Chapter 308: Four True Persons, Eight Hundred Schemes!

Unified Mind Hall. Wang Ping strode into the depths of the hall while Xianfu waited outside the doors. With a muffled thud, the grand doors sealed shut behind him.

Almost simultaneously, a muffled clap of thunder echoed through the gloomy hall. Familiar, boundless phenomena unfolded as blinding white lightning illuminated the interior to a crystalline brightness. The light finally gathered at the seat of honor, coalescing into a human figure. The figure still had his back turned, but the phenomena manifesting around him naturally revealed his Daoist name:

Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan.

"Disciple Dousheng greets the True Person!"

Wang Ping didn't hesitate to kowtow in greeting. A moment later, he felt a sudden emptiness inside his robes—the Frost-Sunk Golden Battle-Axe Saber had vanished into thin air.

He raised his head.

His gaze fell upon the seat of honor, where he saw that the Heavenly Yin Metal spiritual artifact had already landed in the True Person's hands. After a brief silence, a sigh of admiration echoed through the hall.

"Brahma Nation has schemed well."

A second later, the voice reached Wang Ping's ears. "You came to see me to negotiate terms? You want me to take your side against Danyang?"

"Or else you'll burn it all down?"

It was as if the lightning had illuminated all of Wang Ping's innermost thoughts, leaving him nowhere to hide. The True Person's voice even carried a hint of mockery. "You certainly have a lot of nerve!"

Wang Ping lowered his eyes.

He didn't say a word.

The True Person in the seat of honor remained silent as well. For a time, the great hall sank into stillness. After what felt like ages, Wang Ping finally heard laughter coming from above.

"So you really didn't! It seems I thought too highly of you."

Clang.

Wang Ping realized that the True Person had tossed the Frost-Sunk Golden Battle-Axe Saber back to him. The laughter was clear and unbothered. "Do as you please."

The moment the words ended, Wang Ping's vision blurred as the world spun around him. In the blink of an eye, he had left Unified Mind Hall and crashed into the fortress of Jingyuan Pass with a heavy thud. Dizzy and disoriented, his heart was cast in a suffocatingly heavy shadow. He doesn't even want to negotiate!

How could this be? Why?

After a brief moment of panic and disbelief, Wang Ping quickly regained his composure. His mind raced before realization suddenly struck him. Right. Because I'm not strong enough...

He couldn't beat Baohu!

Because he lacked the strength, the actual progression of the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle wasn't in his hands. Therefore, that True Person didn't care about his thoughts at all.

But... what did he mean by that last sentence?

So you really didn't.

Didn't have what?

And even if he isn't afraid of me affecting the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle, by giving the Frost-Sunk Golden Battle-Axe Saber back to me, isn't he worried I might drag everyone down with me and attempt to break through on the spot?

Why wouldn't he be afraid?

Wang Ping's mind quickly recalled the two conditions for merging Xin to meet water, which the Mysterious Wood Qi Daoist Master had mentioned and Spirit-Invoked Mingyou had verified.

First, the yang fire and yin metal used to merge into water both needed to be in a weakened state.

The Frost-Sunk Golden Battle-Axe Saber undoubtedly met this condition. The spiritual artifact had been converted into a Brahma artifact, and its Heavenly Yin Metal aura was already like a candle in the wind.

Second, water qi had to hold authority.

Only when the water qi between heaven and earth rises and takes control of the universe will it be the optimal time for the merger. Forcing the merger at any other time will inevitably fail.

In a flash, Wang Ping experienced sudden supreme enlightenment.

I understand now. He's waiting for water qi to hold authority!

After obtaining the Frost-Sunk Golden Battle-Axe Saber, the only strict condition left for me to merge Xin to meet water and break through my locked Divine Powers is for water qi to hold authority.

And to trigger the authority of water qi, I either have to wait until the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle ends and everyone's schemes surface, or have a Water Qi True Person personally take the field to drive the environmental changes of heaven and earth... This is what Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan is waiting for. He's waiting for a Water Qi True Person to enter the fray!

He suspects there's a Water Qi True Person scheming behind me!

That's it. If I had a Water Qi True Person backing me, this would be the best time for them to strike, allowing me to attempt breaking through my locked Divine Powers early.

By then, Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan, whose schemes aren't fully prepared yet, would definitely suffer a massive loss... and he might not be the only True Person to suffer.

Were the Mysterious Wood Qi Daoist Master's schemes fully prepared?

What about Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang's schemes?

Regardless, if there truly was a Water Qi True Person in hiding, triggering the Heavenly Yin Metal issue a step early would only bring benefits and no harm.

Yet, judging by Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan's reaction, he was also waiting. He was waiting for a Water Qi True Person to jump out, completely unruffled.

Motherfucker...

Wang Ping understood.

He's fishing. Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan intentionally exposed a flaw, wanting to use this method to bait out any Water Qi True Person who might be hiding in the shadows!

Thinking carefully, the schemes of Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang, the Mysterious Wood Qi Daoist Master, and Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan were all actually aimed at the Great Rebellion. Moreover, they were all True Persons who had suffered deeply because of the Great Rebellion—after all, one had damaged wood qi, and another wanted to strip away the manifestation of Human Yang Earth.

But there were also those in the Immortal Gate who were completely unaffected by the Great Rebellion.

That was the water qi lineage!

It could even be said that thanks to the Great Rebellion Purging the Stale Qi of the Six Heavens, four of the five elements were crippled. Only water qi remained unscathed, unexpectedly becoming the absolute peak of the Immortal Gate.

Under these circumstances, if these three True Persons' plans succeeded and they all recovered, wouldn't the great situation of water qi's absolute dominance disappear?

Therefore, water qi would definitely intervene!

Wang Ping's mind whirred, and he quickly found supporting evidence.

So the one who wasn't ready was Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan, but the one who covered for him and told me to wait until the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle ended was the Mysterious Wood Qi Daoist Master.

Their cooperation was far tighter than he had imagined!

Otherwise, theoretically, why would a fully prepared True Person wait for one who wasn't ready yet? They would have kicked him out of the game long ago, let alone covered for him.

Only an external enemy strong enough could make them choose to cooperate sincerely—not just to target the Great Rebellion, but to target the water qi lineage!

As for Brahma Nation, they probably guessed it too.

Baohu giving me the Heavenly Yin Metal artifact was partly to test which True Person wasn't ready, but it was also because she guessed water qi's intentions.

The three True Persons who set up their schemes earlier were colluding, leaving Brahma Nation with no way to strike. So they deliberately gave away the Heavenly Yin Metal to see if it could lure a Water Qi True Person out and trigger infighting within the Immortal Gate while Brahma Nation reaped the rewards. This bunch of Biyang's True Persons and arhats collectively laid out this fishing trap!

Wang Ping didn't doubt it for a second.

If a Water Qi True Person had actually shown up earlier to establish water qi authority and help him break through ahead of time, these three True Persons would have swarmed them instantly!

Even the arhats of Brahma Nation might have joined the attack!

By then, the Water Qi True Person would likely have been severely wounded or even forced out of the game early, allowing the three True Persons to eliminate that wildcard.

However, the Water Qi True Person didn't show up. That's why Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan said "so you really didn't"—he thought the other party hadn't taken the field.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping's heart suddenly lightened.

He's wrong!

Because the obscured memories in his mind told him that a True Person had absolutely taken the field. They had simply hidden themselves so flawlessly that no one noticed.

And nine times out of ten, that was a Water Qi True Person.

The reason was simple:

The memories I deliberately obscured have a huge connection to Xuanlongzi. And what Xuanlongzi cultivates is human yang water—Three Rivers Guild Profit Flow Market Qi!

Wang Ping didn't believe this was a coincidence.

Fortunately, this time, when Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan deliberately exposed a flaw to bait water qi, the other party didn't take the hook... Wang Ping felt a mix of worry and joy.

The joy came from the fact that the fourth True Person had stayed hidden, avoiding the bait and not being forced out early.

Four True Persons, playing eight hundred schemes.

The worry came from the fact that Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang, the Mysterious Wood Qi Daoist Master, and Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan—these three of Biyang's—were clearly guarding strictly against water qi.

Under these circumstances, I have absolutely no way to contact them.

Unable to contact the Water Qi True Person, the other party couldn't point him in the right direction. All the information channels from the higher-ups pointed him toward the dead-end path of Heavenly Yin Metal.

Is there really no other way?

That shouldn't be.

There must be something he was overlooking. With his current hand of cards, there had to be some method to contact that Water Qi True Person.

If not, that Water Qi True Person wouldn't have bothered giving him hints. Since the other party had made a move, it meant there was definitely a flaw—a thread of life.

What is it? Think, hurry...

Just as Wang Ping was deep in thought...

"Junior Brother Dousheng."

Suddenly, a voice rang out, interrupting his thoughts. Wang Ping looked up and saw Kunlun walking toward him, his qi and aura looking somewhat diminished.

A second later, a jade slip was tossed over to him.

"This is...?"

Wang Ping was taken aback. He swept it with his divine sense, and instantly, a massive amount of content flooded into his mind, finally forming a few large characters: Grand White Traversing the Heavens Tome!

Is this... a Qi Ingestion Method?

No, not just that!

In an instant, Wang Ping's eyes burst with brilliant light. It was because, upon this jade slip, Invoking Deities had actually gathered a massive amount of consciousness fragments.

Is this... Tianxing?

That was right! It was the consciousness fragments of the Qi Refining practitioner Tianxing. The quantity was the same as Mingyou's on Observing Heaven and Earth Qi, just enough to condense a portrait!

"My master told me to give this to you."

Kunlun's voice came at the right time. "Although it's a metal qi Qi Ingestion Method, don't you cultivate water qi magic power? Metal generates water, so it should be of some use to you."

"..."

Wang Ping froze.

Kunlun had merely followed Tianxing's instructions and relayed his words. Yet, this simple sentence struck Wang Ping's mind like a bolt of lightning from a clear blue sky.

Magic power... magic power!

That's right!

His Latent Concealment magic power was still lacking its third and final qualitative transformation. Once that was achieved, he would be able to resonate with the Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi!

This was it!