Chapter 221: The Truth Surfacing?

To be honest, when Kun Yun reached this conclusion, he even doubted himself a little.

After all, the Grand Ancestor of Dashun was a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, and becoming a Corpse Dissolution Immortal was traditionally a desperate, do-or-die path prepared for inner sect disciples without spiritual roots.

What true transmission disciple would ever take such a path?

Because of this, most Corpse Dissolution Immortals were rather mediocre. They lacked the ability to orchestrate grand schemes, and their understanding of the world's innate qi was very limited.

They were often inferior even to top-ranking true transmission disciples.

Yet, the Grand Ancestor of Dashun was an exception.

'Although this man is a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, his attainment in wood qi and the Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Azure Thunder Qi is actually above my own. It's simply unbelievable!'

Kun Yun immediately recalled the Grand Ancestor's history. Originally just an inner sect disciple, rumor had it that he accomplished something massive within the Eight Trigrams Furnace back in the day, earning him the opportunity to become a Corpse Dissolution Immortal. Afterward, he single-handedly founded the Gongshun Grotto-Heaven. Even within the Immortal Gate, he was considered a figure of genuine prestige.

'I underestimated him!'

At that moment, regret gnawed at Kun Yun. It seemed whatever the Grand Ancestor of Dashun had done in the Eight Trigrams Furnace was far greater than he had imagined.

Otherwise, he would never have reached this level of mastery.

With that thought, Kun Yun immediately looked up at the sky. Mustering his divine sense, he projected his voice into the Cosmos: "Great Cultivator Mingyou! Please pull the Grand Ancestor of Dashun out of the heavens!"

According to his judgment, this current shift of "wood generating fire, only to be incinerated by it" had been guided by the Grand Ancestor. Ultimately, this was because the man was different from other Qi Refining practitioners; shielded by Dashun's national destiny, he had hidden himself inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, allowing him to manipulate the situation from the shadows.

As long as he was dragged out, he would no longer be able to interfere!

Boom!

A second later, the bright lamp beyond the Cosmos also seemed to react. The lightning, previously suppressed by its firelight, immediately showed signs of rising.

But soon after, the sharp ringing of a blade pierced the air.

Clang!

Beyond the Cosmos, the Heaven's Will Profound Blade instantly flared into a violent frenzy, seemingly because Mingyou had diverted his strength to capture the Grand Ancestor of Dashun and was no longer suppressing it.

Left with no choice, Mingyou had to suppress the Heaven's Will Profound Blade once more. As a result, the mystical power grasping for the Grand Ancestor weakened just a fraction, allowing him to break free. The explosive lightning eclipsed the daylight, filling heaven and earth as rolling thunder cascaded into Kun Yun's ears, dissolving into a light chuckle.

"Your reaction wasn't too slow."

Pushing his vision to the absolute limit, Kun Yun immediately spotted a twisted silhouette within the lightning—a humanoid bolt of electricity smiling back at him.

"What a pity. You have no chance."

"The fire has reached its absolute peak, and the wood suffers the backlash of its own flames. The cosmic arrangement is already complete. You cannot win."

The Grand Ancestor's tone brimmed with smug triumph. After all, across the entire Immortal Gate, only he could achieve this specific cosmic layout.

This had nothing to do with cultivation levels.

To put it bluntly, even a True Person or a True Monarch could not orchestrate the current shift!

This was his "grand merit." He could alter the cosmic arrangement like this entirely by relying on the tremendous merit he accrued when establishing Great Shun within the Eight Trigrams Furnace all those years ago!

Hearing this, Kun Yun only felt utterly baffled.

The information provided by the Comprehensive Records of Arrayed Immortals surfaced in his mind once more:

'Uniting Earth to Behold Fire, the manifested image is true. Xun wind fans the flames, clashing again with wood. It was already a Wood and Fire Governance, and since wood generates fire, the blaze has reached its absolute extreme.'

Fire reaching its peak to incinerate wood—he understood this part.

But what about the step before it?

'Wood and Fire Governance?'

Kun Yun pushed his divine sense to the limit, resonating with the qi of heaven and earth as he tried to deduce the anomaly. 'Wood and Fire Governance essentially means a massive surge in both wood and fire qi.'

'In other words, what the Grand Ancestor of Dashun did... was pour oil on the flames. Wood and fire do not naturally counter each other, so it is very difficult for fire to burn wood in reverse. However, he forced the wood and fire qi within the Eight Trigrams Furnace to multiply exponentially, pushing the fire qi far beyond safe limits.'

Only when the fire reached its absolute extreme could it burn the wood.

'But why? How could a mere Corpse Dissolution Immortal like the Grand Ancestor push both wood and fire qi to surge at his whim?'

It didn't make sense!

Even if two Qi Refining practitioners aligned with wood and fire qi came here, they might not be able to pull off such a feat, let alone a Corpse Dissolution Immortal!

Kun Yun was thoroughly perplexed.

However, time waited for no man. The life tribulation would not give him infinite time to think. On the other side, Wang Ping had already regrouped and was looking his way once again.

"W-Wait!"

After a brief hesitation, Kun Yun decisively sent a voice transmission: "This is a trap! Neither of us can escape. The Grand Ancestor of Dashun is plotting against me, and you've been played by him too!"

With that, he laid out all of his recent deductions and even his lingering doubts, aiming only to earn Wang Ping's trust in the shortest possible time.

Wang Ping's gaze shifted at these words, feeling his own surge of alarm. 'A trap laid by the Grand Ancestor of Dashun... not the Heaven-Stealing Thief? Or have they joined forces?'

By now, he certainly knew something was wrong. After all, he had only planned to be a spectator, yet he had inexplicably become the protagonist of this life tribulation. He had even nearly defeated Kun Yun just a moment ago. With so many anomalies, even a fool could tell things were completely off.

'Uniting Earth to Behold Fire... I'm afraid they're just pushing me into a pit of fire!'

Thinking of this, Wang Ping's desire to fight plummeted further. Seeing this, Kun Yun was overjoyed and instantly separated a strand of his divine sense to initiate contact with Wang Ping.

Boom!

As their divine senses intertwined, they simultaneously sank into a murky expanse the next second. Kun Yun sat cross-legged in a corner, raising a hand with a smile toward Wang Ping.

"Fellow Daoist, please, sit."

"..."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Ping walked slowly forward and sat down in front of Kun Yun. Then, he heard Kun Yun chuckle softly. "This is the Great Dream Penetrating Vision Wondrous Technique."

"While within this technique, we can converse for up to three years, but upon leaving, only a single snap of the fingers will have passed. We've each sent a strand of divine sense in here, which doesn't hinder our main bodies. Once we exit, we can swap our findings with our true selves... The situation is urgent, and only this method can buy us time."

Vaguely, Kun Yun had already sensed that something was amiss.

'I seem to have mixed up the enemies and helpers in this life tribulation.'

The reason was simple. He had certainly been plotted against by the Grand Ancestor, but what about the Wang Ping sitting before him? Wasn't he just a pawn pushed forward to kill him?

That was the crux of the problem.

"Nothing in this world comes for free."

Kun Yun spoke in a somber tone. "Fellow Daoist, you have gained massive benefits. With numerous buffs, you can even fight above your realm and suppress me, but what is the price?"

"Uniting Earth to Behold Fire."

Wang Ping lowered his eyes. "I can use this to jump to the position of fire qi."

"And what is the point of that?"

Kun Yun sneered. "Does cultivating Gui Water leave you with no future? You insist on going to such great lengths to switch paths, but when it comes down to it, it's just to counter me!"

"To deal with me, the Grand Ancestor of Dashun purposely created a pawn like you. The Heaven-Stealing Thief must have also struck a deal with him, which is why Kunlun willingly laid the groundwork for you, creating our current situation. But what happens afterward? Have you never heard that once the cunning hare is hunted, the hound is boiled!"

Kun Yun's words unraveled Wang Ping's doubts.

'No wonder. I was puzzled earlier as to why the Old Emperor was so obedient to me. Sure enough, it was the Grand Ancestor speaking from behind the scenes, deliberately accommodating me.'

...Wait.

Suddenly, Wang Ping frowned. "Hold on. According to you, Senior Brother, the Heaven-Stealing Thief must have colluded with the Grand Ancestor of Dashun a long time ago."

"Oh?" Kun Yun asked in return. "Why is that?"

"Because the cultivation path of Uniting Earth to Behold Fire was something the Heaven-Stealing Thief guided me to comprehend. If it wasn't for him, I could never have grasped this path."

"You are mistaken, Fellow Daoist."

Kun Yun waved a hand dismissively. "It must have been the Grand Ancestor who guided your comprehension. The Heaven-Stealing Thief is a figurehead at best; he doesn't possess that kind of capability."

"...What?"

Wang Ping froze, then firmly shook his head. "No, it was the Heaven-Stealing Thief. I was in the Immortal Gate at the time. There's no way the Grand Ancestor could have influenced me."

After all, the Grand Ancestor had been in the Eight Trigrams Furnace then, thousands of miles away. How could he have affected him? Let alone guided his comprehension.

Yet as his words fell, Wang Ping watched Kun Yun completely freeze in place. That face, which had maintained its calm until now, was slowly infected with terror. Then, nearly losing his composure, Kun Yun raised his voice, "Are you certain? You were in the Immortal Gate, and not inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace?"

"I'm certain..."

"Impossible!" Kun Yun abruptly stood up. "It is absolutely impossible for someone at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer to guide another into comprehension. We haven't even entered the Dao ourselves!"

"The Heaven-Stealing Thief could tell you his insights, but he absolutely couldn't make you comprehend something out of thin air. Only a Qi Refining practitioner can do that!"

"Before you comprehended Uniting Earth to Behold Fire, you came into contact with a Qi Refining practitioner, didn't you?"

By the end of it, Kun Yun was practically gnashing his teeth to pieces.

"Who was it!?"

Wang Ping fell silent.

There was no need for more words. Halfway through listening, Wang Ping's face had slowly filled with the same dread as Kun Yun's... Before Uniting Earth to Behold Fire, of course he had seen one!

"In You Xuexin's memories."

After a moment of silence, Wang Ping murmured, "I once heard Ming... I heard that Great Cultivator preach the Dao to You Xuexin, and then I comprehended Uniting Earth to Behold Fire."

"Bastard!"

Kun Yun finally snapped. The entire divine sense space constructed by his technique nearly shattered, fully exposing the deep turmoil in the heart of this Immortal Gate true transmission disciple.

"Ming... The qi that Great Cultivator refines is the Discerning Truth and Illusion Illuminating Qi. Anyone, even a Qi Refining practitioner, will be sensed by him if they just speak his name out loud! For a Tribulation Transcending cultivator, even just thinking about it isn't allowed! And you actually met him face-to-face in a memory..."

"When you saw him, he must have seen you!"

Wang Ping was struck dumb.

He had certainly considered the possibility back then, but the issue was that he had refined You Xuexin into a protector wisdom consort. If Mingyou had known all along...

Why didn't he just swat him to death?

He had thought it over and over and felt it didn't make sense, which was why he had ruled out the possibility. But now, piecing it together with Kun Yun's ordeal, he had an answer.

Why didn't Mingyou swat him to death?

Because he still needed him to act as the pawn to deliver the killing blow to Kun Yun!

"The one setting this trap wasn't the Grand Ancestor of Dashun."

"Or rather, he was merely an accomplice. The Heaven-Stealing Thief might have joined in halfway after finding out. From beginning to end, there was only ever one true mastermind."

Mingyou!