Chapter 224: Knowing It Is Impossible, Yet Doing It Anyway!

Kunyun could not understand why Mingyou was doing this.

As far as he could tell, Mingyou's primary goal was extending his own lifespan. He had even wondered if Mingyou intended to snatch him up and refine him into a Longevity-Extending Pill.

But that made no sense either.

While most people associated longevity with wood qi, his cultivation was grounded in Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Azure Thunder Qi—the most extreme, unyielding supreme-yang qi within the wood element.

Of all the variations of wood qi, this discipline had the absolute least to do with longevity. Refining him into a pill would never yield life-extending effects. Moreover, he was merely at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer; any elixir made from him would be a drop in the bucket for a Qi Refining practitioner.

Besides, if pill refinement were truly the goal, Mingyou would have gone to the Divine Farmer Cauldron.

What was he doing with the Eight Trigrams Furnace?

None of it added up.

‘Ultimately, my cultivation simply isn't profound enough... Pity that the life tribulation waits for no one. Give me another thousand years, and I might stand a better chance.’

Kunyun sighed.

A moment later, he looked up at Wang Ping in the distance and separated out another strand of divine sense. Recognizing the gesture, Wang Ping understood implicitly and raised a hand in response.

Great Dream Penetrating Vision Wondrous Technique.

In an instant, the two returned to that dim, twilight expanse. Unlike before, a palpable tension now hung between them.

"You saw it too, my friend."

Kunyun chuckled softly. "We are being forced into a true life-and-death struggle. If I win, I step into Qi Refining Entering the Dao. If you win, your future in cultivation will be boundless."

Wang Ping remained silent. While he knew nothing of the Xun Trigram, he could feel the distinct favor of heaven and earth's qi. He naturally understood that his battle with Kunyun had evolved into a direct clash over qi destiny. He could even sense that if they actually fought right now, his odds of victory were practically absolute.

Yet he found no joy in it.

None of this was under his control. He had zero agency over the sudden boosts to his cultivation and divine powers; these serendipitous opportunities were simply being spoon-fed to him, one after another.

It was exactly like fattening up a pig.

More importantly, once a pig was fattened, it would eventually be slaughtered. But how would the butcher strike? Of all these miraculous windfalls, how many would he actually get to keep?

"I suspect he harbors no good intentions toward you either, my friend."

When Wang Ping offered no response, Kunyun continued, "He is certainly using you as a pawn to kill me. But would a Great Cultivator of his stature really allow a pawn to grow too powerful to control?"

"Take me, for example."

Kunyun pointed at Wang Ping, then back at himself. "To me, you are the bait dangling right before my eyes. Like a flower in a mirror or the moon reflected in water—an illusion."

"That Great Cultivator placed you in front of me to leave me with one last sliver of hope. He is telling me that if I just push a little harder—if I defeat you and strip you of all your qi destiny—I can step into Qi Refining Entering the Dao. It keeps me from giving up on the Immortal Dao and turning to the path of the Corpse Dissolution Immortal..."

Kunyun suddenly couldn't help but laugh:

"A Corpse Dissolution Immortal... haha! He set up this massive snare and spun me around in circles, and yet, at the very end, he is still guarding against me switching to the Corpse Dissolution path!"

Kunyun laughed brightly, yet the depths of his eyes held absolutely no mirth.

There was only the coldness of a man who had been deeply insulted.

"Great Cultivator Mingyou... Lord, what kind of man do you take me for?"

Rumble!

Instantly, a solitary lamp seemed to flare within the twilight expanse forged by the Great Dream Penetrating Vision Wondrous Technique. A spectral firelight cast an eerie glow across Kunyun's face.

Kunyun did not flinch, his demeanor as cold as before:

"A Corpse Dissolution Immortal parasitizes the qi of heaven and earth without refining a single speck of true essence. It possesses nothing but hollow might—merely dry bones in a tomb living ten thousand years in vain. Why would I ever stoop to such a path?"

The firelight flickered, and a faint chuckle seemed to drift through the gloom.

"Merely a precaution."

Exactly—a precaution!

Nearby, Wang Ping remained inwardly calm. Ever since the incident in Longxing County, he had clearly seen the true caliber of Great Cultivator Mingyou: the man was utterly airtight.

When Mingyou laid a trap, he only considered how to win and in what manner, never obsessing over superficial victories or defeats. Whether he won or lost, he reaped the benefits all the same; only the form of his reward changed. Such a man would naturally plug every conceivable loophole in his schemes, completely eradicating any variables within his power.

‘I am actually an example of that myself.’

‘If he has been watching me ever since I refined You Xuexin into a protector wisdom consort, he must also know I can resurrect, just like the Heaven-Stealing Thief.’

‘He is guarding against me too!’

‘Otherwise, I could just kill myself right now, and Kunyun would win by default.’

Wang Ping reflected on his current predicament. He could neither destroy the divine power nor commit suicide to escape. There was no doubt this bind was also deliberately designed by Mingyou.

Moreover, Mingyou did not just wield the stick; he also offered the carrot.

Cutting off his resurrection route was only one aspect. On the other hand, Mingyou had also provided a reward: the lifetime's worth of qi destiny belonging to a true transmission disciple like Kunyun!

‘The carrot and the stick.’

‘A slap to the face, followed by a sweet date... Just what is he trying to achieve?’

The crucial point was that the benefit was too massive. Kunyun was the fifth-ranked true transmission disciple. If Wang Ping could devour all of his qi destiny, the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer would be just around the corner.

Just then, Kunyun spoke again:

"You heard him. I imagine you realize it by now: the Lord will not let any unexpected variables slip by. After me, my friend, you will inevitably be next."

"I suspect that your task of killing me, while seemingly laden with benefits, actually carries some deeply hidden detriment."

"When I fall, the yang wood in the heavens representing me will retreat and scatter. The Xun Trigram we originally formed will collapse as well. Though the Xun Trigram represents wind, it is also a trigram tied to wood qi—not yang wood, but yin wood... Thus, both yin and yang wood will dissipate simultaneously."

"Meaning, the wood qi will suffer a massive loss!"

Kunyun's tone grew increasingly heavy. His words took a sharp turn as realization struck him. The baffling mystery that he had been unable to figure out finally found its key.

"That is it! Lord, you exhausted all these methods just to make me run headfirst into my own death. You want me dead—you want the phenomenon of wood qi suffering a massive loss!"

"Normally, the death of a mere Tribulation Transcending Third Layer cultivator like me would have absolutely no impact on the qi of heaven and earth."

"But now, it is different."

"First, I am actively undergoing my life tribulation, giving me a connection to the qi of heaven and earth with only a final step remaining. Second, the Xun Trigram has drawn all the qi of heaven and earth right here!"

Kunyun abruptly turned his head, looking toward that solitary spectral lamp.

This time, however, no chuckle drifted from the firelight. Instead, an invisible yet suffocating gaze pierced through the heavy barriers, silently fixing upon him.

Silence, sometimes, was also an answer.

"It seems I am right."

A smile gradually spread across Kunyun's face. "This is your true purpose: to use my hands to shake the qi of heaven and earth, causing the domain of wood qi to suffer a crippling loss!"

"As for why Dashun Taizu is helping you, Lord... it is because he is not a Qi Refining practitioner. He is not a controller, but a Corpse Dissolution Immortal—a mere dependent. A crippled wood qi is a massive detriment for a Qi Refining practitioner, but for him, it is like a sovereign lord losing his grip on power, allowing him, the subordinate, to usurp that authority for himself."

"So the two of you struck an immediate deal."

Saying this, Kunyun furrowed his brow again. "Therefore, the crippling of wood qi must somehow aid in extending your lifespan, Lord. What is the reason behind that?"

Hearing this, Wang Ping also lowered his gaze.

‘I think... I know the answer.’

His intuition told him that he should remember it, but he had simply forgotten... The Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron! He had suppressed his own memories regarding this very subject!

‘It involves some extremely exalted mighty figure from the Immortal Gate. The act of crippling the wood qi itself can help Mingyou drastically extend his lifespan...’

Rumble, rumble!

At this moment, the twilight expanse maintained by the Great Dream Penetrating Vision Wondrous Technique violently quaked once more. In the hazy distortion, the roar of wind and thunder seemed to echo from beyond.

This formless resonance seemed to brush against some terrifying existence. Even the spectral lamp representing Mingyou began to flicker violently. Had Kunyun and Wang Ping not merely discovered clues without fully connecting them—remaining ignorant of the complete truth—this space would have been completely torn apart!

In the Immortal Gate, outside the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

The lamplight wavered, illuminating Mingyou's silhouette. He still wore the visage of a young Daoist, but his customary composed smile had completely vanished.

‘...He figured it out.’

Inconceivable!

Mingyou sighed inwardly:

‘So destiny truly is fair. From nothing more than the Xun Trigram and a handful of baseless clues, he actually managed to glimpse a fraction of the truth!’

The secret of that True Monarch.

Even he had to scour ancient texts and employ countless methods just to forcefully "remember" it. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to know such a profound secret.

And what had this sliver of a secret brought him?

Heaven-reaching cultivation!

His primary focus was the domain of fire qi; he knew almost nothing of wood qi. How, then, was he able to design a scheme almost explicitly targeting wood qi?

It was exactly because he knew the secret of that True Monarch. Because of that secret, the cultivation insights of all wood qi in heaven and earth actively sought him out!

Such was the mighty power of a True Monarch.

It required no cultivation and no enlightenment. Simply knowing of the True Monarch's deeds would naturally trigger his legacy, granting the knower an immense karmic fortune.

Kunyun was currently experiencing the exact same phenomenon.

‘Originally, it was impossible for him to achieve Qi Refining Entering the Dao. Yet right now, he deduced out of thin air the connection between the crippling of wood qi and lifespan. Even though he does not yet know the full truth, in his current state, even if he cannot defeat his opponent, he might actually have a one-percent chance of success if he directly charges at Qi Refining Entering the Dao!’

In the end, another variable had emerged in his plan.

Thinking of this, he gently stroked the Whisk in his hand. This matter concerned his grand bid for longevity; even with his state of mind, hesitation took root at this moment.

Should he intervene?

For a moment, the vast starry sky of the Cosmos seemed to respond to his fluctuating emotions. The stars flickered erratically like lanterns, taking a long while to finally steady themselves.

"...Let it be."

Mingyou let out a soft breath and shook his head. "To block is inferior to guiding. Rashly intervening will only backfire. If he truly succeeds, then that is his own capability."

When that time came, he would naturally step forward to congratulate a fellow Daoist.

...

Within the Great Dream Penetrating Vision Wondrous Technique.

Kunyun opened his eyes, no longer dwelling on those profound thoughts. The accompanying roar of wind and thunder gradually faded, restoring calm to the secret realm conjured by the spell.

Nearby, Wang Ping also let out a long breath.

"Thank you for granting me this time, my friend."

Kunyun chuckled. "With this time, my true body has managed to regroup. I am now in peak condition to truly determine life and death with you."

Wang Ping shook his head. "You cannot possibly win."

He had actually seen through Kunyun's stalling tactic early on but made no move to stop him, precisely because he knew very well that Kunyun could no longer win.

Kunyun paid it no mind, continuing:

"To return the favor... after today, you will inevitably achieve great fame within our Immortal Gate, and in the future, you will even challenge the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer. So, I offer these words to you."

At this point, Kunyun's voice suddenly grew deep and solemn:

"Cultivation in the Immortal Gate has always been a path where one's fate is not their own."

"Every step is fraught with hardship, and thorns lie everywhere. Some you can evade, and some you can resolve, but in the end, there will always be matters you can neither dodge nor solve."

"That is the life tribulation."

"Only when you are utterly trapped within it can you deeply understand what it means to face the impossible, what it means for the tide to turn completely against you, and what it means to be utterly powerless to reverse the situation."

"Yet did you know, my friend, that countless eras ago, there was no such thing as a life tribulation at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer? It only came into existence after the advent of destiny."

"Many believe this is the immortals within the Immortal Gate tormenting the lower cultivators. They think these tribulations were intentionally engineered to prevent too many practitioners from breaking through to become Qi Refining practitioners."

"I do not believe that."

"I believe the existence of the life tribulation is simply that immortal's way of telling us—telling everyone aspiring toward the Immortal Dao—the most simple of truths."

"The depths of life's bitterest suffering is exactly the time for cultivation."

By the end of his words, the entire twilight expanse began to shatter inch by inch. Wang Ping saw Kunyun meet his gaze, his brow bright and spirited, entirely devoid of cowardice or retreat:

"And the so-called destiny... is knowing it is impossible, yet doing it anyway!"