Chapter 427: Setting Another Killing Trap!

Watching the blood mist explode in midair, Jing Hua and Rui Yi hadn't yet reacted. Their first thought was, 'What kind of escape art is this?'

To transform into a cloud of blood mist and simply vanish.

It happened so fast that neither of them even saw it clearly. If they had blinked, they might have mistakenly believed the person had slammed into thin air and shattered his own physical body...

However, a miserable shriek quickly dragged them back to reality.

"Ah!"

Chang Jing's shrill scream tore through the blood mist. The freshly exploded mist rapidly converged, seemingly attempting to reconstruct his physical body, but it was too late.

Meanwhile, Wang Ping had already reached into his robes and pulled out a cinnabar script. He tossed it into the air and lowered his longbow. Taking a brush in one hand and supporting an inkstone with the other, he tapped the brush tip against the inkstone. Drawing up an arc of lightning, he gently laid the brush against the cinnabar script.

[Execute!]

In an instant, everyone present felt as though a calm reprimand had rung in their ears, like a crack of thunder rolling across the sky. Their faces were immediately illuminated by the flash.

Among them, Jing Hua, who hailed from the Radiant Clarity Realm, was the most knowledgeable. He recognized the origins of this thunderclap immediately, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Altar Thunder!?"

The Five Thunders of the Divine Firmament were an extremely exalted orthodoxy during the Great Rebellion era. Any one of them possessed infinite might, far surpassing ordinary lightning.

"I got off easy. I only heard the thunder..."

"That old fool Chang Jing is going to die!"

In that split second, Jing Hua was absolutely certain of Chang Jing's fate. Though Chang Jing was a beat slower, he had also recognized the origins of the Altar Thunder.

Alas, it was too late. That [Execute] character transformed into blazing lightning and slammed directly into the blood mist of his partially reconstructed body. It eradicated his life force and shook his dao foundation, forcing him to shift his foundation among his four qi manifestations. Yet he remained helpless, able only to watch as his dao foundation shattered inch by inch.

"Not even a Dao debate... how is this reasonable?"

Chang Jing's mind was almost entirely consumed by despair. If he had managed to escape this time, he might have found a way to temporarily suppress the injuries from the Altar Thunder.

But right now, a spiritual array covered them overhead!

It sealed the heavens and locked the earth, leaving nowhere to run. A great enemy glared like a tiger eyeing its prey before him. Unless his sect's Dao Child descended from the sky right this instant, no one could save him.

'I have no chance of survival!'

With that thought, he finally abandoned the idea of survival. Instead, he channeled all his divine sense, attempting to transmit a message to the outside world, to his Dao Child.

"Boom!"

A second later, the blood mist of Chang Jing's physical body was evaporated by the lightning fire. All of its profundities were swept clean, leaving only a streak of flowing light speeding toward the perimeter.

However, isolating the inside from the outside was what the Heaven-Sealing Earth-Locking Great Array did best. Strung across the sky, even Chang Jing himself couldn't have escaped it, let alone a simple message.

Thus, the flowing light traveled only a short distance into the array before it was frozen solid by a blockade of over a hundred array patterns. It failed to transmit a single word. Wang Ping didn't even cast a glance at it. The moment he killed Chang Jing, he turned his head, his scorching gaze landing on the remaining two.

"Oh no!"

In an instant, the two felt a chill shoot straight up to the crowns of their heads. Without any hesitation, they parted ways, fleeing in opposite directions.

Yi Xuangong's reaction was equally fast.

In the span of a spark, despite his heavy injuries, he channeled the Fluorescent Dike Willow. Rolling flame light acted as chains and locks, forcefully entangling the person closest to him—Rui Yi.

"Let go!"

Rui Yi instantly panicked.

He clearly saw that in this brief moment of delay, the young man in the distance had already drawn his bow and nocked an arrow again, aiming straight at him.

This time, it was Ever-Present Earth.

Rui Yi's scalp tingled with numbness. He had seen exactly how Chang Jing had been hit. Naturally, he realized the peril of his own situation.

'I cultivate the Earth-Yang Water's Origin-Containing Great Waves of the Vast Sea. This arrow carries the aspect of overlapping earth, likely possessing the ability to dry up water. It perfectly counters me... I can't block it. If I block it, I'll end up just like Chang Jing. But how do I dodge? This damned ancient cultivator is tangling with me, leaving me no room to maneuver!'

Of course, it wasn't as if he had no options at all.

He was, after all, a practitioner at the Qi Refining Second Layer. Even without the background of a True Person or a True Monarch, making him seem a bit impoverished, he still possessed trump cards. At the very least, he could drag things out a little longer.

But why should he?

From the corner of his eye, Rui Yi caught sight of Jing Hua in the distance. This bitch-born bastard... taking advantage of Rui Yi being locked on by the divine arrow, he was pouring all his strength into breaking the spiritual array sealing the area!

If things played out like this, he would fight for his life and exhaust his wealth to buy time, yet might not even escape. Instead, it was highly likely he would just be handing Jing Hua a free ticket out!

With this thought, Rui Yi made his decision.

"Thud!"

In front of everyone, Rui Yi dropped to his knees. Then, without any hesitation, he slammed his head heavily into the ground.

"Bang!"

In that instant, Rui Yi felt a chill on his scalp. It seemed the hair on his crown had been severed by an extremely sharp aura, missing him by a hair's breadth.

'Thank goodness... Thank goodness I knelt fast enough and kowtowed low enough!'

Rui Yi's mind was clear. He had smashed his head so hard that he broke the ground, cratering it an inch deep. Only because of this had he barely managed to dodge that terrifying arrow.

If not for that, the arrow wouldn't have just taken a patch of his hair; it would have pierced straight through his forehead, pinning his soul right above his sea of consciousness!

At this thought, Rui Yi didn't dare pause for even a moment. He hastily shouted, "My Lord, spare my life!"

"I am willing to surrender!"

As soon as these words came out, Wang Ping hardly reacted, but Jing Hua panicked. A dignified Qi Refining Second Layer practitioner, kneeling before the fight had even started?

He had originally calculated everything perfectly. As long as Rui Yi stalled for the time it took an incense stick to burn, he would be able to tear a hole in this Heaven-Sealing Earth-Locking Great Array and escape. He never imagined that Rui Yi wouldn't even fight, surrendering outright without the slightest trace of a Qi Refining practitioner's backbone.

'What a shameless thing!'

Rui Yi naturally felt Jing Hua's angry glare, but he paid it no mind. 'If I met it head-on, I'd be the unlucky one, while you'd get to escape.'

'Now that I've surrendered, the unlucky one is you!'

'Go ahead and curse me for kneeling fast. You're so great, you're so noble, you're a cultivator from the Radiant Clarity Realm. Now, even if you want to kneel, I doubt you'll get the chance.'

"My Lord, I will block him for you!"

Without any hesitation, Rui Yi deployed a divine power on the spot, whipping up a surging tide of water light that swept toward Jing Hua. He was incredibly proactive.

Meanwhile, Wang Ping remained noncommittal, though he didn't continue attacking Rui Yi. Instead, he pulled out a third divine arrow and nocked it. Drawing the bow to the shape of a full moon, he aimed it at Jing Hua. The arrowhead similarly condensed water light. This time, it was Profound Dark Water, which perfectly countered the fire qi Jing Hua cultivated.

"I..."

Seeing this, Jing Hua clenched his teeth, overwhelmed by helplessness. With Chang Jing's precedent right in front of him, he naturally understood that this divine arrow could only be dodged, not blocked.

"Swish!"

The arrow flew like the wind, arriving in front of Jing Hua in the blink of an eye. Seeing this, Jing Hua had no choice but to circulate his divine power, his figure rapidly fading into darkness.

Both the divine arrow and Rui Yi were easily left behind.

[Stellar Constellations Shedding Light on the Night Qi]

Heaven-Yin Fire!

This qi corresponded to the stars in the sky. It carried the aspect of the fading sun and returning stars; thus, it only became brilliant when night fell, shining gloriously as darkness approached. The more perilous the situation, the brighter its light could shine.

It contained the changes of the Kan Trigram.

Wang Ping saw it clearly. Water and fire, the Kan and Li trigrams, had since ancient times contained each other. They were the two most unique paths among the eight trigrams.

Just like how the qi manifestation of Earth-Yin Water, Hiding One's Light and Nurturing in Obscurity, ultimately had an aspect of brilliant display, the Heaven-Yin Fire qi manifestation Jing Hua unleashed now possessed the change of shining brightly while traversing danger. This allowed his figure to flicker like starlight, dodging the impending arrowhead at the critical moment.

However, it was unlike the true Kan Trigram.

The Heaven-Yin Fire's change of traversing danger only existed in darkness and night. Yet the alternation of day and night and the passage of time were ordained by heaven; after night fell, the break of dawn was inevitable.

Only the rotation of the two formed the Great Dao.

In short, when this method concealed the user to dodge an attack, they had to launch a counterattack to manifest brilliance. Only after completing one full rotation could they hide themselves again.

Thus, facing the hidden Jing Hua, Wang Ping wasn't in a hurry at all. He simply waited quietly for a moment. Sure enough, dark hues soon emerged above his head. Jing Hua stepped out from them, his hands forming a seal. Cupping a swirl of starlight in his palms, he prepared to hurl it violently at Wang Ping.

However, before he could strike.

A Token autonomously awakened and leaped up preemptively, blocking Jing Hua's path. Blazing lightning fire poured out from it like a ruptured dam.

[Thirty-Six Thunder Token]!

This Spiritual Treasure had originally suffered a massive reduction in power due to the extinction of the Altar Thunder. Now, however, Wang Ping had obtained a whole inkstone of Altar Thunder and unsparingly poured half of it into the Spiritual Treasure.

Empowered by the Altar Thunder, this Spiritual Treasure finally revealed its true marvel. Its lightning instantly illuminated more than half the sky.

[Descending Thunder]!

The dazzling lightning perfectly met Jing Hua, who had just been forced out of concealment. Having no other choice, he could only hurl the starlight art in his hands prematurely.

As a result, it shattered upon contact.

"Boom!"

The lightning effortlessly tore through the starlight, piercing straight into Jing Hua's dharma body. It transformed into golden snakes that slithered through his internal organs, his four limbs, and his hundreds of bones.

Jing Hua forcibly endured the pain and swallowed a mouthful of dharma blood laced with lightning. He was about to circulate the Heaven-Yin Fire again to slip back into the curtain of night. But just as the lightning struck him, Wang Ping seized the opportunity. Channeling Free and Unfettered Wandering, Wang Ping took a single step and arrived right in front of him. He raised a hand, and between his palm and fingers, a portal abruptly opened.

[Natural Splendor Heavenly Treasure Armory]!

The bright radiance of the metal qi first startled Jing Hua, then left him dazed... because he discovered that this divine power didn't seem to be for offensive purposes.

'What is the meaning of this?'

Before he could react, a cold glint flashed from within the armory's doors. By the time he registered it, it had already reached the center of his forehead.

The divine arrow, Profound Dark Water!

In an instant, Jing Hua's pupils constricted sharply, yet he completely couldn't understand it. 'How is this possible! This arrow can actually turn? How could it possess such a change!'

Any bow-and-arrow-type Spiritual Treasure condensed its might into a single shot, always focusing on a trajectory of no return. The more extreme this concept was, the stronger its power, making it all the more impossible for it to turn or adapt. If an arrow could turn, it would inevitably be an inferior one in terms of power.

Yet the scene before his eyes shattered Jing Hua's understanding.

He had just dodged the Profound Dark Water. Even if it were to strike again, the shooter would have had to draw the bow and nock the arrow once more. How could there be any logic in it turning a corner and flying back?

Even taking a massive step back, if it did fly back, the concept of 'no return' had been broken, so its might should have plummeted. Yet the truth was... the divine arrow remained just as sharp!

'Why?'

Jing Hua had no time to think further, because the Profound Dark Water had already struck the center of his forehead. Immediately after, the water qi on the arrowhead detonated inside his sea of consciousness.

In this moment, it felt as if a basin of cold water had been dumped over his head. The four Heaven-Yin Fire qi manifestations extinguished with a boom, rendering his divine powers and dharma power completely unusable. He could only watch helplessly as the [Execute] cinnabar script that had killed Chang Jing earlier reappeared. Rolling with Altar Thunder, it pressed flawlessly onto his chest.

Reaching this point, Jing Hua actually made peace with it.

"I've suffered a crushing defeat."

He did not fear death. After all, his true spirit was safeguarded by profundities within the Radiant Clarity Realm. Even if he died, he could be resurrected; at worst, his cultivation would suffer some damage.

Therefore, on the verge of death, he actually felt a bit of admiration for the 'Kunyun' before him. Not only was his dao attainment absurdly high, but his mastery over the Altar Thunder was also incredibly sublime.

To tell the truth, he had initially suspected this was the Dao Child of Water Qi's Deity Transformation in disguise. Now, however, he had changed his mind. From beginning to end, this person hadn't used a single demonic divine power of the water qi. Instead, he forced kills using a tome of lightning. It was domineering and forceful, completely unlike the style of the water qi.

Instead, it looked a bit like metal qi.

After all, the portal from just now was extremely similar to the Divine Weapon Courtyard's infamous Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary... Thinking it over, this didn't seem out of place at all.

Because, as far as he knew, Kunyun was Tianxing's disciple.

And Tianxing was the Divine Weapon Courtyard's metal qi Dao Child.

With such a karmic tie, it was perfectly reasonable for Kunyun to be able to wield the Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary. If anything, it would be suspicious if he couldn't.

'I understand now. He didn't alter the divine arrow's trajectory or force it to turn. Instead, he directly warped the space in its path. He used that portal to store the arrow first, then opened it right in front of me. Throughout the entire process, that divine arrow was actually flying in a straight line behind the doors...'

His thoughts abruptly cut off here.

"Boom!"

The [Execute] cinnabar script detonated on his chest, eradicating his life force. Jing Hua's body collapsed just like that, scattering into a sky full of starlight and a ground covered in fractured glazed glass.

Not far away, Rui Yi watched with a tingling scalp. He knew Jing Hua's strength well; a Qi Refinement First Layer practitioner with four qi manifestations was absolutely not weak.

Combined with his origins in the Radiant Clarity Realm and his True Monarch background—even if he wasn't a direct-line Dao Child—his dao attainment and divine powers were a cut above the equally four-manifestation but aging Chang Jing. Yet, in the hands of this 'Kunyun', he was effortlessly slain in just a few short moves.

He didn't even use a Dao debate!

Even factoring in the borrowed might of strange treasures, this level of combat prowess was still an absolute crushing mismatch. It made Rui Yi unable to stop himself from muttering inwardly.

'This guy... exactly how many qi manifestations has he cultivated?'

'Could he have perfected five manifestations?'

'But judging by his aura, he should still be quite young. He's brimming with vitality. Perfecting five qi manifestations at such a young age—just how immense of an opportunity did he acquire?'

A second later, Rui Yi saw the young man retrieve the five divine arrows he had shot earlier and stow them in his quiver. He then turned around, looking at Rui Yi with a warm, friendly gaze.

"Brother Rui Yi!"

The young man strode forward and clapped Rui Yi heavily on the shoulder, looking thoroughly delighted. "Brother Rui Yi, I am very gratified that you are willing to forsake darkness for the light."

Rui Yi felt somewhat overwhelmed by the sudden favor and hastily lowered his head. "My Lord praises me too highly..."

"Why call me 'My Lord'? It sounds too distant!" the youth laughed. "We hit it off right away! In my heart, I already view Brother Rui Yi as a sworn brother I'd trust with my life!"

Hearing this, Rui Yi's face was filled with surprise.

To be honest, if this had been someone who cultivated water qi, he would have already run away by now. However, this man specialized in commanding lightning, so he should naturally have a straightforward and bold personality...

"Thud."

Before Rui Yi could finish his thought, the world before his eyes suddenly began to spin. It finally landed heavily on the ground. Throughout the entire process, he hadn't even managed to react.

'Eh, how did my head fall to the ground?'

A second later, having been decapitated by Wang Ping, Rui Yi's disembodied head received the exact same treatment. He was suppressed and sent in to keep Hengxu company.

It wasn't that he didn't want to kill Rui Yi. After all, Immortal Gate Qi Refining practitioners were habitually two-faced and double-dealing, and this one even cultivated water qi. He absolutely didn't believe the man's surrender.

The problem was, he couldn't kill him.

Compared to Chang Jing and Jing Hua, although Rui Yi's combat strength was roughly the same, he possessed a crucial advantage that the other two lacked.

He was a Qi Refining Second Layer practitioner.

At the Qi Refining Second Layer, one formed their own unique definitions for the qi manifestations of the world's qi. Their dao foundations were incredibly firm, causing the difficulty of killing them to instantly soar by several tiers.

Of course, it wasn't impossible to kill him if he really tried, but it would take a very long time. Even with Wang Ping's current combat prowess, it would take at least a month to completely eradicate Rui Yi's life force. Rather than waste time on that, it was better to suppress him like Hengxu and figure something out later.

"Phew..."

After finishing all this, Wang Ping exhaled a long breath of turbid air. He felt the Little Abundance Study within his Divine Intent become completely stuffed by the results of this grand battle.

Three Qi Refining practitioners: two dead, one injured.

An unquestionable, massive victory!

This was tremendously beneficial to his Little Abundance Study, so much so that even the Great Abundance Scripture showed signs of rising. It was no longer far from his envisioned innate state.

"However... it's still not enough!"

Wang Ping looked at his hand. On the fingers that had just drawn the bowstring, a series of fine, golden cracks had appeared. This was a physical injury.

With the arrow that heavily injured Jing Hua, although he hadn't revealed a single water qi divine power, he had secretly pushed his dharma power to its absolute limit. That arrow's might had firmly broken through to the first heaven tier. While the effect was stellar, the price was similarly steep; the most direct repercussion was that his physical body could hardly sustain it.

This made him even more eager to perfect his dharma body path.

After all, according to [Break]'s explanation, only by reaching a constant combat strength of breaking the first heaven would he have a chance to forcibly withstand the backlash and perfect nine qi manifestations.

In other words, his Little Abundance Study was still starving with thirst. He needed more victories before his Great Abundance Scripture could shed its mortal shell and transform.

Reining in his thoughts, Wang Ping shifted his gaze.

With only Yi Xuangong left, there was no need to keep pretending. The Profound One Calamity-Crossing Ring emerged, and the rolling waters of the Yellow Springs rapidly surged toward the corpses of Jing Hua and Chang Jing.

A moment later, a figure stood up from within the Yellow Springs.

It was Chang Jing.

On the other side, Jing Hua's figure also showed signs of standing up, but it ultimately disintegrated. Clearly, his true spirit had been forcefully snatched away by another profundity.

"A resurrection art, huh."

Seeing this, Wang Ping didn't feel surprised at all. After all, Jing Hua was a Qi Refining practitioner from the Radiant Clarity Realm with a True Monarch at his back. It was completely normal for him to possess a resurrection method.

A second later, Wang Ping glanced sideways.

He saw Yi Xuangong pacing over. Having been besieged by three Qi Refining practitioners and successively suffering heavy wounds, the dao field headmaster's aura was exceedingly feeble.

Without waiting for Wang Ping to speak, he preemptively said, "I plan to kill myself. Once my true spirit returns to the dao field, I will resurrect. There is no point in staying here any longer."

Wang Ping opened his mouth, marveling inwardly at how seasoned veterans were truly seasoned veterans. Knowing that Wang Ping wouldn't possibly let him leave this place freely, Yi Xuangong took the initiative to commit suicide.

This way, both sides retained their dignity without tearing away all pretenses.

Thinking this over, Wang Ping cupped his hands. "Thank you, Senior."

Yi Xuangong shook his head and fell silent for a moment. Then, under Wang Ping's curious gaze, he spoke faintly, "Do not rely too heavily on resurrection arts."

"...Hm?"

Ignoring Wang Ping's changing expression, Yi Xuangong continued, "After you left, I specially divined your experiences. You are indeed very formidable."

"But you have one flaw."

I don't know what method you use to resurrect, but there is no such thing as an unsolvable divine power in this world. No matter how advanced a resurrection method is, there are always ways to counter it."

At this point, Yi Xuangong's voice deepened. "At the very least, as far as I know, those at the True Monarch level can use extreme cosmic nodes to utterly erase a person's existence from the entire Cosmic Deep Space. When that happens, no matter how many resurrection methods you have, you will die instantly upon returning to life."

"Not even reincarnation will accept you."

Your true spirit will be viewed as an alien entity by the heavens and earth. Not only will they refuse to aid your reincarnation and rebirth, but they will actively target you until you die completely."

Among the ancient cultivators, a major figure died exactly like this."

"...Who?"

"The Crown Prince of the Great Rebellion."

Facing Wang Ping's inquiry, Yi Xuangong pointed at the Heaven-Presenting Hall behind him. "The records are all inside. If you go in, you'll see the corresponding cinnabar scripts."

That Crown Prince was a direct descendant of the Human Emperor. He cultivated the Human Yang Earth's Origin-Governing Battle-Axe-Wielding Fate-Governing Qi and was incredibly skilled at resurrection arts. Not to mention, he had the Human Emperor's protection and a track record of successfully faking his death to escape from a True Person. But in the end, a True Monarch personally took action and thoroughly erased him from the world."

"Even the Human Emperor couldn't save him."

Because the True Monarch who erased him directly secluded himself away from the world right after. Without locating the corresponding extreme cosmic nodes, it was forever impossible for the Crown Prince to resurrect."

"The same goes for you."

Do not rely too heavily on resurrection arts, thinking you can use fake deaths to escape and survive your life tribulations... Your primary goal should still be to stay alive."

His piece was said.

Yi Xuangong concealed his expression and said no more. He detonated his dharma body. Without a sound, its brilliance scattered into the surrounding heaven and earth.

Wang Ping was left alone, standing in place with a solemn expression.

'Resurrection arts might not necessarily work against True Monarchs...'

Truth be told, he was a bit uncertain.

Because the Outer Heavenly Demon's resurrection was different from others; its tier was obviously extremely high. A True Monarch could suppress others' resurrections, but they couldn't necessarily suppress his.

However, the Taiping Sutra usually acted far too unreliably. It couldn't even rewind time. To be honest, it was very hard for him to foster any sense of trust in it.

Looking at it from this angle, Yi Xuangong was absolutely right. Committing suicide to run away was a desperate gamble; striving to stay alive should always be his primary objective.

With that in mind, Wang Ping stopped agonizing over it.

After all, compared to these matters, the opportunity in front of him was slightly more important. Once Jing Hua successfully resurrected, the events here definitely wouldn't remain hidden from the fire qi cultivators.

"I need to end this fast!"

Wang Ping's figure flashed, and he quickly entered the Heaven-Presenting Hall. Unlike the Shiyang Temple, this hall had been through a massive battle and was practically reduced to ruins.

Most of the valuable spiritual materials had been smashed.

"What a reckless waste of good things."

Wang Ping shook his head repeatedly as he looked around. After making another lap, guided by the senses of the Thirty-Six Thunder Token, he successfully located the teleportation array in the rear hall.

The array itself was extremely hidden. If not for the Thirty-Six Thunder Token resonating with it, it likely wouldn't have appeared at all. Beyond that, it was also unusually sturdy. The moment Wang Ping tried to approach, the array automatically manifested a golden lock to block him out. Without breaking it, there was no way to enter.

"[Guanyuan Golden Lock]."

Very clearly, this was also a Spiritual Treasure, and of a very high grade. After carefully sensing it for a moment, Wang Ping quickly detected a familiar qi manifestation on it.

"It's Earth-Yin Metal."

[Embracing Brilliance Concealing Purity Storing Qi]!

No wonder it requires the spiritual fire from the Pixiang Golden Lamp to burn through this lock. Earth-Yin Fire counters Earth-Yin Metal. This is the very nature of generation and restriction among the qi of heaven and earth."

Comprehension dawned in Wang Ping's heart. Following that, he took out the Pixiang Golden Lamp.

The golden lamp was dazzling. A speck of blazing white radiance constantly flickered and swayed on the wick. It looked exceptionally gentle, yet Wang Ping sensed an intense crisis coming from it.

'In the past, this Profound Yang Overarching Fire might indeed have been wielded like an extension of one's arm. However, the lantern-bearer of the Shiyang Temple has died now. The spiritual fire is ownerless. At this moment, it is likely already furious to the extreme, only remaining docile because it is bound by the golden lamp. If the golden lamp breaks, a fire calamity will inevitably ensue.'

He stepped forward slowly.

Wang Ping placed the Pixiang Golden Lamp directly beneath the [Guanyuan Golden Lock]. He then circulated his dharma power, fanning the spiritual fire. The golden lock's light instantly began to flicker.

Soon, a crisp crack rang out.

"Crack!"

The spiritual fire raged. The blazing white radiance burned the [Guanyuan Golden Lock] in half from the center before it shattered, causing its corresponding profundity to quietly dissipate.

"Restricted only to this spot."

Wang Ping evaluated the shattered [Guanyuan Golden Lock], not relaxing his guard in the slightest. 'This lock can recover. It will reconnect in about half an hour.'

'Furthermore, while the [Guanyuan Golden Lock] here has been broken, the one on the main hall's front doors remains sturdy. More importantly, this lock is situated on the outside. Once a person enters, if they fail to come out immediately, they will have no way to burn through it from the inside once it recovers.'

In other words...

Even if he burned through the [Guanyuan Golden Lock], his time to explore the main hall of the Incense-Draped Hall would be very limited. If he was delayed by even a moment, he could be trapped and doomed to die!

"Too dangerous."

At this thought, Wang Ping felt it wasn't too feasible to risk himself personally. He simply formed a hand seal, leaving his physical body where it was while separating out a body of pure qi.

[Ascending Purity and Descending Turbidity Aspect]!

His turbid body housed his life force and remained safely outside, while the pure aspect went ahead to scout the way. That way, if there really was any danger, he could respond in a timely manner.

Since you're just scouting, there's no need to bring Spiritual Treasures or anything. You can go in empty-handed," he muttered.

With that said, Wang Ping directly stripped off the Heavenly Martial Campaign Profound Armor, the Pixiang Golden Lamp, and various other precious items, then equipped them all onto his turbid body.

"Let's go!"

The stark naked pure aspect stood within the array just like that. Soon, a sensation of weightlessness washed over Wang Ping's mind, and the world before his eyes violently transformed.

Entering his vision was a palace.

It was magnificent and majestic, yet displayed an inexplicable tranquility. Like a bug sealed in amber, everything had been frozen at a specific moment in time.

"This is...!?"

In an instant, Wang Ping's pupils shrank sharply. His divine sense clearly detected an extremely dense aura of incense scrambling madly as it surged right at him!

In other parts of the Incense-Draped Hall, while the incense aura was robust and capable of suppressing a Qi Refining practitioner's dharma power and divine sense, that suppression was taken a step further in this main hall. It couldn't even be called suppression anymore, but replacement. The terrifying incense aura wanted to directly cleanse his meridians and wash his marrow!

"Hiss..."

Wang Ping drew in a sharp breath of cold air. He watched helplessly as the incense aura uncontrollably merged into his pure qi body, causing his figure to gradually solidify.

'What formidable incense!'

'If one's cultivation were even slightly lacking and they couldn't withstand it, it would immediately wash away all of their cultivation. They would then be reduced to becoming one of the incense heroic-spirit statues in this hall!'

Wang Ping surveyed his surroundings and noticed quite a few statues inside the hall. Each one was incredibly lifelike, clearly having been transformed from living people. To suffer such a fate, they were highly likely cultivators who had entered the Heaven Defiance Palace in previous openings. Back then, the Incense-Draped Hall had not yet separated from the Heaven Defiance Palace.

As for how they got in...

He could only say that there were no unbreakable profundities in the world. Although the [Guanyuan Golden Lock] was formidable, even without the Pixiang Golden Lamp, it wasn't necessarily impossible to break.

The reason he used the Pixiang Golden Lamp was simply because it was the easiest and fastest method.

Without a doubt, it was the best method to open the lock. Because it adhered to the established rules, it wouldn't leave hidden dangers behind, but it couldn't possibly be the sole method.

With this thought, Wang Ping immediately composed his heart and calmed his qi.

He pushed the gentleman should hide his implements at the right time to its utmost limit. Paired with Free and Unfettered Wandering, he blocked all the incense aura outside his body, avoiding any further corrosion.

As for the depletion of dharma power, with the Great Ravine of No Return constantly providing an inexhaustible supply, it wasn't much of a problem for Wang Ping.

Next, he headed straight into the depths of the palace.

Unlike the dazzling array of Spiritual Treasures Wang Ping had imagined before arriving, there was absolutely nothing in the enormous main hall of the Incense-Draped Hall.

Until a second later, when Wang Ping reached the very depths of the palace.

"...!!!"

In an instant, Wang Ping's breathing stopped.

Because 'that thing' was standing in the middle of the palace, taking up more than half the hall. It radiated extreme oppression, its eyes shut tightly as if it were sound asleep.

It was a supremely mighty gargantuan demon, fully the size of a mountain. Its four limbs were tucked underneath its body, and its towering head rested gently on its front paws. Its mane was scattered across the floor, fangs poking out from its lips. Despite possessing a vicious and malevolent visage, it inexplicably exuded a peaceful and serene expression.

'A corpse?'

Wang Ping looked intently and recognized the true identity of this giant demon. Without a doubt, it was the Heavenly Roar kept in the Incense-Draped Hall that Hengxu had mentioned earlier.

The question was: was it dead or alive?

Wang Ping didn't approach, nor did he even send his divine sense over. Observing from afar, he felt that beneath the seemingly dried-up corpse, a torrential amount of life force was actually surging.

Following that, he looked at the object the Heavenly Roar gripped in its mouth—it was an arrow magnified countless times. Rather than an arrow, it was more like a heavenly pillar. One end bore golden-radiant fletchings, while the arrowhead on the other end was the exact source of the boundless incense aura within the palace.

[Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Arrowhead]!

This True Monarch's Dao-proving treasure, as mentioned by Hengxu, was currently being clamped tightly by the Heavenly Roar's jaws, yet it showed zero resistance. This proved there was an eighty-percent chance the Heavenly Roar could activate this treasure.

'Incredible...'

Wang Ping bravely stepped forward and continued observing carefully. Only after another moment did he finally pinpoint the source of the Heavenly Roar's surging life force.

It was an egg densely covered in profound runes, intimately connected to the Heavenly Roar's corpse. Over seventy percent of the surging vitality inside the corpse originated from this profound egg.

'A Profound Pheasant?'

Wang Ping suddenly understood, and a theory formed in his mind:

'When the Great Rebellion fell and the Five Thunders Divine Firmament Office was destroyed, the Heavenly Roar must have been heavily injured—perhaps even on the verge of death. It barely managed to flee back to the Incense-Draped Hall.'

'As an auspicious beast, the Profound Pheasant wouldn't have gone out to war, so it remained unharmed. Seeing that the Heavenly Roar was about to die, it must have found a way to link its own life force to the Heavenly Roar. It first put the Heavenly Roar into a state of suspended animation to ensure its vitality wouldn't drain away, and then used itself to feed the Heavenly Roar, attempting to save it...'

Judging by the outcome, it had highly likely succeeded.

'The Profound Pheasant is immortal; its life force is nearly limitless. After tens of thousands of years of nourishment, no matter how severe the Heavenly Roar's injuries were back then, they definitely must have healed by now.'

'However... this place is too unique.'

Wang Ping looked around, enlightenment dawning on him. 'Before this, the Incense-Draped Hall was always together with the Heaven Defiance Palace, so it was frozen in time.'

Because of this, the Heavenly Roar and Profound Pheasant had always been slumbering.

Now, however, the Incense-Draped Hall had fallen away from the Heaven Defiance Palace, severing the connection between the two. Therefore, the profundities of the Heaven Defiance Palace were rapidly dissipating.

In other words:

These two giant demons were waking up at a speed visible to the naked eye... This place wasn't some land of opportunity at all; it was a deadly trap of the utmost peril!

A Heavenly Roar in its prime was absolutely a Qi Consumption Third Layer giant demon. More importantly, Wang Ping couldn't sense any concept of a sun setting beyond the western hills coming from its body.

Under normal circumstances, after the Dao struggle, all ancient cultivators should possess such a concept. Rejected by the current qi of heaven and earth, they were forced to submit and hide among the remnants of the world's qi in the Star Grave Sand Sea. The result was that a former Qi Consumption Third Layer expert might not even be able to defeat a Qi Refinement First Layer practitioner now.

Yet the Heavenly Roar was different.

Wang Ping was one hundred percent certain that this ferocious beast was still at the absolute peak of the Qi Consumption era's prosperity! It was fully capable of fighting a Qi Refinement Third Layer practitioner!

'How is that possible?'

'Is it because of that Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Arrowhead?'

Wang Ping's scalp tingled. Vaguely, the sense of crisis transmitted by Free and Unfettered Wandering was growing heavier and heavier. Clearly, the Heavenly Roar was getting closer and closer to awakening!

He even suspected that if he got just a bit closer or actively attacked the Heavenly Roar, this giant demon from the Great Rebellion era would instantly wake up. When that happened, he definitely wouldn't be able to keep this pure aspect, and every Qi Refining practitioner in the Incense-Draped Hall would likely be in danger...

'...Hm?'

Suddenly, Wang Ping narrowed his eyes.

'Wait a minute. What do the Qi Refining practitioners being in danger have to do with me? Aren't I here to hunt them down? I should be saying, the more of them that die, the better.'

Wang Ping's eyes lit up brightly!

'That's right, a deadly trap. A deadly trap is perfect! If I can trick the people outside into coming in here and trap them to death, forcing them into a life-and-death battle with the Heavenly Roar...'

The outcome would inevitably be that when the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman reaps the benefit!

At this thought, Wang Ping's brain instantly began to process rapidly. Countless conspiracies and plots flashed through his eyes. Sifting through the dross to extract the essence, they finally culminated into a single thought: 'This is workable!'

According to his calculations, as long as he handled it reasonably well, it was entirely possible to trick all the Qi Refining practitioners who had come seeking opportunities into the main hall of the Incense-Draped Hall.

And then, borrowing the Heavenly Roar's hands, bury them all in one fell swoop!

When that time came, he would definitely be able to thoroughly perfect the innate state and bring his physical body up to standard, thereby achieving a constant combat strength of breaking the first heaven!

Humans and demons slaughtering each other, immortal cultivators dying violently—it truly sounded like music to his ears!

With this thought, Wang Ping immediately withdrew his consciousness. To avoid the profundities of the array's operation disturbing the Heavenly Roar, he didn't even have his pure aspect return via the array.

Instead, he let the incense aura wash over it, allowing it to transform into one of the heroic-spirit statues in the main hall. Following that, he extracted his consciousness and returned entirely to his main turbid body.

"Phew..."

Within the Heaven-Presenting Hall, Wang Ping's turbid body opened its eyes. The Great Ravine of No Return circulated, continuously extracting majestic dharma power from the water qi transformations.

Next, this abundant dharma power bred a new pure qi body within his turbid body. In less than fifteen minutes, he had fully recovered.

Without pausing, Wang Ping floated out of the Heaven-Presenting Hall. He then looked at the Heaven-Sealing Earth-Locking Great Array set up around him. With a wave of his hand, he pulled out a streak of flowing light that had been firmly sealed within the array. It was precisely the message Chang Jing had poured his life into trying to send before he died.

Its contents were sparse, bearing only a few scant words:

[Kunyun is the heir to the Great Rebellion!]

"...This is far too brief."

Seeing this, Wang Ping shook his head. He then waved his hand, and Chang Jing—who had already joined the big, happy family of yin spirits—emerged, standing respectfully at his side.

"Change it a bit. Add more details."

Soon, under Yin Spirit Chang Jing's handiwork, a few more words were added to the message: [Kunyun is the heir to the Great Rebellion, and he has obtained a monumental opportunity within the Incense-Draped Hall!]

"Hmm... it lacks a bit of punch."

After pondering for a moment, Wang Ping split off a wisp of divine sense and entered the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron. Once again, he found Hengxu, who was hurling curses inside the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven.

"Brother Hengxu!"

Wang Ping waved cordially, then got straight to the point. "Do you have a secret communication art? Can I borrow it? I plan to send some information out."

Preferably something highly recognizable, something that makes people realize at a glance that it's you sending the message."

"...Communication?" Hearing this, Hengxu was stunned at first, but then he frowned. "What do you need that for? What kind of message are you trying to send?"

"Just this short passage."

Wang Ping didn't hide anything and directly handed over the draft he had written:

[There is a great opportunity inside the Incense-Draped Hall! It is the Dao-proving weapon of 'True Monarch Heavenly Banner of Pardon'! Kunyun possesses the Thirty-Six Thunder Token and has a massive chance of seizing it!]

"Are you crazy!?"

Hengxu's face was filled with shock. He originally thought Wang Ping was planning to scam people, but good lord, there wasn't a single lie in this message! It was completely genuine intelligence!

"Don't worry about it."

Wang Ping waved his hand. "Brother Hengxu, just tell me, will you give me your communication method or not? We are sworn brothers who'd die for each other. You wouldn't refuse to help me with this tiny favor, right?"

"If you don't help, you aren't my brother!"

Hengxu: ...

After a moment of silence, Hengxu gritted his teeth and said, "On the left side of my sea of consciousness, I'll open up a portion for you. There is a divine talisman inside used for sending messages."

"It's highly recognizable. It can prove that the sender is me."

He had figured it out.

He was already so unlucky, reduced to a prisoner of a water qi cultivator. Why should Dao Children like Mingde and Chen Yuanfu get to roam freely outside and scoop up all the benefits?

It was unfair!

Operating on the Immortal Gate's principle of 'if you can't accomplish something, you absolutely must ruin it,' since he couldn't get the opportunity himself, he had to at least cause some trouble for the others.

'Besides, he's a water qi cultivator. It's impossible for him to kindly hand over an opportunity to others. There's definitely some scheme hidden in here that I don't know about. Nine times out of ten, people are going to die. How could I not help set the stage for that? Furthermore, I'm already at rock bottom. Anywhere I go from here is up. The most pressing matter is to drag the others down to the bottom with me...'

The two sides hit it off immediately.

Wang Ping instantly circulated his divine sense, transforming it into a large hand that gently reached deep into Hengxu's sea of consciousness. The pain of having his sea of consciousness invaded caused Hengxu to let out a muffled groan.

"Not there. A little further to the left."

Wang Ping quickly hooked his divine sense finger and moved it to the left.

"You passed it. A little further to the right."

"Too shallow. Deeper."

"Right, right, right there."

Under Hengxu's guidance, Wang Ping's divine sense quickly detected a certain object. He pinched his fingers together and plucked it out of Hengxu's sea of consciousness.

Sure enough, it was a divine talisman.

"This is the [Flying Fire Spiritual Brilliance Talisman]. Its speed in transmitting messages is practically godly, making it very difficult to intercept. It is unique to my Observing Eternity Realm and is more than enough to prove my identity."

"Can the spiritual array block it?" Wang Ping asked.

"Spiritual array... the Heaven-Sealing Earth-Locking Great Array?" Hengxu understood implicitly and shook his head. "It can't block it, but it will significantly wear down the talisman's profundity."

"Perfect!"

Wang Ping was extremely satisfied. This was exactly what he wanted—this way, it would be realistic enough. With a shift in thought, he brought the divine talisman with him and rapidly departed from the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven.

Returning to the array, he called Chang Jing over and immediately began his micromanagement. "Listen closely."

Wang Ping pointed at the Heaven-Sealing Earth-Locking Great Array in the sky. "In a moment, I will first use the divine talisman to break open the array. Then, you will follow the path I've opened and transmit your message."

"Understood." Chang Jing nodded.

A second later, the two struck simultaneously. The [Flying Fire Spiritual Brilliance Talisman] containing the message broke through the array and rapidly disappeared into the distance. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the array not yet closing, Chang Jing's messaging spiritual light followed closely behind, charging out after it. Just like that, Wang Ping had flawlessly dispatched the two messages.

"Perfect."

Wang Ping calculated inwardly. He hadn't set a specific recipient for the [Flying Fire Spiritual Brilliance Talisman]. Instead, he had directly broadcast it across the board; anyone who saw the talisman would learn of it.

On the earth qi's side, there was Chang Jing's message.

On the fire qi's side, Jing Hua would definitely notify them after resurrecting.

As a result, the majority of the Qi Refining practitioners currently inside the Incense-Draped Hall would absolutely congregate here. The rest would require him to personally orchestrate the game.

For this, there was one more problem that needed to be solved.

"I need a new identity."

To ensure the plan proceeded smoothly, he needed an identity capable of guiding everyone—that is, an identity to set the tempo. Such an identity wasn't easy to find.

Wang Ping pondered and deliberated over it before finally slapping his forehead.

"I couldn't see the forest for the trees."

He didn't need a new identity at all.

After all, the person who obtained the inheritance of the Incense-Draped Hall was Kunyun. What did that have to do with him, the 'Dao Child of Deity Transformation'? He could just step forward with his true body!

At this thought, Wang Ping immediately reached up and wiped away Kunyun's face, revealing his own handsome features once more.

"My condition can't be too good."

Wang Ping thought about it, then made some adjustments. He reined in his aura and brought the physical trauma he had suffered when breaking through the first heaven tier out into the open, putting on the appearance of being heavily injured.

"This looks much better."

Wang Ping nodded slightly. His script was already written:

The evil water qi demon, Kunyun, had secretly ambushed and killed his fellow Immortal Gate daoists. He sneak-attacked Hengxu, stealing the inheritance of the Incense-Draped Hall, causing his strength to skyrocket.

Immediately after, he killed Chang Jing, Jing Hua, and the ancient cultivator Yi Xuangong. At the critical moment, Hengxu, unwilling to be trapped, sent out the news of the inheritance. Chang Jing also seized the chance to transmit a message. Just as Kunyun was about to kill the last Qi Refining practitioner, Rui Yi, the righteous Dao Child of Deity Transformation arrived.

The Dao Child of Deity Transformation rescued Rui Yi.

The two sides engaged in a massive battle over the inheritance of the Incense-Draped Hall. In the end, Kunyun proved slightly superior and hid inside the main hall, where he was about to obtain the monumental opportunity inside!

Logical, reasonable, and proceeding naturally.

As long as everyone saw the scene of Kunyun entering the main hall of the Incense-Draped Hall, it would solidify this entire story. No matter who came, they wouldn't be able to pick out the slightest flaw.

Under these circumstances, given the Immortal Gate's style of doing things, would they just stand back and watch?

Impossible!

Wang Ping was one hundred percent certain that everyone would charge in to fight for the opportunity. That was, after all, the Dao-proving weapon of a True Monarch. Its benefits to one's cultivation were immeasurable.

This was especially true for Qi Refinement Third Layer practitioners like Chen Yuanfu, Mingde, and even Tianxing and Mingyou, who were closing in on the True Person realm. They would inevitably be even more covetous of such a supreme treasure!

And as long as they went inside... getting back out wouldn't be so easy!

At this thought, Wang Ping rapidly ran through it in his mind once more. After confirming there were no issues, he finally summoned the Yin Spirit Jing Lang and shoved the Thirty-Six Thunder Token into his arms. Jing Lang cultivated Human-Yin Wood, which allowed him to ride objects and transform. By holding this Spiritual Treasure, he could transform into Heaven-Yang Wood.

Both were wood qi.

As long as he controlled it well and shortened his appearance time, under a fleeting glance, absolutely no one would be able to tell real from fake. It was more than enough for a disguise.

As for Jing Lang's face, Wang Ping personally stepped up to mold it.

Having molded faces so many times before, he could be considered quite proficient at it now. In a short while, a lifelike Kunyun vividly stood in place.

Immediately after, Wang Ping also shoved the [Unchanging Non-Action Profound Bow] and the five divine arrows onto Jing Lang.

"Very good!"

Wang Ping's face was brimming with excitement, not feeling the slightest bit of fatigue. He immediately had Jing Lang rehearse with him to ensure that, when the time came, it would look a hundred percent authentic.

Whether or not he could make a massive haul would all depend on this wave!