Chapter 303: Metal Gully, Slashing Hong Lian

The sky suddenly blazed bright.

Before He Pingsheng was a narrow valley, flanked by towering mountains that pierced the clouds.

All sheer cliffs.

Only directly above could one see a patch of sky.

This was a valley—or rather, a gully.

Before He Pingsheng could even take a proper look, he suddenly found his body plummeting uncontrollably downward.

What's happening?

Can't I fly with my sword?

He Pingsheng was stunned, then his vast spiritual sense erupted, trying to control the sword beneath his feet.

But it was impossible.

Flight with a sword was forbidden.

From afar, those who had flown in with him were all falling like dumplings dropped into boiling water, cascading down from the void.

He Pingsheng looked down—he was a hundred zhang above the ground.

"Damn it…" Even he felt a chill run down his spine: what if he hit the ground?

"Open…"

"Open…"

"Open, damn it!"

Upon realizing something was wrong, the surrounding cultivators frantically pulled out magic treasures to activate defenses.

He Pingsheng wasn't worried—he still wore the 【Seven-Clasp Sharp Metal Armor】.

Thud…

Two breaths later, He Pingsheng slammed hard onto a massive boulder at the valley floor.

Fortunately, his defense activated in time, sparing him from being crushed.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator could die from a fall.

It just depended on how high you fell from.

Thud…

Thud-thud-thud…

Around him, cultivators kept landing with curses.

Fortunately, everyone had defenses—no one died.

But some were unlucky, breaking arms or legs.

Others were unharmed upon landing, then shut off their defensive shields—only to be crushed by cultivators falling from above, their flesh splitting open instantly.

"Damn it… no flight allowed here, and that old bastard didn't even warn us!"

"Exactly! The imperial family's disciples didn't even enter—they must've been warned in advance!"

The surrounding cultivators cursed loudly.

He Pingsheng ignored them—he stepped forward, covering dozens of zhang in a single stride, leaping several times until he left that empty space.

To avoid being hit by falling cultivators.

After moving a distance from the entrance, He Pingsheng didn't rush away. Instead, he stood atop a massive boulder and extended his spiritual sense to probe the surroundings.

Clearly, this realm was shrouded by an array, and above that array lay rules that had altered the flight laws here—making flight impossible.

Though flight was forbidden, cultivators could still leap over dozens of zhang with ease.

In the void, spiritual energy was exceptionally dense.

But He Pingsheng noticed this dense energy was pure, singular.

Over ninety percent of it was 【Golden Spiritual Energy】.

Though He Pingsheng had no map of this place, he knew some basic facts about the Five Dragon Gully Realm.

For instance, the origin of its name: 【Five Dragon Gully】.

It was because there were five connected valleys here, each corresponding to: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth.

In each gully resided a dragon.

Each dragon had a different elemental nature—here in the Metal Gully, naturally, was the 【Golden Dragon】.

These dragons weren't true dragons—just a name.

Some said the so-called Golden Dragon was merely a mass of metallic primal substance.

What exactly it was, He Pingsheng didn't know.

All he knew was that it existed.

Thus, the dense golden spiritual energy here was clearly tied to this so-called Golden Dragon.

The Metal Gully was rich in all kinds of metal-elemental heavenly treasures.

These items generally had little use in pill refining, but were excellent for weapon forging—in short, they were rich in forging materials.

"Cut…"

At that moment, beneath a cliff ahead, a cultivator activated his sword and slashed fiercely at the rock wall.

Whoosh…

Rocks shattered and flew everywhere.

When the rock cracked open, those who peered inside gasped in shock.

"Spirit stones…"

"Heavens… this is a spirit stone mine!"

"Sssss…"

"Spirit stone mine?" He Pingsheng's eyes lit up; he leapt several times and landed near the cultivator.

Already, a crowd had gathered here.

The cultivator swiftly swung his sword again and again—spirit stones poured out like water.

It was a small spirit stone mine.

Roughly a few million low-grade spirit stones had been extracted—all claimed by that one cultivator.

Those around him drooled with envy.

These were spirit stones—currency in the cultivation world.

Remember, everyone here was Foundation Establishment—none were this wealthy.

"I'll take a look too…"

"Cut…"

Another cultivator slashed at the nearby rock wall, hoping to find even one or two more spirit stone veins.

Unfortunately, none appeared.

"Let's go…" Some secretly followed the cultivator who had just found the mine.

He Pingsheng had no interest in the spirit stone mine.

He came here to find the Black-White-Yellow-Green Lotus Root.

Besides, he had plenty of spirit stones—he didn't care about this.

At that moment, the imperial family's disciples in moon-white robes began entering the realm.

Among them, He Pingsheng spotted a woman clad in red Daoist robes.

This is…

He Pingsheng's pupils narrowed: Long Yuan?

Of course not Long Yuan—he remembered clearly that after Long Yuan's spiritual sense was injured on the square, it was this red-robed woman who had helped him leave.

Who is she?

Long Yuan's disciple?

Someone from the Great Qi imperial family?

He Pingsheng didn't care who she was—he was about to leap forward when she bounded over and landed beside him.

"Esteemed fellow cultivator!"

Hong Lian bowed to He Pingsheng and said: "If I'm not mistaken, you entered earlier than most, correct?"

He Pingsheng smiled and nodded: "Indeed."

He had altered his appearance, so Hong Lian not recognizing him was normal.

Hong Lian asked: "Might I ask, have you seen this person?"

Hum…

As she spoke, she pulled out a jade slip, infused it with magic power, and an image appeared.

It was He Pingsheng's portrait.

"Oh…" He Pingsheng smirked: "Isn't this… Xu Kunlun?"

Hong Lian stirred with excitement: "You know him?"

"Of course I do!" He Pingsheng grinned, then suddenly pulled out a massive banner and slammed it straight at Hong Lian without warning.

Supreme Spirit Artifact: Nine Radiance Dragon-Slaying Banner.

Spell: Grand Banner Rolling Thunder Technique.

Hong Lian reacted instantly—upon He Pingsheng's attack, she activated a second-grade talisman in one motion.

With a bang, the talisman formed a light membrane.

At the same time, she unleashed a defensive spell with her magic power, forming another light membrane.

The two layers of light membranes formed a defense.

He Pingsheng's flag, carrying a bolt of lightning, slammed violently into the light membranes.

Bang…

The first layer of light membrane shattered.

Bang… the second layer shattered too.