Chapter 457: Heaven Sky Fire!

At this moment, the billowing fire qi and brilliant flames within the [Heavenly Craft Cave Abode] suddenly dissipated. The cavern, previously defined by ceaseless waves of heat, actually revealed a touch of coolness.

As a cave abode associated with the Earth Yang Fire's [Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi], this place originally resembled an eternally burning furnace, raging with fierce flames. However, the instant Wang Ping swallowed the [Crimson Light Qilin Heart Pill], the Earth Yang Fire qi manifestations filling the abode vanished cleanly.

Replacing them was a blazing sun.

This transformation was just like the stars hiding from the sunrise. Golden radiance spilled out behind Wang Ping's head, presenting the purest transformation of fire qi.

[Fire of the Five Phases]!

Almost simultaneously within the Star Grave Sand Sea, [Dao] opened his eyes. Sensing the changes in the remnants of the thirty cosmic qi, he immediately revealed a look of pleasant surprise.

"Has it begun?"

Without hesitation, [Dao] took an array disk from his sleeve and tossed it into the air, instantly suppressing the fluctuations of the thirty cosmic qi remnants.

Unlike orthodox cosmic qi, which filled the Cosmos and existed everywhere, the thirty cosmic qi remnants in the [Star Grave Sand Sea] possessed physical forms located right inside the Dao Tomb. Now suppressed by [Dao] to isolate the inside from the outside, no one other than the Ancient Cultivators could detect their changes.

Furthermore, because [Dao] acted so quickly, even within the Dao Tomb, no one noticed this anomaly. The tiny bit of fluctuation that did escape was secretly covered up by [Li], who reacted shortly after.

"Good kid!"

Gazing far into the distance, [Li]'s eyes were also filled with joy. "The return on investment is far too fast. How long has it been, and he's already starting to convert the first qi?"

They certainly hadn't misjudged him!

Inside the [Heavenly Craft Cave Abode], Wang Ping's consciousness was almost entirely focused within his second avatar. His hands held a five-colored light, gradually lifting it upward.

In a flash, the light tumbled from his hands and took root in the ground. It instantly evolved into a towering tree—lush and verdant, its dense branches and leaves rustling loudly. Thirty illusory fruits grew upon it, surging with qi manifestations. At this moment, one of them was resonating with Wang Ping's divine sense.

Heaven Yang Fire, the [Radiant Universal Illumination Six Harmonies Qi]!

Wang Ping looked up without pausing. He immediately raised his hand toward the great tree of the [Five Phases] before him and solemnly wrote a single character.

[Yang].

"Boom!"

As he wrote this Heavenly Venerable True Mantra, it acted like an alchemy furnace. The [Fire of the Five Phases] responded in unison, falling into the furnace and transforming into firewood to smelt profundity.

However, Wang Ping's movements did not stop; instead, they grew even more solemn. While one hand maintained [Yang], his other hand wrote out another character:

[Po]!

During his previous exchange with [Po], he had truly comprehended the Heavenly Venerable True Mantra that the other party bore. At this moment, he applied it directly to the conversion of his fruition rank.

'Just like with the sword qi, I'll use the character [Po] to shatter the qi manifestations, then use [Yang] to reforge them... No, just a single Heaven Yang Fire isn't enough. I should gather all six fire qi here and make the Heaven Yang Fire the primary core. Only then can I maximize the profundity of the fruition rank after the conversion.'

Under normal circumstances, doing this would be impossible.

However, the Heaven Yang Fire was different. It possessed a qi manifestation called the [Six Yang Sovereign], which was the foremost manifestation of fire qi, inherently reigning supreme above all other fires!

'That's right. Therefore, the fruition rank converted using the Heaven Yang Fire will inevitably be the absolute first among all future fire-element fruition ranks. Perhaps it could be described as [Supreme]...'

Wang Ping came to a clear realization.

At this thought, his resolve hardened. He immediately activated the [Po] true mantra, decisively drawing all six fire qi remnants to his side.

'Human Yang Fire and Human Yin Fire... these two fire qi are useless to me. The fire-element fruition rank is a pure Five Phases transformation located within the sequence of Heaven and Earth. These two fire qi broke away from that sequence long ago to throw themselves into the mortal dust. I don't need to force their conversion; I can simply shatter them and merge them into the other fire qi transformations.'

This was an extremely crucial piece of experience.

Had he not gone through this process, Wang Ping would never have known that the cosmic qi of the human position in the Three Realms offered no help in converting his fruition rank, which might have led him astray next time.

"Huu...!" Wang Ping exhaled heavily. At this moment, the [Crimson Light Qilin Heart Pill] he had swallowed began to take effect, its light of life and nature spreading like a raging wildfire.

Were it not for the support of this pill, he definitely wouldn't have been able to sustain the operation of the [Yang] true mantra right now, much less convert the remnants with such high efficiency.

During this process, the pill itself resonated with the fruition rank about to be converted in his hands. Since this pill belonged to the Heaven Yang Fire to begin with, the two brought out the best in each other, mutually supplementing and benefiting one another, which further pushed the profundity to manifest. Throughout the entire process, profound visions surfaced one after another.

These were all qi manifestations of the Heaven Yang Fire.

The appearance of the celestial sun, the bearing of the pale moon, acting as the monarch of fire, acting as the qilin demon, hanging beautifully in the midday sky, radiantly illuminating the six harmonies... myriad profound visions ultimately condensed into a single point.

And so, the morning sun rose in the east.

"Boom!"

Wang Ping spread his palm open. The [Yang] true mantra naturally shattered, while a golden, dazzling radiance slowly rose from the center of his palm!

In an instant, a profundity vastly different from cosmic qi manifested. The radiance in Wang Ping's hand shone infinitely bright, as though he were truly holding a blazing sun in his palm. All the profound visions that had previously belonged to the Heaven Yang Fire were now smelted together, transforming into a unique scenery that rippled outward in all directions.

'Is it done?'

Wang Ping stared unblinkingly. He was using the [Five Phases] to convert the cosmic qi remnants mostly just as a transit station, which was different from founding the dharma body path.

Therefore, he only had a rough estimate in his heart of what kind of profundity this conversion would ultimately produce; he had no way of fully controlling it.

Soon after, Wang Ping saw it.

Within the shimmering brilliance, a sun and a moon slowly rose. There was the illumination of the supreme sun hanging beautifully in the sky, and also the brightness of the extreme yin moon rising from the sea. Yin and yang converged, ultimately igniting a single fire.

'Yin hidden within yang, this is exactly the imagery of the [Li Trigram]!'

Wang Ping's eyes lit up.

Yet these changes had only just begun. Soon, he saw steaming green smoke and clouds surfacing around this fire of converging yin and yang.

Wang Ping immediately understood. These clouds were the imagery of "Heaven." With the fire residing in the heavens, this was exactly the [Heaven Sky Fire], just as he had anticipated.

But the transformations were not over.

The next second, the [Heaven Sky Fire], which had been like the sun at high noon, suddenly plummeted, turning into a setting sun. The green smoke and clouds consequently dispersed, turning into rolling mountains and wilderness.

'This is... a second fruition rank!?'

Wang Ping's eyes widened.

'No, that's not right. The second fruition rank hasn't been born yet... I understand. I used too much fire qi this time, and the fruition rank is unable to absorb it all.'

For the sake of this [Heaven Sky Fire], he had thrown in all six fire qi remnants just to convert out the most superior [Fire of the Five Phases]. However, it was clear that there were conflicts among the different fire qi. Merging them perfectly was unrealistic, which was why this secondary separation of profundity occurred.

Soon, Wang Ping clearly saw the changes in the profound vision.

The [Heaven Sky Fire] that was originally like a midday sun plummeted into the mountains, and so a wildfire raged across the wilderness, burning as far as the eye could see. This was the setting of the sun beyond the western hills, the lingering sunset glow as the daylight neared its end.

Watching this scene, a name naturally surfaced in Wang Ping's mind:

'[Mountain Peak Fire]!'

That was right, the imagery of the [Mountain Peak Fire] couldn't be more fitting. The sun set in the western mountains; the mountain was Yang Earth, and Yang Earth in the sky was a sunset glow. This was exactly the remaining light of the sun.

The dispersing profound vision still didn't stop.

Immediately following that, he saw the original setting sun plummet even further. The day ended and light faded, leaving only a tiny dot of firefly-like luminescence to decorate the illusionary colors in the mountains.

'This is the great sun plummeting further. The [Mountain Peak Fire] was still above the wilderness, but now it has sunken into the base of the mountains. From this point on, the supreme sun shifts into the extreme yin moon.'

Therefore, if it had to be named, perhaps it should be called—

'[Mountain Base Fire]!'

In addition to this, as the imageries of extreme yin and supreme sun collided to their absolute limit, a streak of golden light exploded in the sky vault. It galloped like thunder, resounding like thunderbolts.

This reminded Wang Ping of his own [Thunderbolt Dragon Divine Fire]. It was fire within water, the supreme yang within the yin, whereas the [Heaven Sky Fire] upheld the imagery of the [Li Trigram], hiding yin within the yang. Therefore, during the conversion of the two, as yin and yang cycled, a profundity similar to the [Thunderbolt Dragon Divine Fire] was actually born.

'It should be the [Thunderbolt Fire]!'

As he pondered, Wang Ping's eyes grew brighter and brighter, all because the appearance of the [Heaven Sky Fire] had instantly illuminated the path forward for the numerous fire-element fruition ranks to come!

'That is why it's the Supreme!'

The [Mountain Peak Fire], the [Mountain Base Fire], and the [Thunderbolt Fire]—these three fruition rank variations had all separated from the imagery of the [Heaven Sky Fire] and subsequently manifested.

Even though they hadn't truly been born yet, it was only a matter of time. Therefore, these three fruition ranks shared an immense connection with the [Heaven Sky Fire].

'The [Thunderbolt Fire] was born because of the [Heaven Sky Fire]. Thus, if the [Heaven Sky Fire] is the sovereign lord, then the [Thunderbolt Fire] is its minister.'

'However, the ones directly linked to the morning sun imagery of the [Heaven Sky Fire] are still the [Mountain Peak Fire] and the [Mountain Base Fire]. Of these two, one is the setting sun, and the other is the lingering luminescence when the day ends. If handled correctly, I might be able to temporarily borrow the profundity of the [Heaven Sky Fire] through these two fruition ranks.'

Of course, they weren't the only two capable of doing something similar.

Wang Ping narrowed his eyes, looking at the scene of the [Mountain Base Fire] after the daylight faded. Yet he saw that this profound vision hadn't dispersed; instead, it added further profundity.

The sun set, and the stars returned!

In a flash, as the sun shifted to the extreme yin moon, the canopy of heaven plummeted into a dark abyss, and the stars brightened in its wake. Flickering like lamp fire, they instantly relit all things.

The night-illuminating fire of the human realm!

'This fruition rank only slowly rises after the [Heaven Sky Fire] abdicates its throne and retreats into the shadows. It corresponds to the two fire qi: Earth Yin Fire and Heaven Yin Fire.'

It illuminates what the sun and moon do not; it brightens what heaven and earth have yet to brighten.

It was exactly:

'The [Covered Lamp Fire]!'

Wang Ping's mind was clear as he perceived the changes among the fruition ranks. 'Just like the [Heaven Sky Fire], the [Covered Lamp Fire] actually also contains the imagery of the shifting sun and moon.'

'As the saying goes, taking the sun and moon as lamps, their light covering the world... As the only fruition rank encompassing two fire qi, if the [Heaven Sky Fire] is the supreme first among the fire-element fruition ranks, then the [Covered Lamp Fire] is the second. Handled well, it's entirely possible to borrow heavenly radiance through the connection of their sun and moon imageries.'

'No, it doesn't stop there.'

'Should the day ever come when the [Heaven Sky Fire] loses its radiance and is no longer bright, the [Covered Lamp Fire] would even have the hope of usurping its position and seizing the seat of the fire-element supreme!'

Aside from this one, there was another fruition rank in the same situation.

Wang Ping shifted his gaze once more, looking at the very last cosmic qi remnant that hadn't changed yet. It was exactly the [Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi].

Earth Yang Fire!

'This fire is even more uncompromising. The [Covered Lamp Fire] at least still has the imagery of the setting sun and returning stars, giving consideration to both the sun and moon, granting it a connection to the [Heaven Sky Fire].'

'This fire, however, has almost zero relation to the [Heaven Sky Fire]. Instead, it solely exalts the Earth Yang Fire and draws upon the imagery of furnace smelting. If converted into a fruition rank, it should be called—'

[Furnace Fire]!

The interest in Wang Ping's eyes deepened. Up to this point, all the fire qi had found their directions for conversion, perfectly assembling the six fruition ranks in the end.

'If the [Heaven Sky Fire] is the sovereign lord, then the [Mountain Base Fire] and the [Mountain Peak Fire] are the commoners. The [Thunderbolt Fire] is a virtuous minister, the [Covered Lamp Fire] is a treacherous minister, and the [Furnace Fire] is a traitorous rebel. The first three have no possibility of usurping power to steal the supreme seat; at most, they can temporarily borrow profundity.'

'The latter two, however, are different.'

'The [Covered Lamp Fire] can borrow profundity and holds the potential to usurp the throne. The [Furnace Fire] is slightly weaker, but in terms of usurpation, it is far more absolute.'

'Of course, compared to the [Heaven Sky Fire], the [Furnace Fire] is a bit weak. It might need the support of a wood-element fruition rank to have any hope of seizing the throne.'

After all, Wood gave birth to Fire.

Adding a wood-element fruition rank would amplify the might of the [Furnace Fire]. Only then would it possess the capital to usurp the throne; otherwise, it would merely be mercilessly suppressed by the [Heaven Sky Fire].

"Incredible!" Wang Ping softly sighed, watching the [Heaven Sky Fire] ultimately disperse into billowing flames before returning to settle in the palm of his hand.

When a whale falls, ten thousand things are born.

As long as one converted a supreme fruition rank, it would naturally illuminate the path forward for the other fruition ranks. The title of [Supreme] was truly well-deserved.

It also saved him a lot of effort for the future. Furthermore, corresponding cultivation bases and secrets were birthed among the fruition ranks, which was an absolutely crucial transformation for any dao lineage.

'However, the Five Phases are different, so their supreme fruition ranks should differ as well,' Wang Ping pondered. 'For example, the [Heaven Sky Fire], serving as the fire-element supreme, adopts the dynamic between a sovereign lord and his ministers. The reason for this traces back to the primary manifestation of the fire qi within the material Heaven Yang Fire—the one named [Six Yang Sovereign].'

This was the most crucial catalyst.

It was because of this qi manifestation that the fire-element fruition ranks ultimately evolved into their current relationship. The six fruition ranks practically formed a kingdom of imagery.

Other primary manifestations were different from one another, and so the supreme fruition ranks ultimately deduced from them would naturally differ as well—that was right, the key lay in the primary manifestation!

'I understand again!'

A look of sudden enlightenment surfaced in Wang Ping's eyes.

'The key to extracting a supreme fruition rank lies entirely in the cosmic qi housing its primary manifestation. As long as I use that as the core, I can convert it into a supreme fruition rank.'

'And with a supreme fruition rank serving as the anchor, the other fruition ranks of the same element naturally evolve their rudimentary forms. All they need is time to reach perfection!'

Faintly, he felt as though he could already see the day when all thirty fruition ranks reached perfection. With them as his merit to unlock the [single aperture of the mysterious pass]—and if he used them to attain the primary manifestation of fire qi on top of that—his combat strength would inevitably reach the pinnacle of Qi Refining. The Ninth Layer Heaven Breaking, perhaps even the tenth heaven, was well within hope!

Just thinking about it made him a little excited.

Wang Ping rubbed his palms together, then subconsciously moved to retract the newborn [Heaven Sky Fire]. But when he extended his hand, he saw the fruition rank suddenly dodge out of the way.

"...Huh?"

Wang Ping stared blankly.

This fruition rank was actually giving him the cold shoulder... Wang Ping focused his senses and finally understood the reason: was it because his life experiences didn't align with the rituals of the fruition rank?

'The [Heaven Sky Fire] is the fire-element supreme, acting as a sovereign and master. To wield this fruition rank, the best choice would be an imperial monarch, followed by a sect master. Either way, one must be a dominator who single-handedly suppresses the world, soaring like the sun at high noon. Only by reaching such a state can one catch the attention of the [Heaven Sky Fire]...'

From this perspective, Wang Ping was, of course, unworthy of the [Heaven Sky Fire].

After all, throughout his cultivation journey thus far—let alone suppressing the world single-handedly—he had practically spent his time fleeing from one place to another, fighting bitterly to survive every step of the way.

But the problem was—

"I'm your father!"

Wang Ping flew into a rage. Damn it all! A fruition rank he had personally converted and raised with his own blood, sweat, and tears actually dared to disdain him? Was there any justice left in the world?

Rebellion!!!

Without any hesitation, Wang Ping immediately operated the [Five Phases], directly activating his back-end administrative privileges. He forcibly snatched the [Heaven Sky Fire] into his palm and viciously slapped it around. He absolutely could not indulge this kind of crooked behavior. If it dared to despise even him, who could possibly prove and attain this fruition rank in the future?

"Rumble!"

The [Heaven Sky Fire] still showed a tendency to fiercely resist, but Wang Ping was the one who controlled the [Five Phases]. Therefore, he ultimately suppressed it.

Following that, Wang Ping commanded the [Heaven Sky Fire], making it unwillingly merge into his dharma body path. Only then did he let out a long, satisfied breath.

Using the dharma body path to wield the fruition rank!

'Feels pretty good...'

This was also the path he had prepared for his own future. After all, up until now, he concurrently grasped three paths: the dharma body path, the Long River of Memory, and the [Five Phases].

However, while the three each had their merits, they were far too divided, which was detrimental to his personal cultivation. Therefore, Wang Ping decided to make his dharma body the core. He would integrate the [Five Phases], the Long River of Memory, and any future dao lineages he might acquire into his dharma body. From this day forward, this would be his foundation as a practitioner!

The next second, Wang Ping raised his hand.

"Crack!"

Flames violently detonated, instantly shattering three layers of the void. Seeing this, Wang Ping's face filled with pleasant surprise. One had to know, this wasn't his main body, but his second avatar!

Before this, even after proving the dharma body path and the Long River of Memory, his second avatar's combat strength was only at the First Layer Heaven Breaking. Yet now, it had directly reached the Third Layer Heaven Breaking!

All of this was brought about by the [Heaven Sky Fire].

'That makes sense. After all, I built the dharma body path from scratch; its foundation needs time to accumulate. The [Heaven Sky Fire], on the other hand, is built upon the foundation of the [Five Phases] and the cosmic qi remnants.' Wang Ping made a rough estimate.

'In essence, a fruition rank means that all the qi manifestations of a single qi have been refined into one profundity. So as long as one proves it, it's equivalent to perfecting nine qi manifestations!'

'Strictly speaking, the difficulty of proving a fruition rank is actually higher than Qi Refining. After all, most of the difficulty in Qi Refining is concentrated on the life tribulation, whereas proving a fruition rank is purely difficult in its own right. Moreover, proving it once brings nine qi manifestations to perfection—equivalent to a triple jump in progress, which vastly increases the cultivation difficulty.'

'Therefore, as long as it's proven, it counts as a merit!'

'And with the enhancement of merit, a realm can break through even further—in other words, a cultivator who has proven a fruition rank might possess a realm equivalent to the Qi Refining Second Layer?'

Qi Refining Second Layer, combat strength of Third Layer Heaven Breaking.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping couldn't help but bare his teeth. "I went through countless hardships just to cultivate to this realm, and someone proving a fruition rank can rival the current me?"

It was true. If one only looked at combat strength, his current second avatar was already comparable to his main body at the Qi Refining Second Layer. It was simply ridiculously absurd.

'But it's also possible that the [Heaven Sky Fire] is just exceptionally overpowered. As the fire-element supreme, the other fire-element fruition ranks likely aren't this formidable. Still, with nine perfected qi manifestations, the absolute baseline would be the First Layer Heaven Breaking. Placed in the current Immortal Gate, that already surpasses many bottom-tier Qi Refining practitioners.'

The next second, Wang Ping raised his hand.

He clenched his fist and slowly lifted it above his head, like the rising sun. The Earth Yang Fire wandering through the [Heavenly Craft Cave Abode] immediately displayed restless, turbulent changes.

However, very quickly, as the [Heaven Sky Fire] reappeared with boundless might, all the restlessness was pacified by it. The Earth Yang Fire was practically frozen amidst the heavenly light.

How could rebellious traitors face the wrath of heaven?

Within the boiling celestial light, one could see densely packed talismans leaping out, piecing together and combining until they finally formed an extremely complex seal.

The [Heaven-Inscribing Seal]!

'This is the fundamental profundity of the [Heaven Sky Fire]. All qi manifestations fuse into one, annexing the [Li Trigram]. Once the seal falls, it possesses the power to strip away myriad phenomena!'

Wang Ping understood it perfectly. This seal appeared small and exquisite, but it was actually overbearing to the extreme. As long as it was stamped onto something, leaving its mark, whether it was a Divine Power, a Magical Treasure, or a dharma body, it would be brought under the jurisdiction of the [Heaven Sky Fire], left entirely at his mercy. This was precisely the manifestation of this fruition rank's rule.

It went even further than that.

As his cultivation improved, it could expand to encompass fate, thoughts, lifespans, and even the void and time itself, incorporating every phenomenon in the present world.

'Such profundity is also a manifestation of the demonic path of fire qi swallowing other dao lineages. It's a pity that I still can't break free from the traces of fire qi for the time being.'

Wang Ping frowned slightly.

Without a doubt, even the transformed fruition rank remained deeply influenced by the demonic path of fire qi. This dao lineage's restructuring of the Five Phases was simply too drastic.

'Given enough time, if my cultivation progresses further, I must definitely find a way to shake off the demonic path's influence and return the fire qi to the orthodox path, allowing new profundities to manifest.'

As for how to do that, Wang Ping had a vague idea. The fire qi was indeed formidable. That Fire Qi Immortal had practically engraved the concept of the demonic path into the Cosmos. To abandon its influence, one could only borrow the mighty power of an immortal... For instance, [destiny]? He wondered if he could borrow power from [destiny].

"...I'm aiming a bit too high."

Wang Ping shook his head. [Destiny] was incredibly magnificent; it wasn't something he could covet. Thinking about this now was far too early. Wait until he reached the True Person realm, then they could talk.

Next, he lowered his head again.

Entering his sight was a newly relit merit. It seemed to have sensed the appearance of the [Heaven Sky Fire], awakening it from its slumber.

[Great Grandmaster Rank]!

However, this time, Wang Ping didn't choose to broadcast it. He suppressed the impulse. After all, the [Five Phases] and the dharma body path were two different concepts.

He could broadcast the dharma body path because no one knew about it beforehand.

But everyone knew the [Five Phases] was in his hands. If he broadcasted the [Heaven Sky Fire] now, he would get the merit, but he might lose his life.

'I still need to hold back.'

He'd endure until he converted all thirty Five Phases fruition ranks. When the time came, he'd broadcast a massive grand reveal, opening the eyes of all the True Monarchs and True Persons in the Immortal Gate.

"But just blindly cultivating bitterly is too slow," Wang Ping said with a deep frown. In the Immortal Gate, if you wanted to cultivate quickly, you had to do big things, borrowing the false to cultivate the true. The bigger the things you did, the faster your cultivation progressed. From this perspective, his second avatar staying cooped up indoors made bitter cultivation far too inefficient.

At this thought, he already had an idea.

'Let's give the [Outer Heavenly Demon] to my second avatar!'

That's right, his second avatar could also use the [Taiping Sutra]. After all, this avatar was originally a product carved out using a [Taiping Sutra] scripture scroll.

'Perfect. Using the [Outer Heavenly Demon] to travel into the past is theoretically low risk, since everything is false, but nobody can say for sure with this kind of thing.'

Regarding the [Taiping Sutra], Wang Ping deeply trusted its grade. It was definitely a supreme treasure on the level of an immortal, and it could continuously grow. But as for its capabilities, Wang Ping had to put a question mark on them. He couldn't just take its word as gospel. After all, if it really crashed and burned, the one who'd suffer the bad luck would be himself.

So letting his avatar test the waters couldn't be more appropriate.

As long as his main body remained unharmed, even if the avatar encountered an accident and died suddenly, he wouldn't feel bad about it. He could simply wait and carve out a new one using a scripture scroll afterward.

This also included the path of sword cultivation. His main body couldn't practice it, so handing it over to his avatar was a solid choice. After all, his main body couldn't act recklessly, but his avatar could run wild all it wanted.

Aside from that, letting the avatar travel to the past would make up for the drawback of it being unable to leave the [Heavenly Craft Cave Abode], cause trouble, or borrow the false to cultivate the true. After all, practicing cultivation in the past would eventually fade into false illusions. It would leave zero traces, pushing the stealth factor to the absolute maximum.

'That's what I'll do!'

Having made up his mind, Wang Ping's main body simply found a quiet room to go into seclusion and meditate, transferring the vast majority of his consciousness to his second avatar.

'[Taiping Sutra], activate for your daddy!'

...

For Wang Ping, it was only a momentary shift. It felt as if he had just closed and opened his eyes, and then the world before him suddenly changed its appearance.

On the [Outer Heavenly Demon] scripture scroll, there were currently three portals leading to three different places: the [Immortal Gate], the [Eight Treasure Table], and the [Eight Trigrams Furnace]. Wang Ping chose the [Eight Trigrams Furnace]. His identity was naturally True Person Chiming. As for the timing, that was selected by the scripture scroll's own operations.

"So dark." Wang Ping looked around, somewhat surprised. The sight before his eyes was a dark abyss, like a lightless seabed, carrying an inexplicable and oppressive deathly stillness.

Until a bright light surfaced beside him.

[Era: Near-Ancient Human Emperor]

[Location: Imperial Capital (Eight Trigrams Furnace)]

[Identity: True Person Chiming (Qi Refining Second Layer)]

[Background: Year Three of the Great Rebellion. The Human Emperor settled the Cosmos, established the Heavenly Palace, founded the Imperial Capital, and conferred titles upon the Twelve Divine Lords, summoning the world's heroes to guard the imperial throne to perfect his holy merit and immortal virtue.]

[Main quest anchored.]

[Side quest anchored.]

In a flash, a scene appeared in Wang Ping's mind. It was an [Eight Trigrams Furnace] completely different from his memories. Back then, it was still the imperial capital of the Great Rebellion.

The not-yet-fallen [Heaven Defiance Palace] sat atop the highest peak of the stars, with hundreds of millions of citizens living within it. Terrifying incense faith transformed into blazing, majestic light, radiating across the three enclosures of the Cosmos. Layer upon layer of palaces, pavilions, palace gates, and jade towers were mixed with the echoing cheers wishing boundless longevity.

"Hiss... This is the Great Rebellion?"

This was the Great Rebellion!

A celestial dynasty, a divine court of the Immortal Dao. In a daze, deep within the endless Heavenly Palace, Wang Ping seemed to see the figure of someone standing with their hands behind their back...

The next second, the vision shattered.

The scattered light finally formed a line of text, unfurling in the bottom right corner of Wang Ping's vision, making his expression slowly shift from shock to peculiarity.

[Main Quest: Responding to Emperors and Kings (Part One)]

[Original Destiny Trajectory: The Fire Qi Dao Head, "Heavenly Wheel Radiant Qilin Holy King," was slain by the Human Emperor. His corpse was hung in the Imperial Capital. The flock of demons cowered in fear, none daring to offend the heavenly might again.

The Fire Qi sect therefore sent immortal cultivators into the palace to pledge allegiance and pay tribute.

At that time, True Person Chiming was still at the Qi Refining Second Layer and was among those dispatched. He answered the edict to enter the Heaven Defiance Palace and participated in the selection for the Human Emperor Imperial Guard, but failed. He returned after thirty days.]

[Join the Human Emperor Imperial Guard within thirty days.]

[Clearance Reward: Destiny Crystal x1 (Can be used to elevate merit, sublimate dao lineages, enhance profundity, and refine rare treasures. It is the most miraculous object in the world.)]

[Failure Penalty: Death.]

"What the fuck?"

Wang Ping blinked in surprise. He knew that after the upgraded [Outer Heavenly Demon] sent him into the past, the scripture scroll would provide him with guidance to help him change history.

But he hadn't expected the guidance to be like this!

'Did it reference my memories? Or could it be...'

Wang Ping rubbed his chin with great interest. His gaze swept over this long "quest panel" before finally settling on the clearance reward at the very end.

"A destiny crystal... It can sublimate dao lineages?"

Instantly, Wang Ping's eyes lit up brightly!

"If I can merge this thing into the [Heaven Sky Fire], won't that fulfill my previous idea and free the fruition rank from the demonic path's influence?"

You're reliable, Daddy!

"So that's how it is. This so-called traveling into the past is actually just using True Person Chiming's shell to fleece [destiny]. Wait, no, that's a bit of a loss," Wang Ping muttered.

Why only fleece [destiny]?

What about True Person Chiming? Wasn't he going to fleece him too?

Is my son really this useless?

Wang Ping had just furrowed his brow when his expression relaxed the next second. It seemed to have sensed his thoughts, and another line of text quickly surfaced.

[Side Quest: Bury Chiming!]

[The deceased Chiming is currently trying to return from the flow of time. He has also selected this point in time. Stop him and cast him back into the grave of time!]

[Quest Reward: Chiming Fragment x1]

[Collect five Chiming Fragments to refine a Chiming Immortal True Nature, which can be used to bring back one false object from True Person Chiming's destiny trajectory.]

[Failure Penalty: Drastic increase in main quest difficulty.]

Daddy really is the most considerate!

Wang Ping smiled in satisfaction. But when he looked up, he saw another heavenly light slowly emerging within the dark abyss he was in.

'He's here...'

Seeing this, Wang Ping instantly understood.

Regarding almighty experts at the True Person level returning from the flow of time, Wang Ping had asked about it privately before. It was actually very simple. [Fu] had specifically explained it to him:

"In short, the True Person's consciousness enters their own past—specifically, the few crucial time periods related to their lifelong merit. They then re-walk those time periods to strengthen their own [Immortal True Nature]. Once they finish walking them, they can return from the flow of time."

It sounded very simple.

After all, this was the path the cultivator had originally taken. What was so hard about walking it again? Moreover, with a True Person's cultivation base, they would be re-walking it from a highly advantageous, overarching perspective.

However, that was not the case.

'As the saying goes, when timing aligns, heaven and earth share the same strength; when luck departs, heroes lose their freedom. For many things, re-walking the path doesn't guarantee you can perfectly replicate the original result.'

Especially upon reaching the True Person and True Monarch level, the massive merits they accumulated were heavily reliant on luck, in addition to the cultivator's own efforts.

This included serendipitous opportunities, insights gained between life and death, and so on.

And walking the path again didn't mean they'd still have that same luck.

For instance, Wang Ping's [Free and Easy Wandering] was certainly the merit he earned by fighting his way out of the [Eight Trigrams Furnace]. But if he walked it again, could he succeed again?

Not necessarily!

Furthermore, because returning from the flow of time meant going against the tide, the cultivator's luck would be suppressed to an extremely low level when re-walking their past path.

'Of course, the most important thing is that under these circumstances, the True Person or True Monarch's consciousness is shielded. They are restricted to who they were during that specific time period, lacking their peak cultivation base and methods, and even lacking their successful experiences and memories... This is the greatest hurdle for a True Person or True Monarch's return.'

The practical success rate was frighteningly low.

Therefore, for the vast majority of True Persons and True Monarchs, unless their mental fortitude and methods were the absolute best of the best—and they struck a bit of luck—it was very difficult to return.

The next second, Wang Ping looked up.

In his line of sight, the second heavenly light emerging from the dark abyss gradually coalesced into a figure. It was a young man wearing a crimson robe.

His appearance was quite peculiar. Although he was mostly humanoid, his hair had the sheen of a beast's mane. His face, arms, and neck appeared to have smooth skin, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't flesh at all. Instead, they were fine, flesh-colored scales outlined with ink-black patterns.

It was exactly True Person Chiming.

With this appearance, his form as a Mokilin had clearly begun to take shape. His cultivation was at the Qi Refining Second Layer, and his combat strength was roughly the same as the current Wang Ping's.

Both were at the Third Layer Heaven Breaking.

'I have to kill him.'

Wang Ping thought to himself. According to the side quest's description, if he didn't kill this Chiming, the other party's consciousness would travel into the past alongside him.

The result would be two people simultaneously controlling one body. That would undoubtedly cause immense trouble for completing the main quest, and the hidden dangers were far from small.

"...Huh?"

Suddenly, the youth seemed to recover from his daze. He looked up, his gaze falling upon Wang Ping, and vigilance quickly flashed in his eyes.

"Who are you?"

Hearing this, Wang Ping immediately smiled.

The moment those words came out, he knew the True Person Chiming before him was not the True Person at his peak, but a very green cultivator at the Qi Refining Second Layer.

In other words—

"Little Ming."

Wang Ping relaxed and stretched his limbs, then strode forward. "Time is tight, and the mission is heavy, so let's not waste time. I want you to help me cultivate!"

Boom!

In a flash of lightning, Wang Ping had already struck. Little Ming's reaction was also incredibly fast. He instantly dispersed his humanoid form, manifesting a Mokilin right on the spot and roaring furiously at the sky!

The demonic bodies of the fire qi were always extremely ferocious and wild, and Little Ming's Mokilin body seemed to be a tier higher than a Fire Qilin. Charging fiercely at this moment, layers of the void shattered in front of his peerless demonic body. Like a high-speed moving star, he aimed to smash Wang Ping directly to pieces.

This was the battle tactic Little Ming was accustomed to.

He didn't need any exquisite variations. He just gathered all his strength and rammed head-on. It was naked suppression through pure power. At the very worst, he could test the opponent's methods.

However, this time, he had chosen the wrong opponent.

"Grappling with me?"

Wang Ping grinned. Surprisingly, he stood completely unmoving. He raised his hand without any variations, and a simple yet supremely unyielding palm viciously chopped down on his head!

Let's have you taste the flavor of the dharma body path!

"Bang!"

Instantly, Little Ming only felt his vision go black as blood flowed from his seven orifices. The scales and bones on his head shattered simultaneously, and his entire body was sent tumbling backward.

'How is this possible!?'

His vision was mostly covered by rolling blood, but it couldn't cover the shock in Little Ming's heart. Ever since he refined the Mokilin demonic body, he hadn't been defeated in a pure contest of physical strength for a very long time... However, as the direct disciple of a True Monarch, his knowledge wasn't shallow, and he quickly reacted:

'It's a Great Dao.'

'This is a Dao cultivator. So that's how it is, a Great Dao that strengthens the physical body? Then it's not strange... but to think there are still such Ancient Cultivators in this world?'

Little Ming wasn't True Person Chiming yet. In his eyes, Ancient Cultivators were things eliminated long ago, especially since they cultivated something as low-end as the physical body. His Mokilin demonic body, for instance, was merely an innate transformation of the fire qi dao lineage; it was a protective art, not his future path.

To him, relying solely on the physical body meant one was a crude practitioner.

With this thought, Little Ming quickly changed his mindset. There was no need to attack the enemy's strong point with his own weakness. Since the opponent excelled in physical strength, he simply wouldn't compete in physical strength.

'Watch me defeat you with profundity!'

The next second, Little Ming retracted his Mokilin body. Bringing his hands together in front of his chest, he formed a hand seal and softly chanted:

"The day ends and the night wanes, lingering stars at the edge of heaven."

With the incantation spoken, a field of clear, bright starlight instantly pierced into Wang Ping's eyes. This was a light designed specifically to bypass the physical body and counter divine sense!

Heaven Yin Fire, the [Arrayed Stars Casting Rays Illuminating the Night Qi]!

This was the cosmic qi Little Ming primarily cultivated. He had cultivated seven qi manifestations at the Qi Refining First Layer, and he had steeped himself in this [Seven Profound Luminary Astral Light] for many years.

Unleashing it now, the seven qi manifestations formed a line like seven great stars, resembling a divine sword chopping directly into the sea of consciousness between Wang Ping's brows.

However, in the next second, the starlight-bathed Wang Ping curled his lips into a smile.

"Good Divine Power."

Accompanying the calm praise was a supremely noble flame light. It instantly suppressed the Heaven Yin Fire qi manifestations Little Ming was using to drive his Divine Power.

The [Heaven-Inscribing Seal]!

In a flash, the brightly flaming treasure seal slammed down, landing perfectly on the [Seven Profound Luminary Astral Light] that Little Ming was activating with all his might without holding back.

Then Little Ming couldn't help but widen his eyes. He watched as his Major Divine Ability, which he had bitterly cultivated for years, actually defected on the spot. It severed its connection with him and fell into Wang Ping's palm, obediently acting as an extension of Wang Ping's arm. With a casual flick of Wang Ping's wrist, the attack actually pounced fiercely back at Little Ming!

'What kind of profundity is this!?'

Little Ming's face was full of bewilderment, his mind practically wandering out of his body. Only when the Divine Power Wang Ping had stripped away landed right in front of him did he seem to wake from a dream and utter a single phrase:

"Which lord has come to amuse themselves with me?"

That was right. He had thought about it over and over; snatching his Major Divine Ability in one fell swoop, instantly refining it, and forcefully robbing him like this—it was obviously typical of fire qi.

And as a future True Person, Little Ming's mental fortitude was undoubtedly very firm. Having concluded that a True Person was playing a joke on him, he didn't panic when faced with the incoming Divine Power. Instead, he smiled. After all, in his mind, he was from a True Monarch's direct lineage. Why would a fire qi True Person kill him?

'I suppose it's a test.'

After all, he was about to participate in the selection for the Human Emperor Imperial Guard. The lord was probably worried he'd lose face for the fire qi, and so had specifically come to test his methods.

While Little Ming was lost in these thoughts—he died.

His consciousness rapidly sank into silence amidst his ponderings, turning to nothingness. His physical body in reality was ignited by heavenly fire, turning to ash in the blink of an eye.

[Side quest complete!]

Along with the momentary brightening of the scripture text beside him, Little Ming was expelled from this dark abyss. Soon, Wang Ping felt a sensation of floating upward.

If the dark abyss he was deep inside was a lightless seabed, then right now, he was gradually floating to the sea's surface—and the process was extremely fast.

"..."

The next second, the dark abyss receded from his vision.

Wang Ping opened his eyes.

What entered his sight was exactly the thirty cosmic qi hanging above the Cosmic Deep Space, complete and intact, not missing a single hair.