Chapter 435: With a Tiger's Stride I Draw the Bow, Igniting the Heavens to Shoot the Azure Dragon!

The Bodhisattva Position was empty!

Where was the Master of Secret Traces?

An unprecedented bewilderment left Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong rooted to the spot. He didn't understand what had just happened, but a massive sense of crisis instantly welled up within him.

"This is bad!"

The Bodhisattva Position was empty. That meant no one would compete with him for it. If he connected to it now, wouldn't he be walking straight into a trap?

At that thought, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong abruptly halted his movements. The profound mysteries of the Five Elements instantly reversed, blocking the Bodhisattva Position right before his eyes. From start to finish, he only wanted to use this position to prove the Lake-Fire Revolution Hexagram and restore his orthodox lineage; he never intended to actually become a Bodhisattva.

"Why is it like this?"

The Bodhisattva Position was empty. Had he actually abandoned the position of the Master of Secret Traces and willingly regressed to a True Person, just to preserve his life from this killing array?

Inconceivable!

From ancient times until now, almost no cultivator had ever valued their life over their path. On the contrary, those willing to throw away their lives for the Great Dao were everywhere.

The only person with a remotely similar style was the Human Emperor, but the Human Emperor possessed a great love for the masses, setting aside his path for the sake of all living beings. Even then, the Human Emperor never abandoned his existing realm; he merely gave up pursuing higher ones. Yet you... you actually threw away your current Bodhisattva Position?

To think such a cultivator actually existed in this world.

"No, that's not right!"

Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's thoughts raced. 'Even if he truly had the resolve to cut his losses and abandon the Bodhisattva Position, it isn't something that can be done on short notice.'

Things like cosmic extremities and the Bodhisattva Position weren't ties you could sever on a whim. The higher one's cultivation, the tighter the connection became.

If one were merely a True Person or an arhat who only resonated with them and hadn't truly ascended, there might still be room to break away. But once someone truly stepped into it, a cosmic extremity became practically synonymous with their life. They became inseparable. It simply wasn't something that could be discarded just by saying so.

Even if he really wanted to sever it.

He would likely have to prepare long in advance and pay a bloody price—perhaps even sacrificing half his life—to achieve this current result.

In other words:

'It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a premeditated scheme. This scheme might even be targeted at me. He knew long ago that I would fight him for the Bodhisattva Position...'

How could that be possible?

'Wait, if he already withdrew from the Bodhisattva Position, then his so-called entry into this trap was entirely false. He never needed to come here at all...'

The moment this thought crossed his mind, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong whipped his head around toward the Dao Tomb. There, a figure was rapidly condensing and returning.

Wang Ping!

Wang Ping, who had clearly been killed by a single finger strike from the Master of Secret Traces just moments ago, was now returning completely unscathed. Not only that, but compared to before he was "killed," his aura was skyrocketing madly, as if some unimaginably colossal entity had been stuffed beneath his skin.

Wang Ping himself had his eyes tightly shut.

His mind was flooded with a massive wave of sudden supreme enlightenment—all of which the Master of Secret Traces had transmitted to him through that finger strike at the moment of his "death."

To bear this enlightenment, he even had to sink his consciousness into the Taiping Sutra, looking toward the precious scripture scroll he had held back from activating earlier.

Invoking Deities!

In an instant, an external brain connected from Yang linked into his sea of consciousness, finally allowing Wang Ping to withstand this sudden supreme enlightenment from the Master of Secret Traces.

Just a moment ago, he had been killed right in front of all the True Monarchs and True Persons. In reality, it was just a smokescreen. The lethal force within that finger strike hadn't passed through his pure aspect to obliterate his turbid aspect at all. Instead, after shattering his pure aspect, it had intentionally dissipated in all directions.

This was a "Hide"!

In that instant, the Master of Secret Traces had displayed the signature skill of water qi, forcibly keeping his life and death "Hidden" without anyone noticing.

Everyone thought he was dead.

The brilliance of this method was hardly inferior to Primordial Sovereign Mingdu Xuanyi's. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to deceive the two fully focused True Monarchs standing right nearby.

As for Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong, there was even less need to mention him. Even after restoring the Five Elements, his cultivation was still a notch lower, leaving him completely in the dark.

Therefore, right after his "death," the two True Monarchs immediately unleashed a ruthless attack, destroying the Master of Secret Traces's Brahma body. Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong seized the opportunity to dive headfirst into the Bodhisattva Position. The entire process flowed as smoothly as moving water, yet it played perfectly into the Master of Secret Traces's calculations!

Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's judgment was actually correct.

Trying to detach from a Bodhisattva Position was indeed very difficult, and severing it completely was almost impossible. However, the Master of Secret Traces was an exception.

Because he inherently had a flaw.

The Profound One Calamity-Crossing Ring!

This Spiritual Treasure, which contained the karma of his Immortal Dao, could shake his position even when he resisted it with all his might. So what would happen if he chose to actively cooperate with it?

Everything actually depended on the strength of Wang Ping's power.

The stronger Wang Ping was, the more he would shake the Bodhisattva Position, making it easier for the Master to sever ties with it. The two sides maintained a state where as one declines, the other grows.

Why was the Bodhisattva Position empty?

At first, it actually wasn't. At least until he stepped into the killing array and ostensibly "killed" Wang Ping, he had remained inside that Bodhisattva Position.

However, after "killing" Wang Ping, he bestowed a certain manifestation upon him, drastically boosting his strength to trigger the karma of the Profound One Calamity-Crossing Ring. Finally, by actively cooperating and taking advantage of his Brahma body being slain—he managed to withdraw from the Bodhisattva Position!

It was as if everything had been planned out long ago.

And in fact, it really was. This was the secret Wang Ping had ultimately comprehended while suffering the backlash of the subterranean yin water's Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi.

[The answer is right there in the riddle].

The so-called riddle was actually the core object of this killing array, the Profound One Calamity-Crossing Ring, and the answer was carved right onto this Spiritual Treasure.

[Deity Transformation Realm, True Person Shuofang Hanyou]!

Fuck your mother, his title was even prefixed with the three giant words "Deity Transformation Realm," and he still dared to claim he wasn't from the demonic path of water qi? This was the ultimate truth:

In this life tribulation, the Master of Secret Traces was a teammate!

In addition, Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang was also a teammate. They were all aligned with the water qi, laying out their plans around Primordial Sovereign Mingdu Xuanyi.

Regarding this point, Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang had actually hinted to him as well.

And the hint was, once again, the Profound One Calamity-Crossing Ring.

Up until now, out of all the yin spirits he had contained, only two were direct disciples of True Persons or True Monarchs. One was the Buddhist child Yongxiu, and the other was Xia Qinghou.

They were the direct disciples of the Master of Secret Traces and Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang, respectively!

Leaving Xia Qinghou aside, the Buddhist child Yongxiu was practically delivered by the Master of Secret Traces just to be killed, under the guise of leaving behind the achievement of [Heaven Mourns Me].

But what about in reality?

'In reality, the Spiritual Treasure bestowed by the True Monarch, the Profound One Calamity-Crossing Ring, refined the direct disciples of the Master of Secret Traces and Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang into yin spirits.'

It had to be known that Jing Hua, a Qi Refining practitioner of the Radiant Clarity Realm who was also under a True Monarch's rule—and wasn't even a direct disciple—had his true spirit protected by a supreme secret art, making it impossible to refine him into a yin spirit. Yet Wang Ping had actually managed to refine the Buddhist child Yongxiu back then. That in itself was highly suspicious!

It definitely involved the influence of the Master of Secret Traces's will.

In the Immortal Gate, direct disciples like the Dao children of immortal realms could essentially represent the will of their higher-ups when out in the world. This was a metaphor and a hint in its own right.

'It was hinting to me that the Master of Secret Traces and Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang, just like Primordial Sovereign Mingdu Xuanyi, are actually my teammates in this life tribulation!'

Two True Monarchs and one True Person.

That was exactly half of the higher-ups' lineup in this life tribulation, perfectly aligning with the fairness principle of destiny, and it was also the source of the thirty-percent chance of survival Wang Ping had calculated for himself.

As for why it was only a thirty-percent chance of survival?

The reason was also very simple—teammates were teammates, but whether you could actually win them over depended on your methods. If you couldn't secure their support, it would still result in certain death.

Take Kunyun, for example.

Back in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, he had misjudged the situation and failed to win over his teammates. As a result, those who should have been his allies ended up becoming his enemies.

So, even if he had clarified the situation and knew who his teammates were, Wang Ping still needed to win them over himself. He needed to make the right choices to get these teammates to truly stand in his camp, actively choose to save his life, and help him survive the life tribulation—this was the true test and hurdle of a life tribulation.

This also applied to Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang.

[The answer is right there in the riddle]. This phrase was both a hint and a pitfall, depending completely on Wang Ping's personal performance and whether his choices were correct.

If he chose correctly and satisfied the demands of the Master of Secret Traces and Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang, then that phrase was naturally a hint telling him who his teammates were.

But if he chose wrong and their interests weren't satisfied, then this hint would turn into a lethal trap. 'You think I'm your teammate, but in reality, I'll turn around and stab you in the back...' One could well imagine, he would be almost guaranteed to die!

'Fortunately, my choices...'

Were all correct!

Among them, the most correct choice was not stopping at the perfection of five qi manifestations, or breaking through at six, but rather pushing for nine qi manifestations in one breath.

'Because if I only cultivated six qi manifestations, my cultivation and foundation wouldn't have been enough. At the very least, it wouldn't have been enough to use karma to pull the Master of Secret Traces out of the Bodhisattva Position.'

This step was the core demand of the Master of Secret Traces. If Wang Ping hadn't satisfied it, that finger strike earlier wouldn't have been just an act; it would have turned into reality, obliterating him completely—because strictly speaking, Wang Ping wasn't the Master of Secret Traces's only option.

And water qi wasn't either.

To the Master of Secret Traces, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong was actually also a viable target for cooperation, since he had no interest in the Bodhisattva Position.

That left room for cooperation.

Just like Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang's judgment, after seeing Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong, the Master of Secret Traces also realized the crux of the matter.

The various True Monarchs of the Immortal Gate, and even the entire Qi Refining orthodox lineage, would never allow Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong to succeed and cause the premature return of the Human Emperor. Therefore, he still had tribulations waiting for him. The Master of Secret Traces could entirely use this as a condition to draw this Dao Lord into his camp.

If that happened, his chances of survival would inevitably surge severalfold.

As for the condition that he had to be killed to prove the Lake-Fire Revolution Hexagram, that didn't actually matter. As long as the Bodhisattva Position remained, life and death were just minor issues.

He could very well cooperate.

So in this life tribulation, the Master of Secret Traces actually had two choices—Wang Ping and Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong—which determined his two future paths out.

Originally, he almost certainly would have chosen Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong. After all, compared to a mere low-level cultivator, a Dao Lord undoubtedly possessed far more value in cooperation.

'Until my nine qi manifestations reached perfection.'

Taking this step had completely changed the Master of Secret Traces's mind, making him shift sides and truly become a god-tier teammate for him.

Cooperating with a Dao Lord was essentially asking a tiger for its skin—a choice made out of desperation. After all, when the Dao Lord broke through the thirty-two marks, he would be used as fuel. Barring any accidents, he would still have to die once. And in doing so, he would remain the Master of Secret Traces, and the water qi, fire qi, and metal qi still wouldn't let him off.

Not to mention that today's Dao Lord was clearly a two-faced and double-dealing genius of the Immortal Dao.

Cooperating with such a person carried enormous risks. And when the Dao Lord eventually succeeded, his strength would skyrocket, making him impossible to control, and he might even turn around and blackmail him instead.

'But I was different.'

A mere Qi Refining practitioner, even with nine perfected qi manifestations, was still a low-level cultivator. Even if he progressed at a blistering pace, he would still be easily manageable once he truly grew up.

'The reason the Master of Secret Traces wavered earlier and leaned toward the Dao Lord was entirely because perfecting nine qi manifestations is simply too difficult. He probably didn't believe I could do it at first. So, it wasn't until I succeeded that he truly made up his mind and became my teammate.'

'What's more...'

Wang Ping looked up at the sky. Bolstered by the cultivation of Yang, he had already realized the true reason why the Master of Secret Traces would willingly withdraw from the Bodhisattva Position.

It wasn't just because doing so could preserve his life; it was also because doing so held massive benefits—benefits that could allow his cultivation to advance even further!

In the next second, the Cosmos responded.

"Splash, splash, splash..."

The Cosmic Deep Space, which should have been dead silent, suddenly echoed with the roaring sounds of surging waves. The waters of rivers and streams poured down from the heavens, revealing thousands of perilous scenes.

Heaven and Earth were the two yin, while Man occupied the one yang.

Kan Trigram!

However, after that, a second hexagram phenomenon emerged. It was the pure yang ultimate nature of Heaven, Earth, and Man. The three connected to form a trigram, hanging in the Cosmos like the vast, boundless sky.

Qian Trigram!

Qian above and Kan below. The heavens moved west while the water flowed east. They were fundamentally moving in opposite directions, yet they ultimately arrived at the same destination, shaping this cosmic extremity.

Heaven-Water Dispute!

Such a scene instantly drew the sideways glances of all the True Persons, Dao Lords, and even True Monarchs present. Aside from a few who saw through the clues, most looked confused.

"Where did this cosmic extremity come from?"

"Heaven-Water Dispute? Who is it?"

In the next second, they saw the answer—in the deepest reaches of the Cosmos, that patch of dark light that had remained utterly silent the entire time finally began to glow brightly.

Faintly, Wang Ping seemed to see a crescent moon-like arc of light within it. Inside the light, a great river hung high in the sky, while a vast ocean spanned the earth below. Tens of thousands of islands dotted the sea, and the auras of ghosts and gods emanated from every single island. It was the land of the dead governed by the Nether-Connecting Bureau, a scene he couldn't be more familiar with.

Deity Transformation Realm!

This immortal realm, personally forged by Primordial Sovereign Mingxing Xuanyi, now prominently revealed a clear silhouette. And on one of the islands within that immortal realm...

An old man strolled out.

He looked extremely aged and possessed not a single shred of cultivation on his body. Yet, his eyes were incomparably bright, and mystical phenomena naturally formed beneath his feet as billowing pure qi erupted out from his body.

Seeing this scene, Wang Ping didn't feel the slightest bit of surprise. Instead, it suddenly dawned on him.

'Ascending Purity and Descending Turbidity Aspect, possessing no cultivation—I should have realized it earlier!'

"How is this possible..."

"Shuofang, you actually hid your life inside the Deity Transformation Realm?"

At the same time, the fire qi's True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming and the metal qi's True Monarch Fengxian Daozheng both cast sideways glances, letting out soft gasps of astonishment.

The Divine Power of the Ascending Purity and Descending Turbidity Aspect was nothing unusual, and dividing purity and turbidity wasn't anything special either. What truly made the two True Monarchs find it inconceivable was that the Master of Secret Traces was actually willing to send his turbid aspect—which held his life but had absolutely no cultivation—into the Deity Transformation Realm. Just what kind of trust was this?

Wasn't he afraid of the water qi turning on him?

"Of course not."

The old man shook his head.

"Over so many years, I've already refined the Ascending Purity and Descending Turbidity Aspect numerous times, even transforming it from a Divine Power into an achievement. The flaws of the past are long gone.

"My life can freely jump between my turbid aspect and my pure aspect."

'My pure aspect remained in the Bodhisattva Position of the Master of Secret Traces, while my turbid aspect was sent into the Deity Transformation Realm. In the end, I'll just choose whichever side has the greater odds of winning. Stepping on two boats at once—that's how you stand firm!'

At this thought, the pure qi surrounding the old man exploded violently. His damaged pure aspect had returned, causing his appearance to visibly revert to youth.

A moment later, a heroic and dashing Youth appeared in the view of all the True Persons and True Monarchs, standing right beneath the Heaven-Water Dispute.

Seeing this, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong couldn't help but grit his teeth.

"Master of Secret Traces..."

"Don't speak nonsense, fellow Daoist," the Youth firmly shook his head. "I am True Person Shuofang Hanyou. I have absolutely no connection to the Brahma Nation or the Master of Secret Traces.

"I have always been someone of the water qi!"

Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong: "..."

At the same time, the other two True Monarchs also cast their gazes over, staring intently at the Youth for a moment before looking up at the newly formed cosmic extremity.

"It came for you."

"Heaven and water move in opposite directions, creating dispute. The superior man considers the beginning before initiating affairs... What a fine cosmic extremity. This is something you planned out long ago, perhaps even before you joined the Brahma Nation?"

What was the Heaven-Water Dispute?

This cosmic extremity was actually very similar to the Mountain-Wind Decay Hexagram. When heaven and water move in opposite directions, disputes are born. The two opposing trigram phenomena were destined to breed conflict.

However, once those conflicts were resolved and the two trigrams were harmonized, this cosmic extremity would be achieved. Its true meaning actually lay in stopping lawsuits and ending disputes.

Therefore, in order to prove this cosmic extremity, the first thing one had to do was draw hatred. One had to create conflicts of interest with enough people of high enough cultivation to actively incite the appearance of a "dispute," pushing the situation to an irreconcilable point where neither side would rest until the other was dead.

And then, resolve it.

The greater this "dispute" was, the greater the feedback would be upon its resolution. Everyone who had engaged in a "dispute" with him would be reduced to his fuel.

At that time, the Heaven-Water Dispute would cast its gaze upon him.

And in this regard, the Master of Secret Traces—or rather, the current True Person Shuofang Hanyou—had done it to absolute perfection. Just look at who he had provoked!

Becoming a Bodhisattva of the Brahma Nation had provoked the fire qi.

Severing the authority of the Kan Trigram had provoked the water qi.

Stealing the manifestation of the Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary had provoked the metal qi.

Out of the Immortal Gate's Five Elements orthodox lineages, he alone had provoked three of them. Moreover, they were all ruthless figures at the True Monarch level, and these were all irreconcilable conflicts where neither side could back down.

To take the dispute any higher than this, he would have had to offend true immortals.

The Heaven-Water Dispute had long since set its sights on him. It was only because the Master of Secret Traces's Bodhisattva Position was blocking it that it had remained hidden without the slightest change.

But now, things were different.

By detaching from the Bodhisattva Position, he no longer had any conflict with the fire qi. The authority of the Kan Trigram was also left within the Bodhisattva Position; since he had departed, it had nothing to do with him anymore either.

As for his conflict with the metal qi regarding the Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary manifestation he had stolen back then...

'He gave it to me!'

Down below, feeling the terrifying manifestation swelling to the absolute limit inside his body—almost to the point of tearing him apart—Wang Ping raised the Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Arrowhead with great difficulty.

"Boom!"

In an instant, endless brilliance erupted from his body. Just like the former Northern Crimson Silk Golden Pure Land, it carried an indescribably perfect manifestation, as if all the treasures of heaven and earth had been condensed into this radiance, transforming into an incomparably pure and bright light of ten thousand treasures.

And to the Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Arrowhead, such a manifestation was a massive tonic!

As a True Monarch's Dao-proving weapon, this true treasure had suffered heavy damage in the past, causing its power to plummet. However, at this moment, under the constant reinforcement and saturation of the light of ten thousand treasures...

It was rapidly returning to its peak!

'In this way, the conflict with the metal qi has been transferred to me. From now on, if they want to take back the manifestation of the Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary, they'll have to come looking for me.'

Of course, this wasn't enough.

Because the conflict with the metal qi was the simplest and easiest to resolve.

However, for True Person Shuofang Hanyou, severing ties with the Bodhisattva Position wasn't enough to thoroughly resolve the years of conflict between him and the water and fire qi.

The most direct issue was that after he withdrew from the Bodhisattva Position, the title of Master of Secret Traces would be left vacant, and it would soon return to the Brahma Nation to hide away once more. Under such circumstances, the plans of the water and fire qi would fall through, and they would no longer be able to achieve their goals by killing the Master of Secret Traces.

So there was still one final step to take.

And that was to find a way to get a new Master of Secret Traces to take his place, allowing the water and fire qi to achieve their goals, thereby resolving the grudge.

Who would this person be?

"It's me!?"

At the same time, in front of the Master of Secret Traces's Bodhisattva Position, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's teeth were practically about to break from gritting. He had actually been played!

What left him even more shocked and furious was that in order to scheme against him like the Master of Secret Traces just had, there was one absolutely crucial piece of intelligence that had to be known: the Five Elements orthodox lineage that the Human Emperor had hidden within the Lake-Fire Revolution Hexagram back then. If one didn't know this, it would be impossible to set up such a trap.

'So he knows...'

This information gap had always been viewed by Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong as his greatest trump card. It was the very foundation of his confidence to sit in isolation for tens of thousands of years, plotting against the fire qi.

But now he realized that this secret was not his alone to enjoy.

He knew it too. He had known it all along.

'But I didn't know that he knew...'

At this thought, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong felt as if he had plunged into an icy abyss. The information gap he had valued so highly had now become his death warrant!

This wasn't a trap to kill the Master of Secret Traces.

'Or rather, it originally was meant to kill the Master of Secret Traces. But the people of the water qi had a tacit understanding and reached an agreement beforehand.'

'The Master of Secret Traces was ruthless enough to himself, willingly withdrawing from the Bodhisattva Position in exchange for a way out. And after he escaped, this turned into a trap to kill me!'

That she-devil had used his hands to bait out the Great Rebellion's hidden trump card. Next, by killing him in this trap, this trump card of the Great Rebellion would be completely ruined.

Too insidious!

The most terrifying part was that from start to finish, she hadn't even taken the initiative to strike once. She remained completely hidden behind the scenes, yet the preceding developments were entirely under her control.

'No, it's not certain yet.'

'I can still be saved!'

All negative thoughts were instantly tossed to the back of Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's mind. No matter what, he hadn't fully stepped into the Bodhisattva Position. He was still a hair's breadth away.

Moreover, right now he was being observed simultaneously by the Earth-Fire Dimming Hexagram and the Lake-Fire Revolution Hexagram. With these two cosmic extremities resisting it, the Bodhisattva Position couldn't forcibly land on him. As long as he held his ground and didn't become the Master of Secret Traces, this scheme against him would fall short at the final hurdle!

Thinking of this, he immediately stood firm in place.

The Great Dao of the Five Elements took root in the Cosmos, simultaneously doing its utmost to resonate with the Lake-Fire Revolution Hexagram and the Earth-Fire Dimming Hexagram, using this to resist the pull of the Bodhisattva Position.

However, right at this moment.

A soft chuckle suddenly rang by Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's ear. Immediately after, he felt someone pat him lightly on the shoulder.

He turned his head.

What entered his vision was remarkably a slender figure with twenty-four colors of rosy light shining behind their back, their face obscured. After patting his shoulder, the other party spoke in a faint, ghostly tone, "Have a good trip, fellow Daoist. I won't see you out."

What?

"Boom!"

Before Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong could react, his body suddenly felt light, and then he floated up entirely, surrounded by howling gales.

Xun Trigram!

When the wind follows, all things flow smoothly without resistance.

This wasn't an attack; it was an assist. It pushed him forward, like the wind fanning the flames, causing the Bodhisattva Position's resonance with him to violently skyrocket.

In an instant, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's eyes nearly split open in fury!

This strike from Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang arrived with absolute, peerless perfection. It seemed he had been brewing this for a long time, just to use it in this critical split second.

And this push completely stripped Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong of his last bit of leeway. The Great Dao of the Five Elements crashed down into the Bodhisattva Position. The profound mysteries of the Master of Secret Traces seeped deep into his life force, linking with him. The head full of black hair he had just regrown instantly began to wither and fall out strand by strand once more.

Without any hesitation, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong threw a backhand palm strike, driving all the mighty power of the Master of Secret Traces, intent on obliterating Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang.

But in the end, he only struck the vast, empty void.

The figure hidden within the twenty-four colors of rosy light seemed to have long since departed. What was left in place was merely an illusory projection of light, which naturally dissipated amidst soft chuckles.

Watching this scene, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's eyes turned bloodshot, yet he displayed an extraordinary level of calm. All of his maddened fury was frozen within his pupils.

'There is still a chance.'

Without any hesitation, this Dao Lord pulled out his final trump card. Forming a seal with his hands, the Heaven Defiance Palace that was originally pressing down on the Star Grave Sand Sea suddenly became illusory, as if it had drifted far away. And having lost its suppression, this cosmic death zone immediately became incredibly fragile.

His final trump card!

Without the protection of the Heaven Defiance Palace, once a True Monarch-level battle erupted here, it would inevitably detonate the Graveyard Star located at the center.

At that time, it would result in a cosmic-level catastrophe!

Who would be willing to bear this karma?

No one was willing to shoulder such a heavy burden, which meant no one could kill him. The worst-case scenario was that from now on, he would simply remain in the Star Grave Sand Sea and think of another way.

Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong had already formed the resolve to burn his bridges.

This was also the fallback path he had planned out earlier—retreating to the Star Grave Sand Sea. This cosmic death zone actually held immense secrets of its own, making it well worth exploring.

For example, that Graveyard Star. Rumor had it that it was the battlefield of true immortals from the dawn of antiquity. It was the true immortals shattering the Cosmos that had resulted in the creation of this death zone.

By becoming the Master of Secret Traces, even though a Bodhisattva was inferior to a True Monarch, he was still vastly superior to a Dao Lord. This was enough to forcefully take over the Dao Tomb and ruthlessly bully these ancient, unorthodox cultivators. Then, he could seriously inspect that Graveyard Star. Who knows, he might just find its hidden secrets, or even discover a way to break this deadlock.

However, right at this moment.

Deep within the Star Grave Sand Sea, from inside the Dao Tomb, eight distinct auras slowly began to rise one after another. And the metal and fire True Monarchs also stopped suppressing them.

Li, Hua, Zai, Po.

Yang, Fu, Dao, Ze.

Eight Dao Lords!

Unlike Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong, they did not manifest the light and shadows of the Great Dao, because their orthodox lineages were all being used to bear the fallen mantras of Heavenly Venerables.

The eight true mantras now manifested in ring after ring of colorful light, faintly constructing an illusion that stretched from heaven to earth, sitting cross-legged within the Cosmos.

With this illusion at the center, the colorful light spread outward in rings. In the blink of an eye, it firmly locked down the entire Star Grave Sand Sea, causing this death zone—which had lost the Heaven Defiance Palace's suppression and was violently shaking due to the presence of True Monarchs and Bodhisattvas—to regain its stability.

Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's pupils abruptly shrank.

This was yet another thing he hadn't anticipated. He never thought the eight Dao Lords inside the Dao Tomb would actually possess the means to stabilize the Star Grave Sand Sea!

How could this be?

It wasn't that he thought the eight Dao Lords couldn't deduce such a method over all these years. Rather, it was because this offered absolutely zero benefit to them or to the ancient cultivator lineages.

It had to be known that the only reason the ancient cultivator lineages were able to hole up in this small Star Grave Sand Sea was precisely because this place couldn't withstand a True Monarch-level battle. And against the combined might of eight Dao Lords, only a True Monarch could firmly suppress them. The result would be mutual destruction, where neither side gained anything.

The ancient cultivator lineages survived precisely by relying on this fact.

Under such circumstances, they should have been trying everything possible to make the Star Grave Sand Sea even more fragile and easier to detonate, so it could serve as a viable threat.

Otherwise, it would be just like his own action this time—using the Heaven Defiance Palace to suppress the Star Grave Sand Sea, instantly pushing the ancient cultivator lineages to the brink of extinction.

In reality, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong had always kept his guard up against the ancient cultivator lineages. But what he had been guarding against was these old fogeys managing to forcibly detonate the Star Grave Sand Sea even under the Heaven Defiance Palace's suppression. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that their backup plan would actually be used to stabilize this death zone.

Why was this the case?

Could it be they actually harbored the thought that detonating the Star Grave Sand Sea would endanger the entire Cosmos, and thus they couldn't let anything happen to it even if it meant the extinction of the ancient cultivator lineages?

What a joke!

If it had been the old him, he might have believed such a thing. But after sitting in isolation in his Dao field for tens of thousands of years, he had long stopped believing that such people still existed.

Orthodox lineages collapsing, watching oneself age bit by bit, the future so dark that not a single ray of light could be seen. Every day, the only things wrapping around one's soul were pain and struggle.

Who could endure that?

He had endured it for tens of thousands of years because he knew there was still hope; that if he suffered through these tens of thousands of years, a turning point would appear. And even then, he was nearly bled dry.

But compared to him, the eight Dao Lords inside the Dao Tomb had suffered through one hundreds-of-thousands of years after another. The oldest among them could even trace his roots back to the beginning of the Immortal Dao's revolution. How could people like that not go mad? How could they not be consumed by despair? If it were him in their place, he would have recklessly detonated the Graveyard Star a long time ago!

"Utterly absurd..."

Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong muttered in a low voice, staring blankly at the Dao Tomb. Once upon a time, he had actually shared drinks and joyous conversations with the eight Dao Lords inside.

That was during the Great Rebellion's most glorious era.

He had come on the Human Emperor's orders to invite the eight Dao Lords out of seclusion. At the time, he had been spirited and full of vigor, speaking boldly and promising to forge the Immortal Dao anew, to carve out another path for all cultivators.

Even though the eight Dao Lords had ultimately chosen to decline after long deliberation, both sides had forged a deep friendship. It was precisely because of this friendship that, after the Human Emperor vanished and the Great Rebellion was destroyed, the Star Grave Sand Sea had taken him in. The eight Dao Lords had even gone to battle for his sake.

The events of the past were still fresh in his mind.

For a moment, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's figure—which had just regained its youth and surged with boundless vitality—suddenly hunched over slightly. He almost subconsciously opened his mouth.

"Fellow Daoists..."

In the next second, he heard the response of the eight Dao Lords.

"Kill!"

That single word, "kill," instantly shattered all the memories. It jolted Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong back to reality, his eyes turning ice-cold once more.

Almost at the same time, the situation among the various True Monarchs on the battlefield abruptly shifted.

The metal qi's True Monarch Fengxian Daozheng's attitude remained unchanged. Since the Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary had fallen into Wang Ping's hands, he would strike at Wang Ping.

However, this time, the one standing in his way was True Person Shuofang Hanyou. On top of that, the eight Dao Lords from inside the Dao Tomb attacked simultaneously.

A single True Person Shuofang Hanyou, who had yet to completely resolve the grudges and ascend to the peak of the Heaven-Water Dispute, wouldn't be able to stop True Monarch Fengxian Daozheng. But with the addition of the eight Dao Lords, things were completely different. Both sides were locked in a virtual stalemate as multicolored lights violently clashed within the sand sea.

On the other side, the fire qi's True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming also made his move.

His goal, from beginning to end, was focused on the Bodhisattva Position, on the Master of Secret Traces. He wanted to kill the Master of Secret Traces. As for who the Master of Secret Traces actually was, it didn't matter.

"Fellow Daoist Jinming!"

Seeing this, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong immediately sent a voice transmission, "I am now the newly appointed Master of Secret Traces. We can still negotiate our previous cooperation..."

True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming turned a deaf ear to this.

It was true that he had previously hoped the Dao Lord would bring the cosmic extremity Lake-Fire Revolution Hexagram to become the new Master of Secret Traces, subsequently influencing the entire Brahma Nation.

But that was predicated on the Lake-Fire Revolution Hexagram being the original Lake-Fire Revolution Hexagram, meant to champion reform and revolution.

But now, the Lake-Fire Revolution Hexagram had been hijacked and usurped by the Five Elements. You've already carried out the greatest act of revolution, what the fuck is left for me to revolutionize?

Not to mention that the Five Elements concerned the Human Emperor. Dealing with one Living Buddha already made the fire qi suffer enough. Add another Human Emperor into the mix, and how the hell were they supposed to go about their immortal cultivation days?

Therefore, this True Monarch of the fire qi had no choice but to settle for the next best option: kill Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong, vacate the title of Master of Secret Traces once again, and completely sever any possibility of the Human Emperor's return. In any case, the Earth-Fire Dimming Hexagram had already sunk into the Bodhisattva Position. At the very least, there was a guaranteed result from this scheme.

At the same time.

Up in the distant sky, Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang's figure once again materialized amidst the twenty-four colors of rosy light. Standing in the roaring winds, his face was filled with utter joy.

Don't be fooled into thinking he hadn't contributed much to the overall situation this time.

In reality, every single thing he did had struck the most critical pressure points.

He was the one who had hinted at Wang Ping, and he was the one who had pushed Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong into the Bodhisattva Position. It could be said that these were both moves that dictated the flow of the entire situation.

Now, the time for the harvest had finally come.

'By killing Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong, I can simultaneously destroy a backup plan of the Great Rebellion and slay a Bodhisattva of the Brahma Nation. The manifestation of this act is profoundly prominent.'

'If not me, then who else could claim the Mountain-Wind Decay Hexagram?'

'Attack!'

In the next second, Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang did not hesitate whatsoever. Completely ignoring the risks, he sped off in the direction of Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong.

He was already a peak-tier True Person, with the Mountain-Wind Decay Hexagram looming right above his head. Although he was far from being a match for Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong—who had already achieved the Bodhisattva Position—with True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming attacking alongside him, he only needed to play a supporting role. The crucial point was that he absolutely had to participate in this battle.

If he didn't, how could it be called rooting out corruption and restoring order?

In a flash, the Star Grave Sand Sea rippled slightly. A True Monarch and a True Person attacking a Bodhisattva at the same time generated a boundless radiance that practically illuminated more than half of the Cosmos.

Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong instantly coughed up a mouthful of dharma blood. His majestic Brahma body, bolstered by the Bodhisattva Position, partially collapsed, melting away within the brilliance.

However, he showed no fear. Instead, a cold sneer curled on the half-collapsed side of his face.

"Not enough."

One True Monarch and one True Person were not enough to kill him. After all, he was now a Bodhisattva. It would take another True Monarch for them to possibly have a chance!

"Mingxing..."

As his words fell, Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong looked up at the sky. Would that she-devil make a move? Would she abandon her years of hiding just to kill him?

He didn't believe it!

At this thought, he immediately unleashed his full strength. The Great Dao of the Five Elements, now tainted with Zen chants and Brahma light, appeared once again, but this time it spread outward, toward the edges of the Star Grave Sand Sea.

He was going to escape!

Facing only one True Monarch and one True Person, as long as he was willing to pay the price, he could absolutely escape back to the Brahma Nation with heavy injuries. Even though he was now likely despised by everyone in the Brahma Nation after being tainted by the Earth-Fire Dimming Hexagram, he was confident he could get the remaining seven Bodhisattvas of the Brahma Nation to offer him asylum.

After all, he could command the Heaven Defiance Palace to a certain extent.

To the Brahma Nation, this was an extremely valuable ability. Moreover, his Five Elements were different from the original Lake-Fire Revolution Hexagram; they carried no intent of revolution.

Therefore, the Brahma Nation's resistance against him wouldn't rise to the level of murderous intent.

No matter what, there was room for negotiation!

As long as he could flee back to the Brahma Nation, no matter how one looked at it, he had succeeded this time. Lowering himself to become a Bodhisattva was still far more enjoyable than sitting lifelessly in a Dao field for tens of thousands of years...

'!?'

Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's movements came to an abrupt halt.

Because in this exact instant, he suddenly sensed a heavy strand of karma. Like a chain, it pulled at him, forcing him to stop in his tracks.

He turned his head.

"Ah..."

Where his gaze landed, there stood a high-spirited Youth, gripping a longbow in his hands that he couldn't be more familiar with. It was so familiar, he almost hallucinated that he was looking at himself.

The Unchanging Non-Action Mystic Bow.

The significance of this mystic bow to him was exactly like the Profound One Calamity-Crossing Ring to True Person Shuofang Hanyou. It was a karma that he had never severed.

'Now is the time.'

Wang Ping was perfectly calm. Without an ounce of fear, he returned Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong's gaze, and then knocked the Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Arrowhead onto the bowstring.

Only at this moment did a voice finally ring in his ears—a magnanimous voice that sounded like a noblewoman. The tone was so tranquil it was as if she were merely announcing a result.

"Use this person to form your achievement for the Qi Refining Second Layer."

As her voice fell, Wang Ping immediately felt a surge of heroic spirit well up in his chest. The nine qi manifestations encircling his body, and even the Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary manifestation that True Person Shuofang Hanyou had transferred to him earlier in order to escape the Bodhisattva Position—all of their profound mysteries converged entirely into the bow and arrow in his hands at this very moment.

In a flash, the bow was drawn into a full moon.

With a tiger's stride he drew the longbow, igniting the heavens to shoot the azure dragon!