Chapter 348: Water Qi Evades, the Curtain Rises!

The Cosmos watched.

At this moment, nearly half the Immortal Gate—and even parts of the Brahma Nation—consciously stirred from the void, casting their gazes toward the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Wang Ping stepped out of the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode.

Clad in a Daoist robe, apart from his Divine Powers and destiny form, he brought only a pair of Water-Fire Striking Profound Maces and a Heavenly Yin Metal jade pendant out of the heavenly abode.

He had no choice. The former fell under Earth Yang Wood and the Heavenly Pillar Immortal-Bearing Undecaying Qi, while the latter belonged to Heavenly Yin Metal and the heavenly frost seasonal slaughter premier qi. Both were ancient qi lines similarly eradicated by the Great Rebellion. Because each had its own dedicated heavenly abode, the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode refused them.

If he were inside as the master of the abode, he could force it to accept them.

But the moment he left, the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode would immediately reject them. Thus, Wang Ping had no choice but to bring these two spiritual objects out with him.

Wang Ping then looked toward another corner beyond the sky.

There, a magnificent golden body was crumbling apart, dissolving into a sky full of brilliant golden light. Xianfu, along with eight inner sect disciples, walked out from within.

Heavenly Eye Universal Sight Vow.

Following the death of its master, Baohu's Grand Vow Golden Body could no longer bear the burden and shattered. All its profound mysteries ultimately coalesced onto a single object.

The Secret Traces Vajra Pestle.

Among Baohu's numerous Spiritual Treasures, only this one held the highest grade and possessed the most unique qualities. The fact that it bore the name "Secret Traces" proved its origins were tied to a Bodhisattva!

Because of this, it was the only Spiritual Treasure Wang Ping had never considered subjugating. Xianfu, having finally escaped, had no such intentions either. Instead, eager to distance himself from it, he hurried to Wang Ping's side and spoke rapidly, "The sky curtain is about to break. That adult is withdrawing."

That adult... the Water Qi True Monarch?

"Boom!"

Immediately after, the Secret Traces Vajra Pestle trembled. As if summoned by some grand, unseen will, it transformed into a streak of golden light and shot into the sky.

In an instant, the Secret Traces Vajra Pestle's return to the Brahma Nation became the final straw. The shimmering light that had enveloped the Eight Trigrams Furnace and the Eight Treasure Table—completely hiding the sword battleground—was torn apart, finally scattering away.

Deep within the Cosmos, the glaring ultimate positions of heaven and earth also gradually faded into hiding.

Water-Thunder Zhun.

The Water Qi True Monarch, who had suddenly intervened without revealing his true face, now slipped back into hiding. All his profound mysteries vanished without a trace, like an ebbing tide.

This sudden change quickly rippled across the entire Immortal Gate.

"What just happened?"

"I don't remember. It seems a supreme existence made a move, altering the landscape of the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle. It must have been a clash at the True Person level."

"Gasp... Was it really that extreme?"

Across the vast Immortal Gate, apart from those who had attained the Dao and cultivated to the True realms, everyone else—whether at the Tribulation Transcending or Qi Refining stage—lost all memories related to him at this moment.

They only remembered that a "supreme existence" had just taken action. Yet they had absolutely no idea who it was, what qi he cultivated, or what hexagram he used.

Although the True Persons and True Monarchs of the Immortal Gate, as well as the Arhats and Bodhisattvas of the Brahma Nation, still remembered, they were an extreme minority within the Cosmos. As long as the masses remained ignorant, the karma would be smoothed over to the greatest extent, maintaining the worldly pattern of "Water Qi evading and hiding."

Seeing this, Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang, Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan, Arhat Shengle, and all the existences observing in secret were somewhat astonished.

'He retreated just like that.'

'He's certain the overarching situation is set, and that even if he doesn't act, we have no way to change the outcome?'

'What a Water Qi orthodoxy, what a Mingxing Xuanyi Primordial Sovereign! Does he view us as nothing... Such arrogance is simply lawless!'

In a flash, the two True Persons and one Arhat—three majestic existences—simultaneously channeled their profound mysteries, gazing down from afar at the newly revealed sword battleground.

...

The flames were brilliant.

Wang Ping stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression solemn as he watched the ripples radiating from Cosmic Deep Space. Beside him, Xianfu's expression was equally dark and uncertain.

"...It's coming."

Xianfu spoke in a quiet, haunting voice, "No matter what, even if that adult has withdrawn all his profound mysteries, with the Immortal Decree in place, they won't dare enter."

Wang Ping naturally understood this reasoning.

However, even if they didn't dare to step inside, with the mighty power of a True Person, how could they truly lack the means to indirectly influence the Eight Trigrams Furnace? It was merely a question of scale.

Since things had reached this point, Wang Ping had already made his decision. If he didn't thoroughly resolve this karma here and now, he likely wouldn't find peace for the rest of his life.

"Bang!"

At Wang Ping's thought, the loud crash of a closing gate rang out behind him. Layers of blazing light extinguished, and the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode slipped into hiding, no longer manifesting in the mortal world.

The phenomena caused by Baohu's fall were entirely sealed within the cave abode as well.

With this, the Earth Yang Fire that had temporarily returned—the Heavenly Craft Supreme Yang Nine Smeltings Qi—was eradicated once again, and the originally damaged Great Rebellion Exploits were completely repaired as a result—

Or at least, that was how it should have been.

However, in the very next second, a streak of white light suddenly rose from the distant region beyond the sky—from the Northern Crimson Silk Golden Pure Land that Baohu had personally established.

"Boom!"

The white light connected heaven and earth. One end anchored to the pure land, while the other linked to the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode situated high beyond the sky, forming a clear, pale arc of light.

Heavenly Solemn Seasonal Slaughter Decree!

The Heavenly Yin Metal Spiritual Treasure that Baohu had brought out from the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode—which had caused him no small amount of trouble during their battle—now brazenly appeared!

Situated in the present world, this Spiritual Treasure was now driven by some majestic will. It recklessly expanded outward, erupting with the imagery of Heavenly Yin Metal. Like a thick rope, it firmly moored the trembling Heavenly Frost Cave Abode, preventing it from hiding away from the world alongside the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode!

'As expected...'

Seeing this, Wang Ping wasn't the least bit surprised. After all, he hadn't forgotten that a True Person's will was still trapped inside the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode!

Even if his true body was isolated outside and his will was trapped within the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode, it was still a True Person's will. How could he truly do nothing?

'This is his preparation.'

Wang Ping looked up at the sky. His gaze fell upon the twenty-four-colored radiant light situated above Cosmic Deep Space, and he felt as though he had just met the eyes of another.

'The Heavenly Solemn Seasonal Slaughter Decree is merely a medium.'

'What is truly locking the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode in place and stopping it from hiding is the mighty power of a True Person... If this continues, this heavenly abode will still manifest in the world!'

As for why the True Person could take action, Wang Ping quickly arrived at a conclusion:

'It's because this heavenly abode is extremely special. It's located in the windless region beyond the sky, infinitely close to the Cosmic Deep Space outside the Eight Trigrams Furnace. It belongs in a borderline zone.'

'Therefore, a True Person's mighty power can exert a much greater influence on this heavenly abode... That's right, even the selection of this heavenly abode was meticulously planned out!'

All as a contingency!

'How do I break this situation?'

Wang Ping's mind raced.

His gaze landed on the Northern Crimson Silk Golden Pure Land. Since he had heavily injured the Brahma Cultivators, this pure land was already on the verge of collapse.

'This Heavenly Yin Metal Spiritual Treasure is tethered to the pure land itself and cannot be removed... I see. No wonder Baohu never used this treasure again after I forced her out of the pure land. In that case, to stop this Spiritual Treasure from pulling on the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode, I must first break apart the pure land.'

Because only if the pure land collapsed could the Heavenly Solemn Seasonal Slaughter Decree be taken away by someone else. At that point, Wang Ping could find a way to bring it into the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode with him to hide temporarily.

At worst, they would perish together.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping frowned deeply.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to drag his enemies down with him, but doing so wouldn't solve the problem. To make the pure land collapse, he would first have to kill every last Brahma Cultivator.

Yet once all the Brahma Cultivators were dead, the resulting phenomena would cause the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode to manifest directly in the mortal world, without even needing the Spiritual Treasure to pull it!

'I'm caught between a rock and a hard place.'

Wang Ping gritted his teeth.

'What a good scheme!'

He could only say that True Persons truly lived up to their titles. The moment they struck, they accurately grasped his fatal weakness... Not only that, achieving this required the active cooperation of the Brahma Nation.

'Was the death of Baohu alone not enough?'

Wang Ping sighed inwardly. It was obvious that the True Persons of the Immortal Gate had used the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode as compensation to buy Arhat Shengle's support.

'These insects who betray the immortals and collude with the Brahma!'

Thinking of this, Wang Ping cursed in his heart. Dignified True Persons were actually measuring out the material wealth of the Immortal Gate just to curry favor with the Brahma Nation. They truly had no shame left!

A perfectly good Immortal Gate had been ruined by this pack of insects.

And now it was these insects stirring up trouble from the shadows, persecuting an outstanding young talent of the Immortal Gate. If this continued, how could anyone properly cultivate and make the Immortal Gate great again?

Just as Wang Ping was bitterly pondering a countermeasure...

"Let me do it."

Beside Wang Ping, Xianfu suddenly stepped forward and smiled. "Speaking of which, I really must thank you this time, Junior Brother. If not for you, I'm afraid I never would have made it this far."

"I only ask that Junior Brother doesn't forget our previous agreement."

Agreement?

Oh, right. It was to let him escape his Great Rebellion identity, cut ties with it, and then continue using Heavenly Yin Metal to merge Xin and reveal Water... At this thought, Wang Ping's eyes suddenly lit up.

'That's it. My ability to escape my Great Rebellion identity now relies on the "the gentleman should hide his implements at the right time" ability passed to me by that adult. This is a seed he planted in me. If Xianfu knows about this, it means that adult also planted a seed in him, and it's highly likely it can synchronize with mine!'

At this thought, everything suddenly became clear to Wang Ping.

Come to think of it, since that adult so readily withdrew and stopped blocking the True Persons, how could he have failed to foresee this twist with the Heavenly Frost Cave Abode?

Immediately after, a sudden change occurred.