Chapter 656: Some Secrets

After he finished speaking, True Monarch Yuan Wu turned to look at Wang Ping but said nothing more.

Wang Ping didn’t know how to respond and simply lowered his head, remaining silent. But being stared at like that by True Monarch Yuan Wu made his Primordial Spirit feel as if it were crawling with a million ants, setting every nerve on edge.

Fortunately, True Monarch Yuan Wu only stared at Wang Ping for a dozen or so breaths before withdrawing his gaze and sitting back down at the wooden table. He poured himself a cup of tea and continued, “You’re probably thinking, ‘Since they’re causing trouble, why don’t we step in? After all, it would be much simpler if we handled it ourselves.'”

“I wouldn’t dare!”

Wang Ping interjected hastily. ‘Although that was exactly what he was thinking, he couldn’t admit it out loud.’

True Monarch Yuan Wu gave a noncommittal smile and said, “We have our own problems—a whole heap of them, in fact. Take me, for example. I’d love nothing more than to find a beautiful, secluded place to sit back and watch the world’s chaos unfold, occasionally stepping in to resolve a dispute or two when the mood strikes. Plus, I have a very long life ahead of me, much longer than yours. Tell me, isn’t a person like that just infuriating?”

This time, Wang Ping was smart enough not to answer.

True Monarch Yuan Wu didn’t press the topic. Instead, he changed the subject.

“After advancing to the Fourth Realm, did you find your power to be immense? So immense that it seems incompatible with the world itself? You might think that’s perfectly reasonable; it’s the power you’ve earned through centuries of cultivation. But have you ever stopped to consider that if this were truly the case, the world would have been destroyed long ago?”

As Wang Ping followed True Monarch Yuan Wu’s train of thought, a tremor of fear, the likes of which he hadn’t felt in ages, gripped his heart. He had to forcibly suppress the implications that arose in his mind.

Yu Lian sensed Wang Ping’s thoughts and spoke within his Spirit Sea. ‘All things in the Cosmos strive for balance and cyclicality, but the food chain still has a pecking order. Your worries are unfounded.’

True Monarch Yuan Wu sensed the shift in Wang Ping’s state of mind and said with a smile, “Getting back to our previous topic, I’ll repeat myself: we need to solve our own problems. Of course, the most crucial point is that those bastards can’t be destroyed outright…”

As he spoke, a nostalgic look flickered across True Monarch Yuan Wu’s face. He paused for a moment before continuing, “You haven’t experienced something being created from nothing, so you can’t understand what it means for spirituality to lose control. How should I put this… their existence helps shoulder the burden of this spiritual consciousness. If they were all wiped out in an instant, even a True Monarch could go insane from the sudden, overwhelming surge.”

“So, this brings us to your second duty: find more Cultivators who can advance to the Fourth Realm. And, stop any idiots from trying to break through over and over again, because frequent attempts disrupt that spirituality. This is extremely important—they are our future. Oh, and by the way, the Taiyan Sect can be re-established now, if you have any thoughts of doing so.”

True Monarch Yuan Wu deliberately paused here, ‘He must be waiting for me to ask something.’

Some questions did indeed surface in Wang Ping’s mind, so he asked, “Why couldn’t the Taiyan Sect be re-established before?”

True Monarch Yuan Wu took a sip of his tea and answered with a chuckle, “Because if you re-established the Taiyan Sect, you would inevitably end up worshiping Huishan True Monarch day and night. And in the process, you would fall under his control. With a single thought, he could turn all of you into his puppets!”

“Oh, right…”

With a wave of his hand, a jade slip shimmering with cyan light appeared in True Monarch Yuan Wu’s palm. He addressed Wang Ping, “This is your Taiyan Sect’s complete Secret Technique for the Transfer Talisman. You’ve witnessed its power before, I believe. Now, it’s yours.”

With that, he tossed the jade slip to Wang Ping.

Wang Ping caught it reflexively but didn’t examine it on the spot. ‘This Secret Technique must be the most treasured secret of Chengxi’s lineage. I coveted it back when I defeated Chengxi, but at the time, the Taiyin Sect and Lishui Prefecture both took the stance that I shouldn’t be too ruthless, so I couldn’t very well force it out of Quecai.’

Holding the jade slip, Wang Ping asked his second question. “May I ask the True Monarch, what is Xiao Shan Lord’s current status?”

The moment he asked this, the previously silent Wan Zhi Daoist lifted their eyelids slightly to glance at True Monarch Yuan Wu.

True Monarch Yuan Wu answered without much thought. “Xiao Shan’s current role is to suppress Huishan’s madness. That madness has obstructed many things. That is all you need to know.”

Wang Ping nodded and said no more.

After waiting for a dozen or so breaths and seeing that Wang Ping had no more questions, True Monarch Yuan Wu said, “There is one last matter. We spoke earlier of how powerful Fourth Realm Cultivators are—overlords of this world. But when the two Saints created this Cosmos, they did not want to see their life’s work come to naught. That’s why many things exist in a state of balance and cyclicality.”

He stared at Wang Ping and exhaled slowly. “You may have already guessed. The force that balances us is from outside the domain. In truth, powers from the outside have always been influencing our corner of the starry sky. Their actions aren’t as simple as just creating Demon Soldiers—and even that has only become prevalent in the last millennium.”

“The moon is our world’s last line of defense. We’ve placed Arrays on it that attract things from outside the domain. Anything from the outside that arrives here will be drawn to the moon. We should be grateful to the two Saints for making these external things so stupid. However, fighting them has nothing to do with you. The Star God Alliance is primarily responsible for the front lines.”

“Our responsibility is to deal with the things from outside the domain that manage to land in our world. We’ve set up similar attractive Arrays in certain special locations. For example, a place you’re familiar with: the Southern Chaotic Sea Region. That’s right, Wu Ma Daoist’s former Dao Field.”

Wang Ping’s heart skipped a beat. This revelation was utterly paradigm-shifting for him.

True Monarch Yuan Wu continued, “Now, if you consider this in light of the first duty I gave you, you should understand why we do these things. We face a grave external threat, yet some people refuse to shoulder their responsibility. As time passes, their numbers only grow.”

He sighed. “Some Fellow Daoists believe this is simply survival of the fittest—a trial from the Saints. They think we should just let those things from outside the domain come in, naively believing that passing this trial will usher in a grander future. Or perhaps they’re just so fed up with it all that they’re looking for a quick, final resolution.”

“Then there are Fellow Daoists with more extreme ideas, who intend to raise the living beings of this world like pigs in a pen, using their spirituality to fend off the things from outside. And…”

He shook his head. “It’s all very complicated; I can’t explain it all in one sitting. Besides, there are some things you shouldn’t know yet.” As he spoke, he produced a Token and tossed it to Wang Ping.

Wang Ping caught the Token and listened as True Monarch Yuan Wu explained:

“From now on, you are the Sect Leader of the zhongzhou Southern Daoist Lineage, as well as the Second Seat of the Daoist Palace. This Token connects to the Projection Space for the Second Seat, which contains confidential files you are free to peruse. Also, the Star God Alliance will periodically request resources through this Token. You are to meet their demands as best you can. This, too, is one of your duties.”

“Do you understand?”