Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Taking Stock of the Gains

After Leng Qianhu left, Wang Ping looked up at the battle in the sky.

Only then did he realize that no one had come to reinforce him because the Entering Cultivators had to maintain the Protective Shields on various major buildings.

THUD THUD

After two deep thuds echoed through the sky, the flames that had consumed half the heavens completely vanished!

It wasn’t that Daoist Wen Yang had been defeated. Rather, his opponent, Bai Zhuo, had gone mad. The suspended blue sphere of water was constantly twisting and distorting, its blue light flickering erratically.

Vast swathes of the sky were covered in the Water Spirit True Essence carried by the droplets, which then spread rapidly to other areas. It looked as if an inverted ocean were churning up monstrous waves across the heavens. Water Spirit Techniques flashed within it—ice spikes, water jets, and Yu Lian’s most frequently used Acid Rain Skill.

Daoist Wen Yang no longer needed to act. He now stood atop the highest pavilion of the Daoist Scripture Hall, channeling energy into its massive Protective Shield. The shield enveloped the hall and its surrounding structures. Outside of it, with the exception of the offices of the Governor, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, and other government buildings, the city was submerged in an instant. Countless people wailed in the floodwaters.

Wang Ping formed a Magic Formula with his hands, reactivating an Armor Talisman to block the turbulent water-spirit energy around him. He frowned as he watched the chaotic energy spread further. ’If no one stops this, hundreds of miles around will be turned into a marshland.’

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Why must you be so persistent..."

A faint sigh drifted from the far reaches of the sky. Then, Wang Ping saw a brilliant light, like a shooting star, streak across the heavens. It tore an opening in the rampaging water-spirit energy, and as a few rays of sunlight pierced through, a jade-green gourd appeared. In an instant, the suction from the gourd’s mouth drew in all of the turbulent energy.

"It’s True Monarch Yuan Wu..."

Yu Lian’s voice was filled with excitement. True Monarch Yuan Wu, whom the common people often worshipped, was a frequent figure in folk tales, and the jade-green gourd was his signature artifact.

Once the gourd had absorbed all the chaotic Water Spirit Qi, it streaked across the sky like a meteor, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

Sunlight once again fell upon the land, illuminating the shattered Changwen Prefecture City. A third of the city lay in ruins, the death toll unknown.

「A quarter of an hour later.」

Wang Ping walked through the main gate of the Daoist Scripture Hall. Everyone who saw him wore a complicated expression.

He ignored their stares and walked alone into the rear courtyard. He passed through the Inner Court, its scenery still beautiful, and arrived at the small courtyard where Daoist Wen Yang and Daoist Xuanhe were waiting.

The Qi Cultivator guarding the gate saw Wang Ping, clasped his fists, and said, "Daoist Wen Yang has been waiting for you for some time. Please, go right in."

The door to the main house in the courtyard was open. As Wang Ping reached the entrance, he could see Daoist Wen Yang and Daoist Xuanhe seated on opposite sides of an Eight Immortals Table within.

"Greetings, you two revered Daoists." Wang Ping cupped his fist in salute.

"Sit here," Xuanhe said, pointing to the seat of honor on the right.

Wang Ping did as he was told and sat. He then heard Daoist Wen Yang ask, "How is the case I assigned to you progressing?"

The question was unexpected. Wang Ping had assumed they would first discuss the matter with Bai Zhuo. He paused for a moment before speaking. "I was just about to report to you two, Revered Daoists..."

He then reported everything he had discovered, including the information about Daoist Wenhai and the recent assassination attempt.

’The man’s self-control is simply inhuman,’ Wang Ping thought as he watched Xuanhe, who had remained silent throughout his report. Even when Daoist Wenhai was mentioned, he had only frowned, never interrupting.

"Hunt down Zhang Jinglong at once." Wen Yang looked at Xuanhe. "Handle this yourself. He can’t have gotten far!"

"Yes!"

Having received his orders, Xuanhe rose and left the room.

Wen Yang’s gaze returned to Wang Ping. "Don’t trouble yourself with the matter of Bai Zhuo. Continue your investigation. This case... is very interesting."

Wang Ping nodded. He was about to say something, but Wen Yang waved his hand dismissively. "That is all. You may go."

"Yes, sir." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

After leaving the house, Wang Ping carefully considered the last thing Daoist Wen Yang had said. He was clearly giving him a hint as a fellow member of their ’gathering’.

"Why do these big shots always have to be so cryptic?"

Yu Lian poked her head out of his sleeve. "If he spoke too plainly, he’d be making the choice for you. He’s letting you decide for yourself."

Wang Ping blinked, then looked down to meet Yu Lian’s gaze. "You’re getting smarter."

"All the powerful characters in the immortal hero stories are like that," Yu Lian said happily, but then she seemed to realize something was wrong. After a moment’s silence, she added indignantly, "I was smart to begin with!"

...

「In the interrogation courtyard.」

Wang Ping was relieved to see Ah Jiu was safe and sound, and Ah Jiu clearly felt the same. After all, the sudden catastrophe was directly related to Wang Ping.

"Leave those two for now. First, investigate where Zhang Jinglong has been recently. Focus on when he might have left the city and where he went."

Wang Ping assigned Ah Jiu the task he had originally planned to handle himself.

"Yes, sir!"

Ah Jiu was also glad to stop the interrogation; those two bastards were proving to be tough nuts to crack.

After giving the order, Wang Ping entered the main house of the courtyard. Once the door was closed, he summoned Puppet Zi Hong, then created two soldiers made of grass and wood. Only then did he sit cross-legged and begin to access the memories of the assassin.

As Wang Ping had expected, the memories were chaotic—a self-preservation mechanism that activates upon a Cultivator’s death.

The Cultivator had a rather rustic name: Chen Jushu. His memories were largely repetitive. The most frequent scenes were of him practicing Swordsmanship and tempering his body at night, followed by images of him farming and being mocked by the other villagers.

After these scenes came a raging fire. He had burned down his own village, sacrificing everyone in it to the "false spirit" of ’The First Day.’

Then, he went back to his routine: practicing Swordsmanship and tempering his body at sunset, and working the fields at sunrise. He was still in his original village, and the villagers he had sacrificed seemed to be alive again. The only difference was that the atmosphere in the village was much better, and they even had a bonfire every night.

This village, called Xia Bian Village, was located just over eighty li south of Changwen Prefecture.

Finally, his memory ended on the secret signals for meeting with other members of ’The First Day.’ The first part of the signal instructed him to go to the third brothel from the west end of Jiudong Street at 7 p.m. sharp. He was to order two plates of dried lamb and a pot of the brothel’s house-made yellow wine. He had to finish one plate of the lamb—without touching the wine—and leave precisely in the Late Evening.

The next day, he was to go to the Qingjiang Tea House. At 3:00 PM sharp, someone would be waiting for him at the first table in the front row on the ground floor.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Yu Lian, sensing Wang Ping’s active mind.

"I’m wondering if I should run another sting operation," Wang Ping replied, his gaze shifting to Puppet Zi Hong. He took out the storage bag he had confiscated from the assassin and handed it to Zi Hong to open.

Inside was a large quantity of medicinal herbs, six standard gold ingots, a pile of broken silver pieces amounting to less than a hundred taels, a book with the single word "Origin" on its cover, and a Cultivation Technique scroll called the "Spirit Transport Technique."

Of course, there were also the two confiscated golden Longswords. The swords were forged from pure Gold, yet they lacked gold’s characteristic softness. A special refining process had removed the metal’s malleability while retaining its excellent spiritual conductivity. Wang Ping would find them awkward to wield, but he could give one to Yu Lian. As it happened, a water spirit like her needed a weapon with strong spiritual attunement.

"Origin" was likely the ideological guide for ’The First Day.’ It described how the "false spirit" they worshipped had supposedly helped the Great Celestial and the Nine Heavens during the world’s creation. One glance at the contents was enough to tell it was nonsense fabricated by later generations.

The "Spirit Transport Technique" was a low-level Cultivation Technique that taught the simple basics of circulating Spiritual Qi. Wang Ping had no use for it, but it would be an excellent technique for Qianmu Temple, as it focused on how to channel energy during the initial stages of sensing one’s qi.

All in all, the guy was completely broke!