Chapter 142: Perceiving the World Through Sound

Just like that, Mount Tianzhu struck the Golden Roc Great Sage squarely on the head.

An unparalleled force poured down, instantly shattering the Totem true form the Golden Roc Great Sage had manifested. His blood qi dissolved into a rolling, turbid river.

Yet even after crushing the Golden Roc Great Sage, Mount Tianzhu did not stop. It slammed solidly into the wilderness. In an instant, a colossal roar erupted from the impact, shaking the atmosphere and kicking up a reverse waterfall of dust that swept frantically in every direction.

At almost the exact same time, thousands of li away.

Two figures shot into the sky. With their blood qi seething, they manifested their Totem true forms, both staring with grave expressions at the distant crimson-stained sky.

"Golden Roc is dead?!"

Both were Heavenly Demon Royal Court Great Sages. Peering into the distance, they had clearly witnessed the exact moment the Golden Roc Great Sage was crushed to death.

They had also heard the declaration of that "Heaven-Transcending Great Sage."

"What arrogance!"

One of them could not help but scoff, yet when his thoughts returned to that mountain-dropping strike, he could not hide the dread on his face.

"Sigh, a pity about Golden Roc."

The other Great Sage, whose manifested Totem true form was an old turtle, sighed helplessly. "Man proposes, Heaven disposes. I suppose it was his time to enter reincarnation."

"You still have the nerve to speak!" the dread-filled Great Sage snapped. "Weren't you the one who sent Golden Roc? Black Tortoise, your divination arts really are half-baked. You claimed the Six-Eared Clan had a chance at resurgence and told Golden Roc to stop them, and look what happened."

"Heilong, now that is just unfair."

"I didn't miscalculate anything!"

The Black Tortoise Great Sage took immediate offense, pointing at the fiery red sky in the distance. "Just look for yourself! Has the Six-Eared Clan resurged or not?"

"Golden Roc died because he lacked the skill."

"If Golden Roc had been stronger than this Heaven-Transcending Great Sage who suddenly popped up and killed him on the spot, wouldn't he have successfully stopped the Six-Eared Clan's resurgence?"

"Cut the crap."

Heilong shook his head. "If you're so capable, then divine the origins of this Heaven-Transcending Great Sage. I don't buy this 'appearing out of nowhere' nonsense."

"For someone to suddenly become a Great Sage, they must have a massive background!"

Having said that, Heilong glanced down at his feet. Even thousands of li away, they could still feel the ground trembling violently.

Too fierce.

Though it lacked any magical profundity, the sheer brute force required to heave a mountain and smash it down made his scalp tingle more than any mystical spell could.

"This..."

The Black Tortoise Great Sage stroked his beard. His eyes darted around before he decisively shook his head. "I only perform one divination a day. Only the first one is perfectly accurate."

"I already divined for Golden Roc today, so it's truly inappropriate to divine again. It would harm the harmony of Heaven... More importantly, we should return to the Royal Court and report. After all, the one who died is a Great Sage of the Golden-Winged Great Roc Clan, the Khan's direct subordinate. If anyone should have a headache over this, it's the Khan."

Heilong quickly nodded in agreement.

"Makes sense!"

"But the Khan is currently preparing the army to march south. I'm afraid he'll be furious when he hears the news."

The death of the Golden Roc Great Sage was neither a trivial matter nor an earth-shattering one. After all, he had not been the strongest Heavenly Monster Great Sage of the Golden-Winged Great Roc Clan.

As for this newly ascended Great Sage who styled himself 'Heaven-Transcending'...

He could not deny the man's immense strength, but brute force alone was useless. By daring to openly provoke the Royal Court, his death was likely only a matter of time.

He might look glorious now, but in reality, he was nothing more than dry bones in a graveyard.

...

Just like that, the two Great Sages quietly departed.

A full half-hour after they left, a head finally poked out stealthily from the very spot where they had been standing.

It was Wang Ping.

"Preparing the army to march south?"

Wang Ping stroked his chin, his gaze narrowing slightly. "Sure enough, the Heavenly Demon Royal Court is about to invade the Great Shun again. Does this mean the Brahma Nation is going to war with the Immortal Gate once more?"

He needed to take this news back.

With that thought, he glanced again at the distant fiery clouds—that was the Heaven-Equaling Victorious Mighty Spirit True Form, the location where the Heaven-Transcending Great Sage currently resided.

'Yeah, from now on, I'll steer clear of that area.'

Wang Ping quickly made his decision.

As for that domineering declaration echoing across the Royal Court that those who submit flourish, those who resist perish... what a joke. That was the Heaven-Transcending Great Sage talking. What did that have to do with him, Wang Ping?

In this regard, Wang Ping remained incredibly level-headed. He would let the Heaven-Transcending Great Sage cause trouble and act as arrogant as he pleased, but his true body would never lightly step into danger. For one thing, the Outer Heavenly Demon was still on cooldown. There was no way he would act recklessly just to show off.

Besides, acting tough carried risks.

If he went too far and ended up attracting the attention of the Brahma Nation, drawing down enemies from the sky and blowing his cover, it could easily threaten his very life.

Thinking of this, Wang Ping understood even more clearly why people like Daoist Nun You and Lian Shengyue—these Immortal Gate True Transmissions—had used avatars to stir up trouble back in Longxing County.

Avatars were truly useful.

These dirty, tiring, and dangerous jobs were meant to be pawned off on avatars. That was exactly what avatars were for! If they didn't bear the heavy burdens, how could he enjoy a peaceful life?

"For now, I'll just sit back and watch."

Wang Ping was not in a hurry. He had openly set up the Heaven-Transcending Great Sage as a massive target. Now, all that was left was to see how the Royal Court planned to attack it.

And during this process, he would naturally catch a glimpse of the Royal Court's true depths.

More importantly, with the Royal Court focusing all its attention on the Heaven-Transcending Great Sage, his true body would be free to act in secret.

'It's a pity that the Golden Roc Great Sage's life essence wasn't quite right. A piece of it was missing, so False Form couldn't simulate it... Did they anticipate this and take precautions in advance? If the Golden-Winged Great Roc Clan is like this, then the Eight Banner Royal Clans of the Royal Court are probably all the same. These bloodline spells won't be easy to get.'

Unless he settled for the next best thing.

The Eight Banner Royal Clans were one thing; after all, they possessed the most noble bloodlines. It was only natural for them to have methods to prevent their bloodlines from leaking and their bloodline spells from being stolen.

But the smaller clans outside the Eight Banners couldn't possibly be just as well-defended, right?

Of course, the grassland where the Royal Court resided was unfathomably vast—just as expansive as the Great Shun. Seeking out these smaller clans one by one was basically impossible.

"Fortunately, I have other methods now."

Wang Ping twitched his ears.

In the next second, his ears split apart upon command. Three on each side, making six in total. He had activated the six-eared macaque's bloodline spell, Sound Perception.

The six ears birthed by this method each held their own profound mysteries. The three on the left listened to the Three Primal Forces: Heaven, Earth, and Man. The three on the right listened to the Three Temporal Phases: Past, Present, and Future. What he wanted to hear and how he heard it depended entirely on how the six ears coordinated.

"Mhm..."

Wang Ping calmed his heart and closed his eyes. The six ears immediately began to twitch slightly. Right after, voices washed over him like a crashing tide:

"Sigh, I can't live this bitter life for another day. When will it be my turn to be eaten by the Ming King, so I can reincarnate as a clan noble in my next life?"

"Ah Hua is so cute. I really want to marry her, but it's a pity she's my sister-in-law... When is my brother going to die?"

"I heard he joined the Khan's personal guard. He should be marching south in a few years. Once my brother dies in battle, I can marry Ah Hua and bring her home."

"That earthquake just now was intense. Which Great Sages were fighting?"

"I'm dead, my horses are all dead..."

The vast majority of this noise came from the [Man] and [Present] ears. He could hear the casual chatters and inner thoughts of everyone within a ten-thousand-li radius.

Unfortunately, it was all garbage.

Thus, he tried focusing his attention on the [Earth] and [Past] ears. A moment later, entirely new information echoed in his mind:

"Here we go again, here we go again."

"Which child is it this time? So unreasonable. Not only did he uproot the mountain on my body, but he even turned around and smashed it into me. Really, not a single one of them gives me peace..."

Wang Ping decisively closed those ears.

Yeah, he must have misheard.

A moment later, Wang Ping opened his ears again. This time, he focused on [Heaven] and [Past]. The experience was entirely different:

"Sigh, here they come again."

"The lords above are doing this far too frequently. It hasn't been long at all, yet another one has reincarnated here. I wonder what kind of chaos they'll stir up this time. Truly a sin."

Wang Ping jerked his head up.

"This time I heard the Voice of Heaven, and it was from the past. It said another lord from above has reincarnated... Could it be referring to a cultivator from the Brahma Nation?"

"Yuan Sheng previously said I was the reincarnation of a Venerable—is it this same type? According to the Voice of Heaven's description, a Brahma Nation cultivator has recently reincarnated into the Heavenly Demon Royal Court?" Wang Ping felt a chill of dread as he listened. Good thing he was cautious! His true body hadn't shown its face; instead, he let the Heaven-Transcending Great Sage draw all the fire.

What was their cultivation level? What was their name?

How long had they been reincarnated?

'A normal reincarnation should be similar to Ye Chao's. It's entirely different from my transmigration using the Taiping Sutra. It's fundamentally very difficult for them to maintain their peak combat strength.'

So if the other party hadn't been reincarnated for long... maybe they could be killed?

Unfortunately, after that, no matter how Wang Ping pushed his six ears, he couldn't hear the Voices of Heaven and Earth anymore. Or rather, Heaven and Earth rarely made a sound to begin with.

Basically, the [Heaven] and [Earth] ears could only pick up tiny fragments when paired with [Past]. When paired with [Present], there was only an endless silence; he couldn't hear a thing. As for [Future]... that was the only ear Wang Ping hadn't used so far.

There was no other reason than the massive drain it caused.

"Listening to the [Future] is no different from divination arts. It's even more precise, which means the toll on my mana is equally huge. Plus, the randomness is far too high."

If he really wanted to listen, he'd just have to try his luck.

So in the end, Wang Ping simply closed the other ears, leaving only [Man] and [Past] twitching as they faced the extreme distance of the grasslands.

That was exactly where the Royal Court's main camp was located.

"I might not hear anything from the [Present], but the [Past] is different... If that Brahma Cultivator really did reincarnate, they must be in the Royal Court."

The Royal Court couldn't possibly be unaware of such a major event.

And if they knew, they would discuss it.

That reincarnated Brahma Cultivator might have even conversed directly with the Great Sages of the Royal Court. As long as they had spoken, it became a voice of the [Past].

And he could hear it!

Wang Ping circulated his spiritual sense and mana, pouring all his concentration into the two ears to filter out the static. Finally, a voice drifted over.

They were two fairly muffled voices.

"Kong De of the Peacock clan pays his respects to the Venerable."

"Rise."

One was steady and powerful, filled with dignified majesty. The other was slightly immature, even carrying a hint of childishness, yet its tone was far more imperious and aloof.

"As the saying goes, to catch the bandits, first catch their king."

"If we want to deal with the Eight Trigrams Furnace, we must first capture the Immortal Gate's furnace-watching disciple. This Venerable has descended to the lower realm this time precisely to orchestrate this great undertaking."

"You all must assist me..."

Boom!

In the very next second, Wang Ping was knocked out of his Sound Perception state. His six ears retracted accordingly, but a gleam of sheer excitement surfaced in his eyes.

A cultivator from the Brahma Nation had descended to the lower realm with a plan to hunt down the Eight Trigrams Furnace's furnace-watching disciple... Daoist Xuanhe?

I actually managed to hear some massive news!