Chapter 294: Shocking Reactions Across the Land

The Mi family of Mount Tianqiang received no results, so He Pingsheng returned to his elixir shop.

From then on, he cultivated elixirs and studied arrays.

Half of Qiao Huizhu's problem was resolved, but his own problem became apparent.

Rare treasures and precious herbs.

Breaking through a bottleneck.

Yet this was nearly impossible in Hongshi County, for the nearest mature resource to break a bottleneck would not be ready for another twenty-eight years.

He Pingsheng could wait, but he did not want to wait.

"Enough!" In his courtyard, he gazed at the sky and took a deep breath: "I'll wait a little longer, then travel to other counties—perhaps fortune will find me!"

"I'm about to break through too!"

Leaving Hongshi County might be a good choice.

A month later, as He Pingsheng was preparing to settle Cheng Daocai and Xiaohe, the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect's Biyun Xianzi suddenly arrived.

"Senior!" He Pingsheng was surprised but quickly bowed.

Biyun Xianzi beamed and said: "No need for formalities, Xu Kunlun—I have good news!"

He Pingsheng: "Good news!"

"Yes!" Biyun said: "Come inside—we'll talk!"

"This matter is of great importance!"

He Pingsheng nodded and led Biyun Xianzi to his cultivation hall.

The two sat down, host and guest.

Biyun asked: "Is it safe to speak here?"

He Pingsheng smiled and said: "Outside my house are three third-rank arrays: a Spirit-Blocking Array, a Defense Array, and a Warning Array."

"Senior, is it secure enough?"

Biyun was slightly startled: "More than enough."

"The timing of the secret realm's opening has been confirmed!"

"Oh?" He Pingsheng's eyes lit up: "Senior, you mean the Five Dragon Gully Secret Realm? How long until it opens?"

Last time, Xiao Yaozi said the Five Dragon Gully Secret Realm opened only once every six hundred years!

Ten cycles of sixty years.

"My master's information was inaccurate," Biyun said: "The 【Black-White-Azure-Yellow Lotus】 does indeed exist within the secret realm, and it does take ten cycles to mature."

"But the secret realm does not open only once every six hundred years!"

"It opens once every hundred years!"

"However, under normal circumstances, cultivators are forbidden from entering the pond where the Black-White Lotus grows."

"Imperial personnel guard it."

"And the next opening of the secret realm coincides precisely with the Black-White Lotus's maturation!"

"Wonderful! Wonderful!"

"It's fate—everything feels as if it were prepared in advance!"

He Pingsheng asked: "Then how long until the next opening?"

"Eleven years," Biyun Xianzi said: "Only eleven years left… huff…"

"Uh…"

"Little Xu!"

"I'd like to discuss something with you!"

"Our ancestral elder's wish is this: could you wait?" Biyun looked at He Pingsheng: "You know only Foundation Establishment cultivators may enter the secret realm, and to obtain the Black-White Lotus, we must rely on you!"

"If we sent Zhang Qi or Wuqiong, you wouldn't trust them, would you?"

"Besides, your spiritual sense is powerful and your combat strength unmatched—you'd hold every advantage inside the realm!"

"The only drawback is you'd lose eleven years of cultivation."

"Are you willing?"

Biyun watched He Pingsheng.

Eleven years!

He Pingsheng smiled: "Of course I can wait. Whatever the outcome, I'm willing to fight for my sister."

Not to mention he ought to do so.

Even just for what Qiao Huizhu did for him—dispelling her own Qi—He Pingsheng could not refuse.

Besides, there were no pills to break his bottleneck anyway.

Eleven years? Fine.

Foundation Establishment cultivators live two hundred years; He Pingsheng was only fifty-one now.

Eleven years from now, he'd still be in his sixties.

Among Foundation Establishment disciples, that was still extremely young.

"Excellent! Excellent!" Biyun said: "Don't worry—our ancestral elder promised he'll personally seek out the rare treasures to break your bottleneck!"

He Pingsheng's eyes gleamed.

If that were true, it wouldn't be bad.

A Soul Transformation elder's intervention—wouldn't a third-rank rare treasure be easy to obtain?

…

The Great Qi Empire, Imperial Capital!

In a grand hall, a senior cultivator with jet-black hair but snow-white temples stood near the entrance, inside the hall.

His eyes half-lidded, gazing at the sky beyond the hall.

"It should be here!"

He murmured to himself.

After roughly ten breaths, a streak of light flew in from outside and landed precisely before the hall.

"Master…"

The arrival was a woman.

She bowed to the white-temples elder.

If He Pingsheng were here, he'd recognize her instantly—the white-haired cultivator who had searched for him: Long Yuan Dao Ren.

"Rise."

Long Yuan Dao Ren drew a deep breath: "Come inside."

Master and disciple entered the hall.

Long Yuan rushed to ask: "Tell me—who was the one who endured the Eight-Nine Heavenly Tribulation in Hongshi City?"

The woman replied: "Confirmed beyond doubt—it was Qiao Huizhu."

"And specifically, Qiao Huizhu of Tianfu Mountain in Dingxiang County!"

"Crack…"

Long Yuan Dao Ren slammed his hand onto a nearby stone bench.

The bench shattered instantly.

"Damn it!" Long Yuan cursed: "All those years of interference, yet they still slipped through—I knew they'd vanished for so long, but I never guessed they'd fled to the Liang Kingdom!"

"Eight-Nine Heavenly Tribulation… Eight-Nine Heavenly Tribulation…"

"Hahahaha!"

"Of course!"

"A true man of great fortune…"

Long Yuan Dao Ren's gaze was piercingly sharp.

The woman said: "Master… isn't the Eight-Nine Tribulation merely a mid-tier sign of great fortune?"

"It shouldn't be the Nine-Dragon Destiny."

"Of course not!" Long Yuan said: "I've reviewed Qiao Huizhu's records—back then in Dingxiang's governor's mansion, she saw only six dragons."

"With six-dragon destiny, she could never have drawn the Eight-Nine Tribulation!"

"Thus, her fortune was not innate—it was acquired later."

The woman asked: "Master, you mean her fortune came from… He Pingsheng?"

"I can't be certain, but it's highly likely," Long Yuan said: "Do you have any news of He Pingsheng?"

"None," the woman replied: "But it's said Qiao Huizhu's partner is named Xu Kunlun!"

"Xu Kunlun?" Long Yuan paused, then burst into laughter: "I understand… He Pingsheng… He Kunlun… Xu Kunlun…"

"It's him—no doubt!"

"Either He Pingsheng or Wang Dun must be a man of great fortune!"

…

"All that talk of yours? Nonsense!"

Elsewhere, in the Liang Kingdom's capital.

In a gilded hall, an elderly man with white hair looked at the dozen great cultivators before him and blurted: "I ask you—what do you know about destiny?"

The others exchanged glances.

Someone bowed and said, "May I ask the Ancestor?"

The Ancestor smiled and said, "What is called destiny is this: eleven years from now, when this secret realm opens, no matter how tightly we guard it, the 【Black and White Lotus Root】 will ultimately reach the girl's hands through channels you cannot foresee!"

"This is destiny!"

"It cannot be severed!"

"It cannot be blocked!"

"Do you understand?"