Chapter 25: Fire Crow

"Collect..."

He Pingsheng placed all his belongings into the Treasure Basin, then absorbed them into his dantian.

What should he do next?

He still had two top-grade Zhi-Qi Dan on him.

But these two were certainly insufficient to break through to Qi Refining fifth layer.

To continue breaking through, he could only rely on prolonged cultivation of drawing spiritual energy into his body.

Given He Pingsheng’s Five Element spiritual root affinity, that would truly take a very long time—perhaps he would never reach the fifth layer through breath and meditation alone in this lifetime.

So, he still needed to seek out cultivation resources.

“Before seeking cultivation resources, I should first go out and test this technique!”

He Pingsheng stepped outside and walked steadily into the mountains.

The small town was definitely out of the question—no one knew the power of this Fire Crow, and if anyone noticed, it would be trouble.

Over the past year, as his cultivation base improved, He Pingsheng’s mind had gradually opened; things he once couldn’t understand or couldn’t wrap his head around now made sense.

Of course, in character, he remained as cautious as ever.

His caution was not innate, but a lesson learned after witnessing his parents’ murder.

In an uninhabited mountain, He Pingsheng walked for two full days in the opposite direction of Grand Void Gate before stopping.

“We’re this far already… Even if I make some noise, it shouldn’t reach Grand Void Gate, right?”

He Pingsheng stopped in a primeval forest.

Before him, behind him, all around him, stood towering ancient trees.

The ground was slick with moss; above, no sky could be seen—only the gentle murmur of a stream flowing down from the mountaintop to his left gave He Pingsheng a sense of the world’s reality.

“Gather…”

He Pingsheng took a deep breath; fire-element spiritual power surged wildly through his body, quickly gathering into a ball of flame in his right palm.

As the flame flickered, it took the shape of a crow.

The crow flapped its wings, lifelike and vivid.

“Go…”

He Pingsheng directed his intent, sending the Fire Crow flying forward.

Three zhang away, the Fire Crow slammed violently into the trunk of a tree thick enough to embrace with both arms.

Boom…

A fierce explosion echoed.

A wave of fire-element energy rushed toward him.

Caught off guard, He Pingsheng was blown back three steps by the heatwave.

When he looked up again, he saw a large black hole carved into the tree trunk three zhang away, flames already burning at its mouth.

The flames grew fiercer, crackling loudly.

Boom…

Less than three breaths later, the towering ancient tree snapped in half, its branches crashing heavily to the ground.

Yet the fire on the trunk burned even more fiercely.

“Bad!” He Pingsheng smacked his forehead. “Don’t start a mountain fire!”

He quickly pulled out the Treasure Basin, rushed to the nearby stream, fetched water, and poured it directly onto the flames.

A miraculous sight occurred.

He Pingsheng poured five or six basins of water—but the flames didn’t extinguish; instead, they grew even stronger.

“Strange… this fire can’t be drowned by water?”

Worried, He Pingsheng ran over himself and tried smothering the fire with rocks and soil; after immense effort, the flames finally died out only after consuming the entire tree.

“Phew…”

He Pingsheng took a deep breath, sat down exhausted, and stared at his palm, murmuring: “Could it be… flames formed by spiritual power are different from ordinary fire?”

“This strike can shatter an old tree—surely that’s not bad? But I wonder, what if it hit a cultivator? Would it match the power of a peer-level disciple?”

Next, He Pingsheng avoided trees. He found a rocky area devoid of trees or dry grass, then condensed another Fire Crow and slammed it hard against the cliff face.

Boom…

The next instant, rocks shattered and flew!

A large black hole was blasted into the cliff.

“So strong!” He Pingsheng was stunned—he hadn’t expected smashing rock could create such a hole.

“Again!”

Boom… Boom… Boom…

After unleashing twelve Fire Crows in succession, He Pingsheng’s fire-element spiritual energy was completely depleted.

In other words, he could only unleash this attack twelve times in a row.

If he couldn’t defeat his enemy within twelve strikes, he’d have to flee.

Since he had no benchmark and had never fought anyone, nor knew how strong other Qi Refining fourth-layer techniques were, He Pingsheng, though having seen his own technique, didn’t know how he compared to others.

He felt his talent was far inferior to those genius cultivators, so he habitually assumed his technique was also inferior.

Yet if any peer-level cultivator saw his Fire Crow technique, they’d be stunned.

After testing the technique, He Pingsheng returned along the same path to the small town.

Round trip took five days.

Upon reaching the Outer Gate town, He Pingsheng did not head home first, but returned to the Outer Gate Grand Hall.

Entering the bustling hall, his spiritual sense naturally extended, clearly sensing the cultivation levels of all cultivators within ten zhang.

Qi Refining first, second, and third-layer cultivators were everywhere.

There were some fourth-layer cultivators too.

But they were few.

As for those above fourth layer, He Pingsheng found he could not perceive their levels.

Yet among the over a hundred bustling cultivators in the hall, only three were beyond his perception.

He Pingsheng felt quietly pleased.

“Senior Brother…” The disciple seated in the hall’s center handling clerical duties stood up and greeted him—such treatment He Pingsheng had never received before.

“Senior Brother, what do you need?” The clerk bowed respectfully.

He Pingsheng scanned him with his spiritual sense and saw the man was only third-layer; he smiled and said: “Younger Brother, I heard Grand Void Gate has a Free Exchange Pavilion open to Outer Gate disciples. I’d like to visit—how do I get in?”

The Free Exchange Pavilion was slightly more advanced than the Outer Gate Grand Hall’s service counter, selling cultivation items needed by Outer Gate disciples.

But not every Outer Gate disciple could enter.

Its entry requirement: Qi Refining mid-stage.

That is, at least fourth layer.

“Senior Brother, you’ve reached fourth layer, then?” The disciple looked up with full respect.

He Pingsheng nodded: “I have.”

“Good!” the man said. “Senior Brother, the Free Exchange Pavilion is on the second floor of this Outer Gate Grand Hall—you can enter through that side, there’s a staircase.”

“But before entering, you must test your cultivation level.”

“Once you’ve reached fourth layer, someone will personally guide you up.”

“Perfect!” He Pingsheng was overjoyed and walked toward the staircase leading to the Free Exchange Pavilion.