Chapter 202: Merit-Stealing Thief, The Heavenly Tribulation Arrives!

As the Merit-Stealing Thief talisman materialized, Wang Ping immediately felt a profound energy act upon him, and a sudden realization dawned in his mind.

This is Kunlun's identity...

Wang Ping circulated his spiritual sense, looking inward at the Crimson Glaze that had settled in his abdomen. The moment he refined this heavenly strange fire, the Merit-Stealing Thief would activate in tandem.

Crimson Glaze is inherently a heavenly yang fire, a strange fire spirit treasure belonging to the Radiant Universal Illumination of the Six Harmonies. After consuming it, my fire qi will inevitably overflow for a short time. Paired with the Merit-Stealing Thief's miraculous ability to swap identities, and considering my Destiny Pattern already originates from Kunlun...

Wang Ping had no doubts.

Xuanyin, currently lying in ambush beyond the heavens, would absolutely mistake him for the exposed Kunlun and unleash every method at his disposal against him!

No wonder he handed it over so readily.

It turns out that as long as I accept this Crimson Glaze, I am forced to assume Kunlun's identity, deal with Xuanyin in his stead, and weather this life tribulation.

Wang Ping smiled, not particularly surprised.

After all, if he were the Heaven-Stealing Thief, he would have taken precautions too. Otherwise, what would stop someone from eating the sugar coating and tossing the cannonball back, taking the benefits without doing the work?

So be it.

His gaze was calm. He had never intended to renege on their deal anyway, and the Heaven-Stealing Thief's machinations had not left him empty-handed.

The Merit-Stealing Thief can replace one's identity and accomplishments, possessing the profound mystery of delivering all living beings.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, as the third talisman of the Five Thieves Heaven-Stealing Series emerged, the marvels and limitations of the technique quickly surfaced in Wang Ping's mind.

As expected, the Merit-Stealing Thief has massive restrictions. It can't be used casually... To use this method to steal another person's identity and accomplishments, one must first have a medium. This medium can be luck, karma, or a Destiny Pattern; it is the foundation of the entire technique.

Second, it requires a disparity in strength.

In most cases, this technique can only steal the identity and accomplishments of cultivators whose cultivation base is far inferior to one's own. Only upon reaching perfection can it be used on cultivators of the same tier.

Aside from that, there are two ways to use it.

The first is permanent, just like Kunlun and me. This requires a mutual exchange, trading one's own accomplishments for the other's.

The second is temporary. It only requires injecting enough magical power. Depending on the gap in cultivation, the effect can be maintained until that magical power dissipates.

For example, if he refined the Crimson Glaze right now, he would temporarily be granted Kunlun's identity. Kunlun himself would become a nameless entity without an identity; apart from the Heaven-Stealing Thief who cast the spell, no one would be able to recognize him until his identity returned.

Not bad at all.

With this Merit-Stealing Thief, plus the Object-Stealing Thief currently with Xuanhe, I have already gathered four of the Five Thieves Heaven-Stealing Series.

This way, coupled with the signatures of the Heaven's Will Profound Blade and the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron, my sea of consciousness can basically restore its balance and stability.

Preventing the Void Joy Non-Dual Guardian Consort Talisman from dominating everything, and instead forming a state where multiple strong powers checked each other, was the most perfect outcome for him.

Then let's begin.

Wang Ping calmed his mind and activated his dantian. He immediately began to process the Crimson Glaze he had swallowed, causing rolling flames to rise within his body.

Like a rising sun!

"Gui Water is supremely weak, while Wu Earth is dry and dense. When Gui Water exhausts and Wu Earth peaks, the sun rises from its origin—this is called Uniting Earth to Behold Fire. As the manifestation becomes true, the divine transformation begins..."

Wang Ping murmured softly. Then, his magical power was the first to move. The perfected Gui Water magical power, Latent Concealment, sat below, while the newly swallowed Bing Fire spirit treasure, Crimson Glaze, sat above. One lifted from the bottom while the other pulled from the top. Exerting force simultaneously, they violently triggered the Wu Earth divine power within his dantian!

In an instant, a thunderclap shattered the clear sky.

At the same time, the outside world happened to reach the transition between day and night. At the hour of dawn, the veil of night receded from the east, and the golden crow spat out the sun, driving away the star-filled sky.

That was, until a massive explosion ripped through the air.

The alternation of day and night, which normally took moments to finish, was completed in a single, instantaneous step. Radiant sunlight burst from the east, jolting countless people from their dreams!

For a time, countless gazes shot toward the source of the sound—and then they froze, simply because the direction was too absurd.

"It's actually the Imperial Palace?"

"Could a cultivator be breaking through inside the palace?"

"That makes no sense. The Imperial Palace has always had strict formations, not to mention that supreme Treasure Cauldron. What kind of breakthrough couldn't be suppressed, allowing its anomalies to leak outside?"

The masses, unaware of the truth, were filled with confusion.

On the other hand, some people were not confused, but terrified—such as the Old Emperor, who was resting in the rear harem and had likewise been shocked awake by the massive explosion.

"What is going on?!"

The Old Emperor looked around, mad with anger. His spiritual sense instantly swept across the entire Imperial Palace, yet he couldn't find the source of the sound. His expression immediately stiffened.

The sound originated in the Imperial Palace, yet he couldn't locate it within the palace?

Not good! The Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron!

The next second, the Old Emperor immediately connected with the national destiny, intending to enter the side hall where the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron was kept, but all of his summons sank like stones in the ocean.

He could sense it clearly. His spiritual sense had absolutely been received by the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron, and in the past, the gates of reception would have opened. But now, the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron didn't react at all; it read the message but ignored it... How could this be? Did the Treasure Cauldron secretly collude with someone else?

Right at that moment, the Old Emperor suddenly shifted his gaze.

Before his eyes, misty colors began to suffuse the Imperial Palace. They manifested in black and white, unfurling in all directions like a painted scroll.

"What is this? Divine... Divine Powers?!"

The Old Emperor's eyes bulged.

Someone was condensing Divine Powers within the Imperial Palace? And they were even receiving the help of the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron? What kind of joke was this? Not a single past emperor of Great Shun had ever enjoyed such treatment!

Who was it?!

The Old Emperor's thoughts spun rapidly. Finally, a figure he had long since pushed to the back of his mind surfaced. "Is it that young Daoist from Taoshen Temple?"

Impossible. Where would an independent cultivator get Divine Powers?!

The Old Emperor subconsciously wanted to deny it. However, right at that moment, another thunderbolt exploded high in the firmament above, and the black-and-white scroll froze in place.

Crack!

At first, it was an incredibly fine fracture, like a sudden crack blooming across celadon pottery, cutting straight across the sky. Then, boundless light poured out from within.

As the light erupted, the fractures grew dense, spreading in all directions until the entire sky shattered like glass struck by a massive hammer. Golden-red flames cascaded down, and amidst the inferno sat a massive Tripod Cauldron, upon the rim of which sat a Daoist.

The Old Emperor stared so hard his eye sockets nearly tore.

The Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron actually let him sit on its rim? And judging by the interaction of their qi signatures, they had clearly done this many times before.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be this practiced.

In a flash, the Old Emperor realized he had fallen into a trap. The Treasure Cauldron had clearly colluded with someone else long ago; they had been teaming up to fool him this whole time!

"...This is treason!"

The Old Emperor went berserk on the spot, roaring in absolute fury, "Lu Jin!!! Capture him! Capture that bastard for me! Take him down, and absolutely do not let him escape!"

As his voice fell, a streak of sword light instantly soared into the air, slashing ruthlessly toward the sky. Yet, before it could strike its mark, it was intercepted by another figure.

It was a patch of abyssal darkness that stagnated everything in its path. It froze the sword light in place, stripping away every ounce of its sharpness. Soon after, a silhouette emerged—it was none other than the partially recovered Xuanhe. Circulating his Divine Powers, profound mysteries filled the sky, instantly snuffing out the schemes of many observing opportunists.

Corpse-Still Dragon Manifestation!

"A Middle Divine Ability... where did this come from?"

"An inner sect disciple of the Immortal Gate?"

The Old Emperor looked bewildered. Theoretically, the Eight Trigrams Furnace should only contain fire-stoking Chai disciples. How could such obviously overpowered cultivators pop up?

"Could it be... related to the true transmission of the Immortal Gate the founding ancestor wants to kill?"

"The life tribulation of the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer?"

In an instant, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over the Old Emperor's head. His fury vanished, and he regained his absolute composure, immediately looking toward the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The founding ancestor... hadn't made a move.

Crap, this matter involves the heavens.

I can't get involved!

The very next second, the Old Emperor—who had been apoplectic just a moment ago—did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately twisted his body, riding a streak of escaping light directly into the depths of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

On the other side, Xuanhe, who had thought he would need to expend some effort, was quite surprised. However, since the Old Emperor was so tactful and knew when to retreat at the critical moment, Xuanhe was perfectly happy to save his strength. He merely reached out and swept the incoming sword light into his sleeve, paying it no further attention.

Immediately after, he looked toward the black-and-white painted scroll in the sky.

Not only him, but at this moment, inside and outside the Capital, all cultivators and martial artists raised their heads, gazing at the scroll from afar, as well as the Daoist within the painting.

It was as if the heavens themselves were looking down from above.

"Hoo..."

In the center of the scroll, Wang Ping slowly exhaled.

Within his body, the Gui Water magical power and the Bing Fire spirit treasure—water and fire, yin and yang—clashed with profound mystery. When this finally manifested outward, it formed the true body of the black-and-white scroll everyone saw.

Normally, water and fire were entirely incompatible, and such a clash would only harm the body. However, a brilliant, radiant glow rose within him. Like a dragon and like a snake, it became the curved line separating water and fire, yin and yang. This allowed the water and fire to cease their conflict; instead, they mutually supplemented each other, turning into nourishment for that very curve.

The next second, heavenly light burst forth.

Rumble!

Boundless colors expanded outward from Wang Ping like a crescent moon, sweeping across all phenomena. They instantly erased the image of the Capital, presenting an entirely new vista.

It was a pictorial chart.

Standing within it, Xuanhe subconsciously narrowed his eyes. Howling gales rushed against his face, and in a daze, he felt as if he heard a majestic sound of sacrifice.

Before his eyes, the veins of the earth were outlined in gold thread within the chart. Pavilions and towers stood like solidified crashing waves, and the bustling traffic resembled flowing silver silk. Above the pavilions and amidst the sea of people were statues of majestic deities. Some held jade tablets, while others wielded swords, their formations stretching endlessly for thousands of miles.

Divine Powers! Divine Powers! Divine Powers!

At this moment, Wang Ping felt boundless satisfaction, and endless comprehension bloomed in his mind: This is the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart! The profound art of the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Grand Offering!

First, he obtained the help of the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron, then the Heaven-Stealing Thief's spirit treasure, further aided by the Turbid Earth and Darkened Heavens, alongside countless other external forces.

Ever since he willingly stepped into the tribulation, he had finally succeeded!

The next second, Wang Ping suddenly felt a sensation in his heart. He looked up at the sky, only to see dark clouds manifesting out of thin air in the billowing firmament, gathering rapidly in his direction.

In an instant, the black clouds pressed down upon the city, and golden lightning snaked wildly through the air. An indescribable, formless pressure crashed down, so heavy that all the Mortals within the Capital instinctively fell to their knees. Only cultivators and martial artists could barely remain standing, yet terror painted every one of their faces.

"It's here..."

Hovering in midair, Xuanhe also felt the crushing pressure of carrying a mountain on his back. His magical power circulated sluggishly, forcing him to lower his altitude and land on the nearest roof.

A heavenly tribulation!

Immortal might!

The former was Wang Ping's own life tribulation, while the latter was Kunlun's—however, only by surviving both tribulations simultaneously would he earn the right to advance.

This was also the price of cultivating so rapidly.

Tribulation Transcending, Tribulation Transcending—the greater the tribulation one transcended, the higher one's cultivation became. This was the true essence of this path of cultivation!

Wang Ping slowly sat cross-legged and lightly flicked his sleeves. He carefully scrutinized the tribulation clouds gathering in the sky, his gaze seeming to pierce the firmament and reach straight into the Cosmos beyond.

Excellent.

As his voice fell, carved beams and painted pillars appeared, and both gods and men offered sacrifices together. The magnificent pictorial chart unfurled, embodying the old verse: The Nine Heavens' gates swing wide to reveal palaces grand; bearing jade and silks, ten thousand gods arrive to attend.

Tribulation clouds filling the sky?

Just enough to fill the blank space in my chart!