Chapter 390: A Fallen Genius?

Zhaoming Realm.

Wang Ping's consciousness returned to his body. He glanced at the bored First Seat, Lian Ruzhao, beside him and stood. "Master, I plan to return to the Immortal Gate first."

"Oh?"

Lian Ruzhao looked up. Before Wang Ping could even explain his scheme to trap and kill his enemies, she blinked. "What do you need my help with?"

"Who are you setting up this time?"

Wang Ping fell silent.

Fortunately, the First Seat was not his enemy. Her outrageous intuition made his scalp prickle far more than any high-level cultivator ever could.

Sighing inwardly, Wang Ping detailed his plan. The most crucial element was the timing of the First Seat's strike: she could not act too early, or a True Person would spot it and issue a warning; nor could she act too late, or they would fail to wipe out their enemies in one fell swoop.

"Not a problem."

Lian Ruzhao considered this, then said softly, "I'll strike based on my intuition. I probably won't be discovered. But what about you? Won't you be in danger?"

Wang Ping was deeply moved.

Just look at that. Others only cared whether he was a bad person or if his heart was rotten. Only the First Seat cared if he was at risk. What a difference!

"Of course there are risks."

Wang Ping grinned, looking completely unruffled. "However, a little risk will actually help the Kan Trigram circulate more smoothly, allowing it to unleash even more power."

For his cultivation, it brought only benefits and no harm.

...

Ziwei Enclosure, within the Immortal Gate's territory.

Boom!

Accompanied by a massive explosion that shook the Cosmos, a figure fled upon the qi of heaven and earth, crashing violently into a deep space starfield.

In an instant, the Cosmic Deep Space where he fell transformed into a pitch-black ocean. Water qi surged, and the surrounding stars shook violently. Crusts shattered,

Chapter 390: A Fallen Genius?

Zhaoming Realm.

Wang Ping's consciousness returned to his physical body. He immediately looked toward the bored First Seat, Lian Ruzhao, and stood up. "Master, I plan to return to the Immortal Gate first."

"Oh?"

Lian Ruzhao looked up. Before Wang Ping could even explain his plan to trap and kill his enemies, she blinked. "What do you need my help with?"

"Who are you setting up this time?"

Wang Ping fell silent.

It was a good thing the First Seat wasn't his enemy. That kind of outrageous intuition would make his scalp prickle far worse than any high-level cultivator ever could.

Sighing inwardly, Wang Ping detailed his plan. The most crucial element was the timing of the First Seat's strike—she couldn't act too early, or a True Person would easily spot it and issue a warning, but she couldn't act too late either, or they wouldn't be able to wipe out their enemies in one fell swoop.

"No problem."

Lian Ruzhao thought it over and said softly, "I'll strike based on my intuition. In all likelihood, I won't be discovered. But what about you? Won't you be in danger?"

Wang Ping was deeply moved.

Look at that. Others only cared whether he was a bad person or if his heart was rotten to the core. Only the First Seat cared if he faced any risks. What a difference!

"Of course there are risks."

Wang Ping grinned, completely unruffled. "However, a little risk will actually make the Kan Trigram circulate more smoothly, unleashing even more of its power."

For his cultivation, it was all benefit and no harm.

...

Ziwei Enclosure, within the Immortal Gate's territory.

Boom!

Accompanied by a massive explosion that shook the Cosmos, a figure fled upon the qi of heaven and earth, crashing violently into a deep space starfield.

In an instant, the Cosmic Deep Space where he fell seemed to turn into a pitch-black ocean. Water qi surged, and the surrounding stars shook violently. Crusts shattered, underground spring veins welled up, and on a few life-bearing stars, dead bones came to life, corpses turned into zombies, and events of Netherworld Communication broke out one after another.

All of this was caused by the fluctuations of the qi of heaven and earth.

Such a drastic upheaval caught the attention of many Qi Refining practitioners. Raising their eyes toward this patch of starry sky, they recognized the heaven and earth qi of the instigator.

'Earth Yin water, Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi!'

'It's a Corpse Dissolution Immortal.'

'Could it be...'

The very next second, all the anomalies vanished. The dissipating profound energies were drawn back in, finally converging in the deep space to form a somewhat wretched figure.

"It really is him!"

Instantly, all the Qi Refining practitioners who had cast their gazes over stood up, their eyes burning brightly. "The Dao Child of Water Qi—he actually survived the hands of the Brahma Nation?"

"He is a Dao Child of the Immortal Gate, after all. Perhaps he had some life-saving treasure from a True Monarch... But the rumors were right; he switched to cultivating as a Corpse Dissolution Immortal to survive."

"Severing his own Dao path... What a pity."

"Ah, a fallen genius!"

"Then again, now that he's switched to the Corpse Dissolution Immortal path, is he still worthy of a True Monarch's regard? The Immortal Gate is ruthless. If I were a True Monarch, I'd discard him like an old shoe."

"Is he really Dousheng, Wang Ping?"

"It's highly likely."

"After all, the Ascetic Monk who attacked him was that killer from the Brahma Nation, right under the Bodhisattva's seat. He has a massive karmic connection with Wang Ping. In all likelihood, he was aiming for him."

"Makes sense..."

Numerous divine senses intertwined in the deep space, scrutinizing Wang Ping. However, Wang Ping completely ignored them. After a brief rest, he rode his escape light once more.

Wherever he passed, the influence of the Hidden Dragon Meridian-Circulating Nether-Penetrating Qi spread. Although he quickly retracted the influence, everyone could see that as a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, he was powerless to rein in his own profound energy. In all likelihood, his Dao foundation had suffered severe trauma.

"He's going to... the Eight Trigrams Furnace!"

"There's no mistake. He must be Wang Ping!"

"What is he trying to do?"

More and more gazes fell upon him. Especially after discovering Wang Ping's destination, everyone was certain they had seen through his identity.

Right at this moment, a profound energy descended from the sky.

"Hm!?"

The next second, Wang Ping's profound body froze in place. Then, the Profound Unity Tribulation-Crossing Ring behind his head abruptly broke away!

Also peeling away was the profound form that had shrouded his body. This was the profound effect of the Profound Unity Tribulation-Crossing Ring, so it naturally left along with the Spiritual Treasure. It was as if a layer of illusion had been peeled back, revealing Wang Ping's true face, which was etched with astonishment and disbelief.

Instantly, all eyes locked onto his appearance.

"It really is him!"

"Now there's solid proof... And with the Spiritual Treasure flying away on its own, it's just as expected. After becoming a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, he's lost all value. The water qi lineage has abandoned him."

"One wrong step, and the difference is like heaven and earth."

"If he had just stayed calm that day and chosen death over becoming a Corpse Dissolution Immortal, perhaps the True Monarch would have saved him. What a pity. In the end, he lacked that bit of Dao heart."

Watching the Profound Unity Tribulation-Crossing Ring pierce through the void and disappear into the depths of the gloomy water qi, the gazes landing on Wang Ping grew much bolder.

On the other hand, the shock on Wang Ping's face wasn't faked at all. He genuinely hadn't expected his True Monarch to suddenly take away the Profound Unity Tribulation-Crossing Ring. This was an unforeseen variable—but very quickly, a dim profound ring appeared in his sea of consciousness.

The Profound Unity Tribulation-Crossing Ring... was back!

'I see. Taking it away openly but secretly returning it to me. The True Monarch is cooperating with my act, making everyone think the water qi has abandoned me.'

This wasn't to deceive the Qi Refining practitioners.

It was to deceive the True Persons! The returned Profound Unity Tribulation-Crossing Ring clearly carried an even higher layer of profound energy, making his disguise far more realistic.

Originally, Wang Ping had only faked an injured appearance. Tricking Qi Refining practitioners was fine, but it definitely wouldn't fool the discerning eyes of a True Person. However, he couldn't exactly use a truly heavily injured body to deal with the Qi Refining practitioners, so that flaw couldn't be erased. Now, he no longer needed to worry.

'The True Monarch personally took action to cover for me.'

'At this moment, even if a True Person's dharma eyes inspect me personally, I will just look like an exhausted lamp with a shaken Dao foundation. No one will find anything amiss!'

You really had to hand it to the water qi lineage.

They really knew how to play the game!

While internally praising his True Monarch, Wang Ping threw his head back and roared with boundless grief and indignation, "True Monarch! Are you going to abandon me too?!"

"No—!!!"

Snowflakes fluttered and the north wind howled. His intense emotional fluctuations disturbed his mana, further triggering the resonance of the qi of heaven and earth, making the anomalies appear even more frequently.

Right at this moment.

Finally, seeing Wang Ping not only convert to a Corpse Dissolution Immortal and suffer heavy injuries, but ultimately get abandoned by the True Monarch, the first person to take the bait appeared.

"Little friend Dousheng, I trust you have been well since we last met."

As the voice rang out, a beam of azure light swept in like the wind, surging from all directions. It transformed alongside the surroundings, finally solidifying into a figure that strolled out from within.

Wang Ping whipped his head around, instantly recognizing this Qi Refining practitioner under Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan. A visible look of hatred surfaced on his face. "Jing Lang... If you hadn't ruined my divine pill at the critical moment, how would I have fallen to this state? And now you actually dare to show yourself before me?"

Jing Lang completely dismissed this hatred.

It was nothing but incompetent rage.

What, was he actually going to kill him?

If Wang Ping were still the Dao Child of Water Qi, then even if he had become a Corpse Dissolution Immortal with a severed Dao path, Jing Lang would still call him 'fellow Daoist' on account of the water qi lineage.

But now, even the water qi had abandoned him.

"In the end, you are just Human Firewood in the furnace, no different from an independent cultivator. Even if you gained power for a moment, your roots are what they are. One wrong step, and you lose the whole game."

Hearing this, Wang Ping's expression turned gloomy and cold. Beneath his calmness seeped a hint of madness:

"Lost the whole game?"

"The ending is not yet decided. That day, I managed to escape a True Person's grasp and establish my merits. I didn't rely on the True Monarch for that. Did you think I wouldn't have a trump card?"

After speaking, he turned and left.

Seeing this, Jing Lang sneered. He didn't stop him; instead, he felt a bit of curiosity and anticipation. He looked at Wang Ping as though watching a trapped beast.

It was merely a futile struggle.

A trump card?

What trump card could it be? Put plainly, wasn't it just the Great Rebellion's inheritance? Perfect, the True Person also wanted to see exactly which branch of the Great Rebellion's inheritance he possessed.

Soon, Wang Ping arrived in front of the Eight Trigrams Furnace. He muttered something under his breath, formed a hand seal, and pointed a finger down lightly. Instantly, an arc of light surfaced inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, rising to the heavens and surging with endless spiritual energy. It had actually answered his call!

"There really is something..."

"The Heavenly Craft Cave Abode? No, it's another secret realm."

"Hiss, what heavy spiritual energy!"

At this moment, not only did the Qi Refining practitioners look over one after another, but even in a higher dimension, a figure constantly paying attention to the Eight Trigrams Furnace cast its gaze down.

Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan!

With his cultivation, a sweep of his gaze over Wang Ping and a quick pinch of his fingers to calculate meant many secrets simply couldn't be hidden from him. He immediately had an answer in his heart:

'Shunhe possessed a copy of the Nourishing Qi, Forgetting Words, and Guarding the One Scripture, which can reverse the Corpse Dissolution Immortal state. Since Shunhe was killed by him, this ancient scripture should have fallen into his hands. However, refining a physical body is extremely troublesome. Not only must it be refined by the person himself, but the spiritual materials required are exceedingly rare and precious.'

'Shunhe couldn't gather them all even over several millennia.'

Thinking of this, Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan looked at Wang Ping again, having already formed a hypothesis: 'He wants to use the spiritual materials from the Great Rebellion's secret realm to refine a fleshly body?'

It seemed perfectly logical.

Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan pondered inwardly, 'Although he can be resurrected, the body he gets after reincarnating cannot possibly be the same as the one from his past life.'

Take Kunlun, for example.

He had also reincarnated and resurrected, but after reincarnating, he had to start as an infant, his physical body treading the path of cultivation all over again. Furthermore, the soul underwent changes before and after reincarnation.

The physical body after reincarnation might not perfectly attune with the soul—at least not enough to be used to reverse the Corpse Dissolution Immortal cultivation base. Otherwise, with the endless stream of resurrection methods in the Immortal Gate, they would have long since completely solved the flaws of the Nourishing Qi, Forgetting Words, and Guarding the One Scripture, making the Corpse Dissolution Immortal path no longer a dead end.

Then the question was:

"Which of the Great Rebellion's secret realms is this?"

Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan frowned. Although he didn't dare project his gaze into the Eight Trigrams Furnace again, looking at it with his naked eyes across the Cosmos was not an issue.

Hmm... Judging from the architectural style and the outer formations, it was indeed a secret realm of the Great Rebellion, but as for exactly which one, it couldn't be distinguished without seeing the whole picture.

Fengyang Palace?

Taiji Palace?

Changle Palace?

However, no matter which one it was, today's outcome wouldn't change. Thinking of this, a cold smile gradually surfaced on Daoist Master Xuanxiao Yingyuan's face.

Wang Ping was definitely dead!