Chapter 139: Escape

Feng Daogu was not overconfident.

She had the right to be.

She was extremely powerful.

A Foundation Establishment peak cultivator, now at the twelfth level.

Only one step away from advancing into the Golden Core realm.

After over a hundred years of cultivation, she knew perfectly well how powerful each spirit weapon could be.

Even if a Foundation Establishment beginner came with a top-grade spirit weapon, he could not break through my defense.

The gap between realms is sometimes impossible to overcome.

Hummm…

He Pingsheng's strike indeed lacked the power to shatter Feng Daogu's defense.

Yet this sonic wave directly ignored the defense and passed through.

While Feng Daogu panicked and froze, it slammed into her skull.

Feng Daogu's face turned pale; she spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered backward several steps.

"Ah…"

She screamed in agony: "My head… my spiritual sense…"

Clearly!

He Pingsheng's previous attack had damaged her spiritual sense.

He Pingsheng took a deep breath, lifted the great bell again, and struck it hard.

Dong…

The bell's sound exploded into a sonic wave and surged toward Feng Daogu once more.

The second strike left Feng Daogu nearly unable to rise; she had lost almost all defensive capability.

Yet He Pingsheng's own condition was no better.

Though the sonic waves targeted Feng Daogu, the residual shockwaves still damaged his spiritual sense.

Kill a thousand, lose eight hundred.

How could this happen?

He Pingsheng smiled bitterly.

He quickly stowed the Soul-Annihilating Bell and tried to channel magic power to kill Feng Daogu.

But his spiritual sense was damaged too; he could not move magic power smoothly.

Far away, Feng Daogu lay on the ground, yet clutched a sword, slashing wildly in all directions.

Sword qi surged everywhere, shattering countless trees and rocks around her.

He Pingsheng could not approach.

If he were struck by sword qi, he would die or be crippled.

What should he do?

He Pingsheng took several deep breaths, then turned and walked away.

No choice!

His spiritual sense was severely damaged, and Feng Daogu, though cornered, still fought desperately—he had no guarantee he could kill her.

Conversely, he had no guarantee she wouldn't kill him.

Then retreat a step.

Return first…

There will be plenty of chances later to settle accounts with this old hag.

After weighing his options, He Pingsheng reached the paper crane.

The paper crane could not be controlled—his spiritual sense was nearly depleted.

Riding a sword was impossible.

What now?

He Pingsheng tapped his storage bag and pulled out a small flying vessel.

Cloud-Piercing Vessel.

He had obtained it long ago after slaying the Black Wind Trio, later enhancing it into a top-grade magic treasure.

He had never used it before.

Click-click-click…

He Pingsheng inserted five spirit stones into the slots; instantly, the Cloud-Piercing Vessel expanded to ten feet long.

He tossed Hou Muling onto the vessel, gave it a slight command, and it soared into the sky, heading toward Grand Void Gate.

The Cloud-Piercing Vessel had two modes.

First, it could be controlled by magic power and spiritual sense.

Second, it could be powered by spirit stones.

When using spirit stones, its direction, speed, and altitude could be adjusted via its mechanical mechanism.

No spiritual sense required.

This saved He Pingsheng considerable trouble.

Half an hour later, the Cloud-Piercing Vessel landed smoothly on Xiuzhu Peak.

He Pingsheng waved his hand and stowed the vessel.

His spiritual sense wasn't damaged—it was merely heavily depleted.

A little cultivation of the Spirit-Refining Art would restore it.

Far better than last time when Luo Yu tricked him.

Back at his quarters, He Pingsheng first organized his storage bag.

Some items had to be removed and placed into the hidden storage bag.

Others had to remain in this ordinary storage bag.

For soon, he would report to the sect what happened at the Hou family—this matter was deeply entangled.

If the Beast Taming Sect or the Hou family sent investigators, he could not afford any slip-ups.

So every piece of evidence needed to be prepared; every item that shouldn't be there must be removed.

After preparing within his courtyard, He Pingsheng carried Hou Muling to the entrance of Yuning Palace.

Before He Pingsheng could call for his master, the palace's array activated in sequence.

The door opened.

Inside came Yuning's voice: "Brat, what happened? Come in and tell me!"

He Pingsheng entered the main hall of Yuning Palace and unceremoniously threw Hou Muling onto the floor with a thud.

Yuning's eyes were red; she hurried to He Pingsheng and asked: "What exactly happened? Was your third sister with you?"

He Pingsheng said: "Master already knows?"

"Nonsense!" Yuning said, tears streaming down, "The life tablet shattered—how could I not know?"

"Wu-wu-wu-wu…"

She wept as she showed him the broken tablet: "Old Nine… tell me, what happened?"

"I see all my disciples as my own children—your third sister is gone; you don't know how heartbroken I am…"

"Wu-wu-wu-wu…"

"Old Nine… wu-wu-wu…"

"What do I do? I haven't told your senior brothers and sisters yet!"

He Pingsheng frowned.

After a moment, he said: "Master, let me ring the bell—summon my senior brothers and sisters."

"Once they arrive, I'll explain everything in detail."

Yuning waved her hand: "Go!"

He Pingsheng rang the bell; soon, all disciples on Xiuzhu Peak returned.

Second senior brother Xiao Xuejian, fourth senior brother Yang Qingyun, fifth Wu Zhengyang, sixth Zhao Linger, seventh Tian Xiaoqing, eighth Xu Kunlun—and He Pingsheng himself.

Seven in total.

Seeing Yuning's tear-filled eyes, the disciples grew puzzled.

"Master, what's wrong?"

"Did Old Nine make you angry?"

"It couldn't be Old Nine!"

Yuning shook her head: "Let… let Old Nine tell you."

All turned to He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng said: "Yesterday, Master told me that our eldest brother Hou Muxian was getting married—we were to bring him a wedding gift. Soon after I left Xiuzhu Peak, my third sister caught up with me!"

"She said Master forbade her to go, so she'd sneak along with me to get a clear answer from Elder Brother Hou!"

"Then I took her with me…"

He Pingsheng recounted the entire incident, detail by detail.

He concealed almost nothing.

After speaking, everyone fell silent.

There was no sorrow, only silence.

Because this matter was too huge.

On a small scale, this was an ambush against a disciple of Tai Xu Sect.

On a grand scale, this was a setup by the Yu Shou Sect and the Hou family against Tai Xu Sect.

This was no longer simply about Cheng Siyu's death.

【101】 After speaking, everyone fell silent.

【102】 There was no sorrow, only silence.

【103】 Because this matter was too great.

【104】 On a small scale, this was an ambush against a disciple of Grand Void Gate.

【105】 On a grand scale, this was a scheme orchestrated by the Beast Taming Sect and the Hou family against Grand Void Gate.

【106】 This was no longer simply about Cheng Siyu's death.