Make the Immortal Sect Great Again

Inside the Heavenly Craft Cave Abode, Wang Ping sat cross-legged and silently recited:

'Wind blows beneath the mountain, giving rise to decay.'

'When matter rots, pests breed. The remedy lies in governance and reform.'

This was what the Drum of Purging Vice and Quelling Turmoil had conveyed to Wang Ping—the Daoist secret Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang had inscribed into its spirit upon crafting it.

It did not seem difficult to grasp. Wang Ping considered it briefly and arrived at an answer: "Wind is inherently an ascending force, yet when trapped beneath a mountain, it loses its autonomy. With its flow stifled, decay takes root and breeds pests. When this occurs, one must govern and eradicate these vices."

He understood the meaning.

But as for how to integrate it into his Daoist theory, or even sense the corresponding supreme positions of heaven and earth, Wang Ping remained completely lost. He could only give up in frustration.

Fortunately, he did not dwell on it.

Compared to the Daoist secrets of Mountain-Wind Decay, he cared far more about the profound mysteries of the Drum of Purging Vice and Quelling Turmoil, as well as the boost it provided to his own strength.

As a Spiritual Treasure blessed by a trigram and an experimental creation of a True Person, the Drum of Purging Vice and Quelling Turmoil possessed three profound mysteries, exactly like the Gen Trigram.

Heaven occupied a single yang, while humanity and earth occupied two yin.

Specifically, these were the celestial-yang earth's Sun-Dwelling Mysterious Rainbow Inconstant Qi, the human-yin earth's Mid-Heaven Orthodox Origin Blended Harmony Qi, and the terrestrial-yin earth's Nine Marshes Profound Abyss Demon-Suppressing Qi.

The core and most important mystery among them was called Dao Resonance. Heralded as "The drum of Dao resounds, and heaven and earth lose their order," it derived from the human-yin earth's Mid-Heaven Orthodox Origin Blended Harmony Qi. As the name implied, it synchronized the drumbeats with Daoist theory, amplifying the theory's destructive power to the point where mere words could inflict severe injury.

This was no small matter.

After all, whether it was when Shasheng shattered Wang Ping's Kunpeng form or when Wang Ping redirected Tianhan's strength to kill him, Daoist theory had functioned mostly as an auxiliary tool.

In other words, Daoist theory alone was not enough.

At the very least, one had to do what he did against Tianhan: create a matching environment while employing Daoist theory. Only through this mutual resonance could massive destructive power be unleashed.

Pure Daoist theory might have some effect, but it was far from enough to decide the outcome of a battle between Qi Refining practitioners. For instance, when Wang Ping previously exposed the Living Buddha's Daoist lineage and the mysteries of the Brahma Cultivators' methods, it was practically a direct strike at their foundation. Yet, Shasheng's golden body had merely wavered; he had not even spat out a single mouthful of blood.

But with the Drum of Purging Vice and Quelling Turmoil, everything changed.

He could let the power of his Daoist theory ride on the drumbeats, multiplying its potency several times over. Not to mention, the drum possessed a second mystery that paired perfectly with it.

It was called Rainbow Light.

The name itself made it clear: this mystery originated from the celestial-yang earth's Sun-Dwelling Mysterious Rainbow Inconstant Qi, which was also Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang's primary cultivated qi!

Rainbow Light had been meticulously designed by Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang. By drawing on the "inconstant shifting" imagery of the Sun-Dwelling Mysterious Rainbow Inconstant Qi, every strike of this spiritual drum blasted out a swath of rainbow clouds, instantly creating an environment that synchronized with Daoist theory!

In other words.

When Rainbow Light and Dao Resonance worked together, Wang Ping could directly threaten his opponents with mere words, provided he saw through the secrets of their Daoist foundations!

This would save him an immense amount of effort.

Of course, this move was not exactly easy to use. It required a cultivator to possess incredibly profound Daoist attainment. Otherwise, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice.

That was why Faji had not been able to unleash the true power of these two mysteries earlier despite holding this treasure.

After all, it was exceedingly difficult for Qi Refining practitioners to see through an opponent's Daoist foundation secrets. It required a battle of wits and courage during combat. Wang Ping, however, was different.

Because he possessed an achievement originating from a True Monarch.

The Calamity of the Lost Dao!

As long as he created a sufficiently deadly peril and trapped his opponent within it, he could use this achievement to plunder their Daoist foundation secrets out of thin air.

'It's an absolute nuclear weapon.'

Thinking of this, Wang Ping could not help but marvel at how unfair water qi was. But realizing he cultivated water qi himself, his spirits immediately lifted.

Who said water qi was unfair?

Those narrow-minded cultivators outside only saw its mechanics and raw numbers, entirely blind to the sweat and effort the practitioner poured into it!

As for the Drum of Purging Vice and Quelling Turmoil's final mystery, which corresponded to the terrestrial-yin earth, it seemed rather ordinary at first glance. It was a lock-on method called Heavenly Drum. No matter where an opponent struck by this mystery fled, the drumbeats would echo directly in their ears.

Damn it, the nuke even came with an auto-lock!

A moment later, after thoroughly refining the Drum of Purging Vice and Quelling Turmoil inside and out with his magical power, Wang Ping tucked the Spiritual Treasure into his sleeve like a prized possession.

Only then did he look at the other two Spiritual Treasures.

Guanghan Palace.

Profound Abyss Pot.

Compared to the Drum of Purging Vice and Quelling Turmoil, these two Spiritual Treasures were much more ordinary. However, their two artifact spirits tried incredibly hard to sell themselves to Wang Ping.

And surprisingly, it was not just empty talk.

"Guanghan Palace resides within the celestial-yang metal, under the domain of the Clear Autumn Pale Gaze Solemn Killing Qi. This treasure has only one profound mystery, so its effect is also the most expansive."

It was called Responding Tide.

Seeing this, Wang Ping quickly recalled the Daoist secret he had previously plundered from the celestial-yang metal Qi Refining practitioner, Fairy Supo, using the Calamity of the Lost Dao:

'The five elements have Geng, just as the four seasons have the moon. Metal is white and the moon is bright; their colors are identical. Metal generates water, and the tide responds to the moon; their qi is identical too. This profound mystery of Guanghan Palace resonates exactly with this imagery. True to its name, it can command all waters, subjecting the six paths of five-element water qi to its restraint!'

This was genuinely impressive.

'Commanding all waters. Using just a single profound mystery to invoke the imagery of the six paths of five-element water qi... It feels like this celestial-yang metal is actually quite dominant.'

No wonder the Divine Weapon Courtyard remained so prosperous.

Among the eight trigrams, only the water qi's Kan Trigram, the Great Rebellion's own Gen Trigram, and the Divine Weapon Courtyard's Qian Trigram were unaffected by Purging the Stale Qi of the Six Heavens.

Looking at it now, the Divine Weapon Courtyard had probably pulled quite a few strings behind the scenes. They had managed to save the Qian Trigram, and it just might have been due to this celestial-yang metal commanding all waters.

Looking at the Immortal Gate's Three Great Academies this way, the Divine Weapon Courtyard was dominated by metal qi and had preserved the Qian Trigram. The Protector Courtyard was ruled by earth qi and had piggybacked on the Great Rebellion to preserve the Gen Trigram. Only the Immortal Prescription Courtyard had entirely lost the wood qi-related Zhen Trigram and Xun Trigram; they had truly lost everything.

"Of course, this profound mystery of commanding all waters is not absolute."

"If placed in an environment overwhelmingly thick with water qi, this profound mystery cannot be unleashed. There is even the risk of the water draining away the metal qi, damaging the foundation instead."

That was exactly how Fairy Supo had been hollowed out by him earlier.

This showed that the Divine Weapon Courtyard had most likely borrowed the momentum of the water qi's escape. Therefore, despite the celestial-yang metal supposedly commanding all waters, the initiative still belonged to the water qi.

Alternatively, the water qi had not wanted to make enemies of the entire Immortal Gate. Thus, while fleeing, it had implicitly permitted the Divine Weapon Courtyard's maneuvering. It gave the metal qi a hand, ensuring it still had some lingering goodwill within the Immortal Gate so it would not genuinely devolve into a demonic entity hunted by all.

'No wonder the Divine Weapon Courtyard never intervened during the chaos surrounding the Eight Trigrams Furnace back then.'

After all, the Divine Weapon Courtyard actually held an Immortal Decree tied to the Eight Trigrams Furnace, which could allow a True Person to personally descend into the mortal realm.

At the time, if the Divine Weapon Courtyard had chosen to side with Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang, then even a revered True Monarch would have had no way to turn the tide.

Yet the Divine Weapon Courtyard had simply refused to act.

Even though it was water qi making a move—the universally acknowledged demonic path of the Immortal Gate—the Divine Weapon Courtyard had still sat back and watched. Their true attitude toward the water qi had been laid bare for all to see.

'Truly fascinating.'

Wang Ping stroked his chin with a sigh of admiration. This was the advantage of having profound Daoist attainment. He could deduce the relationships between Daoist lineages just from the shifts in the world's qi.

'And looking at it this way, those six Qi Refining practitioners were actually targeting me heavily. A celestial-yang metal capable of commanding all waters, and a terrestrial-yin earth capable of countering terrestrial-yin water. Logically speaking, using such methods to deal with me, a terrestrial-yin water Corpse Dissolution Immortal, is definitely firing a heavy cannon to kill a mosquito. They took me extremely seriously.'

Unfortunately for them, he was still the one having the last laugh.

Soon, Wang Ping gathered and stored all three Spiritual Treasures.

Following that, he gently nudged the Profound One's Tribulation-Crossing Ring behind his head. Pitch-black radiance flowed beneath his feet, expanding like a deep pool.

Immediately after, silhouettes emerged from the shadows.

Jing Lang, Faji, Tianhan, Fairy Supo, Tao Shaobo, Chu Tianqiu... A full six Qi Refining Yin Spirits knelt around him on one knee.

Although their auras were much weaker compared to when they were alive, they remained at the Qi Refining tier. If one had to pinpoint a flaw, it was their dull, listless eyes. Lacking sentience, they could only obey Wang Ping's pre-issued commands. Faced with sudden situations, they were quite rigid, reacting purely on instinct.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping pinched a strand of light and formed a hand seal.

"Manifest!"

As he pointed this seal toward the six Qi Refining Yin Spirits, the auras of two immediately shifted, and sentience quickly flooded into their dull eyes.

Wang Ping had selected Tao Shaobo and Tianhan.

"Greetings, Master."

Once these two regained their sentience, they were virtually indistinguishable from when they were alive. Aside from their absolute loyalty to Wang Ping, it was as if they had truly been resurrected from thin air.

However, Wang Ping knew in his heart that this was merely an illusion. He was the one who had granted them sentience, and with his current cultivation, his limit was two. Only these two could truly be mobilized as Qi Refining combatants. The remaining four could probably only serve as suicide bombers, just like Dashun Taizu.

"This is also the drawback of Yin Spirits."

"Sentient Yin Spirits provide actual, immediate combat power. Nonsentient Yin Spirits are mostly just tools for stalling; they cannot secure a definitive victory."

There was another crucial factor in this.

That was Daoist theory.

Only with sentience could they think, see through the secrets of an opponent's Daoist foundation, and then kill the enemy with Daoist theory. Without sentience, they could only clash using profound mysteries.

"It's a bit like playing cards."

Intrigued, Wang Ping tested them one by one.

After all, figuring out how to best utilize this deck built from six Qi Refining Yin Spirits would be his core source of confidence when fighting Qi Refining practitioners for a very long time to come.

But aside from that—

"The biggest harvest of this run has not even arrived yet."

Retracting the Yin Spirits, Wang Ping flicked his sleeve again. This time, a full five corpses appeared. Somewhere in the unseen void, the Taiping Sutra vibrated violently!

The ninth scripture scroll!

Wang Ping rubbed his hands together in excitement. He wondered what kind of brand-new scripture scroll the corpse of a Qi Refining practitioner could generate for him.