Inside the drill ground, the atmosphere grew exceedingly awkward.
Xu Dog shrank into a corner, diminishing his presence as much as possible, while Chen Dragon knitted his brows tightly. Chen Dragon glanced at Madam Su, then at the tall woman, and finally turned his gaze toward Wang Ping.
Before he could speak, the tall woman took the initiative, saying, "It has been half a month."
"A full half-month has passed since the incident in Longxing County, yet during this time, you haven't visited my cousin even once. Do you care about her at all?"
At these words, Madam Su flushed crimson with embarrassment and hurriedly tugged at the corner of the tall woman's robe. "Luoyan, my lord has his own important matters to attend to. Don't make an unreasonable scene..."
Hearing this, the tall woman grew even angrier. "Cousin, it's precisely because your temper is too soft that you've suffered so much. Just leave this matter to me!"
With that, she turned to Wang Ping. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"I..."
Wang Ping blinked. Instead of answering, he stared fixedly at the tall woman as if trying to discern something, his gaze drifting so deep he seemed momentarily transfixed.
That stare caused the tall woman to instinctively furrow her brow in discomfort. She felt as though his eyes could see right through her clothes, perceiving her skin, flesh, and bones. The sensation almost drove her to instinctively circulate her spiritual sense to protect herself—and then she froze as well.
'This is...?'
For a moment, the tall woman blinked as well, then stared intently back at Wang Ping. Their eyes locked, as if each were striving to read something in the other.
Madam Su was completely bewildered.
Watching the two of them stare at each other in absolute silence, Madam Su could not help but say softly, "My lord, Luoyan is simply impetuous. Please don't hold it against her..."
Only then did Wang Ping snap back to reality.
"Not at all."
He immediately turned toward Madam Su and smiled. "Is this the close childhood friend you mentioned before—your thaumaturge cousin who joined the Fangxian Dao?"
Madam Su nodded repeatedly, then pulled at the tall woman again.
A moment later, the tall woman came to her senses too, her delicate brows knitted tightly. She turned to face the direction where Chen Dragon and Xu Dog stood.
"Would you two mind excusing yourselves?"
Chen Dragon glanced at Wang Ping upon hearing this, and seeing Wang Ping's helpless expression, a teasing grin crossed his face. "Well then, Little Friend Wang, we shall talk in detail another day."
"Pardon the embarrassment, my lord," Wang Ping replied with clasped hands.
Soon enough, Chen Dragon and Xu Dog both took their leave of the drill ground.
Seeing this, Madam Su felt a surge of delight and cast a grateful glance at the tall woman. After all, having kept her bed alone for half a month, she had long yearned to share some tenderness with Wang Ping.
Then she saw the tall woman look over with an apologetic expression.
"Cousin, please step outside for a moment as well."
Madam Su froze. "...Ah?"
*I have to leave too? Wait, didn't you come here to win some private time for me and my lord? Isn't something a bit off here?!*
Madam Su instinctively looked toward Wang Ping.
"Trust me,"
Seeing her expression, Wang Ping said with grave seriousness, "I need to discuss a matter of great importance with this... lady. It is not suitable for you to listen in, so please wait outside for us for now, Madam."
Madam Su was intelligent and discerning. The moment Wang Ping spoke, she realized what was happening—could this be related to her cousin's identity as a thaumaturge?
Because of that, she quickly regained her composure.
"I understand."
"I will wait outside for you."
With that, Madam Su departed the drill ground, her heart suspended between three parts worry, three parts bewilderment, and three parts inexplicable emotion.
*Nothing untoward will happen between my lord and my cousin, right?*
* * *
"My surname is Chen, Chen Luoyan."
The tall woman was the first to speak.
"I am a secular disciple of the blessed land of Shushan, under the governance of the Fangxian Dao in Zhongzhou. May I ask where you hail from, Daoist friend, and which blessed land you belong to?"
Wang Ping spread his hands. "I have no sect and belong to no faction."
"Do not joke with me," Chen Luoyan said in a grave voice. "What you practice is the fundamental art of my Fangxian Dao. If you have no sect, where did you obtain this technique?"
Indeed, that was the reason Wang Ping and Chen Luoyan had locked eyes the moment they met—both had detected traces of a familiar art upon each other.
The Secret Record of Dispelling Calamities Through the Three Corpses and Nine Worms!
'A rogue cultivator method that is a dime a dozen in the immortal sects has actually become the fundamental art of a Dashun thaumaturge sect. As expected, this Fangxian Dao is connected to the immortal sects!'
'So what role do these thaumaturges truly play in Dashun?'
'And what status do they hold within the immortal sects?'
Wang Ping was intensely curious about everything regarding the immortal sects. After all, he would head there sooner or later, and the more he learned, the more advantageous it would be for his future.
With that thought in mind, he immediately replied, "To tell the truth, I obtained the technique through a chance encounter."
"A chance encounter..."
Chen Luoyan's brow furrowed even deeper at his answer, but very quickly, her eyes lit up. "Could you have stumbled upon one of the karmic opportunities left behind by our founding patriarch?"
Wang Ping's heart stirred, and he went along with her lead. "Founding patriarch? Karmic opportunity?"
Sure enough, Chen Luoyan instantly revealed a look of surprise. "You are a cultivator in the Shu region, yet you do not know? It seems this technique truly was an accidental acquisition through a chance encounter."
Immediately afterward, her expression turned solemn, and she spoke with a proud tone: "In the Shu region, the blessed land of Shushan has always held supreme standing. Before our founding patriarch ascended to immortality, he left behind three thousand karmic opportunities to benefit those under heaven who yearn for the immortal path. My guess is that you obtained one of those opportunities."
"Why don't you return to Shushan with me?"
Chen Luoyan proposed, "That way, I can have the sect elders verify it for you. If it truly is one of the karmic opportunities, they will accept you into the sect, fulfilling our founder's merit."
*What? Go to Shushan?*
"That will hardly be necessary!" Wang Ping shook his head decisively.
Chen Luoyan was taken aback. "Why?"
*Can someone who asks such a naive question, oblivious to the perils of the world, truly be an immortal sect disciple? She doesn't have the demeanor of one at all. Could she be a total greenhorn?*
Even as Wang Ping calculated within, he assumed a look of resignation on his face.
"Miss Chen, you and I only met today for the first time."
"As the saying goes, one should never harbor malice, but neither should one lack caution."
"I know nothing about the Fangxian Dao, I am unfamiliar with Shushan, and I have only a smattering of knowledge regarding thaumaturge cultivation. How could I simply leave with you like this?"
Chen Luoyan was somewhat puzzled by his hesitation. "Then what would make you willing to go with me?"
"Why not enlighten me a little?"
Wang Ping guided her patiently. "What is Shushan, what is the Fangxian Dao, and how does thaumaturge cultivation work—for instance, how does one cultivate the first layer of Tribulation Crossing?"
"That is simple!"
Beyond even Wang Ping's expectations, Chen Luoyan harbored no wariness whatsoever and agreed without hesitation. "I had originally intended to offer you some pointers anyway."
"After all, it looks to me as though you also practice martial arts?"
Wang Ping nodded. "I have no sect or faction. Although I obtained an immortal manual, I know nothing of dharmic arts, so I could only train a bit in martial arts for self-defense."
Chen Luoyan sighed. "No wonder. It's only because you don't know the truth of this realm. Had you the slightest understanding, you would realize there is no future in practicing martial arts."
"Do not be frightened by what I am about to tell you."
"I am a martial artist; I will not be frightened."
"It is precisely martial artists who become frightened once they learn of it."
Having heard this much, Wang Ping had already guessed what Chen Luoyan was going to say.
Sure enough, in the next second, Chen Luoyan pointed toward the vault of heaven above and murmured, "Our world is, in truth, merely a crucible!"
"The lands of the Divine Continent, the imperial court of Dashun..."
"The hundreds of millions of living beings—whether the common folk, law-abiding citizens, the court, or the martial world—are nothing more than firewood used by the Huankong Immortal Realm to smelt the artifacts it requires!"
As her words fell, Chen Luoyan saw Wang Ping's face first freeze, then turn blank with confusion, before appearing to contemplate her words, and finally settling into disdain. "Miss Chen, even if you don't wish to share the secrets of Shushan with me, there is no need to make up such deceitful claims."
"You think I am deceiving you?"
Thinking she had just unveiled an earth-shattering secret, only to find Wang Ping completely unconvinced, Chen Luoyan grew anxious. "By the founding patriarch above, there is not a single falsehood in my words!"
"Aren't you curious about the Fangxian Dao?"
"To speak plainly, both Shushan and the Fangxian Dao are merely disciples sent down by the Huankong Immortal Realm to watch over the crucible!"
*The word 'disciples' is hardly accurate here,*
Wang Ping criticized inwardly.
*Cultivators who most likely haven't even refined dharmic power would be nothing more than expendable rogue cultivators treated like livestock in the immortal sects. Calling themselves 'disciples' is just putting a golden sheen on their own faces.*
Even so, his expression remained laced with contempt.
"How could such an absurd thing exist in this world?"
"It is true!"
Seeing Chen Luoyan wracking her brains to convince him, Wang Ping finally laid his cards on the table: "Where is the proof? What evidence can verify this claim?"
The moment Wang Ping said this, Chen Luoyan was led straight into the trap, instinctively pondering what evidence could substantiate her words.
"...Of course there is proof!"
An instant later, Chen Luoyan raised her head and said, "Shushan possesses a path that leads directly to the Huankong Immortal Realm—the very path our founding patriarch used when he ascended back then!"
*Good heavens!*
Wang Ping drew a sharp breath, doing his utmost to suppress his surging emotions.
He had actually dug up some truly staggering information!
Apart from the Classic of Great Peace, there was actually a second route to reach the immortal sects from Dashun... and from the sound of it, it was very likely an official one!
Chapter 86