Chapter 368: When the Mind is Unimpeded, One Can Wander Carefree!

Wang Ping brought Dashun Taizu along, speeding out of Gongshun Grotto-Heaven. Riding a streak of escaping light, they tore rapidly through the Cosmic Deep Space.

This was an extreme speed.

In fact, Wang Ping hadn't even executed any special dharma technique. He merely circulated Carefree Wandering, and his flight speed naturally skyrocketed by dozens of times.

Of course, concealed by the Spiritual Treasure known as the Profound Unity Calamity-Crossing Ring, he manifested his profound physique. All the manifest phenomena of Carefree Wandering were transformed into obscure gleams across his profound body. Onlookers could not even tell he was utilizing a karmic merit; they simply assumed it was some kind of escaping-light spell or divine power.

Whoosh!

Wang Ping kept his hands clasped behind his back in a relaxed manner. The Cosmos retreated beneath his feet. After ten steps, the towering star they could see just moments ago was reduced to a faint, candle-like glimmer.

Dashun Taizu grew increasingly excited at the sight.

Even with nearly ten thousand years of experience, he had never heard of such extreme speed. As expected of a True Monarch's direct descendant and a Dao Child of the immortal sects, his foundation was simply beyond estimation.

It seemed he was going to make it out alive!

However, before Dashun Taizu's excitement could fade, a massive sea of luminous runic patterns abruptly surfaced in the space ahead, rapidly weaving into a towering grand formation.

"Trying to leave?"

Dashun Taizu looked up. The figure that entered his vision was none other than Kunyun, and he immediately paled in terror—though, of course, this was merely the illusion perfected by the gentleman should hide his implements at the right time.

In reality, what Wang Ping saw was a young Daoist priest clad in crimson robes. A seven-colored ray of rosy light hovered above the youth's head, swirling and lingering like a dense cloud. It was clearly a Spiritual Treasure. He cultivated celestial-yang earth, the Sun-Dwelling Mysterious Rainbow Inconstant Qi... he was likely a direct descendant under the command of Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang, right?

"Holy Son, stop him!"

A profound voice echoed from behind, shaking the deep space. It was that Qi Refining practitioner holding the Drum of Purging Vice and Quelling Turmoil, confirming Wang Ping's guess.

Immediately after, the young Daoist swept back his sleeve.

Revealed in his grip was a strikingly lifelike black mountain. He held it like a massive seal, forcefully slamming it down toward Wang Ping and the formation below:

"The towering mountain can subjugate all demons!"

Rumble!

In an instant, the black mountain crashed into the formation. It immediately manifested countless towering peaks and majestic ranges, sealing the Cosmos and locking down the deep space as it prepared to crush down on Wang Ping.

Without a doubt, this black mountain was another Spiritual Treasure. This young Daoist, the Hanguang Holy Son, had unleashed a lethal strike right from the start. The luster of a divine power surged across the black mountain, and an erratic, illusory light flickered at its peak—clearly some kind of destiny form. Wang Ping could even sense the aura of a karmic merit within it.

'He has some skill, but it's a pity he hasn't mastered a trigram image.'

That was all there was to it. He fell far short of Wang Ping.

Wang Ping evaluated inwardly, completely unconcerned. Granted, the opponent didn't actually need to defeat him; as long as he stalled him for a moment, the Qi Refining practitioner would catch up from behind.

Under these circumstances, he had already fallen into a perilous situation.

However, with the Kan Trigram draped over him, the more treacherous the danger, the more unimpeded his path became!

Therefore, Wang Ping ignored the Hanguang Holy Son entirely. He plunged headlong into the formation, traversed the mountain ranges as if walking on flat ground, and calmly stepped out from the other side.

Carefree Wandering!

'This karmic merit itself possesses some of the characteristics of the Kan Trigram. Kan represents manifold dangers. The more perilous the situation, the more this merit can unleash its escaping capabilities.'

The more dangerous it is, the faster I can flee!

Mid-thought, Wang Ping had already left the Hanguang Holy Son eating his dust. Seeing his meticulously prepared formation fail to achieve anything, the Hanguang Holy Son was instantly struck dumb.

"You... don't run!"

A second later, he reacted, immediately transforming into a ray of rosy light to give chase. At the same time, he transmitted a message: "Shunhe, you idiot! Why did you leave with him?"

"He belongs to the water qi lineage, and he wants to kill you!"

The Hanguang Holy Son's voice quickly drifted into Dashun Taizu's ears. However, it was entirely warped into threats brimming with murderous intent, terrifying him even further.

At the same time, Wang Ping did not forget to hurl all the stray thoughts he had drawn out earlier when using Golden Sea Desiccation into Dashun Taizu's sea of consciousness. This plunged the man into even deeper chaos. His thoughts scattered, jumping wildly from one thing to another, completely robbing him of his ability to judge. He could only grip Wang Ping tighter.

Seeing this, the Hanguang Holy Son was livid.

'The water qi lineage... is too sinister! He most likely used some profound method to deceive Shunhe. Looking at his state, he's beyond saving anyway. Even if cured, he'd be left drooling.'

Even so, his curiosity toward Wang Ping only grew.

The reason was simple: he had never heard of the water qi lineage possessing such an unfamiliar Dao Child, let alone one so adept at fleeing. This couldn't help but spark his imagination.

'Could it be that person from before?'

With such divine speed, could it be the karmic merit reputed as 'Unbound by Heaven and Earth, a Body of Cloud and Water Traversing the Six Directions'? Was this the cultivator whom his esteemed master had praised so highly?

At this thought, the Hanguang Holy Son immediately took a deep breath:

"I respectfully invoke the earth qi to take precedence. Embrace unity and guard the center. Borrow the sun to manifest, and let the setting sun give birth to rosy clouds!"

As the incantation echoed, his figure suddenly disintegrated. Riding the seven-colored rosy light, he vanished in an instant, closing in on Wang Ping at a speed far surpassing his previous pace!

"Ho!"

Wang Ping's eyes shifted at the sight. However, instead of accelerating further, he cooperatively lowered his speed, allowing the rosy light behind him to close the distance inch by inch.

Then, he looked toward Dashun Taizu.

"My apologies. Our pursuer is too close. It seems I have no choice but to give up."

"Huh?"

Dashun Taizu was shocked and instantly panicked. "Do you not want the ancient scripture anymore? That is a supreme and wondrous method that allows you to first cultivate as a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, and then achieve Qi Refining Entering the Dao..."

At these words, Wang Ping's eyebrows arched up. He didn't reveal his inner emotions, however, and instead followed up by shaking his head with a sigh. "Even if I want it, our pursuer is on my tail too tightly. Unless I employ a secret art at the cost of a hundred years of my lifespan, severely injuring my vitality in the process, it will be impossible to break out."

Then hurry up and use it!

Watching the pursuer draw nearer by the second, Dashun Taizu could no longer hold back. He directly pulled out a Hundred Treasures Pouch he carried on his person.

In a flash, Wang Ping felt a refreshing, sweet fragrance assail his nose. The magic power he had just expended during their high-speed flight actually recovered by thirty percent in an instant.

"All, all of it is for you!"

As he spoke, Dashun Taizu's heart bled. Gritting his teeth, he said, "These are the treasures my Gongshun Grotto-Heaven has hoarded for several millennia. I am gifting them all to you, milord."

Truth be told, he didn't believe Wang Ping's forbidden art truly demanded such a heavy toll. Rather, he strongly suspected the man was taking advantage of his misfortune to extort more benefits. But under someone else's roof, one had to bow their head. He could only obediently hand over half a lifetime's worth of treasures.

'Forget it. If the old doesn't go, the new won't come.'

Dashun Taizu consoled himself inwardly:

'As long as I escape with my life this time and enter the Brahma Nation, once I gain their recognition, I will shed my mortal body and exchange my bones. After becoming an Ascetic Monk, I can always earn it back.'

And then, he heard Wang Ping's reply:

"Not enough!"

Dashun Taizu's eyes snapped wide, and a curse involving Biyang's nearly slipped from his lips. Are you kidding me? This still isn't enough?! You clearly want my life!

A second later, Wang Ping continued, "Besides these resources, hand over the True Monarch's Handwritten Manuscript and the ancient scripture as well. Give them all to me, and I will use the forbidden art to take you away."

"Impossible!"

By this point, Dashun Taizu had completely ignored the changes in the outside world, focusing entirely on the transaction before him. Believing himself clear-headed, he shook his head and said:

"If I hand everything over to you, milord, what if you simply toss me aside and abandon me?"

"That's exactly what I should be saying."

Wang Ping sneered:

"What if, after I activate the forbidden art and severely damage my vitality, you take the opportunity to stab me in the back? What if you kill me, snatch everything back, and then flee to the Brahma Nation?"

Dashun Taizu blanked upon hearing this.

Holy shit, you can do that?

Hiss... it seemed that might actually work!

For a moment, he really was a bit tempted, but he quickly sobered up and hastily shook his head. "Milord is a True Monarch's direct descendant. How could I ever dare do such a thing!"

"You wouldn't dare, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't want to, right?"

Wang Ping shook his head. "How about this: I'll take a step back. Give me the ancient scripture, and you can keep the True Monarch's Handwritten Manuscript. Hand it over to me after we escape with our lives."

"This..."

Dashun Taizu thought about it. He felt that compared to the ancient scripture, the True Monarch's Handwritten Manuscript was far more important. It was also the item that this Dao Child of the Realm of Observing Constancy valued more.

"Fine!"

Seeing Dashun Taizu finally nod and use his divine sense to engrave the remaining half of the ancient scripture into a jade slip before handing it over, Wang Ping finally cracked a smile.

"That's more like it. A wise person adapts to circumstances."

With that said, Wang Ping took a deep breath. He then pinched a streak of radiant light between his fingertips, brought it to his lips, and slowly opened his mouth, exhaling a beam of profound light.

In an instant, the profound light surged like a tide, arriving like overlapping waves of water that stacked atop one another. It finally climbed upward, crashing violently into the torrent of destiny. It reflected a towering, mountain-like phantom of light, though its true appearance was obscured. Following that, the phantom plummeted into reality, draping Wang Ping with an unparalleled, profound might.

"I respectfully invoke the Kan Trigram to take precedence! Journeying through danger brings honor; venturing into the depths yields merit. When the mind is unimpeded, one can wander carefree!"

This incantation was extremely concealed.

Only Dashun Taizu, who was a hair's breadth away and enveloped by Wang Ping's divine power, could hear it. At first, he was shocked by the contents of the spell.

Such an incantation was undeniably the stuff of legends—it could only be executed by a heaven-blessed prodigy who had attained perfection in Tribulation Transcending, peering into the mysteries of heaven and earth's trigrams while still in the Tribulation Transcending Stage.

It seemed they were safe this time!

It wasn't until the next second that he finally registered what he had heard.

'Huh? The Kan Trigram?'

Shouldn't a Dao Child in the Realm of Observing Constancy use the Zhen Trigram or the Xun Trigram...? Not good!

Realizing this, Dashun Taizu finally jolted awake from his stupor, but it was already too late—and not because he had suddenly discovered the truth.

It was because Wang Ping actively revealed the truth to him.

A dragon appears in the field!

In the next second, Dashun Taizu's vision blurred as he tumbled out of Wang Ping's divine power. What entered his sight was a vivid, glaring Grotto-Heaven.

The Gongshun Grotto-Heaven.

He was back again.

"Huh?"

Just moments ago, Holy Maiden Xuanxiao, the Hanguang Holy Son, Qi Refining practitioner Jing Lang, and all the other cultivators waiting to ambush him had left this place to give chase.

Yet in this split second, Wang Ping inconceivably bypassed all obstacles. Where his mind went, his body followed. From an extreme distance, he instantly warped Dashun Taizu back to their starting point. The result was that not a single person had the time to return and protect Dashun Taizu. And standing right in front of him was Kunyun, wearing a savage grin!

Galloping lightning abruptly flared bright!

In that flash of lightning, Dashun Taizu still wanted to circulate his profound methods, hoping to hold on no matter what—but then he heard Wang Ping's ghostly voice once again:

"Seeking one's own path to death is the greatest merit of all!"

He had disguised himself as Heng Xu, first 'concealing' the karma, and then 'deceiving' Dashun Taizu, swindling him out of the relatively safe Grotto-Heaven just like that.

This was exactly seeking one's own path to death.

With the enhancement of the gentleman should hide his implements at the right time, the primary invocation of the Kan Trigram, and the empowerment of his Spiritual Treasure, Wang Ping actually shook the immensely weakened Dashun Taizu!

A karmic merit emerged!

The karmic merit named seeking one's own path to death directly trapped all of Dashun Taizu's resistance within his thoughts, leaving him standing blankly in place.

He watched as the lightning cleaved into his face.

'...This is bitter!'