Chapter 437: The Mysterious Pass Aperture

The Immortal Gate, the Divine Weapon Courtyard.

A colossal ring-shaped megastructure spanned the Cosmos, encircling a blazing golden sun. Nestled within the ring lay star after star and one Grotto-Heaven world after another.

To every cultivator in the Divine Weapon Courtyard, that all-illuminating sun at the center of the megastructure was an object of supreme awe. Even Qi Refining practitioners rarely ventured near it; they could only watch in envy as streaks of escaping light flashed into and out of its brilliance.

The reason was simple.

That was the [Immortal Realm]. The blazing sun was divided into light and dark sides—bright without, yin within—and its outer radiance served as the entrance to the [Plain-Treading Realm].

Tianxing came streaking across the sky at full speed.

Without a moment's hesitation, he plunged straight into the sun that countless others revered as if he were simply heading home. The world spun around him.

By the time his vision steadied, he had landed inside a resplendent immortal palace. Overhead, the sun and moon shone together in the same sky; below, an endless expanse of pavilions, towers, and jade halls clustered around a mountain-tall jade dais, upon which sat a vast, majestic mystic form.

At the sight of it, Tianxing flew straight over.

Upon his body, the karmic merit known as [Treading the Tiger's Tail] swiftly lit up, bridging the otherwise insurmountable cognitive chasm between a True Monarch and a lower cultivator.

Of course, that was not because [Treading the Tiger's Tail] itself was so formidable, but purely because the true master of that merit—the True Monarch himself—had chosen to accommodate and indulge him.

Right away, Tianxing called out, "Old man, you're way too big."

He grumbled, "With you towering like that, how am I supposed to talk to you? There aren't any outsiders around right now—no need to put on this whole True Monarch act, is there?"

"..."

The next second, that grand mystic form vanished, resolving into a middle-aged man in Daoist robes sitting quietly atop the jade dais.

Across the man's knees rested a Treasure Sword that looked as though it had been forged from a river of stars, reflecting hundreds of millions of brilliant gleams. As his heaven-spanning presence drew inward, a chiseled, upright face came into view. He looked at Tianxing in exasperation.

Shaking his head with a sigh, he said, "Good-for-nothing."

Those words instantly rubbed Tianxing the wrong way. "How am I a good-for-nothing? Old man, I'm about to cultivate Truth! My path ahead is wide open."

"Cultivate Truth? You?"

The middle-aged man's lip curled. "Take a look at yourself first. Wanting to cultivate Truth with that meager bit of cultivation—do you really think leaning on Mingyou gives you a shot?"

"How could leaning on Mingyou not give me a shot?"

Tianxing shot back, "How many years has it taken the Immortal Gate to produce a single Mingyou? I already had him calculate it for me—so long as he succeeds, I have a thirty percent chance of winning!"

The middle-aged man let out a derisive snort.

"That he can succeed, I don't doubt. But you having a thirty percent chance? He's just stringing you along so you don't lose heart and quit helping him tomorrow."

"I can't succeed?" Tianxing frowned deeply. "Old man, why don't you just take back that damned [Treading the Tiger's Tail] of yours? I really don't want it anymore."

"Even if I took it back, do you think you'd be off the hook?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "Since you've enjoyed the blessings of a Dao Child, you have to bear a Dao Child's burdens. Even if I took back the merit right now, you still couldn't escape its fallout."

"Fuck."

Tianxing swore on the spot. Not bothering with any more nonsense, he plopped straight down onto the jade dais and said, "I don't care then. Old man, you figure something out for me!"

Watching him, the middle-aged man felt a surge of gratification. Truly worthy of being his Dao Child—just look at that shameless way he demanded a handout with his chin held high. It was the spitting image of himself back in the day. Clearly the boy could be taught, and wasn't one of those pedantic fools who would rather die than lose face.

With that in mind, he offered a pointer: "The key still lies in people."

"Do you know why I said it'll be hard for you to succeed by leaning on Mingyou? Because Mingyou isn't a higher cultivator. He's far stronger than you, sure, but he's still only at Qi Refining."

Tianxing raised his head and said, "I'd love to latch onto a higher cultivator, old man, but you won't help me! I want to rely on you, except you're fucking useless here—so tell me, what else am I supposed to do?"

"Idiot."

The middle-aged man glared at him in exasperation. "Do you think I became an immortal's acolyte straight off the bat back then? I had an acquaintance introduce me, alright?"

"I've told you ten thousand times: if you want to cultivate Truth through my merit, [Treading the Tiger's Tail], you must carry this merit and everything I once did to the utmost extreme. Only then can you borrow my merit and cultivate Truth through my imagery—and when the time comes, I'll exert my own strength to lift you up, greatly boosting your odds of success."

Tianxing shook his head. "I don't get it."

What a hopeless case.

The middle-aged man shook his head. "This merit of [Treading the Tiger's Tail] was an achievement I forged back when I served as an immortal's acolyte, waiting on him hand and foot."

"And the only reason I was able to become an immortal's acolyte was through Mingxing's introduction. Back then, Mingxing wasn't even my equal, yet she had become an immortal's disciple a step ahead of me."

"Those ties between roles must correspond one-to-one on your end as well if you want [Treading the Tiger's Tail] to respond to you with its fullest profundity... Take your situation, for instance: Mingyou corresponds to the immortal I relied upon back then, which means you're still missing an introducer—missing someone to fill that role."

"You mean..."

Tianxing blinked at those words, finally waking up to the truth. "The immortal's disciple—Mingyou's disciple, that water-qi Dao Child? You want me to get in touch with him?"

"Bingo."

The middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction. "Compared to Mingyou, this water-qi Dao Child has far broader prospects, and he is deeply favored by Mingxing."

Heaven knew how shocked he had been upon seeing Mingxing entrust the task of shooting down [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] to Wang Ping. For a split second, he had even suspected Wang Ping was Mingxing's illegitimate son—no, not even an illegitimate son got treated that well. He certainly didn't treat Tianxing half as generously.

"In short, befriending him is definitely the right move."

The middle-aged man said with certainty, "Going by your master's eye honed over countless years, with him plus Mingyou, your odds of cultivating Truth should reach right around thirty percent."

"How is it still thirty percent?"

Tianxing's face instantly sagged into a sour scowl.

"Thirty percent is plenty good!"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "Even for Mingyou, the outcome of his bid to cultivate Truth is hard to predict. The only reason you even have thirty percent is because I'm watching over you."

"That's way too low!" Tianxing complained.

"Then don't cultivate Truth," the middle-aged man said, shaking his head. "I told you long ago, just sticking to Qi Refining is fine. I never expected you to cultivate Truth in the first place."

"If you give up on cultivating Truth and settle for Qi Refining, at worst I'll throw this old face of mine to the wind and go to the [Observing Eternity Realm] to fetch your lifespan back for you. You'll still be blessed to live out a carefree existence. You won't get to taste the glory of a higher Realm, sure, but staying in Qi Refining without stepping into the True Realm carries its own kind of peace and stability."

"No way!"

Tianxing shook his head. 'If I fail to cultivate Truth, I should just go inherit the limitless lifespan my old man left me? Am I, Tianxing, some spineless good-for-nothing without a shred of ambition?'

"No matter what, I'm going to give it a try."

"Then go give it a try."

Noncommittal, the middle-aged man went on, "Remember what I told you. Go have a chat with that water-qi Dao Child—the two of you already get along pretty well anyway, don't you?"

Only then did he add in an offhand tone, "Oh, right—the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary] ended up in his hands too. See if you can find a chance to have him give it back for me."

"Aha!"

Tianxing clapped his hands in sudden excitement. "I was wondering why you were giving me so many pointers today, old man, and being so patient instead of kicking me straight out the door!"

"So this was what you were after!"

"The imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary] fell into Wang Ping's hands? Didn't you swear up and down earlier that you'd definitely bring it back?"

"An accident—purely an accident."

The middle-aged man said indignantly, "That fiend Mingxing and her disciple played dirty. Over on the fire-qi side, they're probably planning to snatch it back by force, which I don't think is necessary."

Although he was one of the metal-qi bandits, the [Plain-Treading Realm] operated differently, prizing harmony above all and rarely making enemies lightly. That was why, as soon as the middle-aged man returned from the [Star Grave Sand Sea], he had sought out Tianxing to take a more roundabout approach.

Shaking his head, he said, "That water-qi Dao Child doesn't cultivate metal qi anyway, so the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary] is useless to him. Bottom line, go figure out a way to get it back for me."

"Why should I?"

Tianxing crossed his arms. "Old man, not to criticize you, but this is tough to pull off. Sure, Wang Ping and I know each other, but we're not that close..."

"Idiot."

Finally losing his patience, the middle-aged man raised the Treasure Sword in his hand, drew in its cutting edge, and used the flat of the blade like a ruler to smack Tianxing squarely on the forehead.

"Do you think I went to such great lengths just to seize a wisp of imagery from the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary]? Who else did I do it for if not a good-for-nothing like you?"

"If you obtain that imagery and refine the Light of Ten Thousand Treasures to gather the rare wonders of the world, your hopes of cultivating Truth will rise from thirty percent to at least fifty percent or so. I only made a move for your sake, you ungrateful little wretch. Since you won't cooperate, forget it—I can't be bothered to fret over it for you anymore..."

"Dad!"

Before the middle-aged man had even finished speaking, Tianxing was already on his knees, clamping both arms tightly around his thigh. "Rest easy! I'll definitely get this done right!"

"That's more like it."

The middle-aged man kicked Tianxing off, though he secretly relished every bit of it. After all, in the old days he had always been the one hugging other people's thighs; now, at long last, someone was doing it to him.

It felt pretty damn good.

Tianxing went on right after, "Still, Dad, you know how the water-qi lineage is, and that disciple of Mingyou's has a temperament remarkably like his master's."

"They've always been the sort to scrape three chi off the sky and seven-tenths off the earth wherever they pass—if they step out the door without picking up money, they count it as a loss. They're practically no different from the fire-qi crowd. If I waltz over empty-handed to ask for the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary], eight times out of ten he won't give it to me. I've got to bring something to the table—how about you cough up a little more?"

"...Fine."

The middle-aged man didn't mind that at all. After all, his [Plain-Treading Realm] was vast and rich in every resource imaginable, overflowing with mountains of gold and silver that could never be spent dry.

"How about this."

"Go talk to him. So long as he returns the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary], the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary] will be opened to him and won't bar his way anymore."

"On top of that, I can personally authorize him to pick any three Spiritual Treasures from inside the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary] to take with him afterward. That ought to be a generous enough gift."

"More than enough!"

"Rest easy, Dad, I'll handle this beautifully for you!"

Only then did Tianxing nod, grinning from ear to ear as he rode his escaping light out of the [Plain-Treading Realm], while the middle-aged man shook his head and watched him vanish into the distance.

A moment later, his own figure faded away.

In the blink of an eye, that bantering, hot-tempered middle-aged man was gone. Seated solemnly atop the jade dais once more was the foremost of the metal qi, the [Immortal-Serving Orthodoxy-Treading True Monarch].

The [Star Grave Sand Sea], deep within the Dao Tomb.

Wang Ping paced steadily onward, passing one familiar great hall after another until, guided by a subtle profundity, he came to a halt before a singular temple hall.

Before his eyes, eight statues sat in the eight directions of the hall, each distinct in posture and profundity, yet all clinging to the walls around the center of the chamber. There lay a dark pool, and within its waters floated a pitch-black sphere of light, flickering and dimming as though it were breathing.

Those eight statues were the eight Dao Lords.

Yet their bodies were clearly different from the Dharma bodies of ordinary cultivators—they had actually been cast and piled together out of hundreds of millions of grains of star-sand from the [Star Grave Sand Sea].

Such shells were undeniably fragile.

Beyond that, Wang Ping sensed a thick aura of twilight decay emanating from them, slowly eating away at their vital presence bit by bit.

Fortunately, this hall was extraordinary.

Ninety-nine percent of that vast twilight decay was drawn into the pitch-black sphere of light at the center of the hall, which devoured it clean like a ravenous Taotie. Only because it was there, constantly wearing down the newly emerging decay, could the eight statues maintain a delicate balance between twilight decay and vitality.

'That must be the [Grave Star].'

Realization surfaced in Wang Ping's mind: 'Eight ancient Dao Lords—cast-off lineages really are riddled with hidden perils. Are they using the [Grave Star] to sustain their condition?' "Boom!"

In an instant, a familiar impact—just like the shock of gazing directly upon a True Monarch's mystic form earlier—crashed into Wang Ping's sea of consciousness, only to be dissolved by [In the World of Men].

Almost simultaneously.

A wisp of profound power descended to shield him from the shock of that true perspective just as [In the World of Men] had done, only to halt midway in surprise.

Clearly, its caster had noticed that Wang Ping was completely unharmed.

"Now that is something."

Up on the dark wall, [Yang] blinked in surprise. "This merit... it allows a glimpse into the supreme realm of Dao Truth? Tsk, tsk, tsk—slaying a True Monarch while at Qi Refining really does yield a massive return."

Before long, though, [Yang] realized what else that meant. If Wang Ping could peer through to things ordinary mortals could never see, didn't that mean he could also see the sorry state of the eight of them reduced to crumbling sand statues? And here they had been hoping to put on a dashing front like before and meet him in the guise of transcendent masters!

"Impressive."

Thinking of this, he murmured in admiration, "Breaking through to the Qi Refining Second Layer with merit of this caliber—such depth of foundation is unheard of since antiquity."

"Mingxing truly poured her heart and soul into this."

"He only lacks a bit of polish because he just broke through. With a little honing, this kid will definitely be invincible within the Qi Refining Second Layer."

The next second, Wang Ping spoke up: "Eight Seniors, how are your injuries? Do you still need time to recuperate?"

His very first sentence was one of concern.

Hearing this, [Yang] was quite pleased and chuckled at once. "No need to worry about us. As we told you before, when the eight of us join forces, we truly do not fear a True Monarch."

Was that really true?

Wang Ping had his doubts. After all, every single one of the eight sand statues was chipped and cracked all over, not one of them intact, making their assurance rather hard to swallow.

"Not a word of falsehood!"

Clearly sensing the doubt in Wang Ping's mind, [Yang] could not help adding, "Besides, if our condition drops past a certain point and this [Grave Star] loses our suppression, it will detonate. That's why they don't dare push us too far—let alone killing us, they'd think twice before even heavily injuring one of us."

Oh, then that explained it.

"And that's not all."

Feeling that their prestige had taken a hit, another Dao Lord could no longer sit still and said quietly, "If the other side goes too far, we actually have other means at our disposal."

"At worst, the rest of us can shoulder a bit more of the imagery of Dao-fall and Dharma-death, freeing [Li], [Fu], and [Dao] from their bindings to strike once at full strength."

"Full strength?" Wang Ping blinked in surprise.

"Indeed."

To salvage their dignity—and because they now regarded Wang Ping as one of their own—the Dao Lord did not hide the truth and said frankly, "Because their cultivation is actually higher."

"We are merely Dao Lords; they are Dao Masters."

"In a true battle, the three of them can contend directly with True Monarchs. It's only because they bear too much of the imagery of Dao-fall and Dharma-death that they can rarely go all out."

There was a surprise like that?

Wang Ping's eyes lit up at once. On second thought, it made complete sense—these were ancient Immortal Dao lineages, yet a dignified Dao Lord had only seemed comparable to a True Person.

That had never quite added up.

So there was another Realm above Dao Lord capable of fighting a True Monarch head-on. That explained everything—truly, an insect with a hundred legs does not stiffen even when dead, and the ancient cultivation lineages were no exception.

The deeper he dug, the more treasure turned up!

Rubbing his hands together, Wang Ping swept his gaze across the eight sand statues one by one, trying to tell which of them were his true heavy-hitting backers.

"Stop gawking." Seeing Wang Ping's shifty-eyed look, [Yang] shook his head. "Most of the time, we choose to slumber in order to suppress the [Grave Star], leaving only one of us awake at any given time. After that great battle just now, the [Grave Star] has already started rampaging, so none of the others can spare the energy to speak with you."

Even he was no different.

At this very moment, the vast majority of his main body's divine sense was locked in a struggle against the [Grave Star]'s upheaval; what rested upon Wang Ping was no more than a single thread of split thought.

Wang Ping then asked curiously, "Senior [Yang], how long have all of you been here?"

Wang Ping had always been keenly interested in the history of ancient cultivators and the Immortal Dao. Such lore might not seem immediately useful, but all of it consisted of vital secrets of Dao attainment.

Whether for cultivating Truth through falsehood or crossing a life tribulation, intelligence was paramount, and a deep reserve of knowledge even more so. The more he knew, the more room he had to maneuver.

"Not all that long."

[Yang] counted on his fingers, then chuckled. "A few hundred thousand years, give or take. Once enough time passes, you stop keeping track. I'm actually one of the younger ones here."

Wang Ping clicked his tongue in amazement at that.

A few hundred thousand years—that was at least ten times longer than [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] had spent in captivity! If that counted as young, how ancient was the oldest among them?

"The very first to arrive at this Dao Tomb was [Li], followed by [Hua], then [Zai], and then [Po]. [Dao] and I came here together. As you probably know, that was right when the Qi Ingestion Method triumphed over the Qi Nurturing Method and cultivating the Dao was replaced by cultivating Truth. The two of us shared the same misery."

At this point, [Yang]'s tone suddenly took on a note of gloating. "Still, [Fu] didn't get to stay smug for long either. First the fruits of his victory were stolen away by fire qi, and then he was defeated by the Qi Refining Method and slunk in here to keep us company."

"Last of all came [Ze]."

"Some time after [Ze], the Qi Refining Method claimed sole supremacy over the Immortal Dao and laid the foundation of today's Immortal Gate. And after that came the sudden rise of the Great Rebellion..."

Wang Ping froze slightly at those words.

"Hm?"

Wait—if [Fu] had already shown up here, shouldn't the Qi Ingestion Method have been eliminated by then? Why would there still have been a struggle between Qi Consumption and Qi Refining during the era of the Great Rebellion and the Immortal Gate?

He voiced that question at once.

[Yang] answered him with a hearty laugh. "Too much time has passed. Many events and truths have been buried deep beneath the boundless years."

"Neither you nor I are wrong, actually."

"In [Fu]'s era, the Dao struggle between Qi Refining and Qi Consumption had indeed ended. However, during the era of the Great Rebellion, a second Dao struggle broke out between the two."

"Twice!?" Wang Ping's eyes widened.

"Indeed."

[Yang] gave a slight nod. "That is also why we still hold out hope for the revival of our lineages—because the Human Emperor briefly pulled it off back then."

"By some unknown method, he actually swept away the twilight decay of the Qi Consumption lineage and made it flourish anew. At the time, we nearly came out of seclusion to join the Great Rebellion; Yi Shentong even came here on the Human Emperor's behalf to invite us. Though we ultimately chose to refuse, that refusal also spared us from the great calamity of the Great Rebellion's fall."

At this point, [Yang] added emphatically, "Truth be told, it wasn't an outright refusal. [Li] simply wanted to play it safer and proposed a condition to the Human Emperor, to which the Human Emperor never gave a reply."

"What condition?" Wang Ping asked curiously.

"[Li] hoped the Human Emperor could revive not only the Qi Ingestion Method, but the Qi Nurturing Method as well... After all, as you can tell, there aren't actually many Qi Consumption practitioners among the eight of us."

True enough—judging by the timeline of upheavals in the Immortal Dao, [Li], [Hua], [Zai], [Po], and [Yang] had likely all been practitioners of the Qi Nurturing Method in their day.

That was five out of the eight.

Putting forward such a condition could not have been more natural.

"Yet the Human Emperor remained noncommittal, and after Yi Shentong left, no further answer ever came. Likely he had his own difficulties and decided to drop the recruitment."

[Yang] shook his head with a sigh. "Even so, after deliberating over and over, we actually still intended to join the Great Rebellion. Yet before we could make a move, the Great Rebellion was destroyed and the Human Emperor vanished without a trace. Truth be told, some among us have brooded over that ever since. Ah well, enough of that."

"Let's talk about you instead."

As his voice fell, [Yang] continued, "The [Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Arrowhead], the supreme treasure by which the [Heavenly Banner Pardoning True Monarch] proved his Dao, has now awakened in your hands."

"All thanks to the support of you Seniors."

Wang Ping bowed in salute, then stirred his thoughts, and an arrowhead wreathed in five-colored radiance appeared in his palm, looking as though boundless wealth were gathered upon it.

As for the [Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Arrowhead], the reason the two True Monarchs of metal and fire had been unable to find it on him earlier was not because Wang Ping was so skilled at hiding things, but purely because of the intrinsic profundity of this True Monarch's Dao-proving artifact: following the karmic link between Wang Ping and itself, it had slipped into the torrent of [destiny].

After all, this supreme treasure's criteria for recognizing a master were exceedingly strict.

That was another form of loyalty—once it acknowledged a master, it could never be taken away by anyone else unless he loosed it himself and willingly surrendered ownership.

Otherwise, even if someone killed Wang Ping...

It would not fall into the killer's hands, but would sink into the torrent of destiny and follow the ripples of karma to seek out the next fated person.

In fact, more likely than not, that person would still be the reincarnated true spirit of Wang Ping himself.

"Upon this arrow rests the Great Dao left behind by the Dao Lord."

[Five Phases].

Wang Ping wore a solemn expression. "The reason this junior was unwilling to hand this object over actually had nothing to do with selfish motives—it was entirely out of consideration for the ancient cultivation lineages."

"I believe this Great Dao of the Five Phases might be used upon the remnants of the thirty qi of heaven and earth within the [Star Grave Sand Sea]. Using this Great Dao as a medium, those remnants of the thirty qi could be reborn in a brand-new way and turned into lineages that can be grasped, thereby reviving the heritage of the ancient cultivators."

Wang Ping spoke with unimpeachable righteousness.

At first, [Yang] thought little of it, assuming Wang Ping was just spinning tall tales. Yet when he turned the idea over in his mind, then thought about it again, and kept thinking... hold on, wait just a second!

There actually seemed to be something to it!

Seeing that the pie in the sky he had painted was actually working, Wang Ping struck while the iron was hot. "Alas, this junior's cultivation is still lacking at present, so I'm somewhat short on the means to pull it off."

"Ah, if only my cultivation were a little higher!"

[Yang] fell silent. "..."

Got it—fishing for an investment, wasn't he?

Even so, when it came to the current Wang Ping, [Yang] had a real headache. "With nine qi manifestations and breaking through to the second layer by slaying a True Monarch, you're already terrifyingly strong."

"How much higher do you expect to go? The only thing you can do right now is slowly polish your Dao foundation through patient, steady effort until you bring the Qi Refining Second Layer to full perfection. There are no shortcuts to take."

"After all, bolstered by the merit of slaying Yi Shentong, your primary qi manifestation, [Biding One's Time], has practically become the second phenomenon of water qi just beneath [Supreme Yin Weak Water]. Add to that the fact that Earth Yin Water favors you alone, and by my reckoning, within three years at most, you will reach full perfection in the Qi Refining Second Layer."

Hearing this, Wang Ping rubbed his hands together.

"The second phenomenon still makes me second place in the end, inferior to [Supreme Yin Weak Water]. What I mainly wanted to ask is—do I have any chance of refining a first phenomenon?"

He wanted to surpass the Primordial Sovereign.

The moment those words fell, even [Yang] was stunned by Wang Ping's audacity. Then he burst out laughing and stared straight at the sheepishly grinning youth.

"You really dare to dream, don't you!"

"Is there any hope?" Wang Ping asked shamelessly.

"None!"

[Yang] waved a hand dismissively. "Give it up. You definitely have no shot at the first phenomenon of water qi. Mingxing has been honing her merit upon it ever since primeval times."

"By this point, how could you possibly surpass her just like that?"

"Take killing Yi Shentong this time—sure, you reaped a massive windfall, but Mingxing was the true mastermind behind the scenes. The feedback she gained was only greater than yours, never smaller. You merely nibbled on a few scraps."

"I see..."

Wang Ping's face fell into a glum grimace. "But if that's the case, it'll be hard for me to take another step forward. Is there really no way at all?"

"What's the matter?"

[Yang] asked in puzzlement, "Are you really that eager to surpass Mingxing and cultivate the first phenomenon of water qi?"

"Yeah."

Wang Ping nodded with a touch of urgency. "I dream about it!"

"Why?"

Faced with [Yang]'s question, Wang Ping was quite frank and shared his earlier realization: "I suspect the first phenomenon is tied to breaking through the ninth heaven."

After all, even a Qi Refining practitioner like Mingyou, who had cultivated a Dao Fruit and brought three qi to perfection, was only at the level of breaking through the eighth heaven; a vast chasm still separated his combat strength from breaking through the ninth heaven. Back when Wang Ping had cultivated [Grand Yin Abode], he had already suspected that the key lay in the tier of one's qi manifestation.

[Yang] was left somewhat speechless by that.

'You brat, you've only just broken through the third heaven! You haven't even cultivated a Dao Fruit yet—perfecting three layers is still a long way off, and you're already worrying about the ninth heaven?'

Naturally reading [Yang]'s expression, Wang Ping gave a sheepish grin and said, "Just preparing for a rainy day."

[Yang] shook his head. "If all you want is to break through the ninth heaven and add another layer of foundation for cultivating Truth in the future, the first phenomenon is not your only choice."

"Please enlighten me, Senior."

"There is one point you got right: pushing your primary qi manifestation to the position of first phenomenon truly does grant an immense boost to a cultivator."

"However, when it comes to breaking through the ninth heaven and cultivating Truth, that is only one method. After all, the Five Phases lineages only have five spots for a first phenomenon. Once those are occupied, those who come after will always blaze new trails—and over countless years of upheavals in the Immortal Dao, two other paths were found besides the first phenomenon."

"The first is constitution."

Wang Ping paused in surprise. "An Immortal Physique?"

"More or less."

[Yang] nodded. "However, ordinary Immortal Physiques are born in correspondence with the qi of heaven and earth, whereas in Cosmic Deep Space, the qi of heaven and earth is only one tier among several."

"Above that lie the Eight Trigrams, and the Supreme Positions of Heaven and Earth."

Hearing this much, Wang Ping already understood and felt a sudden chill of awe. "You mean there are Eight Trigrams Immortal Physiques, and even Immortal Physiques corresponding to the Supreme Positions of Heaven and Earth?"

[Yang] inclined his head slightly and said, "After the Great Rebellion's Purging the Stale Qi of the Six Heavens, such Extreme Dao Immortal Physiques basically stopped appearing in the world. Before that, though, one would still emerge every few tens of thousands of years."

"Moreover, the moment one was born and stirred resonance with the Supreme Positions of Heaven and Earth, they would be discovered almost immediately by a True Monarch and taken in as a Dao Child—an unquestioned seed for cultivating Truth."

"Of course, that comes down to luck. It is something predestined from birth, found only by chance and never by seeking. Trying to remodel oneself into one after birth is harder than scaling heaven—unless a Qi Consumption True Monarch is willing to expend a lifetime of cultivation to resonate with the Supreme Positions of Heaven and Earth and remake your mortal frame from the ground up, you can forget about it."

The light that had just flared in Wang Ping's eyes swiftly dimmed.

Seeing this, [Yang] hurriedly added, "Even so, there's no need to be too discouraged. There is still another path, and I think if you walk it, you have a very good chance of succeeding."

At those words, Wang Ping looked up once more.

"It is called the [Mysterious Pass Aperture]." Looking at Wang Ping, [Yang] explained, "Constitution depends on luck, qi manifestations depend on means, and this one depends on comprehension."

"Back in our era, the [Mysterious Pass Aperture] was sought after by every lineage, and each gave it its own name. Thus it was also called the Source of Creation, the Non-Dual Dharma Gate, the Profound Dharma Realm, the Root-Returning Aperture, the Destiny-Restoring Gate, the Palace of the Imperceptible, the Land of Ultimate Bliss, the Treasury of the Void... every school's realization of it was different."

"Only later did the truth behind its variations gradually become clear."

"As it turned out, the [Mysterious Pass Aperture] cultivated by each person is utterly unique, belonging to them alone—a profundity born of the singular favor of heaven and earth."

[Yang]'s tone grew weightier. "Once you open the [Mysterious Pass Aperture], not only does it possess supreme miraculous uses capable of pushing your combat strength past the ninth heaven, it also brings immense benefits to both cultivating Truth and cultivating the Dao."

"The most recent example is the Human Emperor."

At the mention of that title, Wang Ping immediately grew solemn. As the second person to steal the Mandate of Heaven, he had long since come to regard the Human Emperor as the benchmark he aimed to overtake.

"The Human Emperor also opened the [Mysterious Pass Aperture]?"

"Indeed."

[Yang] nodded. "Not only him—the [Heavenly Banner Pardoning True Monarch] must have opened his as well, which was how he founded the Divine Firmament Five Thunders lineage."

"So that's how it is!"

His face filled with admiration, Wang Ping asked expectantly, "Then did you cultivate it, Senior?"

[Yang] went silent. "..."

Silence.

For a moment, an awkward hush fell over the hall before [Yang] muttered in a low voice, "It wasn't that I couldn't cultivate it—I just didn't care to."

Having said that, he seemed to realize how lame it sounded, so he quickly added, "After all, I possessed an Extreme Dao Immortal Physique tied to the Supreme Positions of Heaven and Earth. Even without the [Mysterious Pass Aperture], my combat strength could break through the ninth heaven, so I never delved deeply into it back then—otherwise I definitely would have cultivated it too."

"An Extreme Dao Immortal Physique—Senior, you're amazing!"

Wang Ping immediately cast him an admiring gaze.

"Keep it low-key, low-key."

[Yang] waved a hand and cleared his throat. "Just a bit of luck. Besides, getting to where I am today was all down to hard work—the help from my Immortal Physique isn't even worth mentioning..."

Wang Ping nodded convincingly.

True enough—if an Immortal Physique tied to the Supreme Positions of Heaven and Earth were really all that invincible, [Yang] wouldn't be trapped in this cosmic death-land today serving as a sand statue.

'Barring any surprises, while an Extreme Dao Immortal Physique is formidable during Qi Refining, its effect drops off sharply once one cultivates Truth—it's an early-stage boost. Qi manifestations are a late-stage boost that have to be built up bit by bit. Only the [Mysterious Pass Aperture], which is tied to comprehension, is probably fierce in both the early and late stages...'

At that thought, Wang Ping had already made up his mind.

Turning to [Yang], he asked respectfully, "Please guide me, Senior—where does this [Mysterious Pass Aperture] lie, and how is it opened? Is there a method for sensing it?"

"None."

[Yang] spread his hands. "Didn't I just tell you? Everyone's [Mysterious Pass Aperture] is different, so its location and profundities are completely different as well."

"If you want to open it, you can only rely on your own comprehension. Yet with something like this, either you get it or you don't. I had a friend who sat in dry meditation for tens of thousands of years and still failed to open it."

"That..." Wang Ping furrowed his brow deeply.

[Yang] then reminded him, "Still, now that I've told you of this aperture and pierced the barrier of perception for you, you might as well give it a try right now. Perhaps you'll gain a glimmer of insight."

At those words, Wang Ping did not dare delay and promptly sat down where he stood.

In an instant, he activated [Golden Sea Desiccation] while keeping his eyes fixed on [a promise worth a thousand gold], waiting to see if he could bring his peerless loan-taking talent into play.

Alas, [a promise worth a thousand gold] simply refused to light up.

And even after emptying his mind of stray thoughts through [Golden Sea Desiccation] and entering a state of sudden enlightenment, Wang Ping felt nothing at all, gaining only a single faint realization.

'The [Mysterious Pass Aperture] really does exist.'

Beyond that—where it was, what profundities it held, or how to open it—he could comprehend nothing whatsoever. It was the very first time Wang Ping had hit a wall when it came to comprehension.

Soon enough, however, he thought of a way.

The next second, he sank his consciousness into the [Taiping Sutra], turned his gaze toward the eighth scripture scroll, [fate makes fools of people], and slowly made a wish.

[I will open the Mysterious Pass Aperture next.] Right after that, he poured all his focus into sensing it again until the effect of [Golden Sea Desiccation] wore off. He still came away empty-handed, yet he was in no hurry.

One wish gone awry traded for one wish fulfilled.

This time, Wang Ping wrote with great care. Failing to open the [Mysterious Pass Aperture] had not yielded much fortune in exchange, so he had to lower the bar for his wish.

[I can sense the approximate location of the Mysterious Pass Aperture.]

"Boom!"

In a flash, a resonance stirred within Wang Ping's heart. Overjoyed, he entered a state of Dao comprehension once more, following that unseen guidance with his perception.

'It isn't inside my body—it's outside.'

The guidance did not last long before snapping off. Fortunately, Wang Ping could simply repeat the trick, and before long he gained another thread of guidance and resumed sensing.

After repeating the process over and over for no telling how long, Wang Ping finally arrived at an answer: 'My [Mysterious Pass Aperture] lies in the space roughly three chi above my head. It's still too blurry to pin down an exact spot—I'll probably have to save up more fortune before I have a chance of finding it.'

Wang Ping felt a touch of disappointment.

On the other side, however, [Yang]'s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets—because he discovered that the qi presence around Wang Ping had actually shifted for real.

'What the fuck?' Just moments ago he had been chuckling to himself, knowing full well that comprehending the [Mysterious Pass Aperture] required heaven's timing, earth's advantage, and human harmony in equal measure—how could anyone possibly see results so easily?

Yet before that thought had even faded, Wang Ping's qi presence suddenly stirred, growing faintly abstruse before vanishing again in the blink of an eye.

Even so, it gave [Yang] a genuine fright.

Thus, the moment Wang Ping opened his eyes, he found a massive sand-statue face pressed right up in front of him, its eyes boring into him with scrutiny.

Impatient to know, [Yang] demanded, "Did you comprehend it?"

"Did you open the [Mysterious Pass Aperture]?"

Wang Ping blinked in surprise, then hastily shook his head. "No, no, Senior thinks too highly of me. The [Mysterious Pass Aperture] really isn't something that can be opened so easily."

"...Phew!"

Only then did [Yang] breathe a sigh of relief. Thank goodness—at least it wasn't completely absurd. If the boy had succeeded on the spot, he would have started suspecting he was the reincarnation of an immortal!

After all, even for him, merely sensing the location of his [Mysterious Pass Aperture] had taken tens of thousands of years, and as for how to open it, he hadn't had the faintest clue. No matter how heaven-defying this kid was, there was no way he could just sit down on the ground, close his eyes and open them again, and immediately surpass tens of thousands of years of bitter cultivation.

Thinking of this, he relaxed considerably.

"It's fine, this sort of thing can't be forced. To open the [Mysterious Pass Aperture], you first have to find its location, and I happen to have a few insights in that regard..."

Before he could even finish speaking, [Yang] heard Wang Ping give a modest smile and say, "Many thanks for your kindness, Senior."

"Though if it's just pinpointing the location, this junior has more or less got that covered already. I still don't know how to open it, though—could Senior give me a few pointers on that instead?"

[Yang] froze. "..."

He had already pinpointed the location of his [Mysterious Pass Aperture]?

Just now?

After a brief silence, [Yang]'s expression flipped in an instant. With a sweep of his wide sleeve, he snapped, "If you need me to spoon-feed you everything, you'll never grow! Go figure it out yourself!"

"Bang!"

Wang Ping was flung straight out on the spot. As the world spun around him, [Yang], gritting his teeth in fury, tossed him into a quiet chamber inside the Dao Tomb.

There was no common language to be had with a freak like this.

He had to admit that standing in front of this kid, even though he was the one with higher cultivation, [Yang] still couldn't shake the feeling of a monkey staring at a human...

So this was world-shaking comprehension?

Inside the quiet chamber, Wang Ping remained perfectly composed despite the sudden outburst in the middle of a perfectly pleasant conversation. By now, he had come to understand these ancient Dao Lords fairly well.

'Eight times out of ten, I touched a sore spot.'

'It looks like this [Mysterious Pass Aperture] really is extraordinarily difficult. At the very least, Senior [Yang] stumbled hard over it, so it won't be easy to cultivate.'

Wang Ping sat down cross-legged.

Thankfully, with [fate makes fools of people] at his disposal, he could keep trying endlessly—alternating between wishes gone awry and wishes fulfilled to hit guaranteed pity over and over, then using that to comprehend it.

Nor did it cost him much energy.

With that in mind, Wang Ping simply split his focus in two—continuing to sense the location of his [Mysterious Pass Aperture] with one half of his mind while projecting the other out into the void.

...

[Heaven Defiance Palace].

Wang Ping's mortal body opened its eyes, feeling the mana, Divine Powers, and even qi manifestations drained completely from within him, leaving only vital blood and Divine Intent circulating through his frame.

At the Martial Dao Pre-Heaven Stage, he was comparable to the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer. Stretching his limbs, Wang Ping had to admit that after spending so long at Qi Refining, being reduced to the level of a lower cultivator at Tribulation Transcending felt cramped and stifling; he was no longer used to such frailty.

Of course, he could break through.

Bolstered by [In the World of Men], Wang Ping was completely confident he could become a Martial Saint. Yet he had no way of knowing whether a Martial Saint would be rejected by [Heaven Defiance Palace].

If he became a Martial Saint only to be thrown out of [Heaven Defiance Palace]—or worse, treated as a rule-breaker by [Heaven Defiance Palace] and executed on the spot—that would be rather awkward.

So Wang Ping merely limbered up his fists and feet without rushing to break through, instead surveying his surroundings. He was sitting at the foot of a flight of steps wreathed in drifting clouds and mist. Atop the steps stood a pavilion with upturned eaves and flying corners, a plaque hanging high above its main doors.

[Directorate of Waterways].

"Hm?"

Wang Ping raised an eyebrow, for he recognized the name. Just like the [Incense-Draped Hall], the [Directorate of Waterways] was one of the halls of the [Five Thunders Divine Firmament Office].

"If I remember rightly, this hall governs [Dragon Thunder]."

Hengxu had described it like this at the time:

[This thunder governs relief from drought and flood. When the divine lord issues the decree of this thunder, gentle winds ease the scorching heat, sweet rain moistens the withered earth, and swift deliverance follows without fail; the grace of Heaven cannot be praised enough.]

"To think I landed here," Wang Ping murmured, narrowing his eyes slightly.

This was clearly no coincidence, but the deliberate arrangement of the Wood Qi True Monarch who had sent him here—though the reason behind it remained unknown.

A new game was being set in motion.

Now that the schemes of the three qi of metal, water, and fire surrounding the [Master of Secret Traces] and [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] had come to an end, was it wood qi's turn to use him as a piece on the board?

'Sure enough, once they see how useful I am, they work me half to death.'

'The [Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Arrowhead] was probably pushed into my hands by the Wood Qi True Monarch in the first place, and it also became the key to slaying [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] in the end.'

Wang Ping turned it over in his mind.

'The Primordial Sovereign profited from that and owed wood qi a favor... So is this her way of repaying that favor—renting me out for the Wood Qi True Monarch to play as a piece?'

A timeshare lower cultivator?

Wang Ping felt that was very likely the case. Still, whatever the reason, the Wood Qi True Monarch's move in sending him to [Heaven Defiance Palace] had effectively plucked him out of the fire.

Granted, that trouble had also been tied to the [Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Arrowhead] the monarch had steered into his hands, yet at the end of the day, Wang Ping was still the one who had come out ahead.

Which brought him to the real question.

'What does wood qi want me to do?' His thoughts racing, Wang Ping finally came to a halt before the doors of the [Directorate of Waterways]. His expression shifted several times before he summoned his nerve, pushed the doors open, and stepped inside.

"Boom!"

Behind him, the heavy doors of the pavilion slammed shut with a thunderous boom that sounded at once like a clap of thunder and the low roar of a True Dragon, plunging Wang Ping's vision into pitch darkness.

It was a dead hush where all sounds fall silent.

Naturally, Wang Ping did not dare move a muscle. Thankfully, even though his mortal body housed his life, he had the [Taiping Sutra] and could revive, so he remained relatively calm.

That state lasted for a full quarter of an hour.

At last, as though the pavilion had verified something, the abyssal gloom receded like the tide, revealing an ancient, imposing wall of black-and-yellow jade.

Engraved upon the wall was a portrait.

The figure in the painting had the ethereal bearing of an immortal, a full head of raven hair tied at the end with a golden ribbon that swayed ever so slightly, reflecting five rings of differently colored light.

One purple, one gold, one azure, one black, and one plain white.

The five colors mingled and turned endlessly like the Five Phases, forging a halo of boundless might behind the figure's head and radiating a transcendent profundity.

'Is this... the Five Thunders?' Purple was [Heavenly Thunder], and gold was [Divine Thunder].

Azure was [Water Thunder], and black was [Dragon Thunder].

Plain white was [Earth-Altar Thunder].

To gather all five thunders upon a single body and even wear them as a halo behind his head, treating them almost as a mere backdrop to his own life—the identity of the figure in the painting went without saying.

'He who commands [Thunder-Water Deliverance] among the Supreme Positions of Heaven and Earth.'

'The [Heavenly Banner Pardoning True Monarch]!'

Before Wang Ping could recover from his shock, the scene within the [Directorate of Waterways] shifted once more as the portrait on the black-and-yellow jade wall gradually dimmed.

Soon, the figure of the [Heavenly Banner Pardoning True Monarch] vanished.

In its place appeared a brand-new mural—still a portrait, and though her facial features could not be seen, her graceful silhouette was unmistakably that of a woman.

Yet compared to the [Heavenly Banner Pardoning True Monarch], the woman in the painting was far more indistinct. No ornaments or vivid attire could be made out, nor was there a halo behind her head whose profundity was obvious at a single glance—only a wisp of ink-black color diffusing like pale smoke.

Even so, she was utterly familiar to Wang Ping.

Though he had not a shred of proof, the title of the woman in the painting surfaced naturally in Wang Ping's mind: 'It is [Primordial Sovereign Mingxing Xuanyi].' Wang Ping's heart skipped a beat.

For at this very moment, he recalled a piece of knowledge that he had once seen yet temporarily forgotten because water qi concealed itself from the perception of lower cultivators.

'What the Primordial Sovereign cultivates is [Water-Thunder Difficulty].'

'What the [Heavenly Banner Pardoning True Monarch] cultivates is [Thunder-Water Deliverance].'

'Both of those Supreme Positions of Heaven and Earth are formed by combining the [Kan Trigram] and the [Zhen Trigram]. Are the two of them connected? And the [Zhen Trigram] is tied to wood qi...'

All at once, shock surged through Wang Ping.

'Could their relationship be like that of [Fire-Earth Progress] and [Earth-Fire Darkening of the Light]? Wait, no—inverting [Water-Thunder Difficulty] does not produce [Thunder-Water Deliverance]...'

The instant that thought crossed his mind, layers of accumulated merit-light flared across Wang Ping's body, and a fleck of true gold surfaced in his pitch-black eyes, barely allowing him to stay lucid amid insights touching upon the Supreme Positions of Heaven and Earth without being burst apart by the flood of Dao attainment rushing after him.

[In the World of Men]!

Thanks to that, Wang Ping merely swayed for a moment before swiftly recovering, planting his feet firmly, and forcing himself to sever those insights from his sea of consciousness.

This was not something he could touch at his current level.

Yet if that was the case, why had the Wood Qi True Monarch sent him here? Wang Ping was still turning the question over in his mind.

Suddenly, the mural before him changed once again. The smoke-like silhouette of the woman vanished, and a deeper radiance welled up from within the jade wall, rippling outward in all directions.

This time, it was no longer a painting.

Instead, it was a single line of characters forged with iron strokes and silver hooks, every character a fusion of vermilion and gold, supremely noble and exalted, crashing straight into Wang Ping's eyes.

[Divine Seat of the Dongyuan Clear-Profundity Dragon-Thunder Directorate of Waterways]