Within the space of the Classic of Great Peace.
Wang Ping opened his eyes and turned back, only to see the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag already held in Liansheng Bodhisattva's hand as she studied it with keen interest.
‘...Not good.’
Wang Ping looked around. On the towering tome before him, only Perish with the Sun blazed with bright radiance—the foundation allowing him to linger within this secret realm.
He could enter the space of the Classic of Great Peace only while invoking one of its scrolls. The cooldown for Fiend from Beyond had not yet ended, while A Promise Worth a Thousand Gold and Courage of the Noble Gentleman had already been spent. Only Perish with the Sun remained available, and its duration was strictly limited.
‘I can't hold out for long.’
‘Once time is up, I either invoke Perish with the Sun and leave on my own, or get forced out when the limit expires. There is no other choice.’
A crisis of life and death!
Because the cooldown on Fiend from Beyond had not finished, only Wang Ping's consciousness had entered the space of the Classic of Great Peace; his physical body and soul remained behind in reality.
If he died now...
‘It will be true death!’
At this thought, an icy chill gripped Wang Ping's mind, and intense regret surged into his heart. If he had known, he never would have thrust himself into the limelight...
By now, he understood.
The White Lotus Sect and the imperial court were not merely sharing a long-standing tacit understanding as he had previously assumed. The truth was far more astonishing: they had been on the same side from the very start!
‘Liansheng Bodhisattva behind the White Lotus Sect is another true disciple of the Immortal Sect. Unlike Daoist Nun You, who represents the Divine Weapon Courtyard, Liansheng Bodhisattva represents the Elixir Courtyard. One crafts weapons while the other refines pills; within the Immortal Sect, they are obvious rivals.’
Wang Ping pieced the clues together, steadily refining the truth:
‘Thinking back, the imperial court's—or rather, the Emperor of Dashun's—attitude was deeply suspicious. The Imperial Academy acts on orders from the Immortal Sect.’
What right did the Emperor of Dashun have to obstruct them?
Where would he get the audacity?
There was only one reasonable answer: the Emperor of Dashun also possessed backing within the Immortal Sect, though distinct from Daoist Nun You behind the Imperial Academy.
Entwined and infiltrated, each embedded in the other—this was precisely how affairs under heaven turned foul.
Unsurprisingly, Liansheng Bodhisattva and the Elixir Courtyard behind her were his backers, which explained why that secret imperial decree had ordered him to assist the rebels!
Once this became clear, Wang Ping let out a bitter laugh.
"It's meaningless..."
He had indeed done so much.
He had slain corrupt clerks, executed greedy officials, breached granaries to distribute grain, rescued tens of thousands of displaced common folk, and prevented a tragedy that should have left rivers of blood.
Yet he had changed nothing.
"...All of it was in vain."
Only at this moment did Wang Ping truly comprehend the Immortal Sect's overarching scheme for Longxing County. The conclusion of this grand play had been sealed from the very beginning.
Namely, to forge an object of longevity.
This longevity item could be Daoist Nun You's Longevity as Old as Heaven Gourd, or it could be Liansheng Bodhisattva's Calamity-Dispelling Ageless Elixir!
All of Longxing County, the lives of tens of thousands of common folk, the grain taxes that ground bone to suck the marrow, the unending famines, the contest of wits between the Imperial Academy and the Royal Enshrinement Hall—boiled down, it was nothing more than a duel between two true disciples of the Immortal Sect, competing to see whose methods were superior!
Judging by the outcome:
Daoist Nun You had labored for another's bridal gown, her value as human livestock thoroughly squeezed dry, proving that Liansheng Bodhisattva, who had laughed last, was undoubtedly a cut above.
And if one looked higher still?
The contest between two true disciples of the Immortal Sect revolved entirely around a single purpose: a longevity item prepared for Daoist Nun You's master.
‘A Qi Refiner...’
Wang Ping instantly recalled the terrifying might he had once witnessed. Daoist Nun You's master, that Qi Refiner of the Immortal Sect, could even reverse time to resurrect the dead.
‘He is likely the one orchestrating everything.’
‘Daoist Nun You was his disciple, acting under orders to forge a longevity treasure for him. Without his tacit consent, would Liansheng Bodhisattva have dared to make such an underhanded move?’
The answer was self-evident:
‘This contest between true disciples was set up by that Qi Refiner from start to finish. It couldn't possibly fail; the only question was how it would succeed!’
If Daoist Nun You prevailed and the Imperial Academy's plan succeeded, everything would unfold naturally, bringing the Longevity as Old as Heaven Gourd into the world. If Daoist Nun You failed, Liansheng Bodhisattva would step in at the final moment to set things right and refine the Calamity-Dispelling Ageless Elixir. The final outcome would remain unchanged.
At this thought, Wang Ping could not help closing his eyes.
"So this is the Immortal Sect's governance of the world..."
If you do not resist, the Immortal Sect achieves its objective effortlessly. If you do resist, your resistance becomes the very fuel that helps them attain it.
It was foolproof!
This reminded Wang Ping of Shouchong. Without himself in the picture, would that old bastard, as the Sect Master of the White Lotus Sect, have been the pivotal figure shaping the situation?
‘He was probably Liansheng Bodhisattva's original contingency.’
‘Without me, he would have slaughtered the common folk and every law-abiding resident in the city, converted them into fiends, and used human-wave tactics against Daoist Nun You.’
‘Because of me, things became easier for him instead.’
‘...Hm?’
Suddenly, Wang Ping's train of thought hitched slightly. A spark of insight pierced through the dark, and the chain of clues that had seemed so clear in his mind appeared to carry a slight flaw.
Wait, something wasn't right.
Wang Ping reexamined his deduction... At first glance, it appeared flawless; from clues to conclusions, it was entirely coherent and matched up on every count.
‘No, something is wrong!’
‘Somewhere, there is definitely something I overlooked!’ Wang Ping felt a spike of frantic agitation, sensing an inconsistency he could not yet pin down.
‘The entire Longxing County incident began when Daoist Nun You contacted the Imperial Academy, which dispatched Xu Bingzheng. Daoist Nun You established Youshen Temple in Longxing County, followed by grain taxes, famines, and Xu Bingzheng laying his network in the city to nurture fiends using human material like Lin Sheng...’
Boom!
In an instant, revelation burst like a breached dam, washing over the truth.
"Ha... I see!"
Wang Ping clapped his hands hard in excitement, finally seizing the gap in the chain of clues: ‘The timeline is wrong! The timing for nurturing the fiends doesn't match!’
When was Lin Sheng set up?
According to the diary in the haunted residence, on the very night he was suspended pending investigation, Magistrate Xu Bingzheng and a thaumaturge visited him and planted a strange art upon him.
Once infected, Lin Sheng craved flesh and blood, trapped in perpetual hunger.
The Life-Stealing Thief.
Before this, Wang Ping had always assumed the thaumaturge accompanying Xu Bingzheng to frame Lin Sheng was Perfected Youshen. But that made no sense.
"Because Daoist Nun You, who stood behind Perfected Youshen, only obtained the Life-Stealing Thief after I forced my way into the county seat and heavily injured Xu Bingzheng! By that point, Lin Sheng had long since been infected... Which means the thaumaturge who set up Lin Sheng was never Daoist Nun You at all!"
If not Daoist Nun You, could it have been Liansheng Bodhisattva?
"Impossible!"
"Liansheng Bodhisattva is aligned with the Emperor of Dashun, while Xu Bingzheng belonged to the Imperial Academy. The two factions were like water and fire—how could they possibly act together?"
"Which means... there is a third person!"
At this realization, Wang Ping startled even himself: "Not Daoist Nun You, and not Liansheng Bodhisattva, but a third Immortal Sect cultivator!"
A third party was present in Longxing County!
It was this person who had joined Xu Bingzheng to frame Lin Sheng and plant the Life-Stealing Thief, granting the fiends rampaging through the city the power to steal lifespans.
More crucially—
"This person is very likely outside the Immortal Sect Qi Refiner's control, an unforeseen variable beyond the grand design, noticed by neither Daoist Nun You nor Liansheng Bodhisattva!"
Before the towering tome, Wang Ping paced back and forth.
As the truth peeled away layer by layer, his mind grew sharper and his eyes brighter, as though discerning a sliver of life within this dead end.
"Previously, I thought Daoist Nun You knew the fiends carried the Life-Stealing Thief. But looking back, she might have had no idea at all. Yet the traits of the Life-Stealing Thief are so blatant, right under her nose—how could she have failed to recognize it? There is only one possibility."
"Her mind was clouded without her realizing it."
When?
"That Five Thieves Heaven-Stealing Myriad Transformations Divine Talisman! When Daoist Nun You was transporting that thing, she was briefly ensorcelled before breaking free."
Wang Ping felt as if drenched in cold clarity:
"It seems I overestimated her after all. She never broke free on her own; the mastermind simply achieved their goal and released her voluntarily!"
The reason Daoist Nun You remained oblivious was now clear.
Yet why had Liansheng Bodhisattva also failed to detect the Life-Stealing Thief? The Life-Stealing Thief was a technique strictly forbidden by the Immortal Sect.
If Liansheng Bodhisattva had truly noticed anything amiss, she would have had no need to play standard moves or brilliant gambits in this game across Longxing County. She could simply have raised her hand and reported Daoist Nun You to the Immortal Sect for using forbidden arts, effortlessly knocking her off the board.
Yet she hadn't. She, too, had been kept in the dark.
Then the question became—who could have kept Liansheng Bodhisattva completely unaware? She had never come into contact with the Five Thieves Heaven-Stealing Myriad Transformations Divine Talisman.
Unlike Daoist Nun You,
Wang Ping had zero prior intelligence on Liansheng Bodhisattva, knowing only that she was another true disciple. He could only deduce from the evidence at hand.
Among the clues in his possession, who was closest to Liansheng Bodhisattva? Who could communicate with her? Who had the opportunity to plot against her?
Finally, the trail looped back to its origin.
After a moment of silence, Wang Ping opened his mouth and squeezed a name through his teeth:
"...Shouchong?"
***
Longxing County seat.
Looking at the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag in her hand, Liansheng Bodhisattva appeared at ease. "Interesting. What manner of technique is this, capable of concealing all conscious thought?"
She had long been intrigued by the peculiar artifact spirit of this Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag, but had refrained from acting earlier to preserve the broader situation. Now that the outcome was settled, she had reached out with a soul search, only to find nothing. The creature's sea of consciousness was completely hollow, bearing no semblance of sentience.
‘Could it be a relic of the former dynasty?’
Liansheng Bodhisattva speculated. After all, Longxing County was where the Taizu of the former dynasty had risen, and that figure... carried considerable renown even within the Immortal Sect.
Perhaps this artifact spirit had stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter connected to him.
Only that would explain its sudden leap in sentience, to the point of turning against its own master.
At this thought, Liansheng Bodhisattva's curiosity deepened. She decided to take the precious flag with her when she departed and slowly unravel its secrets later.
Just then.
"Hm...?"
Suddenly, Liansheng Bodhisattva looked down at the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag, only to see the Six Desires Heavenly Demon King within lift its head to meet her gaze.
"Can't hide any longer?"
Liansheng Bodhisattva gave a soft chuckle. Looking toward Wang Ping, who had returned to reality, she did not even bother asking questions. Her vast spiritual sense surged forth once more, preparing to scour his soul directly.
Yet at this very moment, Wang Ping no longer felt fear.
For he had already seen that behind Liansheng Bodhisattva, a white-robed man was walking toward him at a leisurely, unhurried pace.
Chapter 80