Blue Sky admired this guy. If it were him, hiding in one spot in the void for centuries would be impossible. He guessed Ou Ping hadn’t set up any surveillance arrays, as that would’ve surely been detected by Qin Qingtian.
Since Ou Ping hadn’t used surveillance arrays, it meant he didn’t retreat to his own world but genuinely monitored from a single spot in the void for centuries. That kind of resilience made it hard to understand why he failed to prove the Fourth Step.
“Xiao Bu, what’s your take?” Mo Wuji turned to Blue Sky.
Since Qin Qingtian already knew they were headed to the Qin Heaven Ancient Path and was waiting there, should they still go?
Blue Sky said, “I don’t have a better plan right now. Brother Ou, can you tell us how Qin Qingtian managed to eliminate hundreds of Realm-Deriving, Creation, and even several Creation powerhouses to claim the Qin Heaven Ancient Path?”
Mo Wuji also looked at Ou Ping. Back in the Land of Eternity, he’d been chased by hundreds of Creation-level experts, but that was just pursuit, not a siege.
Ou Ping said, “It’s said that a battle over the Chaos Path was about to erupt…”
“Chaos Path?” Blue Sky and Mo Wuji looked at Ou Ping, puzzled.
Ou Ping explained, “The Qin Heaven Ancient Path is the Chaos Path, likely a post-chaos supreme treasure. Qin Qingtian renamed it after claiming it.”
Blue Sky and Mo Wuji exchanged glances, then asked, “What’s a post-chaos supreme treasure? Is it stronger than primordial treasures?”
Ou Ping hesitated before saying, “In theory, post-chaos supreme treasures are stronger than primordial treasures, but many primordial treasures are more powerful in practice.”
Blue Sky clasped his fists, “Please enlighten us.”
Seeing their expressions, Ou Ping sighed inwardly. How did these two reach their current level without knowing such basic concepts?
He explained, “It’s said that before chaos, there were mythical treasures, but they’re just rumors, never seen. Next are chaos supreme treasures, born alongside chaos and derived from it. After them come post-chaos supreme treasures, formed in chaos by absorbing its essence, like the Chaos Path, or Qin Qingtian’s Qin Heaven Ancient Path.
After post-chaos supreme treasures come primordial treasures, born alongside the vast universe when chaos condensed. Also called Creation treasures, they’re limited in number—some universes have one, others three to five, but never more than nine in a single universe. The Seven Realms Stone beneath us is a primordial treasure.
But that doesn’t mean primordial treasures are always weaker. Some, like the Universe Mill or the Dayan Cauldron, are top-tier primordial treasures, even surpassing post-chaos ones. Others, though, are overhyped and nearly useless.”
“Isn’t the Dayan Cauldron the companion treasure of the Dayan Realm? Isn’t the Dayan Realm the Dayan Saint’s domain?” Blue Sky asked.
Ou Ping understood the implication: if the Dayan Realm was the Dayan Saint’s domain, was it his personal world? If so, how could it produce a primordial treasure like the Dayan Cauldron?
Ou Ping clarified, “The Dayan Realm does have a powerhouse called the Dayan Saint, but the realm came first, not the saint. The Dayan Saint entered the realm, obtained the Dayan Cauldron and Dayan Dao Scroll, and became the Dayan Saint. But the first to discover the Dayan Realm wasn’t him—it was an ancestor of Mengmu Dayan, closely tied to its founding ancestor. That’s why Mengmu Dayan is named as such.
The Dayan Realm isn’t just a mid-tier universe; it’s at the top of that tier. If Mengmu Dayan could spare top powerhouses, they’d have already targeted it. The reason Mengmu Dayan has a stronghold in Haoyuan Universe is largely to keep an eye on the Dayan Realm. They’ll move against it eventually.”
Blue Sky nodded, understanding.
Ou Ping continued, “Back then, Qin Qingtian and other powerhouses were trapped in a sealed space with the Chaos Path in plain view. As everyone prepared to fight, Qin Qingtian stepped forward. He suggested it might be a trap to make them kill each other, letting someone else reap the rewards. Hearing this, several Creation Saints who were about to act paused—not because they trusted him, but because they figured they could wait until the others weakened each other before striking.
Seeing he’d calmed the crowd, Qin Qingtian went on. Since there was only one Chaos Path and so many people, conflicts were inevitable. Instead, he proposed they compete through Dao discourse on the Chaos Path—the one with the highest Dao attainment would claim it. Being the weakest, he offered to serve as their judge.”
Blue Sky and Mo Wuji marveled at Qin Qingtian’s audacity. Judging a contest among those stronger than him was like holding his head in his hands—one misstep, and he’d be crushed.
Ou Ping sighed, “Qin Qingtian’s grasp of human nature was flawless. He said his low cultivation made him ineligible for the Chaos Path, so only someone like him could judge fairly. Everyone agreed, though they forbade fighting directly on the Chaos Path.”
Mo Wuji thought to himself, he’d have believed it too. A child volunteering to judge a group of strong men fighting over gold, claiming he had no stake, would raise no suspicions. After all, if he dared covet the prize, he’d be swatted dead. And Qin Qingtian never suggested holding the Chaos Path for them.
“No one expected Qin Qingtian to be a master of spatial array patterns, undetectable even to Creation Saints. Moreover, he had close ties to the Heavenly Poison Saint, master of the Hundred-Zero Universe, and wielded Heavenly Poison Dao principles…”
At this, Mo Wuji understood why he hadn’t noticed Qin Qingtian’s surveillance arrays—the man’s void array patterns were on another level.
Blue Sky sighed, “I get it. Was he judging their contest while secretly refining the Chaos Path?”
Ou Ping nodded, “Qin Qingtian’s judgments were flawless, never erring or misstepping. He was also a smooth talker, consoling losers by suggesting that after the Chaos Path was claimed, other treasures might remain, as companion treasures often appeared with such artifacts. His mediation kept the defeated cultivators placated, if unwilling.
Meanwhile, he was using void array patterns to refine the Chaos Path and quietly setting up Heavenly Poison Dao principles. He’d said no one could fight on the Chaos Path, so no one suspected he was refining it. Any Dao fluctuations on the Path during a contest would’ve been noticed.”
“He must’ve deeply understood the Chaos Path to pull this off,” Mo Wuji remarked.
Ou Ping said, “I don’t know how well he understood it, but he did refine it. The moment he succeeded, he rushed onto the Chaos Path and unleashed the Heavenly Poison Dao principles. By then, it was too late to stop him. His Heavenly Poison Dao was exponentially stronger than the Hundred-Zero Universe’s version. When it struck, nearly everyone was poisoned.”
Blue Sky thought he’d have been caught too. In that setting, his Dao principles would’ve been extended, constantly guarding against sneak attacks. A sudden Heavenly Poison strike would’ve been unavoidable.
“After poisoning everyone, Qin Qingtian used the Chaos Path to trap them within it, and they never emerged. The remnant soul survived because it arrived earlier, hiding in a corner of the sealed space, unnoticed by Qin Qingtian.”
Hearing Ou Ping’s account, Blue Sky and Mo Wuji felt lingering fear. They’d been to the Qin Heaven Ancient Path. Without that teleportation array, escaping would’ve been nearly impossible, likely requiring the Seven Realms Stone to blindly traverse. Whether it could’ve escaped the Chaos Path was uncertain.
And that was without Qin Qingtian presiding. In that sealed space, with him controlling the Chaos Path and poisoning everyone, their escape would’ve been miraculous. If they entered the Chaos Path now, could they get out?
