Chapter 233: Method of Ingestion

Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven.

Wang Ping rubbed his hands together and entered this realm once again. This time, he was fully focused, ready to unleash a divine power to counterattack the moment his opponent appeared.

Then he saw that, unlike last time when there was a grand entrance, the figure wielding the giant hammer on the peak of the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven had never left. No sooner had Wang Ping appeared than the opponent's hammer smashed down, engulfing his vision in light once more.

Boom!

"Fuck!"

Back in reality, Wang Ping snapped his eyes open and began cursing on the spot. This master-recognition trial had no martial virtue whatsoever—it had actually been camping inside to ambush him!

[Why are you out again?]

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit's voice echoed with a tone that suggested, I didn't even feel anything and you're already out, infuriating Wang Ping so much that his face instantly flushed bright red.

"The floor in there is just really slippery."

"Again!"

Wang Ping took a deep breath and massaged the slight ache between his brows. Losing two strands of divine sense back-to-back wouldn't damage his foundation, but a loss was still a loss.

Even so, these two encounters had given him a glimpse into his opponent's true capabilities. He hadn't been instantly killed because he was overwhelmingly outmatched in raw power; their cultivation bases were identical. Even if the opponent possessed the profound Dao realization and combat sense of a Qi Refining practitioner, an instant kill shouldn't have been possible. He should have lasted at least two or three exchanges.

"It's because of the sheer profundity of his divine power!"

Wang Ping recalled the opponent's giant hammer. The profound mystery it contained was extremely unique; when that hammer fell, any defense placed before it lost all meaning.

"In that final split second just now, I had definitely activated my divine power."

But the divine power had still been shattered.

Not just his divine power—his mana and flesh had been like paper against that giant hammer, obliterated in the blink of an eye. This wasn't normal at all.

"...Wait."

An idea suddenly flashed through his mind, and he looked at the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron. "Lord Treasure Cauldron, can this master-recognition trial let my true body enter?"

He had just realized this was the perfect opportunity for a tactical suicide. He could let the phantom avatar inside shatter his divine power for him!

However, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit quickly shattered his fantasy.

[That won't work.]

[The master-recognition trial can only be simulated with divine sense. Even I, even within the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven, cannot truly manifest the lost ancient qi again.]

"...Oh, right."

Wang Ping finally remembered. The opponents in the cauldron were all cultivators of the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens, and the corresponding heaven and earth qi for those paths no longer existed in reality.

The only one that still had a slight spark left was the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi, but according to the Treasure Cauldron Spirit, it was incredibly weak and likely in terrible condition.

"...Never mind then."

Wang Ping waved his hand, abandoning his plan for a tactical death. Instead, he split off another strand of his divine sense. "Lord Treasure Cauldron, let me in."

[Try a little harder this time. Don't just die again.]

The next second, the world spun.

Boom!

Before Wang Ping could even find his footing, the giant hammer completely filled his vision once more, almost making him laugh out loud. This Biyang's bastard really was still in there camping him!

Did he really think the exact same trick would work this many times?

In a split second, the fully prepared Wang Ping raised his hand. A grain-sized speck of light bloomed at his fingertip before violently expanding, blocking the incoming giant hammer.

Minor Mustard Seed Sumeru Wondrous Technique!

Profound light shuddered as it slammed solidly against the giant hammer. The weapon, which had previously crushed everything in its path, was abruptly halted in midair.

Bang!

The two sides deadlocked for a split second. Then, whatever the silhouette across from him did, the blocked hammer reared back and smashed down a second time.

Crack!

This time, the giant hammer regained its peerless divine might. The light on the hammerhead shifted in rapid succession, instantly shattering the brilliance of the Minor Mustard Seed Sumeru Wondrous Technique.

But on the other side, Wang Ping's true body had successfully retreated, landing far away at the edge of the mountain peak. With narrowed eyes, he carefully studied the figure. Shrouded entirely in golden-red firelight, its face and gender were impossible to discern; it was nothing more than a tall, burly silhouette carrying a giant hammer.

'I knew something was wrong.'

Wang Ping's gaze sharpened. He had finally discovered the critical reason why he'd been instantly killed multiple times, his mana and divine powers unable to offer even a moment's resistance.

'That giant hammer is only part of the reason.'

'More importantly, it's his aura... As Earth Yang Fire, the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi should, in theory, be completely suppressed by me.'

If nothing else, as a member of the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens, Wang Ping's Human Yang Earth divine power, the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart, should have functioned as a hard counter against him right from the start.

But what was the result?

He had been instantly killed twice in a row. Anyone watching would have thought he was the one being countered. This outcome clearly fell outside the normal cycle of elemental generation and suppression.

"What did you do?"

Wang Ping spoke up, trying to communicate with his opponent. However, his only answer was another hammer strike, its blinding radiance instantly filling his pupils.

In a split second, Wang Ping formed another hand seal. His figure rapidly vanished, replaced by a surging, inky-black river that swallowed the hammer's shadow head-on. Immediately after, peals of thunder boomed, locking down the giant hammer like heavy chains.

Profound Silence Thunder Sound!

An ink sea to trap, and thunderous sounds to subdue. This was also simulated by Wang Ping using the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart, purely because this divine power should theoretically be a perfect counter to his opponent.

'This divine power belongs to Earth Yang Water.'

Wang Ping thought to himself, 'Back then, Xuanyin cultivated Heavenly Yang Water, yet he trained in an Earth Yang Water divine power... I can only say that inner sect disciples really act like inner sect disciples—they just pick whichever divine power hits the hardest.'

But using it here was absolutely perfect.

According to the generation and suppression rules of the Twenty-Four Qi, Earth Yang Water perfectly countered Earth Yang Fire. By doing this, he could at least temporarily restrict the opponent's giant hammer...

Boom!

Before Wang Ping could even finish his thought, a massive explosion erupted from the ink sea created by his divine power. The blast overwhelmed the thunder and shattered the entire sea of ink!

"Broken again?"

Wang Ping's eyes went wide with disbelief. His opponent could actually violate the generation and suppression rules of the Twenty-Four Qi? Impossible. How was he doing this?

The very next second, he got his answer.

Surrounding the burly figure, the interwoven golden-red firelight abruptly shifted, transforming into an azure color like the open sky.

That was—

'Water qi!?'

Finally, Wang Ping saw through his opponent's technique—he could actually shift his own affinity between fire qi and water qi, completely bypassing the generation and suppression of the Twenty-Four Qi!

'This kind of shift is a lot like my Uniting Earth to Behold Fire from before. But wait, no, he's different from me. His mana and divine powers are both made of the exact same qi.'

What was going on?

A moment later, the light's color shifted yet again.

Before Wang Ping could comprehend how the opponent was shifting, the scorching heat unique to fire qi slammed into his face once more, as if the water qi from just a moment ago had merely been an illusion.

Seeing this, Wang Ping immediately changed his hand seal and pointed forward. Behind him, layer upon layer of divine-power-constructed palaces and a city god temple rose from the ground. Like a bloody, gaping maw meant to devour the heavens and the earth, they crashed forward to engulf the silhouette of light.

"Again!"

The Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart unfurled to its absolute limits. The profound mysteries to pacify all qi and invoke Subduing Immortals and Demons were activated in quick succession, aiming to drag the opposing figure into the chart and suppress him.

Then, Wang Ping saw it again.

The radiance shifted. The figure, originally anchored in fire qi, flickered and swapped back to water qi. With a single leap, he effortlessly escaped the suppression.

Human Yang Earth did not suppress water qi!

Fortunately, Wang Ping had come prepared this time. Focusing all of his mental energy, he finally caught exactly what the opponent had done and how he had shifted in that hair's-breadth moment.

'It's a second type of qi!'

Wang Ping saw it with absolute clarity. At the very moment of the shift, the opponent seemed to take a light breath, drawing in a stream of qi from the iridescent clouds floating above the mountain peak.

That was—heavenly frost seasonal slaughter premier qi.

Heavenly Yin Metal!

The current Wang Ping was no longer the cultivation novice he used to be. His Dao realization was deepening day by day, especially his understanding and mastery of the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens.

Even though he didn't yet know all the specific profound mysteries and imageries of the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens, he could already tell them apart just by their appearance. Of course, this was primarily thanks to his idle chats with the Treasure Cauldron Spirit. The spirit had once given a concise description of Heavenly Yin Metal:

'Yin metal is designated as Xin, also known as Heavy Light.'

Just as the name implied, this qi was heavily focused on radiance, possessing billions of brilliant hues. That was why Wang Ping was able to recognize which heaven and earth qi the opponent had drawn upon at a single glance.

However, that raised a problem:

'Earth Yang Fire and Heavenly Yin Metal—even though they align perfectly in the Three Talents and Yin-Yang, they clash when it comes to the most crucial aspect: the Five Elements. Fire and metal counter each other, so how can they shift into water qi?'

'Could it really be the profound mystery of merging and transforming?'

In an instant, Wang Ping's sudden realization seemed to brush against some unseen boundary between heaven and earth. Triggering his Dao wisdom's perception, a detailed Dao theory finally flooded his mind.

'That's right, it's merging and transforming!'

'Yang fire is designated as Bing, and yin metal is designated as Xin. When the two merge and transform, it is called Uniting Xin to Transform into Water. This allows one to shift from the position of yang fire to the position of yang water!'

Bang!

A sharp thud shattered Wang Ping's realization and train of thought. Having been too immersed in comprehending the Dao, he had let his guard down for a moment, and his opponent had seized the opportunity to smash another hammer blow into him.

And after converting to water qi, the opponent was completely immune to the suppression of the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart. At the same time, another kind of profound mystery seemed to have been attached to the hammer, rendering it utterly unstoppable. It practically ignored all of Wang Ping's mana and divine power, driving the hammerhead straight into the spot between his brows and exploding into a spray of blood.

"Hss...!"

Almost simultaneously, Wang Ping opened his eyes in reality and sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. The collapse of his third strand of divine sense had noticeably worsened the throbbing pain between his brows.

Immediately after, his body went limp, and he collapsed onto his back.

'I can't beat him.'

At this point, he had to admit that he truly couldn't beat this opponent. The gap in their Dao realization was just too massive; the other party could even kill him while fighting at an elemental disadvantage!

'If you can Unite Xin to Transform into Water, then I can use Uniting Earth to Behold Fire... Wait, no, water counters fire.'

'Fuck!'

Wang Ping pulled at his hair in frustration. He still couldn't figure it out. How was the opponent able to draw in another strand of heaven and earth qi out of thin air to complete that kind of Dao path shift?

And from the looks of it, this shift wasn't a one-time trick—he could jump back and forth repeatedly. This was completely different from the cultivation principles he understood.

There was nothing immortal cultivation about this at all!

[It's perfectly normal.]

After listening to Wang Ping's complaints, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit said in a flat tone, [Heavenly Work isn't a Qi Refining practitioner. He cultivates the qi ingestion method, so of course it's different.]

"Oh, so that's how it is..."

...Wait, what?

The next second, Wang Ping violently kip-upped onto his feet, completely ignoring the throbbing pain between his brows, and stared blankly at the treasure cauldron in front of him.

Qi ingestion? What was that!?