Chapter 184

Originally, Yuan Xiangang had not invited He Pingsheng to be a main force; he merely valued his poison arts.

But he never expected He Pingsheng's offensive power to be so high.

If he could kill Qin Mingyue, he could naturally make up for her combat strength.

Even surpass her.

"Come… let me introduce!" Yuan Xiangang pointed at He Pingsheng and said: "This is Comrade He. Comrade He not only excels in poison arts but is also an outstanding alchemist capable of refining second-rank elixirs!"

Yuan himself did not know whether He could refine second-rank elixirs, nor did he care—he simply blew anyway.

"This is Bai Long, Comrade Bai!"

"This is Zi Xian, Comrade Zi!"

After introducing He Pingsheng, Yuan proceeded to introduce the other two.

The hunched old man who had just spoken of helping Qin Mingyue was Bai Long.

He Pingsheng did not bother with courtesy; his spiritual sense flared open again, sweeping over the two.

Bai Long: Foundation Establishment seventh layer.

The middle-aged man Zi Xian was at Foundation Establishment ninth layer.

"Comrade He!" Bai Long bowed to He Pingsheng and said: "I am not truly familiar with Qin Mingyue—only acquainted. I meant no harm earlier; please understand!"

He Pingsheng nodded. "No issue."

The old man had indeed been greedy, wanting to aid Qin Mingyue in suppressing him.

But he could not turn against this elder over this matter.

After all, the man was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator; He Pingsheng had no certainty he could kill him.

Veterans who had lingered in Foundation Establishment for years each possessed one or two hidden cards—if cornered into a death struggle, the outcome would be uncertain.

"Good, good…" Yuan said: "Then let me restate: as previously agreed, after we refine the elixirs, each of you gets two pills, I take four. Any objections?"

"No objections!" Bai Long spoke first.

He Pingsheng and Zi Xian both nodded in agreement.

After all, this material was discovered by Yuan Xiangang himself, and refining the elixir required more than just this 【Wu Shen Flower】—other ingredients were needed.

All of those were Yuan's responsibility.

Him taking four pills was perfectly reasonable.

Yuan said: "Now that Qin Mingyue is gone, her share—two pills—will be decided by collective assessment based on each person's contribution in fighting the beast."

"Friends, follow me!"

Shhh…

Yuan Xiangang rode his sword into the heavens.

The three sword lights behind him naturally followed in unison.

He Pingsheng did not know their destination, but after seeing their cultivation levels, he was not afraid.

He still had several hidden cards—if Yuan intended to scheme, he was not afraid.

First, he was immune to all poisons; second, he carried numerous talismans effective against Foundation Establishment disciples; and due to his powerful spiritual sense, he could now activate talismans in a single breath.

Under these conditions, he had no fear of Yuan.

Yuan Xiangang, leading ahead, subtly increased his flight speed.

His speed grew faster and faster, attempting to pull distance from the others.

It was not to show off his strength, but to judge which of the three behind him was the strongest.

Do not underestimate the speed of sword flight.

The faster the speed, the stronger the spiritual sense and the deeper the magic power.

Both are indispensable.

Once both are strong, combat power naturally cannot be weak.

Swoosh…

Swoosh swoosh…

The three behind dared not fall too far behind; each pushed their speed to the limit.

Gradually, the hunched old man Bai Long fell behind first.

Half an hour later, the cultivator Zi Xian also fell behind.

Finally, only He Pingsheng could keep pace with Yuan ahead.

"Good lad!" Yuan smiled inwardly: "This fellow is truly formidable—mere Foundation Establishment second layer, yet his spiritual sense and magic power nearly match mine!"

"I don't believe it!"

Again…

Boom…

Yuan's magic power surged violently, his speed increasing another third.

In just one or two breaths, he could cross an entire peak.

They flew over towering mountains and valleys, the weather shifting wildly—rain fell, snow drifted, skies cleared, then dark clouds crushed down.

For two full hours, He Pingsheng never lagged.

But Yuan Xiangang nearly collapsed.

His magic power was nearly exhausted.

Bang…

Yuan landed on a mountain peak.

He Pingsheng landed right behind him.

He looked back—the other two were still nowhere in sight.

"Comrade He, your magic power is profound—truly admirable…" Yuan sat cross-legged and smiled. "The other two will take some time to arrive. To avoid them getting lost, let's wait here."

Saying "wait" was merely because Yuan himself could no longer endure.

He secretly swallowed an elixir and began refining it.

As for He Pingsheng…

In that brief struggle, he had drained all three of his dantians.

Yes!

He was not as effortless as he appeared.

Yuan was stunned by his abundant magic power; He Pingsheng, in turn, envied the vast dantians of peak Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Damn, your one dantian equals my three.

And mine are already much larger than those of cultivators at my own level.

This made He Pingsheng clearly see the gap between himself and higher-level cultivators.

No wonder he could never defeat Master Feng the nun back then.

He Pingsheng pulled out a drop of Sacred Juice and swallowed it.

Within a few breaths, his three exhausted dantians were fully restored.

The two waited for a full incense stick's time before Bai Long and Zi Xian finally arrived.

When they landed on the peak, their gazes toward He Pingsheng changed again—now filled with greater reverence. Bai Long even felt relieved he had not aided Qin Mingyue.

Otherwise, he did not know what might have happened.

"Do you two need rest?" Yuan asked.

Bai Long asked: "Comrade Yuan, how far is it still?"

Yuan said: "Still quite far—we've covered less than a third."

"Understood," Bai Long said. "May we rest a little longer?"

He Pingsheng said: "No need to rest… everyone, board the boat!"

With a bang, he activated his 【Cloud Piercer Boat】.

The Cloud Piercer Boat was a top-grade magic treasure, bearing four layers of seals.

Powered by spirit stones, its speed could not match a Foundation Establishment cultivator's sword flight, but it was far faster than ordinary paper cranes.

Moreover, the Cloud Piercer Boat was large—over three meters long, easily accommodating four people standing aboard.

"Good, good… thank you, Comrade!" Bai Long landed on the boat and immediately sat cross-legged: "I shall rest now."