Chapter 305: The True Person Jumped Out Himself!

At the exact moment Baohu pulled Wang Ping into the Purple Gourd, a brilliant light erupted across the heavens, suspended in Cosmic Deep Space like a Golden Lamp.

Mingyou lowered his eyes to watch.

At first glance, he looked completely composed, as if nothing could ever escape his grasp. In reality, his palms were already sweating.

'Little beast... he just let himself get taken in like that?'

What a piece of trash!

If he could, Mingyou would have loved nothing more than to march up there and fight the battle for Wang Ping himself.

Where was your Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron? What about the profound Land-Walking art, where one could travel anywhere the national destiny reached? Use them, damn it! Do you really not know how?!

Just the thought of Wang Ping trapped inside the Brahma Nation's infamous Seven Hearts Linked Gourd—where he would melt into a pool of bloody water within moments if he couldn't get out—made Mingyou feel like ants were crawling all over his skin. Even though he firmly believed the Brahma Nation wouldn't actually kill Wang Ping, he couldn't suppress his rising anxiety.

'What in the world... is the True Person thinking?'

Mingyou couldn't help but look up toward a higher dimension that even he struggled to perceive. Was the plan really to let the Brahma Nation participate in this scheme?

Was the True Person truly that confident?

After all, the Brahma Nation would never sit idly by and watch the Immortal Gate's power grow. What if they went crazy, smacked Wang Ping to death, and ruined everything for everyone?

Or could it be...

'Do the Arhats over in the Brahma Nation already have a tacit understanding with the True Person?'

...

Inside the Seven Hearts Linked Gourd.

Wang Ping finished speaking and simply stood there, waiting with a calm expression. Formidable as this Purple Gourd space was, it couldn't kill him.

'I can still use Land-Walking.'

'Moreover, those three colluding True Persons will never just sit back and watch me die. My life is guaranteed, at least until their scheme is complete.'

A second later, the purple qi shifted.

Boom!

The purple qi surged, and a nun with a graceful figure stepped out from within. It was Baohu, rather than the Wisdom King or Arhat that Wang Ping had expected.

"You need not be surprised, Almsgiver," Baohu smiled, seemingly seeing right through Wang Ping's thoughts. "A meeting is impossible. The Immortal Gate would never allow the lord to see you. If you truly met face-to-face, the lord would slap you to death without hesitation, completely destroying all the Immortal Gate's plans."

"Unfortunately, you cannot be killed, so we must settle for the next best thing."

Wang Ping was speechless.

That made a whole lot of sense.

After a moment of silence, Wang Ping smiled as well. Clasping his hands behind his back, he asked, "In that case, the big shots of the Brahma Nation want you to pass a message to me, fellow Daoist?"

"Correct."

Baohu nodded. Pressing a hand against her full chest, she said softly, "Do you know, Almsgiver? My path lies in the Master of Secret Traces. When the various Bodhisattvas descended upon the Great Brahma Heaven, they revealed esoteric dharma to all living beings. This lineage is also known as the Great Power Venerable, symbolizing supreme Divine Powers and immense strength, and serving as the mouthpiece for the Bodhisattvas to spread the Dao."

"The Master of Secret Traces?" Wang Ping raised an eyebrow.

Seeing his reaction, Baohu explained, "The Immortal Gate cultivates the Twenty-Four Qi, integrating the Eight Trigrams to pursue truth. My Brahma Nation likewise has the thirty-two marks, forming the supreme traditions of eight honored Bodhisattvas."

"The Master of Secret Traces is exactly one of those eight Bodhisattvas."

Realization dawned on Wang Ping. "Just like the four great Wisdom Kings."

At those words, Baohu instantly laughed. "Under the command of the Wisdom Kings? What kind of Brahma Cultivators are they! They're just a bunch of menial servants. The best they can hope for in this lifetime is to become an Ascetic Monk."

"Beneath the Living Buddha in my Brahma Nation, there are eight honored Bodhisattvas—supreme individuals who each established their own traditions and spread the dharma throughout Cosmic Deep Space. Thus, there are the Arhats of the various heavens, the four great Wisdom Kings, and countless dharma masters and monks. Among them, my Master of Secret Traces lineage ranks first in spreading the dharma for the Brahma Nation, and we are most fond of disciples from the outer paths who abandon the darkness for the light."

"Entering my path would be incredibly suitable for you, Almsgiver."

Another recruitment attempt.

Wang Ping shook his head in disappointment and let out a sigh. "If this is what the big shots of the Brahma Nation asked you to pass on to me, then there's no need to say any more."

"You truly won't consider it?"

Baohu seemed equally disappointed. "By entering my Master of Secret Traces lineage, becoming an Ascetic Monk is only the beginning. In the future, you would even have a chance at the Arhat Position."

Wang Ping paid her no mind. He saw things very clearly. The Brahma Nation was a colossal entity; how could they possibly value a lowly cultivator like him? Throwing around the status of an Ascetic Monk or an Arhat Position—was this really for him? What a joke. They were after the identity and legacy of the Great Rebellion that he carried on his shoulders!

Wang Ping sighed inwardly:

'Divine Powers, identity, and even legacy all match perfectly. Throughout the ages, there is probably no other cultivator closer to the Great Rebellion than I am.'

That was why he was such a hot commodity.

Everyone coveted him. Everyone wanted to step up and take a bite. Three True Persons were catering to him alone, and from the looks of it, the Arhats of the Brahma Nation also wanted a piece of the pie.

'Too bad they lack sincerity.'

Wang Ping had no doubt that if he defected to the Brahma Nation, he would at least get the status of an Ascetic Monk. After all, the Brahma Nation wanted to use his Great Rebellion identity and legacy.

However, further down the line, once the Brahma Nation squeezed out all his value, they absolutely wouldn't invest another drop of resources in him. They might even act to suppress him. After all, with so many of their own people waiting to climb the ranks, how could they allow an outsider to step up?

Thus, defecting to the Brahma Nation would only offer short-term satisfaction.

'If the rebirth from the Taiping Sutra could reverse time and let me start all over again, playing it this way wouldn't be impossible. Too bad it doesn't have that ability...'

Thinking up to this point, Wang Ping said bluntly, "A path."

"A path that allows me to overthrow Divine Powers and break open the locked Divine Powers. I want nothing else. If you cannot offer that, fellow Daoist, then let this be the end of it."

Baohu shook her head. "...Stubborn and foolish."

"Never mind."

"The lord anticipated you would think this way long ago. I just cherish talent and couldn't bear to see you fall like this, Almsgiver, sinking into the bitter sea of the Immortal Gate."

With that, Baohu's expression grew solemn.

"You want a viable path, and the lord has prepared one."

"...What is it?"

Wang Ping remained calm on the surface, but his heart was already drumming in his chest. This feeling... it couldn't be that, could it? Was the Brahma Nation going to say that word too?

The next second, his intuition was proven right:

"Heavenly Yin Metal!"

Wang Ping fell silent.

Fuck your mother, another one wanting me to use Heavenly Yin Metal!

His composure broke. Wang Ping was genuinely tilted. Heavenly Yin Metal had now become his enemy-detection radar. Whoever told him to use Heavenly Yin Metal was his enemy.

'Without a doubt, that Arhat of the Brahma Nation has also reached an agreement with Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang, Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan, and that Mysterious Wood Qi Daoist Master. They want me to use Heavenly Yin Metal to severely damage the legacy of the Great Rebellion and the Human Yang Earth's Origin-Governing Battle-Axe-Wielding Fate-Governing Qi. They're bullying an honest man!'

An already terrible situation had become even worse.

At the same time, Wang Ping couldn't understand it. Was the Brahma Nation really this obedient, cooperating so neatly with the three True Persons of the Immortal Gate? Were they really not going to play any little tricks?

Soon enough, however, Wang Ping realized he was wrong.

After spewing a long lecture on the Daoist theory of using Heavenly Yin Metal to break the Divine Powers blockade—a theory he had already mastered—Baohu pulled an item out of her sleeve.

It was a small, exquisite battle-axe.

It was pure white. Although carved with dense Sanskrit text that caused Buddha light to permeate the air around it, a faint trace of metal qi still remained beneath that light.

"This is...?!"

Wang Ping's eyes instantly widened.

Heavenly Yin Metal!

He never imagined that the Heavenly Yin Metal—which he thought could only be found within the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode—would be so casually brought out by Baohu right now!

Looking at the dumbstruck Wang Ping, Baohu smiled faintly. "The heavenly frost seasonal slaughter premier qi. While it is true that Heavenly Yin Metal is extinct across the Cosmos, before the Great Rebellion eradicated this qi, a cultivator who practiced it defected to my Brahma Nation. He dissolved his Dao fruit and remained within the Brahma Nation."

"Because he converted to the Brahma dharma, he was no longer under the jurisdiction of heaven and earth's qi, and thus was not eradicated along with the rest."

"And because its foundation is ultimately Heavenly Yin Metal, even though it was transformed into a Brahma Nation artifact, a trace of Heavenly Yin Metal's profundity remains upon it."

Baohu's tone was leisurely.

"Meeting Xin to transform into water requires both yang fire and yin metal to be weakened. A spiritual item like this, with lingering Heavenly Yin Metal profundity, perfectly suits your needs, Almsgiver."

"Simply put, if you are willing, Almsgiver, you can use this item right now, inside this Seven Hearts Linked Gourd, and attempt to break open the locked Divine Powers!"

In an instant, the purple qi halted.

Baohu's words seemed to touch upon some unseen karma, causing a deep, melodious thunderclap to echo inside this Spiritual Treasure—one that was supposed to completely isolate the inside from the outside world.

Immediately after, the entire gourd space shook violently from the thunder's tremors. Wang Ping felt an intense summoning pull, his body flying up uncontrollably. Almost simultaneously, Baohu, having anticipated this, tossed her elegant hand and sent the battle-axe straight into Wang Ping's embrace.

Then, the world spun.

Boom!

The very next second, Wang Ping pocketed the pure white battle-axe as he escaped the gourd space, his feet landing firmly in a magnificent palace hall with brightly lit brickwork.

The Unified Mind Hall.

Wang Ping kept his eyes tightly shut, hiding away all his thoughts, until a slightly concerned call reached his ears. "Junior Brother Dousheng? How are you feeling?"

"Are you alright?"

Only then did Wang Ping open his eyes and look toward Xianfu.

"...I'm fine. I feel great." Wang Ping broke into a grin, his eyes bright as he stared fixedly at Xianfu. "Never better."

The True Person had jumped out himself!

'The Brahma Nation. What a Brahma Nation! I underestimated those bald donkeys. They also guessed that one of the True Persons' schemes wasn't completely ready, and deliberately probed to see who it was!'

There wasn't a single idiot in this blasted place.

How could the Arhats of the Brahma Nation, with their sweeping vantage point, fail to deduce what he had figured out? Thus, the Brahma Nation made the exact same decision he did.

Find out which True Person's scheme was still incomplete.

Then negotiate with them, force them to compromise, and pull them into their own camp... the very thing he hadn't figured out how to do yet, the Brahma Nation had done for him!

That was why the Brahma Nation pulled out the Heavenly Yin Metal early—something they were only supposed to hand over to him when the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle concluded and all the True Persons' schemes were perfected. By doing this, the unprepared True Person couldn't sit still anymore and was bound to expose themselves... and now, that person had appeared.

'Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan... it's him!'

Of course, this result had its pros and cons.

The good news was that he no longer had to rack his brains guessing which True Person could be won over. The bad news was that the other party might join forces with the Brahma Nation instead of cooperating with him!