Chapter 176: The Waters of Great Shun Run Deep Too

Opening his eyes, Wang Ping withdrew his focus from You Xuexin's memories.

"In the past there was the Great Rebellion, the Ancient Qi of Eliminating the Six Heavens..."

The Great Rebellion? The Great Rebellion!

At this thought, Wang Ping immediately lowered his voice. "First Seat... Master, if I recall correctly, the former dynasty's national title was the Great Rebellion."

A moment later, a light breeze swept past.

The ethereal voice sounded in its wake. "Indeed. However, the records of the former dynasty endured thousands of years of chaos, and after Great Shun was founded, it destroyed the classic texts."

"Now, not even one in ten remains."

"There are no longer any historical archives to trace back. Only the four great sects have existed long enough to record some of it, and most of those are mere unofficial histories."

Wang Ping grew even more curious. "From what I know, the Great Rebellion must have done some incredible things. It is obvious from the name alone. The Great Rebellion—who were they rebelling against? It had to be the Immortal Gate... Looking at it this way, the waters surrounding the Eight Trigrams Furnace truly run deep!"

"Right, Master."

Wang Ping continued, "I always thought the Martial Dao was specifically passed down from heaven for the mortals of Great Shun to practice, just to refine divine weapons and magical treasures."

"Do you think that is the case?"

"...I do not know either."

After a moment of silence, the ethereal voice offered an answer. "The origins of the Martial Dao can no longer be verified... Do you believe it was the Great Rebellion that founded Martial Dao cultivation?"

Wang Ping nodded. "In fact, isn't the predecessor to the divine weapon in my hands, the Battle-Victorious Demon-Quelling Blade, the Dragon Head Guillotine? And isn't that a piece of the Great Rebellion's divine weapon, the Three Azure Sky Guillotine Sabers? It proves the Great Rebellion had already mastered the method of refining divine weapons and magical treasures. It must have been a golden age for the Martial Dao."

"There is one more thing."

"Among the weapon grades—Ordinary Weapon, Sharp Weapon, Famous Treasure, Divine Object, and Heavenly Work... the highest grade, Heavenly Work, is what the Immortal Gate calls a Spiritual Treasure."

"How do these Heavenly Works come to be?"

"If I recall correctly, even for a Martial Dao Great Grandmaster Rank expert, their weapons peak at the level of divine weapons. If so, why do Heavenly Works exist?"

Wang Ping continued asking.

This time, the ethereal voice fell silent for much longer. A moment later, it murmured, "What are called Heavenly Work weapons are actually the result of substituting characters with the same pronunciation."

"Their true name is weapons of the Heavenly Lord."

"As the name implies, they are supreme treasures descended from heaven... At first, they are nothing more than embryos. They require the heart's blood of a Grandmaster Rank and the full-force nourishment of a Great Grandmaster Rank's Divine Intent."

"Only after being forged with countless lives and incense can they truly take shape."

"Therefore, the birth of every Heavenly Work weapon is always accompanied by blood and fire. And once born, they are inevitably retrieved; they do not circulate in the mortal world."

"The Heavenly Work weapons remaining in the world today all have special reasons for being here. There are not many—only ten in total, known as the Ten Great Heavenly Works."

"You have already seen one of them. It is the Heaven's Will Profound Blade hanging at the end of the firmament. The reason the current Great Grandmaster Rank experts, myself included, live in seclusion lies precisely in this. Once that blade is disturbed, the Immortal Gate will inevitably sense it, and the situation will spiral out of control."

"As for the other nine, they are scattered across Great Shun and the four directions... If you are curious, the next time you visit the Great Shun Capital, I can take you to see two of them."

Hearing this, Wang Ping could not help but ask, "Master... do you mean you actually hold two Heavenly Work weapons yourself?"

"Only one."

The ethereal voice continued, "The other is in the hands of the Dashun Imperial Family... You should not harbor too many expectations. Heavenly Work weapons are not easily wielded."

"The Heaven's Will Profound Blade is the sole exception."

"I understand."

Wang Ping took a deep breath to calm his emotions, entirely refreshing his understanding of Great Shun. To be honest, he had previously thought Great Shun was nothing more than a beginner's village.

After entering the Immortal Gate four times and witnessing its grandeur with his own eyes, he had originally been prepared to develop a long-term foundation there. But looking at it now, the waters of Great Shun ran equally deep. Whether it was the former dynasty, the Great Rebellion, or the Martial Dao that seemed far inferior to the Immortal Gate, both still held massive potential waiting to be unearthed!

"Oh, right."

Just then, the ethereal voice abruptly shifted the topic. "If you are interested in the affairs of the former dynasty... in the future, you can go out more often to subjugate the evil phantoms that manifest in the world."

"...Evil phantoms?"

Wang Ping stared blankly for a moment, taking a while to react. Back then, Chenlong had mentioned to him that evil phantoms were a threat on the same level as extraordinary persons.

However, because he had never actually encountered an evil phantom, and the shock brought by extraordinary persons—that is, cultivators—was simply too immense, Wang Ping had subconsciously dismissed them. It wasn't until the First Seat brought them up again just now that he woke up as if from a dream, though he found it somewhat unbelievable. "Can evil phantoms truly be compared to the Immortal Gate?"

"In terms of danger, they are about the same."

The ethereal voice explained, "What we call evil phantoms are not so much people as they are events. They are phantoms of the past being replicated and reenacted in the present."

"For example."

"Previously, a great evil phantom appeared in the Capital named the evil dragon plague. Its outward manifestation was a disease that swept through the entire Capital in a short period of time."

"The first person to contract the disease claimed to be the former crown prince of the Great Rebellion. He grabbed a pig-butchering knife, rallied a cry from a high vantage point, and then charged toward the Imperial Palace under the watchful eyes of the public. He was ultimately killed on the spot by the imperial guards... However, after that, all the commoners who had seen that man with their own eyes also contracted the disease."

"They all claimed to be the former crown prince of the Great Rebellion."

"And then they assaulted the Imperial Palace."

"At first, it was only a few mundane martial artists, which did not cause much harm. But gradually, the level of the participating martial artists climbed higher and higher, and the ways to contract the disease became increasingly diverse."

"In the end, as long as someone merely heard of the relevant deeds, they would contract the disease and charge toward the Imperial Palace... The largest incident saw a full thirteen Grandmaster Rank experts infected. They assaulted the Imperial Palace in a fierce battle, and it wasn't until Fangxian Dao dispatched a large number of Loose Immortals that it was finally suppressed."

"Evil phantoms are exactly this sort of thing."

"To resolve an evil phantom, what is often needed is not martial force, but wisdom. It requires adapting to the circumstances and unearthing the truth behind the evil phantom."

"Therefore, every time an evil phantom is resolved, you can obtain the corresponding historical truth... If you wish to understand the Great Rebellion, evil phantoms are the best avenue."

After saying this, the ethereal voice reminded him, "However, the closer an evil phantom is to the history of the Great Rebellion, the more powerful it will be. You must be extremely cautious."

"Thank you for the guidance, Master."

Wang Ping cupped his hands in thanks, firmly committing this advice to memory.

Immediately after, he looked toward You Xuexin, who sat beside him with her skirts gathered. Her face was brimming with tender affection, as if she couldn't wait to knead him into her own body.

"Mm... Fellow Daoist You."

Before Wang Ping could finish, You Xuexin shook her head. She grabbed his hand, interlacing their fingers, and parted her ruby lips. "Master can just call me Xuexin."

Wang Ping: "..."

'Damn this wicked lust, it deserves a beating!'

Closing his eyes and pondering for a moment, Wang Ping spoke again, "Fellow Daoist You, let me ask you: how much confidence do you have in transcending the heavenly tribulation this time and refining a divine power?"

At these words, a look of pride immediately appeared on You Xuexin's face. "Rest assured, Master. Xuexin is absolutely confident. My Tribulation Transcending this time will undoubtedly succeed. While I dare not claim I will transcend three tribulations in a row, transcending two in succession to pass the trials of the Bi Wind and Yin Fire should not be a big problem. It will be enough to refine a Major Divine Ability."

"A Major Divine Ability?"

Wang Ping's eyes lit up slightly. "What Major Divine Ability? Which qi does it belong to? What spells are combined to create it? Explain it to me in detail."

"Yes."

You Xuexin hugged Wang Ping's arm, rubbing affectionately against it before saying in a sweet voice, "The Major Divine Ability that Xuexin will refine is named the Taishang Immortal-Slaying God-Sealing Flying Sword."

"The spells required for it are seven types: Sword Art, Body Immobilization, Soul Pursuing, Soul Seizing, Spirit Dispatching, Light Generation, and Scenery Shifting. This Major Divine Ability is located in the position of metal qi and belongs to yang. Within the Three Talents, it is called the Great White Weapon-Wielding Divine Malignance Qi. It is a first-rate offensive divine power."

Wang Ping frowned at her words.

"You are an earth-position cultivator, yet you are cultivating a metal qi divine power?"

"Wait..."

A second later, Wang Ping seemed to realize something. He thought of the descriptions he had seen previously in Observing Heaven and Earth Qi regarding the Ji Earth that You Xuexin cultivated.

'Wet earth can nourish metal qi, therefore where metal is abundant, the metal shines brightly.'

'Is it because of this?'

"Earth can generate metal, and yin earth can generate yang metal even better... No, according to common sense, you are the yin earth of the ground. What you generate should be the yang metal of the heavens."

Wang Ping looked at You Xuexin.

Seeing this, You Xuexin raised a slender finger and traced circles on Wang Ping's chest, whispering, "Master specifically explained this matter to me."

"It is because the qi I belong to, the Central Heaven Proper Origin Clashing-Harmony Qi, is extremely special. Although it sits in the earth position, it connects with the other four elements. It intrinsically encompasses everything like a sea accepting hundreds of rivers and can harmonize all things. Therefore, if I were to refine another corresponding divine power, it would actually waste this profundity."

"Cultivators of this qi should cultivate the divine powers of other types of qi."

You Xuexin listed the facts with easy familiarity:

"And metal qi divine powers can increase offensive capabilities, making them the most suitable... As for why we chose the yang metal of the ground instead of the yang metal of the heavens..."

"The reason is also very simple."

"We cannot form a complete mutual generation of yin and yang. Otherwise, it would be very easy for the metal qi divine power to overwhelm the host and usurp the primary role. After all, my magic power is still drawn from earth-position qi."

"So choosing the yang metal of the heavens would be going too far."

"Compared to that, the yang metal of the ground is very fitting. On one hand, yin earth generates yang metal, holding the marvel of mutual generation. On the other hand, since they both belong to the ground position, they can mutually restrain each other."

"One generating, one restraining, placing yin and yang in harmony."

"It perfectly matches the imagery of the Central Heaven Proper Origin Clashing-Harmony Qi. A divine power refined in this way will not conflict, but will instead assist in my future Qi Refining Entering the Dao."

Wang Ping was absolutely blown away as he listened.

'What a great line of thought... truly a brilliant approach!'

Such an approach could probably only be proposed by a Qi Refining practitioner whose cultivation far surpassed Tribulation Transcending, operating from a strategically advantageous height. Truly, a single sentence exhausted the secrets of heaven.

"Being a true transmission disciple... has far too many benefits!"

When others cultivated divine powers, they only looked at its might and profundity. Those who were slightly more formidable might look at the qi it belonged to. Who else was like this, even factoring in the future Qi Refining stage?

Thinking of this, Wang Ping yearned for the true transmission position even more.

'I really want it!'

Right at that moment, Wang Ping suddenly felt a soft, yielding sensation. Looking down, he saw that You Xuexin had long since practically melted into his embrace.

As a protector wisdom consort, the current You Xuexin already shared a telepathic link with him. Naturally, she sensed his intense desire for the true transmission.

"Master, please take Xuexin~"

Wang Ping: "..."

This time, Wang Ping did not extinguish the wicked lust in his heart. As the saying went, blocking a river was worse than dredging it. When it was time to relax, one should relax. A balance of tension and relaxation was the true principle of cultivation.

Since he could not get the true transmission position for the time being, he would just take this true transmission disciple first!

At this thought, a surge of wicked boldness welled up within him. He immediately decided to challenge his own weakness and personally experience this so-called sea of desire.