Chapter 610 - 90: Brief Confrontation

"Don’t worry. The sky isn’t falling."

Wang Ping glanced at Yuan Zheng. The man’s panicked nature always surfaced whenever something happened. After calming Yuan Zheng down, Wang Ping turned to Liu Qin.

"I need to do something in the name of your Liu Family. Are you willing to serve me?"

Wang Ping’s tone was gentle, like that of a benevolent elder.

Liu Qin didn’t dare meet Wang Ping’s gaze. He simply bowed his head. "I am willing to help lighten your burdens, Old Ancestor!"

"Good!"

Wang Ping’s tone suddenly hardened, making Liu Qin flinch. Ignoring his reaction, Wang Ping continued, "Back then, the Xia Imperial Family was tyrannical. The southern clans supported your Liu Family’s ascension to the throne—that was nearly two hundred years ago, wasn’t it? But now, scoundrels plague the Imperial Court. They disregard the Emperor and treat the common people like worthless dogs. Tell me, what should be done with such men?"

Sweat beaded on Liu Qin’s forehead. Faced with Wang Ping’s question, he immediately shouted, "We must execute these scoundrels, restore integrity to the Imperial Court, and bring peace to the people!"

"Good. Very good!"

Wang Ping voiced his approval again, then looked to Xia Wen Yi and said, "Wen Yi, go and arrange this."

Xia Wen Yi nodded, accepting the task. He then took Liu Qin and departed for the front hall in a streak of light.

Wang Ping then turned to Yuan Zheng and said calmly, "Continue with your work. Take inventory of the Elixirs and supplies in our warehouse. We’ll be needing them very soon."

Yuan Zheng looked as if he was ready to risk everything. "I’ve made some preparations in the Southern Four Roads over the years..."

"No need!"

Wang Ping waved his hand. He knew Yuan Zheng’s "preparations" in the Southern Four Roads were mostly trade routes. After all, he was a genuine Third Realm Cultivator of the Upper Dan Sect. Merchants were more affectionate with him than with their own families.

Yuan Zheng had used these channels to build a dense network of contacts, with informants reaching even into the most remote villages. Wang Ping had witnessed it firsthand when he first attended the gathering at Sanhe Temple. Back then, Yuan Zheng had only been in the Second Realm.

"Those contacts of yours have a greater purpose. For now, go help Wen Yi take stock of the supplies!"

"Very well!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zheng said no more and immediately departed in a streak of light.

Wang Ping glanced at Yu Lian, who was resting quietly beside him. His Primordial Spirit Consciousness reached out to Dongcan deep within Dongshui Mountain, sending a message: "Come here at once."

’I didn’t intend to play this second piece so soon, but it seems I have no choice now!’

Wang Ping let out a long sigh. He took out his Communication Token to first reply to Wu Quan’s message, agreeing to discuss countermeasures via consciousness projection in Half an Hour.

"Can Wu Quan still be trusted?"

Yu Lian asked.

Wang Ping shook his head. "I don’t know. At the very least, Wu Quan doesn’t want chaos to break out. After all, he only just acquired that lucrative territory on Mozhou Road."

Just then, Dongcan landed outside the small courtyard.

"Take your people and find Wen Yi. He’ll give you your assignments. Also, bring the person at the entrance to my Dao Field. Let’s see how he performs."

Wang Ping didn’t waste words with Dongcan. The person at the entrance to the Dao Field was, of course, Leng Kezhen.

"Yes!"

Dongcan cupped his fist and gave a slight nod. Without asking what was happening, he turned and walked toward the gate of the Dao Field.

Yu Lian watched his retreating back and commented, "He looks more like a righteous Mystic Sect Cultivator than you do. But why did the old intelligence reports on him paint him as so sinister and ruthless?"

"Is there anything he does for me now that *isn’t* ruthless?"

"..."

Yu Lian tilted her head to look at Wang Ping. "I can’t seem to find a way to argue with that."

Wang Ping picked up his Communication Token again; a new message had arrived. This time, it was from Hongyuan. Unsurprisingly, he was asking what to do next.

"Whose message?"

"Hongyuan. He must have received the news via a Puppet Bird. He’s probably panicking and at a complete loss right now."

A glint appeared in Yu Lian’s eyes. "He probably hasn’t gone far. If he were to be killed right now, you’d never be able to clear your name..."

At her words, Wang Ping shot to his feet. He suppressed the instinct to rush out himself, instead extending his right hand and pointing forward. A dozen or so Golden Armored Puppets materialized. He then summoned the Pocket World Mirror. A few breaths later, one of his puppets in Wudao Prefecture located the trail of Hongyuan and Qin Zifeng.

Just as Wang Ping breathed a sigh of relief, several auras belonging to Gold Cultivators erupted from the ground in the distance, locking onto Hongyuan and Qin Zifeng.

"What is it? Did something really happen?"

Yu Lian asked.

Wang Ping’s brow twitched. He activated the Transfer Talismans that his puppets had placed in the area around Hongyuan and Qin Zifeng, using them to sense the energy fluctuations within a radius of several hundred kilometers.

By this time, Hongyuan and Qin Zifeng had already engaged the enemy. To be more precise, Hongyuan was protecting Qin Zifeng as they fled toward Baisui Lake. Their opponents were four Second Realm Gold Cultivators; facing them, their only chance of survival was to escape.

Before long, Wang Ping discovered at least five more Second Realm Cultivators hiding in the shadows!

This was a major play!

An ordinary person could never deploy so many Second Realm Cultivators.

’This is getting more and more interesting...’

Wang Ping let out a soft laugh for some reason. Perhaps he was hoping for a ripple in the stagnant waters of his cultivation life. Just then, a Water Cultivator flew in from the south, blocking a fatal blow meant for Hongyuan.

It was Qingjiang!

She was currently cultivating in Wudao Prefecture.

Come to think of it, she and Hongyuan were fellow disciples, a senior sister and junior brother.

"Yu Lian!"

By the time Wang Ping called out, Shi Yu Lian was already rising into the air on a cloud. The space in the courtyard distorted. A dozen or so Golden Armored Puppets plunged into the spatial tunnel created by a Transfer Talisman, followed by Wang Ping and Yu Lian.

His vision blurred and shifted. The orderly Garden Dojo was replaced by a dense jungle. He was now deep within a forest, dozens of kilometers from the patch of sky where Hongyuan and Qin Zifeng were being besieged.

Even before Wang Ping and Yu Lian revealed themselves, the dozen Golden Armored Puppets had already intercepted the Gold Cultivators, saving Hongyuan and Qin Zifeng’s lives. Farther away, the aura of Hu Qianqian could be felt. Following that, several members of the Demon Race appeared in various corners of Wudao Prefecture. They each performed their Secret Techniques, constructing a massive Array in the sky.

"Stand down!"

Wang Ping’s Primordial Spirit Consciousness instantly locked onto Hu Qianqian. He did not want her getting involved in this conflict.

He then decisively activated his Wood Spirit Form. His Primordial Spirit Consciousness, channeled through a Heaven-Reaching Talisman, perceived a great ’net’ woven throughout the world. Through this ’net,’ Wang Ping instantly locked onto the four Gold Cultivators, as well as every other ambushing Cultivator in the surrounding area.

The life force of these Cultivators was connected to this great net. While their lifelines were robust compared to those of ordinary people, for Wang Ping, severing them was a matter of a single thought.

And so, in the next instant, the surging Metal Spirit Aura in the distant sky vanished. The four Gold Cultivators who had been fiercely attacking Hongyuan and Qin Zifeng a moment ago suddenly lost all signs of life. As they plummeted toward the earth, the Spirit Veins within their bodies rapidly withered, turning them into desiccated corpses in the blink of an eye!

Wang Ping’s consciousness then fell upon the other hidden Cultivators in the area. The Wood Spirits around these individuals suddenly grew with wild abandon. Before they could react, their Spirit Veins had been corroded by a Spiritual Poison. They were helpless as countless vines bound them and dragged them onto the nearest Transfer Array.

As these Transfer Arrays activated, the Transfer Talismans built into the Golden Armored Puppets near Hongyuan, Qin Zifeng, and Qingjiang, as well as the Transfer Talisman near Wang Ping, activated once more.

With another flicker of his vision, Wang Ping was back at the Mountain Peak Dojo.

BOOM!

A bolt of lightning as thick as a water bucket descended from the gloomy sky, striking the Heaven-Reaching Talisman that Wang Ping had offered up. Chaotic Thunderbolt Power instantly overwhelmed his aura before surging into his limbs and meridians.

This was the Thunder Punishment for stealing the Majestic Power of Heaven and Earth to kill. The tribulation looked immensely powerful, but Wang Ping only felt a fleeting numbness before it dissipated completely.

This was because the people whose life force he had reaped were far too weak. Had they been Cultivators of his own realm, he feared the Thunder Punishment would have taken half his life. Besides, under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have been able to sever the life force of a Cultivator of the same realm in such a manner.