Chapter 289: Wang Ping's Suspicions

Wang Ping's expression turned slightly odd as he looked at the brand-new scripture scroll.

'What is it supposed to mean, pulling until there is nothing left to pull, and clearing until there is nothing left to clear...?' he thought. 'It just sounds foul.'

However, his opinion took an immediate one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn the moment he read the specific effects of Golden Sea Desiccation described on the scripture scroll:

"It pulls all the filth and stray thoughts out of the sea of consciousness, exchanging them for mental clarity that allows one to sense the qi of heaven and earth, briefly elevating one's comprehension."

'As expected of my great backer, the Taiping Sutra!'

After experiencing Mingyou's profound method of illuminating mysteries and sparking the light of wisdom, Wang Ping deeply coveted any technique that could elevate his comprehension.

'Furthermore, there is another formidable aspect to this scripture scroll,' he realized. 'The extracted filth from the sea of consciousness can be hoarded and thrown out at a critical moment. The more times the scroll is used, the more filth is pulled out, and the stronger its power becomes. Unleashing something like this during a spell battle could absolutely seal a victory in one strike!'

Wang Ping nodded in satisfaction.

It was just a pity that this scripture scroll could not be used indefinitely. Every time he purged this mental filth, his sea of consciousness would fall into a state of exhaustion and require time to recover.

His focus returned to reality.

Wang Ping was in no rush to test Golden Sea Desiccation. He had another matter that required his divine sense, making it paramount to maintain his peak condition.

"Lord Treasure Cauldron!"

Looking at the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron, Wang Ping called out, "Please open the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven and let me in. I am ready to challenge the master-recognition trial again!"

[Eh, again?]

"Rest assured, Lord Treasure Cauldron, I am different this time!" Wang Ping grinned, rolling up his sleeves. "I promise I will last a little longer in there."

"I will definitely meet your expectations!"

[Mhm, alright.]

A second later, Wang Ping's vision spun. He arrived on the mountain within the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven once more, looking up at the six-colored radiance hanging high in the sky.

Instantly, his memories flooded back!

Tiangong, Tianshuang... these phantom avatars within the cauldron actually possessed their own consciousness. He needed to defeat them one by one to activate them. A torrent of information poured into his mind.

This time, however, Wang Ping's mindset was completely different.

"Oh, you finally came back."

Wang Ping raised his head and shifted his gaze to a corner of the mountain. He quickly spotted Tiangong hefting a massive hammer and waving at him cordially.

"You haven't been here in so long, I thought you were dead."

"...It's nothing."

Wang Ping lowered his eyes and gave a light chuckle. "I ran into a minor complication and made you worry, Senior. Please ask Senior Tianshuang to come out."

"Alright," Tiangong nodded.

Just as before, the stark white light representing the heavenly frost seasonal slaughter premier qi plummeted from the six-colored radiance in the sky with a thunderous crash.

The icy woman wielding the battle-axe stepped out from the light. Her gaze was frigid, and the moment she raised her eyes, her sight locked onto Wang Ping.

"Clang!"

In a flash of lightning, the woman attacked without hesitation. The battle-axe was launched into the air, bringing the profound mystery of slaughtering all things and diminishing one's cultivation back into the world.

[Heavenly Solemnity Token-Bearing Battle-Axe!]

Yet this time, the divine power that had left Wang Ping completely helpless two and a half years ago struck the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart like an egg smashing against a rock.

"Boom!"

Wang Ping looked at the Exquisite Elixir Furnace in his hands, its qi aura completely unchanged, and then glanced at the stark white profound light shattering around it. He couldn't help but reveal a toothy grin.

It couldn't diminish his cultivation anymore!

Evidently, after covering the entirety of the Great Shun and receiving an enhancement from the Great Rebellion Exploits, the quality of the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart had long since reached the absolute pinnacle.

To the point that even if this icy woman possessed the cultivation of Qi Refining, relying purely on her divine powers meant that even the cleverest housewife could not cook without rice; it simply was not enough to force his realm to fall.

Of course, what was more important was—

'As expected, it is only at the level of divine powers!'

Wang Ping's eyes were bright. He saw it clearly: the qi aura on the woman was unmistakably only at the Tribulation Transcending Second Layer. It was still strictly matched to his Immortal Dao cultivation.

'Then don't blame me for being impolite.'

With that thought, Wang Ping immediately circulated his Divine Intent. Although his current body was formed from his divine sense, all of his methods could be fully manifested within the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven.

"Fourfold War God, come forth!"

Behind Wang Ping, the phantom projections of four Great Grandmaster Rank experts materialized in sequence before explosively disintegrating, condensing into a peerless, razor-sharp edge on the Battle-Victorious Demon-Quelling Blade.

"Heavenly Martial Conquering the Profound First Blade!"

Whoosh...

As easily as a gentle breeze blowing out a candle, the icy, axe-wielding woman was swallowed by the blade light and vanished from where she stood.

An instant kill!

This was the absolute pinnacle of Wang Ping's Martial Dao blade. The blade severed the physical body, and the mind severed the soul, while the Fourfold War God forcefully multiplied his combat strength over tenfold for a brief window.

There were no complex mechanics involved, only pure, overwhelming stats.

Not to mention, he was effectively punching down.

"Excellent blade technique!"

Tiangong strolled over from the side, his face full of unrestrained praise. "What an incredible Martial Dao. You are only short a wisp of Heavenly Yin Metal to break through."

"I was worried before about how you would pass the hurdle of Uniting Earth to Behold Fire. But with your Martial Dao reaching such a realm, you can easily sense the human yang fire. Uniting Earth to Behold Fire poses absolutely no difficulty for you. As for the remaining uniting with Xin to transform into water... hm, you are only missing a high-quality Heavenly Yin Metal spiritual material."

Wang Ping remained noncommittal upon hearing this.

A second later, a cold, clear voice suddenly rang out. "What Heavenly Yin Metal?"

Wang Ping looked over at the sound.

Following his gaze, he saw that the icy woman he had just slain, Tianshuang, had already recovered. Her beautiful eyes were fixed straight on Wang Ping.

"You want me to teach you the Heavenly Yin Metal?"

"Hm? No..."

Profound scenes shifted in the depths of Tianshuang's eyes. It was obvious that, just like Tiangong, she had perceived the anomalies in Wang Ping's body, grasping the entire sequence of cause and effect without needing any explanation.

"I see. With your divine powers locked, you want to use the Heavenly Yin Metal to switch to the water qi path, thereby escaping the cultivation suppression of the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart."

Wang Ping cupped his hands. "Senior's insight is as clear as a mirror."

"Apologies, but I cannot help you."

Tianshuang's tone was calm. "As of today, there is only one place in the Cosmos that possesses Heavenly Yin Metal: my Cave Abode. But that place cannot be opened."

She shot a glance at Tiangong, a hint of blame showing on her face. "Tiangong's cultivation is lacking, so he spoke without thinking and gave you a rotten idea. The moment our Cave Abodes emerge into the world, it will inevitably trigger a resonance with the qi of heaven and earth, ruining the legacy of Purging the Stale Qi of the Six Heavens."

"This..."

Tiangong couldn't help but scratch his head, cold sweat dripping down his face. "Is it really that serious? I thought it was just an abandoned Cave Abode..."

"Say no more."

Tianshuang shook her head and then looked back at Wang Ping. "In short, this path for the Heavenly Yin Metal will not work. I suggest you try a different route."

Hearing this, Wang Ping suddenly spoke up.

"Actually, Senior Tiangong's Cave Abode has already been opened. The Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi has manifested because of it, and is no longer in the state of being eradicated by the Great Rebellion like in the past."

"What!?"

Those words were like a boulder crashing into a lake, stirring up a thousand waves. Not only did Tiangong's expression drastically change, but even the perpetually icy and indifferent Tianshuang revealed a look of shock.

"How is that possible...? How was it opened?"

Tiangong immediately pressed for answers.

Naturally, Wang Ping did not hide anything. He immediately explained the setup of the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle. After the two of them finished listening, they instantly fell into a long silence.

A long time passed before Tianshuang finally spoke again.

"Back then, we shouldn't have left those five Cave Abodes behind. Moving a single hair affects the entire body; now they have instead become a fatal flaw. We must find a way to resolve this."

Tiangong sighed in agreement. "We had no choice back then. It was too rushed, and there was no time to destroy the Cave Abodes."

"There was no time back then, but that isn't necessarily true now."

Tianshuang looked at Wang Ping again, but this time, her attitude had changed. "I can let you enter my Cave Abode, but you must promise me one thing in return."

"Please speak, Senior."

"You can take the Heavenly Yin Metal, but you can only use it inside my Cave Abode. Right there inside my Cave Abode, you will shatter your divine power lock and break through to the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer."

"After breaking through, you must destroy my Cave Abode for me... Since the Immortal Gate has already found a way to bring our Cave Abodes into the world and consequently dismantle the legacy of Purging the Stale Qi of the Six Heavens, we can only pull the weeds up by the roots and destroy the Cave Abodes entirely. You must also find a way to destroy Tiangong's Cave Abode."

"..."

Wang Ping did not answer right away.

Instead, he fell deep into thought.

In truth, ever since he entered the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven and recovered the memory of his conversation with Tiangong, a massive doubt had been lingering in his heart, refusing to fade.

The human yang fire, the Civilization-Manifesting Ultimate-Founding Qi.

'Back then, it was from Tiangong's mouth that I learned of this qi. I even thought for a time that this was the First Seat's destined fortune, and I told the First Seat everything about it.'

'Yet in reality, the First Seat's Martial Dao foundation is her Divine Intent. It was completely born from the Three Talents, the Five Elements, and the Twenty-Four Qi; it has absolutely nothing to do with the human yang fire. If she had listened to my words, been led astray by me, and run off to cultivate some human yang fire, she would have gone down the completely wrong path—she might have even died because of it!'

Because the First Seat's survival had been the result of her Divine Intent exiting her body and forming its own independent entity.

If she had switched to cultivating the human yang fire, would the First Seat's Divine Intent still have possessed such profound mystery? Would she have genuinely been slain by Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang?

Looking at it from this perspective—

'What Tiangong told me before carries the very real possibility that he was using my hands to deliberately mislead the First Seat's cultivation path! Fortunately, the First Seat didn't take my words seriously back then.'

That brought up a new question.

Since Tiangong harbored ill intentions toward the First Seat, was he truly baring his heart and soul to him? Could there be some ulterior scheme behind this so-called Heavenly Yin Metal?

After all, who ever said that someone from the Great Rebellion couldn't deceive someone else from the Great Rebellion?

These were Wang Ping's suspicions.

He didn't deny that he was being a bit paranoid, and that perhaps it was merely a coincidence. However, his greatest realization from his time cultivating immortality until now was that one must never trust coincidences!