Chapter 287: Evil Phantom

The Heavenly Craft Cave Abode. Wang Ping was no stranger to the name; he had long since obtained relevant intelligence about it from the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron, though he couldn't remember exactly how.

‘Five qi-ingesting practitioners, corresponding to the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens.’

‘The Heavenly Yin Metal I need should be in the cave abode corresponding to the heavenly frost seasonal slaughter premier qi. I just don't know how to get inside.’

‘Furthermore...’

Thinking of this, Wang Ping suddenly looked at Kunlun, his gaze shifting. "Senior Brother Kunlun, could it be that you obtained the Great Rebellion legacy within the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode?"

"It's not the Great Rebellion legacy,"

Kunlun emphasized. "It is merely the legacy of the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi. I need it to reincarnate and cultivate anew, shifting my path to this qi."

"That's ancient history,"

Xianfu explained with a smile. "Junior Brother Kunlun's father, Senior Ghost Axe, was the one who opened the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode back then and reaped immense benefits from it.

"Although he was an inner sect disciple without spiritual roots and could not practice Qi Refining, he still used this accomplishment to shed his mortal body and become the Corpse Dissolution Immortal of the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi. You could say he enjoyed a period of boundless glory. Because of his unique contributions, even esteemed Qi Refining practitioners treated Senior Ghost Axe with the utmost respect.

"However, an accident occurred.

"The Heavenly Craft Cave Abode, which had been gradually opening, was suddenly sealed and hidden once more. This, in turn, triggered a resonance from the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi.

"Ever since then, the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi has only remained within the Eight Trigrams Furnace. The Immortal Gate has had no way to cultivate it.

"This phenomenon of a worldly qi being trapped in one place also affected Senior Ghost Axe in his state as a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, forcing him into dead seclusion within his Grotto-Heaven.

"The once-prosperous Ghost Axe Grotto-Heaven gradually withered away."

Kunlun remained silent.

Without a doubt, this was a massive secret known to very few, yet Xianfu spoke of it so casually. Astonished, Wang Ping glanced at Kunlun.

‘If I remember correctly, the one who caused the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi to be trapped in the Eight Trigrams Furnace should be that old bastard, the Heaven-Stealing Thief.’

And Kunlun was in league with the Heaven-Stealing Thief.

So that was how it was.

This kid had screwed over his own father!

Wait, that wasn't right... In this Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle, the Heaven-Stealing Thief's main goal seemed to be completely eradicating the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi, didn't it?

"Hiss!" Wang Ping inhaled sharply.

Seeing this, Kunlun finally couldn't bear it any longer. He glared fiercely at Wang Ping. "Don't look at me like I'm some kind of animal. This was also my father's intention."

‘Oh?’

Wang Ping's heart stirred. That Ghost Axe Corpse-Liberation Immortal also wanted the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi to be eradicated? Why? What hidden secrets lay behind this?

Of course, compared to this, Wang Ping was far more interested in exactly what had happened during that past sword battle to cause the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode to appear. After all, if he wanted to obtain the Heavenly Yin Metal, he also had to find a way to make the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode emerge. The experience of his predecessors was crucial for this.

As they spoke, the three of them had already walked down from the city gate tower.

Following Xianfu, Wang Ping traveled to a secluded corner deep within the fortress city. A somewhat dilapidated traditional courtyard house abruptly appeared before his eyes.

"This is the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode."

Xianfu's words instantly made Wang Ping raise his eyebrows.

Immediately after, he activated his divine sense, meticulously sweeping the entire courtyard from top to bottom, but he found absolutely nothing.

"It's useless,"

Xianfu said, shaking his head. "I'll let Junior Brother Kunlun explain it to you. After all, this was the handiwork of Senior Brother Gan back then, so he understands it a bit better."

Wang Ping looked at Kunlun once more.

However, after a moment of silence, Kunlun gave him a shockingly unexpected answer:

"...It's an evil phantom."

Wang Ping was stunned for a moment before he finally reacted, digging up information about evil phantoms from his memories. Following that, he was even more incredulous:

"An evil phantom? An evil phantom of Great Shun?"

Kunlun glanced at him and said flatly, "That's right, an evil phantom of Great Shun. You have deep ties to the Tribute Hall, so you shouldn't be a stranger to this."

Fuck me!

Wang Ping had indeed heard the First Seat mention evil phantoms once, but he had always assumed they were just something akin to the Martial Dao—nothing particularly formidable.

Yet now, Kunlun was telling him that an evil phantom of Great Shun could actually seal the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode, and even indirectly influence the manifestation of a worldly qi!

Wasn't this too outrageous?

Perhaps sensing the astonishment in Wang Ping's heart, Xianfu suddenly said, "Great Shun's evil phantoms are a rather taboo topic, even within the Immortal Gate.

"Do not underestimate these things.

"Just like the black-headed commoners, they are the legacy left behind by the Great Rebellion. A few minor evil phantoms are one thing, but some of the major evil phantoms possess truly vast and magnificent power.

"They operate according to an entirely different set of laws and principles.

"Take the one right in front of us, for example."

At this point, Kunlun suddenly reached into his robes and brought out a Wooden Token strung on a red cord. On it was an inscribed decree and a blood-red seal.

"Hold this, but don't tie the red cord around your neck."

Wang Ping was still a bit curious as he took the Wooden Token from Kunlun, but the moment he gripped it, the courtyard house before his eyes abruptly changed.

The original courtyard vanished.

Taking its place was a gloomy, eerie temple and a dark ancestral hall. Layer upon layer of doors stood wide open, revealing a shrine and a Spirit Tablet situated in the very deepest part.

A line of blood-red text was starkly emblazoned on the Spirit Tablet.

[Position of the House-Guarding Dragon-Suppressing Immortal].

"Whoa!"

Wang Ping's eyebrows twitched slightly. Wherever his gaze fell, he couldn't sense anything profoundly mystical about the temple and ancestral hall, only an indescribably bizarre and uncanny aura.

"This is the major evil phantom that sealed the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode."

Kunlun's tone was spectral as he said, "Its name is the household immortal. As the name implies, it is an immortal that protects the family and secures the home. The core of this evil phantom is that very shrine.

"Back then, Senior Brother Gan passed the household immortal's trial, which earned him the opportunity to move the shrine. Thus, he relocated it into the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode, utilizing the power of this major evil phantom to seal the cave abode. For many years, only the shamanic disciples it has chosen have been able to see it."

Hearing this, Wang Ping looked at the Wooden Token in his hand.

"Is it this?"

"That's right." Kunlun nodded. "This is the token of a shamanic disciple. Tying the red cord of this token around your neck is an acknowledgment of this identity.

"However, I strongly advise you against doing so.

"Because once you accept the identity of a shamanic disciple, you must undergo the household immortal's trial. If you fail to pass, the consequences will be exceptionally severe."

"How severe?"

Wang Ping gripped the Wooden Token tightly. ‘Now that my Martial Dao has reached its peak and I'm wearing the Heavenly Martial Campaign Profound Armor, I can even fight against someone at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer. Would I be afraid of a mere evil phantom?’

Right at that moment, Xianfu suddenly spoke up. "As far as I know, when Senior Brother Gan used the household immortal to seal the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode back then, it coincidentally triggered the life tribulation of a true transmission senior brother within the sect. Therefore, that senior brother and Senior Brother Gan became the household immortal's shamanic disciples together.

"Afterward, that true transmission senior brother perished."

"Take it away, take it away!"

Wang Ping immediately flicked his wrist, acting as though he wasn't holding a Wooden Token but a branding iron, and tossed it right back into Kunlun's hands, looking as though he had just touched a jinx.

This wretched place was truly unbearable!

Seeing this, Xianfu laughed aloud. "In any case, the Brahma Cultivators suffered a crushing defeat this time and will need time to regroup. I plan to have Junior Brother Kunlun stay behind to guard this place.

"Does Junior Brother Dousheng plan to stay here as well, or will you return to the Capital with me?"

Wang Ping did not hesitate in the slightest.

"Return to the Capital."

He had always been self-aware; you only wear the pants that fit your own ass.

Whether it was the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode or the household immortal evil phantom, it was clearly a scheme hatched by Kunlun and the Heaven-Stealing Thief. He had no need to stick his nose into it.

After all, he couldn't see any benefit in it whatsoever.

It was all just fucking risks.

Moreover, he still needed time to properly digest his gains from this trip—for instance, Jin Hai, whom he had captured alive. That was a truly excellent piece of material.

‘A Brahma Cultivator comparable to the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer. Using him to settle the seventh scripture scroll of the Taiping Sutra can be considered top-tier. I hope it produces something good.’

After all, the Taiping Sutra hadn't updated in a long time.

He had to admit that in the face of the layers upon layers of plots and mysteries currently surrounding him, a Taiping Sutra that couldn't resurrect him was only marginally better than nothing.

‘This cheat is far too weak.’

‘For me, Wang Ping, to achieve what I have today relied entirely on my own peerless talent and unremitting effort. Taiping Sutra, you are no longer fit to be my daddy.’

The First Seat was a woman who could become a mother to him!

Thinking of this, Wang Ping felt even more eager to return. Although, judging from the phenomena of the Martial Dao, there was a high probability that the First Seat hadn't died, he still wanted to confirm it as soon as possible.

Aside from this, there was one more thing.

The Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron!

‘With my current strength, I wonder how many phantom avatars within the cauldron I can defeat?’ Wang Ping pondered, feeling that he might be able to exploit a loophole.

Theoretically, the cultivation base of the cauldron's phantom avatars would remain on par with his own.

Before this, the reference for his cultivation had always been the Immortal Dao. However, even though he was currently still at the Tribulation Transcending Second Layer, his Martial Dao was already comparable to the Third Layer.

‘If the phantom avatars in the cauldron can't recognize the Martial Dao, I might be able to use my martial combat power to strike down those phantom avatars that only have Divine Powers-level strength!’

Just thinking about it made Wang Ping excited.

After all, this was what he was best at. How could he possibly lose when punching down at lower-level cultivators?

Moreover, once he defeated the cauldron's phantom avatars, he would be able to make the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron—a Qi Refining Tier Spiritual Treasure—completely acknowledge him as its master. That would be a completely different story!