Chapter 147: Jin Hai's Test

Inside the royal tent, the atmosphere was perfectly harmonious.

Wang Ping and Jin Hai sat across from each other. Jin Hai pressed for more details about the situation inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and Wang Ping answered every question with absolute honesty.

After all, he had absolutely no reason to lie. The Child of Destiny was real, Book Mountain was real, the Immortal Gate True Transmission Kunyun was real, and Kongzhi taking him as a disciple was real, too. He merely omitted a few trivial details, stringing the truth together into a perfect lie.

This was the only way to minimize Jin Hai's suspicions.

Even the plan to hunt down Kunyun wasn't his idea. He hadn't said a single word about it; Jin Hai had thought of it all on his own.

By now, Wang Ping had come to a firm realization.

The heroes of this world were as numerous as carp crossing a river. Whether in the Immortal Gate or the Brahma Nation, absolutely no one who managed to rise above the rest was a fool.

They were all smart.

But the smarter a person was, the more likely they were to doubt outside information, and the more stubbornly they clung to the conclusions they reasoned out themselves.

'That's enough.'

'As long as Jin Hai has the intent, he'll make his own preparations. I just need to give him the opportunity and wait for the right moment to deliver the finishing blow.'

Wang Ping thought.

For him, the best outcome was naturally for Jin Hai to successfully kill Kunyun but suffer heavy injuries in the process, allowing Wang Ping to ambush him and kill two birds with one stone.

The next best outcome was Jin Hai killing Kunyun and emerging unscathed, then using that as leverage to blackmail Wang Ping into becoming a mole for the Brahma Nation... That carried some risk, but if push came to shove, he could always use the Outer Heavenly Demon to respawn. The danger was manageable.

As for the worst-case scenario...

That would be Jin Hai screwing up completely and getting counter-killed by Kunyun. In that case, he'd just have to accept his fate, obediently give up his destiny and the true spiritual root, and plan his next steps from scratch.

'However...'

Wang Ping felt a slight chill at the thought. He looked up at the kindly faced Jin Hai in front of him, refusing to let his guard down despite the trust the man projected.

He knew exactly how this worked:

'Genuine trust is out of the question.'

'If I were the Brahma Cultivator sitting across from me, real identity or fake, there's no way I would trust a complete stranger who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.'

Yet Jin Hai clearly needed his help to hunt down an Immortal Gate True Transmission. Therefore, Jin Hai had to find a reason to trust him.

To put it bluntly—

'He needs leverage.'

'Only by grabbing hold of a weakness and feeling he can control me at will can he truly trust me, and only then will I gain his full support.'

Wang Ping's mood grew heavy.

Whatever came next was the real test.

He had no doubt that if he failed to hand over the leverage Jin Hai wanted, the kindly faced man before him would turn hostile in the blink of an eye.

Just then.

The curtain of the royal tent was pulled open. A guard cautiously poked his head inside and whispered, "Venerable One, everything is ready."

"Amitabha."

Jin Hai nodded. "Let them in."

'Here it comes!'

Wang Ping narrowed his eyes. The final test had arrived. If he got through this, he would have a real shot at becoming an Immortal Gate True Transmission. At a critical moment like this, he had to steel himself!

But a second later, Wang Ping's expression froze.

As the tent curtain was pulled wide, a refreshing, intoxicating fragrance immediately assailed his senses. Then, a bevy of beautiful women walked in.

Some wore thin veils with gemstone pendants resting between their brows. Others wore short leopard-print skirts that accentuated their wheat-colored skin. Still others wore form-fitting robes that clung to perfect curves while parting at the chest, revealing towering twin peaks that cast a bottomless dark cleavage in the sunlight.

Viewed from the side a range, from the front a peak—all because one was caught within this very mountain.

No two looked alike.

Some were tall with long, slender legs, while others were petite and delicate. Some were gentle and elegant, while others radiated pure wildness. Their individual styles perfectly matched the clothes they wore.

More importantly, they belonged to different clans.

Some had cat ears and feigned obedience; some had dog ears, looking adorkably naive; some had fox ears, their eyes narrowed astutely; and one even flicked a forked tongue.

It was a hundred flowers blooming at once, each with her own unique charm.

The women clustered together, all of them radiant. Their cheeks flushed with a rosy luster, making them look as exquisitely beautiful as roses after a rain, petals still dripping with dew.

"..." Wang Ping fell silent.

In the blink of an eye, the previously solemn tent turned into a den of extravagance. Soft, snow-white bodies crowded around Wang Ping, pressing close.

Wang Ping's hands trembled with anger.

What were they trying to do?

There were wicked people in the Royal Court!

Feeling the exceptional attention the women were paying to his body, Wang Ping clenched his teeth, absolutely determined not to give them the slightest chance to succeed.

"Martial Nephew, I prepared this specifically for you."

Jin Hai smiled. "Forty-eight heavenly maidens of the desire realm, led by a Sky Demon Great Sage, making forty-nine in total. It perfectly matches the number of the Heavenly Dao."

"And you, Martial Nephew, are the escaped One."

"As long as you, the escaped One, fill the gap among these forty-nine, you can step into the supreme Great Dao. It will be tremendously beneficial to your cultivation."

"Please, by all means, do not decline."

Before his voice even faded, the sea of white flesh completely swarmed him. They blocked Wang Ping's line of sight, and even his spiritual sense was drawn to their bodies.

Everywhere he looked was a sea of pink.

A fiery, rouge-colored light ignited on every woman's body, making them look breathtakingly beautiful and further stirring the desires within his heart.

It was the [Fire of Desire].

Wang Ping looked down, only to see that the leading woman was the one with the forked tongue. Her waist was as slender as a water snake's as she leaned forward and crouched down right in front of him.

"Hiss!"

Clearly, this was the Sky Demon Great Sage Jin Hai had mentioned. She was undoubtedly from the Snake Clan, and her bite sent a numbing tingle straight down his spine.

'This is too ruthless!'

Wang Ping didn't dare relax for a second. Extreme vigilance filled his heart: 'Is he trying to make me cultivate the Other-Transformation Freedom Control Desire Realm Celestial Manual right in front of him?'

At that thought, all trace of lust vanished from his mind, replaced by a deep, bone-chilling cold.

'No, he wants to search my soul!'

'He's using these forty-nine heavenly maidens to form an array and ignite the fire of desire to breach my sea of consciousness! He wants to search my soul to ensure I haven't lied to him!'

The problem was, he couldn't refuse.

Rejecting these forty-nine heavenly maidens meant rejecting the soul search, which meant he had a guilty conscience. Nine times out of ten, Jin Hai would instantly turn hostile and attack.

'This... this is making things way too difficult!'

Wang Ping wore a bitter expression, his brows furrowed tightly.

These forty-nine heavenly maidens were completely different from the hundred-person battle at the Red Phoenix Tower. Each of these women possessed unique skills and incredibly high physical stats.

In a situation like this, the Iron Ox Art was little more than a minor trick to liven things up.

'This is my weak spot!'

Wang Ping calculated:

'If I fail to hold out and suffer a miserable defeat, the fire of desire from these forty-nine heavenly maidens will directly ignite my sea of consciousness. Once they breach it, my memories won't stay hidden. The truth will be exposed, and I'll have no choice but to resurrect and start over.'

'So... I have to hold out!'

'I must survive this test and single-handedly extinguish their fire of desire. Only by keeping my sea of consciousness clear can I avoid the direct soul search.'

With that, Wang Ping summoned every ounce of his vigor and spirit.

For ten years I have sharpened this sword, its frosty blade has yet to be tested.

Today I hold it up for you to see, who among you suffers an injustice?

'Charge!'

Wang Ping roared in his heart and charged into the fray. Instantly, bodies tumbled and cries of alarm rang out, yet he remained firm and valiant.

The sheer intensity of the fierce battle could be perfectly described in two lines:

They firmly grasped my handle.

I forcefully supported them from behind.

Alas, human strength had its limits.

Even though he secretly unleashed [Great Strength], his mana consumption grew increasingly heavy, pouring endlessly into the forty-nine heavenly maidens like a flood bursting through a dam.

'Woe is me!'

Having barely defeated twenty of them, Wang Ping was completely drained, entirely out of ammunition and rations.

'Am I really going to fall here?'

'Dammit! I refuse to accept this!'

He looked at the many scripture scrolls in the Great Peace Mortuary, feeling that if he just had one specifically meant for dual cultivation, he might be able to pass this trial.

But right at that moment.

He suddenly noticed a scripture scroll on the towering tome abruptly bursting with light—it was the Courage of the Noble Gentleman.

'This is...'

Wang Ping looked around.

Only then did he realize the fire of desire had vanished from the heavenly maidens he had defeated. The maidens who had yet to fall, however, now had glazed, dazed eyes.

The rouge-like flames intertwined on their bodies, burning not only Wang Ping's sea of consciousness but theirs as well. If Wang Ping failed to completely extinguish the fire of desire on them, they would inevitably die in unfulfilled emptiness and madness.

'The scripture scroll... it's helping me save lives.'

Saving a life perfectly met the activation conditions for the Courage of the Noble Gentleman, and its effect was absolutely crucial for someone currently out of ammunition and rations!

'Scripture scroll, activate!'

The next second, Wang Ping felt boundless energy surge back into his drained body. His head, which had almost drooped in defeat, rose proudly and stood tall once more.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Scorching energy drifted through the entire Royal Court. Countless drops of sweat mingled and evaporated, soaking the carpet inside the royal tent and splashing across a sea of white flesh.

Not far away, Jin Hai looked toward the center of the battlefield with a hint of surprise.

There, the victor stood tall and imposing.

"Boom!"

In a flash, Wang Ping's consciousness seemed to finally break through a bottleneck after he struck down the last and most stubborn of them all—the Snake Clan Great Sage.

His consciousness took flight.

His physical body was stripped away. All the previous fire of desire vanished, transforming into an ultimate [Emptiness] as his sublimated spirit was pulled upward.

'This is...'

Wang Ping looked back and saw his own physical body. He saw the Royal Court and the grasslands gradually shrinking below, his vision flying straight out of the atmosphere.

Then, he saw the true face of the "Royal Court."

It was a table.

A square table painted with the sun, the moon, mountains, rivers, and millions of acres of wilderness teeming with tall grass and flying birds. It had nurtured the billions of subjects of the Royal Court, and it lay stretching across the depths of the cosmos.

A [Dining Table].