Chapter 234: Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer!

"You didn't know?" In response to Wang Ping's question, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit seemed surprised. "Does no one in the heavens practice the Qi Ingestion Method anymore? It was quite common back in the day."

"Why didn't you tell me about something so important earlier?" Wang Ping asked in exasperation.

"You never asked."

"I didn't know I was supposed to."

"Well, I didn't know you didn't know."

"That..."

Wang Ping rubbed his temples, once again realizing what a massive trove of knowledge this Treasure Cauldron was. It simply knew too much.

The problem was that he, the one interacting with it, was a novice who had been cultivating for less than a year. He knew far too little. If he didn't actively ask, the spirit wouldn't volunteer information, yet he didn't even know what to ask. As a result, he could only unearth these hidden secrets through sheer luck, just like right now.

"Then tell me now. What is the Qi Ingestion Method?"

"Oh, alright."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit actually sounded a little wronged. The cauldron spun in a full circle before continuing, "In essence, qi-ingesting is exactly what the name implies: swallowing the qi of heaven and earth."

"How is that different from Qi Refining?" Wang Ping pressed.

"There actually isn't much of a difference."

"In fact, strictly speaking, Qi Refining is much more advanced. From cultivating magical power, to cultivating Divine Powers, and finally to cultivating one's destiny—the entire process flows as naturally as water forming a channel."

"In comparison, the Qi Ingestion Method is far more primitive."

"They do not cultivate magical power, nor do they cultivate Divine Powers. They directly cultivate destiny."

"...Huh?"

Wang Ping was stunned. "Directly cultivate destiny? But without Divine Powers and magical power, how can they paint their destiny form within the torrent of destiny?"

"No, no, no, you've got it all wrong."

"The destiny that qi-ingesting practitioners cultivate isn't cosmic destiny; it is physical vitality—their very lives. They use their mortal bodies to swallow the qi of heaven and earth."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit explained, "Because in the era when the Qi Ingestion Method flourished, destiny had not yet been born. Naturally, there was no such thing as a life tribulation or a destiny form back then."

"When people cultivated at that time, they would first go into seclusion to sense the qi of heaven and earth. Once they could sense it, they would swallow it into their bodies to nourish their lives. During this process, magical power and Divine Powers naturally emerged; cultivators didn't need to deliberately practice them."

"Cultivating like that..."

Wang Ping frowned as he listened. He hesitated for a moment before muttering, "That sounds incredibly difficult. Starting as a Mortal and directly sensing the qi of heaven and earth?"

"Yes, it is very difficult."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit agreed. "In the beginning, cultivators back then didn't possess Telepathic Spiritual Perception, they didn't have a Flawless True Body, and they lacked the ability for Cosmic Orbit Respiration."

"These traits only slowly developed after they sensed the qi of heaven and earth and began ingesting it. Before that, practitioners could only use their mortal flesh and mundane eyes to perceive it. You can imagine the difficulty. The vast majority of people could exhaust their entire lives, striving from youth until their hair turned white, and still fail to cross the threshold of the Qi Ingestion Method."

"They just tried to sense it through sheer force of will?" Wang Ping asked in disbelief.

"It wasn't entirely brute-forced."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit wobbled slightly. "The method did evolve somewhat. At the time, a group of people developed certain instruments to help Mortals sense the qi of heaven and earth."

"...Hmm?" Wang Ping suddenly raised an eyebrow.

Instruments?

"They were items similar to magical artifacts... For instance, that massive hammer you saw was the very instrument Tiangong used back when he practiced the Qi Ingestion Method."

"Mortals borrowed different instruments to sense different types of heaven and earth qi. Although it still wasn't as convenient as Qi Refining, it was a definite boost in efficiency."

The more Wang Ping listened, the more something felt amiss. The Qi Ingestion Method cultivated physical vitality, used the fleshly body to contain the qi of heaven and earth, and relied on external instruments. Why did this sound suspiciously like—

‘The Martial Dao!?’

No, that wasn't right. The developmental direction of the Martial Dao had absolutely nothing to do with the qi of heaven and earth. Rather than calling it a variation of the Qi Ingestion Method, it was more like a castrated version of it. And with the path of Seeing Divinity developed on the foundation laid by the First Seat, this brand-new Martial Dao was completely different from the Qi Ingestion Method.

Meanwhile, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit was still lamenting, "Back then, even the Heavenly Honored One's Nine-Word Mantra was 'Tribulation Transcending, Qi Ingesting, Cultivate Truth to Ascend as Immortal'... Of course, one of those words was later changed."

"'Ingesting' was changed to 'Refining'..." Wang Ping murmured softly.

"Exactly."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit gave a firm confirmation, then casually changed the subject. "Anyway, Qi Refining ultimately replaced the Qi Ingestion Method."

"After all, compared to qi-ingesting, which forces you to start as a Mortal, Qi Refining prioritizes an easier entry. You don't directly sense the qi of heaven and earth; instead, you first gather the four traits required for cultivation. Once you have magical power, you use it to sense the qi of heaven and earth. It yields twice the result for half the effort, and its underlying philosophy is far more advanced."

"Hmm?"

Wang Ping suddenly looked up, a trace of confusion in his expression. "If that's the case, Qi Refining should have completely crushed the Qi Ingestion Method and rendered it obsolete."

"Then why were you so puzzled just now, Lord Treasure Cauldron? Why did you ask me if there was really no one in the heavens still practicing the Qi Ingestion Method?"

"Well, about that..."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit rocked its cauldron body, seemingly embarrassed. "Because in my memory, practitioners of the Qi Ingestion Method were actually very dissatisfied with Qi Refining."

"The two sides fought fiercely back in the day."

"There were even a few True Monarchs who were qi-ingesting practitioners... So I figured that qi-ingesting wouldn't have gone completely extinct in the heavens."

"It seems I guessed wrong."

‘That's not right.’

Watching the cauldron suddenly start spinning in circles for no apparent reason, Wang Ping narrowed his eyes. "Lord Treasure Cauldron, you wouldn't happen to be hiding something from me, would you?"

"W-What! Of course not!"

It definitely was!

Wang Ping almost pressed the issue, but looking at the cauldron spinning faster and faster, he thought it over and temporarily dropped it.

‘Forget it.’

‘Given the Treasure Cauldron's personality, it most likely has to do with that ancient matter regarding the Great Rebellion it is forced to keep secret. Since that's the case, there's no point in pushing the issue.’

After all, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit definitely wouldn't answer. If he asked too much, it might even find him annoying, needlessly damaging the bond between man and cauldron. At times like this, he had to learn to shut his mouth, proving how understanding he was while subtly displaying a hint of grievance to evoke the spirit's sympathy.

"Then I won't ask."

Wang Ping lowered his head with a sigh, then took the initiative to change the subject. "I'll have to trouble Lord Treasure Cauldron to open the Grotto-Heaven again. I'd like to give it another try."

"Oh... are you okay?"

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit had fully expected Wang Ping to press the issue. Surprised that he gave up so willingly, it immediately stopped spinning and floated gently over to his side.

It looked for all the world like it was offering itself up to be patted.

"I'm fine."

Wang Ping forced a smile. "Lord Treasure Cauldron has your own difficulties. I understand. I won't ask anymore. Come on, I'll continue to challenge the master-recognition trial."

"But your divine sense has already been damaged three times."

Wang Ping immediately shook his head.

"As long as I can make Lord Treasure Cauldron recognize me as your master, I wouldn't hesitate in the slightest! Let alone three times, even if it were thirty times or three hundred times!"

"You... ah."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit did another spin. The roaring flames inside the cauldron flared, and the exterior of the tripod turned slightly red. After a moment of silence, it finally whispered a telepathic message to Wang Ping.

"I'll tell you a secret, but don't tell anyone else."

"Of the five Qi Refining practitioners in the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven, the one you are currently dealing with is named Tiangong. That massive hammer in his hands is an incredibly powerful treasure."

"It's called the Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer."

"To you, it is both a Divine Power and a magical artifact. Or to be more accurate, it is a partial conceptual manifestation of the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi."

Wang Ping's eyes instantly lit up.

Good heavens, the chief examiner was leaking the test answers!

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit was clearly feeling extremely guilty as it spoke, its voice growing quieter toward the end, but Wang Ping still listened attentively and hung onto every word.

"The main profundity of the Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer is actually just one thing: by using an incantation, it feeds the hammer knowledge regarding the heaven and earth qi of its intended target. The hammer then gains a suppressing power against it, completely ignoring all of the target's mystic defenses... So, it is a hammer of wisdom."

"It all depends on the depth of the user's Dao attainment."

"If one's Dao attainment is high, and they have an understanding of the enemy's heaven and earth qi, this precious hammer will be invincible. If one's Dao attainment is low, it's just a useless lump of scrap iron."

‘So that's how it is!’

Wang Ping finally saw the light, understanding why that massive hammer had displayed such a vast discrepancy in power when facing his attacks earlier.

‘The first time, I used the Minor Mustard Seed Sumeru Wondrous Technique against him. Because he knew absolutely nothing about it, I was able to block his strike so easily.’

‘Of course, he quickly adjusted and inputted Dao attainment specifically targeting the Minor Mustard Seed Sumeru Wondrous Technique. From then on, that move was useless against him.’

After clearing his thoughts, Wang Ping's first reaction was:

‘That's cheating!’

The phantom in the master-recognition trial already had the cultivation of the Divine Powers realm and the Dao attainment of Qi Refining. As if that wasn't enough, he also possessed a method where higher Dao attainment equated to stronger destructive power.

Talk about being utterly shameless!

At this thought, Wang Ping suddenly straightened up, his eyes burning with passion. Although he was far inferior to a Qi Refining practitioner, his current Dao attainment actually wasn't low either!

Just from the Twenty-Four Qi Dao Treatise alone, he had mastered the complete texts for four types of heaven and earth qi: the Mid-Heaven Orthodox Origin Blended Harmony Qi, the Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi, the Origin-Governing Battle-Axe-Wielding Fate-Governing Qi, and the Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Azure Thunder Qi. Additionally, he grasped fragments of the Radiant Universal Illumination Six Harmonies Qi and the Hanging River Endlessly Circulating Qi.

An ordinary True Transmission disciple wouldn't necessarily have a higher Dao attainment than him.

Therefore, even though someone had used this hammer of wisdom to stomp him into the dirt, by the same logic, he could use this hammer of wisdom to stomp others!

Sure, it was all one-sided stomping, but stomping someone else versus getting stomped were two entirely different matters!

I really want it!

"Lord Treasure Cauldron, you just mentioned that this Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer is also a Divine Power in a certain sense, right?" Wang Ping looked at the cauldron beside him.

"Yes."

Then he was right. Since it was a Divine Power, it fell under the domain of the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart's Governing Myriad Spells. He actually had a chance to claim it for his own use!

At this thought, boundless fighting spirit surged within Wang Ping's heart. He gritted his teeth and released all the divine sense from his sea of consciousness in one breath.

"Lord Treasure Cauldron, bring it on!"

At this moment, his mindset had shifted. He was no longer obsessed with defeating the Qi Refining practitioner named Tiangong; instead, he focused on how to steal the opponent's techniques.

Master the immortal's superior skills to subjugate the immortal!

Regardless of anything else, he was going to learn this Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer first!