Chapter 443: The First Deduction

'Tianxing and Mingyou want to meet me?'

Wang Ping narrowed his eyes slightly. The moment he silently recited Mingyou's name in his mind, Mingyou sensed it and sent a request to meet through his divine sense.

Yet Wang Ping was in no hurry.

"Just in time!"

On second thought, rather than going to the meeting right away, Wang Ping rode a streak of escaping light and arrived in the blink of an eye at another corner of the Grotto-Heaven—a restricted area closed to outsiders.

Before long, he spotted the person he had come to see.

Or rather, the beast.

Where his gaze fell, Xuanzhi—pitch-black from head to toe and several dozen centimeters taller than before—was staring solemnly at a craggy boulder.

Hard as it was to read any expression on a pheasant's face, an intense gravity still came through in its resolute eyes.

A surging tide of Internal Force billowed through its body, gathering entirely into the wing tucked against its side and condensing into a single cold glint that radiated biting sharpness. After building up that edge for a long while, Xuanzhi snapped its head up like a bladesman who had trained bitterly for years finally drawing his saber from its sheath.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

'Heavenly Martial Conquering the Profound First Blade!!!'

Wang Ping even caught the cry in Xuanzhi's mind. A sharp crack followed, and the boulder in front of Xuanzhi burst apart with a boom, genuinely cleaved in two by a single slash of its wing.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

Xuanzhi flapped its wings over and over in delight, hopping around for a good while before finally settling down, its tiny eyes brimming with excitement.

It couldn't help it—this sensation of flesh-to-flesh impact was simply too fresh and exhilarating.

True, it had cultivated the Immortal Dao before, and the mana of the Tribulation Transcending First Layer was far stronger than this, yet Immortal Dao mana only made its meat tastier without adding anything to its combat strength.

The qi, blood, and Internal Force of the Martial Dao, on the other hand, gave it a visceral taste of true "combat strength" and the thrill of growing stronger and fighting. If nothing else, a single slap from a chicken like itself had actually shattered a boulder—something utterly unthinkable in the past.

'At this rate, becoming True Monarch Xuanzhi is right around the corner!'

"Cluck, cluck, cluck!"

At that thought, Xuanzhi cackled even more happily, already lost in a daydream of the heavens addressing it respectfully as True Monarch Xuanzhi.

Right at that moment, however.

A sudden prickle of pain stung the space between its brows, triggering a premonition. Its relaxed demeanor tensed in an instant, and it swung a backhanded wing-slap straight behind it.

"Cock-a-doodle—!?"

'Who goes there...'

...Clang!

"Owww—!"

Searing pain snapped Xuanzhi right out of its daydream. It rolled around on the ground on the spot, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

It had been ready to unleash a string of curses, but when it saw that the person walking over was Wang Ping—the very one who had imparted the so-called dharma body path to it—it forced back its tears, put on a fawning grin, shook out its feathers, and trotted obediently over to rub against his pant leg.

"Big Bro, what brings you here?"

It looked utterly pitiful.

Wang Ping gave a faint smile at the sight. "To ask Fellow Daoist Xuanzhi for a favor, naturally."

Those words smoothed Xuanzhi's feathers right down. Its brows relaxed, clearly thoroughly pleased with the address—even if it still fell a tiny bit short of "True Monarch Xuanzhi."

'Still, Fellow Daoist isn't bad at all!'

After all, back when it was kept as a pet in the [Incense-Draped Hall], those little haters had treated it like nothing more than a big fat chicken and never once called it Fellow Daoist.

Even so, it shook its head with some hesitation. "Big Bro, if you want to eat me, I don't really mind, but on my own, I can probably only deduce three or four days into the future at most. I've been practicing the dharma body path, sure, but it's been too short a time—I haven't mastered it yet."

"What if we add this?"

Wang Ping reached into his robes and pulled out a wooden disk of overlapping square and circular layers, its surface engraved with a sea of talismanic scripts that squirmed faintly like tadpoles.

The [Great Expansion Deficient-One Disk].

As Wang Ping held this Heavenly Work Spiritual Treasure—taken from the [Eight Trigrams Furnace]—in his hand, its artifact spirit extended its spiritual awareness to survey the surroundings with keen interest.

Suddenly—

[Huh? Bro Chicken?]

Almost at the exact same moment, Xuanzhi's eyes went wide with delighted surprise. "Xiaoyi!?"

Wang Ping raised an eyebrow. "You two know each other?"

"Of course we do!"

The next second, Xuanzhi cradled the [Great Expansion Deficient-One Disk] in its wings as if it had found a priceless treasure. "The True Monarch refined this back in the day using my profound mysteries as a reference."

[Yeah, yeah!]

The disk's spirit sounded thrilled as well. [I knew you wouldn't die that easily, Bro Chicken! Great, our Big Plate Chicken duo can make a comeback!]

'Big Plate Chicken?'

Wang Ping's expression grew even stranger. The only reason he had taken out the [Great Expansion Deficient-One Disk] was that the Treasure Cauldron had mentioned this Spiritual Treasure could also deduce the affairs of the world, much like Xuanzhi's innate divine ability. He had simply wanted to see if the two could complement each other—and from the looks of it, they really could.

"This thing is a huge help to me!" Xuanzhi explained. "With Xiaoyi here, if I run a deduction for you, Big Bro, the timeframe will still be around three or four days, but the accuracy will shoot way up."

"What?" Wang Ping frowned. "Are you saying your deductions would've had low accuracy otherwise?"

"Cough, cough..."

Xuanzhi looked a little guilty at that. "It's mainly because I only hatched recently, so I have no idea what the world is like nowadays.

"Like I told you before, the accuracy of a deduction depends entirely on the intelligence I have on hand. Without enough information, there are bound to be errors... Of course, now that Xiaoyi is here to help, it's a different story. The True Monarch refined it specifically to feed me intelligence and make up for my shortcomings.

"With it around, the accuracy is super high!"

"How high?"

"Three or four stories high!" Xuanzhi said confidently. "Xiaoyi carries the profound mysteries of one of the Pinnacle Stations of heaven and earth. Through that Pinnacle Station, it can observe the affairs of the entire world—very little can stay hidden from it."

"Which Pinnacle Station of heaven and earth?" Wang Ping asked.

"Uh..."

An awkward look crossed Xuanzhi's face. "Big Bro, I'm not trying to dodge the question, but do I look like the kind of chicken that asks about stuff like that?

"Even Xiaoyi itself doesn't know."

A flicker of thought crossed Wang Ping's eyes.

'Neither Xuanzhi nor the artifact spirit itself knows. Someone deliberately hid it so no one would find out... Could it involve a True Monarch's schemes?'

Even so, mulling over something like this on his own wouldn't do any good, so Wang Ping set it aside for the moment and turned his gaze back to Xuanzhi. Taking the hint, Xuanzhi obediently shifted to the side, rested one wing against the nearby boulder, and lifted one chicken leg toward him.

"Come on, don't pity me."

'It's just one drumstick anyway—it'll grow back.'

Wang Ping didn't stand on ceremony. He stepped forward, wrenched off Xuanzhi's big drumstick, and summoned the [Thunderbolt Dragon Divine Fire] to roast it right there on the spot.

Then he dug in.

Boom!

Almost the instant he swallowed the meat, a melodious bell seemed to chime beside Wang Ping's ears. His consciousness pulled rapidly away, opening onto layer upon layer of illusions.

Those illusions stacked atop one another until they reconstructed a scene identical to the real world around him, yet Wang Ping could distinctly feel an underlying unreality. He knew clearly that he was inside Xuanzhi's innate divine ability, and the distant sky wore a subtle, hazy veil.

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist."

Rubbing his hands together, Wang Ping wasted no time riding a streak of escaping light to answer Mingyou's invitation, welcoming the two of them into the center of the Grotto-Heaven.

"My good disciple!"

The moment they met, a brilliant smile broke out across Mingyou's face, and Wang Ping immediately returned it in kind. "Good Master, it's been a long time!"

A round of warm handshakes and pleasantries followed.

Only then did Wang Ping take the initiative to ask, "Good Master, what brings you here to find me today? Just say the word, and your disciple will do everything in his power to get it done!"

Despite his words, Wang Ping had already guessed the reason. Given Tianxing's status as the Metal Qi Dao Child, Mingyou's purpose in coming wasn't hard to figure out.

"For the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary], naturally!" Mingyou laughed heartily. "An imagery of the Divine Weapon Courtyard's treasury ended up in your hands, my good disciple, and I've come on behalf of the Divine Weapon Courtyard to trade for its return."

"Easy enough, easy enough!" Wang Ping matched his enthusiasm. "In that case, how much is the Divine Weapon Courtyard willing to pay? For the sake of our friendship, Good Master, I'll give a one percent discount!"

Mingyou held up a single finger. "The True Monarch has already spoken. So long as you're willing to hand back the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary], you'll be permitted to pick any single Spiritual Treasure from the Divine Weapon Courtyard and take it with you."

Wang Ping: "..."

'Fuck your mother, are you brushing off a beggar?!'

'A single Spiritual Treasure!?'

'I just took a trip to the [Eight Trigrams Furnace] and brought back a full three Spiritual Treasures, and the grand Divine Weapon Courtyard only wants to put up one Spiritual Treasure for the trade?'

'While the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary] isn't of much use to me personally, it's the key to sustaining the [Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Monkey]. My own mana alone could never afford to feed a True Monarch's Dao-proving artifact. If they want to trade for it, offering a True Artifact would be more like it, yet a single Spiritual Treasure... That's way too insincere!'

'How could a True Monarch be so shortsighted?'

At that thought, Wang Ping's gaze darkened rapidly as he looked at Mingyou. "Old dog, you didn't pocket all the benefits the True Monarch meant for me as a kickback, did you?"

"What kind of talk is that!" Mingyou's expression turned stern at once. "Am I that sort of person?"

"It's definitely you!" Wang Ping's face was livid.

"Confess honestly, old dog—just how big a kickback did you swallow that you're trying to brush me off with a single Spiritual Treasure? Do you really think I'd make this trade with you?"

Mingyou remained thoroughly unperturbed. "Whether you trade or not is up to you, but let me make this clear beforehand: the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary] is something that great figure in the [Plain Treading Realm] is determined to obtain, and it's of immense use to Tianxing's cultivation of the True. If you trade it now, at least you'll get something back. If you refuse, the future is going to be very troublesome."

'Trying to use that to strong-arm me?'

Wang Ping let out a cold laugh. "If I were afraid of that, I wouldn't have withheld it in the first place. Long story short, without a True Artifact, there's nothing to talk about even if the True Monarch comes in person!"

Mingyou's brows furrowed slightly, clearly not expecting Wang Ping to take such a hard line, though he quickly shook his head. "Bluffing won't do you any good.

"A True Artifact... You really have the nerve to ask for the moon. The True Monarch will never agree to that. Not because they can't afford it—the Divine Weapon Courtyard's reserves run deeper than you can imagine, and a True Artifact is honestly nothing to them—but because you're merely a lowly Qi Refining cultivator. You don't have the standing to warrant trading a True Artifact."

"Then... how about this."

Hearing that, Wang Ping abruptly changed tack, plastering a smile across his face. "Good Master, why don't you tell me the Divine Weapon Courtyard's real opening offer?

"The two of us can team up and fleece the Divine Weapon Courtyard... Either way, I'm definitely not handing it over for one Spiritual Treasure. I'm not hurting for a mere Spiritual Treasure right now!"

With that, Wang Ping reached into his robe, pulled out a Spiritual Treasure—the [Profound Nether Pot]—and stuffed it straight into Mingyou's hand. "Consider this a token of your disciple's sincerity. How about it? Give me the inside scoop so I know where things stand, and we'll figure out a way to extort a bit more out of them. That way, you'll get a bigger cut too, Master."

"Ai! I couldn't possibly, I couldn't possibly!"

Even as Mingyou made a show of pushing the [Profound Nether Pot] back, he pulled open his wide sleeve. Wang Ping caught on instantly and shoved the Spiritual Treasure right inside.

"Just take it, Master! Refusing it would be refusing to give me face!"

"You rascal."

Looking at Wang Ping leaning in with a broad grin, Mingyou raised a finger and wagged it at him, grinning right back. Nothing more needed to be said.

Shameless as he was, now that he had taken the bribe, he still had to deliver the goods. Without dragging his feet, Mingyou stated flatly, "The price Tianxing gave me was two Spiritual Treasures. I reckon he eighty percent pocketed one Spiritual Treasure as a kickback himself, which means that great figure's actual offer should be three Spiritual Treasures."

"Three Spiritual Treasures..." Wang Ping frowned tightly. "Can't it go any higher?"

"Unlikely," Mingyou said, shaking his head. "Like I said, the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary] is certainly worth a True Artifact, but you're only a Qi Refining practitioner. You don't have the leverage to drive the price up."

A look of thought flickered across Wang Ping's face. "In other words, so long as the party sitting across the bargaining table isn't just me, a lone Qi Refining practitioner, but someone at the level of cultivating the True and attaining the Dao, there's room to negotiate?"

Mingyou caught on immediately. "The Ancient Cultivator Orthodoxy?"

'Bingo!'

Wang Ping lowered his voice. "If I let it be known that the Ancient Cultivator Orthodoxy has also made an offer—and with far greater sincerity than three Spiritual Treasures—is there a chance of prying a True Artifact out of them?"

"Of course there is!" Mingyou answered without a second's hesitation. "That great figure was even willing to come to blows with a Bodhisattva over this. What's one True Artifact by comparison?"

"Good Master, are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Mingyou sounded utterly certain. From what he knew of Tianxing and the great figure backing him, they really would be willing to cough up a True Artifact under those circumstances.

"The only question is how you plan to convince the ancient cultivators to take on this grudge for you. I know they're backing you heavily right now, but that's because you can bring benefits to the Ancient Cultivator Orthodoxy. This, on the other hand, is purely for your own gain. Under these circumstances, will they still back you that far?

"Even at the risk of offending a True Monarch?"

Wang Ping smiled at the question.

"That shouldn't be a problem."

After all, the eight Dao Lords inside the Dao Tomb had already stepped up to tank a True Monarch head-on for him before, and it wasn't as if the ancient cultivators and the Immortal Gate were on good terms to begin with.

Besides, a True Artifact was plenty useful even to a Dao Lord. Nor was this purely for his own gain—when the time came, he wouldn't be the only one using it. Giving up the chance to obtain a True Artifact just to avoid offending a True Monarch would be a textbook case of forsaking the essential for the trivial.

"Good, then." Mingyou broke into a smile as well. "Since you're so confident, I'll pass the word along for you and try to broker this deal. The True Artifact will go to you, though you'll need to throw in another two Spiritual Treasures for me."

'Demanding a finder's fee?'

'Black-hearted bastard!'

This time, Wang Ping dropped the act completely and sneered right to his face. "I won't trouble Master to worry about that.

"I'll handle it myself."

As the words fell, Mingyou suddenly froze. Realizing something, he looked blankly around him, only to see the surrounding heaven and earth shattering with a thunderous roar.

Crack!

The next second, a sound like shattering glazed glass rang beside Wang Ping's ears. Mingyou's figure crumbled apart in his vision and receded rapidly into the distance.

The profound scenery shifted. When he looked again, he was back at the exact instant he had handed the [Great Expansion Deficient-One Disk] to Xuanzhi and swallowed the chicken leg, as though he had never left at all. Nearby, Xuanzhi was sprawled exhausted on the ground, panting heavily, its missing leg already regrown.

Wang Ping immediately reached into his sleeve.

'Good, the [Profound Nether Pot] is still here.'

Ordinary though that Spiritual Treasure was—and rarely as he used it lately—it was still a Spiritual Treasure. Giving it away like that had genuinely stung.

"Why did it end already?"

Gathering his thoughts, Wang Ping turned to look at Xuanzhi. "Not even a full day passed in there, right? Didn't you say earlier that it could deduce at least three or four days?"

'What a total weakling of a chicken.'

Sensing the unspoken jab, Xuanzhi squawked loudly, "Can't be helped! Once the accuracy goes up, endurance naturally drops!"

Wang Ping rubbed his chin. "Accuracy... In that case, is this deduction guaranteed to be accurate?"

"Listen to you!" Xuanzhi's tone was full of confidence. "I ran the deduction for you myself—how could it be fake? It's ninety-nine percent identical to the real future!

"Besides, with Xiaoyi here, let alone Qi Refining practitioners, even the schemes of True Persons and True Monarchs are encompassed within the deduced visions of the future. The only things it can't guarantee are the personal thoughts and sudden actions of a True Monarch, or True Monarchs who have gone into seclusion. Even so, the accuracy is still sky-high."

"Good."

Wang Ping gave a slight nod, reached out to recall the [Great Expansion Deficient-One Disk], and told Xuanzhi to rest up before riding a streak of escaping light away.

He knew exactly what to do now.

'In this deal, the key player isn't actually Mingyou—it's Tianxing... Mingyou doesn't really care either way; the one who truly has skin in this game is Tianxing.'

Wang Ping hadn't forgotten how, inside the deduced illusion, after pocketing his Spiritual Treasure, Mingyou had let slip that the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary] was crucial to Tianxing's cultivation of the True and that Tianxing was dead set on getting it. So if he really wanted to negotiate, he couldn't do it through Mingyou—that would just be letting a middleman pocket the difference.

He had to negotiate directly with Tianxing!

Armed with the intelligence gathered inside the deduced illusion, he could see Tianxing's hand completely in this negotiation. Squeezing him wouldn't be hard at all.

Moments later, inside the [Dao and Virtue Grotto-Heaven].

At the main hall in the center of the Grotto-Heaven, Mingyou and Tianxing descended in streaks of escaping light, coming face-to-face with Wang Ping standing out front, his expression brimming with warm hospitality.

"Good Master, Senior Tianxing!"

At that greeting, Mingyou and Tianxing—who had arrived in a fairly relaxed mood—instantly stiffened. They exchanged a glance, each seeing the wariness in the other's eyes.

'Is this little bastard about to screw us over again?'

Entering the main hall, Wang Ping took a seat directly on a Meditation Mat, set out a profound table looted from the [Incense-Draped Hall], and gestured for the two of them to sit.

With a sweep of his wide sleeve, wine and cups appeared on the table.

"Come, I offer this cup to you, Good Master, and to Senior Tianxing," Wang Ping said respectfully, pouring the wine for Mingyou and Tianxing himself with impeccable courtesy.

The two of them only grew more guarded at the sight.

Needless to say, touching the wine was out of the question. Mingyou narrowed his eyes, any inclination to lead the conversation vanishing on the spot as he signaled for Tianxing to speak first.

Left with no choice, Tianxing lowered his voice. "Little Friend Wang, I have come today for the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary] in your possession."

"Say no more."

Wang Ping raised a hand, a melancholy look settling over his face. "Senior Tianxing, I understand why you've come, but regrettably, I must offer my apologies."

"What do you mean by that?" Tianxing frowned.

Wang Ping let out a sigh. "Because I've already promised the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary] to someone else. I truly cannot go back on my word and promise it to you as well, Senior."

"What? Promised it to whom!?"

Tianxing instantly grew anxious. This bore directly on his cultivation of the True and was of paramount importance; otherwise, why would he have settled for skimming a mere single Spiritual Treasure as his own kickback?

"To the ancient cultivators, naturally," Wang Ping replied.

Tianxing gritted his teeth at those words. "What would the Ancient Cultivator Orthodoxy want with the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary]?! They don't even have any treasures to store in it!"

He fixed his gaze back on Wang Ping. "Little Friend, you wouldn't really hand the item over to a pack of stinking heretics, would you?"

Wang Ping shook his head with a helpless look. "I don't have a choice. The price they offered is simply too generous—I can only do wrong by you this time, Senior."

He went on to explain, "Think about it, Senior. I may be the Water Qi Dao Child, but in truth I'm nothing more than a pawn. When the Water Qi lineage decides to ignore me, they truly leave me to fend for myself. Look at this Bright Light City and this Dao and Virtue Grotto-Heaven—without the backing of the ancient cultivators, how could I possibly have built them up?

"They are my backers.

"Besides, the ancient cultivators have shown immense sincerity. They're even willing to trade a True Artifact for the imagery of the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary]. Tell me, how could I turn that down?"

Wang Ping pointed a finger at Tianxing.

"Put yourself in my shoes—would you take the deal or not?"

Tianxing panicked on the spot. "So what if they have a True Artifact? I have one too!"

Wang Ping's head snapped up.

"You have a True Artifact?"

"Of course! There's something you don't know, Little Friend."

Tianxing raised his voice. "Not only am I the Dao Child of the [Plain Treading Realm], unlike other Dao Children, I am my father's own flesh-and-blood descendant.

"Bound by blood, the most direct of direct descendants! From top to bottom in the [Plain Treading Realm], who doesn't support me, Tianxing, and who would dare not give me some face?"

"That's right!" Wang Ping chimed in without hesitation.

"So while I don't have a True Artifact on me right this second, I guarantee you that so long as you make this trade with me, I can definitely get my father to send one over for you."

"Absolutely!" Wang Ping slapped the table on the spot.

Tianxing gave a grand wave of his hand. "What's more, whatever type of True Artifact you want, just say the word! Don't hold back any conditions—I guarantee every single one will be met!"

"Wonderful, Senior!"

Without another word, Wang Ping raised his cup in a toast. "Come, come! Those stinking heretics of the ancient cultivators didn't even stop to think about how close our relationship is!"

"Exactly!" Tianxing echoed.

"You are the senior I respect most of all! How could I possibly trade a supreme treasure so vital to your cultivation of the True to the likes of them?"

"Right you are!" Tianxing nodded.

By the end, Wang Ping was thumping his own chest. "Senior, mark my words right here—never mind that you can get a True Artifact, even if you only brought a single Spiritual Treasure to trade with me, I would still say yes without a second thought!"

'Bull-fucking-shit!'

Tianxing finally couldn't play along anymore, the corner of his eye twitching. 'If I really only brought out one Spiritual Treasure, this bitch-born bastard would put on a whole different face right now.'

'I'm bleeding heavily on this one...'

'Even if it's not my own money I'm spending, my dad's money is my money. After all, once my dad fails his ascension to immortality someday, won't the inheritance all be mine anyway?'

"Wait here a moment, Little Friend. I'll be right back."

Rising to his feet, Tianxing formed a hand seal. Fine specks of radiance quickly surfaced around him, wrapping his figure and whisking him away from the spot in moments.

He had gone to the [Plain Treading Realm].

"With this trip, the deal is more than halfway done."

Only now did Mingyou speak up again, fixing Wang Ping with a meaningful look. "My good disciple, your art of divination has advanced by leaps and bounds."

"What divination?"

Wang Ping tilted his head innocently.

Yet Mingyou had already reached a firm conclusion in his mind: 'He had Tianxing by the throat ahead of time and knew his bottom line and price almost inside out.'

'Otherwise, he would never have dared to ask for the moon right out of the gate without even testing the waters first... Yet only Tianxing and I knew the details of Tianxing's situation. I certainly didn't leak it, and Tianxing wouldn't go blabbing about it either. Only the art of divination and karma calculation could explain something like this.'

'What a pity...'

Mingyou shook his head at the thought. After that maneuver of Wang Ping's, he couldn't even pocket a kickback anymore—a total loss on his end.

Another moment passed.

Fine specks of light surfaced once more, and Tianxing stepped out from within, clutching three jade slips that he slapped down onto the table in front of Wang Ping, his expression somewhat stifled and gloomy.

"Little Friend, a True Artifact is out of the question... My father says you're bluffing. The Ancient Cultivator Orthodoxy couldn't possibly have a True Artifact, and even if they did, they'd never trade it to you."

Wang Ping didn't bat an eye. "The Dao Lord told me himself. How could it be fake?"

"Then they're stringing you along," Tianxing said, shaking his head. "True Artifacts and True Treasures are generally the Dao-proving objects of True Persons and True Monarchs. Each person has only one—or at the very most, no more than three.

"Supreme treasures of that caliber are refined out of the authority of the Eight Trigrams or even the Pinnacle Stations of heaven and earth, bound directly to the cultivator's own life. Unless the great figure wielding it falls, getting your hands on one is nigh impossible. You could say that behind every stray True Artifact or True Treasure out in the world lies a dead great figure."

'So that's how it works.'

Wang Ping felt a twinge of regret, though he recovered quickly and shifted his gaze to the three jade slips Tianxing had just slapped down in front of him. "Then what are these...?"

"These are [Profound Artifacts]," Tianxing explained. "Across Cosmic Deep Space, among the myriad Spiritual Treasures, some resonate with the qi of heaven and earth, some resonate with the authority of the Eight Trigrams, and some resonate with the Pinnacle Stations of heaven and earth.

"That divides them into lower, middle, and upper grades.

"If, on top of that foundation, an artifact possesses exceptionally high spirituality, it holds the potential to advance into a True Artifact... However, there is actually an intermediate tier in between.

"Just as there are figures like the Wisdom Kings of the Brahma Nation standing above Qi Refining yet below True Persons, below True Artifacts yet above Spiritual Treasures lies another class of rare treasure. Though they have not attained the level of the Immortal and the True, their spirituality already carries a touch of profound mystery beyond any comparison with ordinary Spiritual Treasures.

"Hence, they are called [Profound Artifacts]."

"Oh-ho..."

Wang Ping raised an eyebrow, noticing that Tianxing was reciting the explanation almost word for word from memory, while Mingyou beside him looked equally surprised—clearly neither of them had heard of this distinction before either.

"That being said, before becoming a Profound Artifact, such a treasure starts out as a Spiritual Treasure all the same. The main reason it can ascend a step higher is that it was once wielded by a True Person or True Monarch to accomplish monumental meritorious deeds, allowing it to shed its mortal frame and undergo a qualitative transformation. The [Heaven's Will Profound Blade] actually belongs to this exact tier.

"That is also the defining trait of a Profound Artifact.

"The artifact spirit of a Profound Artifact not only possesses a mind as lucid as a living person's, it can even cultivate autonomously just like a human. Should it gain another master who succeeds in cultivating the True, its future advancement into a True Artifact is practically set in stone."

Finishing his explanation, Tianxing pointed to the three jade slips resting before Wang Ping. "My father said you may pick any one of these three Profound Artifacts to take with you, Little Friend.

"This is the final bottom line. If you don't agree..."

"Deal!"

Before Tianxing could even finish his sentence, Wang Ping slapped the table and shot to his feet. 'Disagree? Are you kidding me? This already blows way past my expectations!'

'It may not be a True Artifact, but if this so-called Profound Artifact really packs power far surpassing a Spiritual Treasure, that's close enough—and plenty useful to me!'

Truth be told, he had originally figured that settling for three Spiritual Treasures wouldn't be unacceptable if push came to shove. Demanding a True Artifact had simply been a way to ask for the moon first so he could haggle down from there. Never had he expected Tianxing to come through so admirably and actually talk a True Monarch into offering higher terms.

'So this is what having a real dad looks like?'

'Good grief, a Supreme True Monarch and a Qi Refining Dao Child actually sharing such pure father-son affection? Where the hell have I landed—is this still the Immortal Gate?'

Wang Ping picked up the three jade slips in front of him and swept his divine sense across them.

The Profound Artifact recorded in the first jade slip was called the [Black-Rushing Coiled-Horn Demon-Severing Profound Sword], also known as the [Northern Palace Divine Edge]—an artifact built for slaughter and combat.

Seven chi and two cun long, weighing twenty-four jin, and four cun and eight fen wide, its profound mysteries served both martial and civil uses: martially, it could cleave and slaughter enemies; civilly, it could cast spells and incantations. And the Pinnacle Station of heaven and earth with which it resonated was none other than [Water-Thunder Difficulty]—a supreme treasure belonging to the Primordial Monarch of his very own Water Qi Daoist Lineage!

Boom!

In an instant, a tremor ran through Wang Ping's mind. In a daze, he seemed to behold a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, watching a dragon head as vast as a star plunge from the heavens.

'The True Dragon Clan... the Water Qi Dragon Monarch...'

That was the meritorious deed behind the [Northern Palace Divine Edge]. His own Primordial Monarch had once wielded this sword to lop off the Dragon Monarch's head and slaughter the True Dragon Clan; the profound light shimmering along the blade was condensed from True Dragon blood itself!

Yet for that very reason, the profound sword was steeped in oceans of True Dragon blood and the karma of the Dragon Monarch's death. Because that clashed with the Water Qi lineage's imagery of seclusion, the Primordial Monarch had discarded it afterward and never used it again, leaving it to end up in the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary], where it had remained stored away until today.

After mulling it over for a moment, Wang Ping set the jade slip down.

He picked up the second one.

The second Profound Artifact was named the [Five Clarities Demon-Subduing Fan], said to be capable of fanning away demonic thoughts, imparting mastery of the Five Clarities, heightening comprehension, and guiding its wielder into a state of Dao enlightenment.

The Pinnacle Station of heaven and earth connected to it was called [Mountain-Water Youthful Folly].

Youthful Folly meant enlightenment and instruction.

The meritorious deed bound to it corresponded to a fallen Water Qi True Monarch—one who hadn't served under the Water Qi Daoist Lineage, however, but had stood as the chief civil minister of the Great Rebellion in ages past!

That Water Qi True Monarch and the [Heavenly Banner Pardoning True Monarch], one civil and one martial, had been the Human Emperor's right and left hands, the very foundation of the Great Rebellion's heaven-shaking momentum back then.

After reading through it, Wang Ping couldn't resist putting a hand to his forehead. 'So the Human Emperor's right and left hands were [Mountain-Water Youthful Folly] and [Thunder-Water Deliverance]—both Pinnacle Stations of heaven and earth tied to the [Kan Trigram] and Water Qi! Could you be any more blatant? If the Water Qi lineage claims it never colluded with the Great Rebellion, who the fuck would believe it?!'

Once he finished his mental gripe, his expression turned solemn again.

The third jade slip.

Just as Wang Ping expected, the Profound Artifact recorded inside was named the [Profound-Dwelling Dharma-Warding Robe], which possessed the protective mystery of letting its wearer walk through ten thousand perils as though treading on flat ground.

The Pinnacle Station of heaven and earth connected to it was called [Water-Heaven Waiting].

As for its meritorious deed, this dharma robe had once been the personal garment of the [Water-Heaven Waiting] True Monarch. After that True Monarch went into seclusion, the robe inherited the True Monarch's karma.

In other words, it acted as that Water Qi True Monarch's stand-in within the mortal world; whoever put it on would be locked onto by the karma the True Monarch had left behind.

'Something's not right here...'

Granted, of the three Profound Artifacts—one for slaughter, one for cultivation, and one for preserving life—each had its own distinct strengths, and all three were tied to Water Qi, meaning Wang Ping could use any of them practically right out of the box. The sincerity on display was undeniable... Yet the problem was that the meritorious deeds attached to these three Profound Artifacts gave him serious pause.

Every single one of them lined up with his recent experiences.

'True Dragons, the Great Rebellion, Little Qian...'

A sheer coincidence?

Don't make him laugh. There were no coincidences in the Immortal Gate; if something looked like a coincidence, a high cultivator was definitely orchestrating it behind the scenes. This was a critical crossroads in a life tribulation!

Wang Ping's expression grew graver still.

After careful deliberation, he finally made his choice and slowly picked up the first jade slip—the one recording the [Northern Palace Divine Edge].

'When it comes to Dao enlightenment, I already have [Golden Sea Desiccation] and the [Avalokiteshvara Precious Scroll]. Adding a [Five Clarities Demon-Subduing Fan] on top of those would just be redundant.'

Besides, Wang Ping flattered himself that he already had a modest bit of natural talent when it came to comprehension.

As for life-saving protection, he certainly wanted it, but the description of the [Profound-Dwelling Dharma-Warding Robe] sounded fishy right off the bat. What did "inheriting the karma left behind by the True Monarch" mean?

Thinking back carefully, that [Water-Heaven Waiting] True Monarch was the life-tribulation teammate Little Qian had mentioned before—the one who hadn't joined Little Qian's life tribulation because they had gone into seclusion beyond the mortal world. Looked at from that angle, if he chose this dharma robe, wouldn't he be forced right into the middle of Little Qian's life tribulation?

'That feels super likely!'

'And going by the exact wording here, wouldn't I also have to step into the shoes of the [Water-Heaven Waiting] True Monarch and square off against that [Earth-Mountain Modesty] True Monarch?'

'Step into the ring against a True Monarch? Me?'

Just thinking about that possibility made Wang Ping's scalp tingle, and he stared at the slip for the [Profound-Dwelling Dharma-Warding Robe] as if he were looking at a pile of shit.

Best to give it a wide berth.

Weighing it from every angle left only the [Northern Palace Divine Edge]. At the very least, it was a Profound Artifact of slaughter that could also be used to cast spells and incantations, boosting his Water Qi divine abilities.

"Made your choice?" Tianxing asked, seeing Wang Ping pick up the jade slip.

Wang Ping gave a slight nod.

"Alright then."

Tianxing briskly took the jade slip back and formed a hand seal once more. "Wait here a moment. I'll go report to my father and fetch the item for you."

With those words, Tianxing vanished from the spot.

Wang Ping let out a long breath of turbid air, turning things over in his mind. There was another, even more important reason he had chosen the [Northern Palace Divine Edge].

'True Dragon...'

Judging by the pill specially sent from the [Deity Transformation Realm] to grant him a Dragon-Transforming Destiny Pattern, the Primordial Monarch clearly intended to tie him to the True Dragons.

From that perspective, choosing the [Northern Palace Divine Edge] and aligning himself with the Primordial Monarch carried the lowest risk of backfiring. 'Big Mama should still love me right now.'

"Good Master."

At that thought, Wang Ping turned toward Mingyou, who had been sitting in silence beside him, and took the initiative to ask, "I still haven't asked about your plans for cultivating the True, Master.

"With your cultivation, Good Master—all three qi complete and both inner nature and vital life perfected—you're only short a single meritorious deed. What meritorious deed do you plan to accomplish to cultivate the True and attain the Dao?"

Mingyou raised his eyes to look at Wang Ping and suddenly smiled. "Haven't you already guessed it? Why ask?"

'So it really is that!'

Wang Ping's gaze sank. He had indeed harbored a guess, though he hadn't been certain... For Mingyou to answer like this meant his guess was most likely dead on.

'This old dog's cultivation of the True is tied to the [Heaven Defiance Palace], and his main cultivation is the Earth Yin Fire [Discerning Truth and Illusion Illuminating Qi], whose profound mysteries focus on unraveling secrets and revealing light. Put that together with the way he's operated all along... The meritorious deed he wants to pull off is eighty percent stripping away the [Heaven Defiance Palace]'s seclusion and dragging it completely into the present world!'

That lined up squarely with what the True Monarchs wanted.

By doing so, he could answer the True Monarchs above while perfecting his own meritorious deed below, borrowing their momentum to boost his odds of cultivating the True by a solid thirty percent. Why wouldn't he?

Which meant Wang Ping's earlier suspicion had been right on the mark: in this grand game revolving around the [Heaven Defiance Palace], Mingyou was a pawn too—and the single most important one on the board!

Stormy waves surged through Wang Ping's mind.

For a moment, he lost track of time completely. When he finally snapped out of it, he jerked his head up and looked around—just as Mingyou beside him turned his head at almost the exact same instant.

'Something's wrong.'

Tianxing still hadn't returned.

With the deal already settled, all that remained was bringing the Profound Artifact over—cash on the barrelhead, a simple handoff. How could it possibly take this long?

Right at that moment.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Heavy footsteps suddenly echoed inside the main hall of the [Dao and Virtue Grotto-Heaven], each step falling like a drumstick slamming straight into Wang Ping's sea of consciousness.

'Someone's here!?'

Wang Ping's pupils contracted sharply!

The reason was simple: even though the footsteps were ringing right beside his ears, neither his divine sense nor his awareness as the master of the Grotto-Heaven gave him the slightest feedback.

Then the doors of the hall were pushed open, and a middle-aged Daoist with sword-like brows and starry eyes, dressed in azure robes and cloud-patterned shoes, strolled unhurriedly inside. His expression was calm, as if he were merely pushing open the door to his own home. His physical form, however, was deeply peculiar—at first glance, he looked as though he had been sculpted out of clay.

Fine grains of sand and gravel pattered to the floor with every step he took.

Looking at him, the Daoist even appeared frail—so frail that a single push seemed like it would topple him over. His gait was slightly unsteady, heavy with the twilight air of advanced age.

Yet the instant he appeared, Mingyou, who had been sitting composedly a moment ago, changed expression slightly and rose to his feet at once, eyeing the newcomer solemnly.

"May I ask Fellow Daoist's name?"

The middle-aged Daoist chuckled softly. "Of the Earth Qi Daoist Lineage and the [Profound-Governing Immortal Realm], ordained under the [Pure Clarity Mountain Profound Capital Dharma Lineage], a disciple of the 'Chang' generation cultivating under the governance of the [Cultivating-Civilization Brilliantly-Shining True Person].

"My Daoist name is Changqing.

"My secular name is Chu Huaijing."

Casual though the middle-aged Daoist's manner was, his reply was formal and meticulously ordered. Mingyou's brows twitched slightly as he listened, deep gravity surfacing in his eyes. "So you are a senior from the Immortal Realm."

"I dare not claim the title of senior before Fellow Daoist. I am nothing more than dry bones in a tomb, begging for the True Monarch's pity."

The middle-aged Daoist cracked a grin, and that small shift in expression alone sent another handful of fine sand trickling down his clay-like face as several cracks split across his skin.

Next, Wang Ping saw the middle-aged Daoist turn his gaze toward him.

"The current manifest Dao Child of Water Qi, walking the Human Emperor's path at such a young age, forging alliances and playing factions off one another to accomplish such grand meritorious deeds—even the Immortal Realm marvels at you as a Heavenly Being.

"And Fellow Daoist here as well."

Looking back to Mingyou, the middle-aged Daoist clapped his hands with a laugh. "In this present age, to break through to the Eighth Layer Heaven in a mere ten thousand years is truly an unprecedented miracle."

Every single word was praise, yet behind that praise lay unmistakable murderous intent. Before his voice had even faded, a majestic radiance bloomed behind him, rippling outward alongside his words: "For the current age to produce two figures such as yourselves shows that seeds of the Dao exist outside the Immortal Realm as well."

The radiance flared blindingly bright!

All at once, star-like orbs of light leaped from behind the middle-aged Daoist's head—nine of them in total, strung together in a single line that filled the entire Grotto-Heaven hall.

Between heaven and earth, only the trailing echo of his voice remained: "No wonder His Excellency sent me here."

The radiance blotted out the sky and the earth, yet remained utterly pure and unified. Within it, Wang Ping saw only a single qi manifestation and a single divine ability, yet its might was nigh unstoppable!

'This is...'

In that instant, Wang Ping had no room to fight back whatsoever. The overwhelming pressure came down like a profound mountain, crushing and extinguishing every last profound mystery on his body.

All he could do was widen his eyes and try to activate [Golden Sea Desiccation]... Yet to his shock, the scripture scroll didn't respond at all!

'What's going on?'

Doubt flashed briefly through his mind.

Almost immediately, however, he lost the capacity to think at all—and because the middle-aged Daoist Chu Huaijing wasn't hiding a thing, Wang Ping could see the truth clearly even without [Golden Sea Desiccation].

'...It's Human Yang Earth.'

[Origin-Governing Battle-Axe-Wielding Fate-Governing Qi]!

More than that, the qi manifestation contained within the radiance also stemmed from that very qi of heaven and earth that no one should have been able to cultivate, piercing into Wang Ping's eyes like a sharp sword.

[Commanding Life and Death, Bestowing and Depriving].

The number one qi manifestation of Earth Qi!

It was the primary qi manifestation cultivated by the Human Emperor of the Great Rebellion back in the day, who, after ascending to a Pinnacle Station, had refined and perfected it using the meritorious deeds of the entire Great Rebellion, elevating it into the foremost manifestation of Earth Qi!

Beyond that, Wang Ping also saw a resplendent meritorious deed within the radiance, reflecting profound scenes—both the supreme profound pivot on high and the register of life and death for all living beings below, restoring life and decreeing death, dispelling disasters and delivering from calamity. As it revolved, boundless ages and the vast river of time seemed to flow through it, converging into a single beam of profound mystery.

[Grand Arbiter of Fate].

Wang Ping's pupils shrank to pinpricks.

The qi manifestation [Commanding Life and Death, Bestowing and Depriving], the meritorious deed [Grand Arbiter of Fate], and finally the divine ability fusing the two into one: a gleaming ring of nine linked stars of profound light.

[High Supreme Nine Stars Profound Pivot Divine Light]!

Established in the [Northern Palace], this light was proclaimed to "gather lifespans at the Northern Dipper Pole and return natural years to the Arbiter of Fate," capable of seizing the longevity of all under heaven and turning seas into mulberry fields in the flash of a spark from flint.

Gathering into a focused beam, the radiance swept unerringly down toward Mingyou below.

Mingyou, who had been spoiling for a fight and ready to trade blows a moment earlier, seemed to sense something. His expression changed drastically, and without a single word, he spun on his heel and bolted.

Boom!

Wang Ping's eyes half-closed as he experienced the domineering might of the [High Supreme Nine Stars Profound Pivot Divine Light] firsthand—because his own lifespan was draining away at breakneck speed!

'That single sweep just shaved at least a hundred years off my life!'

Across the entire Cosmos, what divine ability, what qi manifestation, what meritorious deed could be more terrifying than this? Especially to present-day Qi Refining practitioners, whose total lifespans barely reached ten thousand years!

The next moment, Wang Ping saw the middle-aged Daoist reach into his sleeve and pull out a small box—which, on closer inspection, was a miniature coffin. Sliding the lid open, the Daoist formed a hand seal, chanted an incantation, and finally crooked a finger in Wang Ping's direction. His laughter whipped up a howling yin wind that tore through the hall: "Come along, come along!"

Before the words finished echoing, Wang Ping's vision plunged into endless darkness. A metallic clang exploded beside his ears, and his consciousness rapidly faded into silence.

'How could this happen...'

In that final instant, sheer disbelief filled Wang Ping's mind—because even with the enemy going this far, the entire Ancient Cultivator Orthodoxy hadn't stirred in the slightest!

The Dao Tomb remained dead silent.

The twenty-four ancient cultivator Daoists who should have been standing guard over [Bright Light City] failed to appear, and the [Dao and Virtue Grotto-Heaven] was shrouded in a murky gloom.

'Someone stepped in to block them.'

After a brief flash of shock, comprehension dawned on Wang Ping: 'It's a True Monarch! The Earth Qi True Monarch!'

Perhaps because the ancient cultivators had emerged into the world, perhaps because he had monopolized the [Heaven Defiance Palace], or perhaps for some other reason... Either way, a True Monarch had personally made a move!

In fact, it most likely wasn't just one True Monarch, but the Earth Qi True Monarch taking the lead to rally the various Daoist lineages of the Immortal Gate until everyone reached a consensus.

That was what had produced the scene before him: Tianxing leaving and never returning, and a Qi Refining practitioner walking out of the Immortal Realm—wielding the foremost qi manifestation of Earth Qi with combat strength very likely surpassing the Ninth Layer Heaven—appearing out of nowhere to drive off Mingyou and suppress him, all because his actions might have crossed that True Monarch's bottom line.

Such thunderbolt methods! Such decisive, ruthless resolve!

Boom!

Inside the [Directorate of Water Works] of the [Heaven Defiance Palace], Wang Ping's turbid body snapped its eyes open, shock written all over his face as an intense emptiness washed through his frame.

"It's gone..."

With the [Ascending Purity and Descending Turbidity Aspect], the turbid aspect housed his vital life while the pure aspect carried his Immortal Dao cultivation; in theory, no matter how badly the pure aspect was damaged, it shouldn't have mattered to his survival.

Right now, however, Wang Ping could clearly sense that his pure-aspect body had been pinned down by an overwhelming profound mystery. It could neither self-detonate nor disperse, as if time itself had been frozen around it—sealing away his Immortal Dao cultivation right along with it and leaving him with only his turbid body and his Martial Dao at his command!

"This, this..."

Feeling an unprecedented weakness, Wang Ping's face turned uglier than ever. He wasn't dead, yet this outcome had already shoved him right off the edge of a cliff!

'With only my turbid body holed up inside the [Heaven Defiance Palace], unable to make moves outside or even sense changes in the outside world, I can only sit here passively and accept whatever arrangements the True Monarch makes.'

How was that any different from suicide?

Yet if he used the [Taiping Sutra] to kill himself and revive, he would no longer be able to enter the [Heaven Defiance Palace]—and a True Monarch would very likely come knocking in person to erase him on the spot!

A wolf in front, a tiger behind.

A dead end!?

Right at that moment, however, Wang Ping froze where he stood. The world before his eyes blurred abruptly as darkness welled up from its center and spread outward.

At the very end came a soft sound like shattering glazed glass.

Crack!

Wang Ping opened his eyes.

What met his gaze was Xuanzhi, knocked out cold on the ground, alongside the [Great Expansion Deficient-One Disk], its luster completely gone. The Big Plate Chicken duo looked to have suffered a heavy blow.

No, not just them.

Wang Ping looked down at his own palm. There, the divine ability [Cyclic Life-Substituting Book] had manifested on its own, its pages flipping rapidly with a frantic rustle.

Raging flames burned across every single turning page, casting a fiery glow as they incinerated substitute lives. Within the span of a few short breaths, ten full pages had burned to drifting ash.

'Time to try again!'