, exactly that expression." Wang Ping stroked his chin, looking at Xia Qinghou's stiff face. "If you don't speak, I'll just take it as your silent admission."

"So, here comes the question. Why would True Person Hanguang Danyang target water qi so heavily? True, water qi screwed him over at the Eight Trigrams Furnace, so it's normal for him to have his guard up. But compared to water qi, fire qi is the faction truly interfering with the Dao Lord. Why leave himself completely defenseless against fire qi?"

"Just to get revenge on water qi?"

Wang Ping shook his head. "No, that's not right. Even if that True Person wanted revenge on water qi, if the Protector Courtyard was the one laying out the entire scheme, how could they just let him act so recklessly?"

"Hmm? Could it be..."

As his voice trailed off, Wang Ping suddenly furrowed his brows.

Seeing this, Xia Qinghou felt he had to do something. He was terrified that Wang Ping would clap his hands again and blurt out his deepest, most hidden secret.

"You're overthinking it."

Xia Qinghou gritted his teeth. "It was just to pull a True Monarch to the Protector Courtyard's side, to the earth qi's side. Targeting water qi was simply out of fear that it would ruin the plan..."

"Wrong!"

Wang Ping shook his head. "The one truly interfering with the Dao Lord's path is fire qi. Compared to water qi, it would make much more sense to target fire qi. That excuse doesn't hold water."

At this thought, Wang Ping already had his answer.

The Master of Secret Traces!

‘In this entire affair, only the killing of the Master of Secret Traces is related to water qi. Therefore, True Person Hanguang Danyang's targeting of water qi is actually targeting this exact event.’

‘Furthermore, killing a Bodhisattva of the Brahma Nation carries massive benefits for True Person Hanguang Danyang. Killing an arhat previously caused his aura to surge significantly. If he assists this time and manages to kill a Bodhisattva, he will likely be able to attain the Mountain and Wind Gu and cultivate into a Supreme True Lord!’

So, looking at everything comprehensively:

The so-called schemes laid by the Protector Courtyard against the dao field brought practically no benefit to the earth qi. At the same time, the earth qi lacked sufficient motive to set up such a scheme.

However, from another perspective:

If this was solely the work of True Person Hanguang Danyang, then it was completely different. Not only did he have plenty of motive, but the benefits upon success were also massive.

"I can't be wrong."

At this thought, Wang Ping clapped his hands once again.

"You don't represent the Protector Courtyard at all, nor do you represent Earth and Fire Mingyi. This was actually just a path laid out by True Person Hanguang Danyang alone!"

"However... as a mere True Person, it would be impossible for him to participate in a scheme of this level while bypassing the sight of the True Monarchs of both water and fire qi. Therefore, he must have notified them in advance. It wouldn't have been water qi, seeing as they had a slight falling out over the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and since water qi is relatively sinister, he likely had his reservations."

"It is highly likely to be fire qi."

And True Person Hanguang Danyang's objective was to kill the Master of Secret Traces. Theoretically speaking, it didn't matter what Dao Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong cultivated.

"Therefore—Earth and Fire Mingyi isn't a path offered by earth qi at all. It is a path offered by fire qi, operating through the hands of True Person Hanguang Danyang under the guise of earth qi!"

"Whether it's Water and Fire in Equilibrium, or Earth and Fire Mingyi."

"Both are paths that fire qi wants the Dao Lord to take. So no matter which path the Dao Lord chooses, he will be playing right into fire qi's hands!"

Xia Qinghou was speechless.

He was absolutely dumbfounded!

‘What kind of interrogation is this?! True Person above, I swear I really didn't say a single thing!’