Chapter 627: The True Yang Sect's Conditions

Chapter 627: Chapter 107: The True Yang Sect’s Conditions

Zhu Gang’s words were humble, but his meaning was anything but.

Wang Ping studied Zhu Gang intently. Instead of anger, he asked with a face full of interest, “Fellow Daoist, would you mind telling me who your Elder Council has supported before?”

“Many!”

Zhu Gang spat out a single word before sitting back in his rattan chair. “Since the end of the Shangjing City incident, we’ve supported three different Third Realm Taiyan Cultivators in their attempts to ascend. They all had approval, but not one of them succeeded!”

“That many?”

Yu Lian sounded surprised, channeling some of Wang Ping’s own emotions.

Zhu Gang lifted his wine bowl and downed its contents in a single gulp. His bulging red eyes stared at Yu Lian. What was probably a smile looked utterly ferocious on his face. His voice followed, “And those were just the ones we chose to back. There were others we didn’t choose, and some who attempted to ascend in secret.”

“How many Third Realm Taiyan Cultivators can there possibly be? How could so many attempt to ascend at once?” Yu Lian’s voice was filled with skepticism.

“Your perspective has always been limited to your little patch of land in the Southern Cultivation Realm, so of course it seems incredible. But the world is vast. I might as well tell you, the ranks of Third Realm Taiyan Cultivators have been completely reshuffled in the nearly two hundred years since the Shangjing City incident.”

Zhu Gang’s scarlet gaze met Wang Ping’s as he said, “Things have settled down in the past few decades. Currently, the two people universally acknowledged as most likely to ascend to the Fourth Realm are you, Changqing Zhenren, and Daoist Chengxi of the Southeast Sea Region. Logically, there shouldn’t be any competition between you, because there are at least two openings to the Fourth Realm right now.”

His words stirred something in Wang Ping, but on second thought, he shook his head. The competition between him and Chengxi had already reached the point of no return.

“So, the Demon Realm’s support is just a symbolic investment?” Yu Lian asked during Wang Ping’s silence.

“I wouldn’t put it that way. This time, we’re very optimistic about Changqing Zhenren!” Zhu Gang was smiling again, but his smile was truly hideous, and it made the steel-like bristles on his face twitch.

“If those are the only conditions, then I am willing to facilitate a cooperation between the Southern Cultivation Realm and the Demon Realm.”

“Relax, it’s just these two conditions. If there were more, you wouldn’t be able to agree to them anyway, would you?” Zhu Gang’s words were dripping with insolence, yet his posture remained so humble that one couldn’t find fault.

Wang Ping gave a dry laugh. Seeing that they had reached an agreement, the nearby Hu Qianqian shifted the conversation to the finer details of their cooperation.

「Half an Hour Later.」

Wang Ping politely saw Zhu Gang to the main gate, after which Hu Qianqian used her identity card to send Zhu Gang back to Ningzhou Road. As he left, Zhu Gang promised to prepare two complete Wood Spirit Spirit Veins within a month. He also promised that if Wang Ping needed military aid, they could dispatch ten of their Core Formation Realm kinsmen.

Wang Ping wouldn’t cash in on the second promise unless absolutely necessary. The Demon Race of Ningzhou Road, after all, held the status of Zhongzhou Cultivators and were registered with the Daoist Palace. The Demon Race from the Demon Realm, however, was a different matter. If he dared to use their people, the entire Zhongzhou Cultivation Realm would rise up against him.

“So many of them failed to ascend. Are you really going to try this soon? You’re only just over four hundred years old,” Yu Lian said abruptly while Wang Ping was lost in thought. For the first time, she was worried he might not succeed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t act recklessly.”

Wang Ping opened his glowing status panel and walked over to the wide rattan table. He picked up a Seven-Star Sword and flicked the blade lightly with his finger. A clear, metallic ring instantly echoed in the air.

「Two Days Later.」

While Xia Wen Yi was secretly dispatching several hundred Entering Cultivators and carefully verifying Ke Yue’s intelligence, Le Xin Taoist of the True Yang Sect paid a secret visit to Wang Ping’s Mountain Peak Dao Field.

“True Man, this Dao Field of yours is magnificent. It’s countless times better than my own barren grotto-mansion.” Le Xin’s first sentence was also praise for Wang Ping’s Dao Field, which nearly made Yu Lian offer a sarcastic retort.

Wang Ping played along. “If you like it so much, Fellow Daoist, feel free to visit more often.”

“If you had said that to me five hundred years ago, Fellow Daoist, I guarantee I would have visited every single month. But these days, I just want to stay on my own little patch of land.”

“Oh?”

Wang Ping feigned the perfect amount of confusion.

Le Xin, however, didn’t explain. He changed the subject. “I must thank you, Fellow Daoist, for being able to establish a Dao Field within the borders of the Datong Marquisate.”

“It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

“I’m the one who got the better end of the deal. Without me, the Datong Marquisate would have just found someone else.”

Wang Ping had invited Le Xin into the small courtyard for tea. After they had chatted for the time it took to finish two pots, Le Xin finally stated the purpose of his visit. “My master heard that you plan to pursue the Fourth Realm, Fellow Daoist. He specifically ordered me to inform you that, should you require it, our True Yang Sect will lend you our full support.”

‘This news isn’t surprising. In fact, it’s to be expected.’

Wang Ping fell silent for several moments before asking, “I want to know, from the end of the Shangjing City incident until now, how many Third Realm Taiyan Cultivators in total have attempted to ascend?”

Le Xin seemed somewhat surprised by the question, but his expression was fleeting. “My master specifically briefed me on this matter,” he said. “He said the ranks of Third Realm Taiyan Cultivators were reshuffled long ago. If you aren’t in a hurry, you can take your time planning. As it stands now, besides Zi Luan and Xiu Yu, the number of Taiyan Cultivators who can make a play for the Fourth Realm is no more than three—including yourself, True Man.”

“Heh…”

Wang Ping suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh. When he was done, he looked at Le Xin and said, “You and I are both from the Mystic Sect. You can speak freely. What’s your request?”

Le Xin didn’t waste any words. He clasped his fist and said, “Ever since our Dao Field in Mozhou Road was destroyed, we have been trying to find a way to re-establish the Southern Daoist Lineage. If you have no objection, Fellow Daoist, you can leave the Liangjiang Region for the True Yang Sect to handle!”

‘He’s asking for Fuming Prefecture!’

After a brief moment of thought, Wang Ping said, “Done.”

In that instant, a strange feeling washed over Wang Ping. After all, the destruction of the True Yang Sect’s Dao Field in Mozhou Road had been part of his own machinations. What’s more, he was the one who had led the forces that destroyed True Yang Mountain all those years ago.

‘Perhaps to a true Great Cultivator, everything in the world really is just a disposable pawn. The lifelong struggles of other cultivators, their millennia of single-minded practice… it’s all nothing more than a speck of dust.’

Le Xin’s arrival had been secretive, but his departure was even more so. Like Zhu Gang, he left Wang Ping with two promises. First, within half a month, he would relocate a branch of the True Yang Sect’s disciples to Fuming Prefecture. Second, he and his senior martial sister would also arrive at Qianmu Temple in half a month to assist him in his bid for the Fourth Realm.

“Have I been putting on quite a show lately?”

Watching Le Xin’s retreating figure, Wang Ping asked Yu Lian a strange question.

Sensing Wang Ping’s mood, Yu Lian thought for a moment before replying, “That’s just how the world works. Look at Zhi Gong Daoist. She’s probably in a similar situation. Aren’t you investing in her as well? When she reaches the same point you’re at now, you’ll surely make a few moves on her behalf, won’t you?”

“I suppose I was worrying over nothing.” Wang Ping looked up at the sky, watching the streak of light that was Xia Wen Yi in flight, and asked, “How many times have we cleansed Mozhou Road now?”