Chapter 186: The Six Harmonies Are the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens!

Wang Ping naturally had no idea what ultimate humiliation Chenlong had suffered back in the Tribute Hall, nor how viciously Xugou had ultimately been drilled by him.

Right now, his entire focus rested on the Imperial Palace before him.

"Rumble!"

The massive Xuanwu Gate slammed shut behind him with a deafening crash. Huang Longshan, the eunuch who had been tailing him and whose legs had nearly given out from sheer terror, hurriedly began to announce his arrival at the top of his lungs.

The shouts echoed from below the crimson steps, rising layer by layer. Each call overpowered the last, echoing further and further away like a stone dropping into a deep pool. The middle-aged man carrying the sword was already long gone. Led by Huang Longshan, Wang Ping made his way deep into the Imperial Palace.

‘Getting closer...’

Wang Ping felt a flicker of surprise. Here inside the palace, aside from the sheer vitality of his Martial Dao, his magical power and spiritual sense had been completely suppressed.

The myriad mystical abilities he usually commanded as easily as moving his own limbs now lay completely stagnant. No matter how he tried to stir them, they refused to respond. This was clearly the work of some external force.

The Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron!

Given his cultivation base, ordinary magical treasures could never suppress his magical power and spiritual sense. Only this Heavenly Work grade Spiritual Treasure possessed such profound capability.

Before long, Wang Ping reached the depths of the Imperial Palace.

He had done his homework with the First Seat before coming. His destination was Ninghui Hall. The old emperor had been in secluded cultivation within this palace for years.

The path led through three inner palace gates, looming like three massive guillotines.

The first was the Vermilion Bird Gate. Beyond it, a flock of bronze cranes stood arrayed on either side of the imperial walkway, each holding a lotus lamp in its beak.

When the wind blew, the sweet fragrance from the lamps wafted into his nose.

‘It’s some kind of secret medicine.’

Wang Ping inhaled deeply. The sweet, fragrant air made his vitality stir slightly. Out in the mundane world, this single breath alone would likely rival the effects of a medicinal pill!

The second was the White Tiger Gate. As Wang Ping approached it, he suddenly heard the melodious chime of bells and lithophones. One long ring, one short ring—every chime seemed to strike directly against his heart. Blue smoke curled upward from the side halls on his left and right, and the earlier fragrance of lamp oil gave way to the bitter scent of medicinal herbs.

The third was the Azure Dragon Gate.

It was the final gate leading to Ninghui Hall. Together with the outermost Xuanwu Gate, these four gates completely isolated the Imperial Palace from the outside world.

‘This doesn’t look like a random setup.’

Wang Ping pondered this as he walked. To a martial artist, these complex names and rituals might look like nothing more than bureaucratic red tape, but that wasn't the case in the Immortal Dao.

‘Could it be some kind of ritual? Or perhaps a formation?’

"Exalted cultivator, this way please."

At last, he arrived before Ninghui Hall. Beneath heavy layers of draped curtains, the eunuch stepped aside and gestured, signaling for Wang Ping to enter alone.

Wang Ping didn't dawdle. Tucking his hands into his sleeves, he stepped forward.

The interior of Ninghui Hall soon came into view. No lamps were lit inside, yet it was exceptionally bright—the light radiated directly from the center of the hall.

There sat an imperial desk.

And behind the desk sat a Daoist.

He sat upright on a Meditation Mat, wearing a dark Daoist robe with wide, flowing sleeves. A green jade ring encircled his wrist, densely carved with cloud script.

Behind him hung a massive landscape scroll. The mountains and rivers painted on it were incredibly lifelike, and their colors bled out from behind his shoulders, bathing him in a faint layer of deep azure. He held a Jade Ruyi Scepter in his hand. At a glance, he truly looked like an enlightened master of the Dao.

"Thud!"

In the next second, Huang Longshan outside the hall—along with the entire retinue of eunuchs surrounding the interior and exterior—dropped to their knees. Channeling their full vitality, they declared in voices like booming bells:

"Prostrating to welcome the sacred presence."

"Respectfully welcoming the Supreme Daluo Heavenly Immortal, the Purple Extremity Everlasting Holy Sage of Manifest Spirit, the Prime Unifying Overseer of the Jade Void, the Great True Person who Commands the Five Thunders, the Wanshou Sovereign of the Xuandu Realm!"

Wang Ping: "???"

To be honest, he had been trying very hard to keep his face straight, but this utterly inhuman litany of titles from the eunuchs almost made him break character.

But he soon realized what this was all about.

Wang Ping glanced around at the eunuchs kowtowing on the floor, who didn't even dare to lift their heads, then looked back at the Daoist.

Making me kneel?

Wang Ping stood with his hands behind his back, entirely unmoved.

Only then did the Daoist—who had been sitting silently on the Meditation Mat since the very beginning—finally open his eyes and gaze at him.

"Since you look upon your sovereign father, why do you not kneel?"

It was a simple question, yet it rolled like thunder through the air, echoing resoundingly throughout the great hall. Even so, Wang Ping's expression didn't change in the slightest. In fact, he almost wanted to laugh.

Seriously, what the hell are you posturing for?

He could see right through it. Even though this man had put on the grand display of a Daoist lord or an immortal—and certainly exerted an oppressive presence—none of that could change his true nature.

‘Tribulation Transcending First Layer. He’s comprehended the core of magical power, but it hasn’t undergone a qualitative change.’

He wasn't even on par with Xiaoxiang and the others!

A filthy outer sect disciple actually dares to make me kneel?

Do you even have a true spiritual root?

Of course, Wang Ping wasn't going to say something so devastatingly insulting out loud. Instead, he simply stated the facts. "Your Majesty, magical power is sealed here. This minister cannot refine pills."

"..."

The old emperor narrowed his eyes. But rather than getting angry, he laughed. "Truly worthy of being Junior Martial Brother Tao's exalted disciple. It seems you've seen the wider world up in the heavens."

"The Immortal Gate," Wang Ping corrected.

"Right, right, right..."

The old emperor's smile grew even more amiable as his earlier solemn majesty vanished in an instant. "As fellow disciples of the Immortal Gate, strictly speaking, We should call you martial nephew."

With that, he waved a hand. Wang Ping instantly felt all the restraints on his body vanish. His dormant magical power and spiritual sense sprang back to life. He couldn't help but marvel inwardly, ‘With a display like this, can this old emperor actually control the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron? That can’t be right. Wouldn’t that make him invincible?’

"Come. Let Us see your craftsmanship, martial nephew."

The old emperor gestured with an open hand.

Wang Ping knew he was being asked to demonstrate his alchemy. However, truth be told... he hadn't actually learned the art of Pill Manipulation yet.

Of course, if he really had to use it, he could try. If he got lucky, he might even manage to refine a decent pill. But more likely than not, the furnace would explode, or he'd just produce a useless scrap pill.

Yet Wang Ping didn't panic in the slightest. With a mere thought, he sank his consciousness into the Taiping Sutra and looked toward the Invoking Deities scripture scroll. There, in vivid detail, was a lifelike portrait. It was none other than Xiaoxiang, the outer sect disciple of the Immortal Gate who had gifted him the art of Pill Manipulation just before dying.

Come on, possess me!

In the next second, Xiaoxiang possessed him. Compared to Wang Ping, this outer sect disciple who had long since acquired the Pill Manipulation technique was naturally far more skilled in alchemy.

"Fwoosh!"

Wang Ping rubbed his hands together, instantly igniting a blazing fire. Then, his fingers pinched at the empty space, snatching spiritual materials out of thin air one by one.

Immediately after, these spiritual materials were boiled and refined in the raging flames within his palms. In no time at all, every ingredient condensed into a single, brilliantly glowing pill. A pungent, aromatic fragrance instantly permeated Ninghui Hall. Seeing this, the old emperor's eyes lit up.

"Excellent! An excellent pill!"

With his years of experience consuming pills, it only took one glance for him to tell that the pill Wang Ping had just refined was of superb quality. It was clear the young man was no worse than his previous alchemists.

Still, just to be safe, he shot a look at Huang Longshan waiting outside the hall.

Catching his meaning immediately, Huang Longshan stood up respectfully. He walked over to Wang Ping, took the pill, and swallowed it in one gulp before closing his eyes.

"Hiss...!"

In the next moment, a flush of red surged across the eunuch's face. He looked utterly satisfied. After a short while, he opened his eyes and turned back to the old emperor.

"To answer Master, this pill appears to be a standard Body Tempering Pill, but its efficacy is exceptional. After taking it, this servant feels a marked rise in vitality, and my spirit feels invigorated and healthy, as if I have grown three to five years younger. And that is simply because this servant does not practice martial arts. Were I a martial artist, this single pill would be enough to push one to External Arts Perfection."

Hearing this, the old emperor nodded in satisfaction.

A mere Body Tempering Pill was naturally nothing to him, nor was it a particularly powerful medicine. What he truly valued was this foundational alchemy skill.

Next, the old emperor rose from the Meditation Mat. The hem of his dark Daoist robe swept across the golden floor tiles as he tapped the Jade Ruyi Scepter against the landscape scroll behind him.

In an instant, the scroll began to emit a hazy shimmer. The already lifelike scenery became incredibly vivid. Struck by the Jade Ruyi Scepter, the colors bled out from the painting and merged with reality, transforming into a mountain path laid across the ground. It truly seemed to lead straight into the painted mountains and rivers.

‘Is this... a blessed land? A Grotto-Heaven!?’

Wang Ping was astounded. Don't let the Dashun Imperial Family's status inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace fool you—they were surprisingly wealthy. Their foundation was probably stronger than even some of the Immortal Gate's inner sect disciples!

"Follow Us."

The old emperor stepped forward, taking the lead into the painting. Wang Ping followed closely behind, only to be met with a strange, dry, metallic stench of iron and blood.

Surging closely behind the stench was a wave of scorching heat.

It felt just like stepping straight from the dead of winter into the height of summer. The scenery before his eyes shifted heavily before finally settling on the interior of a massive palace hall.

The hall itself was nothing special, lacking any profound qualities. What truly captured Wang Ping's entire focus was the gigantic cauldron placed squarely in its center.

The body of the cauldron was perfectly round. Its three legs gripped the ground like the claws of a beast, and a hornless dragon coiled around each leg. Faint crimson firelight shone from where the dragons met the belly of the cauldron. Five seal script characters were carved around the rim of its opening. Their outlines warped slightly in the rising waves of heat, making it seem as though living creatures were swimming across its surface.

The Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron!

"Hum!"

A resonant hum rang out, as if something deep inside the cauldron's belly was echoing in response. The subtle vibration traveled from the belly down to its legs, and from its legs into the golden floor tiles.

Wang Ping stared even more intently.

Following his gaze, he saw the hornless dragons on the cauldron's legs slowly squirming. Red light flared and dimmed as their scales expanded and contracted. At first glance, they were indistinguishable from living beasts.

Who knew what was contained inside. A stream of white qi curled upward from its rim, gathering in midair without dispersing to form a tiny, miniature auspicious cloud.

"...Hm?"

A second later, looking at the auspicious cloud above the cauldron, Wang Ping froze. He felt an incredibly familiar and strange fluctuation radiating from within it.

He had felt this fluctuation once before when forging his magical power. It was the natural feeling of insignificance born from facing the vastness of heaven and earth head-on.

‘Is this qi? The qi of heaven and earth!?’

Realization dawned on Wang Ping in an instant.

No wonder this Treasure Cauldron could suppress his magical power and spiritual sense. Forget the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron—it should really be called the Ever-Suppressing Six Qi Cauldron!

The Six Harmonies were the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens!