Chapter 246: Overcoming One Opponent, A First Glimpse of Old Secrets!

Deep within the Dashun Imperial Palace.

Wang Ping strode forward, not even bothering to conceal his figure. Yet, the passing eunuchs and imperial guards turned a blind eye to his arrival.

By now, he was already the most unique figure in the Great Shun Imperial Court. Let alone the regular palace grounds, even if he waltzed into the inner harem, no one would likely dare stop him.

Of course, Wang Ping had no interest in that.

Compared to the three thousand beauties of the harem, he much preferred spending his time with the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron. Thus, the moment he entered the Imperial Palace, he headed straight for it.

"Lord Treasure Cauldron!"

Inside the grand hall, Wang Ping shouted the moment he crossed the threshold, prompting a faint, vibrating hum from the cauldron. "Why are you yelling so loudly? I only just managed to get some sleep."

"Then how about you sleep a bit longer, Lord Treasure Cauldron?"

Wang Ping smoothly changed his tune. "My business is urgent, but no matter how urgent it is, it can't compare to you. Get some rest first, and we can talk when you wake up."

"...Forget it."

The Treasure Cauldron floated back up, sounding resigned. "You took a trip up to the heavens, so what kind of trouble did you run into this time? Let me make one thing clear: I'm not as amazing as you think I am."

"For example, those Qi Refining practitioners who made a move during the previous great battle—I'm no match for them. They can't destroy me, but I can't beat them either, nor can I protect you. Unless you manage to make me accept you as my master, in which case we might be able to run away... And that goes double if those True Persons and True Monarchs up in the heavens take action."

Hearing this, Wang Ping instantly went on high alert.

"Can True Persons and True Monarchs strike inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace?"

"Yes, and no."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit explained, "By an Immortal Decree, True Persons and True Monarchs can enter, but they cannot use any of their mighty power to affect living beings who are still governed by destiny."

This reminded Wang Ping of a saying he had heard before.

Destiny is a shelter.

To all those who had yet to break free from the confines of destiny, it was certainly a crushing mountain, but it was also their greatest protective umbrella.

"Am I considered under the governance of destiny?"

"Of course."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit spoke as if this were a matter of fact. "Every existence whose cultivation hasn't reached the Qi Refining Tier is governed by destiny. The immortals established this long ago."

Wang Ping tilted his head. "Then why are you worried about True Persons and True Monarchs, Lord Treasure Cauldron?"

"Nonsense!"

The Treasure Cauldron spun in place out of sheer frustration. "You don't have to worry, but I'm terrified! As a Spiritual Treasure, my status is equivalent to the Qi Refining realm. I am not protected by destiny!"

Spiritual Treasures counted too?

Wang Ping blinked, then hurriedly reached out to stroke the cauldron's body in a comforting gesture. "Understood, my Lord. Don't worry, I definitely won't go out of my way to provoke any True Persons or True Monarchs."

"You'd better not," the Treasure Cauldron Spirit snapped.

Seeing this, Wang Ping quickly changed the subject. He took out the recently acquired Celestial Immortals' Secretly Bestowed Ageless Longevity Scripture and offered an apologetic smile. "Right, Lord Treasure Cauldron, I recently obtained a Qi Ingestion Method. How about you take a look for me? Which strand of qi does this correspond to? If someone practices it, will there be any hidden dangers?"

"Oh?"

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit paused. The cauldron tilted slightly and leaned close to Wang Ping, seemingly inspecting the Daoist manual in his hands.

"It really is a Qi Ingestion Method."

"It isn't very useful, though. It ingests the Heavenly Pillar Immortal-Bearing Undecaying Qi. That strand of qi was wiped out by the Great Rebellion long ago; it no longer manifests in the world."

"So that's how it is..."

Wang Ping gritted his teeth. He knew that bastard from Biyang couldn't have harbored any good intentions. He spent all day using these useless items to scam people!

"Ah, however."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit spoke up again. "Qi Ingestion Methods differ from Qi Refining methods. If someone forces themselves to practice it, they can, and it's actually not a bad way to nourish their health."

"If a Mortal practiced this cultivation method, they could extend their lifespan by at least a thousand years."

"It's different for cultivators, though. Even a Tribulation Transcending cultivator wouldn't be able to extend their lifespan much with it, and it's completely useless for those in Qi Refining."

"This..."

Wang Ping frowned deeply. The First Seat had focused solely on martial arts; she likely hadn't practiced the Immortal Dao and still fell into the category of a Mortal. Looking at it this way, Mingyou actually hadn't lied to her.

So he wasn't guarding against the First Seat.

He was guarding against me?

Wang Ping gritted his teeth in hatred, but there was nothing he could do. On second thought, a flash of confusion hit him. "Why is there such a discrepancy between a Mortal and a cultivator?"

"Because it was designed that way from the start."

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit explained, "Slicing away only the lifespans of those on the Immortal Dao was the first heaven-striking strategy decided upon by the five qi-ingesting practitioners and the Dani Great Ancestor after several discussions."

"Is that so... Wait!?"

Wang Ping nodded, then suddenly froze. "The five qi-ingesting practitioners discussed it with the Dani Great Ancestor? Hold on, are you talking about the five phantom echoes inside the cauldron?"

"That's right."

"You mean to tell me they were in cahoots with the Dani Great Ancestor?" Wang Ping's eyes widened.

"Who else?"

The Treasure Cauldron Spirit tilted innocently. "They were all officials of the Great Rebellion at the time. It was precisely because of their cooperation that the Great Rebellion managed to eliminate the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens."

"...You should have mentioned this sooner!"

"You never asked."

Wang Ping couldn't help but pinch his brow. He felt a bit helpless, yet a sudden dawn of realization washed over him. This answer undoubtedly cleared up a lingering question he hadn't been able to figure out.

As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Qi Ingestion Method and the Qi Refining path were completely at odds, and the Great Rebellion was clearly opposed to Qi Refining. So why was it that the ones sealed away by the Great Rebellion were all qi-ingesting practitioners? Shouldn't they have been on the same side? Now the answer was clear: they really were on the same side!

"They weren't sealed; they were subjects to begin with."

Wang Ping murmured under his breath, "Looking at it this way, that Grand Ancestor of the Great Rebellion was most likely a qi-ingesting practitioner himself, and the qi he ingested was Human Yang Earth, the Origin-Governing Battle-Axe-Wielding Fate-Governing Qi?"

A corner of the ancient mysteries had finally been revealed.

Right at that moment, Wang Ping felt a brilliant light explode deep within his sea of consciousness, manifesting a profound vision. Knowledge relating to the Origin-Governing Battle-Axe-Wielding Fate-Governing Qi swarmed his mind.

Cultivation enlightenment had arrived!

By peeling back the secrets of the past and learning of the great deeds tied to the Origin-Governing Battle-Axe-Wielding Fate-Governing Qi, the knowledge of this strand of qi actively sought him out!

Wang Ping kept his eyes firmly shut. A long time passed before he finally digested this heaven-sent enlightenment. Exhaling a long breath, he then looked toward the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron.

"My Lord, open the Grotto-Heaven. I'm going in."

"You want to challenge it again? Fine, fine..."

Brimming with absolute confidence this time, Wang Ping split his divine sense and swiftly re-entered the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven. He was immediately greeted by the sight of a towering hammer shadow smashing right toward his face.

Still relying on sneak attacks!

In a flash of lightning, Wang Ping summoned his divine power as a shield. Pavilions and palaces materialized one after another, expanding the space to shelter him at the very back.

After all, he had fought this opponent so many times already, and this qi-ingesting practitioner's methods were relatively one-dimensional. He had practically memorized the attack pattern. Handling it now was second nature. While channeling his divine power to block, his body flew rapidly backward. A moment later, a blistering blaze of fire erupted upward.

The Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer.

Boom!

As the hammer crashed down, the majestic palaces constructed by the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart were reduced to dust. Yet, they didn't dissipate; instead, they sank right there into unseen darkness.

In the distance, Wang Ping was already holding up a precious pearl.

The Profound Nether Pearl!

This earthly yin-water magic treasure he'd obtained from Kunyun perfectly matched his magic power. As he activated it, a murky, chaotic current instantly surged between heaven and earth.

"Hidden Dragon Meridian Circulation: lying dormant, lying concealed... Bind!"

Wang Ping formed a hand seal and pointed his fingers. The murky current immediately surged backward, swallowing the brightly glowing treasure hammer before dragging it deep into the dark abyss.

Almost simultaneously, his figure shot forward at extreme speed.

The entire sequence happened in a mere fraction of a second.

In the very next instant, the opponent had already adjusted the Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer's elemental suppression. With a deafening crash, it shattered the Profound Nether Pearl's confinement and flew back.

At that exact moment, Wang Ping drew his blade!

Clang—!

A clear, ringing blade cry echoed out, sounding like a golden crow screeching at the sun. Boundless, awe-inspiring light exploded from Wang Ping's palm, rising like a brilliant morning sun.

Resplendent Crow.

Under such terrifying radiance, divine sense was blinded and the naked eye could see nothing. Moreover, his timing was absolutely flawless. He struck at the exact moment the Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer broke through the Profound Nether Pearl's lockdown—before its profound properties could shift. It was still tuned to suppress earthly yin-water, leaving it entirely defenseless against heavenly yang-fire!

However, right at that moment—

The qi-ingesting practitioner's superior realm and cultivation still came into play. A Divine Powers cultivator wouldn't be able to react to this split-second window of opportunity, but he could!

The hammer rose, and the hammer fell.

In the blink of an eye, the suppressing properties on the Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer shifted once again. Wherever it passed, all the heavenly yang radiance was completely shattered, finally revealing—

...!?

—absolutely nothing.

Once the Resplendent Crow's profound power was crushed, Wang Ping was nowhere to be seen. The burly figure realized what had happened almost instantly.

The Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer's properties began to shift once more... but this time, he was ultimately too late.

Squelch!

The cold, biting gleam of a blade silently pierced the opponent's chest... Behind him, Wang Ping, completely shrouded in the murky current, finally leaked a sliver of his aura.

What had looked like a lethal, decisive slash was actually just a feint. The goal was to force the opponent to suppress the heavenly yang-fire, thereby neglecting the earthly yin-water magic treasure that was the Profound Nether Pearl. He then used that opening to cloak his presence and land a successful sneak attack at the very last second. In short, it was a high-speed battle of shifting profound properties.

It was so fast the opponent couldn't react, allowing him to end the fight with a single, fatal blow.

At the end of the day, no matter how high the opponent's cultivation or how sharp his combat awareness was, they were still in the same realm, and his base power output was simply a notch weaker than Wang Ping's. It wasn't a gap that could be completely bridged just through mechanical skill.

Thud!

The Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer crashed to the ground. Wang Ping raised his hand and cleaved downward, tearing the opponent's figure apart on the spot. An intense wave of satisfaction immediately washed over him.

'I won... I actually won!'

Right at that moment—

Clap, clap, clap...

A sudden round of applause echoed out, instantly jolting Wang Ping awake from his deep sense of satisfaction. He whipped his head around, only to see that the burly figure had re-formed once more.

"Impressive."

The man clapped his hands, his face full of admiration. "Even though I'm not very skilled at fighting, being able to defeat me with a Divine Powers cultivation base is quite an extraordinary feat."

"And then there's this blade."

Speaking up to this point, he cast another glance at the Battle-Victorious Demon-Quelling Blade in Wang Ping's hand and stroked his chin. "Although the craftsmanship is rather crude, it was forged quite nicely."

"What the fuck...?"

Wang Ping was dumbfounded and utterly speechless. He hadn't expected such a twist at all. The phantom echoes of these qi-ingesting practitioners inside the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven had actually come to life!