Chapter 177: Is the Immortal Path Free of Obstacles From Now On?

The rain stopped and the clouds cleared.

Inside the Cave Abode, Wang Ping sat cross-legged on the ground with a solemn, dignified expression. You Xuexin also sat cross-legged, but she rested directly on his lap.

You Xuexin's recently recovered body had gone limp once again. Only Wang Ping's support kept her from collapsing as a surging torrent of magical power flooded into his body.

'So this is the Bliss Immortal Physique...'

Wang Ping circulated his Mind Monkey Divine Intent and applied Divine Treasure Sea-Stabilizing. After struggling a few times, he finally suppressed his impulses and stopped himself from continuing.

Immediately after, he looked inward to inspect himself.

He watched his magical power, which had already undergone two qualitative transformations, undergo another subtle shift after merging with You Xuexin's.

'The purity has increased.'

'Incredible. If we did this another eight hundred or a thousand times, my magical power might just complete its third qualitative transformation without even needing Dao Proving Mountain.'

Of course, if they really went at it a thousand times in one breath, even Wang Ping's current Mind Monkey Divine Intent would not save him from sinking into a sea of lust, unable to extricate himself.

Therefore, this kind of thing could not be rushed.

Rushing it would only ruin all his previous efforts.

'Besides that, there is also this so-called Bliss Poison... It is an excellent medicine for guiding the transformation of magical power, but it is also a severe toxin that drags people into depravity.'

Fortunately, You Xuexin was now his protector wisdom consort and would not refuse his demands, allowing him to completely avoid the greatest drawback of the Bliss Poison.

Aside from that, he had also learned a surprising fact: because the Bliss Immortal Physique was so notorious, anyone with a cultivation base equal to or lower than You Xuexin's avoided her like the plague. As for those with higher cultivation, You Xuexin was too terrified of becoming a mere tool to engage in dual cultivation with them.

So... this was actually You Xuexin's first time.

No joke, it really was her first time!

A moment later, Wang Ping completely settled his magical power. You Xuexin also regained her strength, slipped her dress back on, and reverted to that pure, ethereal fairy untouched by mortal dust.

"Master, do you need Xuexin to help you?"

Restored to her original appearance, You Xuexin looked utterly pure and flawless, with fairy-like skin and jade bones.

"No need."

Wang Ping refused decisively. He was not a man ruled by lust. Everything he did was a self-sacrifice for the sake of cultivation; he would never truly lose himself in such acts.

Yet right at that moment.

"Are you finished?"

A light breeze brushed past, followed by an ethereal voice. "If you aren't going to continue, take out that treasure flag in your hand and give it to Miss You."

"Uh, Master..."

Wang Ping's face instantly flushed with embarrassment.

Crap. He had been so engrossed in his cultivation that he had completely forgotten the First Seat was following him this whole time. Didn't that mean she had just enjoyed a front-row seat to the entire show? What a sin.

At that thought, Wang Ping quickly went with the flow. He immediately pulled out the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag, shoved it into You Xuexin's embrace, and whispered, "Master, is there a problem?"

"No," the ethereal voice replied faintly. "My intuition just tells me that doing this is more appropriate... Now that things have reached this point, you should start thinking about what comes next."

"What comes next..."

Wang Ping smiled bitterly and looked around. "To be honest, I haven't figured it out yet. With Daoist Xuanhe dead, I'm afraid I can't just stroll right back out in the open."

He had been brought out by Daoist Xuanhe. Now that he was gone, heaven only knew who would take over the job of Furnace-Tending Disciple at the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Without Daoist Xuanhe running interference, it was naturally impossible for Wang Ping to return. As for his goal of hunting down Kunyun, that had been pushed back indefinitely.

"Plans never keep up with changes."

Wang Ping sighed.

Right at that moment, You Xuexin softly spoke up beside him. "If Master wishes, Xuexin can step forward and personally escort you back to the Eight Trigrams Furnace."

"No need."

Wang Ping shook his head. "To the outside world, you still need to maintain the attitude of a true transmission disciple. I am simply your dual cultivation cauldron; you can't be seen taking too much care of me."

Wang Ping had other major uses for You Xuexin. After all, if her cheap master, Great Cultivator Mingyou, died in the future, Wang Ping might be able to use You Xuexin's identity to claim a share of a Qi Refining practitioner's inheritance. Of course, that was a matter for the future; for now, their true relationship had to remain strictly hidden.

His cultivation base simply wasn't high enough yet.

Setting aside everything else, there was currently an inner sect disciple who had cultivated a Divine Power standing right outside the Cave Abode. Wang Ping had no desire to provoke such a powerful enemy prematurely.

'Speaking of Divine Powers...'

With a shift in thought, Wang Ping once again sifted through You Xuexin's memories. As a true transmission disciple, she had once read a Daoist manual called the Secret Record of Divine Abilities.

It detailed many obscure Divine Powers, their corresponding Qi, and their related spells. Naturally, all of this knowledge had now become a resource for Wang Ping.

'Good heavens! Drawing Ground as a Prison, Corpse Dwelling Dragon Manifestation, Profound Silence Thunder Sound, Before the Karma Mirror Platform, Wangxiang Plucking the Mysterious Pearl, A Single Dust Enclosing a Sea of Realms, Boundless Space Heaven, When the Kalpa Fire Blazes... And this is merely a drop in the ocean of the countless Divine Powers governed by the Twenty-Four Qi within the Immortal Gate.'

Wang Ping was dazzled by the sheer volume of information.

However, much to his frustration, not a single one of these Divine Powers matched his Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi. They had absolutely no compatibility with his Dao path.

'But... that makes sense.'

Wang Ping shook his head.

'That Great Cultivator cultivates the Discerning Truth and Illusion Illuminating Qi, which is Earthly Yin Fire. It is completely countered by my Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi, which is Earthly Yin Water.'

Under these circumstances, why would Great Cultivator Mingyou ever allow their own true transmission disciple to study a lineage that perfectly countered their own? It was perfectly normal for there to be no corresponding Divine Powers recorded.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping recalled the Divine Power chosen by Daoist Nun You and felt a surge of hope. 'I wonder if I can copy Daoist Nun You's approach and cultivate a Divine Power from another Qi? Could I use it to complete my Dao path and strengthen myself? But trying to pull that off requires far too high of a perspective.'

Wang Ping attempted to deduce the process.

'What I cultivate is Earthly Yin Water. Yin water is Gui; in the heavens, it manifests as rain and dew, and on the earth, it forms spring veins. Its nature is soft. It flourishes when nourished by Yin metal, but it fears being drained by Yang metal.'

Circulating his magical power, Wang Ping focused completely on sensing the ethereal Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi, fully comprehending its imagery. For a moment, his mind felt incredibly sharp and lucid.

Perhaps it was because he had just absorbed so many cultivation pointers from You Xuexin's memories, or perhaps it was because their recent dual cultivation had purified his magical power. Whatever the reason, Wang Ping felt as if guided by divine assistance. Profound, mystical visions surfaced in his sea of consciousness, and his understanding of the Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi reached a whole new level.

'Soft water is exceedingly weak, yet it flows when carried by the dragon.'

'It fears not fire and earth, and it disregards Geng and Xin metal.'

'Uniting Earth to Behold Fire, its transformed aspect becomes true.'

What did this mean?

Epiphany blossomed in Wang Ping's mind. 'It fears not fire and earth because Gui water is exceedingly weak. When it meets the overwhelming Qi of fire and earth, it can simply submit and transform to follow them—hence, there is nothing to fear.'

'It disregards Geng and Xin metal because Gui water is too weak to require metal to generate it. In fact, since weak water cannot drain the Qi of metal, an excess of metal would only muddy the nature of Gui water.'

'Therefore, it completely disregards them.'

'As for Uniting Earth to Behold Fire, its transformed aspect becomes true, that follows the principle of Yin reaching its extreme limit and giving birth to Yang. Wu earth is Yang earth, and the absolute end of Gui water is the extreme limit of Wu earth—it is the place where the supreme Yang rises. Thus, when Gui water unites with Wu earth and then encounters the fire of supreme Yang, it can shift from a water-phase Qi and transform into a fire-phase Qi.'

'What is the fire of supreme Yang?'

'Simply put, it is Heavenly Yang Fire—specifically, the Radiant Universal Illumination Six Harmonies Qi. Only with its assistance can Gui water successfully unite with Wu earth...'

'...Huh?'

As his deduction reached its conclusion, Wang Ping suddenly froze.

That wasn't right.

'Following this logic, my current magical power is Earthly Yin Water. If I cultivate a Divine Power of Heavenly Yang Earth, wouldn't that perfectly fulfill the principle of uniting with Wu earth?'

Uniting Gui water with Wu earth—in terms of the five elements, earth countered water. However, in terms of Yin and Yang, it was Yin reaching its extreme to birth Yang, and in terms of the Three Realms, it was the ascent from earth to heaven. If he then added a pill refined from the Qi of supreme Yang, or some other external catalyst, he could transform the Qi of Gui water completely into a fire-phase Qi...

'...This isn't a method for cultivating Gui water at all!'

Wang Ping finally understood.

'This is a way to jump Dao paths! It is a method to leap from the water phase to the fire phase! After all that comprehending and deducing, I've actually just deduced my way straight back into the lineage governed by... that Great Cultivator?'

Great Cultivator Mingyou was a fire-phase Qi Refining practitioner!

Wang Ping scratched his head, finding the whole thing somewhat unbelievable. He looked back through the many Divine Powers recorded in You Xuexin's memories, and sure enough, there was actually one that fit the bill perfectly.

Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart.

This was impressively a Major Divine Ability, and its corresponding Qi was precisely the Heavenly Yang Earth required to unite Gui water and Wu earth—the Sun-Dwelling Mysterious Rainbow Inconstant Qi!

'According to what I've comprehended, as long as I use this Divine Power to survive the heavenly tribulation and then find a spiritual treasure related to the Radiant Universal Illumination Six Harmonies Qi to complete Uniting Earth to Behold Fire, I will be able to jump from the water phase to the fire phase during my Qi Refining Entering the Dao. That is truly a clear, brilliant path.'

Thinking of this, Wang Ping felt it was all rather inconceivable.

Compared to any cultivation method or spell he had seen before, this technique he had deduced—one deeply rooted in the Twenty-Four Qi Dao Treatise—was a true, supreme treasure.

'Is this really something I could deduce on my own?'

No, that couldn't be right!

In that instant, rather than feeling the joy of seeing the clouds part to reveal the bright moon, Wang Ping felt a bone-piercing chill explode from his tailbone straight up to the crown of his head.

Uniting Earth to Behold Fire.

To put it bluntly, all he had to do was follow this exact path.

All the way up to Qi Refining, his cultivation would proceed flawlessly. At the very least, there would be no flaws or gaps in his Daoist attainment; the most he would have to worry about were external influences like a life tribulation.

Was his immortal path truly free of obstacles from now on?

What a joke!