Chapter 240: Two Earth Yin Earths!

On the nine hundred and ninety-eighth floor, Wang Ping had yet to finish speaking when Lian Shengyue began forming hand seals. A blindingly brilliant light of a divine power ignited at her fingertips.

The moment this light appeared, the world plunged into darkness.

Immediately after, Wang Ping felt as if everything before his eyes had been erased from existence. Lian Shengyue's chanting echoed in his ears, every word spoken with deliberate pause:

"No eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind."

"No form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or concept."

The chanting shifted from a resounding roar to a low murmur, narrowing into a buzz as faint as a mosquito before swiftly fading away. Along with it, everything in existence was stripped from Wang Ping's senses.

At that moment, Wang Ping felt as if he had plummeted into a Bottomless Abyss. His five senses provided no feedback, and his divine sense could probe only into sheer darkness. The connection between his physical body and his consciousness seemed severed. He tried to move his arms and legs, but he couldn't tell if he was actually making the motions.

The only thing he could sense was the void.

Because Wang Ping had seen the Secret Record of Divine Abilities in You Xuexin's memories, he knew exactly what divine powers her lineage cultivated, and an answer immediately came to mind.

'Boundless Space Heaven.'

It erased all physical forms and completely severed a person's connection to the outside world. The victim's consciousness would sink into the void, leaving their true body entirely at the caster's mercy.

"This isn't good."

Wang Ping frowned tightly. He knew he had to break free from this state as quickly as possible. Otherwise, heaven only knew what Lian Shengyue would do to his physical body in reality.

If she forced him into dual cultivation, wouldn't he suffer a massive loss?

Meanwhile, just as he feared, Lian Shengyue genuinely fell into a brief hesitation upon seeing her divine power envelop Wang Ping.

'Should I dual cultivate with him?'

He was, after all, a Divine Powers realm cultivator and highly suitable to be her dao companion. If she forced a union with him to extract his divine power's source and replenish herself, it wouldn't be a waste.

But she quickly calmed herself down.

'There's no rush. He's someone chosen by Master, so he must have some skill. Forcing a cultivation session right now is too risky. I should suppress him first.'

With that thought in mind, Lian Shengyue reached up and unfastened a golden hairpin coiled at the back of her head. Instantly, her dark tresses cascaded down. She poured her magic power into the hairpin and tossed it into the air. In a flash, it transformed into a soaring golden rainbow, splitting into the illusory phantoms of a dragon and a phoenix as it shot toward Wang Ping.

This treasure was named the Dragon and Phoenix Golden Hairpin.

It was essentially a flying sword. As its name suggested, it was divided into male and female, dragon and phoenix. Once it struck, it possessed the mystical ability to disrupt Yin and Yang and shake an opponent's foundation.

Put simply:

If struck by the dragon sword, the target's Yang energy would surge violently, filling them with boundless vitality. While it looked like a boon, it actually drained their foundation to forcibly elevate their spirit.

If struck by the phoenix sword immediately after, that facade would be instantly punctured. Extreme Yang would birth Yin, leading to a massive loss of essence and spirit that plunged the victim into a daze.

Meanwhile, the artifact itself would absorb the struck cultivator's magic power and vital essence, constantly reinforcing itself. It grew fiercer the longer it fought, waxing as the enemy waned, until it completely drained its target. Add its hairpin shape and blistering speed, and it was considered an extremely insidious magic treasure.

Not to mention combining it with Boundless Space Heaven. Trapping an opponent and then slashing them with this sword tens of thousands of times in an instant would wither away any cultivator, no matter how high their cultivation base.

The idea was perfect.

However, in the very next second, Wang Ping—who should have been trapped by Boundless Space Heaven—suddenly opened his eyes. A fiery light burst from the depths of his gaze, which had previously been clouded by the divine power.

Immediately after, his physical body simply dissipated. In its place, a magnificent radiance shot straight into the clouds, manifesting as countless divine phantoms. They wove through one another, linking together until they finally coalesced into a towering phantom as massive as a mountain. It still bore Wang Ping's appearance, but it had entirely cast off the shackles of the mortal flesh.

"Break!"

With a thunderous shout, rolling waves of magical light exploded from lips and teeth as vast as mountain ridges. The surging tide crashed into the incoming Dragon and Phoenix Golden Hairpin in the blink of an eye, sending it flying.

"He possesses a divine power like this..."

Lian Shengyue looked astonished. The physical body was the raft of cultivation. Normally, if the connection between the flesh and the consciousness was severed, one shouldn't be able to use divine powers at all.

But Wang Ping was the exception.

He could actually bypass the physical body and directly drive his divine power with sheer consciousness. He even completely abandoned his flesh, using his divine power to manifest a dharma body and shrug off external influences entirely!

What was even more bizarre was that Lian Shengyue found Boundless Space Heaven could no longer affect Wang Ping after he manifested this form. Because the current Wang Ping had tens of thousands of deities serving as meat shields within his body, her power simply couldn't cloud them all, much less locate his true consciousness.

'He really does have skills.'

Lian Shengyue knitted her delicate brows, but she didn't panic. After all, from her perspective, while Wang Ping's methods were profound, they were still within her expectations.

'I will win!'

With that thought, she flipped her graceful hand, revealing a resplendent golden pagoda. She launched it into midair and pressed downward.

"Three Yangs must unite, Prime truth becomes magnetic!"

In a split second, the pagoda soared into the sky. Its three tiers lit up one after another, projecting three layers of radiance as three distinct energy signatures circulated within the tower.

Yang Earth, Yang Wood, Yang Fire!

Where the Three Yangs united, Wood and Fire Governance prevailed. Thus, heaven and earth lost their Matchmaking, true earth transformed into lodestone, and the clear and muddy could no longer be separated. It possessed the profound ability to shake the mystic mechanics and throw the world out of alignment!

Rumble!

As the pagoda descended, Wang Ping immediately felt his massive body start to waver. His divine power, originally as steady as Mount Tai, actually began to feel sluggish.

'It's my magic power.'

Wang Ping instantly realized the change. 'My magic power and divine power are no longer in sync. They're actually rejecting each other, making the divine power unstable. It's at risk of collapsing.'

'This artifact comes from the Mid-Heaven Orthodox Origin Blended Harmony Qi!'

Realizing this, Wang Ping had already condensed a brilliantly glowing sledgehammer in his hands. Chanting under his breath, he swung it upward with a backhand strike.

Bang!

The treasure hammer intercepted it in midair. With a massive explosion, the pagoda Lian Shengyue had summoned was instantly smashed flying, and the gathered light of the Three Yangs collapsed.

Seeing this, Lian Shengyue's expression grew even more stunned. Mystic light bloomed in her beautiful eyes, but she couldn't recognize which qi this massive hammer belonged to.

'My Three Yang Combined Magnetic Pagoda is derived from a divine power under the Mid-Heaven Orthodox Origin Blended Harmony Qi, the Three Yang Authority-Governing Primordial Magnetic Divine Light. It can unbalance a cultivator's magic power and divine power, making it the perfect counter against cultivators whose magic and divine powers come from different paths. It was meant specifically for You Xuexin...'

She had brought it out now, thinking it would seal her victory.

Yet to her disbelief, Wang Ping wasn't affected by the pagoda in the slightest. With a casual swing of his hammer, he had smashed it away, leaving her in an awkward spot instead.

'How did he do that?'

Though heavy with concern on the inside, Lian Shengyue immediately put on a pitiful, wronged expression on the outside. "Senior Brother Dousheng, didn't you say you were going to go easy on your junior sister?"

Wang Ping let out a long laugh upon hearing this.

"Junior Sister's divine powers are profound. I'm already on the verge of collapsing."

That was a lie.

In truth, Wang Ping's mind wasn't focused on his magical battle with Lian Shengyue at all. What really made him curious was the path her divine powers belonged to.

'It's very strange.'

'Her divine power... actually counters my magic power?'

At the very beginning of the fight, the moment Lian Shengyue unleashed Boundless Space Heaven, Wang Ping had actually reacted, channeling his magic power to evade it.

Yet he was still hit.

That was because when Boundless Space Heaven blanketed the area, his Latent Concealment magic power inexplicably lost seventy percent of its mystical efficacy, which was why he failed to seize the initiative.

This was a very obvious magic power suppression.

'But among the Twenty-Four Qi, the only thing that can counter the Earth Yin Water magic power, Latent Concealment, should be Earth Yin Earth—the Mid-Heaven Orthodox Origin Blended Harmony Qi.'

Why was this happening?

At this thought, while Wang Ping continued his standoff with Lian Shengyue, he divided his focus, triggering the Void Joy Non-Dual Guardian Consort Talisman to send a mental transmission.

"Xuexin, answer me."

A moment later, as the bright light of the talisman flowed, You Xuexin's enchanting voice echoed in his mind. "I'm here, Master. What do you require of Xuexin?"

As soon as she spoke, Wang Ping realized something was different. You Xuexin's mental waves had undergone a massive transformation, and her tone carried a cheerful ease, as refreshing as clouds parting to reveal the sun. After a moment of thought, he understood why. "Did you break through? Have you attained your divine power?"

"Master is perceptive!"

You Xuexin laughed. "Thanks to the Mystic Communion Qi-Ingesting Powder that Master left for Xuexin, I have already cultivated the Taishang Immortal-Slaying God-Sealing Flying Sword."

Her voice then grew noticeably impatient.

"We've been apart for so many days. Where are you now, Master?"

"Xuexin will come find you right away!"

"Don't rush."

Wang Ping hurriedly suppressed You Xuexin's surging consciousness and asked, "Let me ask you a question first. We'll set aside our reunion for now."

"Aww... go ahead, Master."

"Your fellow junior sister, Lian Shengyue. Which qi does she cultivate?"

At those words, the previously enchanting and affectionate You Xuexin instantly turned cold. "Lian Shengyue... that slut. Master, have you taken a fancy to her?"

"Cut the nonsense and speak!"

Wang Ping condensed his divine sense and viciously lashed at You Xuexin's mind, instantly bringing the radiant spring smile back to the face of his protector wisdom consort. She let out a soft moan before continuing.

"She cultivates the same path as Xuexin. We're both Earth Yin Earth."

"...What?"

Wang Ping frowned. "That's not right. She isn't cultivating the Mid-Heaven Orthodox Origin Blended Harmony Qi."

"Not that Earth Yin Earth," You Xuexin said, shaking her head as she explained. "She cultivates the Nine Marshes Nether Demon-Suppressing Qi. It is the other Earth Yin Earth."

Two Earth Yin Earths!?

Wang Ping felt as if he had been struck by lightning. It was like a long-sealed treasure chest had finally found its matching key, unlocking all of his doubts in a sudden flash of insight.

'Two of them, two of them... so that's how it is! I understand now!'

Human Yin Earth was gone!

Between the Mid-Heaven Orthodox Origin Blended Harmony Qi and the Nine Marshes Nether Demon-Suppressing Qi, one of them used to be Human Yin Earth, but the Immortal Gate had merged it back into the cosmic sequence of Heaven and Earth!

Which one was it?

'It's the Mid-Heaven Orthodox Origin Blended Harmony Qi!'

'Because only this qi contains the imagery of heaven and earth losing their alignment. Wood and Fire Governance, Yin Earth transforming into magnetism, losing the breath of blended harmony... Wood and Fire Governance, it was Wood and Fire Governance all along!'

Wang Ping remembered.

Back in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, when he clashed with Kunyun, the very first cosmic anomaly triggered by Dashun Taizu had been Wood and Fire Governance!

'This is the grand legacy behind the founding of Great Shun!'

'Dashun Taizu's monumental legacy was helping the Immortal Gate return the Mid-Heaven Orthodox Origin Blended Harmony Qi—which was originally Human Yin Earth—back into the cosmic sequence of Heaven and Earth!'

Wang Ping was finally enlightened.

This was why Great Cultivator Tianxing and the Heaven-Stealing Thief had discussed things and ultimately decided to use the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle to destroy Great Shun. Their final goal was—

'To forcibly sever the Mid-Heaven Orthodox Origin Blended Harmony Qi from the cosmic sequence once more, reverting it back into a human qi to recreate the monumental legacy of the Great Rebellion from back then!'

This was exactly why Mingyou had Lian Shengyue pass a message to lure him to Dao Proving Mountain... On the surface, it was to split the qi destiny, but this was what she truly wanted to tell him!

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