Chapter 228: Encirclement

He Pingsheng was certainly unwilling to give up.

He took Qiao Huizhu and the other two, rode his sword into the sky, and made several attempts along the border between Qi and Liang.

But all were futile.

They simply could not get through.

As those people said, even if he killed the patrolling disciples and broke through, the Golden Core experts stationed here would soon come chasing after him.

Golden Core cultivators moved with unmatched speed—he could never escape.

He Pingsheng dared not gamble, and could not afford to.

Because once pursued by a Golden Core expert, the chance of escape was negligible.

"What do we do?"

Qiao Huizhu looked deeply worried.

He Pingsheng said: "Let's find a place to hide first!"

"Let's go…"

The two rode their swords back to Mount Li.

Beneath the highest peak lay a deep valley, with a decent cave inside.

For the past month and more, Qiao Huizhu had spent her time in this cave.

After arriving at the cave, He Pingsheng casually set up several arrays.

A Rank-Two defensive array, a Rank-Two spirit-suppressing array, a Rank-Two alert array, and a Rank-Two illusion array.

With this, even Foundation Establishment disciples patrolling here could not detect the cave.

Even if Golden Core cultivators swept their spiritual sense over it hastily, they might still miss it.

"Sister, wait here for me—I'm going out to gather information, I'll be back soon!" He Pingsheng rested briefly, then prepared to leave again.

Qiao Huizhu said: "You've been running around nonstop lately—let me go instead!"

"No!" He Pingsheng waved his hand. "Your disguise talisman isn't safe—if you meet a Golden Core cultivator, they'll see right through it!"

"I'll go!"

Qiao Huizhu's disguise talisman was Rank-Two.

Such a talisman could hide from Foundation Establishment cultivators' spiritual sense, but if she met a Golden Core cultivator, it was risky.

If the cultivator didn't pay close attention, they might not notice.

But if they fully swept their spiritual sense over her, she'd be exposed instantly.

He Pingsheng was different.

He wore the Brocade Silk Divine Robe—a supreme ancient treasure with twenty layers of seals; even a Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't penetrate its concealment.

"Don't worry!" He Pingsheng patted Qiao Huizhu's shoulder. "Wait for me—I'll be back by nightfall!"

Stepping out of the cave, He Pingsheng directly soared into the sky on his sword, heading northeast.

He remembered that on the map, not far from the northeast corner of Mount Li, there was a medium-sized city—perhaps because it was the westernmost city of Great Qi, its name was: Jixi City.

He Pingsheng flew for two hours on his sword and landed at the western gate of the city, then walked straight inside.

The small city was modest, about thirty li in each direction—east, west, south, north.

Yet the spiritual energy within was quite dense—clearly, there was a spirit vein here.

A city thirty li across wasn't tiny, but a single peak Golden Core cultivator's spiritual sense could easily cover the entire area.

These past few days, the city had been unusually bustling.

He Pingsheng found a spirit tea house, sat down, ordered a cup of premium spirit tea, sipped slowly, and listened to the chatter around him.

Most people were discussing Divine General Mountain and the border blockade.

"I say, there's probably a high-profile prisoner who escaped from that heavenly prison!"

"Otherwise, the imperial family wouldn't have gone to such lengths to seal off the entire Shangdang Commandery!"

"I wonder what kind of person this prisoner is?"

"Damn it!"

"Now I can't even get to Liang!"

A fat, bald Foundation Establishment third-layer cultivator gulped down spirit tea, complaining loudly.

"Tell me about it—checkpoints every three li, inspections every five li!"

"Has the entire imperial army been moved here?"

"I wonder what kind of killing god escaped from that heavenly prison!"

Someone nodded in agreement.

But soon, someone sneered: "Pfft—what heavenly prison? What high-profile prisoner?"

"Let me tell you!"

"It's not a prison, and not a prisoner—it's someone who gained a great fortune inside Divine General Mountain!"

A cultivator in a crimson Dao robe looked at the crowd with a smug smile: "You know Divine General Mountain?"

"Pfft…" Everyone scoffed: "Who doesn't?"

"Yeah, that famous Divine General Mountain—too bad I can't get in!"

"By the way, brother, you just said someone got a great fortune inside Divine General Mountain—what fortune?"

"Did someone get the Spear Intent Crystal?"

"Spear Intent Crystal?" The crimson-robed cultivator said: "Let me tell you—it'll shock you. It's not the Spear Intent Crystal. This kid took away the black divine spear from atop Divine General Mountain!"

"What?"

"Holy shit!"

"No way!"

"Sssss, oh my heavens!"

"That explains it!"

In the spirit tea house, everyone was stunned.

Seeing their shock, the crimson-robed cultivator beamed with satisfaction: "Hehehe… Is this news shocking enough?"

Someone asked: "Brother Daoist, do you know who took the divine spear?"

He replied: "I don't know. I heard it was a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Dingxiang Commandery—named Shi Yuan!"

The bald man said: "That guy's got a huge fortune!"

"Hehe…" The crimson-robed cultivator said: "A huge fortune? More like a disaster."

"The entire Shangdang Commandery is surrounded now, and Shangdang City is sealed!"

"I heard the Qi imperial family has mobilized the entire nation's army, tightening the encirclement from the outside inward!"

"They plan to spend six months gathering all cultivators into one place!"

"Then they'll sort them out one by one!"

"When Nascent Soul cultivators sweep their spiritual sense, nothing will remain hidden!"

"He won't escape!"

Everyone nodded.

He Pingsheng sat quietly beside them, his face calm, but his heart filled with dread.

If the Qi imperial family had merely blocked the border between Qi and Liang, it wouldn't matter.

He could simply detour north around Shangdang Commandery, then enter Liang.

But now, from the cultivators' talk, he concluded the entire Shangdang Commandery was encircled by Qi troops.

Trouble.

Worse, the encirclement was slowly tightening toward the center.

Like a comb sweeping across Shangdang Commandery, no place would be spared.

Even the cave where Qiao Huizhu hid would not escape detection.

In ten days at most, or half a month, someone would find it.

What do we do?

He Pingsheng drained his cup of spirit tea, then walked slowly out of the tea house.

At that moment, a powerful spiritual sense suddenly descended from the sky and landed on He Pingsheng.