Chapter 304: Extreme Yin Blue Gold

He Pingsheng's strike effortlessly shattered the opponent's two layers of defense.

Yet, the thunderous power on the banner had been entirely consumed by those two defensive light membranes.

The thunderous power was gone, but the pure force remained.

Puff…

The sharp metal tip of the banner pierced Red Lotus's left shoulder, then the immense force drove her body forward, slamming her into a nearby boulder with a thud.

"Puff…"

Red Lotus spat out a mouthful of blood and said: "Damn it… I know who you are now. You're He Pingsheng."

The Great Qi imperial family had long ago investigated every detail of He Pingsheng.

Including his spells, divine arts, weapons, and spiritual root.

So when He Pingsheng unveiled the Nine Radiant Dragon-Slaying Banner, Red Lotus immediately recognized his identity.

Too bad she couldn't beat him.

She couldn't beat him at all.

The opponent was too powerful.

"Still trying to run?" Seeing Red Lotus secretly crush the 【Life-Death Tablet】 to teleport away, He Pingsheng yanked the banner free with a reverse motion and swept it horizontally in one clean motion.

Puff—the instant cut severed Red Lotus's throat.

A large head fell into the damp, broken stones.

Red Lotus was dead.

Her storage bag was naturally taken by He Pingsheng.

Only after everything was done did the activated Life-Death Tablet dissolve into a white light, teleporting out only Red Lotus's headless body—her head remained permanently trapped within the Five Dragon Gully secret realm.

He Pingsheng, expressionless, retrieved the Nine Radiant Dragon-Slaying Banner and the storage bag.

The imperial family's disciples arrived one by one behind him.

"Damn… this man is incredibly brutal!"

"Yes!" someone echoed: "She only asked one question, and he immediately killed her!"

"Could he really kill such a beautiful female cultivator?"

"So cruel and heartless!"

"We must keep our distance from this cultivator!"

"Remember his face—everyone be careful!"

"If he attacks, don't hesitate—kill him on the spot!"

Hearing the imperial disciples' chatter, He Pingsheng found it amusing, then leapt away in a few swift bounds, leaving them far behind.

He leaped forward continuously.

The valley held no special features—only sheer cliffs and a valley stretching endlessly ahead.

Yet as he walked, He Pingsheng noticed a smaller valley branching off from the side.

Like a branch from a main trunk.

This smaller valley might contain something valuable.

But He Pingsheng did not enter it—he continued forward along the main valley.

After walking for two hours, there was still no sign of the valley's end, yet he had passed dozens of smaller side valleys.

Moreover, the golden spiritual energy in the valley grew increasingly dense.

He Pingsheng did not hesitate—he chose one of the side valleys and entered it.

Let's see what's inside these branching valleys.

Perhaps I'll find an unexpected reward.

The branching valley was much narrower than the main channel of Golden Dragon Gully.

Still, sheer cliffs rose on both sides, and the light here was dimmer than outside.

At first, He Pingsheng thought it was due to the terrain blocking the light, but as he walked further, he sensed something was wrong.

Because he caught a whiff of yin energy.

"There's yin demon energy here?" He Pingsheng frowned: "Isn't this supposed to be a golden-element valley?"

Never mind—keep going and see.

What puzzled He Pingsheng was that the deeper he went, the denser the yin demon energy became.

"Open…"

He Pingsheng channeled his magic power into his feet.

The Golden Pattern Cloud-Stepping Boots erupted in a burst of golden light, instantly increasing his speed.

The Golden Pattern Cloud-Stepping Boots enhanced speed in two ways.

One was explosive: a single burst reached five times normal speed.

For long-distance travel, speed increased only twofold.

Even double was sufficient for He Pingsheng.

This speed already exceeded ninety percent of the cultivators in the gorge.

Even moving at double speed, He Pingsheng walked for half an hour before reaching the valley's end.

At the valley's end, three sides were enclosed by cliffs.

At the base of one cliff lay a massive cave entrance, from which yin demon energy periodically erupted.

From here, the yin energy appeared extremely dense—almost black.

"This…" Seeing the black cave entrance, He Pingsheng drew a deep breath.

Don't underestimate yin demon energy.

Like spiritual energy, it doesn't arise randomly.

The only possible explanation for such dense yin demon energy is that something yin-demonic resides within this cave.

If that yin-demonic object is powerful enough, it's a treasure.

Should I go in and take a look?

He Pingsheng unleashed his spiritual sense—he decided to scout ahead before entering.

But as his spiritual sense swept inside, his face darkened.

Because He Pingsheng discovered that yin demon energy blocked spiritual sense.

Normally, without using the 【Dual Soul Pills】, his spiritual sense could extend five thousand zhang.

Yet here, deep underground, it barely reached five hundred zhang.

One-tenth!

And five hundred zhang wasn't enough to reach the cave's deepest interior.

He Pingsheng gritted his teeth and walked in.

…

He Pingsheng didn't know that, barely half an hour behind him, a group of people was rushing toward this location.

The group consisted of six people.

Leading them was a woman.

All six wore pale moon-white robes.

"Stay alert!" the lead woman urged as she moved forward, warning the five men behind her.

"Yes… Princess!"

The five men bowed in unison.

One asked: "Princess, can you tell us now?"

"Hmm!" The princess pressed her foot down, shooting forward ten zhang in an instant, landing on a massive boulder within the deep valley.

Whoosh… whoosh…

Behind her, the five men followed like shadows.

As she leapt, the princess said: "Last time my brother came here, he discovered a top-grade alchemical material beneath the ground—called 【Extreme Yin Blue Gold】…"

"【Extreme Yin Blue Gold】?"

Someone asked: "Princess, what exactly is this?"

The princess replied: "It's a rare alchemical material that can be fused into soul-nourishing magic treasures, greatly enhancing their soul-nourishing power!"

"Though classified as a yin artifact, carrying it long-term also grants protection against spiritual sense attacks!"

"Unfortunately…" the woman leapt as she spoke, "this Extreme Yin Blue Gold constantly emits yin demon energy, and has spawned a yin-demonic entity with a cultivation base equivalent to a human's Golden Core early stage."

"When my brother came last time, he didn't obtain the Extreme Yin Blue Gold—he was wounded by the yin-demonic entity and nearly died here!"

"This time, we'll set up an array—we'll surely capture the yin-demonic entity and claim the Extreme Yin Blue Gold!"

"With the Extreme Yin Blue Gold, my mother will…"