Free Web NovelChapter 335: Chapter 64: Effects of the New Demon Soldier
After completing the transaction, Wen Yang left immediately with the wooden box containing Cang An’s sealed Primordial Spirit. Ruan Chunzi, however, stayed behind to chat with Wang Ping for a while, their conversation focused on Shangjing City.
Ruan Chunzi shared Wang Ping’s view on Divine Techniques, believing they should only be used for surveillance, not as the ultimate tool of governance. Reality had proven this to be true; the extreme order brought by extreme surveillance would only plunge the nation into another kind of extreme state.
After a bit more small talk, Ruan Chunzi also departed.
After Ruan Chunzi left, Wang Ping took out the Demon Soldier designated ’B-Lower-03’ that Guan Xi had given him. He examined it from every angle for a long while before finally activating it with Wood Spirit Qi. Instantly, two options appeared in his Primordial Spirit Consciousness: to view the past through the laws of time and space, or to predict the future.
He decisively chose to view the past.
The next moment, something incredible happened. Within his Primordial Spirit Consciousness, the present reality and scenes from the past Half an Hour began to overlap. It created a sensation that was simultaneously illusory and real—illusory because the world felt as if it were a construct, yet real because he could still feel the physical sensations of his surroundings.
As the Half an Hour slowly ticked by, Wang Ping observed his past self from every possible angle, but his past self remained completely oblivious. He even tried to probe the past with his Primordial Spirit but came up empty. This meant that what had already happened was an unchangeable fact.
The moment Wang Ping began viewing the past, Yu Lian connected to his consciousness. Throughout that Half an Hour, her emotions were a whirlwind of intensity, shifting between amazement and excitement.
When the Demon Soldier’s effect wore off completely, Wang Ping’s body jolted. His Primordial Spirit Consciousness was thrown into turmoil, as if the world had been turned upside down. An indescribable pain made him subconsciously reach for his head, yet when his hand touched his scalp, he clearly sensed no pain there at all.
Then, he clutched at his chest with both hands, but in the next instant, the pain there vanished as well.
He tried to manifest his Primordial Spirit Consciousness, but he had suddenly forgotten how. HISS! Wang Ping couldn’t endure the agony. He drew a sharp, cold breath, feeling as if he were being crushed by some immense, unbearable weight. Yet, when he subconsciously tried to locate the pain, it was nowhere to be found.
This was the torment of the Primordial Spirit. It existed, yet could not be perceived; it could not be perceived, yet it was agonizing beyond words!
Just as the Spirit Vein Consciousness within Wang Ping’s body was about to awaken, the pain vanished without a trace. It left Wang Ping feeling dazed, as if the agony he had just experienced had all been a phantom.
"Are you okay?" Yu Lian asked nervously.
"I’m fine." Wang Ping shook his head. He picked up the Eight Trigrams Plate and looked at the Demon Race consciousness sealed within. It was in a dazed and confused state.
"Want to try the prediction now?" Yu Lian asked curiously.
"Let’s not."
"Why don’t I give it a try?" As Tongyu Taoist’s voice emerged, his illusory figure appeared at Wang Ping’s side.
"You?"
"In my Primordial Spirit state, I’ve forgotten what pain feels like. ’I want to try it.’ I remember when I first started cultivating the Taiyin Refining God technique, I would be writhing in pain every day. I felt like a dead man. But no matter how hard I try to remember it now, I can’t recall that feeling."
Tongyu Taoist sounded as if he were on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
He had existed as a Primordial Spirit for over two hundred years, devoid of hearing, touch, taste, and sight. Speaking, listening, and observing the world were all done through the exchange of consciousness. He had been on the verge of madness, but luckily, Nether Water had appeared, giving him someone to communicate with. Yu Lian’s occasional sharp retort also helped keep his consciousness stable.
"Fine, you can give it a shot!"
With that, Wang Ping channeled a wisp of Wood Spirit Qi to Tongyu Taoist.
Upon receiving the Wood Spirit Qi, Tongyu Taoist immediately sent it into the Eight Trigrams Plate, simultaneously extending a thread of his Primordial Spirit Consciousness into the artifact.
"How incredible!"
Tongyu Taoist murmured in a low voice. Nether Water was intensely curious but couldn’t connect to Tongyu Taoist’s Primordial Spirit, leaving him to only guess at the sights Tongyu Taoist was witnessing.
Five breaths later, Tongyu Taoist let out a blood-curdling scream. AHHH! His illusory Primordial Spirit body seemed to be twisted by some spatial force, constantly stretching and shrinking like a wad of cotton candy.
He must have been predicting what would happen five breaths into the future.
In the blink of an eye, however, Tongyu Taoist returned to normal. Far from being drained, he looked at Wang Ping with spirited eyes and said, "Let’s go again!"
Wang Ping, however, carefully examined the state of his Primordial Spirit. He found no damage, but to be safe, he still said, "Wait until tomorrow. You can only try this once a day."
Tongyu Taoist was clearly reluctant, but he finally agreed after Nether Water exchanged a few words with him via their consciousnesses.
...
「The second day of the sixth month.」
It was an auspicious day. Wang Ping submitted a formal request for an audience with Xiao Shan Lord through Zi Luan, only to be told to wait.
So, all he could do was wait.
「Two days later.」
Zuo Xuan found Wang Ping and brought some documents, reporting on matters in Mozhou Road. As expected, the group ’First Day’ had reappeared in Mozhou Road and established a new foothold. The Taiyin Evil Cultivators had also shown up to stir up trouble.
Despite the turmoil, Mozhou Road hadn’t become desolate. On the contrary, it was more bustling than ever. Cultivators from the south were flocking to Mozhou Road, and they were joined by others from as far as Zhongzhou and the Southwest Sea Region.
After more than two hundred years of peace and prosperity, some had grown rich, while others had been crushed and suffocated by the system. These people were now looking for an opportunity, a way out, in Mozhou Road.
The problem now facing Nanlin Road was the sudden flood of commoners from Mozhou Road. The Inspectorate was surprisingly generous, readily accepting these refugees and even providing them with places to settle. Most were assigned to the coastal towns.
Wang Ping simply instructed Zuo Xuan to maintain order, leaving him to handle the other details as he saw fit.
Three days after Zuo Xuan’s departure, a message arrived via the Daoist Scripture Hall’s Communication Token. The cultivators who had attacked Wang Ping in Shangjing City were to be judged. However, as the victim in the case, Wang Ping was required to recuse himself and would be unable to participate in the meeting.
「The next day.」
Zi Luan made a special trip to Qianmu Mountain to deliver the verdict to Wang Ping.
Leng Zhixing was sentenced to three hundred years of imprisonment. Le Xin and the others were sentenced to return to their respective sects for one hundred years of secluded reflection.
The sentences weren’t severe, and the deliberation had been remarkably swift. This was all within Wang Ping’s expectations. He listened to the verdict calmly without offering any comment. Instead, he asked, "When will the Lord agree to see me?"
A flicker of worry crossed Zi Luan’s face before he replied, "I don’t know either. I sent your request card via my master’s Puppet Bird. My master’s presence isn’t in the Six Heart Sect."
He then added, "It feels like a storm is brewing. You should perform a few extra divinations in your free time!"
Not long after Zi Luan left, news arrived from Sanhe Temple: Guangxuan had successfully broken through to the Second Realm.
Just as Wang Ping was summoning Zhao Wan to prepare a congratulatory gift, more news arrived, this time from the Pingdong Sect. Wenhai had also successfully advanced to the Second Realm!
How unexpected.
Wang Ping had expected Wenhai’s advancement to be fraught with difficulties, especially since he had previously suffered from a depleted Spirit Vein.
As if they had coordinated it, both men arrived at Qianmu Temple to visit Wang Ping on the very same day—the first of the seventh month.
