After that, as the golden halo dissipated, Wang Ping was finally able to take in his surroundings—and what met his eyes was unmistakably a storeroom.
Within the storeroom, lamplight flickered dimly.
Ten lifelike bronze statues stood in an open area, and Wang Ping stood right among them, like a husky blended into a pack of wolves.
'Not good.'
Wang Ping quickly reviewed the memories that had accompanied this transmigration, his mood sinking heavier by the second. His current situation was not necessarily any better than life in Dashun.
Strictly speaking, it was even worse.
In the immortal sect, a strongman was not permitted to possess awareness. They were imparted only necessary knowledge, and every action strictly obeyed set commands.
'In other words, a strongman is an inanimate object in human form. The fact that I have an independent persona and the ability to think is unquestionably an anomaly. Once discovered, it will bring instant destruction. I must not expose myself before the Fiend from Beyond recovers.'
This was actually a very difficult task.
The greatest difference between a human and an inanimate object was the capacity for thought. Possessing thought brought emotions, and many instinctive reactions could not simply be held back on command.
'I have to find a way.'
Wang Ping gritted his teeth in secret and delved deeper into the strongman memories in his mind, trying to unearth useful intelligence from them.
As it turned out, an immortal sect truly lived up to its name.
'It really has one!'
Even the lowest tier of strongman was not a rigid, dead puppet. Among the strongman's memories, Wang Ping actually discovered a complete spell!
The spell was named Qi Restriction.
By circulating the self through this method, one could refine a peculiar power called zhenqi. It possessed the wondrous efficacy of stopping bleeding, regrowing flesh, mending bones, reconnecting sinews, and rendering the body invulnerable to blade and spear.
At this thought, Wang Ping felt an itch he could barely resist.
If the environment had not been so restrictive, compelling him to stay low and play dumb, he would have run through Qi Restriction several times no matter what, just to savor the feeling of casting a spell.
After all, practicing a spell required hands-on application; mental simulation was useless.
Still, Wang Ping was in no hurry.
'Doesn't matter. Since I'm currently a cultivation tool, and apparently one that's already been ordered, I won't have to worry about lacking opportunities to practice spells later.'
Reassured by the thought, Wang Ping waited patiently.
Like this, an unknown amount of time passed until a loud crash suddenly echoed outside the storeroom, snapping him out of his study of Qi Restriction.
Clang!
It was the sound of heavy doors opening.
Immediately after, piercing light flooded into Wang Ping's vision, illuminating the scenery outside the warehouse—which turned out to be an ancient, rustic Daoist hermitage.
The hermitage appeared to be nestled deep within an old mountain forest. Overhead hung a serene, luminous moon, while below stretched lush green fields. As far as the eye could see, birds sang amidst blooming flowers, auspicious clouds drifted in clusters, and spiritual light flowed across the earth. Inside the hermitage, right at the storeroom entrance, Wang Ping saw three figures standing opposite each other, one on the left and two on the right.
"Senior Sister You, here are the ten strongmen you requested."
Of the two on the right, one was short and plump with a round face, revealing a mouthful of pointed teeth as he chuckled and chatted; the other was tall and lean, cursed with a long, horse-like face.
The third person opposite them, however, was quite different.
She was a Daoist nun clad in a blue-and-white Daoist robe. Her hair reached her waist, and bathed in the moonlight, she looked like a celestial maiden ready to ride the wind away at any moment.
"My thanks to both junior brothers."
Her vermilion lips parted slightly to let out words that were clear and melodious, instantly stripping away a fraction of her otherworldly grace and lending her a touch of mundane allure.
Wang Ping did not consider himself a lecherous man, yet the instant he laid eyes on this Daoist nun, a surge of desire sprang up from the depths of his heart without reason. Almost purely by instinct, visions formed in his mind of striking her down from the clouds, pinning her to the ground, and tearing away that transcendent demeanor in brutal violation.
'...No!'
The moment the thought surfaced, Wang Ping realized something was wrong. He channeled his focus entirely into the strongman memories, and all the wicked impulses settled, dissolving into nothingness.
Almost simultaneously—
"Hmm?"
The Daoist nun, who had been conversing with the two delivery disciples, suddenly knitted her delicate brows. She turned, her gaze locking onto the warehouse.
Fortunately, there were ten strongmen inside the warehouse.
In that split second, Wang Ping could even clearly feel the physical "weight" of the nun's gaze, as though soft, tender hands were stroking over his body, stimulating his senses.
Faced with this, Wang Ping could only pour his entire mind into the strongman memories, reading through their contents to force himself to think of nothing else.
"Senior Sister You?"
Seeing Daoist Nun You staring straight into the warehouse, the short, plump sect disciple asked curiously, "What is it? Could it be this batch of strongmen isn't to your liking?"
"...Junior Brother misunderstands."
Daoist Nun You shook her head and spoke calmly, "The quality of these strongmen is quite good. Using them to cultivate the True Exposition of the Immortal-Slaying Gourd will be more than sufficient."
At those words, Wang Ping's heart skipped a beat.
The True Exposition of the Immortal-Slaying Gourd—that cultivation manual was also present in his memories as a strongman, because it was originally one of a strongman's intended functions.
'Under the governance of the immortal sect, various methods number in the millions, yet without exception, all are derived from the Three Dao, the Eight Methods, and the Seventy-Two Techniques. Among them, the Seventy-Two Techniques have no restrictions and can be learned by anyone, but the Three Dao and Eight Methods are accessible only to true disciples.
'And the True Exposition of the Immortal-Slaying Gourd is one of the Eight Methods.'
Wang Ping knew this because the manual required strongmen to serve as "whetstones," and cultivating it demanded the active cooperation of the strongman.
'A bit like dual cultivation.'
That said, he only knew "the parts required of the tool."
Even the Qi Restriction spell in his memory was there because a "whetstone" would inevitably suffer wear and tear; this way, it could use the spell to repair itself afterward.
'Damn it all, the tool even has to handle its own routine maintenance?'
At the thought, Wang Ping could not help cursing internally. The outrage actually diverted his attention, causing him to temporarily forget that he was being scrutinized by Daoist Nun You.
Yet this blunder turned out to be a stroke of luck.
Not far away, the two delivery disciples suddenly wailed in agony. Their previously straight backs arched forward by an almost imperceptible degree.
"Senior Sister... spare us!"
The plump disciple was the first to beg for mercy, hunched over as he pleaded in anguish, "You were born with the Supreme Bliss Immortal Physique and passed your mortal tribulation long ago. How could the likes of us ever withstand this?"
"Junior brothers, you misunderstand."
Daoist Nun You shook her head, her crimson lips slightly parted. Her tone grew ever gentler, while her ethereal air fell into corruption, gradually revealing an aura of mundane decadence.
"It is only that I have been strapped for cash lately.
"I simply could not scrape together the dharma coins needed to purchase strongmen. That was why I resorted to this desperate measure, hoping to see if we might reach an understanding and use an alternative method to settle the payment..."
As she spoke, her blue-and-white Daoist robe silently slipped down.
Beneath the robe lay a rather tight undergarment, barely containing the nun's voluptuous curves and exposing a generous expanse of skin fair as frost and snow.
Her proud bosom caught the falling robe, preventing it from touching the ground.
Yet the nun's expression remained entirely solemn, still bearing that cold, detached demeanor of an unearthly immortal.
Such stark contrast caused the faces of the two delivery disciples to turn deathly pale, the blood throughout their bodies surging wildly downward beyond their control.
For a moment, both disciples could not stop cursing in their hearts:
'This damned vicious woman! If we don't submit, she probably won't stop. But if she truly sullies us, what immortal path will we have left in this life?'
Yet despite their cursing, the two hurriedly spoke:
"Dis—discount!"
"Senior Sister, withdraw your divine technique... Cost price! Only ten dharma coins! The shortfall will come out of our own pockets; we'll sell you this entire batch of strongmen!"
The two delivery disciples shouted at the top of their lungs, their expressions showing desperate aversion as though fleeing scorpions and vipers, yet their bodies moved against their will, stepping ever closer toward the nun.
On the other side, Daoist Nun You showed a look of relief.
'Operating my magic power with my Tribulation Crossing cultivation, ordinary people would inevitably harbor wicked thoughts toward me, which I would then detect. Yet just now, I sensed no third presence.
'It seems I was overthinking.
'Or perhaps it was someone I encountered earlier—someone far on the horizon who harbored lust toward me and used my portrait, triggering my senses.'
Wang Ping's caution had not been unfounded.
In truth, Daoist Nun You had indeed sensed something amiss. While appearing to target the two delivery disciples, she had actually been testing the strongmen's reactions.
'Sigh, still too poor.'
Daoist Nun You shook her head. Testing back and forth could never fully dispel suspicion.
The optimal solution was simply to scrap all the strongmen to pull the problem up by its roots, then buy a new batch. That way, whether there was an issue or not, it would be resolved.
But she had no money.
This batch of strongmen was already the result of pawning everything she owned. Saying she was strapped for cash was no joke; where would she find the money to replace them?
Thinking this far, Daoist Nun You stopped dwelling on it. Turning back toward the two delivery disciples, she retracted her seductive mundane aura and gave a light chuckle.
"In that case, let us settle the bill."
With that, she retrieved ten talisman papers from her sleeve. They shone with brilliant light, their upper and lower faces inscribed with countless magical patterns, faintly wreathed in drifting blue smoke.
'What are those? Dharma coins?'
Meanwhile, sensing that the power stoking desire had vanished, Wang Ping, who had quietly regained his senses to peek in secret, could not help feeling curious.
"That will be ten dharma coins!"
The two disciples stepped forward, ravenously stuffing the talisman papers she handed over into their sleeves, genuine smiles reappearing on their faces.
"May Senior Sister master your divine abilities early, refine your qi, and attain the Dao.
"When the time comes, if you lack a handy dharma treasure, you are welcome to visit our Heaven and Earth Pavilion to make a purchase."
As their words fell, the two delivery disciples formed hand seals, muttered incantations, and raised escape lights. As though fleeing a disaster, they could not wait to streak away from the hermitage.
Strangely, the moment they stepped out of the hermitage, they vanished instantly into the world.
Not a trace of their figures remained.
The next second, Daoist Nun You sneered. "Heaven and Earth Pavilion? Those sect vermin, reselling valuable sect assets—they've truly gone mad for money.
"Who doesn't know the backer of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion is the Divine Weapon Courtyard? With the Eight Trigrams Furnace, refining treasures is as easy as taking a dump, and the costs are practically zero.
"Yet when selling to the outside, each price is steeper than the last, claiming it's to protect intellectual property. Complete nonsense! It's clearly just squeezing ordinary disciples like us. I would rather go to the ghost market to buy secondhand dharma treasures than ever pay that damned stupidity tax at the Heaven and Earth Pavilion!"
Her words dripped with resentment.
Immediately after, she clasped her hands behind her back, turned around, and looked toward Wang Ping and the other strongmen. Her cool, crisp voice echoed through the storeroom.
"All right, come out."
Wang Ping did not move.
Not only that, he did not dare give rise to the slightest stray thought, once again forcing himself to assume the mindset of a perfected human-livestock tool from his memories.
'She didn't form a hand seal!'
According to his memories, every batch of strongmen had a talisman seal to drive them, akin to a startup password. Without it, a strongman would not activate.
Just now, although Daoist Nun You had issued a command, she had formed no seal at all. At the very least, Wang Ping had felt no prompt from the talisman seal inside his body. Therefore, he dared not budge. Doing so would be equivalent to announcing that someone who was not a real strongman had mingled into this place!
'She's testing us!
'She spoke those words just now on purpose, and then tested us with the activation seal... She truly suspects someone infiltrated the strongmen!'
Wang Ping dared not think any further.
For a time, absolute silence reigned within the storeroom. Daoist Nun You issued several more commands, some with seals and some without, testing them repeatedly.
Wang Ping handled every single one flawlessly.
After all, strictly speaking, he really was a strongman, merely endowed with self-awareness. When intentionally concealing himself, such tests could not ferret him out.
Even so, it frightened Wang Ping thoroughly. Why did disciples of this immortal sect have so many schemes? To probe back and forth over a mere sliver of suspicion?
After a long time, Daoist Nun You finally ceased her probing, seemingly having dispelled her doubts.
"All of you, come out."
This time she used the talisman seal. Wang Ping followed the strongmen, pacing slowly out of the storeroom and into the hermitage grounds, forming a straight line according to her instructions.
"Stand properly.
"Next, everyone channel Qi Restriction to the fullest, raising it to the level of invulnerability to blades and spears. No dodging allowed; you must take my attack head-on."
This happened to suit Wang Ping's wishes.
The moment Daoist Nun You finished speaking, he eagerly circulated the technique. An intangible, invisible surge of heat erupted from within his body.
This was zhenqi.
When zhenqi enveloped the entire body to forbid edged weapons, that was what was meant by invulnerability to blades and spears.
To wound Wang Ping in this state, an attack either had to exceed the upper defensive limit of Qi Restriction or strike vital spots left uncovered by zhenqi.
At this thought, Wang Ping secretly studied the nun again.
'What does she want to do?'
Not only had she lined up all the strongmen, but she had also commanded them to unleash their spells with full force to protect themselves. It was just like setting up targets before target practice...
Wait...
'Not good!'
Rumble!
Just as realization dawned on Wang Ping, Daoist Nun You, standing directly before the row of strongmen, made her move. Her vermilion lips parted slightly, and sword light burst forth along with a clear whistle.
This sword strike was like the moon cresting the treetops, leaping forth in a vast expanse of white. Seemingly slow yet terrifyingly fast, it surged like a great river before branching midway into countless majestic tributaries, churning up sprays of light. Finally, it struck all the strongmen simultaneously, sending them flying backward in sprays of blood.
Wang Ping was among them.
Spurt!
Spitting a mouthful of hot blood, Wang Ping looked down at his waist, only to see that his torso, originally shielded by zhenqi, had nearly been cleaved in two by that single sword strike!
And that was only one strike.
He had seen clearly that Daoist Nun You's sword light had divided, its power greatly diminished by the time it struck each strongman. If it had been concentrated on a single point...
'I would be dead for sure!'
What Qi Restriction? What invulnerability to blades and spears? Before this Daoist Nun You, it was as fragile as paper. The terrifying gulf in power was like the distance between heaven and earth.
'This wretched place is even worse than Dashun!'
Wang Ping gave a bitter internal smile, deeply feeling that he had jumped straight from the tiger's den into the wolf's lair.
Soon, however, he forced himself to rally his spirits, circulating Qi Restriction with all his might to repair his injuries. As he comprehended the spell's subtleties, he did not forget to bolster his own resolve:
'Hold on!'
Although being a human livestock in the immortal sect after transmigration was like walking on thin ice, as long as he endured this ordeal, he could carry immortal cultivation spells back to Dashun and slaughter those fools!
Chapter 6