Chapter 256

The anger on He Bizhi's face slowly faded, replaced by a coldness: "You know, I am a Primordial Dan Realm cultivator!"

Heng Xian said: "I know."

He Bizhi added: "Then you should also know that many disciples from the Fourteen Sects have already died while venturing into these Ancient Sect Ruins. Sometimes, one more or one less death doesn't really matter."

Heng Xian still said: "I know."

He Bizhi said coldly: "Then you should also know that with your Qi Hai Realm cultivation, you cannot escape from my hands."

Heng Xian said: "So what?"

He Bizhi sneered: "So, if I were you, I would obediently hand over all the spiritual herbs, then apologize and beg for my life!"

Heng Xian laughed: "It's a pity you are not me. I am a person who never apologizes, and I am even less afraid of threats!"

Killing intent instantly filled He Bizhi's eyes. His Primordial Dan Realm aura and a faint, lingering spiritual sense locked onto Heng Xian from all directions.

Behind him, his Flying Leopard spirit pet crouched slightly, its brown eyes fixed on Heng Xian's back.

Yet Heng Xian remained unhurried, taking out the Twin Spirit Ganoderma and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Wait!" He Bizhi's expression shifted slightly as he glanced at the Ganoderma. "What are you doing?"

"Eating," Heng Xian said.

He Bizhi nearly choked on his own breath: "You are just going to... eat it raw?"

Heng Xian said: "Yes, I have a strong stomach and have always eaten them raw. One gulp, half an incense stick of time to digest. Why? Are you waiting for it to save someone's life?"

He Bizhi's cheek twitched: "Fine! I want one stalk!"

Saying these words exhausted his patience; he even felt a sense of humiliation in his heart.

However, Heng Xian's tone changed: "That's impossible!"

He Bizhi's eyes widened: "What? Didn't we just agree to share one stalk with me? Why is it impossible again?"

Heng Xian said earnestly: "I have a bit of a temper. You just threatened me, and I am very angry. So, even if you apologize to me now, I won't give you a single hair."

Veins bulged on He Bizhi's forehead. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath: "Then go be buried with them!"

"Alright!" Heng Xian picked up the spirit root and made a motion to swallow it: "Looking at you, among those poisoned by the crocodile, there must be someone you care about very much. Think it over—should I really eat it?"

He Bizhi took a deep breath, then another, and cupped his hands in a salute: "Fellow Daoist, I offer my respects. I only want one stalk of Ganoderma. May I ask how I can obtain it?"

Heng Xian said: "One hundred thousand low-quality spirit crystals."

He Bizhi's eyes widened: "You might as well go rob someone..."

"Brother He!"

From the tall grass not far away, a group of people flew over. It was the group led by the girl with the concubine-style bun.

Seeing that Heng Xian had been caught, the group beamed with joy.

Especially the "concubine-bun" girl, who said triumphantly: "Little thief, run! Why don't you run now?"

"One hundred and eleven thousand," Heng Xian said.

"Fine, one hundred thousand it is." He Bizhi gritted his teeth and tore off his storage bag.

Heng Xian said expressionlessly: "It seems you didn't hear me clearly. I want one hundred and eleven thousand!"

He Bizhi suppressed his anger: "Why did you raise the price again?"

Heng Xian pointed at the "concubine-bun" girl: "She was fierce to me!"

The "concubine-bun" girl looked at one, then the other, feeling a bit bewildered, then raged: "So what if I was fierce to you? As a prisoner, where do you get so much nonsense? Do you believe I'll kill you with one sword strike?"

"Hear that? She wants to kill me. One hundred and fifty thousand!" Heng Xian looked solemn.

The "concubine-bun" girl drew her spirit sword, making a move to strike: "Audacious! You..."

"Zixi, shut up!" He Bizhi shouted loudly.

The "concubine-bun" girl froze: "Why? Do you know him? Who is he disguised as?"

He Bizhi kept a cold face and did not answer, instead looking at the group: "Pool your money, fifty thousand low-quality spirit crystals!"

Seeing He Bizhi's serious expression, the group dared not dawdle. One by one, they pooled together five thousand medium-quality spirit stones, which happened to equal fifty thousand low-quality spirit crystals.

He Bizhi placed the one hundred and fifty thousand spirit crystals neatly in front of Heng Xian and said coldly: "No matter which sect or faction you belong to, doing something like taking advantage of others' misfortune will surely lead to no good end!"

Heng Xian said: "Then how do you know that I wasn't waiting above the crocodile nest since last night? I arrived earlier than you, and I need the spirit herbs more than you do."

The group was stunned for a moment.

Heng Xian added: "Besides, do you think I was scared?"

As he spoke, he waved his hand to collect the spirit crystals, broke off one stalk of the Ganoderma, and handed it out.

He Bizhi remained expressionless and did not take it.

The "concubine-bun" girl glanced at him and stepped forward to take the Ganoderma.

Just at this critical moment, He Bizhi and his Flying Leopard spirit pet suddenly leaped up, attacking from both sides, as fast as thunder.

Yet Heng Xian seemed to have anticipated this long ago. A strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as a large drum appeared eerily before him. He punched it, and a "Boom—" sound echoed in all directions.

This drum sound was like a heaven-shaking thunderclap, exploding on flat ground. The "concubine-bun" girl and her group instantly felt dizzy and saw stars, with blood flowing from their noses and mouths.

He Bizhi and the Flying Leopard also stopped their attack, swaying twice.

Taking this opportunity, Heng Xian put away the drum, flashed into the nearby stream, splashed a spray of water, and vanished without a trace.

He Bizhi realized what happened and was furious: "Wretch!"

His figure leaped high into the air, his hands forming seals, chanting: "Life-bound Dharma Treasure, Heaven-Returning Zither!"

"Hum—"

An ancient scorched-tail zither appeared out of thin air in mid-air, and the "Ding-dong" zither music echoed everywhere.

"Boom..."

A dozen miles of the stream were instantly cut off, and the surrounding valleys and tall grass exploded violently, dust flying and sand and stones cracking.

It was as if the end of the world had arrived!

However, there was no sign of the "armored masked man."

He Bizhi retracted his life-bound Dharma Treasure, frowned, and scanned the surroundings frantically with his spiritual sense, but still found nothing.

He had to land on the ground and look at the "concubine-bun" girl and her group: "Are you alright?"

The "concubine-bun" girl and her group wiped the bloodstains from their faces, their complexions somewhat pale: "We lost some vitality. That person's Dharma Treasure is terrifying!"

"Strange!" He Bizhi pondered, "When this person acted, there was absolutely no aura of a Primordial Dan Realm cultivator. It can be concluded that he is in the Qi Hai Realm, but he is far more powerful than the average ninth-level Qi Hai Realm cultivator.

Moreover, a Qi Hai Realm cultivator can actually drive such a terrifying Dharma Treasure and escape my spiritual sense range in an instant!!!

There are less than two hundred of us disciples from the Fourteen Sects who made it through the two trials to get here. Who could it be?"

The "concubine-bun" girl said: "Could it be from the other batch? We just arrived and encountered more than ten people from the other batch, including Senior Sister Yu Qiuyi from the Great Expansion Sect!"

"Oh?" He Bizhi pondered for a moment, "Let's go back first!"

The group rushed off into the distance.

Just after they had left for a short while, a person crawled out from the mud and sand at the bottom of the nearby stream. It was Heng Xian.

He was draped in that blood cloak, which could not only break the ancient prohibitions here but also conceal his tracks and block the spiritual sense and thoughts of Primordial Dan cultivators.

However, his physical condition was not looking good.

He put away the cloak and pulled open his wet robe, revealing two bloodstains on his body, caused by the zither music of He Bizhi's life-bound Dharma Treasure.

A "life-bound Dharma Treasure" is a unique type of treasure for Primordial Dan Realm cultivators, closely linked to their life, soul, and Dao. It is both a treasure and a vessel for the Dao they cultivate. Every cultivator crafts one when breaking through to the Primordial Dan Realm.

This object is several times more powerful than other treasures. Even if someone else picks it up, they cannot drive it. When refined to a deep level, it protects its master automatically, which is extremely profound.

But this thing is generally not used unless one is fighting for their life.

That He Bizhi actually used it to deal with him—there really is no one else like him.

Heng Xian let out a breath. He had originally thought he had overestimated the Primordial Dan experts of the various sects, but he hadn't expected these people to be even stronger than he imagined.

They were completely incomparable to that group of Primordial Dan cultivators like Baoyu from Han Shan—a bunch of poor Primordial Dan cultivators who couldn't even gather the materials for a life-bound Dharma Treasure to this day.

He stood up, looked around, tapped his feet, and arrived at a hilltop. After searching a circle, he chiseled out a simple cave under a rock and crawled inside.

First, heal his wounds, swallow the Ganoderma, and then searching for spirit herbs is the priority.

(End of chapter)