Chapter 110: Chapter 110: The Application of the New Demon Soldier

They were on the deserted island in the sea south of Shang’an Prefecture once more.

Wang Ping hovered in the air before the island’s only mountain peak, his hands maintaining a Magic Formula. Twenty zhang away, Yu Lian had two golden longswords spinning around her massive snake body.

"I’m coming for you!" The moment Yu Lian spoke, the two longswords streaked through the air. With a flash of golden light, Wang Ping’s body was sliced in two.

But in the next instant, Wang Ping’s bisected body vanished into nothingness, only to reform ten zhang away. Just as Yu Lian was about to attack, seven iron bamboo swords completely sealed off her surroundings.

Slightly annoyed, Yu Lian swiped one of the iron bamboo swords away with her serpentine tail. Her eyes darted about, searching for Wang Ping’s location. In truth, she could see two figures of him to her left and two to her right, but she knew they were all fakes.

This time, she didn’t rush her attack. Instead, she converted the surrounding Spiritual Qi into water essence and then used her favorite Acid Rain Skill. Only then did she see Wang Ping’s real figure at the summit of the island’s only peak. A flicker of joy rose within her, but her concentration broke for an instant, and the figure on the summit split into five or six more.

"I’m done playing! This isn’t fun anymore."

Yu Lian recalled her two longswords, setting them down on the sandy beach below.

Sensing Yu Lian’s mood, Wang Ping dispelled the Water Moon Bell’s illusion. His real body appeared on the peak. Yu Lian flew over and circled him, studying him carefully. "This Illusion Technique is pretty effective," she said. "Next time there’s danger, you can send an illusion in first to test the situation."

"Yeah," Wang Ping nodded. "It’s just that splitting my consciousness is incredibly painful."

"You recover in seven days. For what you get out of it, it’s totally worth it," Yu Lian commented. Then she asked, "What do you plan to do with the other two Illusion Techniques?"

"One to create an illusory Dao Field, and I’ll save the other for ambushing people," Wang Ping replied.

"Oh, okay! I’m going to go catch some shrimp," Yu Lian said before diving into the nearby sea.

Wang Ping formed a hand seal to retract the Spirit Gathering Array, then returned to the beach and put away the two golden longswords.

From the nearby Purgatory Banner, Tongyu Taoist’s voice emerged. "Illusion Techniques are a good thing, but don’t use them often when there’s no need. Even though you split off your consciousness, if you use them too many times, you yourself will get lost within them."

Wang Ping nodded. Tongyu Taoist was right. He eagerly anticipated every use of the Illusion Technique. Inside the worlds he created, it was like living a beautiful, lucid dream where anything he imagined would instantly appear. It was an intoxicating feeling that could make one lose themselves without even realizing it.

Looking down at the Spirit Gathering Array on his wrist and the Water Moon Bell in his hand, Wang Ping felt a sense of satisfaction. ’Next, I need to figure out how to create some Sealing Arrays I can deploy at a moment’s notice. That way, I’ll be foolproof when I go out.’

...

「Early in the 15th year of the Wanfeng era.」

Wang Ping had just celebrated his 63rd birthday. His fusion progress with the Spirit Communication Talisman had reached 13/100.

February thirteenth was an ordinary day.

Wang Ping had just finished breakfast and was tending to the flowers and plants in his courtyard when a young attendant ran in from the gate, reporting that Zhao Qing requested to see him.

Wang Ping stopped what he was doing and told the attendant to fetch a jar of yellow wine from the cellar.

Zhao Qing was here to report on the Power Pill sales from the past year, as well as the development progress at Baisui Lake.

With the Power Pill market becoming saturated, coupled with Emperor Wanfeng’s diligent efforts to govern, the realm had slowly grown more peaceful. Power Pill sales in Zhongzhou had all but stagnated, and all profits now relied on the Daoist Scripture Hall’s sales routes in other provinces. Over the course of a year, this still amounted to six or seven hundred thousand taels of silver.

As for the traditional industries and land holdings at Baisui Lake and in the territory of Five Dao Prefecture and Three Counties, they brought in less than twenty thousand taels a year, most of which had to be spent rebuilding the damaged Dao Field at the center of Baisui Lake.

Once business was concluded, Zhao Qing moved on to matters of the Court. "At the end of last year, I got word that after two years of recuperation, the Court planned to deploy troops against Liu Yue in the north at the beginning of this year. But half a month ago, new information came in. Liu Yue married the sister of the Emperor of the North Country and has his full support, so Emperor Wanfeng is now hesitant to go to war."

"Now is not the time for hesitation," Wang Ping said, puzzled. He then remarked, "Isn’t Liu Yue almost seventy? And the sister of the Emperor of the North Country... if I remember correctly, isn’t their Emperor also a Divine Technique Cultivator?"

Zhao Qing gave a sly grin. "Rumor has it the Emperor of the North Country’s sister was recently widowed!"

Wang Ping chuckled as well.

The two of them laughed and drank a cup of wine. Zhao Qing continued sharing his intelligence. "There’s solid intel that the Emperor is considering re-establishing the Central Secretariat..."

"Is his health failing?" That was Wang Ping’s first thought.

"Exactly. This Emperor has monopolized power since his enthronement. On one hand, he has to survey the entire realm, and on the other, he must handle countless major national affairs. Using the Divine Technique in such a way, even the best body can’t withstand the strain. I estimate he has only a year or two left..."

Zhao Qing sighed with emotion as he said this. "You were right, Senior Brother. What’s the use of wielding all the power in the realm? In the end, we all just turn to dust. I personally admire Emperor Wanfeng a great deal. He’s one of the few truly capable rulers in the last hundred years. It’s a shame he can’t escape what’s fated."

At this point, Zhao Qing flashed his signature mysterious smile. "The new Emperor is already preparing for the ritual to receive the Divine Technique, and this successor is our Second Senior Brother’s disciple. As long as he can wield the Divine Artifact, our Second Senior Brother will almost certainly be put in charge of the Central Secretariat. Rumors are flying everywhere that the Emperor is re-establishing the Central Secretariat just for him!"

Zhao Qing spoke with absolute certainty, but when the definitive news came back in March, it was that Second Senior Brother Liu Zixiu had proactively resigned to return to the mountains. After a threefold back-and-forth with the Emperor, he stepped down from his position as Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Wang Ping wasn’t too surprised when he heard the news. After all, the Imperial Family controlled the Divine Technique. As long as the areas the Emperor surveyed were without issue and the four divisions of the Imperial Guard were firmly in his grasp, there was no need for a Prime Minister to safeguard his rule.

Three months later, Second Senior Brother Liu Zixiu returned to Yongshan County. It wasn’t long before he went up the mountain to pay his respects to Yu Cheng Taoist, after which he made a special trip to Wang Ping’s Dao Field. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The two of them drank and spoke merrily. This time, it wasn’t like before, when the drinking stopped after just one cup.

After three rounds of wine, Liu Zixiu spoke. "My retirement was Master’s arrangement..." He glanced at Wang Ping’s unsurprised expression and sighed. "Junior Brother Wang Kang is now in sole command of a division of the Imperial Guard. With me at the pinnacle of the court, disaster would have been just around the corner."

"Second Senior Brother, power is as fleeting as a cloud. I can see you’ve already grasped the threshold of the first section of the Wood Gathering Skill. If you also use the Body Refining Array at the temple to improve your constitution, it’s not impossible for you to reach Foundation Establishment and enjoy several hundred more years of life. As long as you live long enough, you can scheme for control of the world once more. What does a mere ministerial post matter?"

Wang Ping raised his cup as if toasting his senior brother as he spoke.

"Is that Master’s intention?"

Wang Ping just smiled and asked, "Senior Brother, after your journey through the imperial court, do you see clearly who is truly directing the course of the world?"

Liu Zixiu was stunned by the question at first, then a bitter smile surfaced on his lips. "Of course I know," he replied. "What I know is probably no less than what you know, Junior Brother. That’s why I took Master’s advice and decided to establish an academy at the foot of the mountain, to contribute great talents to the Court."

"The scholars of the realm are in for a blessing."

"Wrong. It is the scholars of Shang’an Prefecture who are blessed," Liu Zixiu corrected.

"Haha!"