Chapter 446: All of You Shall Know!

Wang Ping's intuition told him this might be the best chance he had ever gotten—one that would blow past every True Monarch's schemes and expectations!

Which meant... he had to broadcast it live!

He had to let everyone see his [dharma body path], and even cultivate the [dharma body path]. Only then could he push [Seizing Preeminence Among the Ao] to its absolute limit!

But how could he spread the word far and wide?

At that moment, Wang Ping looked up at the torrent of [destiny], a clear realization rising in his mind: 'Only [destiny]—only it can make this easy.' Merit!

'That's right. If I can make the merit condensed for me by [destiny] carry the profound mystery of broadcasting far and wide, I can borrow the power of [destiny] to promote it.'

His mind raced. By now he had accumulated quite a bit of merit and understood the mechanism well enough, so a plan quickly took shape: 'So-called merit is the trail a cultivator leaves in [destiny]. Whatever great deed you accomplish determines the profound mystery your merit holds.'

Following that principle:

'This merit is being born for the [dharma body path]. So if I want it to carry the profound mystery of broadcasting far and wide, I have to start with the [dharma body path] itself.'

'So universal that anyone can cultivate it—regardless of comprehension or resources—making it ideal for mass promotion... Then the merit might respond in kind!'

Understanding dawned on Wang Ping. With that in mind, he looked back at his [dharma body path], wondering inwardly: did the current [dharma body path] have that kind of universality?

'I'm afraid... not.'

Wang Ping shook his head.

Using Divine Intent to sense the three dharma bodies of past life, present world, and future life, merging them into one, opening up one's own [dharma body path], and then fusing it into the physical body—if people followed this approach, everyone would have their own [dharma body path]. Yet pulling that off required a deep understanding of time first. Otherwise, even manifesting the three bodies would be extremely difficult, let alone merging them into one. The demand on comprehension was sky-high.

Even for him, completing it had been a struggle.

Had he not gained an early grasp of [Free and Easy Wandering], experienced the shifts of time, and had the blessing of the Light of Myriad Treasures on top of that, he never could have mastered such a profound mystery.

"I need to adjust it."

Otherwise, breaking through this way would only turn the [dharma body path] into another [Martial Dao]—detached from the masses, an aloof orthodoxy high above the world.

And he would end up just like the First Seat: formidable in personal strength, yet left with an orthodoxy impossible to popularize and unable to reach the grassroots, making promotion as hard as scaling the heavens.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping looked up at the sky. He could faintly sense that right outside the [Heaven Defiance Palace], the human yang fire—the [Civilization-Manifesting Ultimate-Founding Qi]—had turned its gaze toward him. Had he been in the outside world right now, that qi of heaven and earth would have descended without question; for the moment, only the [Heaven Defiance Palace] was blocking it.

'Step it up!' He had to find a way to push the [dharma body path] a step further, making the human yang fire batter against the [Heaven Defiance Palace] at all costs and drawing everyone's eyes onto himself!

So how should he do it?

How could he adjust it to drastically lower the cultivation difficulty of the [dharma body path] and push the imagery of "universality" to the absolute limit?

'First, comprehending the past life, present world, and future life... forget about that. That's a hard requirement; without enough talent, grasping those shifts is completely impossible.'

Yet it was also a necessary condition, so he had to find another way around it.

"There's no need to make cultivators comprehend time. So long as they sense with their Divine Intent and feed their memories into my [dharma body path], the whole process can be simplified."

Wang Ping began fine-tuning the [dharma body path], opening an external interface window. Now, as long as cultivators used strong enough Divine Intent to resonate with his [dharma body path], his [dharma body path] would automatically sort out their past life, present world, and future life for them, helping them manifest the three dharma bodies.

The entire process required zero understanding of time from them.

He would handle every part related to time himself. Cultivators only needed to sense the [dharma body path]—requiring zero comprehension and zero resources.

Of course, that was only the first step.

To break through to Martial Saint via the [dharma body path], one still had to merge the three bodies into one. Wang Ping couldn't do that part for them; the cultivators had to carry it out themselves.

After all, the so-called three bodies were actually the cultivator's own [Self], and merging the three bodies into one meant illuminating the mind and seeing the [Self]—a step that could never rely on outside force.

At that thought, Wang Ping frowned again. "No good. This step still requires an understanding of time. Otherwise, there's no way to properly grasp the shifts between past life, present world, and future life, let alone unite the three bodies... The comprehension requirement is still too high. I have to find a way to make it even simpler."

Wang Ping sat cross-legged.

Under the dual blessings of the [Avalokiteshvara Precious Scroll] and [Golden Sea Desiccation], his comprehension had reached the peak of his life, with inspiration pouring in endlessly.

'More than half the cultivators in the world are stupid.'

'With stupid people, you can't expect them to know both the how and the why. Comprehending the Dao is too much of a luxury for them—the Great Dao has to be something they can see and touch.' As the thought struck him, Wang Ping's eyes suddenly lit up.

'Perhaps... I can use the connection between past life, present world, and future life!'

Wang Ping turned to look behind him at his teenage self. The [Past Life Aspect] was his past, and as the past grew stronger, it would naturally draw closer to his present self.

Which was the [Present World Aspect].

By the same logic, the stronger the past became, the higher the present would rise with the tide, in turn drawing closer to his future self—the [Future Life Aspect]. That was the principle of time.

'In reality, though, the past is immutable. Once the [Past Life Aspect] manifests, it never changes; it cannot grow stronger, nor can it pull the present along with it, leaving the future even further out of reach. To fuse all three together, a cultivator can only rely on their understanding of the [Self] and of time.'

Still—what if he changed his approach?

Wang Ping reached out with both hands, gripped the two ends of the [dharma body path], and yanked hard... overlapping the [Past Life Aspect] and the [Future Life Aspect]. 'Following the flow of time, every second of the future becomes the present in the next second, and every second of the present becomes the past in the next second.'

'So as long as one uses the [Present World Aspect] to feed the [Future Life Aspect] into the [Past Life Aspect], that power will naturally turn into nourishment for the [Past Life Aspect] as time runs its normal course! The process requires no comprehension, because that is simply how time works—everything falls into place naturally.'

If there was any requirement at all, it was probably having enough raw strength to forcibly link the [Past Life Aspect] and [Future Life Aspect] through the [Present World Aspect], forming a closed loop.

Wang Ping looked at his masterpiece. In his hands, the originally straight [dharma body path] had transformed into a brilliantly shining ring!

The result was surprisingly good.

As time turned, his [Past Life Aspect] kept growing stronger, pushing the [Present World Aspect] closer to the [Future Life Aspect] and drawing all three bodies nearer and nearer.

Not a shred of comprehension was needed the entire way. So long as you could maintain this loop, you could use the normal flow of time to push the three bodies into one.

'That will depend on the cultivator's own foundation—their dharma body path foundation before taking this step. Still, there's really no helping this part. If someone doesn't even have this much strength, they probably aren't suited to cultivating the dharma body path...' Even so, Wang Ping couldn't help thinking: 'Is there really nothing else I can do?'

'Actually... maybe not!'

At that, a thought surfaced instinctively in his mind: 'What if magical power could also participate in merging the three bodies into one? Might that work wonders?' Of course, he had no concrete plan for that yet. What he had accomplished just now had nearly drained his inspiration and mind dry, leaving him no spare energy to deduce anything further.

Still, he was certain he had done the best he could. The adjusted [dharma body path] was without question the easiest orthodoxy to cultivate under the heavens. Strictly speaking, so long as you had enough strength—never mind a monkey—even a blade of grass, a grain of sand, or a bug could cultivate it to completion!

With that thought, Wang Ping finally stopped holding back.

The light of the Great Dao formed by the [dharma body path] surged rapidly into his body, reshaping his flesh, anchoring his worldview, and helping him crash thunderously through the barrier of Martial Saint.

Boom!

The next second, a change occurred—from the deepest reaches of [destiny], a merit long in the making abruptly took form and descended upon Wang Ping.

[Great Grandmaster Rank]!

In an instant, the profound mysteries tied to it flooded into Wang Ping's heart. After looking through them, an excited smile gradually spread across his face.

'It worked!'

Just as he had expected, for a [dharma body path] that pushed universality to the extreme, the merit condensed by [destiny] possessed a matching profound mystery!

What was [Great Grandmaster Rank]?

'Leaving form and discarding intellect, embodying the Dao and sitting in oblivion... By activating this merit, I can borrow the mighty power of the torrent of [destiny] to make everyone see me!' More precisely, they would see the [dharma body path] he had mastered. Any cultivator capable of gazing upon the torrent of [destiny] would be able to sense the [dharma body path] and become a [dharma body path] cultivator. And as the lord of the dharma body path, Wang Ping could use this to display the shifts of the Great Dao to the entire Cosmos.

He could even say a few words.

Without a doubt, the profound mystery of this brand-new merit fit Wang Ping's expectations to perfection. He didn't need to painstakingly spread the orthodoxy—he could just livestream it across the Cosmos!

'No time to lose...'

At that thought, Wang Ping immediately activated [Great Grandmaster Rank]. The bright light of merit hooked into [destiny], spreading out across the entire Cosmos in an instant.

'Everyone, eyes on me!'

***

[Plain Treading Realm].

Atop the jade platform, the corner of the middle-aged man's eye twitched slightly. Beside him, Tianxing spoke in a faint, ethereal voice: "Old thing, where's my benefit?"

The middle-aged man looked somewhat embarrassed.

Losing face wasn't a big deal by itself, but losing face in front of his own son really damaged his image as a mighty, towering, omnipotent father.

Beside him, Tianxing was getting anxious. "My life and nature haven't changed at all! Old thing, you didn't get scammed, did you? How is a True Monarch only capable of this..."

"Shut up!"

The middle-aged man was getting a bit flustered and exasperated, though countless thoughts flashed through his eyes. Another thief had broken into the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary]—whose handiwork was it this time? His first thought was water qi. 'Could it be Shuofang again? That shouldn't be.'

It wasn't that [True Monarch Shuofang Hanyou] lacked the ability, but rather that the other party had just shaken off a lifetime of grievances and karma, using that very feat as his Dao-proving merit. At a time like this, why would he come provoke him again and draw back the hatred he had gone to such lengths to cast off? That would only diminish his merit. Yet if it wasn't Shuofang, who else could it be?

'The [Heavenly Armory]... No, before it fell into the [Heaven Defiance Palace] back then, I destroyed the key with my own hands and emptied that dump out completely.' So that possibility could be ruled out first.

And if it was neither water qi nor the [Heavenly Armory], only one possibility remained.

'That doghouse!'

The middle-aged man quickly locked onto the culprit: 'Tianhou's doghouse was also set up inside the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary]. That brute stole the Light of Myriad Treasures!'

At that thought, a pang of heartache hit him.

So he had come away completely empty-handed—getting the Light of Myriad Treasures back one moment only to have it stolen again the next, and losing two mystic artifacts in the process?

Outrageous!

'Don't let me catch that dog!'

Just as the middle-aged man was seething inwardly, he suddenly sensed something. Letting out a soft sound of surprise, he looked up toward an extremely distant, lofty place.

Inside the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary].

In an undetectable corner that shared the exact same nature as the [Heavenly Armory], a colossal beast towering like a mountain lay sprawled on the ground, taking a nap. It was none other than Tianhou.

At this moment, the fierce beast from the Great Rebellion era had its eyes closed as if having a sweet dream, hugging an especially huge bone in its forelegs. Every now and then, it stuck out its tongue and gave it a lick.

"Snort, snort..."

Suddenly, an unseen killing intent sent a jolt through the dreaming Tianhou. Startled awake, it whipped its head around, scanning its surroundings on high alert.

'What happened?'

Looking utterly bewildered, Tianhou lifted a paw to check—even its dog fur was standing on end. Had it been exposed for sneaking food from the [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary]?

No way. It had been extra careful lately, not even touching a single Spiritual Treasure and only eating some mountain-high piles of spiritual materials just to fill its belly.

How had it been found out?

For a moment, Tianhou felt restless and uneasy, missing Xuanzhi despite itself. If Xuanzhi were still around, it could run a deduction for it.

Ever since borrowing the profound mystery of the [Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Arrowhead] to escape the [Incense-Draped Hall], it had been terrified that the huge hand of a True Person or True Monarch from the Divine Weapon Courtyard would descend from the sky and slap it dead on the spot. So it had immediately ducked into its doghouse and lain low ever since, only sneaking a bite to eat now and then and not daring to run around.

'Going on like this isn't a solution either.'

Tianhou widened its eyes. There was none of a fierce beast's savagery in those huge pupils; instead, they gleamed with intelligence. Rolling its eyes in thought, it quickly came up with an idea.

'[Bright Light City].'

Though holed up in its doghouse, it wasn't clueless about the outside world. It frequently sent out clones made of dog fur to gather news, so it naturally knew about the recent major events.

'The Dao and Virtue Grotto-Heaven, the Water Qi Dao Child.'

Truth be told, just putting those two names together struck Tianhou as absurd. That demon sounded thick-skinned from the name alone.

No wonder he could win Xuanzhi's favor.

'Why not go find him?'

Tianhou mulled it over. For one, it missed Xuanzhi; for another, it sensed a quality in Wang Ping completely different from an immortal gate cultivator.

'Those bitch-born bastards would never mix with ancient cultivators, let alone get their full backing. Even True Monarchs didn't get that kind of treatment back in the day... Which means either this Water Qi Dao Child is an exceptional con artist, or he has something the ancient cultivators value.'

Tianhou leaned toward the second possibility.

Either way, having a chat couldn't hurt... Besides, it also wanted to make a trip into the [Heaven Defiance Palace]. There was something delicious inside.

It had been craving it since back in the day.

If it could eat that, it might even have a shot at cultivating the true.

Right then, a strange fluctuation suddenly interrupted Tianhou's thoughts. Instinctively looking up, it heard the roar of a surging torrent.

"...[Destiny]?"

[Star Grave Sand Sea], Dao Tomb.

Inside the vast, empty hall, a woman dressed in martial attire sat cross-legged. With every breath she took, universes seemed to be born, perish, and open up within her body. It was Lian Ruzhao.

Ever since meeting Wang Ping, this Martial Dao First Seat had entered seclusion, remaining in silence for a long time until she finally began waking up today. As she awoke, her breathing—which had resembled the opening of universes—shifted abruptly. The world inside her body stopped changing, while the world outside shattered all at once.

Boom!

Almost simultaneously, Lian Ruzhao opened her eyes. Wherever her gaze fell, the void around her broke through two layers in succession, churning restlessly for a long while before settling back down.

Second Layer Heaven Breaking!

The next second, Lian Ruzhao suddenly sensed something and looked back, just in time to see [Yang] appear out of thin air in white robes, meeting her gaze.

"Oh... impressive."

Seeing this, [Yang] praised softly, "No matter how many times I see it, your intuition is truly remarkable. Perhaps you possess an Extreme Dao Immortal Physique just like me."

"Senior overpraises me."

Lian Ruzhao shook her head. Her very first question after coming out of seclusion was about the matter that had weighed most on her mind all this time: "How is that good disciple of mine?"

"Rest assured."

At the mention of Wang Ping, [Yang] smiled. "He's safe and sound, and he's even accomplished a massive feat of merit. All told, his combat strength right now is even higher than yours."

At this, [Yang] glanced at Lian Ruzhao again. In all fairness, Lian Ruzhao's cultivation speed wasn't slow—in fact, it was shockingly fast. In less than a year of seclusion, she had gone from First Layer Heaven Breaking to Second Layer Heaven Breaking. She was a path-founder; progressing this quickly was already outrageous. In the past, he definitely would have marveled at it.

Now, however—after witnessing an even more outrageous monster with his own eyes—[Yang] barely felt a ripple in his heart. If anything, he felt a touch of relief.

He had finally run into a normal person.

At least compared to that freak who hadn't even reached First Layer Heaven Breaking a few months ago and could now reach Fourth Layer Heaven Breaking by borrowing the power of a Grotto-Heaven, this was completely normal.

"Your Martial Dao is hard to cultivate."

[Yang] spoke softly, "While you were in seclusion, I tried cultivating it myself. It's very troublesome, and the stride is too large. You can't form an orthodoxy this way."

The leap in the Martial Dao was extreme. Jumping straight from Great Grandmaster Rank to Martial Saint was the Immortal Dao equivalent of breaking through directly from Tribulation Transcending Second Layer to become a Qi Refining practitioner. That was no normal breakthrough; in the whole world, only a martial artist like Lian Ruzhao, whose Divine Intent differed from ordinary mortals, could pull it off.

Such a Dao was meaningless.

"Having cultivated this far, it is time to simplify the complex," [Yang] advised. "I understand your thinking—you're simply looking for inspiration from the ancient cultivators."

"Because we do not cultivate the true; we cultivate the Dao."

"Yet in truth, Dao cultivators like us are not the same as you. Although we also open up orthodoxies, ours are based on the Immortal Dao enlightened by the Heavenly Venerates."

"Your Martial Dao, on the other hand, was created out of nothing."

Hearing this, Lian Ruzhao looked up. "What does Senior mean?"

"The person you should measure yourself against is the Living Buddha."

"When it comes to simplifying an orthodoxy, the Living Buddha took it to the absolute extreme. Just look at those bald donkeys in the Brahma Nation—they can even bestow Realms at will."

Finally, [Yang] gave his conclusion: "So if you want your Martial Dao to keep advancing by leaps and bounds, the only way is to make it more universal. Once the cultivators under your governance achieve major breakthroughs, a rising tide lifts all boats—it will naturally push your own cultivation to the next level."

"Take the Living Buddha as an example again."

"Back when the Living Buddha managed to carve out a path of survival under the hands of that fire qi immortal, the advancement of the Eight Bodhisattvas of the Brahma Nation played a vital role."

[Yang] gave a light laugh. "Or take the various True Monarchs of the Immortal Gate. Why do they establish Immortal Realms and orthodoxies? In truth, it's out of the exact same consideration. It is also a form of borrowing the false to cultivate the true."

"Including the Dao Sanctuaries of us ancient cultivators."

"It's all the same."

As his voice fell, [Yang] took another serious look at Lian Ruzhao and said, "By my estimate, you should be able to break through once more within five years."

Having observed Lian Ruzhao for so long, he was confident in his judgment, and that pace was already very fast. Even if Lian Ruzhao couldn't solve the difficulty problem of the Martial Dao, relying purely on her own diligent cultivation, [Yang] felt she had hope of charging into Ninth Layer Heaven Breaking within a hundred years.

The very next second, however, Lian Ruzhao shook her head. "This junior does not see it that way."

"Oh?" [Yang] raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Your intuition again? Then tell me, how long do you think it'll take you to go a step further?"

Lian Ruzhao held up three fingers.

"Three..."

Hm, three years?

[Yang] nodded slightly, figuring it wasn't impossible. After all, inspiration depended purely on one's comprehension, and no one could predict sudden enlightenment.

Then he watched Lian Ruzhao slowly curl her fingers down.

"...Two, one."

[Yang]: "???"

Rumble!

Before [Yang] could even react, the First Seat—who had just broken through moments ago—erupted with qi presence once again. Her Divine Intent skyrocketed wildly, shattering the surrounding void in an instant! In [Yang]'s eyes, the Third Layer Heaven Breaking that should have taken five years to cross was traversed in the blink of an eye—and she was still climbing! If there had been a progress bar between Third Layer Heaven Breaking and Fourth Layer Heaven Breaking, Lian Ruzhao would have already crossed nearly half of it right now!

[Yang]'s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

What was going on?

'This isn't a normal breakthrough... It's borrowing the false to cultivate the true! A cultivator under the Martial Dao's governance completed an unimaginable major breakthrough, boosting her as the path-founder?' Who was so fierce?

This was no ordinary boost. To push someone who had just reached Second Layer Heaven Breaking all the way to nearly Fourth Layer Heaven Breaking—how outrageous did the breakthrough have to be to generate feedback like this? Was there someone that capable under the Martial Dao's governance?

As the thought struck him, a figure immediately popped into [Yang]'s mind. If he remembered correctly, that kid seemed to be a Martial Dao cultivator too. ...No way, right?

At the same time, while [Yang] stood there dazed as if waking from a dream, Lian Ruzhao's expression remained calm, the corner of her lips curving into a slight smile.

"Good child."

Through the resonance of her Divine Intent, her gaze fell into the torrent of [destiny] in the blink of an eye, catching sight of that figure of light rising steadily like the morning sun.

The exact same upheaval was unfolding in every corner of Cosmic Deep Space. After all, even the Immortal Realms governed by True Monarchs lay beneath the canopy of [destiny].

At this moment, across Cosmic Deep Space—whether in the Immortal Gate, the Brahma Nation, or the Ancient Cultivator Orthodoxy—divine senses were awakening and turning toward the torrent of [destiny]. Even among the consciousnesses buried by Dao struggles over the long ages, a tiny handful were startled awake by this fluctuation.

"Such a thing is actually happening..."

Supreme existences murmured softly.

Beneath them, quite a few True Persons also betrayed stunned thoughts, as though they had been carried back to the era when the Brahma Nation rose in a world of Dao struggles.

"Someone is opening a Dao!"

"It's not the [Martial Dao] from a while ago—that was an orthodoxy opened by borrowing the profound mystery of human yang fire. This is true creation out of nothing, a pure Great Dao."

"Who is it?"

Soon, everyone saw the figure rising from within [destiny]—a stream-like radiance, dazzling and resplendent to the extreme.

[Dharma body path].

The instant they saw that radiance, everyone from True Monarchs at the top down to independent cultivators at the bottom understood its title, while a massive flood of Dao comprehension and knowledge surfaced in their minds.

Appearing alongside it was a tall, slender figure whose face and gender could not be made out. Standing within the torrent of [destiny] as the focus of all eyes, he parted his lips, and a melodious Dao voice echoed out through the torrent of [destiny], ringing in the ears of every living being across Cosmic Deep Space:

"All of you shall know..."

A brief Dao voice, yet packed within it were the principles and cultivation methods of the [dharma body path], laid bare at this moment without holding anything back:

"My great merit that far surpasses the ancients!"

Rumble!

From today onward, every cultivator capable of gazing upon the torrent of [destiny] would clearly see the bright light formed by the [dharma body path] whenever they looked up at the sky.

Just a few seconds later, a massive tide of Divine Intent shot into the heavens, resonating unseen with the [dharma body path]—it came from the unimaginably vast population of independent cultivators under the Immortal Gate's rule. After all, to them, the traits of the [dharma body path] were nothing short of a heaven-sent immortal opportunity.

No resources required, no comprehension required.

Practically anyone with hands could do it, with almost zero difficulty to cultivate, yet it offered a prospect of Qi Refining without being restricted by a true spiritual root—who wouldn't be interested?!

Forget independent cultivators—even outer sect disciples, inner sect disciples, and a handful of hard-pressed true transmission disciples were sensing the [dharma body path] right now!

And as they resonated with it, Wang Ping inside the [Heavenly Armory] immediately noticed the change. If the original [dharma body path] had been nothing more than a small stream holding the years of his life alone, then with the influx of countless cultivators, that stream was rapidly expanding into a surging, mighty river!

"Splash, rush!"

The roaring river rolled beneath Wang Ping's feet. As more and more independent cultivators merged into it, he actually glimpsed a trace of possibility within its waters.

'Time...'

His memories alone didn't amount to much, but what if the memories of all sentient beings across Cosmic Deep Space fell into this long river? That would be [Time]!

The memories of all existing things were the true meaning of time's operation. Paired with Xuanzhi's innate Divine Powers, it might produce an extraordinary, miraculous effect!

For instance, right now, if he wanted to, he could easily gather the memories currently merging into this Long River of Memory, find a scene that everyone shared a memory of, enter it, and alter it—in a sense, that would be a method of changing the past!

Of course, he wouldn't be changing the past in the true sense.

Strictly speaking, that would only alter memories, and changes in memory couldn't affect reality—wait, no, not necessarily. Wang Ping's eyes suddenly lit up.

Divine Intent!

'The Martial Saint Realm is originally about using Divine Intent to shape a worldview and overwrite reality... What if I applied that ability to the Long River of Memory?'

Altering everyone's memory of a certain past event within the long river, and then overwriting reality with it to change the past—was a move like that actually possible?

Maybe it was!

Just imagining it sent an indescribable thrill through Wang Ping's heart. Changing the past in a single thought—if he really pulled that off, wouldn't he basically become an immortal?

Very quickly, though, he calmed back down. The current Long River of Memory was still far too distant from the day it could truly turn into [Time]. Moreover, relying on lower-realm cultivators alone couldn't achieve that, because the history of Cosmic Deep Space up to now could never be separated from True Persons and True Monarchs.

They were the "protagonists," after all. To them, the current [dharma body path] still wasn't attractive enough—unless one day he could push the dharma body path to the level of cultivating the true.

'That day will come eventually...'

Wang Ping reined in his thoughts.

Above his head, the radiance of [Great Grandmaster Rank] gradually dimmed, severing its connection with [destiny] and falling into temporary silence.

Elsewhere, however, a qi of heaven and earth had gone berserk.

[Civilization-Manifesting Ultimate-Founding Qi].

Human yang fire!

Without a doubt, livestreaming the opening of a Dao across the entire Cosmos, combined with massive numbers of independent cultivators flocking to it, had driven this creation-centered qi of heaven and earth nearly mad.

The most direct result was that the qi manifestation [Seizing Preeminence Among the Ao] was climbing at a terrifying speed. Had he been a human yang fire cultivator instead of cultivating water qi, all nine qi manifestations would have responded simultaneously right now—a spectacle that would have surpassed even Lian Ruzhao back in the day!

Even as things stood right now, backed by the full force of the human yang fire, [Seizing Preeminence Among the Ao] blazed like a boundless golden sun, standing as an equal rival to the moonlight formed by [Supreme Yin Weak Water].

The two turned like yin and yang, water and fire interlocking as they suppressed all eight of the remaining qi manifestations. Faintly, the shadowy outline of a gateway had already begun to emerge! In an instant, brilliant light gleamed in the depths of Wang Ping's eyes.

He felt as if he had returned to the time he took the [Mingde Profound-Illuminating Pill] and resonated with the various fire qis, seeing one fire qi manifestation after another.

Vast flames formed a sea of fire.

His gaze plunged deep into that sea of fire until two brilliant golden lights—each seeming to possess a spirituality of its own and refusing to yield an inch to the other—reflected in his eyes.

[Six Yang Sovereign].

[Unremoved Ancestor].

They were none other than the top manifestations of the previous two generations of fire qi—one originating from the fire qi immortal who had secretly directed several Immortal Dao reforms from the shadows, and the other established by the Living Buddha!

The two qi manifestations crisscrossed each other in boundless radiance, stinging Wang Ping's eyes. And these were qi manifestations that had gone unmaintained for countless years and already weakened, yet they still possessed such might. Even after his Cosmos-wide livestream sent its profound mysteries soaring, [Seizing Preeminence Among the Ao] still struggled to compare.

'Incredible...'

Wang Ping narrowed his eyes as his vision rapidly pulled back, returning to the present world a moment later with a clear realization in his heart: 'Among all the manifestations of fire qi, only these two are worthy rivals now.'

Today's [Seizing Preeminence Among the Ao] already held the foundation of the third manifestation of fire qi. Had the top two qi manifestations not come from immortals, it would already be number one in fire qi right now!

That showed just how massive the gains from this [dharma body path] Cosmos livestream were. He had even manifested the hazy phantom of the [Heavenly Gate]. Better yet, as time passed and more and more people cultivated the dharma body path, the feedback it brought would climb even higher!

"Phew..."

Wang Ping let out a long breath, then opened his palm and clenched it hard. The space within his grasp collapsed and shattered in the blink of an eye, sending deep dark ripples spreading outward.

First Layer Heaven Breaking!

Without Divine Powers or profound mysteries, relying solely on his physical body and the newly established dharma body path, he had actually reached the level of First Layer Heaven Breaking.

'Just like the First Seat back then.'

When the First Seat founded the [Martial Dao], she had been at roughly this level of strength. Looking at it that way, could he call himself a path-founder now too?

At the thought, an expectant look appeared on Wang Ping's face. "My turbid body is at First Layer Heaven Breaking, and my clear aspect is at Third Layer Heaven Breaking. If clear and turbid merge into one, backed by the home-field advantage of the Grotto-Heaven, when I go all out at peak condition, do I have a shot at Fifth Layer Heaven Breaking? If there's hope..."

He could even fight Tianxing!

Even if it was only Tianxing, not so long ago he had been completely powerless to fight back in front of these Qi Refining Third Layer Immortal Realm Dao Children, forced to rely entirely on schemes and plots.

Counting the days, it had been over a month now.

How things had changed.

In the blink of an eye, he might even reach Fifth Layer Heaven Breaking... Too bad the circumstances were special right now, with his clear and turbid bodies separated, so he couldn't go find Tianxing to test out the idea in his head.

'Forget it... no rush, there'll be a chance eventually.' Wang Ping sneered, recalling once more how the Divine Weapon Courtyard had ruthlessly set him up and nearly driven him into a dead end.

'Sooner or later, I'll settle the whole score with you!'

Fire Qi Orthodoxy, [Radiant Clarity Realm].

As the upheaval in [destiny] gradually subsided, the phenomenon vanished along with it. Yet that suddenly manifested radiance hung high like the sun and moon, refusing to disperse.

"[Dharma body path]..."

Inside the Immortal Realm, True Person Chiming withdrew his gaze with an unreadable expression, pondering inwardly: 'The human yang fire went berserk just now. Is this person a cultivator of our fire qi?'

Veiled by [destiny], no one could make out the face of this newly ascended path-founder, let alone distinguish his qi presence; they could only guess based on the orthodoxy.

'This so-called [dharma body path] looks very similar to the Qi Ingestion Method, and it also shares a kindred brilliance with the [Martial Dao] that emerged a while ago. Could it be... some ancient True Person who was defeated in a past Dao struggle and buried deep within the ages has now passed through their tribulation and returned?'

Guesses kept surfacing in True Person Chiming's mind.

That had to be it—definitely a True Person.

After all, this involved the shifts of time. How could a lower-realm cultivator possibly grasp that? It could only be a True Person—most likely one who had severed their past life and returned from tribulation.

Thinking of this, True Person Chiming couldn't help grinning from ear to ear. His human form shifted abruptly, once again revealing a trace of the demonic nature of a black qilin. 'If I could eat it...'

A Great Dao capable of drawing such attention from the [human yang fire]—if he could swallow it up and turn it into his own merit, it would definitely be a massive opportunity for his cultivation.

Right at that moment.

True Person Chiming suddenly sensed something and looked up at the sky, meeting the gaze of the sun hanging high above the vault of the [Radiant Clarity Realm].

"..."

In an instant, all his greed and demonic nature were tucked away. True Person Chiming lowered his head with the utmost respect as a dark, eerie Dao voice rang beside his ear:

"The main qi manifestation this person cultivates is [Seizing Preeminence Among the Ao]. After he opened his Dao, this qi manifestation even shook the [Six Yang Sovereign] and has hope of advancing to the first manifestation."

What?!

True Person Chiming's pupils shrank sharply. The first manifestation of fire qi—that was a merit his own True Monarch had strived for years to achieve after the immortal passed away, yet had never managed to claim.

And now someone was actually trying to snatch it from the True Monarch?

What nerve!

The next second, the Dao voice continued:

"Find this person... kill him, and bring the [dharma body path] back."

Not daring to hesitate, True Person Chiming immediately bowed in salute. "I obey the True Monarch's decree."