Chapter 120: Supreme Great Grandmaster Rank

At first, Wang Ping had wanted to refuse.

After all, he had always been an honorable gentleman. It was hardly appropriate for a lone man and a lone woman to share a room; if someone saw them, it would ruin his spotless reputation.

But Chen Luoyan’s very first words to him were:

“What did you do?”

“I saw it with my spiritual sense. Were you just besieging a Loose Immortal? Where did they come from? Are they dead or alive? Why would you do such a thing?”

Once she said that, he could not simply let her walk away.

Left with no choice, Wang Ping secretly unfurled the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag and gestured for Chen Luoyan to enter its internal space first so they could discuss the matter in detail.

And then, Chen Luoyan actually walked right in.

Wang Ping was stunned. Especially after surviving a grueling battle of wits against Ji Wuhen, looking at Chen Luoyan gave him the distinct impression of a beauty utterly untainted by intelligence.

Still, it saved him the trouble of explaining.

Inside the flag’s space, Chen Luoyan turned back to look at Wang Ping. “Alright, tell me. Who exactly was that Loose Immortal? As a disciple of Book Mountain—”

Wang Ping didn't hesitate to seal the space shut.

The world instantly fell quiet.

What a joke. Why would he bother explaining anything to Chen Luoyan? Since she had thrown herself right into the net, it would be a disservice to her initiative not to kick her while she was down.

“Bang, bang, bang!”

Muffled thuds echoed continuously from within the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag. The fabric billowed and surged, faintly embossing the silhouette of a furious, pretty face.

Naturally, Wang Ping had no intention of letting her out. He manipulated the flag’s space, locking Chen Luoyan and Ye Chao in separate confines. Then he stood, left the room, and crossed the courtyard without disturbing Madam Su from her quiet reading, making his way straight to Chenlong’s small courtyard.

A short while later, Chenlong walked out.

“What is it? Here to return my Divine Armor?”

Wang Ping tilted his head. “What Divine Armor?”

Chenlong rolled his eyes, too lazy to argue. Once he fully recovered, taking the Divine Armor back would require only a single thought anyway.

“Let’s get down to business.”

“Sir, there is actually something I don't quite understand.”

Wang Ping cupped his hands and lowered his voice. “We killed that Brahma Cultivator over at Book Mountain and caused a massive commotion. Won't others discover it?”

Almost everyone in nearby Longxing County was already aware something major had happened. Even Madam Su had guessed that cultivators were clashing outside the city; a matter this large simply could not be covered up. In fact, it was a stroke of absolute luck that no extraordinary person had shown up to intervene halfway through the battle.

That, however, had to be credited to Ye Chao.

Under the manipulation of the Fate-Peering Bone-Slicing Mirror, Kongzhi had given up on escaping, and no one else had approached the battlefield, eliminating outside variables to the greatest possible extent.

Yet this was only temporary.

Just as every play must eventually draw its curtains, the influence of destiny was not eternal. As time passed, some extraordinary person would inevitably realize something was wrong.

Such as Book Mountain.

“By my deduction, Book Mountain and that Brahma Cultivator likely formed a conspiracy. Now that the Brahma Cultivator is dead, not a single scrap of news has come from Book Mountain.”

Wang Ping took out the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag and gave it a gentle shake.

“Including her. Even as a disciple of the Book Mountain Sect Master, she still came to ask me about that Brahma Cultivator’s identity. Clearly, she doesn't know the inside story either.”

“Logically speaking, the Brahma Cultivator died at our hands. Once the Book Mountain Sect Master discovered this, he would have no reason not to use his disciple to probe for information. He might even come in person. Yet he hasn't made a single move. Book Mountain hasn't dispatched a single Loose Immortal to investigate.”

This was Wang Ping's concern.

In all fairness, he had already prepared a story to deal with Book Mountain. He was just waiting for their extraordinary people to show up so he could feed them a web of lies.

Yet, inexplicably, Book Mountain hadn't come.

This threw Wang Ping off. He even began to suspect his cover was already blown, and the Book Mountain Sect Master was simply remaining inactive to avoid beating the grass to startle the snake.

“Hmm...”

Hearing Wang Ping’s words, Chenlong rubbed his chin, also finding it rather strange. “Indeed. Book Mountain is a bit too quiet. This isn't their usual style.”

“You have to understand, Shuzhong is Book Mountain's private domain. Ordinarily, let alone a massive battle, even if a Loose Immortal merely flew through Shuzhong, they would be detained and interrogated about their origins. Given how much time has passed since our battle, it is truly abnormal that not a single one of them has rushed over.”

Chenlong thought for a moment before finally throwing his hands up.

“Whatever. Don't overthink it.”

Wang Ping was perplexed.

Facing a confused Wang Ping, Chenlong lightly patted his shoulder. “Martial artists shouldn't use their brains too much. Just follow your intuition.”

“Let me ask you: can you feel any danger right now?”

“This...”

Wang Ping closed his eyes and reached out with his senses for a moment, then shook his head. “I don't feel anything at all.”

“Neither do I.”

Chenlong smiled. “I am in the Martial Dao Grandmaster Rank. My cultivation in Divine Intent is fairly passable. If even I cannot sense any danger, then there are only two possibilities.”

“Either there really is no danger.”

“Or we are already dead.”

“Regardless of which it is, there's no need to agonize over it, right? Since things have reached this point, just go to sleep and rest up. If something really does happen, at least you'll be able to run a bit faster.”

Wang Ping had to admit that Chenlong made a lot of sense.

Returning to his courtyard, Wang Ping simply let go of his worries. He sat cross-legged on his bed, and his mind once again sank into the Great Peace Mortuary to look upon the towering tome.

Invoking Deities.

The portraits of Chenlong and Old Immortal Bliss that he had used previously had vanished.

Wang Ping looked up, only to see that alongside Ye Chao and the Wine-Sword Rogue Immortal, a brand-new portrait had appeared on the scripture scroll.

Kongzhi!

A Brahma Cultivator who had mastered magic power!

“Even though the Brahma Nation's cultivation system is completely different from the Immortal Gate's, knowing oneself and the enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles. Kongzhi definitely isn't a stranger to the Immortal Gate's system.”

“This is the perfect time to invoke him and have him aid my cultivation.”

At the thought of this, Wang Ping couldn't help but savor the prospect.

‘If only I could find an opportunity to kill another proper Loose Immortal. After all, anyone who can become a Loose Immortal has definitely passed the trial of Drawing Kan to Fill Li.’

‘I'll kill a few more, then have them all possess me together to help me out.’

‘With that, why would I ever worry about failing the Immortal Dao?’

Wang Ping took a deep breath and immediately activated the scripture scroll. At the same time, he circulated the Inner Landscape Scripture, preparing to resume his battle of wits against the spiritual monkey bouncing around inside his heart.

Then again... hadn't he forgotten something?

...

Book Mountain blessed land.

This place was a solitary floating peak, far beyond the reach of the mortal world. Ordinarily, it boasted the ethereal atmosphere of an immortal domain, but at this moment, an aura of chilling hostility permeated the mountain inside and out.

Looking out, the peak stood isolated amidst floating, ethereal clouds. More than a dozen streaks of sword light darted through the sky. Every single one surged with vigorous magic power and echoed with the ringing of swords. Figures materialized within those sword lights—both men and women—all sharing a bitter enmity as they aimed in unison at a specific spot at the foot of the mountain.

Right at this moment, a streak of sword light swooped down.

Only when it reached the foot of the mountain did the sword light suddenly part. A youth with red lips and white teeth, clad in Daoist robes, walked out from within. It was none other than the Book Mountain Sect Master.

Throughout Shuzhong, the status of the Book Mountain Sect Master was unquestionable. Not only was his cultivation high and his magical treasures powerful, but he also had ties to the upper realm. He had always acted with complete impunity.

Yet right now, this Loose Immortal standing at the absolute pinnacle of Shuzhong's extraordinary people had not the slightest smile on his face. Instead, he looked incredibly grave, cold sweat sliding down his forehead. For an extraordinary person of his level, appearing like this was tantamount to losing his mental composure. However, not a single person mocked him.

In fact, it was the exact opposite.

In the eyes of the dozen or so Loose Immortals of Book Mountain, the very fact that their Sect Master had the courage to walk to the foot of the mountain and stand in that position made him entirely worthy of his title.

Unlike them.

Although they seemed to be glaring like tigers watching their prey, they had actually already fled Book Mountain. They only dared to ride their sword lights along the mountain's outer perimeter, making it convenient to flee on their flying swords the moment anything went wrong.

“...Fellow Daoist.”

After a moment of silence, the Book Mountain Sect Master finally spoke in a hoarse voice. “You have blockaded us here for an entire day and night. May I ask what your purpose is?”

An ethereal voice responded to him:

“There is no purpose.”

“My intuition told me today was a good day to admire the flowers at Book Mountain, so I came. I am merely inviting all of you to stay and admire them with me.”

The Book Mountain Sect Master fell silent.

This unreasonable brute. What a lunatic!

Even so, he did not dare let the slightest trace of anger slip out. Yet a second later, that voice echoed once more: “Did you just curse me in your heart?”

“Absolutely not!” The Book Mountain Sect Master shook his head decisively.

“Wrong. You definitely cursed me.”

The ethereal voice's tone was incredibly certain. It continued, “My intuition tells me you just cursed me. You think I am speaking falsely and deliberately deceiving you.”

“By cursing me in your heart, you resent me for deceiving you.”

“You harbor resentment toward me.”

“Where there is resentment, there is hatred.”

“You hate me, so you must have thought about killing me to vent your hatred.”

“You want to kill me?”

“I will kill you first!”

With every sentence the ethereal voice spoke, the Book Mountain Sect Master's expression grew a fraction stiffer. He looked as if he had just seen a ghost, appearing as though he might burst into tears at any second.

By the time it finished speaking, the sword lights that had been circling Book Mountain erupted with a boom. After that, it was every man for himself. They darted in every direction—up, down, left, right, east, west, south, and north—vanishing over the horizon in the blink of an eye. Only the Book Mountain Sect Master remained, his eyes wide in shock as he stared at the gentle breeze wafting past him.

‘It's over!’

He couldn't see the other party, because her existence was extremely unique. She was clearly nothing more than a phantom, yet bizarrely possessed the ability to affect everything in reality.

“Rumble!”

The next second, it was as if thunder had ripped through the clouds. The Book Mountain Sect Master's expression instantly froze, and a moment later, a bright radiance surfaced once more in the depths of his eyes.

Illuminated by this radiance, the previously empty space finally shifted. Like a gentle breeze caressing a willow, an illusory figure gradually materialized within the light. She wore a phoenix-tail mamian skirt draped in a cloud collar and adorned with colorful ribbons. Her beautiful, profound eyes gazed off into the distance, as if she were merely admiring the scenery of Book Mountain.

“Fellow Daoist, is this truly necessary?”

The Book Mountain Sect Master—or rather, Daoist Xuanhe, who had descended his consciousness to borrow the body at this moment—gave a bitter smile and, unprecedentedly, offered a bow to the woman.

“It is not my fault.”

The woman spoke calmly. “He wanted to kill me. I am only fighting back.”

Daoist Xuanhe, well acquainted with the woman's history, had absolutely no intention of arguing with her. Instead, he shifted the topic. “With an honored guest arriving at our gates, how could we simply leave you waiting outside the mountain?”

“Pass down my decree to the disciples. Open the mountain gate.”

“You're too polite.” The woman shook her head casually.

Daoist Xuanhe, on the other hand, wore a solemn expression upon hearing this. “Ultimately, you hold the Supreme Great Grandmaster Rank spoken of by the people of this world, making you the foremost figure of the martial dao... you are more than worthy of it, Fellow Daoist.”