This Godforsaken Place Runs Deeper Than It Looks!

At that moment, Wang Ping felt his scalp prickle.

But before his emotions could surface, he suppressed them with his formidable Spirit Sense. All that showed on his face was bewilderment.

"Your good disciple? Me?"

True, he had not actually changed between his previous life and this one. But the difference in age, coupled with his deliberate efforts to disguise himself, meant his features were not all that similar.

At least, not similar enough to recognize at a glance.

Besides, his death in his previous life had happened before countless witnesses. His corpse might already be buried somewhere. With evidence as solid as a mountain, who would imagine he had come back to life?

There were plenty of look-alikes in the world.

This old bastard is probably bluffing... I can't admit it, even if he beats me to death!

As Wang Ping weighed his options, Shouchong's expression did not flicker. He merely chuckled, then closed his mouth.

The next instant, a voice sounded beside Wang Ping's ear again.

"My good disciple, there's no need to deny it."

"Others might not recognize you, but I do."

"Besides, returning from the dead is hardly rare in this world. Many great worthies can do it. Your master went through it once himself."

Wang Ping grew even more startled. His one consolation was that Shouchong had not spoken aloud this time; he seemed to be using some secret voice-transmission technique. Even so, the shock of having his secret exposed made Wang Ping grit his teeth.

Shouchong continued:

"Clearly, you received the compassion of some great worthy, just as I did... What surprises me is how you became a county constable."

At that, Shouchong looked at Wang Ping.

His expression was exceedingly gentle. Wang Ping sensed not a trace of malice from him, only goodwill, as he asked, "Well? Could you tell me?"

"Which great worthy showed you compassion?"

"Mine was Liansheng Bodhisattva."

Wang Ping did not answer. He remained silent, rapidly sorting through his thoughts, until he reached a conclusion that let him breathe easier:

He doesn't know!

His resurrection had been brought about by the power of the Peace Scripture. As for great worthies and Liansheng Bodhisattva, Wang Ping knew nothing about them.

What the hell is that?

Something felt wrong to Wang Ping. Judging by Shouchong's words, in his understanding, these so-called great worthies could bring the dead back to life.

You've got to be kidding me.

Isn't this godforsaken place just a Martial Dao world? Why does it sound like the waters run so deep? Wang Ping raced to think of a way through his predicament.

He could not let that old bastard keep the upper hand.

With that thought, Wang Ping finally said, "Come to think of it, most of the White Lotus Sect's Destiny seems to have scattered, hasn't it?"

Shouchong's voice caught. He quickly recovered, though, and smiled. "A little Destiny, nothing particularly important."

Wang Ping nodded slightly. "That got to you."

"..."

Shouchong fell silent. Only the rain sweeping across heaven and earth and the thunder rolling through the sky remained, steeping the air in murderous tension.

Almost at the same instant, alarm surged through Wang Ping. His Spirit Sense shook violently, and goose bumps rose all over his body as he felt an overwhelming threat to his life. Just as he sensed it, Shouchong, who had been more than ten paces away, appeared before the carriage and reached for him.

He's attacking...!

In that one grab, Wang Ping clearly saw the change run through Shouchong's entire body. Power rose from the ground, surged up his spine, spread through his limbs, and set his blood and vitality erupting everywhere.

It looked like a casual reach, but the force behind it came from more than his palm.

It came from his entire body!

Calves, thighs, liver, gallbladder, stomach, intestines, abdomen, waist, back, spine... The strength of his whole body packed into his right hand like a cannonball, then burst forth.

Boom!

Before the palm even reached him, a savage gust blew Wang Ping's hair backward. His vision blurred, and the muscles of his face rippled under the force.

Shouchong was not trying to grab him at all. He meant to smash his head apart with one palm!

Wang Ping could not withstand a blow that violent. All he could do was widen his eyes and watch Shouchong's movements closely.

He had to learn it!

Instinct told him that learning to twist all the strength in his body into a single force and unleash it in one breath would greatly benefit his future training.

Besides—he did not believe Chen Haoyan would truly stand by and do nothing.

If Wang Ping died here, the Lotus Blade would be snatched away. How would Chen Haoyan shift the disaster onto someone else then?

As it turned out, his judgment was right.

Just as Shouchong's palm was about to kill him, Wang Ping heard a sudden hiss. Then the scene before his eyes abruptly receded.

He had not moved of his own accord. Although his Spirit Sense had let him see Shouchong's movements and the way he channeled his strength with perfect clarity, Wang Ping had no time to react. He was no true immortal cultivator; his Spirit Sense was too weak. And Shouchong was no ordinary mortal martial artist.

What saved him was an outside force.

The next instant, Wang Ping saw his rescuer: a giant snake, its body as thick as a water vat, nearly a hundred feet long and black from head to tail!

A creature that enormous had hidden around the carriage without a sound, its blood and vitality undetectable. Even Wang Ping's Spirit Sense had failed to discover it beforehand!

Could nature produce something like that!?

It coiled its towering body around the carriage, shielding it securely. The tip of its tail was what had pulled Wang Ping out of certain death.

Then its cold, slit-pupiled eyes met Shouchong's gaze.

An instant later, Shouchong's palm descended without veering an inch. The black snake raised its head and met the strike head-on!

Bang!

Bright sparks bloomed in the rainy night and vanished as quickly as they appeared. The black snake recoiled, its head swaying for a few moments as if it were dizzy.

Shouchong, meanwhile, took a few unhurried steps back. He paid no mind to the snake right before him, instead raising his head toward the eaves of a distant tower. Following his gaze, Wang Ping saw that a figure had appeared there at some unknown point.

It was a handsome Dao Practitioner.

Like Shouchong, he stood in the rain without a drop touching him. He wore yin-yang robes, and a smile rested at the corners of his mouth. Every movement carried an air of composure.

"...Wandering God True Person?"

Shouchong spoke slowly, surprise filling his voice. "A court Transcendent has left his hall of his own accord. True Person, you've broken a grave taboo this time."

The handsome Dao Practitioner shook his head from the eaves. "How naive."

"There was never any taboo. We don't leave our halls or set foot in the mortal world simply because it isn't worth it. There's no need."

"Oh?"

Shouchong's gaze shifted. "In other words, True Person, setting foot in the mortal world is worth it this time... Might I ask what Chen Haoyan offered you?"

"Surely it can't be my Lotus Blade. Or is it..."

"That needn't concern you."

Wandering God True Person flicked his sleeve. A jade flute had appeared in his hand, and killing intent entered his voice. "And you talk too much."

"Hahaha!"

Instead, Shouchong burst into laughter. "I see. I understand now. Chen Haoyan, you sly devil. With the emperor far away, you dared defy the whole world!"

By now, certainty filled Shouchong's voice. "It's the Dragonrise County Seal, isn't it? The symbol of the court in Longxing County, the ritual vessel used to gather the incense offerings of the people. Only a vessel like that could tempt you, True Person, enough to break convention and leave your hall in person to deal with me."

"..."

Wandering God True Person did not answer, but the murderous intent in his eyes intensified. His silence was confirmation enough: Shouchong had guessed correctly.

The next instant, a flute sounded.

Wandering God True Person lifted the green jade flute to his lips and blew gently. Its lilting, plaintive notes spread through the rain.

At almost the same moment, the black snake, which had been motionless, seemed to receive a new command. Its massive body closed in on Shouchong once more. Its maw yawned wide, spewing a cloud of foul, poisonous breath. Its sharp fangs could have sliced through iron like mud as it lunged to swallow Shouchong whole!

At the last possible moment, Shouchong pulled back. The snake missed, its head blasting dust into the air, but its savagery did not abate. It pressed its attack.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Beneath the rain, lightning-like flashes of white vanished in the blink of an eye. By the time they could be made out, they had already reached Wandering God True Person. They were Shouchong's specialty: throwing knives!

They were not the Lotus Blade, but with Shouchong's skill, even a leaf would have made a deadly weapon. The thrown knives exploded the instant they struck Wandering God True Person. Inner Force filled the shattered shards of iron as they bloomed like lotus flowers.

A Thought Blooms a Flower!

Wandering God True Person vanished in the blast, which swept up the rain as well. The sight reminded Wang Ping of the rockery that had been blown apart that day.

But he quickly realized something.

No blood...!

A Thought Blooms a Flower described more than the speed and power of the throwing knives. It also described what followed the strike: when the blade flew, a flower of blood had to bloom.

But Wang Ping saw no flower of blood now.

In other words, the strike had failed.

The churning rain finally fell, and the dust cleared. As the scene came back into focus, Wandering God True Person stood exactly where he had been, unharmed.

"A paltry trick..."

The handsome Dao Practitioner seemed to curl his lip in mockery. Then he blew harder into his jade flute, driving the black snake to continue its assault on Shouchong.

But at that moment, a tremendous crash abruptly interrupted the battle in the rainy night.

Rumble!

The sound came from afar—from Prosperity District in the east of the city, their destination, and more precisely from the Spirit Wandering Temple.

Wandering God True Person's face changed drastically. Forgetting even Shouchong, he turned at once toward the Spirit Wandering Temple. When he saw the firelight and smoke rising from it, his expression all but froze. Only after a long moment did he force out a sound:

"...Chen Haoyan?"

For the first time, anger entered his voice, along with stunned disbelief. Shouchong, by contrast, looked as though he had expected this all along.

"Just as I thought."

"If he dared stake even the Dragonrise County Seal, breaking into a Transcendent's hall is hardly surprising. True Person, he played you this time!"

Wandering God True Person ignored him. With no mind left for the Dragonrise County Seal in the carriage, he turned to hurry back, only for Shouchong to step into his path.

Their roles had abruptly reversed.

"You're in league with him?" Wandering God True Person asked coldly.

"Not exactly."

Shouchong shook his head. "We simply happened to think alike. So I can't let you go back now and spoil things."

"The night is too short, True Person. Stay here and have a good chat with me. I'm quite interested in Transcendents. You can go back tomorrow morning."

"You're courting death!"

Beneath the rain, Shouchong, Wandering God True Person, and the towering black snake clashed again. Their collisions drowned out even the thunder overhead, booming without end.

As they fought, the two men's figures tangled together and swiftly receded into the distance.

Chen Haoyan, Shouchong, Wandering God True Person.

Each had grand designs. And for that very reason, every one of them had forgotten the little man still sitting in the carriage.

Wang Ping opened his eyes.

So that's how it was.

Only now did he truly understand Chen Haoyan's scheme.

Shifting the disaster onto Shouchong was only the surface of the plan. It was what Chen Haoyan deliberately said and did for outsiders to see—a smokescreen.

So that's what the Dragonrise County Seal was for. The incense offerings of the people? Wandering God True Person desperately needs them. Chen Haoyan used the seal to win him over and ask him to act... But this was the real lure to draw the snake from its hole. Only the snake wasn't Shouchong. It was Wandering God True Person!

And it had worked perfectly.

Wandering God True Person had been lured out and drawn into a fight with Shouchong, leaving the Spirit Wandering Temple undefended and giving Chen Haoyan an opening to break in.

"...Hmph."

Wang Ping sneered. It was obvious that, in arranging all this, Chen Haoyan had treated him as a disposable pawn through and through.

One chance in ten of surviving?

In his plan, I never had any chance at all!

The only reason I'm still alive is a flaw in his plan... Shouchong, that old bastard, seems to have had the same idea.

Shouchong should have been bent on claiming the Lotus Blade. Yet even with Wandering God True Person abandoning it, he had made no move to take it. Instead, he had raced to stop the True Person from returning, leaving an opening that let Wang Ping survive.

Because I'm beneath their notice.

He made no difference to the greater scheme. Chen Haoyan, Shouchong, or Wandering God True Person could crush him at any time if they wished.

"These beasts..."

Wang Ping gritted his teeth. Looking at the Lotus Blade before him and the Dragonrise County Seal hidden inside its hollow stand, he saw Chen Haoyan's intentions more clearly.

That man probably never intended to give up the Dragonrise County Seal. He knew that the moment anything happened to the Spirit Wandering Temple, Wandering God True Person would abandon everything and rush back. Shouchong wanted the Lotus Blade, and he didn't know the seal was hidden in the carriage.

The Dragonrise County Seal would therefore end up safely back in Chen Haoyan's hands.

As long as it was not lost in the end, handing it over for a time—or even nearly losing it—would amount to no more than a slap on the wrist.

And the death of a young constable would hardly count as an incident at all.

If I run now, I might live.

Even so, Wang Ping did not move. He did not even leave the carriage. He merely sat there in silence, then let out a long breath.

He could not swallow this.

He had spent twenty years in this world. To survive, he had joined the White Lotus Sect and served as an undercover agent in the county office, walking on thin ice every step of the way. Yet in the end, he had still been cast aside like a bridge once the river was crossed.

Before I gained this power, I swallowed it.

Now that I have it, I'm supposed to swallow it again?

Then what was the point of coming to this world!

With that, Wang Ping suddenly reached out. One hand seized the Lotus Blade; the other smashed the stand and pulled out the Dragonrise County Seal.

Then he looked around.

"No one wants these? Then I'll take them."

Not a sound came from around him.

The next instant, Wang Ping stopped hiding his power. He activated the Peace Scripture and gripped both treasures, refining them in an instant until they vanished without a trace.

"They're mine!"