Chapter 167: Chapter 56: Return Trip and Ambush

Another month went by.

Wang Ping had already developed an antibody for the new toxin. He had spent the last month holed up in his tent, designing a puppet model for the Golden Armored Soldiers. Soldier Talismans were far more powerful with a physical form. These puppets wouldn’t need to be refined like Zi Hong; once fused with a Soldier Talisman, they would inherit its power.

However, such puppets couldn’t walk around freely like Zi Hong. They could only act by relying on the Spirit Communication Talismans and Luck-Borrowing Talismans linked to Wang Ping’s Qi Sea.

Furthermore, equipping the soldiers with Sword Talismans was far too wasteful. Drawing inspiration from his master Yu Cheng Taoist’s Soldier Talismans, Wang Ping designed a spear over twenty feet long for them instead. As for shields, they were useless; Wang Ping had Armor Talismans for defense.

In addition to this, he also needed to design special attacks for the weapons, like embedding them with certain Curse Talismans and toxins.

He initially planned to create twenty puppets. While the exterior of each puppet had to be identical, their equipment could vary.

It was a major undertaking. Wang Ping consulted the design schematics of his predecessors and spent ten days making revisions before he managed to produce a rough draft. But just when he thought it was acceptable, he’d wake up the next day, look at it, and feel that something was off. So he kept tinkering with it, never settling on a final design.

One morning, while Wang Ping was agonizing over the leg armor design in his blueprints, Hu Qianqian walked to the entrance of the tent and said, "Master, someone from Jinhuai Prefecture is here."

Startled from his frustration, Wang Ping looked up from the schematics on his Commander’s Desk to Hu Qianqian at the entrance. Nearby, Yu Lian awoke from a warm fleece cushion, elegantly shook its Scale Armor, and flew to Wang Ping’s wrist, coiling around it.

"Show him in..."

"Yes!"

As Wang Ping cleared the clutter from his desk, he heard footsteps approaching from outside. When the tent flap was lifted, he saw a familiar face: Daoist Taishan, whom he had met at the Six Heart Sect.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist! I bet you didn’t expect to see me again so soon."

Taishan’s portly figure looked somewhat comical as he cupped his hands in greeting.

Wang Ping quickly masked his surprise. The information he had on Daoist Taishan was pitifully scarce. All he knew was that Taishan’s seniority in the Six Heart Sect was equal to Zi Luan’s, but he certainly wasn’t in Zi Luan’s camp—otherwise, he wouldn’t have mocked Hongchen.

"Ah, Fellow Daoist Taishan." Wang Ping stepped out from behind his Commander’s Desk, cupping his hands in return. He was confused, but more than that, he was delighted. This meant he could finally leave this place.

"You look confused? Haha! When I first got the Lord’s order, I was even more bewildered than you. One minute I was relaxing in my own Dao Field, and the next I was inexplicably sent here. But I’ve had a look around, and this place isn’t half bad. The mountain range is certainly vast."

Taishan chuckled, his eyes fixed on Wang Ping. He then voiced the answer to Wang Ping’s unspoken question. "The struggle between Zi Luan and Xiu Yu was interfering with the Lord’s plans. Sending me to pluck the peach is a warning to them both."

Realization dawned on Wang Ping, and a smile spread across his face. "Congratulations, then, Fellow Daoist."

"It’s all thanks to you being so ruthless, Fellow Daoist, haha! Rest assured, I’ll give my full support to your ventures on Ningzhou Road. If you need any help in the future, just say the word."

Taishan chuckled in response, his attitude suggesting he and Wang Ping were the closest of friends.

Wang Ping maintained his smile but offered no reply.

After the pleasantries, it was time for the handover. Wang Ping didn’t want to stay a moment longer. For one, he disliked this place; for another, Taishan had no filter and would say anything in public.

「Three days later.」

On the newly expanded docks of the fortress, some immigrant workers were transferring cargo onto a warship. Most of the cargo consisted of wild Spirit Wood over a hundred years old, a gift from Daoist Taishan given with a grand wave of his hand.

Of the five hundred Qi Cultivators who came with Wang Ping, more than thirty had died in battle. Three hundred of the survivors would return with him to Jinhuai Prefecture. Most of the others had been persuaded to stay by Daoist Taishan. As for the twenty Foundation Establishment Cultivators, every single one of them remained behind—no doubt, they had also been persuaded by him.

During the farewell, Daoist Taishan wasn’t his usual boisterous self. Just before Wang Ping boarded the ship, he offered a word of warning. "I know Xiu Yu. His mind is solely focused on cultivation. He spends most of his time in ascetic training or searching other continents for ancient legends. However, in his position, there are some things you simply have to fight for."

"You disrupted his faction’s plans on Ningzhou Road. Xiu Yu himself probably won’t dwell on it, but his disciples won’t be so forgiving. You need to be careful. They aren’t easy to deal with. One of them, a Second Realm Gold Cultivator, is particularly relentless. He’ll resort to any means necessary."

"Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist." Wang Ping cupped his fists in thanks.

Taishan let out his customary laugh. "A man of great fortune like you is protected by heaven itself. My warning is merely gilding the lily. Honestly, I don’t think much of either Zi Luan or Xiu Yu. They have no hope of advancing to the Fourth Realm. But you... I think you actually have a chance!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Wang Ping politely shook his head. Naturally, he didn’t believe Taishan’s compliments. After all, the two had only met twice and knew nothing about each other.

Taishan laughed again and explained, "The moment you advanced to the Second Realm, a dedicated file on you was created in the Daoist Scripture Hall. Let me put it this way: since the rise of the Human Dao, you, Changqing, are the only person to have cultivated the Taiyan Talisman to the Second Realm in under two hundred years."

Wang Ping’s brow furrowed at these words. Yu Lian emerged from his sleeve and stared at Taishan, scrutinizing him.

"But rest assured," Taishan added, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, "the Lord sealed this information long ago. Aside from a select few, no one knows about you."

...

On the way back, Wang Ping sat upright in a Grandmaster’s Chair on the third deck of the tiger-headed warship, keeping himself in a state of calm contemplation. His gaze occasionally drifted to the Spirit Wood loaded on the ship. It took up too much space; his storage pouch was nowhere near large enough.

Yu Lian didn’t jump into the river to play. She stayed by Wang Ping’s side the whole time. On the deck below, Hu Qianqian was teaching the little fox to recognize the script of the Zhongzhou Realm.

「Eight days later.」

As the warship sailed into Shunyang Prefecture, one of the Qi Cultivators guarding the tiger-headed warship suddenly approached Wang Ping’s position.

Yu Lian immediately noticed something was amiss with the man. A moment later, so did Hu Qianqian.

"Stop!"

Hu Qianqian barked.

But the man had no intention of stopping. At the same time, the Spiritual Qi around his body became chaotic. A violent energy was gathering around his Qi Sea, as if he was about to self-destruct.

The surrounding Qi Cultivators were shocked. Some immediately leaped into the river to take cover, while the quicker-witted ones moved to intercept him.

Hu Qianqian formed a spell with her hands. A pure white curtain of light descended from the sky, completely enveloping the approaching Qi Cultivator. Then, the Qi Cultivator’s body, except for his head, seemed to be vaporized, dissipating directly into the pillar of light with a puff of white smoke and a pungent, burnt smell.

As the Qi Cultivator’s head began to fall, Hu Qianqian moved forward and caught it. Then, she performed the Soul Searching Technique on it.

"His memories were destroyed beforehand. Only his final instincts remain." After probing the memories, Hu Qianqian tossed the head to a nearby Qi Cultivator and reported to Wang Ping.

Wang Ping nodded calmly. He then recalled Daoist Taishan’s warning.