Chapter 292: Wang Ping: I Am Invincible!

He had grown incredibly strong, but a new problem emerged alongside that power.

'A little too strong...'

His mass and density had expanded wildly. Enhanced by the Treasure Cauldron to attain the Heaven-Bearing Immortal Physique, Wang Ping could rival a Major Divine Ability with his physical body alone.

Yet his mind had not kept pace.

Even with his Mind Monkey Divine Intent at the Great Grandmaster Rank, he struggled to control the Heaven-Bearing Immortal Physique. He only managed to hold on thanks to the Heavenly Martial Campaign Profound Armor.

'This is only because of the profound enhancement of the Perfected Person state. If I relied entirely on my own Divine Intent, I'd probably only be able to move my limbs at a snail's pace. Driving this qualitatively transformed stellar physique would be impossible... unless my Divine Intent takes another step forward. Hmm, that's not entirely impossible.'

At this thought, Wang Ping shifted his Divine Intent.

He drew out the thin booklet Chenlong had handed him earlier and flipped it open before him. It contained Chenlong's lifelong insights into Divine Intent.

The Invincible Divine Intent.

"Lord Chenlong was quite thoughtful. To think he specifically designed a secret hypnotic method just to ease me into that invincible state of mind..."

Before this, he might have genuinely needed such a technique. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to convince himself to embrace that invincible state of mind.

But things were different now.

'The Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron has recognized me as its master. I have the Heaven-Bearing Immortal Physique and the Heavenly Martial Campaign Profound Armor... Fuck it! Below the level of a Qi Refining practitioner, if I'm not invincible, who is?!'

And what about Qi Refining practitioners?

How could they even be compared!

Wang Ping wasn't one to split hairs. Qi Refining practitioners existed in an entirely different Realm; naturally, he wouldn't compare himself to them. If he was going to compare combat power, it would be against those at the Tribulation Transcending Stage.

At the very least, Wang Ping asked himself—if he fought Kunyun again in a fair duel, even without the setups laid down by Mingyou and Dashun Taizu, he could stand on equal footing with him. In fact, he felt his chances of winning were even higher. Defeating Kunyun in a head-on clash wasn't impossible!

"Move!"

In that instant, Wang Ping truly entered the invincible state of mind Chenlong had described. The Divine Intent that had previously fallen short now surged through his limbs and bones.

Crack, pop...

Wang Ping pushed himself up bit by bit. His peerless physique fueled him with peerless confidence. His flesh was directly feeding back into his spirit.

The entirely new five senses pushed his Divine Intent to climb ever higher.

Finally, his movements smoothed out. His perception of his own body grew increasingly precise, until that familiar feeling returned, clicking into place like re-engaging gears.

"It worked!"

Wang Ping stretched his body to its limits. He even felt the urge to run right out and pick a fight with Xianfu to see exactly what this third-ranked true transmission disciple was capable of!

However, he quickly suppressed the urge.

'Stay calm. Don't get cocky.'

Even though his strength had undergone a qualitative leap, until he reached the Qi Refining stage, he was ultimately still an ant. It was best not to show his hand so soon, or he would definitely put others on their guard.

"However... I could test things out on the Brahma Nation's side."

At this thought, Wang Ping stirred his intent. He drew the Battle-Victorious Demon-Quelling Blade, channeled his magical power, and watched a spark of flame abruptly flare to life on the blade.

Resplendent Crow.

Beyond masking spiritual sense detection the instant the blade was drawn, this profound technique also planted fire seeds inside the opponent upon striking, constantly burning away at their foundation of life.

"Although Wu Chi managed to escape me before, considering how I butchered him, the fire seeds of the Resplendent Crow were thoroughly planted. Though right now, they seem to have dimmed quite a bit."

Through the profound connection, Wang Ping could sense that more than half of the fire seeds on Wu Chi had been extinguished. He had clearly used quite a few heavenly treasures to recover... Thinking of this, Wang Ping broke into a wide grin. "Good, good, good. I was just worrying about having nowhere to have some fun. I'll use him for target practice."

With that, he formed a hand seal.

It was a technique he had brought out from the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven. Though the relevant memories had blurred, he remembered that he could use it to contact that Mysterious Wood Qi Daoist Master while in the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode.

The seal's effect was very simple.

It projected an illusionary body.

"Just like the illusionary bodies in the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven, this technique can project an illusionary body wherever my spiritual sense can reach and wherever a causal tie exists, to act as a seal."

If he applied it to the Resplendent Crow's fire seeds, anyone trying to extinguish them would have to do exactly what he did when challenging the Cauldron Interior Grotto-Heaven: project their spiritual sense and defeat his illusionary body. Otherwise, the fire seeds would only burn hotter, and the memories of the illusionary body's battle would feed right back into his sea of consciousness.

"I can take this chance to gather some intelligence on the Brahma Nation too."

After all, he had already killed Jin Hai and severely wounded Wu Chi. As long as the Brahma Nation didn't want to lose this sword duel, they would inevitably send someone stronger to take over.

With this in mind, Wang Ping condensed a radiant gleam of magical light at his fingertips. With a tap of his joined fingers, the light followed the profound connection and vanished into the depths of the void.

"Indeterminate Illusionary Form Technique!"

...

The Brahma Nation, the Eight Treasure Table.

They were still in the Ancient Chan Forest Monastery, but the scene was a mess. Nurong and Suoze wore dark, clouded expressions as they stared fixedly at a Golden Alms Bowl swirling with fiery light before them.

"Ngh... Ahhhh!"

From within the Golden Alms Bowl, Wu Chi's agonizing wails rang out. Every passing minute and second, his spiritual sense was scorched by the raging fire. He was trapped in the torment, and it had already been going on for quite some time.

"Amitabha."

Watching his colleague suffer so miserably, Suoze sighed. A look of unbearable pity crossed his face, and he hurriedly swept a hand to isolate Wu Chi's screams.

"What do we do?" Nurong glanced sideways at him.

Suoze looked helpless. "What can we do? We can only blame this fire for being so vicious. It was almost out, but who could have guessed it would spawn an entirely new transformation?"

Just then.

A burst of heavy footsteps suddenly rang out from outside the monastery. Soon after, a burly monk strode in. He wore a Five-Skull Crown, his hair was bound by snakes, and he twirled a string of Skull Prayer Beads in his hand. With an arrogant expression and a cold gaze, he swept his eyes over Nurong and Suoze before declaring in a deep voice, "I am the monk Zhongjian."

Seeing the newcomer, Nurong and Suoze were immediately overjoyed. They hurried to their feet and bowed in greeting. "So it is Dharma Master Zhongjian. We have been waiting for you for quite some time."

Naturally, the two were no strangers to Zhongjian. Unlike disciples like them who served beneath the Wisdom Kings, this man was a disciple of Great Monk Bukong. Rounding up, that practically placed him under the Arhat Seats. His day-to-day role was essentially acting as a secretary for Great Monk Bukong, tasked with copying scriptures, transcribing decrees, and the like.

It didn't sound like much on the surface.

But as the old saying went, a servant at a prime minister's door acted like a third-rank official. To be Great Monk Bukong's secretary, he had to have earned the Great Monk's deep favor. How could his abilities possibly be small?

Thinking of this, the two immediately reached into their robes.

The next moment, two thick stacks of scriptures appeared before Zhongjian. His face instantly changed color in outrage. "What is the meaning of this? Are you two trying to bribe me?"

"No, no."

Nurong hurriedly explained, "They are merely some scriptures, absolutely not a bribe. We primarily wish to sit and discuss the Dao with you, Dharma Master, and exchange insights on these classic texts."

"Save it!"

Zhongjian sneered. "Do you think I don't know? You monks under the Wisdom Kings love to substitute scriptures for bribes, dressing it up with the pretty name of 'refined bribery'."

"You're pulling this trick on me?"

"I'm not afraid to tell you: ever since I, Zhongjian, became Great Monk Bukong's secretary, I have always kept my duties firmly at heart. I never accept bribes from anyone."

"To this day, I possess nothing more than a single Cave Abode and a mere eight sets of kasaya robes. Every day's expenses must be meticulously calculated. I don't dare waste the slightest bit."

"Trying to bribe me is pure delusion!"

With that, Zhongjian swept his sleeve with a grand flourish, a picture of incorruptible integrity and righteousness. Seeing him put on this act, Nurong and Suoze suddenly saw the light.

'Motherfucker, he thinks it's not enough!'

'Shameless bastard!'

Seeing Zhongjian's expression turn increasingly sour—looking perfectly ready to go strictly by the book and charge them with the crime of bribery—the two could only grit their teeth and pull out another stack of scriptures.

"Lord, it truly is a misunderstanding... The two of us normally despise bribery the most. We copied these scriptures by hand. They symbolize our loyalty to the Wisdom Kings and to the Brahma Nation, without the slightest hint of selfish motive! Heaven and earth can attest to this! If you don't believe us, Lord, you are more than welcome to take them back and inspect them in fine detail."

"Hmm..."

Hearing this, Zhongjian took the scriptures and weighed them in his hands. Feeling their thickness, the furious scowl on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a smile as warm as a spring breeze.

"It seems your sincerity is quite sufficient after all."

"Very well. I will trust you this once and take these scriptures back to read them over properly. However, this only proves your loyalty in the short term."

"In the future, you must give me a batch of scriptures like this to inspect every month. Only then will I believe that you haven't wavered, and that you remain loyal to the Brahma Nation."

Fucking hell, one payoff wasn't enough, he wanted a monthly cut?!

'No wonder you managed to become Great Monk Bukong's secretary...' Nurong and Suoze almost crushed their teeth from grinding them so hard, but they had no other choice. They could only force smiles and nod in agreement.

"The Dharma Master is entirely correct."

Zhongjian paid them no mind and said lightly, "Enough, step aside. I will rescue Wu Chi first, lest we delay the grand matter of the sword duel."

With that, he stepped up to the Golden Alms Bowl.

"Dharma Master... save... save me..."

From inside the Golden Alms Bowl, Wu Chi's agonizing wails rang out. It was a truly pitiful sight. If not for the constant influx of heavenly treasures over the past few days, he would already be dead.

However, the more heavenly treasures they fed him, the more violently the fire seeds burned. The result was nothing more than drinking poison to quench thirst, leaving him in absolute misery.

Hearing the wails, Zhongjian let out a cold sneer.

"Trash!"

As a disciple under the Arhat Seats, he naturally had the right to look down on these disciples of the Wisdom Kings. He didn't take the fire seeds on Wu Chi's body seriously at all.

The reason was simple: Wu Chi hadn't died on the spot. He had luckily managed to flee all the way back here. That meant the attacker's strength was limited and insufficient to keep Wu Chi from escaping. It was clear the enemy's abilities were only so-so. No matter how vicious this fire seed was, how strong could it really be? He would extinguish it with a snap of his fingers the moment he made his move.

It was the perfect opportunity to establish his dominance.

Thinking this, Zhongjian glanced at Nurong and Suoze beside him. "Watch closely and learn well," he said coolly. "That way, you won't be troubled by this fire in the future."

The two exchanged a glance before speaking in low voices.

"Please be careful, Dharma Master. There's something strange about these fire seeds."

Zhongjian shook his head, looking utterly disappointed. "What could possibly be strange about them? It's nothing more than your own inadequate strength. Enough. I will extinguish this fire for Wu Chi right now."

With that said, he cast a strand of spiritual sense into the Golden Alms Bowl.

A moment later.

BOOM!

The fiery light inside the Golden Alms Bowl surged violently. Zhongjian lurched as if struck by a heavy blow, his head snapping back. A sharp, splitting pain pierced his brow, and he abruptly lost all connection to the spiritual sense he had projected into the bowl.

"Huh?"