“Rumble!”
In the Outer Courtyard, Wang Ping stood with his hands resting behind his back, his eyes half-closed. The vast majority of his spiritual sense had detached from his physical body, anchoring entirely onto the Six Desires Primal Heaven Demon behind him.
In an instant, his vision transformed completely.
Before this, the world his eyes saw and the world his spiritual sense perceived were identical. Mountains were mountains, water was water; everything remained orderly and logical.
Now, everything had changed.
Through the eyes of the Six Desires Primal Heaven Demon, the world his spiritual sense perceived drastically shifted, gaining an extra, bizarre radiance.
The radiance lingered in the air like an aurora, permeating the vast expanse of heaven and earth. At first glance, it resembled countless swarming Gu insects dancing through the sky. Yet in the next instant, they merged into surging, rolling waves. The two forms intertwined seamlessly, their hues shifting with the rising sun and setting moon.
Cyan, yellow, red, white, and black flowed in an endless cycle.
The five colors wove themselves into ever-shifting patterns that filled Wang Ping’s vision. Though seemingly chaotic, they were distinctly separated into twenty-four currents.
“This is…”
Faced with such a wondrous sight, Wang Ping immediately recalled a passage from the 【Sovereign Attainment Method of the Six Desire Heavens】:
“Heaven and earth possess twenty-four currents of Qi, which govern the myriad transformations of all things.”
They were known as the 【Twenty-Four Qi Currents】.
According to the manual, the path of Qi Refining was intimately connected to these Twenty-Four Qi Currents. Unfortunately, its explanation was frustratingly vague, leaving Wang Ping unable to grasp the underlying principles.
Even so, as he circulated the 【Sovereign Attainment Method of the Six Desire Heavens】, he quickly noticed that one of the twenty-four auroral currents had begun to resonate with him. Boundless streams of colored light descended in rhythm with the Six Desires Primal Heaven Demon’s breathing, cascading over it like a celestial waterfall as it steadily absorbed their essence.
Crack!
Almost at the same instant, Wang Ping felt as though he had been hurled into a vat of boiling water. A searing heat surged through his nose and mouth, rushing violently into every limb, bone, and organ.
He felt like he was melting—being melted down to be recast entirely.
The sweltering heat dissolved his muscles, bones, flesh, and even his meridians, only to polish and forge them into a brand-new shape.
“Fuck!?”
Wang Ping cursed out loud, nearly biting his own tongue off in the process. Searing agony frantically battered his nervous system.
If he had to describe it, it felt exactly like being buried alive in sand with only his head exposed, having someone slice his scalp open, and then pouring liquid mercury directly into his skull… That unbearable, maddening itch made him want to rip his way out of his own body through the slit on his head.
Wang Ping… couldn’t hold it back.
“Pfft!”
He violently threw his head back, pushing his awareness out through that metaphorical opening on his crown—the very source of the melting heat.
His vision instantly went black.
Crack, crack crack crack!
Ear-piercing snaps echoed endlessly.
Sheets of rotting skin peeled off. Blood oozed freely from his pores. His veins thickened into heavy cords, and his bones grew incredibly dense. Slowly, Wang Ping stood up straight.
The agony fell away like shattered shackles, taking a layer of tattered, dead human skin down with it. An intense, euphoric thrill caused Wang Ping to tremble from head to toe.
He had shed his mortal body!
At this moment, Wang Ping resembled a serpent that had sloughed off its old skin to welcome a new life. Exposed to the sunlight, his fresh skin gleamed with a faint, golden luster.
Spiritual Consciousness, Flawless True Body, Circulatory Breathing, Manifesting Arts through Qi.
Among the four defining traits of the first layer of Transcending Tribulations, Wang Ping had already mastered 【Spiritual Consciousness】. Right now, he was actively cultivating the second trait— the 【Flawless True Body】.
Of course, this was merely the starting line. The radiant glow of his skin made its miraculous nature obvious at a single glance, but it remained entirely superficial, failing to penetrate deep into his internal meridians. Once he truly forged the 【Flawless True Body】, all external miraculous signs would retract, leaving him looking no different from a common mortal.
“Bang!”
In the next second, Wang Ping planted his foot down. He used zero effort, merely intending to take two steps forward, yet the bluestone slab beneath his foot shattered on impact!
“Incredible…”
Wang Ping swayed slightly and took another two steps. The bluestones continued to explode under his weight. Only on the fifth step did he manage to rein in his strength, leaving behind nothing more than a spiderweb of cracks.
Power!
He hadn’t used a single ounce of internal force just now. Relying purely on his raw physical constitution, the raw power he displayed rivaled the strength he commanded back when he charged the enemy lines alone!
And back then, he had relied on the Great Method of Heavenly Demon Disintegration!
Compared to his current state, those so-called pinnacles of external martial arts—the True Dragon Sinews or the Mountain Lord Bones—were utter nonsense. They were entirely unqualified to even be mentioned in the same breath!
Was this even reasonable?
It seems quite reasonable. After all, I’m cultivating immortality now…
Standing in place, Wang Ping threw a few punches and swung his arms. By utilizing his spiritual sense to assist his coordination, he slowly wrangled control over the explosive power of his newborn constitution.
“Am I even human anymore?”
In the Great Shun Dynasty, ordinary martial artists needed ten years of bitter, agonizing training to master their external arts, and internal force martial masters needed another ten on top of that. But how long did it just take him?
The time it took to inhale a single breath of spiritual qi!
With just one breath of spiritual qi, his physical constitution could already rival a veteran internal force master. The gap between them was no longer a difference in human skill; it was a fundamental gap between species!
“No, wait. My martial arts…”
Wang Ping circulated his spiritual sense, meticulously inspecting his internal changes. He was shocked to discover that the traces left behind by his past martial arts training had vanished entirely.
Or rather, they had been completely overwritten.
True Dragon Sinews, Mountain Lord Bones, Dragon Elephant Flesh, Kui Ox Skin, Extreme Yang Blood, Snow-White Marrow… A far more profound power had erased and overwritten his mortal constitution.
This transformation mirrored a serpent evolving into a true dragon.
“…Unbelievable!”
Even the internal force cultivation body he had painstakingly forged using the 【Heavenly Roc Capturing the Dragon Cultivation Diagram】 visibly disintegrated, melting seamlessly back into his meridians.
The reason was brutally simple.
“The grade of my martial art is no longer high enough…” Wang Ping muttered softly.
What was internal force? What was a cultivation body?
Bluntly speaking, a cultivation body was a secondary, artificial system constructed within a martial artist’s body. A practitioner used it to transform their essence, qi, and spirit, thereby giving birth to the power known as internal force.
The problem Wang Ping faced was simple—the output capacity of the 【Heavenly Roc Capturing the Dragon Cultivation Diagram】 was too low. It could no longer unite his highly evolved essence, qi, and spirit to generate internal force. Even the internal force he had previously generated was breaking down naturally as his new body circulated its power.
His body was practically telling him:
I do not allow something so weak and tiny to exist inside me.
Realizing this, Wang Ping almost laughed. If he returned to the Great Shun Dynasty right now, he probably wouldn’t even qualify for the title of an internal force master. He would be classified as a mere external martial artist.
Forget it.
Whether I have internal force or not, my raw strength has dramatically increased. That is all that matters. Looking at it from another angle, this simply shows my new potential…
Although the 【Heavenly Roc Capturing the Dragon Cultivation Diagram】 proved insufficient for him now, the Great Shun Dynasty definitely possessed stronger internal force techniques. Dispersing his old cultivation wasn’t a bad thing; it freed him to pursue superior martial arts and walk much further down the martial path in the future.
Thinking of this, Wang Ping felt instantly relieved.
Martial arts might pale in comparison to cultivating immortality, but it yields rapid results, making it highly useful in the early stages. Besides, I have a flawed spiritual root. With the Great Dao out of reach, I must prepare for a rainy day.
Reining in his wandering thoughts, Wang Ping withdrew his consciousness from the Six Desires Primal Heaven Demon, snapping back into his main body. He then recalled the towering, three-meter-tall divine general directly into his shadow.
Feeling the surging power coursing through his veins, he couldn’t help but fantasize. My physical combat power alone can already match the state I achieved using the Heavenly Demon Disintegration in my past life. Furthermore, I’ve successfully cultivated the Six Desires Primal Heaven Demon. It harbors numerous miraculous traits and its combat power likely exceeds my own.
Not to mention, the two could fight in tandem.
If a real fight breaks out, I can output damage with a bow from the backline while the Six Desires Primal Heaven Demon acts as the vanguard. Could I go toe-to-toe with a Titled Martial Master like Xu Bingzheng?
Wang Ping felt a restless urge to test it out.
However, he quickly forced himself to cool down. No. If I want to show off, I must wait until I return to the Great Shun Dynasty. Here in the Immortal Sect, I have to keep my head down and lay low…
He had only cultivated a single trait, the 【Spiritual Consciousness】, and he already possessed such terrifying ability.
What about Daoist Nun You?
Even the most conservative estimates meant she had survived the Human Tribulation and cultivated true spiritual power. She possessed a genuine spiritual root and stood as an official disciple of the Immortal Sect.
“Ding-ding!”
Just then, the silver bell hanging beneath the eaves chimed. Wang Ping snapped his head up, knowing that Daoist Nun You had finished her closed-door cultivation and was summoning her attendant boy.
Wang Ping dared not delay. He hurried to the courtyard wall featuring the painted door, pulled out his token to knock, and gently pushed against the canvas.
“Clang!”
The door swung open, revealing the grotto-heaven hidden within the painting.
Wang Ping stepped through the threshold and entered the Inner Courtyard.
Almost simultaneously, Daoist Nun You—standing gracefully beneath a towering ancient tree in the Inner Courtyard—sensed his arrival. She turned her head, her gaze instantly locking onto him.
“…Hm?”
A soft exclamation escaped her lips. Daoist Nun You scrutinized Wang Ping, her beautiful eyes shifting as they revealed a distinct hint of delight. She gave a slight nod.
“You’ve done well.”
Wang Ping immediately bowed deeply. “Milady praises me too highly. I merely achieved a minor breakthrough in my technique.”
Daoist Nun You smiled with satisfaction. “A minor breakthrough? Practicing the 【Sovereign Attainment Method of the Six Desire Heavens】 to the fourth layer in just three months is far more than a minor breakthrough.”
Wang Ping’s heart skipped a beat.
He had prepared himself mentally for this, but hearing Daoist Nun You casually pinpoint his exact cultivation progress still sent a deep, chilling wave of unease through him.
This is too unsafe.
If only I had a secret technique to conceal my cultivation base. Otherwise, my abnormal cultivation speed will easily draw the attention of anyone with ulterior motives.
“Since you’ve made progress, you will accompany me this time.”
Daoist Nun You reached into her sleeve, retrieved a jade slip, and tossed it into Wang Ping’s arms. “Read it carefully. You will act as my protector on this journey.”
“I obey your command.”
Holding the jade slip, Wang Ping accepted the order before extending his spiritual sense to read its contents. His expression immediately underwent a subtle shift.
The jade slip contained a conscription order.
【Order: You Xuexin, disciple of Blissful Immortal Peak, must escort the recently unearthed ‘Five Thieves’ Heaven-Stealing Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman’ back to the Divine Weapon Institute within three days. No delays permitted.】
“This is a decree from the Immortal Sect,” Daoist Nun You said, her tone perfectly calm. “It was personally issued by Qi Refiner Mingde, my Martial Uncle from the Divine Weapon Institute. Because I successfully cultivated my 【Sword Arts】, he passed this decree down to me.”
“As for the 【Five Thieves’ Heaven-Stealing Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman】, it is an immortal art created by a discarded disciple of the sect who calls himself the 【Heaven-Stealing Thief】. The cultivation manual he spread is incredibly bizarre and possesses the ability to bewitch minds. Only a cultivator like me, who has mastered 【Sword Arts】 and possesses a clear sword heart, can resist its influence.”
Daoist Nun You explained in detail, “Normally, every copy of the 【Five Thieves’ Heaven-Stealing Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman】 should have been destroyed by now. This one is a straggler discovered by an outer disciple.”
“That is why I, being the closest, was tasked with escorting it.”
“However, that 【Heaven-Stealing Thief】 left a deeply poisonous legacy in the sect. He still has many followers. If they catch wind of this movement, they are highly likely to intercept and attempt to kill us on the road.”
Hearing this, Wang Ping frowned deeply.
“This… Since this item is so crucial, why don’t the seniors in the sect fetch it themselves? Furthermore, are there actually outlaws hiding within the Immortal Sect itself?”
“It’s nothing strange,” Daoist Nun You replied indifferently. “These are not things you need to know… In short, the Qi Refiners of the sect will not easily step foot into the mortal world. As for the outlaws, the Immortal Sect refers to them as 【Bandit Cultivators】. They are essentially a group of cultivators excluded from the orthodox path, leaving them with no choice but to resort to these crooked methods.”
Wang Ping finally understood.
The so-called Bandit Cultivators were actually rogue cultivators unacknowledged by the Immortal Sect. Cut off from further advancement within the sect’s hierarchy, they were forced to carve out alternative paths.
This environment was exactly what birthed the 【Five Thieves’ Heaven-Stealing Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman】.
Simply put, the discarded disciple known as the 【Heaven-Stealing Thief】 open-sourced his cultivation method. With zero barriers to entry, he spread it across the entire Immortal Sect.
Therefore, anyone who practiced his technique became his disciple and a natural ally. By banding together, they formed the faction of Bandit Cultivators plaguing the sect today.
“These people usually hide in plain sight within the Immortal Sect. At crucial moments, they adopt new identities to intercept and murder sect cultivators on the road, using the loot to gather resources for their immortal path.
The Immortal Sect has expended tremendous effort trying to exterminate them, but these Bandit Cultivators are like weeds—you can never kill them all.”
A completely predictable outcome.
Wang Ping wasn’t surprised in the slightest. For every restrictive measure, people would inevitably find a countermeasure.
As long as the Immortal Sect continued to monopolize and restrict the immortal path, the fertile soil required to breed Bandit Cultivators would always exist. Bluntly speaking, this was a massive systemic flaw.
Wang Ping criticized the sect inwardly but dared not show a hint of it on his face. He lowered his head and asked respectfully, “May I ask Milady, when do we depart?”
“…In three days.”
Daoist Nun You paused slightly. She looked at Wang Ping and, in a rare display, flashed a breathtaking, devastatingly beautiful smile.
“I must admit, your cultivation progress has far exceeded my initial expectations.”
“Because of that, my plans require a slight adjustment… Go back and rest for now. Come see me again in three days. I will give you a surprise then.”
“One that will allow you to fully realize your value as a human sacrifice.”
Surprise? What kind of surprise?
Wang Ping’s eye twitched violently. The horrific manufacturing process of an Immortal Sect Lishi quickly flashed through his mind, right alongside his predecessor’s memories of the oppressive “corpse tax” levied under the Immortal Sect’s rule.
When he looked at Daoist Nun You again, the color had completely drained from his face.
This surprise… it wouldn’t be fatal, would it?
(End of Chapter)