Chapter 296: Senior Brother Kunlun, You Have to Help Me

Leaving the Unified Mind Hall, Wang Ping returned to the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron.

'He is certain I will fail.'

His mood was even heavier than before he left. 'With a True Person's cultivation realm, if he were truly sincere, he would have pointed out a way to break this deadlock.'

'At the very least, he should have mentioned the Heavenly Yin Metal.'

'But he didn't.'

'From start to finish, he offered no path to survival, only the half-dead Corpse Dissolution Immortal route. He's absolutely certain I can't turn the tables.'

That was why he refused to waste his time and resources.

This attitude indirectly highlighted just how dire Wang Ping's situation was. The man hadn't even minded if Wang Ping went to see the Mysterious Wood Qi Daoist Master!

He was entirely fearless.

Wang Ping had still gained something, of course. At least he now knew the Mysterious Wood Qi Daoist Master's identity: Tianqu. Wasn't that the final phantom inside the cauldron?

"...I still have to meet him."

Wang Ping wasn't giving up. Since he had decided to meet all the major figures, he would press on. His intuition told him there had to be a variable hidden in all this.

Even if there wasn't, he had already devised a backup plan. 'My biggest problem right now is that my cultivation realm isn't high enough, which leads to a severe lack of information. I'm like a butterfly trapped in a spider's web—no matter how I struggle, I'm courting death. To break this deadlock, my only option is to advance my realm.'

And a simple advancement wouldn't cut it.

To see through a True Person's layout, his realm had to at least approach theirs. Failing to see the truth was one thing, but misinterpreting it would be fatal.

'Advancing purely through cultivation is hopeless.'

That was far too difficult for a cultivator at the Tribulation Transcending Second Layer.

'The best method is to directly swap my brain out—let someone else do the hard work while I reap the rewards...' At that thought, Wang Ping abruptly stood up.

"Lord Treasure Cauldron."

Looking at the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron beside him, Wang Ping injected his magical power and flashed an ingratiating smile. "Please send me to Jingyuan Pass in the north of Dashun."

"Mhm."

Since acknowledging him as its master, the Treasure Cauldron Spirit seemed to be in an excellent mood. It spun in the air to express its affirmation, and radiance filled Wang Ping's vision.

The Treasure Cauldron's profound mystery: Land-Walking!

Within the borders of Dashun, it could travel anywhere the national destiny reached. In the blink of an eye, wind and sand scoured Wang Ping's face. He had already returned to that towering northern pass.

Before Wang Ping could move, however, a child wearing a golden ring around his neck appeared on the city wall, watching him warily. A halo of light flared like fire behind the boy's head, revealing the faint outline of a bobbing precious furnace. He even gripped the Heavenly Craft Creation Hammer in his hand, looking as though he were facing a mortal enemy.

It was Kunlun.

Wang Ping immediately squeezed out a smile as warm as a spring breeze. "Senior Brother Kunlun!" he said affectionately. "It's been days! I missed you to death!"

Kunlun stared in silence.

Crap, he came with ill intentions.

Wang Ping cut the nonsense and got straight to the point. "I want to see the Heaven-Stealing Thief and Tianxing. You definitely have a way to contact them, Senior Brother."

"...Why do you want to see them?" Kunlun frowned deeply.

"To overturn the locked divine powers," Wang Ping said without hesitation.

Wait, he still hadn't given up?

"You're already beyond saving."

Kunlun sneered. "A True Person personally took action. Where could a chess piece like you possibly escape? Rather than struggling, you might as well figure out how to stay alive."

"As long as you survive to the end, you can naturally bow out once the True Person is done using you. You can reincarnate and start over. You'll still have a chance to walk the Immortal Dao again."

Wang Ping shook his head. "My mind is made up."

"Moreover, I don't believe there truly isn't a thread of life left for me."

"..."

For a moment, Kunlun didn't know whether to admire Wang Ping's stubbornness or mock his ignorance. A thread of life? Did he think he was transcending a life tribulation?

Did he think he was staging a king's return?

A second later, Wang Ping continued, his face full of earnest sincerity. "No matter what, Senior Brother Kunlun, you have to help me this time."

Kunlun decisively shook his head. "Not kicking you while you're down is already helping you."

"You still have to help me."

"Help you? Oppose a True Person? Then what about my plans here?"

Seeing Kunlun's resolute attitude, Wang Ping dropped the sincerity and sharply changed his tone. "Your plans here."

"Isn't it just completely exterminating the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi?"

"Actually, I've already figured it out."

More accurately, during his previous meeting with Xianfu, Xianfu had openly and covertly hinted at it. Wang Ping naturally understood:

"It relies on your immortal physique, Senior Brother Kunlun. By 'reversing heaven and turning back the sun,' you can make time flow backwards when you go all out. I'm guessing the plan is for you to assault the realm of Qi Refining Entering the Dao. This will trigger a response from the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi, and you'll take the opportunity to reverse it."

"Reverse its state back to the moment it was extinguished."

"That's why you didn't attempt to become a Qi Refining practitioner after transcending your life tribulation. Instead, you continued to lie dormant, even reincarnating once before returning here."

"You reincarnated for the immortal physique."

"You suppressed your realm so you could use it at the critical moment to exterminate the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi. You haven't made a move yet because the situation isn't chaotic enough."

"After all, although the True Persons of the various factions are keeping each other in check, they still have strength to spare. You didn't want to stick your necks out, so you've waited until today."

"Right?" Wang Ping looked at Kunlun.

Kunlun sneered. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Despite his words, a drop of cold sweat slowly seeped from his forehead, and his smile looked a little stiff—because Wang Ping's guess was entirely correct.

Wang Ping immediately pressed his advantage. "So, Senior Brother Kunlun, it's best if you invite the Heaven-Stealing Thief and Tianxing out to meet me."

"Otherwise, don't blame me for getting ruthless... After all, if I beat you half to death, they'll definitely show themselves to save you."

Kunlun's face turned ashen.

"You dare threaten me!?"

Rumble!

Before Kunlun could finish speaking, Wang Ping struck.

In an instant, endless divine power nearly tore his dharma body apart on the spot. At the same time, his qi surged wildly, tyrannically, explosively!

Heaven-Bearing Immortal Physique, Clasping Mountains and Leaping Seas.

The profound mysteries of the Heavenly Martial Campaign Profound Armor: Perfected Person, Kindling Flame, True Martial.

Fourfold War God! Divine Communion, Manifesting Divinity!

At this moment, only invincible confidence remained in Wang Ping's heart. With such a ferocious eruption, who could block him? Absolutely no one!

'Ah!?'

As soon as Wang Ping moved, Kunlun's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. His pupils trembled violently, yet he could only watch helplessly as Wang Ping vanished before him.

His Tribulation Transcending Third Layer divine sense couldn't even capture Wang Ping's figure!

In the span of a spark, he didn't dare hold back. Driven by an intense sense of crisis, he instantly made the best choice possible in that split second.

Absolute defense.

The golden ring around his neck flew up, igniting layers of profound mysteries. Rosy clouds billowed from it, shielding Kunlun beneath and manifesting the imagery of an unmovable vajra.

Kunlun concealed his physical body, manifesting his re-cultivated destiny form instead: a precious furnace. Nine spiritual flames flickered and linked across its surface, condensing into a beam of supreme-yang flame within. The mouth of the furnace inverted, taking aim.

Rigid Flame Furnace!

This was Kunlun's brand-new destiny form. A spark of supreme-yang rigid flame was nurtured within the furnace, possessing the might to incinerate laws and extinguish the Dao. It was his most powerful method.

'Wait for him to strike.'

'With the Vajra Bangle protecting me, his strike will be blocked for a moment. I'll pour all the rigid flame from the furnace right at him.'

He had watched Wang Ping's spell battles before.

In his view, while Wang Ping's attack power might rival the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer under the amplification of his various methods, he severely lacked defense.

He had only managed to tangle with Wu Chi and Xuanlongzi because of his immense vitality; under the Perfected Person's profound mystery, his physical body could continuously recover.

'But I won't be that easy to deal with!'

The supreme-yang rigid flame was one thing to dodge, but once it touched you, it clung like a maggot to bone. No matter how strong Wang Ping's recovery was, no matter how much flesh he regenerated, Kunlun was confident he could burn it all away.

'To deal with me, he has to rely on that astonishing blade strike.'

'As long as I trade blows, use the Vajra Bangle to delay him, and slide beneath his blade, he'll be suppressed by the supreme-yang rigid flame.'

Without a doubt, I've won!

—Kunlun's consciousness abruptly stopped there.

The opening clash went exactly as he had imagined. Layers of profound mysteries burned around Wang Ping, ultimately transforming into a boundless, unmatched streak of blazing white blade light that slashed downward.

Heavenly Martial Conquering the Profound First Blade!

Almost simultaneously, Kunlun followed his plan to the letter. Abruptly lowering his posture, he released the supreme-yang rigid flame to counter the blade and slid forward.

And then he was lying on the ground, his eyes rolling back as he lost consciousness.

The battle was over.

"Clang!"

The Vajra Bangle, snapped cleanly in two, crashed into the ground. All of its profound radiance scattered. As for the supreme-yang rigid flame that Kunlun had placed such high hopes in...

it had been utterly useless.

With a flash of the blade, all the profound mysteries within the flame were severed. The blade stopped right before the towering Rigid Flame Furnace, sparing it from a full strike.

A second later, Kunlun jolted awake as if from a dream.

Wang Ping's half-smiling face filled his vision. "How about it, Senior Brother? Are you willing to let me meet the Heaven-Stealing Thief and the others now?"

'It's a Spiritual Treasure! He got a Spiritual Treasure to acknowledge him as master!'

'The Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron?'

Kunlun grimaced, cursing the unfairness in his heart. They were fighting at the same realm—on what basis did Wang Ping get to use a Spiritual Treasure? How the fuck was it possible to win against that?

"Senior Brother Kunlun?" Wang Ping nudged the Battle-Victorious Demon-Quelling Blade forward, pressing it lightly against the center of Kunlun's brow. A bead of blood welled up from the tip.

Kunlun took a deep breath. His expression didn't change; his gaze remained firm:

"How can I help you?"

"I want to meet with the Heaven-Stealing Thief and Tianxing."

"Alright," Kunlun replied with a smile.

'So agreeable?' Wang Ping raised an eyebrow and immediately added, "I also want you to bring me into the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode, bypassing the evil phantoms outside."

Kunlun abruptly stood up. "Don't push your luck..."

Clang!

Staring at the blade mere inches away, the expression on Kunlun's face rapidly melted into one of warmth and sincerity. "Junior Brother makes an excellent point. Let's plan it out."