Chapter 377: A Qi Refining Tier Magical Duel!

Wang Ping had never witnessed the true spectacle of a magical duel between Corpse Dissolution Immortals. After all, he had never properly seen a battle at the Qi Refining Tier.

Yet the moment he broke through, understanding naturally dawned on him.

Simply put, it was "manifesting form through qi."

Corpse Dissolution Immortals possessed no physical bodies. At their core, they were simply masses of qi. However, they couldn't just throw raw qi at each other in a duel; they needed to manifest a profound, tangible form.

For this, the vast majority of Corpse Dissolution Immortals chose the destiny form they had forged while at the Tribulation Transcending realm. The higher the grade of the destiny form, the more devastating the power they could unleash when manifesting their form through qi. The problem was that most Corpse Dissolution Immortals hadn't forged particularly high-grade destiny forms during their tribulations.

Wang Ping, however, was different.

The grade of his Dormant Dragon Kun destiny form had already reached the absolute peak, perfectly reflecting the immense weight of his destiny. In this moment, it immediately unleashed an entirely different tier of power.

"Roar—!"

The dragon kun took flight, transforming into a peng. After soaring into the Cosmos, it simply gave its wings a single beat. Instantly, wind and thunder converged into a mighty heavenly river, crashing down toward the planet below.

"Boom!"

In the past, with his cultivation at the Tribulation Transcending realm, Wang Ping could certainly damage a planet, but only its crust. He couldn't truly shatter a celestial body.

This time, however, the sheer volume of the kunpeng he had transformed into dwarfed the planet itself. As it spread its wings, it triggered wave after wave of turbulent spiritual energy currents within the Cosmic Deep Space. Swept up by Wang Ping's wings, these currents were hurled wholesale at the planet below with enough force to grind the entire world into dust!

"Amitabha."

A second later, a Buddhist chant echoed from within the planet. Immediately after, a flawless Buddhist palm—shimmering in golden light and bearing perfectly defined palm prints—reached out from the world.

Unwavering and exact, it pushed forward.

In an instant, the raging tides of spiritual energy swept down by Wang Ping's wings were forcefully suppressed by the single palm. The heavenly river of wind and thunder was completely extinguished.

The Buddhist palm then lifted higher, revealing its true form. It belonged to a magnificent golden body no smaller than Wang Ping's kunpeng form. A curled white tuft rested between its brows as it slowly rose from within the planet. Treasure Wheels spun beneath its feet, while five full karmic merits merged into a dazzling halo behind its head.

A Grand Vow Golden Body?

Wang Ping scrutinized it closely, then immediately rejected the thought. 'No. Perhaps it started as a Grand Vow Golden Body, but it certainly isn't one anymore.'

It was exactly like his current kunpeng form.

Though it looked like a destiny form, it was actually the result of a Corpse Dissolution Immortal manifesting their form through qi. The profundities hidden within had long since experienced a qualitative leap beyond the destiny form stage.

'Let's test his skills!'

With that thought, Wang Ping flapped his wings once more. The Profound One's Tribulation-Crossing Ring circulated, flooded with a massive influx of magical power. In the blink of an eye, it conjured another bolt of lightning.

The yin spirit of Dashun Taizu.

Back when he was still at the Tribulation Transcending realm, it would have taken him at least ten days to half a month to conjure the yin spirit of Dashun Taizu again. Now, he accomplished it in a single thought.

Immediately after, Wang Ping repeated his old trick. He commanded Dashun Taizu to transform into lightning, close in on Shasheng's golden body, and detonate in a massive self-destruction without a second thought.

"Boom!"

Searing white lightning instantly illuminated the Cosmos. Shasheng raised a Buddhist palm to grab it, only for the raging lightning fire to utterly crush it. Half of the golden Buddha statue abruptly collapsed.

The self-destruction of a Corpse Dissolution Immortal still packed quite a punch.

Yet Shasheng remained perfectly calm. With a single thought, the shattered golden body gathered back together. In just a few breaths, it had completely returned to its original state.

A second later, he spoke.

"The Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi is subterranean yin water. It is the qi of Netherworld Communication. It represents spring veins, it represents the netherworld. This qi is adept at hiding and fleeing, holding the profound mysteries of connecting life and death."

He spoke with measured, deliberate pauses.

Instantly, Wang Ping felt his sea of consciousness violently quake. It was as if Shasheng's words carried some terrifying might that directly struck the soul and shook the very foundation of his dao.

"Yet that is not the entirety of this qi. Yin water is Gui; it is the water beneath the earth, but also the rain and dew in the heavens. These are the different manifestations of yin water within the three realms of heaven, earth, and man. The key lies in the movement of the dragon. Benefactor's kunpeng form merely borrows this profound art of transformation."

The destiny form, Dormant Dragon Kun.

"The dragon is a variation of the Qian Trigram. A dragon appears in the field. The dragon kun takes flight and transforms into a peng; this is precisely the symbol of subterranean yin water ascending to the heavens to become nourishing rain and dew."

Shasheng announced loudly.

Despite lacking the grandiose imagery from before, Wang Ping felt a heavy blow far exceeding the previous Buddhist palm. His entire kunpeng form began to show signs of disintegrating.

"This is a Qi Refining magical duel? Dao debate?"

In an instant, Wang Ping understood. 'He's exposing the roots of this body of mine that manifests form through qi, using it to shatter my kunpeng form!'

At this thought, he attempted to hide himself. His great peng form transformed back into a dragon kun, preparing to sink into an endless, unseen ocean of gloom. Yet almost simultaneously, the curled white tuft between Shasheng's brows radiated brilliant light, illuminating the vast ocean with absolute clarity, leaving him absolutely nowhere to hide.

"Therefore, the roots of Benefactor's kunpeng form do not lie solely in subterranean yin water."

"If one were to debate the dao based on that alone, they would certainly miss the point. The key is that it obtained the transformation of the Qian Trigram, ascending from the earth to the heavens. Because of this, it truly possesses some of the atmosphere of heavenly yin water."

"Boom!"

The deafening voice of the dao acted like a divine sword, slashing directly onto Wang Ping. It instantly smashed his manifested kunpeng form to pieces.

For a time, countless profound visions fractured, then coalesced, condensing back into a profound body. However, it was no longer able to manifest the appearance of the kunpeng form.

"So that's how it is..."

Wang Ping stood in place, coming to a realization. "For the Qi Refining Tier, magical dueling is secondary. More often, the duel is used to dig out the opponent's roots and foundation."

After becoming a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, Wang Ping was actually no longer afraid of the profound mysteries Shasheng had displayed earlier. He wasn't Dashun Taizu. Even as a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, he was among the absolute best. Moreover, he had a perfectly compatible Spiritual Treasure on hand, not to mention his Free and Unfettered Wandering karmic merit. There was absolutely no way Shasheng could take him down.

But now, it seemed he had still overestimated himself.

'Admittedly, if we were only competing with profound mysteries, I could fight Shasheng for at least three hundred rounds. Even if I fell to a disadvantage, my life wouldn't be in danger.'

At most, I would just be suppressed during the fight.

However, in a Qi Refining magical duel, divine abilities and profound mysteries were always just secondary aids. It was more about the collision between daos, seeing who could see through the opponent's dao foundation first.

'Right now, I've lost a step.'

The foundations of his Dormant Dragon Kun had been easily seen through by Shasheng after just a few exchanges. Following a few rounds of dao debate, this method of his had already been heavily damaged.

'This is using the dao to injure someone, naturally inflicting damage on the dao foundation. It instantly made it impossible for me to manifest my kunpeng form. If he goes a step further and unravels the profound secrets of my Major Divine Ability, the gentleman should hide his implements at the right time, he might be able to kill me outright, leaving me no chance to fight back.'

He had become a Corpse Dissolution Immortal on a dao foundation composed of only two points.

The first was his destiny form, Dormant Dragon Kun, and the second was his divine ability, the gentleman should hide his implements at the right time. Or rather, all Corpse Dissolution Immortals broke through and dissolved themselves based on these two elements.

And now, half of his foundation had already been seen through.

'If I were a Qi Refining practitioner, I would never have such a massive flaw, because Qi Refining practitioners control the qi of heaven and earth. Their dao foundations are already transferred into the qi of heaven and earth.'

'But Corpse Dissolution Immortals are different.'

'Corpse Dissolution Immortals merely attach themselves to the qi of heaven and earth. Their dao foundation is actually still the same self from their Tribulation Transcending days. Their roots cannot be changed, making them much easier to see through in a dao debate.'

That wasn't even the most terrifying part.

The truly terrifying part was that once his dao foundation was seen through, even if he escaped this time, running into Shasheng in the future would be like losing half his life before the fight even began.

It would be impossible to fight.

'This is why those at the Qi Refining Tier basically never go all out against each other, and rarely even fight to a decisive conclusion. Once a victor is decided, it essentially becomes a matter of life and death.'

As things stood, Wang Ping could only be thankful that his Major Divine Ability, the gentleman should hide his implements at the right time, had been custom-tailored by a True Monarch. It wasn't as easily seen through as his destiny form... In truth, his destiny form wasn't easy to see through either, but unfortunately, Shasheng wasn't an ordinary Ascetic Monk. His dao attainment was incredibly high as well.

Well said, well said.

A second later, Shasheng spoke again. "It seems Daoist Friend also understands. This is the flaw of a Corpse Dissolution Immortal. Though you have severed your mortal shell, your nature remains mortal."

"Benefactor's actions are truly the height of folly."

"Fortunately, there is still room for remedy. As long as Benefactor joins our Brahma Nation, my temple is currently lacking a Golden-Winged Great Peng Dharma Protector. Benefactor may take up this position."

"Use our Brahma teachings to wash away your Immortal Dao foundation, and then reincarnate to recultivate the Brahma path. In the future, the seat of an Ascetic Monk under a Bodhisattva will be given to you."

Seeing this, Wang Ping shook his head.

"Daoist Friend, you are far too confident."

It was just a dao debate, wasn't it?

The seventh scripture scroll, Golden Sea Desiccation!

Pulling away from his distracting thoughts, Wang Ping quickly entered a state of epiphany. The many scenes and profound changes from his earlier duel with Shasheng all flooded into the sea of his mind.

Immediately after, the insights into the Kan Trigram that he had gained in the Deity Transformation Realm—the guidance from Mingxing Xuanyi Primordial Sovereign—began to surface one after another. Combined with the profound mysteries Shasheng had displayed, a deeper light of wisdom slowly rose within his sea of consciousness.

'As expected, everything had traces to follow from the very beginning.'

'The Kan Trigram. The breaking point lies in the Kan Trigram!'

Shasheng hadn't revealed any profound mysteries that would allow anyone to see through his dao foundation. He was a veteran Ascetic Monk who served under a Bodhisattva; he was extremely cautious about this.

In fact, Wang Ping truly had no way to pry into his dao foundation.

However, long before he had even left the Deity Transformation Realm, when that Supreme True Lord had revealed the profound mysteries of the Kan Trigram to him, she had already made it clear.

"Kan represents the two yin of heaven and earth, while man occupies the single yang."

Wang Ping raised his head and spoke quietly, "Daoist Friend cultivates under the Master of Secret Traces. Like water qi, this Bodhisattva excels at hiding and keeping secrets. He was once a Dharma Protector for the Living Buddha, serving as the mouthpiece for transmitting the teachings of all Bodhisattvas."

Shasheng's expression remained unchanged.

This wasn't some hidden secret, but rather common knowledge broadcasted throughout the Brahma Nation. Trying to shake his dao foundation with this level of debate was simply wishful thinking.

At this thought, he prepared to strike and capture Wang Ping.

But a second later, he suddenly froze... Not only did he freeze, but more importantly, his golden body—which was originally as solid as steel—actually began to crack!

Echoing this change was Wang Ping's voice of the dao:

"Just in case, I'll start with the conclusion."

"The founder of the Brahma Nation, that legendary Living Buddha, must have originally cultivated fire qi. Furthermore, it was human yang fire: Civilization-Manifesting Ultimate-Founding Qi!"