Chapter 212

Can't wait anymore, time is urgent!

He Pingsheng had just sat down when he had to stand up again, waving his hand to stash the mid-grade fire spirit stone and dismantle the arrays one by one.

Then he wiped off his disguise.

He would search for Qiao Huizhu using his own identity as He Pingsheng.

Why?

Because using his own image allows for bidirectional searching.

Where to search?

Near the exit!

After all, everyone just entered; most haven't gone far from the exit. If he meets any familiar cultivators, he might be able to ask.

He Pingsheng swallowed a drop of 【Golden Bee Sacred Juice】, and golden light erupted beneath his feet as he sprinted again, thudding through mountains and marshes.

On a certain hillside, white flowers bloomed in profusion.

He Pingsheng stopped.

He stared at the hundreds of flowers before him, utterly stunned: "This… this is Mandarolin?"

Yes, what lay before him was Mandarolin.

Hundreds of plants, at least.

To brew the second-rank elixir 【Spirit Gathering Pill】 for Foundation Establishment disciples, three main ingredients are needed: Earth Yellow Root, Ningye Purple, and Mandarolin.

This is one of the main ingredients for the Spirit Gathering Pill.

One plant is worth nearly a hundred spirit stones.

Here there are hundreds.

"Collect!"

Without hesitation, He Pingsheng gathered every single Mandarolin plant.

Finding people was urgent, but not urgent enough to skip this.

When heaven offers, don't refuse — or you'll suffer the consequence.

When opportunity arrives, take it if you can.

Hundreds of Mandarolin plants were harvested clean in half an incense stick's time.

Just as he finished, several figures scaled the distant mountain and rushed toward him.

One shouted as he ran: "Thief, stop! These are our Daling Valley's cultivated plants!"

"Damn it, a Foundation Establishment second-layer — I'll kill you!"

Seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators, men and women alike, sprinted toward He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng had no interest in fighting them; he pushed off hard and shot away, golden light blazing from his 【Golden Pattern Cloud-Stepping Boots】, vanishing into the endless mountains within twenty breaths.

"Damn it!"

Behind him, a cultivator cursed: "How is he running this fast?"

"His boots — they seem to be a magic treasure?"

"Yes!" someone said: "It looks like it's activated eight layers of seals—at least a top-grade spirit artifact. Don't chase; we can't catch him!"

…

He Pingsheng headed back the way he came, sprinting for about an hour.

This drained his magic power heavily.

So he stopped again and swallowed another drop of Golden Bee Sacred Juice.

Along the way, he spotted several second-rank spirit plants and gathered them too.

He encountered several groups of cultivators and asked them — none were from the Daoxuan Alliance.

Not even one from Dingxiang Commandery.

One group didn't even answer him — they drew blades, ready to fight. Luckily, He Pingsheng had his magic treasure underfoot and vanished in a flash.

Huh…

After swallowing a drop of Golden Bee Sacred Juice, He Pingsheng exhaled deeply; his depleted dantians filled one by one.

To his left, several thousand zhang away, another group of about seven or eight people appeared.

Without thinking, He Pingsheng sprinted toward them.

Within dozens of breaths, he reached them.

"Senior brothers, greetings!" He Pingsheng bowed: "I'm from Dingxiang Commandery. Are you from Dingxiang Commandery too?"

"Yes!" the lead woman nodded: "We're from Dingxiang Commandery!"

"Perfect!" He Pingsheng said: "Miss, do you know any Daoxuan Alliance cultivators?"

"Daoxuan Alliance?" The woman's expression turned grave: "Why are you looking for the Daoxuan Alliance?"

Clearly, she knew of the Daoxuan Alliance.

He Pingsheng said: "I'm from the Daoxuan Alliance too. I'm searching for disciples from Tianfu Mountain. If you know where they are, please tell me — I've lost contact with them."

"Oh!" the woman said: "So you're from Tianfu Mountain!"

"Then…"

"About half an hour ago, we saw them over there…" she pointed: "That direction. They were traveling with disciples from the Bingji Sect."

"Go that way — you might find them."

"But no guarantees — it's been half an hour. They might've changed direction."

"Thank you, Senior Sister!" He Pingsheng bowed and hurried off.

He had to trust her — he had no other choice.

He followed the woman's direction for less than half an hour before encountering another group.

Seeing them, He Pingsheng's heart leapt.

Xiao Xuan!

Without doubt, these were Bingji Sect cultivators.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three…"

He Pingsheng counted: eight Bingji Sect disciples total.

He didn't see Qiao Huizhu or Qiao Xiaoqiao.

Had the Tianfu Mountain disciples split from the Bingji Sect?

He Pingsheng frowned slightly.

What now?

Going to ask the Bingji Sect directly — not only might they lie, but with his feud with Xiao Xuan, they might just attack.

Eight of them, one of me — how do I fight?

But I can't not ask.

Fine.

Worst case, I run.

After brief thought, He Pingsheng strode boldly toward them.

The eight instantly turned their gazes toward him.

"Damn…!" Xiao Xuan gasped: "He Pingsheng… you're still alive?"

Then anger flashed across his face: "Good, good — last time we sparred, you cheated with poison!"

"If you hadn't used poison, I'd have crushed you into shit!"

"Come on!"

"Let's fight again today!"

As he spoke, Xiao Xuan's spiritual sense swept over He Pingsheng — seeing only Foundation Establishment second-layer cultivation, he sneered: "Trash. After all these years, you're still only Foundation Establishment second-layer?"

"You're useless — you might as well be dead."

Xiao Xuan wasn't truly this shallow — but He Pingsheng had beaten him, and worse, he was the fiancé of the woman Xiao Xuan desired. Seeing him triggered his outburst.

He Pingsheng waved his hand: "I'm in a hurry today — no time to fight you."

"Hey, Xiao Xuan, I've got a question."

"Didn't you always travel with Tianfu Mountain disciples?"

"Tell me — where are they now?"