Chapter 328: Never Underestimate the Heroes of the World

Above the grassy plains within the Eight Treasure Table.

Wang Ping looked up at the sky. He stared at the vault of heaven, which had at some point become completely calm and peaceful, entirely devoid of strange phenomena. A peculiar look gradually surfaced on his face.

'What happened?'

What met his eyes was a dim, abyss-like radiance that wrapped around the entire Eight Trigrams Furnace, isolating it from all external influences.

Who made a move?

Wang Ping's heart stirred. He vaguely felt like he was about to remember something, but he held back—his intuition told him that it wasn't the right time. Now was not the time for memories.

Immediately after, he looked around. The normally vivid reality of heaven and earth seemed covered in a thin veil. Possessing Heaven-Reversing Sun-Turning and the Time-Stealing Thief, he was extremely sensitive to this profound mystery. 'Without a doubt, time has been affected.'

Was this the work of Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang?

Wang Ping sat cross-legged. He didn't rush to act. Instead, he adjusted his breathing while sensing the profound mysteries around him. He pondered, 'About ten years of time.'

It was similar to the application of the Time-Stealing Thief.

'First extracting ten years of time, and then returning it when needed... this is a delaying tactic. To force a True Person to do this, what did they do?'

Thinking of this, Wang Ping looked back toward Jingyuan Pass. Kunlun's actions in refining the Earth Yang Fire were no small matter, so he could naturally see it clearly.

However, the timing was wrong.

Having just gone through a massive battle with Baohu, his condition was severely depleted. He had only survived by relying on the self-destruction tactics of Heaven-Reversing Sun-Turning and Extracting Primal Yang.

'The most pressing matter is to recover first.'

As for the Heavenly Yin Metal that the Mysterious Wood Qi Daoist Master had just sent over, as well as the current authority of the water qi, this environment was incomparably suitable for shattering the locks on his Divine Powers.

He ignored them completely.

'No matter what they want me to do, I simply won't do it. In any case, ten extra years of time have appeared out of thin air; there's absolutely no need for me to rush my breakthrough.'

With that in mind, Wang Ping relaxed his mind. While continuing to recover his vitality, he also split off a portion of his consciousness to enter the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron. Looking at the Spirit Treasure Chan Staff that Xuxing, from the Brahma Nation's Arhat Seats, had gifted him before dying, he couldn't help but reveal a somewhat greedy smile.

"Hum..."

Seeming to sense the malice radiating from Wang Ping, the Spirit Treasure Chan Staff suddenly began to tremble slightly. The artifact spirit inside quickly transmitted a weak voice:

"Wh-what are you trying to do?"

Wang Ping grinned at the words and looked toward the Ever-Suppressing Six Harmonies Cauldron. "Lord Treasure Cauldron, please suppress it. I intend to make this Spiritual Treasure recognize me as its master."

"Sure thing!"

The Treasure Cauldron responded cheerfully. In an instant, a profound weight crashed down, causing the Spirit Treasure Chan Staff to let out a crisp snap under the overwhelming pressure, its trembling growing even more frantic.

Suppressing Axe!

The Treasure Cauldron did not excel at slaughter, but it possessed incredible methods for suppression. Furthermore, its grade was clearly a tier higher than the Spirit Treasure Chan Staff, leaving the staff absolutely no chance to resist.

"No, don't, I don't want to..."

The Spirit Treasure Chan Staff trembled even more violently, clearly intending to fight back. After all, it was a Brahma artifact. Its body already belonged to the Brahma Nation; how could it submit itself to someone else?

However, the more it resisted, the more excited the Treasure Cauldron became.

"Hehehe... little wench, this isn't up to you!"

Boom!

The next second, the Treasure Cauldron's profound power pressed down on the Spirit Treasure Chan Staff like a massive mountain. Ignoring the artifact spirit's fury, it forcibly pinned its body down and pried it open.

"Master, go ahead."

Wang Ping didn't waste a word. He immediately reached out and grabbed the monk's staff. As his divine sense surged in and formed a brand, the Spiritual Treasure's information flooded into his sea of consciousness.

This was the Dragon-Elephant Zen Staff.

Just as the name implied, the staff itself wasn't actually anything special, and even its materials couldn't be considered precious. The true profundity lay in the dragon and elephant residing within it.

"The supreme entity of the water element is the dragon, while the strongest on land is the elephant. As its name suggests, this Dragon-Elephant Zen Staff only has two profound mysteries. The first is the Heavenly Dragon, which can traverse water qi, change size at will, and escape without hindrance. The second is the Sacred Elephant, which coats the user in earth qi—a single strike can scatter a person's spirit and techniques."

Wang Ping stroked his chin.

That wasn't right. Why did this feel a bit like an Immortal Gate Spiritual Treasure? Could it be that the Brahma Nation had secretly converted it from the Immortal Gate and reforged it?

Wang Ping gently rubbed the staff, his expression growing increasingly strange.

"No, there are more than two profound mysteries. There's a third... The Heavenly Dragon is water, and the Sacred Elephant is earth. The two can also merge to produce a streak of fire qi."

The fire born from the union of Gui and Wu!

Wang Ping couldn't be more familiar with this. The two profound mysteries combined into the Dragon-Elephant, which was actually of the fire element. At this moment, a scorching spark impressively lit up.

At first glance, it was only the size of a fingernail, but Wang Ping felt an intense sense of danger from it. Just this single spark of light was far superior to the Resplendent Crow fire seed on his Battle-Victorious Demon-Quelling Blade. Looking at it this way, his decision to instantly kill Xuxing had been entirely correct.

'It's a good thing I didn't even give him the chance to use this Spiritual Treasure.'

'Otherwise, if he had used this staff, I might not have lost, but I definitely would have had to tangle with him for a while. I might have even suffered some injuries and given him time to wait for reinforcements.'

If that had happened, the variables would have been too great.

However, Wang Ping's thoughts quickly became active again. He pointed a finger. "I'm not used to wielding a monk's staff. You two should separate and come over to my side."

"Sob..."

For a moment, the staff's artifact spirit felt incredibly helpless. However, since it had already been forcibly claimed by Wang Ping, it could only whimper and leave the staff in grievance.

In an instant, all the profound power faded from the staff, reducing it to a mundane object. Two phantoms—a dragon and an elephant—emerged. Guided by Wang Ping's divine sense, they were finally sent into the Water-Fire Striking Profound Maces. They were also a matching pair, making them the perfect vessels. Moreover, he found this pair of divine maces quite handy to use.

Yet the next second, Wang Ping suddenly froze.

After receiving the blessing of the Dragon-Elephant, the Water-Fire Striking Profound Maces in his hands violently shook. They hooked into profound mysteries, revealing a trace of transformation.

"This is..."

Vaguely, Wang Ping seemed to see a thread rise from the pair of divine maces, extending deep into the vault of heaven and disappearing into the depths of an arc of light.

That was—

'Earth Yang Wood.'

Heavenly Pillar Immortal-Bearing Undecaying Qi!

For a moment, Wang Ping seemed to gain some enlightenment in his heart, yet it was difficult to fully grasp. It was as if a shadow had been cast over it, preventing him from seeing the truth behind it.

In a split second, he made his decision.

The seventh scripture scroll, Golden Sea Desiccation!

All stray thoughts were pulled out of his sea of consciousness. Wang Ping instantly entered a state where his Dao heart was crystalline and his mind perfectly clear. Looking again, he finally understood the cause and effect:

'Earth Yang Wood also falls under the Ancient Qi of the Six Heavens that was eradicated by the Great Rebellion. The Mysterious Wood Qi Daoist Master deliberately sent this item out, and by wielding it to slaughter in all directions, I actually triggered the traceless Earth Yang Wood. Using this sliver of connection, the other party might be able to make the Earth Yang Wood reappear in the world.'

'This is... the True Person's backup plan!'

Wang Ping instantly realized the critical nature of the divine maces in his hands. He also remembered what the Immortal Gate True Transmission, Quan Zhenhong, had told him when they previously went to see Ghost Axe.

The core demand of the Immortal Prescription Courtyard was to reconnect the Dao path of wood qi.

'In other words, the so-called dynasty-wide ascension, which would return the human-yang wood to the sequence of heaven and earth, is actually just one of their options. It's not unchangeable.'

'After all, the return of human-yang wood is meant to fill the gap left after the Earth Yang Wood was eradicated.'

'And even if the dynasty-wide ascension fails, if they can make the vanished Earth Yang Wood return, the result will be the same. The Dao path of wood qi will still be reconnected!'

Thinking of this, Wang Ping abruptly stood up.

That wouldn't do!

His intuition told him that letting the Immortal Prescription Courtyard and Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan obtain a second option outside of the dynasty-wide ascension was definitely not a good thing.

"Tianfu..."

Wang Ping let out a long breath. Without him realizing it, three days had passed. He had fully recovered, his vitality completely restored. Moreover, due to his previous victory, his Great Abundance Scripture had grown increasingly powerful. After his clone and true body merged, his transitions between the four Immortal Physiques became even more effortless.

"Lord?"

With Wang Ping's movement, someone among the inner sect disciples immediately looked over. He had no choice but to wave his hand. "It's nothing. Continue to rest and recuperate here."

Self-destruction tactics were only suitable for dealing with a sea of enemies.

Now that the Brahma Cultivators had fled, making these inner sect disciples use self-destruction tactics again would only consume his own lifespan, and that was a completely different matter.

Therefore, bringing them along would only be a burden.

On the contrary, if they all survived this calamity and cultivated into Corpse Dissolution Immortals, they might actually be of some help to his cultivation.

Wang Ping shook his head and cast aside his distracting thoughts. Immediately after, he rode a streak of escaping light and sped to Jingyuan Pass. This time, the pass city did not block his way; instead, it opened on its own, allowing him to fly inside. He descended all the way into the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode and saw a figure dressed in luxurious robes.

The third Immortal Gate True Transmission, Xianfu.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Dousheng."

Xianfu turned around and smiled. "This battle has severely thwarted the Brahma Nation. The outcome of the sword contention has already been decided. Junior Brother has rendered the greatest merit, and your bearing is truly astonishing."

Hearing this, Wang Ping said in surprise, "An astonishing bearing... Since that's the case, Senior Brother isn't in a hurry to initiate the dynasty-wide ascension and trigger the human-yang wood to return to the sequence of heaven and earth?"

"What's the rush?"

Xianfu laughed heartily. "It's not yet time for the human-yang wood to return... compared to that, Junior Brother, do you know what is happening right now?"

At these words, Wang Ping immediately shifted his gaze toward the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode and soon understood. "Just as I expected, Kunlun has begun attempting to eradicate the Earth Yang Fire... I see. So that's why there was a change in the authority of the water qi. The True Persons were forced to respond. Have they already started fighting?"

Xianfu nodded in satisfaction.

This was the benefit of speaking to someone with profound Dao attainment and the light of wisdom. There was no need for detailed explanations; everyone could basically understand each other's meaning with a single glance.

"Correct."

Xianfu continued, "The True Persons do not want Senior Brother Gan to eradicate the Earth Yang Fire... In fact, not long ago, Daoist Master Xuanxiao asked me to step in and stop him."

Wang Ping looked over at his words. "Yet Senior Brother did not act."

"The True Persons have their thoughts, and I have mine."

Xianfu smiled. "This is a golden opportunity that comes once in a thousand years. Inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, the True Persons cannot exert direct influence, and now it seems they've even lost their indirect influence."

'This is truly...'

Looking at the massive anomaly caused by Kunlun and the Heaven-Stealing Thief inside the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode, and then looking at Xianfu, Wang Ping couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

In this grand scheme, he wasn't the only chess piece.

By the same token, he was definitely not the only one who intended to overturn the True Persons' grand scheme.

One truly couldn't underestimate the heroes of the world!