Chapter 108: Not Playing by the Rules

Longxing County Yamen.

"Bang!"

A firework shot up from the ground and exploded in the night sky. Amid the crackle of firecrackers ringing out the old year, the long-turbulent Longxing County displayed a rare hint of peace.

"So they also celebrate New Year's Eve here..."

In the courtyard, Wang Ping looked up at the sky, revealing a rare touch of melancholy. But he quickly buried those sentimental thoughts deep inside.

"Finally paid it off."

Wang Ping closed his eyes, his mind entering the Great Peace Mortuary. On the towering book, the long-dimmed scripture scroll, 'a promise worth a thousand gold', was finally lit up again.

This meant the qualitatively changed Divine Intent he had borrowed earlier was finally paid off in full, and he could once again show off his unparalleled borrowing talent.

"Drawing Kan to Fill Li... as expected, I can't borrow it all at once."

Wang Ping sensed it carefully. Though he'd expected it, he still felt a twinge of disappointment. After all, if he could directly borrow Drawing Kan to Fill Li, he would immediately master Borrowing Qi to Manifest Magic, forge magic power, and become a Loose Immortal capable of soaring through the skies and tunneling through the earth. By then, the sky would be the limit.

Unfortunately, he couldn't borrow it.

With this in mind, Wang Ping had to settle for the next best thing. Rather than trying to gorge himself in one bite, he slowly lowered his requirements, testing the waters, until he reached a conclusion:

"Though I can't borrow Drawing Kan to Fill Li, if I only ask to completely stabilize the Mind Monkey, I'll meet the conditions after at most three more days of cultivation."

Wang Ping took a deep breath and regained his composure.

He couldn't afford to be impatient. It seemed like only three days, but if he constantly counted the days in his head, he would fall into the Mind Monkey's trap and let it distract his thoughts.

In the end, three days would turn into another three days, endlessly repeating in a vicious cycle until all his previous efforts were wasted—this was exactly what was meant by the saying, 'ninety miles is only half a hundred-mile journey.'

Withdrawing from the Great Peace Mortuary, Wang Ping didn't rush to cultivate. Instead, he simply went back to watching the fireworks. He even set off a few firecrackers with Madam Su, thoroughly enjoying New Year's Eve and washing away all his restlessness. It wasn't until New Year's Day that he adjusted his state of mind and resumed his attempts to stabilize the Mind Monkey.

In a flash, three days passed.

On this day, Wang Ping felt a sudden stir in his heart and naturally awakened from his meditation. Realizing that the fateful moment had arrived, he immediately entered the Great Peace Mortuary once more.

"Give me the loan!"

The next second, a formless, intangible mighty force descended from the heavens and instantly fell into Wang Ping's heart, like a giant hand forcefully swatting the Mind Monkey.

"Boom!"

Wang Ping observed his inner landscape with his spiritual sense. The Mind Monkey seemed to have been blessed by an immortal's touch upon its head; its demonic appearance faded, and its hairy, thunder-god-like face actually took on a somewhat solemn and majestic aura.

Above the Mind Monkey's head, the golden energy from his lungs completely transformed into a golden hoop, locking tightly around its brow in perfect harmony. Wang Ping's spiritual sense met no further resistance and smoothly merged into the Mind Monkey's body. When he opened his eyes again, his perspective had shifted to that of the Mind Monkey.

"Can I go to the Dragon Palace now?"

Wang Ping shifted his gaze toward the Kidney Water Dragon Palace and tried to drive the Mind Monkey there. But the moment he moved, he felt an immense resistance.

"I can't get in."

Wang Ping quickly stopped in his tracks. "The Dragon Palace is at the bottom of the water, and the Mind Monkey isn't good with water. Its power isn't high enough either. It can't go down to the Dragon Palace, let alone lift the Divine Treasure Iron."

What should he do?

Drawing on his previous experience with the lung metal energy, Wang Ping quickly formulated an idea. "I have to make the Mind Monkey stronger. The key should lie in the spleen earth and liver wood."

In cultivation, understanding one principle often led to understanding them all. Ever since he realized that the five elements within the body were the key, Wang Ping could comprehend many concepts with just a little thought. "The heart belongs to fire, and what fuels fire is wood. Therefore, to strengthen the Mind Monkey, I should seek the liver wood energy. Besides, monkeys naturally love eating peaches."

At this thought, Wang Ping immediately changed direction.

The Mind Monkey stopped obsessing over the Kidney Water Dragon Palace and headed for the liver instead. Under the inner gaze of his spiritual sense, the landscape within the liver was astonishingly a vast flat peach orchard.

"How long is this going to take to eat?"

Wang Ping watched as the Mind Monkey entered the flat peach orchard and received the nourishment of the wood energy. However, the wood energy in the liver was not robust, so the rate of nourishment was nowhere near as fast as he had imagined.

"That makes sense. After all, no weapon has been integrated into the liver yet."

"The Dragon Head Guillotine integrated into my lungs is a top-tier semi-divine weapon, which is why the speed at which I subdued the Mind Monkey with lung metal far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators."

"The liver wood should follow the same logic."

............

Opening his eyes, Wang Ping withdrew his consciousness from his inner landscape. Without the aid of a divine weapon, his immortal cultivation could only proceed step by step, so he decided to switch tracks for the time being.

"Clang!"

With the ringing of a blade, light flashed in Wang Ping's hand, and the Dragon Head Guillotine appeared. The dragon patterns coiled around the blade stretched and undulated as if they had come alive.

At that instant, Wang Ping felt as if a powder keg had been ignited within his body. Endless power erupted with his every breath, surging toward his limbs and bones. At the same time, his mind felt as though it had been suddenly crushed under a massive mountain, and his thoughts no longer flowed as freely as before.

"This is... a divine weapon!"

Wang Ping gritted his teeth, bearing the dual pressure on his mind and body. The fascia throughout his body grew thicker, and his bones ached and tingled as if they were being cast in molten iron.

A qualitative change of the physical body!

This agonizing yet euphoric sensation lasted for about three or four seconds. Just as Wang Ping was about to reach the peak, it abruptly stopped, nearly making him throw up.

"It actually cut off here!?"

Wang Ping cursed in exasperation for a moment before recovering his breath. He then looked at the Dragon Head Guillotine in his hand, knowing that all of this was brought about by this divine weapon.

That's right, a divine weapon.

The Dragon Head Guillotine had advanced!

"The stabilization of the Mind Monkey prompted the Dragon Head Guillotine integrated in my lungs to advance into a divine weapon, and the birth of the divine weapon in turn drove my body to undergo an initial qualitative change."

That was only secondary. After all, it wasn't a complete qualitative physical change; while there were boosts, it hadn't reached the level of a total rebirth. The real focal point lay in the fact that the newly advanced Dragon Head Guillotine, much like the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag, now genuinely possessed supernatural wonders!

Wang Ping closed his eyes and sensed it for a moment.

Soon, the Dragon Head Guillotine in his hand gave him a sensation of being linked by heart and blood, and a massive amount of information flooded into his sea of consciousness through this connection.

Great Shun Martial Dao fundamentally relied on weapons.

Therefore, upon reaching the level of a divine weapon, the Art of War—the most important foundation of Great Shun Martial Dao—no longer depended on martial arts skills, but rather on the weapon itself.

"Low-grade divine weapon, Dragon Head Guillotine."

"The Art of War is named Dharma Covenant. As the name suggests, it is a technique that forms a contract for compulsory execution, and its effects are no different from magic spells."

In the Immortal Gate, a divine weapon's Art of War would be considered a magical treasure's wonder. At its core, it was indistinguishable from genuine Immortal Gate spells. This was the main reason why Great Shun's experts at the Martial Dao Grandmaster Rank could stand on equal footing with Loose Immortals who had cultivated magic power; both sides wielded extraordinary, transcendent strength.

"The application of Dharma Covenant is also very simple."

"As long as the Dragon Head Guillotine leaves a wound on the target's body and the blade is stained with their blood, they will be forced to sign a contract and obey the wielder's commands."

"The effectiveness depends on the target's spiritual willpower."

"In short, the weaker the target's will, the higher the compulsion. If the gap is large enough, it can even evolve into absolute obedience."

Wang Ping opened his eyes, unable to help but sigh in admiration.

"It's a perfect match for me."

It was an Art of War that required slashing and wounding to activate, and as it happened, his greatest specialty was high-speed slashing. Creating wounds was the easiest condition for him to meet.

"This should also be one of the benefits of using the body as a furnace and integrating the weapon into oneself. It allows the advanced divine weapon to adapt to one's own style of action to the greatest possible extent."

While Wang Ping was pondering, his brows suddenly twitched.

"Hmm? Someone's there?"

Wang Ping's gaze shifted. Under the perception of his Divine Intent, he felt an extremely sharp aura locking onto him from afar, yet it didn't bring him any sense of crisis.

"Is this... an invitation to go outside?"

After a moment of thought, Wang Ping casually grabbed a sheet of Xuan paper, cut out a paper figurine, and sent it walking toward the sensed direction, while his true body sat steadily in place without moving.

Taking risks was out of the question.

With Chenlong, an expert at the Martial Dao Grandmaster Rank, standing guard at the Longxing County Yamen, it was as steady as Mount Tai even if a Loose Immortal attacked. But if he went out, what would he do if he encountered danger?

'In all things, stability comes first.'

With this in mind, Wang Ping's true body simply headed over to another courtyard to give Chenlong a heads-up, ready to dish out a righteous gang beating if necessary.

.............

Outside Longxing County.

In the bustling and chaotic Outer Market, the paper figurine Wang Ping followed the sensation all the way, finally meeting the person who had locked onto him from afar with Divine Intent in a secluded corner.

"Ji Wuhen greets Brother Wang."

Wang Ping was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, purely because the other party hadn't actually spoken. Instead, he had used Divine Intent transmission, making Wang Ping intuitively 'guess' the sentence.

With his current level of Divine Intent cultivation, an ordinary Titled Martial Master wouldn't have the ability to send a transmission to him. Coupled with the other party introducing himself, Wang Ping quickly figured it out.

"Ranked third on the Armament Manual, the Hegemon Spear, Ji Wuhen?"

"That would be me."

Ji Wuhen continued to transmit his voice via Divine Intent. Yet the man himself didn't make any eye contact with Wang Ping; instead, he walked right past him like a stranger.

'Is someone watching us?'

Wang Ping's heart chilled slightly.

Immediately following that, he continued inquiring through voice transmission, "A martial artist ranked third on the Armament Manual usually only shows up in the Central Plains. Why come all the way to Shuzhong specifically to see me?"

"Vice Minister of Rites Li Wenzheng paid money to buy your life."

Ji Wuhen spoke bluntly.

As soon as those words came out, Wang Ping's eyes narrowed slightly. "So... you're here to kill me?"

Could it be a delivery from destiny?

"Of course not."

Ji Wuhen denied it decisively, while sneering endlessly in his heart.

That dog official Li Wenzheng had a Loose Immortal under his command who could travel ten thousand li a day, yet he didn't let him take action. Instead, he spent money to hire a martial artist like him.

'Is this hiring an assassin?'

'He's probably just using me as cannon fodder to test the waters!'

'Or is it just because my title is Hegemon Spear and I look a bit simple and honest, they assume I'm a reckless brute who can be easily duped?'

'I'm actually quite smart!'

True, Ji Wuhen was very tempted by the conditions Li Wenzheng offered. However, he knew even better that no matter how good the conditions were, they meant nothing if he lost his life trying to get them.

Especially since meeting that Master Kongzhi, Ji Wuhen could constantly feel his own Divine Intent sending out warnings. An intense sense of crisis lingered, and his intuition told him that the other party most likely harbored malicious intentions toward him. In that case, rather than sitting around waiting for death, it was better to strike first!

And the enemy of an enemy was a friend.

With this thought, Ji Wuhen abruptly changed the subject. "I'm here to invite Brother Wang. I wonder if you have any interest in cooperating with me to pull off something big."

"What big thing?" Wang Ping asked.

Hearing this, Ji Wuhen's eyes flashed. "Killing someone, naturally... Brother Wang will act as the bait, and I'll be the inside man. We'll coordinate from the inside and out, join forces, and kill a Loose Immortal!"