Chapter 146: Wang Ping's Crazy Plan

Looking down at Wang Ping kneeling before him, Jin Hai furrowed his brow. After a moment's hesitation, he ultimately refrained from unleashing the divine power already formed in his palm.

This was because the Dharma name Kongzhi was a closely guarded secret.

As a Brahma Cultivator infiltrating the Eight Trigrams Furnace, Kongzhi had been groomed in deep secrecy. From start to finish, he never interacted with the other Brahma Cultivators to avoid incurring karma.

Only by minimizing his karmic ties to the Brahma Nation to the greatest extent could they guarantee he wouldn't cause the slightest ripple in destiny when entering the Eight Trigrams Furnace. For this reason, cultivators like Kongzhi were incredibly rare. Even so, they couldn't afford to send too many into the Eight Trigrams Furnace, otherwise they would still be detected.

Therefore, there were only two ways this person could know that Dharma name.

'Either Kongzhi was exposed and killed... or this person truly is connected to Kongzhi.' Jin Hai's expression shifted as he weighed the options.

After a moment of thought, he decided the first possibility was far more likely.

But seeing Jin Hai hesitate set Wang Ping's mind mostly at ease. 'Excellent! This Brahma Cultivator doesn't know Kongzhi is already dead!'

This had been the single greatest risk in his current gambit.

Since the man was unaware, however, things would be much easier to handle.

"O-Oh, right!"

Acting as though he had just remembered something, Wang Ping hurriedly raised his hand. One after another, he retrieved three whole magical artifacts, laying them out neatly in perfect condition.

"My master gave all of these to me."

"Oh right, there's also this Other-Transformation Freedom Control Desire Realm Celestial Manual. My master said these could verify my identity, and that Martial Uncle would believe me once you saw them."

Seeing this, Jin Hai froze once again.

'The Wind-Thunder Demon-Subduing Pestle, the Mani Pearl, the Dragon-Elephant Vajra Wheel... aside from the Sumeru Vajra Umbrella, did Kongzhi empty out his entire fortune?'

Why give it all to this guy?

Could he have killed Kongzhi and stolen them? No, that couldn't be right. As an undercover agent, if Kongzhi was truly exposed, he definitely would have dragged his enemies down with him before he died.

How could he leave behind magical artifacts to supply the enemy?

'Furthermore, these three magical artifacts are completely clean. There are no lingering imprints, nor are there any signs of imprints being violently removed. In that case...'

Kongzhi gave them away willingly?

He only had four magical artifacts in total and willingly gave away three. He even actively erased his backdoors on the items. Not even someone doing charity would go this far.

Jin Hai grew even more bewildered. By this logic, the only explanation was that this person truly was a disciple taken in by Kongzhi, and he truly had come to meet him on Kongzhi's orders. He just didn't know why the boy hadn't cultivated Brahma arts, instead cultivating a body full of immortal energy.

But thinking it over, that seemed justifiable too.

'If this person really is Kongzhi's disciple, then he was accepted inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace. That being the case, it naturally would have been impossible to teach him any Brahma techniques.'

It made perfect sense!

If there was anything unreasonable about it... it was that the cultivation of the person before him was too high. A cultivator at the Tribulation Transcending First Layer was already nearly at Kongzhi's level.

Could Kongzhi really have nurtured someone like this?

It didn't seem likely!

After a long silence, Jin Hai spoke in a deep voice, "You say you are Kongzhi's disciple, so you should be in Great Shun. How did Kongzhi send you over?"

"I don't know."

Hearing this, Wang Ping shook his head with a blank look. "My master didn't tell me. I just closed my eyes, opened them again, and appeared in this place."

Jin Hai pondered for a moment before asking,

"Explain in detail. Why did Kongzhi take you as a disciple?"

"Answering Martial Uncle, it happened like this..."

Wang Ping didn't hesitate. He immediately launched into the story of how Kongzhi actively sought him out—adding a little bit of embellishment, of course.

For instance: Book Mountain's Child of Destiny plan, the fact that Daoist Xuanhe was secretly the patriarch of Book Mountain, and how the Child of Destiny's true name was Kunlun—a true transmission disciple who had betrayed the Immortal Gate. He even brought up the matter of another Immortal Gate true transmission disciple, Kunyun, pulling the strings from the shadows. Speaking through the guise of Kongzhi's words, he laid it all bare without the slightest reservation.

"And so on and so forth."

Jin Hai listened in dumbfounded silence.

Even for a well-informed Brahma Nation true transmission disciple like him, the sheer volume of information Wang Ping dropped just now was a bit much, forcing him to think it over seriously.

After carefully cross-referencing it with Immortal Gate intelligence obtained through other channels, Jin Hai finally reached a conclusion: 'It's true! Everything this person said is entirely true!'

This time, his expression turned even more solemn.

If he were a spy sent by the Immortal Gate, he wouldn't necessarily reveal so much crucial intelligence. At this thought, the scales in Jin Hai's heart gradually began to tip.

At the same time, this also explained another issue.

'If he is the reincarnation of an Immortal Gate true transmission disciple, born with an exceptionally high destiny, then his high cultivation makes perfect sense. Rather, it would actually be abnormal if it were too low.'

However, another problem emerged.

With this in mind, Jin Hai continued to ask, "Since you know you are the reincarnation of an Immortal Gate true transmission disciple, why did you betray the Immortal Gate and take Kongzhi as your master?"

Wang Ping blinked innocently upon hearing this.

"Martial Uncle... I was already an Immortal Gate traitor who got thrown into the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Moreover, my senior brother obviously wants to harm me, so I have to find a way to survive too."

"As for why I took Kongzhi as my master, to tell you the truth, although I am the reincarnation of that Immortal Gate true transmission disciple, I am just me. If one day that true transmission disciple suddenly awakens, wouldn't I be gone? I've heard that Brahma Cultivators are the most skilled in the Dao of reincarnation, so perhaps you could help me resolve this problem."

Jin Hai: "..."

This reason was far too convincing.

He couldn't find a flaw in it, not a single one. Every motive made perfect sense... At this thought, Jin Hai even secretly formed a hand seal and glanced at Wang Ping's destiny.

'No mistake.'

'It is indeed the destiny and karmic fortune of an Immortal Gate true transmission disciple, and he even possesses a true spiritual root... Everything matches up. In that case, Kongzhi truly made a great contribution!'

Jin Hai took a deep breath to calm his emotions before continuing:

"Since that is the case, what did Kongzhi send you here to do?"

"Intelligence, for one."

Wang Ping counted on his fingers and said, "Aside from those things, my master also said that my destiny would be useful to you, Martial Uncle. That is why he sent me here."

It was very useful indeed!

Jin Hai didn't doubt for a second that if he squeezed the destiny of the person before him dry, he could even trigger the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle ahead of schedule and launch a large-scale invasion into the Eight Trigrams Furnace!

But—

'What use is that to me?'

If the Immortal-Brahma Sword Battle started early, the other Brahma Nation true transmission disciples would swarm in, scrambling over each other to make contributions. Then what chance would he have to seize the top spot?

And on the crucial matter of whether the Brahma Nation benefits or he himself benefits, every Brahma Cultivator would make the most correct, straightforward choice.

'Heaven destroys those who do not look out for themselves!'

His mind made up, Jin Hai rapidly reviewed the intelligence Wang Ping had provided, and the clues soon began stringing together into the truth.

Following that, a certain opportunity vividly presented itself.

'The Immortal Gate true transmission disciple, Kunyun.'

This Dao title was absolutely renowned among the Immortal Gate cultivators below the Qi Refining stage. Even Jin Hai had heard of him; he ranked fifth among the various Immortal Gate true transmission disciples.

'The Child of Destiny incident is fundamentally rooted in this person. The furnace-watching disciple of the Eight Trigrams Furnace—that Daoist Xuanhe—is nothing but a foil. In other words, if the Child of Destiny encounters some problem that Daoist Xuanhe cannot solve, it's highly likely that this Immortal Gate true transmission disciple will intervene.'

This was an opportunity!

One had to know that the Immortal Gate's true transmission disciples—especially those who had reached the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer and were preparing to undergo their fate tribulation—generally chose to live in deep seclusion.

As seeds for the Qi Refining stage, each was harder to kill than the last.

Yet right now, there was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make an Immortal Gate true transmission disciple actively leave his home turf and even fall right into their trap!

Jin Hai's heart pounded with excitement.

'How could killing a furnace-watching disciple compare to killing an Immortal Gate true transmission disciple? And the fifth-ranked true transmission at that... If I kill him, I'll be able to instantly attain sudden enlightenment through Zen meditation!'

Of course, there were also risks. His assassination attempt against Kunyun would nine times out of ten become the latter's fate tribulation. If his assassination succeeded, then fine; but if he failed, it meant Kunyun would successfully cross his fate tribulation in turn and could attempt to enter the Dao as a Qi Refining practitioner.

It was a double-edged sword.

'But if I succeed, I can practice Zen meditation and become an ascetic monk... If I fail, I'll be dead anyway, so Kunyun becoming a Qi Refining practitioner will have nothing to do with me.'

Jin Hai quickly sorted out the pros and cons.

Then he reached a conclusion:

'This... can be done!'

With this in mind, Jin Hai immediately looked up at Wang Ping. His previous icy killing intent vanished as if it had never existed, instantly transforming into a warm spring breeze.

"Martial Nephew, you have done well!"

"Your Martial Uncle has an important task to assign to you... Regarding this true transmission disciple Kunyun you spoke of, I need you to provide more intelligence."

Wang Ping paused upon hearing this. A trace of confusion surfaced in his eyes, but it quickly turned into firm resolve. He lowered his head and said, "I understand. I will keep an eye out."

It worked!!!

Wang Ping kept his head down, desperately keeping his expression in check to suppress his excitement.

The very moment Jin Hai asked about Kunyun, he knew his plan had succeeded—just as he expected, Jin Hai was indeed interested.

And this was exactly what Wang Ping wanted.

'I inherited Kunlun's destiny, and I also inherited his karma. If I don't figure out a way to resolve this karma, I'll never be able to establish a foothold in the Immortal Gate.'

If it were merely Kunlun's destiny, it wouldn't actually be a big deal. The worst-case scenario would just be spilling the whole truth; he had nothing to fear. After all, the one who caused all this wasn't him, but the Heaven-Stealing Thief; he was just a victim. The real problem lay with Kunlun's senior brother, the true transmission disciple Kunyun.

'That true transmission disciple Kunyun wants my destiny.'

'Therefore, to resolve this karma, either I take the initiative to give him the destiny and turn back into a black-headed commoner, or I go all out and eliminate him!'

However, the Immortal Gate's true transmission disciples were too strong.

Before this, taking the other party out was sheer fantasy, unless the Heaven-Stealing Thief or the First Seat made a move. But those two clearly wouldn't help.

The former was unwilling to supply the enemy, and the latter had a sensitive status.

Under these circumstances, Jin Hai's appearance was a turning point—it was perfectly natural for a Brahma Cultivator to attack an Immortal Gate true transmission disciple, and he possessed more than enough strength to pull it off!

In the Immortal Gate, the strong prey on the weak. It had always been a place where someone must fall for another to rise.

Only by getting a true transmission disciple killed could he hope to become one himself!

This was Wang Ping's crazy plan:

'First, conspire with Jin Hai.'

'Then pull Xuanhe over to our side. Our three parties will cooperate to trap and kill Kunyun... From then on, we will all be in the same boat.'

When that time came, Daoist Xuanhe wouldn't have pressure from above, he himself wouldn't have karma troubles, and Jin Hai would have made a tremendous contribution. Everyone would be satisfied. They could even take the opportunity to link the disciples of the Immortal, Martial, and Brahma factions together. Working as one to deceive their superiors and keep their subordinates in the dark, they could enrich themselves at the public's expense, paving the way for a bright future for all of them!