Chapter 232: The Treasure Cauldron Refuses a Master

Wang Ping had wondered about Kunlun's whereabouts for a long time. He even cast a divination, but since that yielded no result, he decided to stop worrying about it for now.

Compared to that, he cared far more about another matter.

"Lord Treasure Cauldron."

Looking at the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron beside him, Wang Ping smiled and gently stroked its side. His technique was so practiced that it made the Treasure Cauldron tremble slightly.

"Mmhmm?"

For a moment, Wang Ping felt as if he were looking at a kitten that had narrowed its eyes in comfort beneath his touch, purring contentedly.

"Lord Treasure Cauldron, look at how long we've been together," Wang Ping probed carefully. "You even saved my life last time. I've always kept that kindness in my heart. I think it's time our relationship took a step further. We should at least make it official..."

"You want me to acknowledge you as my master?"

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit instantly saw through Wang Ping's ulterior motives. The Treasure Cauldron glowed and immediately shook off his hand, clearly unhappy.

'I treat you like a brother, and you want to be my master?'

"Ah, what's all this about acknowledging a master?"

Wang Ping hurriedly explained, "It's just a formal title. Besides, with my magic power and divine abilities to support you, Lord Treasure Cauldron, you'll be able to display even more profound wonders..."

"There's no need."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit rejected him flatly. "I have the national destiny of Great Shun supporting me. I can already unleash most of my wonders on my own. Furthermore, how high is your cultivation right now?"

"Even if you stuffed all your Tribulation Transcending Second Layer magic power and divine abilities into me, it wouldn't satisfy me."

"Give up."

Wang Ping's eyes darted back and forth as he immediately changed tactics. He let out a long sigh. "Forget it, then. Ah, it seems I'm destined to die in a foreign land."

"...What?"

"Lord Treasure Cauldron, you know I've now become a True Transmission in the heavens above, and I'm being used as a chess piece by a Qi Refining Great Cultivator. My life is constantly hanging by a thread."

Wang Ping looked up, his eyes turning red.

"Perhaps one day, I'll be drafted and forced to leave your side, Lord Treasure Cauldron, only to die out there. I'll never see you again."

As he spoke, tears welled up in Wang Ping's eyes.

"I'm just afraid that since you haven't acknowledged me as your master, our minds aren't connected. When I really do die, I won't even be able to say goodbye..."

Alas!

Wang Ping sounded incredibly sincere. For a moment, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit actually pitied him. It quickly shifted its body, allowing him to continue stroking it.

"Actually, you don't need to be so pessimistic. Your divine abilities are very powerful now. Not many in the Tribulation Transcending Second Layer can beat you. Plus, your idea of hoarding Heavenly Thunder is quite good. Given enough time, you'll have the means to escape even someone in the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer. Unless it's a Qi Refining practitioner, killing you will be very difficult."

"I understand all that."

Wang Ping sighed. "But plans can never keep up with changes. Who knows what will happen in the future? So I've thought about it. Why don't we just break it off here?"

"...Break it off?"

"Yeah." Wang Ping nodded, speaking firmly. "Rather than disappearing suddenly in the future, it's better to say my goodbyes to you now, Lord Treasure Cauldron, and leave on my own terms."

"Is that really necessary?" the Treasure Cauldron Spirit asked in confusion.

"No, it's very necessary!"

Wang Ping sighed again. "My cultivation has stagnated, and I'll die sooner or later anyway. How could I shamelessly continue to waste your time, Lord Treasure Cauldron?"

"It's better if I just leave now."

"Besides, you're right, Lord Treasure Cauldron. I can't satisfy you, so how could I expect you to acknowledge me as your master? You deserve better. I'll bow out..."

"Then it's a deal. Everyone wins."

Wang Ping: "...???"

'Fuck, this Treasure Cauldron isn't playing by the rules!'

Wang Ping looked up at the Treasure Cauldron in surprise, only to see it shake off his hand once more, spin around, and seemingly turn its back on him.

"Alright, you can go now."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Wang Ping approached again with an awkward smile. "Don't be angry, Lord Treasure Cauldron. I was just joking. How could I ever bear to leave you?"

"Hmph!"

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit sneered. "You're still too green to try this on me. Even though my brothers and sisters all say I'm stupid, I'm actually very smart!"

Wang Ping hurriedly nodded, putting on a look of deep shame. "It's my own stupidity. I underestimated your intelligence, Lord Treasure Cauldron. I thought I could soften your heart, but I didn't expect you to see right through my real intentions... Sigh, I just want you to acknowledge me as your master so badly. I even dream about it."

"You really want me that badly?"

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit spun around again, seemingly a bit pleased but also conflicted. It said helplessly, "I can't. There's really no way for you to make me acknowledge you as my master."

"Why?"

"Because it's not up to me."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit replied, "Getting me to acknowledge a master requires a very troublesome process..."

"That's fine!"

Wang Ping patted his chest and declared loudly, "Rest assured, Lord Treasure Cauldron. As long as it can make you acknowledge me, I'll do anything. The sun and moon can bear witness to my resolve!"

"This..."

The Treasure Cauldron spun a little faster. Its body flushed slightly red, as if a fire had ignited inside it, and it puffed a blast of scalding steam right into Wang Ping's face.

"...Alright."

"Since you're so determined, I'll let you give it a try."

Boom!

In an instant, Wang Ping felt his vision go dark. Light and shadow flickered, and the scalding heat against his face transformed into a churning sea of clouds.

The clouds billowed and surged as he tumbled through them. After what felt like a long time, he finally felt solid ground beneath his feet, and the mist before him parted to both sides.

"...Hmm?"

Wang Ping suddenly widened his eyes.

Before him was a towering, majestic mountain. On both sides, a sea of clouds stretched to the heavens. He was standing on the summit, and when he looked up, he saw a magnificent, glowing rainbow.

Its glow was divided into five distinct colors, each sharply separated from the others.

"What is this?"

Wang Ping looked around. It looked a bit familiar. How to put it? This place felt very similar to the First Seat's Martial Drill Platform and the Immortal Gate's Dao Proving Mountain.

A second later, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit's voice fell from the sky.

"This is the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven."

"Simply put, you're currently inside me. I drew in a strand of your divine sense. Be careful—if you die here, this strand of divine sense will be destroyed."

Wang Ping nodded slightly.

Immediately after, he crouched down and began to gently stroke the surrounding vegetation. It felt incredibly real, soft and fuzzy, completely indistinguishable from reality.

"What are you doing?!"

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit's voice suddenly grew louder. "Don't go touching things randomly! The master-acknowledgment ritual is about to begin. If you don't take it seriously, you'll die."

"..."

Hearing this, Wang Ping could roughly guess what the master-acknowledgment ritual of the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron entailed.

Boom!

The next second, from within the five-colored glow above the peak, a streak of orange-red light came crashing down, slamming heavily into the mountaintop where Wang Ping stood.

Immediately after, the glowing light surged and then dissipated. A golden-red brilliance swept out, turning all the vegetation it touched a scorched yellow. The surging heat wave made Wang Ping feel as though he were trapped in a furnace. Looking closely, he spotted a tall, burly figure right in the center of the illusory light.

It was impossible to distinguish whether it was male or female; he could only make out its silhouette.

However, the figure seemed to be holding a massive hammer. It stood idly in the glowing light, then slowly raised its hand in his direction.

Smash!

In reality, Wang Ping snapped his eyes open. His forehead throbbed with a slight pain as he sensed the destruction of that strand of divine sense. At the same time, he saw the final image fed back to him.

It was the shadow of a hammer.

Square and blocky, towering like the sky itself. There were no flashy techniques; it was simply raised and smashed down—and then it crushed him to death on the spot!

"Fuck?"

Wang Ping widened his eyes in disbelief.

'I was instantly killed?'

He could sense that the opponent's cultivation was the same as his own: a Major Divine Ability cultivator who had crossed all three calamities. Yet, he had actually been instantly killed by them!

'How is that possible!'

'The master-acknowledgment ritual is just as I guessed.'

'The Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron... Six harmonies means the six qi. With a name like that, making it acknowledge a master naturally requires something along those lines, like defeating six qi cultivators...'

'But isn't this difficulty a bit too high?'

"Eh, how come you're out?"

At the same time, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit's voice rang out. "Do you not want me to acknowledge you as my master anymore?"

Wang Ping: "..."

'This Treasure Cauldron looks naive, but it's actually a bit devious!'

Wang Ping took a deep breath, then asked in a low voice, "Lord Treasure Cauldron, allow me to ask—what is the background of the cultivators in this master-acknowledgment ritual?"

"Qi Refining practitioners," the Treasure Cauldron Spirit said plainly. "There are a total of five Qi Refining practitioners. It's a battle of magical arts at the same cultivation realm. As long as you can defeat all of them, you can make me acknowledge you as my master."

"...Five?"

Wang Ping blinked. "The Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens... shouldn't there be six?"

"Because one of them is quite special."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit explained, "He monopolized two qi all by himself, and he has almost reached the absolute pinnacle, on the verge of cultivating true reality. He is the grand finale of the master-acknowledgment ritual."

Seeing Wang Ping looking somewhat crestfallen, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit couldn't bear it and added, "Actually, you're really strong already. But my master-acknowledgment ritual is very troublesome. When it was originally designed, no one ever expected cultivators below the level of Qi Refining practitioners to succeed. That's why I didn't want to let you try..."

"Why?" Wang Ping looked up.

"Because even though it's a battle at the same cultivation realm, that parity only applies to magic power. Their actual consciousness and Daoist attainment, including their combat experience, are all at the level of top-tier Qi Refining practitioners."

"It's only normal that you can't win."

Wang Ping: "..."

After the Treasure Cauldron Spirit said this, Wang Ping instantly realized what was going on. Good lord, so this was the Immortal Gate's style—a bunch of Biyang's bastards dropping down to smurf in a low-level match!

'And here I was thinking about how amazing they were, and that I was just too weak.'

'What a bunch of shameless bastards.'

'Bah!'

After cursing them out in his mind for a while, Wang Ping continued, "Lord Treasure Cauldron, which one did I just face? Which qi do they refine?"

"It was Earth Yang Fire, the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi," the Treasure Cauldron Spirit said honestly. "Because this qi is the weakest. A portion of it was forced to return to the correct order of heaven and earth, and it just so happens to be inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace."

"The great work of Purging the Stale Qi of the Six Heavens was damaged, and the resulting changes affected its illusory body inside the cauldron."

"That's why he is the weakest."

"To think such a thing happened..." Wang Ping narrowed his eyes at these words. Looking at it this way, the Immortal Gate had never given up on the idea of bringing the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens back.

They had even nearly succeeded in bringing one back.

"A portion of the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi... is inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace?"

Wang Ping stroked his chin.

'Knowing the Immortal Gate's style, how could it be enough for just a portion of the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi to return? They must be plotting to make this qi return entirely.'

'Ming... that old bastard went out of his way to make me a Furnace-Tending Disciple and keep me at the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Aside from avoiding karma, could he have a similar scheme in mind?'

After pondering for a moment, Wang Ping looked up and suddenly said, "Lord Treasure Cauldron, I was just careless earlier. Open the Grotto-Heaven completely. I'm going in to try again."

"You still want to try?" the Treasure Cauldron Spirit asked hesitantly.

However, Wang Ping was resolute:

"Of course!"

"I just wasn't ready earlier, and the ground was too slippery. This time, I'm getting serious!"

Wang Ping rubbed his hands together eagerly.

It wasn't that he enjoyed being abused, but rather that he had suddenly discovered another benefit to this: a sparring partner, and one at the level of a Qi Refining practitioner to boot.

An excellent whetstone!

'Once I fight my way through the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven and get the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron to acknowledge me as its master, who in the same realm will be able to beat me? Fighting above my level won't be impossible either!'

Furthermore, engaging in magical combat with such a cultivator would allow him to personally experience how Qi Refining practitioners utilized their Daoist attainment, all without being so hopelessly outmatched in cultivation level that he couldn't even comprehend it.

This was an enormous opportunity.

Since reaching the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer was temporarily hopeless, he would first find a way to cultivate the Tribulation Transcending Second Layer to its absolute limit. Every extra bit of strength he accumulated now would give him that much more confidence in the future.

Besides, if he remembered correctly...

'Last time in the Heavenly Demon Royal Court, Jin Hai mentioned that Brahma Nation was plotting against the Eight Trigrams Furnace. I'm afraid the day of the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle is fast approaching.'