Chapter 342: Three Battles with Baohu!

Baohu naturally did not dare to truly kill all the Brahma Cultivators.

After all, she had just witnessed Wang Ping's combined ultimate technique of Plum Substituting for Peach and Perish Together with the Sun, and she naturally grasped its profound mechanics.

'A curse technique?'

'No matter what, it doesn't look like a bluff. If I make a move to kill Jingshan and the others, it will likely backfire. This person is far too difficult to deal with...'

A sense of helplessness washed over Baohu at the thought.

Fortunately, Wang Ping didn't dare slaughter all the Brahma Cultivators either. As a result, while the Northern Crimson Silk Golden Pure Land wavered and exposed her presence, it hadn't shattered.

'Besides, if the deaths of the other Brahma Cultivators can shake the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode, wouldn't my death do the same? Even if they want to kill me, they are heavily restricted. At the very least, they can't let me die here. They either have to trap me in a dead zone that can conceal atmospheric phenomena, or capture me alive first.'

Baohu figured there was still a chance to salvage the situation.

'As for the former, I have nothing to worry about as long as I fiercely defend this pure land. As for the latter... with the abilities I possess, if someone actually manages to capture me alive, I might as well give up cultivating the Dao entirely!'

With that thought, Baohu discarded any notion of compromise. Instead, she solidified her Dao heart. Her beautiful eyes hardened with resolve, radiating the peerless grace expected of someone seated beneath a Bodhisattva.

Let them try their worst!

Rumble!

A second later, Wang Ping took a step forward. His joints popped and shifted as his flesh and blood rapidly proliferated. In the blink of an eye, he continuously shot upward, manifesting a magnificent body a thousand zhang tall.

Perfected Person!

Changing alongside him were the twin maces in his hands. Empowered by the profound size-manipulation of his Dragon Elephant ability, the divine weapons expanded wildly in the wind. Gripped in his colossal hands, they resembled two rolling mountain ranges churning with water and fire. When swung, a single strike carried the apocalyptic might of a collapsing sky.

Baohu formed a hand seal and chanted in a low voice, "Om, Vajrapani, Hum!"

As her voice fell, the Secret Traces Vajra Pestle that Wang Ping had previously knocked away came soaring back. The dense Sanskrit characters covering its surface detached from the pestle.

"Amitabha!"

Each Sanskrit character transformed into a golden Vajra guardian holding an assortment of Dharma artifacts. They sprinted wildly, charging straight at Wang Ping.

Wang Ping stood unmoving and unshaken, exuding a solemn and majestic aura. To her surprise, Buddhist light suddenly bloomed from his body as well. However, unlike the Buddhist light manifested through Baohu's Brahma methods, his was converted from his Martial Dao divine aura. Behind him, like a peacock spreading its tail, thousands upon thousands of arms fanned out in an instant.

Tathagata Divine Palm!

In a split second, countless palm seals brutally hammered out from behind him. Every single Sanskrit character was met by more than a dozen arms, shattering their Buddhist light on the spot.

This colossal flesh-and-blood body was Wang Ping's greatest trump card.

The star-crushing physical might brought by Clasping Mountains and Leaping Seas, combined with the ultimate bodily control granted by his Heavenly Martial Campaign Profound Armor, formed what could truly be called a match made in heaven.

Seeing this, Baohu furrowed her brows tightly.

However, this wasn't what gave her the biggest headache. What truly made her feel mentally and physically exhausted was that Xianfu, free from any hindrances, was now charging at her from the other side.

She didn't have the ability to fight a two-front war. She had to focus her energy on handling one of them first. Therefore, even if it meant drinking poison to quench her thirst, she had no choice but to force the issue.

Making her decision, Baohu immediately shifted her hand seals.

"Through body, speech, and mind, swift and concealed, rendering all imperceptible."

"This is Secret Traces!"

As she spoke, a towering golden avatar manifested behind her head. It was none other than the golden avatar of the Heavenly Eye Universal Sight Vow. To think she had resorted to using it so early in the fight!

The golden avatar's blazing gaze locked directly onto the distant figures of Xianfu and the eight Immortal Gate disciples. Then, its pair of emerald eyes swiftly snapped shut. In an instant, Xianfu and the others vanished into thin air along with the closing of those eyes, erased as casually as wiping a smudge from a piece of paper.

"Heh!"

Wang Ping let out a marveling chuckle at the sight, but he remained completely unbothered. He could easily tell that Baohu's desperate measure would cost her dearly—at its core, she was merely stalling for time.

'She can't suppress Xianfu at all.'

'Right now, she's merely sacrificed her great vow golden avatar, likely pairing it with at least one Spiritual Treasure, just to barely trap Xianfu and his group temporarily.'

'All to buy herself a fair duel with me.'

'Even so, she still has to defeat me quickly. Otherwise, once Xianfu shatters her great vow golden avatar and joins the siege, her situation will only become infinitely worse.'

At this thought, a sudden smile crept across Wang Ping's face.

He completely stopped his offensive. Rather than advancing, he actively backed away, adopting a defensive posture as if purely waiting for reinforcements. The blatant stalling nearly caused Baohu to die from sheer rage.

'This animal!!!'

Baohu's beautiful eyes turned frigid, her ample chest heaving heavily. She hadn't expected this guy, who had fought with the ferocity of a tiger just moments ago, to suddenly turn coward.

As expected of an Immortal Gate True Transmission. To them, trivial emotions like face, dignity, and competitiveness meant absolutely nothing; victory was their single, overriding pursuit.

Unfortunately, an arrow loosed from the bow cannot be recalled. Her great vow golden avatar had already been deployed to trap Xianfu's group. Releasing them now wouldn't restore the damage the avatar had already suffered; it would merely render all her previous efforts completely useless. Since that was the case, her only option was walking down a single road until dark. If Wang Ping wouldn't attack, she would simply have to take the offensive!

"Subdue all inner demons, protect the righteous Dharma without!"

Baohu stabilized her hand seals and spat out a sharp command, once again directing the golden Vajra guardians manifested from the Secret Traces Vajra Pestle to swarm forward, rushing frantically toward Wang Ping.

Wang Ping watched the incoming horde without a trace of fear.

He instantly channeled all of his divine aura. This time, he operated the Great Law of the Azure Sky, actively rotating his magnetic field. He hoisted the divine mace in his hand and brought it down in an earth-shattering smash.

Instantly, the howling astral winds and ambient spiritual qi of outer space were scattered by the sheer force of the strike. With Wang Ping at the epicenter, a radius of ten thousand miles was forcibly blasted into an empty, spiritless void. The golden Vajra guardians flanking him stumbled chaotically, blown completely away by the shockwaves.

However, right at that moment.

Among the dense swarm of golden Vajra guardians, one of them suddenly flashed with golden light. Instead of being blown backward, it actually took a step straight toward Wang Ping.

As it took that step, the golden Buddhist light melted away to reveal its true form. Unbelievably, it was Baohu herself, cradling a blue gourd in her hands with her aura completely concealed!

"Collect!"

From such a close distance, the blue gourd transformed into a Purple Gourd. The same devouring purple light that had previously forced Wang Ping to evade now flared brightly, illuminating his eyes.

'...Scatter!'

A split second later, Wang Ping's colossal body explosively detonated!

There was no blood or gore, only a dense, churning cloud of clear qi. In the blink of an eye, the mist expanded into a towering sea of clouds that bridged heaven and earth, drifting silently in the outer void.

Nine Breaths Qi Ingestion!

This sudden dispersal into nothingness caused Baohu's long-premeditated ambush to strike empty air. The sweeping purple light merely siphoned away a few inconsequential wisps of clear qi.

Yet, instead of looking disappointed, Baohu just smiled coldly. Staring at the boundless sea of clear qi Wang Ping had transformed into, she drew a jade bottle from her sleeve. Turning it upside down, she violently flicked her wrist, casting out a magnificent wave of brilliant starlight that instantly scattered across the void.

This item was none other than Stellar Magnetic Profound Sand.

She had specifically ventured out into deep space for a reason. Aside from staying close to the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode, her secondary purpose was that this spiritual material could only be refined in the extraterrestrial void.

Despite sounding profound, the item itself wasn't particularly special.

In fact, quite the opposite. It was derived from the shattered stellar debris of outer space. Once refined, its defining characteristic was pure, stubborn density; once it clung to something, it was almost impossible to shake off.

Now that Baohu had scattered it across the sky, even with Wang Ping's god-like reflexes and desperate evasive maneuvers, half of his clear qi form was forcefully contaminated.

Wang Ping instantly realized how troublesome the substance was. His clear qi form, which could usually condense and disperse at will, grew incredibly foul and heavy the moment it was tainted by the Stellar Magnetic Profound Sand. Not only did shifting forms become incredibly sluggish, but the restorative properties of the clear qi were also drastically suppressed.

'This was... prepared specifically for me!'

Even though he was the one losing ground, Wang Ping couldn't help but marvel at her ingenuity. Clearly, this was a countermeasure Baohu hadn't possessed during their last magical clash.

There was no such thing as an invincible divine ability in this world.

During their first battle, he had displayed the profound mechanics of his Nine Breaths Qi Ingestion. By their very second encounter, Baohu had already formulated a direct counter to it.

This was a true heaven's chosen.

Any technique could only exhibit its maximum lethal potential upon its first showing. Once its mechanics were seen through, its effectiveness would plummet drastically.

In a flash, Wang Ping could only drive his clear qi form into a rapid retreat.

However, having finally seized the upper hand, how could Baohu possibly let Wang Ping regroup? She opened her palm and slowly condensed a streak of radiant brilliance.

'Three-Pronged Vajra Hook!'

Clang!

Accompanied by the explosive screech of clashing metal, a fishhook-like object fully materialized in Baohu's hand. With a flick of her wrist, she hurled it directly at him.

Glancing over, it looked like a length of rope attached to a sharp hook.

He wanted to dodge.

Unfortunately, the Stellar Magnetic Profound Sand thoroughly mixed into his clear qi form now served as a flawless homing beacon, making it absolutely impossible for him to evade her strike.

A second later, Wang Ping was forced to reconstitute his physical body.

As a result, massive amounts of Stellar Magnetic Profound Sand forcefully merged into his flesh and blood, instantly subjecting him to the agonizing pain of a thousand cuts. Yet, this wasn't even his most pressing problem.

What was far worse was the hooked rope Baohu had hurled. One end remained firmly in her grip, while the Vajra hook at the other end had violently embedded itself directly into his scalp. It completely pierced into his sea of consciousness, taking root immediately. It fused seamlessly with his very mind, making it impossible to forcibly dislodge or break.

Was she trying to rip his scalp off?

It was an unheard-of technique, evidently a divine ability Baohu had kept hidden until now. The lethal threat of this sudden trump card caused alarm bells to blare violently in Wang Ping's mind.

In response, he immediately let out a long, heavy breath.

Heaven-Reversing Sun-Turning!

In an instant, the flow of time slammed to a halt around his body, and then rapidly rolled backward. Every single negative affliction was utterly purged within the reversed flow of time.

The clinging Stellar Magnetic Profound Sand vanished entirely, rewinding back into the jade bottle in Baohu's hand.

All of his bodily injuries were undone, wiped from existence as if they had never happened.

Even his previously expended magical power, qi, and blood were fully restored. He stood perfectly immaculate, as if he hadn't just engaged in a grueling battle at all.

At the cost of three years of his lifespan, Wang Ping had completely refreshed his physical state.

However, his expression didn't relax in the slightest. Instead, it grew increasingly grim—because that hooked rope was miraculously still firmly fastened to the crown of his head!