Chapter 132

"This… is this really that mysterious?" He Pingsheng opened his mouth wide: "Still, I don't understand!"

I truly didn't get it.

It was simply that Cheng Siyu had spoken too much at once—things He Pingsheng had never heard before.

Cheng Siyu said: "Actually, I heard this from my master."

"Let me put it this way—the sect's fortune is invisible and intangible, yet it truly exists!"

"For example, a sect with good fortune finds it easier to recruit disciples with top-tier elemental roots."

"Or when sect disciples cultivate, their chances of breakthrough may differ slightly."

"Of course, these claims are spoken of in exaggerated terms—no one knows exactly how great the difference really is."

"Rumors say there are cultivators in the cultivation world who can see the flow of fortune."

He Pingsheng nodded.

Since it was invisible and intangible, there was no way to verify it.

Then He Pingsheng shook his head—he had no interest at all in this 【Dispelling Cloud Talisman】.

Soon after, the 【Dispelling Cloud Talisman】 was exchanged by a cultivator.

"Dear everyone!" Hou Muling smiled sweetly: "The Hou family is small and poor—we could only offer this one treasure. The rest is up to you all!"

With that, Hou Muling stepped back.

He Pingsheng gently swept his spiritual sense over Hou Muling.

She was only at Qi Refining eighth level.

Yet He Pingsheng always felt this woman was far stronger than her brother, Hou Muxian.

"Old man here has a mid-grade spiritual artifact called the 【Golden Dragon-Catching Tower】. If any friend has a suitable treasure, we may exchange!"

An old man waved his hand, and a golden miniature tower appeared before him.

The tower had three levels, emitting a faint golden glow.

Everyone was stunned.

This was a spiritual artifact.

A mid-grade spiritual artifact, bearing six sealing layers—obtaining this would greatly boost combat power.

More importantly, it was a defensive treasure.

Yet He Pingsheng had no interest in it whatsoever.

His spiritual artifacts were almost all top-grade: offensive, the 【Nine Radiance Slash-Dragon Flag】; defensive, the 【Sacred Wood Shield】; and a special one to attack spiritual sense, the 【Soul-Annihilating Bell】.

He had no interest in the little tower, so he didn't bid.

But he did use his spiritual sense to scan the old man's cultivation base.

One sweep—he was shocked: Foundation Establishment first level.

It wasn't the old man's cultivation level that shocked him—it was that he could now perceive the cultivation base of a Foundation Establishment first-level cultivator.

This…

Has my spiritual sense become this strong?

With no further hesitation, He Pingsheng swept his spiritual sense across the other cultivators nearby.

Qi Refining!

Qi Refining!

Qi Refining!

Foundation Establishment first level!

…

After scanning the entire room, He Pingsheng found six Foundation Establishment disciples inside.

Two at first level, one at second level.

Three others, his spiritual sense could not penetrate.

They must be higher-level Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Old man here has an egg of some unknown creature!"

"Those interested, make an offer!"

"Hehe… fellow senior brothers, I have one top-grade 【Foundation Establishment Elixir】…"

"I have a vial of 【Spirit Gathering Elixir】…"

The atmosphere of the exchange meeting gradually warmed up.

Cheng Siyu asked: "He senior brother, don't you have anything to offer?"

He Pingsheng thought for a moment, then pulled out a low-grade 【Foundation Establishment Elixir】 and said: "One low-grade 【Foundation Establishment Elixir】. Anyone interested, make an offer!"

No one bid.

Several others had already offered mid-grade 【Foundation Establishment Elixirs】, even one top-grade.

Who would care about a mere low-grade one?

Better that no one cares.

He Pingsheng had only brought this out as a formality.

But he looked around and saw nothing he wanted.

He felt a sudden pang of disappointment.

"Senior brother, hello!" A man in black Daoist robes approached He Pingsheng: "I want your low-grade 【Foundation Establishment Elixir】."

"Look, can I trade this for it?"

The man handed over a talisman.

He Pingsheng took it and glanced at it.

The man hurriedly said: "It's a second-grade talisman, though low-grade quality—called the 【Golden Bone Talisman】. When activated, it forms a barrier… uh… should withstand one strike from a Foundation Establishment disciple!"

He Pingsheng smiled: "Senior brother, you're joking—what kind of 'one strike'?"

"After one strike, it'll probably shatter."

A second-grade defensive talisman.

This kind of thing is rare.

But if it were mid-grade, it could indeed block one strike from an ordinary Foundation Establishment disciple.

Yet after one strike, the talisman would break.

But low-grade…

If it met a Foundation Establishment disciple, it would shatter instantly.

The benefit: though the talisman shield shattered, it absorbed seven or eight tenths of the opponent's attack power.

The remaining two or three tenths would still strike through.

But it was far easier to defend against.

That's the function of a low-grade defensive talisman.

Very useless.

In value, it was roughly equal to a low-grade 【Foundation Establishment Elixir】.

"Fine!" He Pingsheng pulled out the low-grade 【Foundation Establishment Elixir】: "Done."

He could strengthen it.

Then he'd have a full set of second-grade talismans.

Offensive: four 【Heavenly Fire Talismans】, two 【Mountain-Moving Talismans】.

These six talismans were strengthened from the 【Flame Talisman】 and 【Falling Rock Talisman】 he took from Yu De's storage bag.

Now that he had a defensive talisman, he could strengthen it too.

As for the long activation time of second-grade talismans—

That's because Qi Refining disciples lack strong spiritual sense.

Now that He Pingsheng's spiritual sense rivals early Foundation Establishment, activating second-grade talismans won't take ten or more breaths.

It should be quick.

But exactly how long it would take, he didn't know.

Because he'd never tried.

Soon, about an hour later, the exchange meeting ended abruptly.

Because Qi Refining disciples owned only limited items—talismans, elixirs, magic tools, and such.

Nothing truly valuable.

"He senior brother!" Hou Muling came to He Pingsheng's side: "Cheng senior sister, hello…"

"Can I speak with you two alone?"

He Pingsheng said: "Of course, junior sister Hou, speak."

Hou Muling said: "He senior brother, Cheng senior sister, have you heard of the place called 【Black Jiang 】?"

"Black Jiang?" Cheng Siyu's eyes narrowed slightly: "You mean that dead zone north of the Daoxuan Alliance?"

Black Jiang, also called the Black Jiang Dead Zone.

To low-level cultivators, it was truly a dead zone.

Because Black Jiang contained not only Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment beasts, but even Golden Core beasts.

Worse still, Black Jiang was filled with toxic mists, venomous snakes, and poisonous insects everywhere.

Even a Jin Dan cultivator entering it faces a very high risk of death.

As for Nascent Soul cultivators, they disdain to enter, for there is nothing within that could stir their desire.

The key is, the Black Frontier is vast.

Inside, low-grade spiritual herbs are countless, and there are no shortage of treasures capable of helping one break through bottlenecks.

Thus, this place is sometimes called the 【Home of the Desperate】.