Chapter 141: Bowing Before the Ancestor

Splashing…

He Pingsheng jumped into a clear mountain stream to calm himself.

He had just finished reading the 【Imperial Phoenix Nineteen Chapters】, and his heart surged with emotion, his body burning, his mind filled with images of Qiao Huizhu.

He had originally thought the 【Imperial Phoenix Nineteen Chapters】 was a cultivation technique.

Turned out… bullshit!

It was merely a manual on romantic and sexual techniques.

Phew…

After soaking in the stream for a while, He Pingsheng felt much better.

He put on his Daoist robe again and returned to his small courtyard, sitting cross-legged.

But for some reason, he simply couldn't focus his mind on cultivation—his thoughts kept returning to Qiao Huizhu.

"I wonder if throwing this into the Treasure Basin could strengthen it?"

"Let's try!"

Suddenly inspired, He Pingsheng tossed the 【Imperial Phoenix Nineteen Chapters】 into the basin.

He also tossed in a mid-grade 【Foundation Establishment Elixir】.

The basin was placed inside his Hundred Treasures Bag, which was then tucked into his invisible storage pouch.

This time, He Pingsheng no longer worried about being seen.

Now, sleep!

He slept restlessly all night, dreaming of Qiao Huizhu several times; the moment he woke, he rushed to retrieve the strengthened items from the Treasure Basin.

As expected, the mid-grade Foundation Establishment Elixir had been upgraded to supreme grade.

And there were two of them.

The emerald-green elixirs were now veiled in a mysterious purple sheen.

He Pingsheng quickly took out a jade vial and sealed the elixirs inside.

Once he obtained the 【Crimson Essence Ginseng】, he would be guaranteed Foundation Establishment.

Hahaha…

Perfect.

His gaze returned to the Treasure Basin, and to his excitement, the 【Imperial Phoenix Nineteen Chapters】 had also been strengthened.

One had become two.

He pulled out one at random and flipped through it.

Name: Hehuan Jiji Jing.

Rank: Heaven.

Function: Mutual nourishment of yin and yang, wondrous beyond measure.

After skimming the summary, He Pingsheng realized this was an extremely high-grade dual-cultivation technique.

The second one!

Name: Chunfeng Yanran Fa!

Rank: Heaven!

Function: Mutual nourishment of yin and yang, wondrous beyond measure.

Alright, both were wondrous techniques.

But He Pingsheng had no interest in cultivating them.

Put them away.

He glanced at the daylight outside, stepped out of his hut, and emerged into the open.

He had agreed with his senior and junior to travel to Heijiang today.

They were going to search for the 【Crimson Essence Ginseng】.

But as soon as he stepped out of the courtyard, he received a message.

"You can't go anywhere right now!" Yu Ning stared at He Pingsheng seriously: "The Ancestor wants to see you!"

"Oh!" He Pingsheng nodded. "I'm on my way!"

"Wait…" Yu Ning said. "Not your Chongyang Ancestor—this is the Grand Void Gate's Ancestor, Grand Void Ancestor!"

"Who?"

He Pingsheng froze in place, startled.

Grand Void? Ancestor?

That Great Nascent Soul!

Hiss… hiss… hiss…

He Pingsheng suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine.

A Great Nascent Soul.

"What are you afraid of?" Yu Ning said. "Think the Ancestor will eat you? Don't worry—he summoned you to ask about the Hou family and the Beast Taming Sect!"

"Go with your Chongyang Ancestor!"

"The Ancestor is waiting for you in the hall—go alone!"

He Pingsheng immediately felt another layer of coldness: "Master, won't you come with me… I'm afraid…"

"Don't be afraid!" Yu Ning reached out and gently patted He Pingsheng's shoulder. "Just speak plainly—don't hide anything!"

"The Ancestor's spiritual sense is immense—if you lie, he'll sense the disturbance in your spiritual awareness, and you'll be in trouble!"

He Pingsheng shrank back. "Master, please don't scare me!"

"Go!" Yu Ning waved him off.

He Pingsheng took a deep breath and headed toward Chongyang Ancestor's hall.

"Not bad!" Chongyang Ancestor studied He Pingsheng. "I heard you killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

"Interesting!"

Chongyang Ancestor's expression was calm, yet his words were full of praise.

He Pingsheng grimaced. "Ancestor, how could I possibly kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator? He fell off his sword by accident during flight and died from the fall!"

"Still impressive!" Chongyang Ancestor said. "Without your attack, he wouldn't have lost control of his sword."

"Cultivation—talent matters, but opportunity, fortune, and a clear, calm mind matter more!"

"Even facing a Foundation Establishment disciple, you still seized the moment, stayed calm!"

"Rarely seen, truly rare!"

"Come, follow me to Jade Dragon Peak to meet the Ancestor!"

"Huh?" Chongyang raised an eyebrow. "You seem terrified?"

He Pingsheng looked pained. "I… I've never met a Nascent Soul cultivator before!"

"I'm nervous!"

Chongyang said: "If you have no guilt, you won't be nervous."

He Pingsheng scowled and quickly took a deep breath, standing at attention. "I am upright and honest!"

"Hmm!" Chongyang True Person said. "Words mean nothing. Cultivation is a battle against heaven itself—if you're rigid, wooden, and lifeless, how can you ever attain the Dao?"

"Be adaptable: be righteous when needed, unscrupulous when needed, ruthless when needed!"

"Only then might you survive a fraction of the path ahead!"

As he spoke, Chongyang True Person instantly summoned his sword, bypassing the teleportation array entirely, and flew off with He Pingsheng atop it.

In a few breaths, they landed on the Jade Dragon Peak's plaza.

The plaza held many teleportation arrays.

Leading to the various peaks of the Grand Void Gate.

"Ancestor, is your Supreme Ancestor… extremely old?" He Pingsheng asked, glancing at the towering Grand Void Hall.

"Mm," Chongyang Ancestor said. "Three hundred and twenty years ago, when I was a boy and first entered the Ancestor's sect, he was already a Nascent Soul!"

"That makes him over nine hundred years old now!"

At this, Chongyang Ancestor's brow furrowed deeply.

Nascent Soul cultivators have a lifespan limit of a thousand years.

At over nine hundred, his master would soon perish—yet the Grand Void Gate still had no worthy successor, nor anyone likely to break into Nascent Soul within the next century.

The Grand Void Gate's decline was near.

Sigh…

Chongyang silently sighed, then swung his dust whisk and headed toward the Grand Void Hall.

He Pingsheng followed cautiously, every step measured.

Ahead, the hall loomed tall and majestic.

But this hall was not golden—it was black.

Black bricks, black wooden pillars, black eaves and brackets.

As He Pingsheng drew nearer, the black hall grew larger in his vision, until it filled half the sky before him.

Hum.

A golden light membrane suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

This was the protective array of the Grand Void Hall—automatically activating when anyone approached within ten zhang.