Chapter 258: Master, I Was Wrong

"What?"

"A Heaven-Class cultivation technique?"

"Is that real?"

"This… am I dreaming?"

A Heaven-Class cultivation technique? That's not just advanced—it's something ordinary cultivators dare not even dream of.

In this Hongshi County, every sect, one by one— which one possesses a Heaven-Class technique?

Impossible.

"Brother Xu…" Lin Zifang said eagerly: "Your Heaven-Class technique… it's not complete, is it?"

"It doesn't matter—even if it's incomplete, I'll accept it!"

See?

Left to his own imagination, Lin Zifang never dared believe he could possess a complete Heaven-Class technique.

"No…" He Pingsheng shook his head. "I just said it—my technique is complete!"

"And it's attributeless—any cultivator, regardless of spiritual root, can practice it!"

"What?"

"Complete?"

Everyone was truly unsettled.

He Pingsheng slowly pulled a book from his storage pouch.

Plain and unadorned.

Just a book.

Thud…

He tossed it onto the table.

Five large characters on the cover stabbed into everyone's eyes: The Joyful Harmony Scripture.

He Pingsheng wore a wry smile. "The technique is good, Brother Lin—but this is a Joyful Harmony technique."

"The contents are complete—from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul!"

"But… this isn't the original."

"It's just a copy."

"Good!" Lin Zifang said. "I'll take it—as long as the transcription has no errors!"

He Pingsheng said: "There should be no errors. You can compare it with my original later."

Lin Zifang hastily snatched the copy, then pulled out the lower half of the formation and handed it to He Pingsheng.

Two jade slips.

"Brother Xu!" Lin Zifang said. "This isn't a copy—it's the original. My family's ancestral formation!"

He Pingsheng nodded.

Though he wondered why a cultivation family like Lin's, with a Nascent Soul ancestor, would let a disciple sell their top-tier formation, he said nothing.

It had nothing to do with him.

I'm just making a fair trade.

Thud…

He tossed the original back to Lin Zifang, letting him compare it himself.

He Pingsheng himself plunged his spiritual sense into the two jade slips.

The formation's name: The Formation Treasure Canon—plain and unadorned.

The upper half recorded the fundamental principles of formations, requiring comprehension.

The lower half recorded specific formation arrays—over four hundred major formations in total.

Since He Pingsheng had nothing better to do, he leisurely flipped through the pages.

Suddenly, he saw a blinding formation.

The moment he saw it, his body trembled slightly.

The formation was unique—composed of two circles.

One large, one small.

Together, they resembled a gourd.

Soul-Seizing Formation!

Long ago, that old bastard from Grand Void Gate used this exact formation to attempt soul-seizing on me.

Fortunately, it failed.

Huh…

He Pingsheng closed his eyes, steadied his emotions, then let his spiritual sense settle upon the formation.

After three breaths, he froze.

This…

Not a Soul-Seizing Formation?

It looked nearly identical to the one Grand Void Gate used back then!

Yet the name was utterly different.

This formation was called: The Heavenly Demon Soul-Integration Transmission Array.

A Transmission Array?

He Pingsheng took a deep breath, calmed himself, suppressed his emotions, and studied the array's overview.

The overview described the entire array.

After reading it, He Pingsheng suddenly felt ill.

His master's face reappeared before him.

His voice, his expression—fresh as yesterday.

"I don't ask you to revive Grand Void Gate—only to protect these disciples, so they won't be left wandering as wild cultivators with no home!"

"This is about intent, not deeds. If you promise, that's enough. If something unforeseen happens and you can't hold the sect, don't die clinging to it."

"But remember one thing: as long as the green mountains remain, firewood will never be lacking!"

"As long as you live, there's always hope!"

"Remember: if you can't win, run!"

Every word echoed as if spoken yesterday.

At this moment, the old man's terrifying, aged visage seemed gentle.

"Master…"

He Pingsheng's eyes grew slightly damp.

"Brother Xu… what's wrong?" Ling Zhi asked, noticing He Pingsheng's unsteadiness.

Everyone turned to look at He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng smiled, the moisture in his eyes vanishing instantly. "I saw a formation—it reminded me of my late master. I couldn't help but feel sorrow. Forgive my weakness, hehe…"

Bai Ni gave him a deep look. "Brother Xu is a man of true feeling—understandable."

He Pingsheng immediately tucked the formation into his storage pouch and stopped viewing it.

As for the Heavenly Demon Soul-Integration Transmission Array—it was simple: a transmission array.

Human and demonic races transmit their legacies differently.

How do humans do it?

Through oral transmission, records in texts and jade slips.

Demons are different.

Demonic techniques are passed through bloodline.

After birth, demonic offspring gradually awaken the innate talents within their blood.

No oral teaching needed. No errors possible.

So what was the purpose of the Heavenly Demon Soul-Integration Transmission Array?

Answer: to transmit human magical arts using demonic bloodline methods.

Around Golden Core formation, the transmission would awaken.

So all along, my master never intended to soul-seize me.

All along, my master always meant to pass the Grand Void Great Mystery Scripture to me.

But why? Why not just give it to me directly? Why go through all this trouble?

He Pingsheng couldn't understand.

But if my master did this, there must be his reason.

When I break through to Golden Core, I'll awaken the Grand Void Great Mystery Scripture's transmission—and then, my master's intent will be clear.

"Enough!"

Lin Zifang handed He Pingsheng the original Joyful Harmony Scripture. "Brother Xu—no errors at all!"

He Pingsheng tucked away the original: "Good."

"And this!" Lin Zifang tossed the Sacred Wood Shield over. "Brother Xu—here, take this back!"

He Pingsheng blinked in surprise: "You don't want it?"

"I don't need it!" Lin Zifang shook his head. "How can a man be too greedy? This Heaven-class Hehuan cultivation scripture is more than enough to exchange for my fifth-rank array scripture—I don't need any extra top-grade spiritual weapons at all!"

"Gentlemen, I've obtained what I came for. I'm leaving!"

With that, Lin Zifang hurried away.