Chapter 467: Assassinating the King

Although he was determined to enter the [Heaven Defiance Palace], Wang Ping was no reckless fool. He certainly wouldn't risk his true body, especially since its cultivation was still insufficient.

Third Layer Heaven Breaking was enough to deal with ordinary Qi Refining practitioners, and more than sufficient against an Immortal Realm dao child like Tianxing. However, given the extreme importance of the [Heaven Defiance Palace], the various factions definitely wouldn't pin their hopes on the current generation of cultivators, whose combat strength was generally abysmal due to wood qi plundering their lifespans and forcing them to focus entirely on cultivation.

Wang Ping was certain:

'They will definitely send out great cultivators like Gu Han, Chu Huaijing, and Yunlong. Even though such practitioners don't have much longer to live, their baseline strength starts at Breaking Seven Layers.'

'And it won't stop there.'

'Given the risks of the [Heaven Defiance Palace], they will highly likely carry a massive amount of rare treasures to maximize their combat power, just as they did for Gu Han.'

'Under these circumstances, sending my true body into the [Heaven Defiance Palace] is no different from courting death. Even if I can guarantee my survival by relying on my water qi divine powers and merit, I shouldn't expect to achieve anything... In contrast, my second clone, acting in its capacity as a path opener, barely meets the combat requirements.'

'Two fruition ranks, Breaking the Fifth Heaven.'

'With the additional enhancement of the [Dao-Guarding Bright Light Armor], he can reach Breaking the Sixth Heaven. While there is still a certain gap between that and Breaking Seven Layers, it's at least enough to earn a seat at the table.'

'The only problem is that the path opener identity is far too sensitive, and the consequences of exposure would be severe. Fortunately, I already have a solution for this.'

With this in mind, Wang Ping immediately withdrew his consciousness and summoned his true body over. He took off the [Profound-Dwelling Dharma-Warding Robe] and draped it over his second clone, which was already wearing the [Dao-Guarding Bright Light Armor]. A ripple of water wavered through the air, and soon, the clone's aura underwent a complete transformation.

All the unique aura signatures of a path opener were concealed.

The karma belonging to the [Water-Heaven Waiting] True Monarch tightly shrouded the second clone. After all, this was the Pinnacle Station most adept at concealment within the water qi lineage.

"Senior?"

Wang Ping looked at [Li]. [Li] intuitively understood and stared closely at the clone for a moment before nodding. "No problem. I can't tell it's a path opener."

Receiving [Li]'s affirmative answer, Wang Ping immediately smiled, even though this meant exposing the clone's secret to the Water Qi lineage.

To be honest, he had never planned to hide it anyway. It was highly likely that Yuanjun had already discovered it. Not to mention the Water Qi lineage, the Ancient Cultivators had essentially figured it out after the great battle; otherwise, there was no way to explain how [Li], [Dao], and [Fu] had all managed to restore their cultivation bases to the Dao Lord rank.

No one had pointed it out, that was all.

This included the informant. Wang Ping believed the other party had definitely figured out that the dharma body path was connected to him. In fact, this was the very bait he had prepared for them.

This was because [Li] had been constantly monitoring the Dao Tomb.

If the informant really tried to pass on information in secret, [Li] would inevitably catch them. The only way to bypass the surveillance was to leave the Dao Tomb.

In Wang Ping's eyes, doing so would be tantamount to a confession.

Aside from [Fu] and [Dao], who could be absolutely trusted, anyone attempting to leave the Dao Tomb—no matter how good their excuse—would be a major suspect.

However, the informant clearly understood this as well and had yet to make a single move. Their ability to bide their time proved they were a difficult opponent.

Of course, everything had its pros and cons.

At the very least, as long as another massive battle that forced all the Ancient Cultivators to leave the Dao Tomb didn't break out, Wang Ping wouldn't have to worry about secrets leaking.

Nearby, [Zai] had also guessed Wang Ping's intentions and frowned. "The risk of you going out like this is still significant. This profound robe can conceal your aura, but it can't hide your divine powers and dharma power. Everyone knows you cultivate Water Qi. The moment your divine powers clash with someone else's, they'll instantly realize something is wrong."

"Don't worry, Senior," Wang Ping chuckled softly.

How could he not understand such a simple truth? He easily walked over to the clone, and the two identical figures stood face-to-face.

Suddenly, a brilliant light erupted.

It hung high like the sun and moon, possessing both the radiant illumination of the solar sky and the bright clarity of the lunar sea. The two rotated around each other, finally condensing into a dazzling, blazing star.

It was the [Heaven Sky Fire].

The second clone circulated this supreme fruition rank. Endless heavenly light poured directly into Wang Ping's true body, forcefully drawing out streak after streak of brilliance!

[the gentleman should hide his implements at the right time], [Netherworld Communication Profound Arbiter], [Ascending Purity and Descending Turbidity Aspect], [Natural Splendor Heavenly Treasure Armory], [Great Ravine of No Return], [Profound Female Complete Heaven Wondrous Art], [Nine Hells Spring], [Cyclic Life-Substituting Book], [Supreme Yin Dwelling]... Nine divine powers, nine qi manifestations, and his Latent Concealment dharma power—not a single one was spared!

"Phew..."

In an instant, Wang Ping's true body felt an unprecedented sense of weakness wash over him, as if he had been entirely hollowed out. Meanwhile, the clone's aura surged wildly!

[Heaven-Inscribing Seal]!

With the active cooperation of Wang Ping's true body, the clone actually stripped away and extracted all of the true body's cultivation, empowering itself with it!

[Zai] was taken aback for a moment before clapping his hands in roaring laughter.

"What a brilliant method! This way, it is truly flawless, without a single weak point."

Not only that, but after receiving the enhancement of his true body's complete repertoire of water qi divine powers, Wang Ping felt the second clone's state undergo another massive leap. Using the [Heaven Sky Fire] to strip away water qi divine powers—hiding water within fire, blending water and fire together—this transformation faintly sparked a trace of enlightenment within him.

'Water and fire... yin and yang...'

If it were any other element besides water and fire, he absolutely would not have gained this sort of enlightenment. But among the Immortal Gate's [Five Phases] traditions, the Daos of water and fire were the most exceptional.

This was solely because they resonated with the [Li Trigram] and [Kan Trigram]. Among the Eight Trigrams, these two were the only ones that lacked a division between yin and yang; instead, they were trigrams where yin and yang existed as a unified whole.

Therefore, the moment they blended and clashed, Wang Ping almost immediately comprehended this unified transformation of yin and yang. Inspiration bubbled up one after another. His intuition told him that if he could trace this to its absolute core, he might very well forge a Great Dao whose profundity and might were no less than the [Five Phases]!

'Perhaps it could be called [Yin Yang]?'

'What a pity... it is too early.'

Wang Ping sighed inwardly, gradually withdrawing from his state of enlightenment. His understanding of yin and yang was still insufficient; he had inspiration, but he couldn't form a coherent train of thought yet.

However, the qi of heaven and earth was truly a massive treasure trove. The [Three Powers], [Yin Yang], the [Five Phases]—nearly every one of these alignments could be deconstructed into a brand-new Dao tradition.

'I already have the [Five Phases], and I just had a burst of inspiration for [Yin Yang]. What about the [Three Powers]? How about filling it with the dharma body path and the dharma power dao?'

Wang Ping pondered inwardly, but then shook his head.

'That won't really work. The dharma body path and the dharma power dao are only two. The Three Powers represent Heaven, Earth, and Man. Two cannot fill three slots, unless I use those two as a foundation and pioneer yet another new Dao.'

At this thought, Wang Ping suddenly froze.

'...Wait. That's not right.'

In a flash of insight, he narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.

'My future self, that [Heavenly Venerable of Equal Law and Dao Transformation], did not possess any other Great Daos. The [Five Phases], the dharma body path, the dharma power dao—these were all things he already possessed or already had a concept for, yet it included nothing more. Based on the enlightenment I just experienced, my future self should have pioneered even more Great Daos, rather than stopping at three and being satisfied with that.'

'Is the future fake?'

'No, I can't look at it that way. The future is inherently uncertain. Rather than calling it fake, it's more accurate to say that this anchored future has limitations.'

In other words:

'The mighty figure who anchored this future most likely did so based on my previous state, while these are all concepts I've only recently comprehended.'

'That's why there are omissions.'

'If anything, this actually proves a crucial fact: the so-called anchored future is really just the pre-anchoring of a result.'

'A massive amount of variables still exist within the process.'

'There has to be some kind of limit to this. The more variables there are, the greater the impact on the result, and the higher the chance that it will eventually be destroyed by those variables.'

This was like erecting a dam within the torrential currents of [destiny] to block [destiny]'s future diverging branches. However, when the torrent became violent enough and the waves grew large enough, the dam could be washed away. When that happened, the originally anchored result would naturally be rendered void.

The reason Wang Ping came to this conclusion was very simple.

'[Variable].'

Within the torrent of [destiny], he had indeed seen the existence known as the [Variable]. From this, it was evident that [destiny] could never truly be locked down by anyone.

From this perspective, what Yuanjun... or rather, what the Water Qi lineage wanted him to do, was to create more variables within the torrent of [destiny].

By the same logic, since the Water Qi lineage had decided to shatter the anchored future...

What about the other Dao lineages?

'The [Heaven Defiance Palace] is currently being watched by nearly every Dao lineage. If I can see Teng Xian appearing here, how could the True Monarchs of the various factions fail to see him?'

At this thought, Wang Ping instantly snapped to attention.

While there were Dao lineages like Yuanjun's that wanted to break the future, there were naturally also lineages that wanted to turn this future into reality. It was simply a matter where each relies on their own ability.

'Hm? Wait.'

'If that's the case... This is bad! I made a mistake!'

The next second, as if he had realized something, Wang Ping's expression turned ashen, then blank, before finally settling into an unfathomable, bottomless depth.

The [Plain Treading Realm].

Magnificent jade pavilions and majestic palaces stretched on endlessly. Boundless radiance gathered upon every single roof tile and brick, exuding a distinct, pearlescent opulence.

In the center of this immortal palace-like realm stood a towering high platform shaped like a mountain. Seated squarely upon it was a vast and boundless profound body.

The [Immortal-Serving Orthodoxy-Treading True Monarch].

This True Monarch commanded the [Heaven-Lake Treading] and was hailed as number one in the Golden Qi lineage. Yet at this moment, he was infuriated to the extreme. His profound body trembled, cascading endless cosmic phenomena downwards.

Endless sharp glints, like blades drawn from their sheaths, broke away from the True Monarch's magnificent profound body and smashed into the palaces below like torrential rain. The originally opulent Immortal Realm abruptly took on a rust-copper hue, dark red like blood, while the Dao patterns on the high platform warped and twisted.

Beneath the high platform.

Mingyou knelt before the profound steps beneath the platform, his eyelids lowered. He didn't look at these phenomena, merely silently comprehending the fury saturating the Immortal Realm.

Something had escaped the True Monarch's control.

He silently speculated, reviewing all their previous experiences before coming to a conclusion: 'Yeah, it must be that brat causing trouble again.'

Wang Ping—the Water Qi dao child and Ancient Cultivator city lord.

To this day, Mingyou had to admit that he had indeed underestimated this good disciple of his. Back when he sought him out to be a pawn, he had truly made an error in judgment.

'If I had known, I should have either not chosen him and just killed him outright, or I should have fully supported him and helped him get his start. That would have saved me from forging this negative karma.'

'In this regard, I'm actually worse than Tianxing.'

'Although the [Plain Treading Realm]'s methods are a bit shameful, they are indeed effective. For the Divine Weapon Courtyard to achieve what it has today, the [Immortal-Serving Orthodoxy-Treading True Monarch]'s contributions cannot go unnoticed.'

At this thought, he shot a glance at Tianxing beside him. Compared to Mingyou, who was gripped by trepidation, Tianxing appeared far more relaxed. He didn't take the True Monarch's fury seriously at all, even going so far as to pick his nose. Seeing this left Mingyou with incredibly complicated feelings—a mix of envy and helplessness.

'Damn immortal second-generation.'

'He has absolutely no sense of crisis. For a True Monarch to lose his composure, something clearly went wrong in the [Heaven Defiance Palace]. I'm afraid Truth Cultivation is about to face another variable.'

Tianxing actually noticed Mingyou's sidelong glance.

They had been together for so long that he could even guess what Mingyou was thinking. It was nothing more than disappointment in Tianxing's lack of ambition, feeling that Tianxing didn't take Truth Cultivation seriously.

In Tianxing's eyes, however, the exact opposite was true. It was precisely because he took it very seriously that he didn't intervene in anything, so as to avoid affecting his big brother's performance.

'I don't seek merit; avoiding mistakes is merit enough.'

This was the art of slacking.

If you asked him, his old man had just been the big boss for too long. He had lost his original intentions and micromanaged too much, which was why he got so angry. Once you learned how to coast, the world opened up.

A long time passed in this manner.

All the cosmic phenomena finally ceased. The sharp blades returned to their sheaths, the rust-copper color faded, and the pearlescent opulence resurfaced. The twisted Dao patterns also returned to their previous, orderly state.

Finally, a faint voice drifted over.

"Come up."

Only then did Mingyou stand up. With his head bowed, he didn't ride a beam of light; instead, he solemnly followed the profound steps, walking up the high platform one step at a time.

There, the True Monarch's world-spanning profound body had vanished. In its place was a middle-aged Daoist pressing a sword across his knees, his expression calm.

Seeing this, Mingyou bowed once more, remaining silent.

The next second, Tianxing, knowing it was his turn to step forward, immediately approached and spoke up.

"Old man, what happened? Why did you suddenly blow up like that?"

"...What happened?" The middle-aged man shot Tianxing a glance, his tone limitlessly icy. "Someone wants you and me dead. That guy Tianlun truly has some colossal nerve!"

Just as Wang Ping had expected, from the moment Teng Xian appeared in the [Heaven Defiance Palace], all the True Monarchs had noticed the bizarre traits about him. They had sensed that fluctuation originating from [destiny]. It was just that they couldn't search his soul, so they merely observed him in secret without making a real move.

That was until Teng Xian met with Wang Ping.

At that moment, when Teng Xian was under the influence of the 'Manifestation' profundity and involuntarily recalled memories of the future, all the True Monarchs naturally saw them as well.

As the saying went: only a True Monarch could keep a True Monarch in check.

In the present Cosmos, True Monarchs were the absolute supreme beings, reigning high above the mortal dust. Once someone entered their sights, it was nearly impossible to hide anything from them.

Unless the one taking action to conceal was another True Monarch.

Even a Dao Lord—now that Dao cultivation had been rendered obsolete—was strictly speaking inferior to a True Monarch, unless they were a path opener like [Fu].

However, what truly infuriated the middle-aged man was the reaction of the other two Golden Qi True Monarchs in those future visions. What was the meaning of this? Were they throwing their eldest brother under the bus?

"Thud... thud..."

Suddenly, the steady, powerful thud of footsteps echoed across the high platform. The rhythm was deliberate, each footfall freezing the myriad shifting lights of the immortal realm in place.

Mingyou buried his head even lower.

Meanwhile, Tianxing looked at the newcomer without a trace of fear.

"So it's Uncle Gao," he said with a smile. "What brings you to the [Plain Treading Realm]?"

"I had to come."

The newcomer sighed. He slowly walked to the middle-aged man's side and sat cross-legged, revealing a square, scholarly face.

His arrival triggered a sudden transformation across the glittering [Plain Treading Realm]. Beneath the vault of heaven, pavilions and towers automatically parted. The earth split open as turbid qi surged upward, piling into mounds that swelled into hills, which then thrust higher to form towering mountains. They stood in stark contrast against the sky, projecting the vast, ancient majesty of high heavens and distant earth.

[Heaven-Mountain Retreat].

The two sat amid this endless profundity—one embodying [Heaven-Lake Treading], the other [Heaven-Mountain Retreat]—and a brief silence fell over the high platform.

After a moment, the newcomer finally spoke. "Senior Brother, you served an immortal in the past. You should know that a fixed vision of the future like this can't be taken as absolute truth. Didn't the Human Emperor attempt something similar back in his era?"

"Of course I know."

The middle-aged man's tone was perfectly calm. "But I also know there's no smoke without fire. The future doesn't just lock onto a set outcome for no reason."

The newcomer offered a wry smile. "Well, it had nothing to do with me, at least."

Silence fell over them once more.

The middle-aged man waited patiently. Only after the time it took for three incense sticks to burn did he let out a cold laugh. "[Lake-Thunder Following] isn't here. To think he wouldn't even dare to face me."

"I wouldn't go that far."

The newcomer shook his head. "The Hexagram of Following: strength descends to place itself beneath flexibility; at nightfall, the superior man goes inside to rest. [following the good and the orthodox] has always been his merit. We can only say that our paths differ."

"Oh?"

The middle-aged man cast a sidelong glance. "[following the good and the orthodox]? Now that's strange. Across our entire Golden Qi lineage, who could possibly be more orthodox than me?"

'I was an immortal's attendant!'

'Aside from that demoness Mingdu and that old monster Huanglin, who among the surviving True Monarchs could possibly compare to my roots and status?'

'If we limit it to Golden Qi, there's absolutely no one.'

'The [Hundred Treasures Great Abundance Granary]? I built that. When the immortal cast the spell to open up that supremely profound land, I was fucking standing right there watching!'

"If he abandons me, who else could he possibly follow?"

This was what the middle-aged man couldn't figure out. [Lake-Thunder Following] had the merit of following the good and the orthodox; theoretically, they should have been his staunchest ally.

"So that's why that old monster Huanglin managed to backstab me in the future?"

The middle-aged man showed no fear, only deep contemplation. The future didn't look particularly bright for him, but an existence at his level never believed in fate.

The Human Emperor had also anchored a future back in his era, and it had still been shattered. Not long after, the Human Emperor disappeared, and the Great Rebellion was wiped out.

"So... what do you intend to do, Senior Brother?"

"Why should I panic?"

The middle-aged man smiled at the newcomer's question. "The main target is Mingdu. Whoever made this move is aiming directly at her. I'm just collateral damage."

With his supreme Dao attainment, he naturally saw things far more clearly than Wang Ping. Of the five future events Teng Xian grasped, the first four were actually [Causes], while the final one was the [Effect]. Someone was clearly trying to use this anchored future to sabotage Mingdu's cultivation. Everyone else was just a prop.

Strictly speaking, this meant one thing.

"Saving me is the same as Mingdu saving herself," the middle-aged man said. "Since my death has become the [Cause] that leads to her failing to ascend to immortality, she'll naturally find a way to keep me alive."

Thus, the middle-aged man was furious, but not anxious.

He placed a great deal of trust in Mingdu. The demoness might be a nightmare of an enemy, but as an ally, she was absolutely the most reliable person you could ask for.

"Compared to all that, there's something else I'm far more interested in."

The middle-aged man raised his palm.

A scene gradually surfaced above his glowing palm. It showed a towering Daoist of world-shaking power, plucking a thread of profundity straight from the surging currents of [destiny].

"[Heavenly Venerable of Equal Law and Dao Transformation]... what an arrogant title."

The middle-aged man's tone carried a hint of amusement. "Junior Brother, who do you think this is? Why would this anchored future place so much focus on him?"

The newcomer smiled. "Isn't that Mingxing's Dao Child?"

"Do you actually believe that?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "When Mingdu's Dao Child was in the [Heaven Defiance Palace], you and I both saw him with our own eyes. He is absolutely not a path opener."

"Perhaps [Water-Heaven Waiting] concealed it for him?"

"If he had been wearing that [Profound-Dwelling Dharma-Warding Robe], I might have suspected as much. But he wasn't. He truly has nothing to do with being a path opener."

The middle-aged man chuckled. "Taking ten thousand steps back, why would the fellow Daoist who anchored this future go out of their way to support a lowly cultivator? Are they running a charity? In my view, it's highly likely they just borrowed the identity. I suspect this so-called path opener, this [Heavenly Venerable of Equal Law and Dao Transformation], is actually the immortal from the [Heaven Defiance Palace]."

The newcomer frowned at this. "Senior Brother, are you implying... possession?"

"Exactly. That explains why they placed such heavy focus on him in that future. They aren't propping up some lower cultivator—they're making sure they can escape."

"That is the other [Effect] of this future."

Having said this, the middle-aged man reached his conclusion. "Four [Causes] and two [Effects]. One ruins Mingdu's cultivation, while the other aids their own escape. That is the true purpose of anchoring this future."

"This proves that whoever anchored this future can't afford to step into the light and needs to borrow someone else's name. There's a seventy percent chance it's that immortal in the [Heaven Defiance Palace]."

"Only seventy percent?"

The newcomer looked curious. "What's the other thirty percent?"

"The Human Emperor."

The middle-aged man said coolly, "The Human Emperor anchored the future once before. Who's to say he couldn't do it again?"

"However, the future shows the Cosmos mostly collapsed and the Immortal Dao crumbling. That doesn't fit the Human Emperor's style, and he wasn't a path opener either. That's why I only give it a thirty percent chance."

"But if that's the case, why doesn't Mingda just kill him directly?" The newcomer was puzzled. "He's just a Dao Child. It's not like she hasn't killed one before."

"I can guess two reasons."

The middle-aged man said coolly, "First, the Dao Child isn't the [Cause] of her failing to ascend to immortality. He might even be the key to breaking the stalemate, so she can't kill him."

"Second, the [Heaven Defiance Palace] has already been stirred into muddy waters by this anchored future. She wants to use this Dao Child as bait—toss him into the muck and see who bites. She wants to see who supports this future and who opposes it, allowing her to distinguish friend from foe in this Dao struggle."

A cold smile touched the middle-aged man's lips. "You see? Hasn't it already hooked [Lake-Thunder Following]? As for the others—Wood Qi, Earth Qi, and Fire Qi—I imagine they've all been startled by this bait by now."

"Oh?"

The newcomer finally caught on. After a brief moment of thought, realization dawned on his face. "Mingdu can't kill him, but the others can. They had a tacit understanding all along!"

"No, not kill."

The newcomer voiced his approval. "Rather, they're using this Dao Child's special status in the future to test how stable this anchored timeline is, to see just how much variance it can withstand."

"If Mingdu's Dao Child is actually killed, then he's dead and gone. That would prove this future is unstable and will collapse at the slightest variable—meaning it isn't worth worrying about. But if he survives, the mastermind behind it all will inevitably expose some of their foundation, allowing the others to plan targeted countermeasures."

"There must be a limit to how far they'll go."

"Every lineage is likely watching closely. Whoever crosses that line with genuine killing intent is opposing this future. Whoever holds back is supporting it."

"But no matter what."

"This time, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth... every Dao lineage will probably make a move, even Water Qi. They're going to fight a massive battle before the grand chessboard even opens!"

Having said his piece, the newcomer looked at the middle-aged man. "If you choose to stand with Mingdu, Senior Brother, do you plan to save that Dao Child? If so, we'll probably have to send out a divine artifact or two."

"There's no need."

The middle-aged man shook his head. "We aren't like the other Dao lineages. Water Qi has its Yin Spirits, Earth Qi has its divine corpses—both are methods for locking onto life and fixing one's nature."

"Those monsters in Fire Qi naturally have long lifespans and can outlast anyone. Wood Qi goes without saying; I suspect the [Observing Eternity Realm] doesn't have any lifespan limits at all."

"So they have the capital. They preserved many people back then and can afford to send them out one after another. Our divine artifacts, on the other hand, are merely a stopgap measure. Every time we use one, we lose one. How can we deploy them lightly?"

The middle-aged man finally shifted his gaze and let out a cryptic chuckle. "Did you hear that clearly?"

As soon as he spoke, Tianxing, who was sitting below, replied without hesitation, "I didn't understand a thing. Can you speak plainly, old man, and skip the riddles?"

"I wasn't asking you, you idiot!"

The middle-aged man's serene facade instantly shattered as he snapped back via voice transmission, "How many times have I told you? Call me True Monarch when we have company!"

Tianxing curled his lip.

Off to the side, Mingyou—who had kept his head bowed the entire time, sitting as still as a stone statue and not daring to look at the two True Monarchs above—finally spoke. "I will obey your decree," he said respectfully.

Of course he had understood. The Divine Weapon Courtyard wasn't willing to send anyone out, and in the current Immortal Gate, who else was capable of fighting those Immortal Realm cultivators besides him?

'Heavens above.'

Mingyou could only feel that fate makes fools of people. It was pure karmic retribution. No matter which way he turned, he just couldn't shake off that precious disciple of his.

For a moment, Mingyou was gnashing his teeth in sheer frustration.

'You little bastard, just you wait... Don't you dare die! I'm coming to save you!'

Cosmic Deep Space, Supreme Palace Enclosure.

With the [Zhaoxuan Realm] shoved into the absolute depths of the True Realm and nowhere to be seen, another Fire Qi Immortal Realm had taken its place, assuming the principal position.

This immortal realm was incredibly unique.

A serpentine arc served as a boundary, splitting the realm in two. On one side, a torrential downpour raged without end; on the other, the land was a thousand miles of scorched, barren earth, vividly projecting an image of absolute divergence.

At the seven-inch mark of the serpentine boundary that bisected this immortal realm stood a towering, majestic mountain. A magnificent Daoist temple rested at its peak. Several cultivators were currently gathered inside. Glancing up, one could see flames dancing across the plaque above the door, illuminating three profound characters:

"[Resounding Transformation Realm]."

One of the cultivators offered quiet praise. "Choosing this place, so far from the [Heaven Defiance Palace], and with the masters of our various factions personally concealing it... this should be very secure."

His voice was hoarse. As he spoke, fine gravel peeled from his face and hit the ground, instantly crumbling into a drift of scattered dust.

"Fellow Daoist Chu, it has been a long time."

Hearing this, Chu Huaijing looked over, his gaze shifting slightly. "So it's Fellow Daoist Changqing. Someone has finally come out from the [Observing Eternity Realm] after all this time."

He stared fixedly at the Daoist walking toward him. The man was dressed in green robes, his face glowing with health and surging with boundless vitality. Compared to Chu Huaijing—who was constantly transforming into a divine corpse just to cling to life—the difference was like heaven and earth. For a brief moment, a flicker of resentment slipped into his eyes.

In the current Immortal Gate, if one were to ask which True Monarch was the most despised...

It was undeniably the master of the [Observing Eternity Realm].

But the man was a True Monarch, while Chu Huaijing was merely a lowly cultivator. Even if his combat prowess could reach Ninth Layer Heaven Breaking, without attaining Truth Cultivation, he didn't even have the right to harbor hatred.

Thus, he decisively looked away, turning his attention to the other two cultivators.

One of them was a woman of peerless beauty. Complex patterns were stamped across her pale, tender skin. Every now and then, she would flick her tongue out—and strangely, it was forked like a snake's.

The other figure could hardly be called a person anymore; it was a weapon. It took the form of a long staff, a brilliant mix of gold and blood-red. The dragon carved into the wood seemed to have come alive, stretching its limbs as endless roars echoed from it. Though clearly an artifact, it possessed a sentience no less than a human's.

"I am [Yin Yu]," the woman said. "Greetings, fellow Daoists."

She spoke first. Her voice was incredibly soft and sweet, practically seeping into the listeners' bones. However, every cultivator present possessed extraordinary cultivation, so they remained completely unmoved.

Beside her, the Coiled Dragon Staff gave a metallic clang and sent a divine sense transmission. "Now that I have become an artifact spirit, my old name is not worth mentioning. You may all simply call me [Coiled Dragon]."

'Quite the lively gathering.'

Chu Huaijing had already grasped the situation.

'A divine artifact from the [Following Orthodoxy Realm], a demoness from the [Resounding Transformation Realm], a cultivator from the [Observing Eternity Realm], and myself... Four of the Five Phases Dao lineages have actually shown up.'

And even though Water Qi hadn't appeared, it didn't mean they wouldn't make a move.

All of this was for one single person.

'Wang Ping...'

Chu Huaijing lowered his eyelids. He thought back to that young man who had exposed a True Monarch's secret and then managed to slip right through his fingers. The boy truly was a prodigy of his generation.

A pity he was still just a lowly cultivator.

Without Truth Cultivation, even the most formidable geniuses were merely fleeting clouds. In the eyes of True Persons and True Monarchs, they were no different from dust—at most, they were merely chess pieces in their hands.

A moment later, it was Yin Yu, the female demon of the Fire Qi, who lost her patience first.

Flicking her forked tongue, she asked faintly, "How many is each family sending?"

Chu Huaijing snapped back to reality and replied in a low voice, "According to my lord's intentions, the four of us are not enough. We need to double the number to ensure absolute certainty."

"The four of us still aren't enough?"

On the other side, Changqingzi was slightly surprised.

"Daoist Chu has reached Ninth Layer Heaven Breaking, I have reached Eighth Layer Heaven Breaking, and both Daoist Yin Yu and Daoist Coiled Dragon have already reached Breaking Seven Layers," he said.

"If my guess is right, that person has only reached Third Layer Heaven Breaking, right? Inside his Grotto-Heaven, he can barely reach Fourth Layer Heaven Breaking. He can only barely fight a Fire Qi cultivator who has reached Breaking the Fifth Heaven by relying on that demon-slaying profound sword. Without that profound array that shaves away lifespan, he would absolutely be no match for any single one of us."

"It is not enough!"

Chu Huaijing shook his head. "According to my lord's intentions, the four of us don't create enough of a variable. With eight people, we will have a chance to shake things up."

"Eight people is fine."

The Coiled Dragon Staff vibrated slightly.

"But my [Following Orthodoxy Realm] is not as well-endowed as your families," it said. "I am the only divine artifact to have emerged. We will need to find someone else to fill the missing spot."

"No problem."

Yin Yu smiled. "Everyone knows the difficulties the Golden Qi faces... Conveniently, I see the [Observing Eternity Realm] has quite a few people. Sending one more shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Seeing this, Changqingzi's expression did not change. He knew exactly how much hatred his own True Monarch had drawn. As long as it was within tolerable limits, these people would definitely try to trip him up.

However, the current condition of his True Monarch left him with little confidence, so he couldn't be bothered to argue. He nodded straightforwardly.

"Then my [Observing Eternity Realm] will send three people... Coincidentally, my family's Dao Child is still in that person's hands. Rescuing him during this operation will also settle our previous karma."

"Excellent."

Only then did Chu Huaijing nod, though he quickly added, "Among the eight, at least two must have reached Ninth Layer Heaven Breaking. Only then will this be completely foolproof."

"...Alright."

Changqingzi nodded. Cultivators who had reached Ninth Layer Heaven Breaking were incredibly rare and hard to come by. Aside from the Water and Fire Qi lineages, their [Observing Eternity Realm] was probably the only one that could casually dispatch them.

At this point, Yin Yu, the female demon of the Fire Qi, suddenly let out a seductive laugh.

"Those Ancient Cultivators put on such a grand show the other day that all our families had no choice but to temporarily avoid their sharp edge," she said. "That Dao Child was especially high-spirited when he killed Gu Han. Little did he know that a tree that stands out in the forest will surely be destroyed by the wind. This time, it's only right that we crush his spirit."

"Dispatching eight experts from our families means we're truly thinking highly of him."

"Do not be careless."

Chu Huaijing said softly, "If some want to kill him, others naturally want to protect him. We are not the only ones entering this game. When the time comes, I'm afraid we will have to adapt to the circumstances."

"It does not matter."

Changqingzi did not care in the slightest. "At the end of the day, those are the schemes of the various families. It's nothing more than everyone sitting down at the end and discussing how to divide the spoils."

"Otherwise, could this fish on the chopping block actually turn the world upside down?"

"In my opinion, he is probably still brimming with confidence right now, thinking about how to enter the [Heaven Defiance Palace] to seek opportunities, completely oblivious to our schemes."

Inside the Dao Tomb, Wang Ping opened his eyes.

'Someone wants to kill me.'

'No, it isn't just to kill me, but to use me to probe the future... I overlooked an important point before. In Teng Xian's memories of the future, the [Heavenly Venerable of Equal Law and Dao Transformation] cultivated the Water Qi. Many clues actually bind the identity of this Dao Venerable to me.'

'Even he could guess that the [Heavenly Venerable of Equal Law and Dao Transformation] is me.'

'Then what about the True Monarchs who also saw these futures?'

'They definitely could too!'

'And in the future, the [Heavenly Venerable of Equal Law and Dao Transformation] spread the [Five Phases], dharma power, and the Dharma Body, practically announcing his identity as a path opener to the public.'

This was the reason why Wang Ping's expression had turned so grim earlier.

However, the fact that the Immortal Gate hadn't descended in full force to demand that the Ancient Cultivators hand him over meant that a flaw had appeared in the judgments of the various True Monarchs.

Regarding this, Wang Ping already had a conclusion.

'There is a high probability that they have separated me from the [Heavenly Venerable of Equal Law and Dao Transformation]. They believe that the path opener isn't me, but that the path opener possessed my body in the future!'

This was certainly possible. In fact, Wang Ping himself harbored some doubts. Although there likely wasn't a moral saint like the [Heavenly Venerable of Equal Law and Dao Transformation] among the immortal cultivators—meaning it was highly probable that it was indeed him—the possibility of possession couldn't be ruled out. The True Monarchs had definitely misjudged things here.

'It's the scripture scroll's merit.'

Thanks to the clone created by the scripture scroll, which severed karma and ensured the absolute purity of his true body, the Dao lineages outside of the Water Qi had been led into this miscalculation.

The [Taiping Sutra] was no joke!

At the same time, this was also his opportunity.

'If I were a True Monarch, and if I firmly believed in the possession theory, I would definitely send people to probe it. By attempting to kill me, they are probing the mastermind anchored in the future.'

'I'm afraid this is also Yuanjun's thought.'

'I am the bait.'

Wang Ping's eyes grew brighter and brighter. After realizing that the True Monarchs had highly likely also seen Teng Xian's future memories, he finally had a general grasp of the situation.

In an instant, he made the same judgment as the [Immortal-Serving Orthodoxy-Treading True Monarch], guessing that he was very likely to be besieged and killed by the various Dao lineages.

'However, before this, my second clone has never appeared in the world. Unless the Water Qi secretly tipped them off, it's impossible for anyone to expect that my second clone already possesses the combat strength to reach Breaking the Sixth Heaven, rather than just Third Layer Heaven Breaking... This information gap is my opportunity, my chance to turn the tables and kill them!'

'Don't the various families want to probe?'

'Perfect. I can also use this excellent opportunity to draw everyone's gaze onto me.' A bone-piercing chill gradually surfaced in the depths of Wang Ping's eyes.

Whether publicly or privately, this held great benefits.

Publicly, compared to a [Heavenly Venerable of Equal Law and Dao Transformation] who would solely dominate the Cosmos in the future, the life of a mere [Heaven-Stealing Thief] was actually not that important.

With himself drawing their attention, whether it was saving the [Heaven-Stealing Thief] or helping [Zai] complete the ritual to advance to Dao Lord, there would be considerable hope.

The price was nothing more than his own life.

'However, the one going is my clone. If it dies, it dies. As long as my true body remains completely unharmed, at worst, I can just use the scripture scroll to synthesize another one afterward!'

Privately, doing this also had its advantages.

With all the True Monarchs watching, the effect would absolutely be no worse than a live broadcast across the Cosmos. If he managed to counter-kill a few of them, [Seizing Preeminence Among the Ao] would inevitably advance further.

The first qi manifestation of the Fire Qi was right before his eyes!

And to achieve all of this, the only requirement was this: he needed to fabricate a behind-the-scenes mastermind who was trying to possess him, and he had to make everyone believe it.

'A deception...'

'That's right, I'll set up a deception to make even the True Monarchs believe that the mastermind anchoring the future is the previous path opener, and their goal is to possess me to escape.'

This deception wouldn't be difficult to pull off.

After all, at this very moment, the vast majority of True Monarchs probably already believed this was the case, they just lacked evidence... He only needed to provide them with that evidence.

Besides, it might not necessarily be false.

Perhaps there truly was such a mighty figure hiding in the dark, anchoring the future, intending to possess him and subsequently escape... If that was the case, it would be even better.

'If the possession is fake, at the very least, I can use it to deceive the True Monarchs. But if the possession is real, the True Monarchs might even catch the mastermind trying to possess me on my behalf. No matter what, as long as the deception is successfully established in the end, I won't lose out in any way!'

Wang Ping quickly formed a plan in his mind.

'Don't they want to probe the future of the [Heavenly Venerable of Equal Law and Dao Transformation]? Since that's the case, I'll give them a [Heavenly Venerable of Equal Law and Dao Transformation]!