Chapter 189: Changes in Wood

"Lord Treasure Cauldron."

Sitting before the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron, Wang Ping put on a conversational tone. "You've been here so long. Don't you find it stifling?"

"Not at all."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit quickly responded, "If not here, where else would I go? Up in heaven? It's too high. I wouldn't be used to staying there."

"I mean leaving this city."

Wang Ping coaxed gently, "The world is so big. Don't you want to see it? Why not take a walk outside with me? I could show you the outside world."

"No need."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit's answer was wonderfully straightforward. "The world is big, but I am always watching it. As long as I want to go somewhere, I can go at any time. I don't need to physically travel."

Wang Ping immediately realized the implications: 'Could it be that the Capital isn't the limit of this treasure cauldron? If so, might its reach cover every territory under Great Shun's rule—the entire Eight Trigrams Furnace? Does it only grant me authority within the Capital because I'm not the master of this spiritual treasure?'

He was incredibly envious!

From this perspective, if one could become the master of this spiritual treasure, they could travel anywhere within Great Shun at will. To say they could visit the northern sea in the morning and the southern mountains by dusk wouldn't be an exaggeration.

And that was only a supplementary function.

With this in mind, Wang Ping tentatively probed further, "Lord Treasure Cauldron, apart from what you just showed me, do you have any other abilities?"

"I saw earlier that you could help Great Shun suppress other people's magical powers and spiritual senses, right?"

"Because those aren't good things."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit's tone was full of disgust. "The orthodoxies of the People of Heaven are no good. The same goes for Great Shun; their roots have ascended to heaven too, so I can't be bothered with them."

"But you're different."

Suddenly, Wang Ping felt a profound energy sweep over him—as heavy and inescapable as Mount Tai pressing down. The Treasure Cauldron Spirit's voice followed:

"Although you also cultivate a heavenly orthodoxy... your roots are still on the ground. Moreover, you bring People of Heaven for me to eat. You're much better than Great Shun on that point."

"Bring more in the future."

Hearing this, Wang Ping immediately put on a troubled expression. "Well... Lord Treasure Cauldron, I actually want to bring more, but while I have the will to slay the enemy, I lack the strength to actually pull it off."

"As you know, the People of Heaven are incredibly powerful. They're very difficult to kill. Bringing you those three was already a stroke of immense luck. I really can't manage any more... Of course, if you could lend me a hand, Lord Treasure Cauldron, I could definitely bring you more, and of even better quality!"

"Hmm..."

As soon as he said this, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit fell silent. Seeing this, Wang Ping didn't rush it or urge it on. He simply waited patiently for a response.

A moment later, the response arrived.

"I'm sorry, Great Rebellion, but I can't help you either. Among my brothers and sisters back then, I was the worst at fighting. If it were Heaven's Will, it might be a different story..."

"It's fine, it's fine," Wang Ping hurriedly waved his hands. "Please don't take it to heart, my Lord... You don't necessarily have to help me fight. Information works too."

"Information?"

"That's right." Wang Ping rubbed his hands together excitedly. "I wonder how much you know about the Twenty-Four Qi, Lord Treasure Cauldron? Do you still remember anything about the Great Rebellion?"

"Past events of the Great Rebellion... No."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit replied, "I remember someone saying that the old affairs of the Great Rebellion from back then are a great secret of heaven and earth. If I tell you, can you keep it a secret?"

"Of course I can!" Wang Ping nodded quickly.

"So can I."

Wang Ping was speechless.

This broken cauldron was actually messing with him!?

Even so, Wang Ping couldn't possibly lose his temper. He settled for the next best thing. "Then what about the Twenty-Four Qi? You should be connected to the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens, right, my Lord?"

"Oh, you know about the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens?"

"Then I can tell you about that... but will it be of any help to you?"

"Of course it will!"

Wang Ping quickly sat up straight and lowered his voice. "To tell you the truth, I am currently mastering the immortals' own arts in order to slay them. These matters are very important to me."

"Is that so? Alright then."

Although the Treasure Cauldron Spirit was full of hostility toward the so-called People of Heaven—that is, the Immortal Gate—it didn't have much aversion to the act of cultivating immortality itself.

"The Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens involves an unspeakable past event from the days of the Great Rebellion. The last person to remember it carved the entire account onto my body. Because of that, I attained profound mysteries and developed sentience... As for the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens, it is simply a rather important part of that past event."

"May I ask which six qi they are?" Wang Ping asked.

"In the yin-earth of heaven, the Tianxu Continuous Falling Mist Qi."

"In the yin-metal of heaven, the heavenly frost seasonal slaughter premier qi."

"In the yin-wood of heaven, the Tianqu Wind-Riding Soaring Qi."

"In the yang-wood of earth, the Heavenly Pillar Immortal-Bearing Undecaying Qi."

"In the yin-wood of earth, the Tiande Harmonious Regulation Qi."

"In the yang-fire of earth, the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi."

Rumble!

In an instant, radiant light seemed to flow through the side hall. As if some boundary had been touched, various profound visions erupted one after another, centered on the treasure cauldron!

"Three of heaven and three of earth, four yin and two yang, metal, wood, fire, and earth."

"The water qi took a massive advantage and escaped completely unscathed. The wood qi, however, suffered heavy damage, with both its yin and yang impaired. As a result, it nearly caused the fall of a Supreme True Lord."

As it spoke, the phenomena grew increasingly intense. Wang Ping had no doubt that if the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron hadn't been right beside him, he would probably be dead by now!

Those few brief sentences revealed the current state of heaven and earth's Twenty-Four Qi, and even involved a supreme entity he had never heard of before. It was obvious just thinking about it—the True Monarch the Treasure Cauldron Spirit mentioned had a Realm absolutely above that of a Qi Refining practitioner. Within the Immortal Gate, they would undoubtedly be an absolute powerhouse!

At this thought, Wang Ping had to ask, "The wood qi suffered heavy damage, so the one who nearly fell was the True Monarch of the wood position? How does a so-called True Monarch cultivate? What's the difference compared to a Qi Refining practitioner?"

"I don't understand cultivation."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit replied, "But after that Supreme True Lord was heavily injured, the impact was extremely severe... The most direct manifestation was lifespan."

"Because the wood qi was greatly damaged, that Supreme True Lord needed to heal their injuries and stabilize the wavering wood qi."

"Therefore, they took back the lifespan of Qi Refining."

"Before that past incident, Qi Refining practitioners relied on heaven and earth, and their lifespans were nearly infinite. But after that, the lifespan of Qi Refining stopped at ten thousand years at most."

"Such a thing actually happened..."

Wang Ping froze upon hearing this. Then, ignoring the increasingly violent mystical anomalies around him, he continued to ask, "Then is it still possible for the damaged wood qi to recover?"

"There's no sign of that for the time being."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit also seemed somewhat bewildered. "If that Supreme True Lord had fully recovered, they should have returned the reclaimed lifespan of Qi Refining."

"Alternatively, if they died, the wood qi would be further damaged, but with no one to bind the lifespan, it would also be returned."

"If it's the former, the wood qi should have recovered. If it's the latter, the wood qi would definitely collapse entirely. Since neither has happened, they are probably still struggling to hang on."

Wang Ping understood completely. The former meant the medicine cured the disease, while the latter meant the patient was beyond saving. Though the processes were different, the end result was the same: they wouldn't need to stay in the hospital anymore.

Right now, neither had occurred, which meant they were most likely still undergoing emergency resuscitation.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping stood up with satisfaction. He felt his sea of consciousness surging wildly as waves of inspiration gushed out—a clear sign that his cultivation was advancing.

If nothing else, simply knowing the names of the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens, their corresponding elements, and their positions within the Three Talents was of tremendous help to him.

However—

"You can take the knowledge of the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens out with you; that's fine. But for your own good, it's best not to remember anything about that Supreme True Lord."

As it spoke, a streak of spiritual light shot toward him.

Wang Ping's eyes shifted slightly. He didn't resist. Instead, he allowed the spiritual light to fall into his sea of consciousness, where it finally coalesced into five complex seal characters.

Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron!

'I've acquired the signature of my second Spiritual Treasure,' Wang Ping thought with satisfaction.

Immediately after, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit's voice echoed again.

"With my suppression, once you leave this place, you'll forget the memories concerning that Supreme True Lord. You will only be able to remember them again when you are here with me."

"It's safer this way."

"Thank you, Lord Treasure Cauldron!" Wang Ping thanked it respectfully.

He couldn't be more satisfied with this harvest. Besides, he hadn't forgotten that there was still another Heavenly Work-grade Spiritual Treasure inside the Tribute Hall!

'Maybe I can go over there and try my luck?'

At this thought, Wang Ping immediately looked at the treasure cauldron and continued, "My Lord, I'm ready to leave for now. Can you send me out directly?"

"Of course."

"Ah, but Great Shun can't discover me," Wang Ping added. "If possible, I'll need you to send me directly back here afterward."

"Especially if the Old Emperor... I mean, if Great Shun tries to come in, you have to send me in before he does, so he doesn't see me."

"No problem. A trivial matter."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit answered straightforwardly, "I've already memorized your presence. As long as you don't run up to heaven, I can see you. Just call me directly if you need anything."

It was far too reliable!

Wang Ping chuckled, instantly bringing out a lifetime's worth of skill to heavily flatter the Treasure Cauldron Spirit. Then, he looked through the treasure cauldron toward the Tribute Hall.

The next second, his vision spun.

When he looked around again, Wang Ping found that he had actually left the side hall where the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Furnace was housed, and was standing squarely in the courtyard of the Tribute Hall, having appeared out of thin air!

Seeing this, Wang Ping subconsciously circulated his magical power, entering a state of Latent Concealment to hide himself.

At the same time, he deactivated his False Form transformation and returned to his original appearance. After all, the little immortal from Taoshen Temple was currently still inside the palace; he couldn't afford to be seen.

Almost simultaneously, a gentle breeze brushed past.

"You're back?"

From the wind, the First Seat's distinctly ethereal voice echoed with its usual calm. "Since you've returned, go see Xuanhe. He's getting a bit impatient to meet you."

"He says he has important matters to discuss."

"Oh?" Wang Ping was somewhat curious. "What important matters?"

"Regarding the history of Great Shun."

At this point, a hint of curiosity crept into the ethereal voice. "That is, Dashun Taizu. He said it would definitely be of help to your plan."

'My plan... to kill Kunyun?'

Wang Ping grinned. He knew this Xuanhe of Biyang's still had something hidden up his sleeve. If it weren't for this recent wave of accidents, he probably wouldn't have managed to wring it out of him!