Chapter 300: Spiritual Sense Clash

The large ship slowly came to a stop.

He Pingsheng packed his belongings and stepped out of the cabin.

He looked outward—surrounding him were layered mountains, with only the ground beneath him flat.

This flat expanse was enormous, spanning a thousand zhang in diameter, a vast artificial plaza.

On the plaza, seventeen or eighteen massive airships had already landed.

They all appeared to be vessels from other major commanderies.

Around the plaza, numerous cultivators sat cross-legged, waiting for the opening of the 【Five Dragon Gorge Secret Realm】.

After all, there were still two months until the Five Dragon Gorge Secret Realm opened.

Some disciples had set up stalls on the plaza, selling various items.

The plaza was bustling with activity.

He Pingsheng descended slowly.

"Comrade Xu, hello…"

A pleasant voice reached him.

He Pingsheng, just stepping off the ship, turned and saw an extremely beautiful female cultivator.

She wore a blue robe—the very Su Zhen who had sold him the qualification token.

"Comrade Su?" He Pingsheng was also surprised.

Didn't I buy her qualification token? How does she still have one?

But after a moment's thought, he understood—her tone back then made it clear she held more than one token.

"Comrade Su," He Pingsheng asked, "You're at the eleventh layer of Foundation Establishment. After obtaining the Jipin 【Chaoyuan Elixir】, why not consume it immediately to break through? Why come here?"

This was what He Pingsheng couldn't understand.

"Hehe…" Su Zhen smiled. "To be honest, Comrade Xu, I'm here to retrieve something from this secret realm—something very important!"

Fine.

He Pingsheng didn't press further.

He had no interest in knowing exactly what it was.

"Comrade Xu!" Su Zhen asked, "Would you be interested in forming a team to enter the secret realm together?"

He Pingsheng shook his head: "No… I'd prefer to go in alone."

He didn't want to team up with a stranger.

"Alright!" Su Zhen said, "Then I wish you good fortune, Brother Xu!"

With that, Su Zhen departed.

He Pingsheng wandered the plaza, then approached a nearby stall.

Many people had set up stalls selling goods.

"Maps for sale… maps…"

"Map of the Five Dragon Gorge Secret Realm!"

"Leaked from the imperial household!"

At one stall, dozens of jade slips lay displayed—all maps.

Many gathered around the stall.

He Pingsheng also approached.

After all, if he had a map, he could learn something about the Five Dragon Gorge Secret Realm in advance.

So far, he understood nothing about the secret realm.

He had no idea what lay inside—whether it was square or round, long or short.

He knew nothing at all!

Of course, not just He Pingsheng didn't know—most Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't either, since the secret realm opened only once every hundred years.

Previously, only imperial household disciples were admitted; it rarely opened to outsiders.

It was natural that outsiders knew nothing of the Five Dragon Gorge Secret Realm.

"How much?" someone asked.

The vendor replied, "Ten thousand low-grade spirit stones per map."

"What…"

"Too expensive!"

"Is this map even real?"

"How can you guarantee its authenticity?"

Others weren't fools.

But the vendor was blunt: "I can't guarantee it. Buy if you want, don't if you don't!"

At the edge of the plaza, on a black immortal vessel.

On deck stood a Daoist nun in green robes.

The nun was none other than Jingxin Elder, one of the three chief elders of the Red Stone City.

Jingxin Elder was at the first layer of Nascent Soul.

She stood on deck, yet her spiritual sense surged outward, engulfing the entire plaza.

Unintentionally, she spotted He Pingsheng.

"Him?"

Jingxin's pupils contracted slightly; her expression darkened.

Previously, she had deliberately obstructed He Pingsheng to vent her frustration.

Yet this brat had come too?

How had he gotten here?

Jingxin stared for a long while—but she was a great Nascent Soul.

After thinking, she understood.

In her view, He Pingsheng could only have arrived in two ways.

First, someone had secretly given him a qualification token.

But unlikely—she had checked everyone boarding and disembarking, and hadn't seen him.

Then it was simple.

Second, He Pingsheng had obtained a token in another commandery.

"Hmph…" Jingxin sneered. "Xu Kunlun, Qiao Huizhu…"

"Fine, fine, fine…"

"So what if you came?"

"Let's see how I cut you down!"

Jingxin wouldn't dare kill him in public.

But that didn't matter.

She could do it secretly.

Boom…

Her massive spiritual sense suddenly coalesced and slammed toward He Pingsheng, hundreds of zhang away.

He Pingsheng, standing beside the stall and about to buy a map, felt a powerful spiritual sense assault strike his mind sea.

"Puh…"

He spat blood immediately, his face pale.

In his mind sea, the nine spiritual shields trembled violently.

"Damn it…" He Pingsheng snapped his head up, staring toward the direction of the attack.

He saw a black vessel, and on its deck stood a woman: Jingxin.

"It's you…" He Pingsheng trembled.

Had he not possessed the spiritual shields formed by the 【Purple Mansion Nine Shields Technique】, that attack would have killed him outright.

Clearly, this wasn't just about giving him a lesson—it was an attempt to murder him.

Huh…

Without hesitation, He Pingsheng pulled out a Jipin 【Shenshen Elixir】 and swallowed it whole.

If you want me dead!

Then there's nothing left to say.

Let's see who dies.

He Pingsheng took a deep breath, feeling his spiritual sense rapidly swell.

He was currently at the eleventh layer of Foundation Establishment, with a spiritual sense of five thousand five hundred zhang.

With a tenfold surge, his spiritual sense should have reached over fifty thousand zhang.

But!

Something went wrong.

It didn't reach fifty thousand zhang.

In the end, He Pingsheng's spiritual sense only increased to around twenty thousand zhang—and stopped growing.

That doesn't make sense!

When my spiritual sense reached a thousand zhang, it surged to ten thousand zhang.

Now at five thousand zhang, it should have grown to fifty thousand zhang—why is it only twenty thousand?

He Pingsheng could not fathom it.

Across from him, Jingxin was equally baffled.

"That's not right!" she stared at He Pingsheng, murmuring to herself: "He's merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator—I can obliterate him with a single flick of my spiritual sense!"

Why did it fail?

Did I just miss?

"Hmm… it must be so… let me try again… boy… your time is up…"

Huh…

Jingxin drew a deep breath, then fixed her gaze on He Pingsheng, a smile curling on her lips.

Boom…

Her spiritual sense coalesced once more.

But before her spiritual attack could strike, an invisible spiritual nail pierced her mind sea.

"Ahh…" Jingxin cried out in agony.

Then…

Puff… puff… puff… puff… puff…

Six more nails stabbed into her mind sea.