Chapter 144: My Master Kongzhi

For Kongbei and Zongji, everything that had happened so far felt like an endless nightmare, leaving them utterly terrified.

"Ugh! I never should have been so greedy!"

"Come to think of it, we're merely duty disciples. The Eight Treasure Table is managed by the true transmission senior brothers. How could it ever be our turn to reap the benefits?"

"Alas!"

In this dim world, the two Brahma Cultivators sighed and groaned. Eventually, they grew so sick of the sight of each other that they finally snapped and started cursing each other out.

"Senior Brother, did you mess up your strike?"

Kongbei was practically radiating resentment. "I told you something felt wrong, but you just wouldn't listen! You were blinded by greed, and now you've dragged me down with you!"

"Bullshit!"

Naturally, Zongji refused to take the blame, instantly firing back. "If you hadn't mentioned some anomaly in the Eight Treasure Table, would we even be in this mess?"

"At the end of the day, you're the one to blame!"

Kongbei was instantly furious.

"Don't try to change the subject, Senior Brother! Let's keep things straight. If your strike hadn't been flawed, we never would have ended up like this."

"What kind of bullshit is that? If you hadn't brought the news about the Eight Treasure Table, how would I have... Oh! I get it now! You set me up on purpose, didn't you? You must be a mole from the Immortal Gate, trying to ruin a righteous Brahma Cultivator like me! I made the mistake of trusting you, and this is what it got me!"

"Give me a break. Anyone can point fingers."

"The mole is finally showing his true colors!"

For a time, the two Brahma Cultivators just talked over one another. All logic and reason went out the window, leaving nothing but pure, unadulterated emotional venting.

Until suddenly.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion ripped through the air. The two Brahma Cultivators felt the world spin, their very souls nearly shaken apart, before a sliver of light tore through the darkness.

"This is..."

When the light faded, the two Brahma Cultivators were astonished to discover that they actually had bodies again.

Even if it was just a Paper-Doll Body, at least their souls had a vessel and were no longer drifting aimlessly. Consequently, their previously muddled consciousness cleared up significantly.

"Are you two masters alright?"

The voice came from right beside them. Only then did the two realize a third person was standing next to them, his face full of concern as he helped them up and stabilized their souls.

Thud!

In the very next second, without a moment's hesitation, Kongbei and Zongji dropped to their knees, tears streaming down their faces. "My lord! Lord from the Immortal Gate, please spare our lives!"

"To tell you the truth, our hearts have actually yearned for the Immortal Gate for a long time..."

The young man helping them up immediately froze at their words, then hurriedly waved his hands.

"It's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!"

"Masters, capturing you was merely an expedient measure. Although I practice immortal cultivation methods, in my heart, I've long been a cultivator of the Brahma Nation!"

"...Huh?"

The two Brahma Cultivators froze in place.

One of our own?

Who was he trying to fool? Would one of their own capture them from across space right out of the Brahma Nation...? Well, actually, maybe they would. But this person was clearly using immortal methods!

Even so, neither Brahma Cultivator dared to contradict him. Since the young man had said it, they readily played along, nodding profusely. "So that's how it is. That's wonderful! May we ask what important matter prompted you to cast a spell and invite us lowly cultivators to this lower realm for a meeting?"

"It's like this."

Wang Ping didn't mind their reaction and continued, "My master is named Kongzhi. He was the one who sent me here. I wonder, have you two masters heard of him?"

"Kongzhi?"

Kongbei and Zongji exchanged a look before shaking their heads.

"Never heard of him."

That made things easy.

Wang Ping's expression didn't change as he smoothly shifted the topic. "My master is currently undercover inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace. He sent me here to contact a martial uncle of mine."

"Word is, there's critical intelligence."

"But after arriving here, I couldn't find this martial uncle anywhere. Fortunately, I ran into you two masters. I only ask that you point me in the right direction."

A Brahma Cultivator undercover in the Eight Trigrams Furnace?

Critical intelligence?

Kongbei and Zongji exchanged another glance, now half-convinced... What should they do? It sounded somewhat true, but also felt a bit off.

"Of course, I know the rules. I won't make things difficult for you two masters." Seeing the two Brahma Cultivators fall silent, Wang Ping struck while the iron was hot. He condensed his spiritual sense, transforming it into a glowing scripture, and smiled. "This is the cultivation method my master passed down to me. It is called the Other-Transformation Freedom Control Desire Realm Celestial Manual..."

"!!!"

In an instant, staring at the scripture Wang Ping presented, Zongji and Kongbei's eyes went wide. If they weren't in Paper-Doll Bodies, they probably would have started drooling.

'It's this scripture!?'

'I remember this is the inheritance of the Great Joy Wisdom King, right? This Wisdom King, just like the Great Golden Wheel Wisdom King, is one of the four great Wisdom Kings of the Great Brahma Heaven.'

'To think it's such a wondrous method!'

The two monks stared in absolute rapture. Their previous doubts were instantly tossed out the window. Anyone possessing such a cultivation method absolutely couldn't be a mole from the Immortal Gate!

The cultivation methods of the Brahma Nation had always been strictly guarded. Unless a monk willingly bestowed it, even if an outsider managed to steal something, they would only get minor, fragmentary auxiliary arts at best.

Realizing this, the way Kongbei and Zongji looked at Wang Ping instantly changed. Their minds began racing. Why had they been willing to take such risks before? Wasn't it just to earn the favor of the Great Golden Wheel Wisdom King? Yet, if they swapped to the Great Joy Wisdom King, wouldn't the result be the same?

At the end of the day, they didn't care which Wisdom King it was.

As long as the Wisdom King could grant them Divine Powers and allow them to break through to the Meditative Concentration Realm, they were a good Wisdom King. At this thought, the two monks immediately became wildly enthusiastic.

"That's easy to handle!"

Kongbei spoke up first. "As far as I know, a true transmission disciple did reincarnate into the Eight Treasure Table a while back. He should be the martial uncle you're looking for."

Seeing this, Zongji was unwilling to fall behind.

"That true transmission disciple goes by the Dharma name Jin Hai. He is a disciple under the Great Golden Wheel Wisdom King, and from what I know, he has already reached the Wisdom-Opening and Vow-Making Realm."

In Brahma Nation cultivation, Holding Precepts, Meditative Concentration, and Opening Wisdom corresponded to the three layers of the Immortal Gate's Tribulation Transcending realm.

Among them, an immortal cultivator at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer needed to survive a fate tribulation. A Brahma Cultivator at the Opening Wisdom realm faced a similar hurdle known as making a grand vow. Without it, there was no hope of breakthrough.

'Jin Hai?'

Wang Ping's gaze sharpened slightly. He didn't completely buy their story. Instead, he quietly circulated his Sound Perception art, causing his 'Man' and 'Present' ears to twitch faintly.

Working in tandem, these two ears could not only hear a person's current conversation but also listen in on their inner thoughts. Of course, in most situations, this only worked on a Mortal. Its effectiveness against cultivators was extremely poor. However, Kongbei and Zongji were currently nothing more than souls in terrible condition, making them powerless to block Wang Ping's prying.

'Hmm... They aren't lying.'

'But they don't know much, either. It seems their status in the Brahma Nation isn't very high. Judging by their cultivation, if they were in the Immortal Gate, they'd be outer sect disciples at best.'

But that didn't matter.

What mattered was that these two Brahma Cultivators truly believed from the bottom of their hearts that he was one of their own. They had even developed quite a few thoughts of currying favor with him.

Beyond that, he also picked up on a lot of their subconscious complaints.

'Meditative Concentration requires contacting the Buddhas within the Great Brahma Heaven. If you can't contact them and receive bestowed methods, then even with the highest talent, you'll accomplish absolutely nothing?'

'All living beings are equal under the rule of the Brahma Nation?'

'Good heavens, cultivating in the Brahma Nation isn't easy either. This level of rigid class stratification feels even worse than the Immortal Gate. Lower cultivators completely rely on the mercy of the higher ones.'

Wang Ping immediately realized just how massive an allure the Other-Transformation Freedom Control Desire Realm Celestial Manual held for ordinary Brahma Cultivators. Simply put, this scripture allowed for direct contact with the Great Joy Wisdom King. It was the equivalent of having the private phone number of a high-ranking leader—something lower-level Brahma Cultivators could only dream of stumbling upon.

'It's the perfect bargaining chip!'

With that in mind, Wang Ping made a prompt decision. With a grand wave of his hand, he split off a third of the complete scripture and immediately gifted it to Kongbei and Zongji.

"Thank you both, Masters."

Wang Ping's face was a picture of sincerity as he then put on an act. "Then I'll cast the spell to send you two masters back now. I apologize for the earlier intrusion..."

"Wait, wait!"

Before Wang Ping even finished speaking, the two Brahma Cultivators hurriedly refused, their faces full of urgency. "Benefactor... My lord! My lord, are you planning to go see Senior Brother Jin Hai?"

"Of course," Wang Ping nodded.

"If you just go see him like this, it'll be too easy to cause a misunderstanding." Kongbei's mind spun rapidly as he said, "After all, my lord, you're practically radiating immortal energy. You look far too much like a mole from the Immortal Gate."

"How about this: this humble monk will accompany you. I am the duty disciple for the Eight Treasure Table this time. I can explain the situation to Senior Brother Jin Hai on your behalf."

"That way, we can avoid a misunderstanding between our own people."

As he spoke, Kongbei's face was completely earnest, yet his words had completely left Zongji out of the equation. Hearing this, the other monk nearly shattered his teeth from grinding them so hard.

Right after that, Wang Ping heard his inner voice.

'Before this, he was sweetly calling me Senior Brother. Now that we've stumbled into a fortuitous encounter, he's treating me like I'm completely irrelevant?'

'This damned bald donkey!'

In the next second, Zongji abruptly threw his head up, speaking with deep resentment. "My lord, I'm reporting him! This Kongbei might seem submissive, but he's actually harboring malicious intent!"

"If you only take him along, my lord, what if he meets with Senior Brother Jin Hai and suddenly flips his story, insisting you're a mole from the Immortal Gate? What if he refuses to testify for you? Your innocence would hinge entirely on him alone, which is far too risky. It would be better to bring this humble monk along as well, just to prevent you from being framed by this vile character."

"You...!" Kongbei whipped his head around.

Seeing this, Wang Ping quickly turned his ear to listen closely.

'Throwing me under the bus right to my face! Has he no shame?! This damned bastard—just because I usually call him Senior Brother to be polite, he really thinks he's the senior here?'

Ah, a rift had formed between them.

Wang Ping was naturally more than happy to see this. However, looking at the two of them at each other's throats, a sudden thought couldn't help but surface in his mind.

'Come to think of it, these two showed up at the perfect time, and they're extremely useful to me.'

'Could one of them be the Heaven-Stealing Thief in disguise?'

Wang Ping actually startled himself with that thought.

He quickly shook his head.

No, no, no, that shouldn't be possible. He was just being overly paranoid—once bitten, twice shy. No matter how incredible the Heaven-Stealing Thief was, they couldn't be that absurdly capable.

"Hmm..."

Wang Ping pondered for a long while before finally continuing. "If that's the case, then I'll have to trouble both of you masters. Once we meet with my martial uncle, please put in a few good words for me."