Chapter 611 91: The Assassin's Memory

The moment Wang Ping recovered from the Thunder Tribulation, the first thing he did was retract the Heaven-Reaching Talisman. Then, he formed a hand seal for a Spell, driving the Wood Spirit within his body to disperse the lingering Thunderbolt Power.

Yu Lian asked from within his Spirit Sea, "Are you all right?"

"Don't worry. Not only am I fine, but my Primordial Spirit actually got a little stronger." As Wang Ping answered, he called up his status screen. Under the bombardment of the Thunder Punishment just now, his Primordial Spirit cultivation progress had actually increased by 2 points, reaching (45/100).

The idea of cultivating with Thunder Punishment flashed through Wang Ping's mind for only an instant. Thunder Punishment represented the Celestial Dao, and being punished by the Celestial Dao for an extended period would bring him no benefit in his advancement.

He steadied himself and turned to look at Hongyuan, Qin Zifeng, and Qingjiang. When he had made his move back in Wudao Prefecture, he had considered killing Qin Zifeng on the spot. After all, it was already confirmed that Qin Zifeng was Zi Luan's puppet. But on second thought, Hongyuan might also be a puppet. Besides, he needed Qin Zifeng to stabilize the morale in Nanlin Road right now.

Moreover, the one spreading the rumors was definitely not Zi Luan. He had nothing to gain from doing so. In fact, it would diminish his own fortune, which would be detrimental to his advancement to the Fourth Realm.

"Greetings, Changqing Zhenren!"

The three of them cupped their fists in a salute simultaneously.

Wang Ping gave a slight wave of his hand in response. His gaze then fell on Hongyuan as he said, "You two must go back. Jinhuai City cannot fall into chaos, and you are the only ones who can stabilize the situation there!"

Hongyuan appeared hesitant, but Qin Zifeng said crisply, "We will obey the True Man's command!"

Wang Ping nodded, unconcerned with Hongyuan's answer. "Go to the front hall and find Wen Yi. He will make the arrangements for you." With that, he extended his right hand and tapped his finger. Two Blessing Talismans materialized and sank into their bodies.

The two men's expressions changed slightly. Yu Lian raised her head and said, "These are two Blessing Talismans. With them, you need not fear any poison or curse below the Third Realm. Even if you are beaten half to death, the Wood Spirit Energy inside will repair your bodies."

"Thank you, True Man!"

"Go on!"

Wang Ping waved his hand.

There was something else Yu Lian didn't say. If the two dared to cause any trouble, the two Talismans would directly disrupt their Spirit Veins, inflicting a fate worse than death.

After the two left with complicated feelings, Wang Ping turned his gaze to Qingjiang.

"You may go as well."

Qingjiang silently clasped her hands in a salute and said, "Junior Brother Hongyuan is clearly at a complete loss. If he goes back, he might make things worse. Although Junior Brother Qin is calm, he can't restrain Junior Brother Hongyuan."

Wang Ping understood what Qingjiang was implying. He asked, "You want to go to Jinhuai City with them?"

"Yes!"

Wang Ping nodded thoughtfully. "And what do you want?"

In the Cultivation Realm, no one would offer their help so selflessly. Wang Ping wouldn't believe it for a second.

Qingjiang clasped her hands again and replied, "This junior wishes to use the waterways of Sanhe Prefecture to plan for my breakthrough to the Third Realm. I hope the True Man will grant my request!"

She bowed deeply.

"A reasonable request."

Wang Ping did not refuse. He waved his hand and said, "Go to the front hall and find Wen Yi. He will make the arrangements."

Qingjiang bowed silently once more, backed out of the courtyard, and then carefully made her way toward the Dao Field's main gate. Her retreating figure looked somewhat lonely and desolate.

Watching her back, Yu Lian said within the Spirit Sea, "She's so adrift and unrooted right now, like she could be blown away by a gust of wind at any moment. You have to work hard and advance to the Fourth Realm. Otherwise, Xiaozhu and Shuang'Er will end up like that too."

Wang Ping silently reached out and stroked Yu Lian's head. Yu Lian gently nuzzled his palm.

"Now, we need to go see those uninvited guests!"

As he spoke, his figure flickered. He took Yu Lian down to the underground prison beneath the Barrier Formation. In a pitch-black cell deep within the prison area, seven Second Realm Cultivators, bound by vines, were imprisoned.

There would be no interrogation. Wang Ping didn't have that much time to waste. He summoned two spare puppets and controlled them to use the Soul Searching Technique to directly view their memories.

The first to have his memory read was the Cultivator on the far left, a Water Cultivator. His life was very ordinary, much like most Cultivators. He was born into a large family, and because he had the aptitude for cultivation, he was chosen by a nearby Daoist Temple at a young age.

He then cultivated continuously at the Daoist Temple. As the years passed, he silently watched his relatives pass away one by one. His Dao Heart survived this trial, and he successfully broke through to the Second Realm. This was followed by another long and tedious period of cultivation. This time, his path to longevity seemed to grow increasingly hazy. In the end, he decided to risk it all on one last gamble.

'Shiquan Temple, a major sect of Northern Loose Cultivators!'

The most crucial piece of information Wang Ping read in this Cultivator's memory was the mission he had received from Shiquan Temple in the north: to head south and then report to a County Government called Ta Shan County, north of Mozhou Road, for deployment.

This news made Wang Ping raise an eyebrow. 'So a northern faction is involved!'

He suppressed his doubts and casually eliminated the Cultivator whose memory he had just read. Then, he shifted his gaze to the second Cultivator from the left.

Throughout the process of Wang Ping reading the memories, Yu Lian remained quietly perched on his shoulder, vigilantly watching for any traps within the target's divine soul or memories.

'Qingyuan Temple... that name sounds familiar...'

"When you were acquiring the Divine Soul Guides, Chengxi wanted to use them to lure you out. That Second Realm Taiyan Cultivator had registered his identity at Qingyuan Temple."

Wang Ping instantly recalled the incident. More information about Qingyuan Temple had been submitted to him later, showing that it was essentially a brokerage business. 'In that case, Shiquan Temple might be the same.'

Unsurprisingly, the memories of the other five were nearly identical. Their own backgrounds were clean; they were all approaching the end of their lifespans and wanted to gamble on one last chance. Moreover, they had all come to the south through various Loose Cultivator Daoist Temples that specialized in brokerage, and their destinations were all small county towns north of Mozhou Road.

This was a common tactic used by many Great Realm Cultivators to set people up. Qianmu Temple sometimes did the same. For instance, Ruan Chunzi was currently using such a method against Chengxi.

Although these people were pitiful, Wang Ping showed no mercy, because they were extremely dangerous.

After cleaning up the mess in the prison, Wang Ping returned to the Mountain Peak Dojo with Yu Lian. His Primordial Spirit swept over the front hall, and then his figure flickered, arriving in the underground cavern where he activated the Communication Array in the corner.

The projected consciousness of Wu Quan immediately appeared, followed by Gan Qi.

"Has Fellow Daoist Zi Luan really disappeared?" Wu Quan asked urgently.

"To us, it might seem like he's disappeared, but not to Fellow Daoist Zi Luan himself. He vanished on purpose!" Wang Ping's tone was certain, laced with dissatisfaction toward Zi Luan.

"Why would he..." Wu Quan began to ask subconsciously, but he had barely spoken three words before stopping abruptly. He had clearly thought of something as well. Finally, he let out a long sigh. "That's just wrong. We've known each other for over a thousand years, after all!"

A silence followed.

After a brief silence, Gan Qi straightened up and cupped his fists in a salute to Wang Ping and Wu Quan. "Seniors, this junior does not wish to participate in the coming conflict. I plan to take my disciples and adopted sons and move to the Eastern Continent!"