Chapter 180: New Identity, Little Immortal

In Peach Blossom Dock stood Peach Blossom Temple; within Peach Blossom Temple lived the Peach Blossom Immortal.

The Peach Blossom Immortal planted peach trees, and plucked peach blossoms to exchange for wine money.

Wang Ping opened his eyes. He sat upright in a thatched hut, a bright yellow Imperial Edict laid out before him, its glow edging the floating dust in the air with gold.

[By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:

We formerly relied heavily upon your master, deeply resonating with his profound mysteries. Now, We specially summon you to the Capital to inherit his Daoist lineage and advise Us on the ultimate truths. You are to depart this very day and hasten to the imperial court without delay.

Respect this.]

Wang Ping lightly brushed his fingers over the Imperial Edict. His spiritual sense probed it for a moment before he reached a conclusion. 'Just as I expected, the one who wrote this edict was no martial artist, but a cultivator. It's stained with Dharmic power. The Imperial Edict itself is quite interesting, too—it's practically a magical artifact!'

The more he examined it, the more amazed he became.

Soon, he figured out the purpose of this Imperial Edict. Simply put, it was designed to record the qi of his Dharmic power and transmit it back to some higher entity.

'Similar to an identity card?'

'Interesting.'

Wang Ping thought for a moment, then condensed a strand of Dharmic power at his fingertip and infused it into the Imperial Edict. Immediately, layers of radiant light rippled across its surface like water.

The phenomenon lasted for quite a while before fading.

Seeing this, Wang Ping became even more certain of one thing. 'The Dashun Imperial Family is probably the largest sect of extraordinary persons within the entire Eight Trigrams Furnace. As for that Emperor... he's probably a true immortal cultivator as well!'

Following that, Wang Ping half-closed his eyes and began to review the background memories of his new identity. First was his origin—naturally, both of his parents were dead.

Because he possessed a true spiritual root, he had been taken away by the Master of Taoshen Temple. The master had hidden him away and carefully nurtured him, intending to possess his body once he cultivated Dharmic power, and then head to the Immortal Gate. But the moment he finally condensed his Dharmic power, the temple master died suddenly in an accident.

What kind of accident?

Seeing this, Wang Ping almost laughed out loud. 'It turns out the temple master was also a member of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion. Because he recently wanted to possess my body, he had been acting suspiciously. As a result, he was targeted by Kunyun.'

Acting on the principle of better to mistakenly kill than to let anyone slip through, and since the master was just another furnace-stoking disciple in the cauldron, Kunyun simply struck him dead... What a truly unlucky bastard!

After all, Kunyun killing him and Xuanhe had been a case of a blind cat finding a dead mouse—shooting the arrow first and drawing the bullseye later. He had just gotten lucky. But killing the Master of Taoshen Temple was a pure miscarriage of justice. This was normal, though. There were definitely many others who had suffered a similar fate as the Master of Taoshen Temple recently.

'As for me,' Wang Ping rubbed his chin, 'in theory, the Master of Taoshen Temple shouldn't have had a disciple like me. It's just that the Taiping Sutra specially fabricated this identity for me.'

'Not bad at all.'

With such an identity, he could step into the absolute center of Great Shun's power—the Imperial Palace located in the Capital—without arousing any suspicion.

Moreover, his master had once deeply earned the trust and favor of that Daoist Emperor. As long as he performed well, there was a high probability that he would inherit that trust.

'In that case, cultivating the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart will become much easier.'

After all, with the backing of the Dashun Imperial Family, he could have the imperial court directly help him confer titles upon the gods. That level of efficiency would be far simpler than doing everything himself.

Therefore, Wang Ping felt this identity was excellent.

As for how to earn the trust of that Daoist Emperor, both his background memories and the Imperial Edict before him had already given him the answer: alchemy.

The Longevity Ageless Pill!

'The Master of Taoshen Temple was an outstanding figure in this field. He used the art of Pill Manipulation to refine various Longevity-Extending Pills, which was exactly why the Daoist Emperor trusted him so completely.'

'But now that the Master of Taoshen Temple has died suddenly, the Daoist Emperor's supply of pills has been cut off. Naturally, he became anxious, which is why he specifically sent an edict to summon me, the disciple. He's most likely hoping that I can refine Longevity-Extending Pills as well... In other words, as long as I refine the pills well, wealth, rank, and status are guaranteed.'

That made things easy.

'I also know the art of Pill Manipulation!'

At this thought, Wang Ping immediately reached out, sweeping his hand to take a jade slip from the thatched hut. Recorded inside were the Master of Taoshen Temple's secret alchemy formulas and insights.

Wang Ping cross-referenced it line by line with the Pill Manipulation art he had acquired.

'Hmm... No problems.'

After all, this newly restarted identity had been provided by the Taiping Sutra. No matter how formidable the Heaven-Stealing Thief was, it was impossible for him to interfere with the Taiping Sutra's identity selection.

Therefore, the copy of Pill Manipulation from the Master of Taoshen Temple in his hands was definitely safe. Since it was identical to the Pill Manipulation art Xiaoxiang had gifted him right before dying, it proved at the very least that there were no traps hidden within. His previous suspicion that Xiaoxiang was the Heaven-Stealing Thief was most likely just an overreaction.

'Ugh, it's all the Heaven-Stealing Thief's fault!'

Wang Ping cursed bitterly.

But soon, he recalled his own sudden death earlier and let out a long breath. 'Thank goodness I handed the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag to You Xuexin ahead of time.'

It wasn't just a magical treasure.

More importantly, all the spoils of war he had looted from his previous kills—including the Purple-Gold Bowl, the Fate-Fixing Bead, and the Incense Ingots—were all hidden within the flag's inner space!

With so many items, Wang Ping had no doubt that if he had kept them on his person when he died suddenly, they would have been smashed to pieces along with him by Kunyun... Thinking of this, Wang Ping marveled even more at the First Seat's Divine Intent intuition. Had it not been for her prior warning, he might have suffered a massive loss this time!

Including the First Seat herself.

'When Kunyun killed me, the First Seat probably wasn't even on my body; otherwise, she would have at least given me a warning. Could she have stayed inside the flag as well?'

The more Wang Ping thought about it, the more it made sense.

After all, for the First Seat to not even attempt a rescue meant that his death at that moment was completely inescapable. That was why her intuition told her to minimize losses first.

'I just don't know what happened on her end after I died.'

Wang Ping sank his mind inward.

Soon, he arrived at the depths of his sea of consciousness and saw the Life-Stealing Thief, the Time-Stealing Thief, the Heaven's Will Profound Blade, and the Void Joy Non-Dual Guardian Consort Talisman.

Only these four talismans would not leave him upon death.

Wang Ping's spiritual sense quickly landed on the Void Joy Non-Dual Guardian Consort Talisman, and he attempted to establish a connection with it... A moment later, the talisman actually produced a response. "Master? Is that you?"

Wang Ping was immediately overjoyed. "Daoist Friend You?"

The next second, the Void Joy Non-Dual Guardian Consort Talisman radiated a bright glow. It shifted in form and color, ultimately manifesting the distinct appearance of You Xuexin.

"Xuexin greets Master."

The moment she appeared, You Xuexin knelt and bowed with extreme proficiency, raising her rear so that Wang Ping's gaze could naturally trace the length of her graceful curves...

"Ahem."

Wang Ping cursed inwardly that this protector wisdom consort was quite a menace. At the same time, he extinguished his wicked thoughts once more and asked sternly, "Was it Kunyun who killed me? What happened after I died?"

"To answer Master..."

You Xuexin didn't dare to delay. She immediately recounted the details of her previous negotiations with Kunyun. Finally, she used her spiritual sense to condense a thin Daoist booklet.

"This is the Twenty-Four Qi Dao Treatise that Xuexin traded with him. It contains the contents related to the heavenly yang wood, the Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Azure Thunder. The Dharmic power he cultivated by relying on this is called Evil-Slaying. In ancient times, it was known as Wielding Heavenly Punishment, and also as Thunder-Directing Pivot. It specializes in fierce offensive dueling and combat."

"If Master intends to make an enemy of him," You Xuexin said in a soft, exceptionally considerate tone, "this Dao treatise will definitely be of use. At the very least, you will be able to learn what counters his element, allowing you to prescribe the right medicine. I only hope that Master takes care of his health and doesn't push himself too hard..."

Seeing this, Wang Ping couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Aside from being a bit hard on the waist and constantly testing his self-restraint, this protector wisdom consort was truly an excellent technique.

"Well done."

Wang Ping praised her, "Keep up the good work. Once you obtain the spell, send it to me immediately as well. As for the Mystic Communion Powder Ingestion you mentioned..."

At this, Wang Ping frowned slightly. Information and knowledge were one thing; they could be transmitted directly through the connection between the master and a protector wisdom consort. But there was no way to transfer external physical resources like that... Fortunately, there was no rush at the moment. After all, he still hadn't figured out his own divine power yet.

So Wang Ping casually waved his hand. "We'll talk about it once you actually have it."

"Xuexin understands." You Xuexin nodded, then licked her lips with a touch of thirst. "I wonder when Master might come to see Xuexin again?"

"Not for the time being."

Wang Ping shook his head decisively, completely unmoved by her feminine charms. "Keep my Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag safe for now, and keep an eye out for any news and movements regarding Kunyun on the outside for me."

"...Understood." You Xuexin nodded in disappointment.

Seeing this, Wang Ping felt a bit helpless and could only add, "Put your heart into the tasks I give you. If you do well, the next time we meet, I'll set aside a whole day just to reward you properly."

"Thank you, Master!"

In an instant, You Xuexin visibly regained her cheerfulness, looking completely full of motivation. One could only say that this was the very nature of a protector wisdom consort.

The next second, Wang Ping's consciousness returned to reality.

'Hmm...' He pondered for a moment, then reached out. Both of his hands condensed Dharmic power simultaneously. One side was naturally his Latent Concealment, but the other side was completely different.

That Dharmic power was perfectly balanced and peaceful, shifting between clarity and turbidity—it was none other than You Xuexin's Matchmaking!

Following that, Wang Ping began to cast spells. Sometimes the sword light was sharp and fierce; other times he used Scenery Shifting to swap out the space. Surprisingly, he was able to use You Xuexin's spells effortlessly!

This was another marvel of the protector wisdom consort. As long as Wang Ping wanted to, he could siphon and utilize all of Daoist Nun You's techniques at any time. In other words, he could now cast the Taiyi Light-Splitting Parting-Joining Sword Qi—an attack whose might was infinitely close to a Minor Divine Ability—without even expending a single drop of his own Dharmic power!

Of course, it wasn't completely without limitations.

'Once I draw on it from my end, You Xuexin won't be able to use it on hers. If she happens to be in the middle of a magical duel with someone, and I suddenly drain away her Dharmic power and spells... that could really get her killed.'

But soon, Wang Ping changed his train of thought and relaxed again. 'It's not a big problem. After all, You Xuexin has a very legitimate reason to be in secluded cultivation during this time.'

And as long as she didn't go out and stayed safely in her Cave Abode, he wouldn't have to worry about the risks. He could drain her power however he pleased.

A moment later, Wang Ping retracted all his Dharmic power.

Then, he looked up at the sky.

'Calculating the time... it should be just about right.'

The next second, as if responding to Wang Ping's muttered thoughts, a mysterious, warm breeze suddenly blew up around the thatched hut where he sat.

Following it came an ethereal voice. "No wonder I suddenly had the urge to come to Taoshen Temple for a spring outing."

"No matter how many times I experience it, I still find it unbelievable... The Little Immortal of Taoshen Temple that everyone in the Capital has been talking about lately is actually your new identity."

The First Seat had arrived.