Chapter 288: My Mom Is Such a Mastermind!

The Eight Trigrams Furnace, the Great Shun Capital.

Wang Ping merged with his escape light and sped all the way back. Upon returning to the capital, he headed straight into the Tribute Hall, only to find Chenlong standing in the courtyard, looking somewhat lost.

"Lord Chenlong?"

Wang Ping called out softly. Chenlong snapped out of his daze and looked back with a sigh. "The First Seat is gone. I don't know where she went."

Gone?

Wang Ping pressed for details, eventually learning the whole story behind the First Seat's departure from Chenlong. His initially relaxed mood instantly grew heavy.

'A thirty percent chance of survival? How is that any different from seeking death!'

He didn't understand.

Given the sheer reliability of the First Seat's uncanny intuition, and knowing the risks were so high—a full seventy percent chance of sudden death—why hadn't she just decisively run away?

Seeming to notice Wang Ping's confusion, Chenlong suddenly chuckled. "You brat... you're still young, so you don't really know her. While Master's intuition allows her to avoid almost all danger, how should I put it... she actually goes against it quite often."

"Including when she first pioneered the Manifesting Divinity Realm."

A look of reminiscence crossed Chenlong's face. "Do you know what Master's original concept for forming the divine shape of Manifesting Divinity required?"

"...What did it require?" Wang Ping asked curiously.

"It was very simple."

Chenlong lowered his eyes. "Master believed that only by overcoming the great terror between life and death could Divine Intent reach perfection, manifesting divinity and transforming into a divine shape."

"So she did exactly that."

"She fought to the death against numerous extraordinary persons and Loose Immortals of the time, stubbornly defying the fatal crises her intuition warned her about. She sought survival amidst certain death in order to condense the divine shape of Manifesting Divinity."

"In the end, she succeeded."

At this point, Chenlong's expression turned wry, as if he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "But after breaking through, Master realized her theory was actually wrong."

"The key to the Manifesting Divinity Realm had absolutely nothing to do with overcoming the great terror of life and death; it was about understanding one's true heart. Master just got lucky and didn't actually die. Furthermore, her actions—fighting extraordinary persons and Loose Immortals to bring peace to the world—happened to align perfectly with her true heart. Only through that lucky coincidence did she break through the Realm."

It was pure luck.

Wang Ping fell silent for a moment after hearing this, before speaking softly, "If that's the case, with the First Seat's luck, she will definitely be able to turn this danger into safety."

"...You're right."

Chenlong took a deep breath, finally recovering some of his spirits. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he quickly pulled a thin booklet from his robes.

"The First Seat told me to give you this."

Wang Ping took the booklet. Emblazoned across the cover in bold, flamboyant calligraphy were four characters:

[Invincible Divine Intent]

Wang Ping: "..."

"The First Seat said my Divine Intent actually suits you very well and told you to study it carefully," Chenlong explained. "I've summarized a suitable method for you."

"Take it back with you and take a look."

Wang Ping thought about it and found it reasonable. After all, the First Seat's intuition was far too esoteric to ever be learned, while Chenlong's method was at least worth a try.

"Thank you, Lord," Wang Ping said, cupping his hands in thanks.

Chenlong turned his back and waved a hand dismissively.

Stepping out of the Tribute Hall, Wang Ping looked up at the sky, his divine sense gently rippling. "Lord Treasure Cauldron? Grandpa Cauldron? I'm back to see you! Let me in for a bit."

Before his words even faded, the world spun around him.

When he opened his eyes again, Wang Ping had returned to the Great Bronze Hall he hadn't seen in two and a half years. In the center of the hall, the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron hovered in midair.

"Lord Treasure Cauldron?" Wang Ping brazenly leaned forward.

However, the Treasure Cauldron remained silent and spun around. For a moment, Wang Ping seemed to see a child with puffed-out cheeks turning their back on him in sheer dissatisfaction.

It looked entirely unwilling to speak to him.

"Lord Treasure Cauldron?"

Wang Ping sidled over to the other side of the Treasure Cauldron and called out affectionately. The cauldron still said nothing; it simply spun around again, the intense fire roaring within its furnace.

Seeing this, Wang Ping didn't panic. After all, if the Treasure Cauldron Spirit was truly angry with him, it wouldn't have brought him inside in the first place. Since he was here, it meant the Treasure Cauldron Spirit was just throwing a tantrum and only needed a little coaxing. So, without another word, he immediately dropped to his knees:

"Lord Treasure Cauldron, I was wrong!"

His words were earnest, his tone heavy with regret and sorrow. "It was entirely the fault of those people in the heavens causing trouble, forcing me to engage in magical battles with the bald donkeys of the Brahma Nation."

"You know the one, Lord. That Great Cultivator Mingyou."

"He's incredibly evil!"

"If it weren't for him, I would have come back to see you ages ago," Wang Ping explained while stroking the cauldron's exterior. "Oh right, I even brought you something tasty."

With that, he activated Invoking Deities.

Xuanlongzi!

This inner sect disciple, whom he had personally slain at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer, had naturally been recorded by Invoking Deities upon his death. Now, Wang Ping summoned him.

[Waaaah!]

In an instant, the Treasure Cauldron that had just been throwing a tantrum pounced forward. Its opening slammed down, eagerly devouring the man's Destiny Pattern and karmic luck in a massive feast.

Evidently, an immortal gate cultivator at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer left it highly satisfied.

A moment later, the effect of Invoking Deities faded. The Treasure Cauldron had eaten its fill, swaying its body as it affectionately nuzzled against Wang Ping's cheek.

[Mmm... I forgive you.]

"Thank you for your understanding, Lord."

Wang Ping narrowed his eyes and smiled. "The main reason I came to find you this time, Lord, is because I have something to ask... Have you seen a woman who looks like this?"

After speaking, Wang Ping condensed his divine sense, sketching out the First Seat's appearance. The Treasure Cauldron took one look and immediately bobbed up and down as if nodding:

[I have seen her.]

"How is she doing?" Wang Ping's eyes lit up as he quickly pressed further.

[Dead.]

The cauldron spirit's response struck like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky: [A True Person descended to the lower realm holding an Immortal Decree. Even the will of heaven couldn't stop him. He found her directly and beat her to death.]

Wang Ping: "..."

Fuck me, a True Person descended to the lower realm!?

Seeing Wang Ping standing there dumbstruck, the cauldron spirit quickly consoled him: [Don't worry! This was the only time in three hundred years, and it won't happen again.]

"...What do you mean?"

Wang Ping jerked his head up.

[Simply put, the decree in that True Person's hands can only be used once every three hundred years. Unless he finds another one, it's impossible for him to strike again.]

Hearing this, Wang Ping immediately experienced a moment of sudden supreme enlightenment.

'It was Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang!'

'I understand now! It was because of the Martial Dao. In order to sever my Martial Dao and prevent me from overturning and locking down Divine Powers, that True Person of Biyang's went and killed the First Seat!'

'Wait, but the massive surge in my Martial Dao's momentum was entirely orchestrated by the First Seat... In that case, this was actually within her expectations. He can only strike once every three hundred years... Was she using her own life to ensure that the True Person can no longer enter the Eight Trigrams Furnace and interfere with the mortal realm?'

'Is this... the First Seat's plot?'

For a time, Wang Ping was overwhelmed with emotion.

'That True Person of Biyang's actually had such a decisive trump card hidden up his sleeve. No wonder he was always so calm, completely unconcerned that the situation would slip out of his control.'

'If not for the First Seat's plotting this time, even if I obtained the Heavenly Yin Metal in the future, that True Person could have easily reduced all my efforts to nothing.'

The thirty percent chance of survival was merely a risk taken to clear the obstacles for him.

The First Seat... no, Master... no, Mom is just too great!

Right at that moment, Wang Ping suddenly sensed a faint ripple deep within his sea of consciousness. It came from the Void Joy Non-Dual Guardian Consort Talisman—a message from You Xuexin.

"Hm?"

Wang Ping furrowed his brow and chose to receive it.

Immediately after, You Xuexin's soft, cloying, and seductive voice drifted out from the talisman. "Master, when Xuexin was cultivating in seclusion just now, I suddenly saw a line of words."

"Xuexin felt I ought to show them to you."

"...What words?"

Wang Ping's heart stirred, his eyes suddenly brightening.

Following that, he swiftly linked into You Xuexin's memories and saw a line of elegant handwriting traced by a breeze, which had suddenly appeared within her Cave Abode.

[All is well, do not worry.]

A second later, the breeze scattered, and the writing vanished.

"Phew!"

Wang Ping let out a long breath. At the same time, he mercilessly kicked You Xuexin—who was still trying to lean in and waste his energy—right back out, finally lifting the heavy weight off his chest.

The First Seat wasn't dead!

'I knew it. With the First Seat's intuition, how could she die so easily... Wait, I remember now. Was it that wisp of Divine Intent that went with me to the Immortal Gate back then?'

Wang Ping's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Since she wasn't dead, things were completely different!

This meant his side hadn't suffered a single loss, yet they had successfully baited out a crucial trump card from Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang for free, adding quite a bit to their odds of breaking this deadlock.

My Mom is such a mastermind!

Even the timing of her message assuring him of her safety was flawless. He was currently under the protection of the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron, so the heavenly workings and karma would not leak in the slightest.

Now that he had confirmed the First Seat's safety, Wang Ping relaxed. He turned to soothe the Treasure Cauldron for a little while longer before finding a spot to sit down cross-legged.

He spread his palm flat, and an Exquisite Elixir Furnace materialized.

[Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart]!

Within the Divine Powers, Jin Hai was still unconscious, the despair on his face yet to fade. Unable to bear watching him suffer like this, Wang Ping quickly finished him off.

"Crack!"

As Jin Hai's aura dissipated, Wang Ping willed it, and the mighty power of the Taiping Sutra instantly descended from the void, swallowing Jin Hai's corpse whole like a gaping, bloody maw.

'Settle!'

In the next second, Wang Ping followed him into the Great Peace Mortuary.

The towering tome he hadn't seen in a long time had now flipped to its seventh page. Gleaming golden text began to surface across the paper, tracing out supreme profundity.

[Volume Seven: Golden Sea Desiccation]

[A body pure and flawless, Golden Sea Desiccation. There is nothing left to pass, nothing left to expel, and thus there is no form of self, no form of person, no form of sentient beings, and no form of lifespan.]