Chapter 313: The Ninth Imperial Prince: Why Did You Hit Me But Not Him?

"Comrade!"

"Comrade, comrade, comrade!"

"Stop!"

"Let's talk this over!"

Seeing He Pingsheng pull out another Jī Léi Talisman, the giant Long Jiao, already gravely wounded in the water, spoke up.

To He Pingsheng's surprise, this creature could actually speak human language?

"You can talk?"

He Pingsheng clutched the talisman in his hand; though he had not activated it, he dared not grow careless.

His spiritual sense extended outward, constantly locking onto the giant Long Jiao.

Should the creature make any move, he would activate the third-rank talisman.

If the creature was reasonable, he could save the third-rank talisman.

"Yes!" said the Long Jiao. "Comrade, you are unaware—after beast-kind enters the Dao of cultivation, we develop spiritual awareness. At Qi Refining, we understand human speech; at Foundation Establishment, we communicate with human cultivators via spiritual sense; and at Jin Dan, we can speak human language!"

"Beyond Nascent Soul, some beast-kind can even transform into human form!"

This truly struck a blind spot in He Pingsheng's knowledge—he had never known.

"Comrade, your strength is formidable—the most powerful Foundation Establishment I have ever seen!" the Long Jiao continued. "Here's an idea: since you want these fruits, let us split the three between us!"

"You take two, leave me one—how about that?"

The Long Jiao said: "To be honest with you, I am currently refining a Thunder Dao technique and need this Liè Yuán Léi Fruit to complete my final transformation!"

"I humbly beg your grace!"

He Pingsheng smiled. "Very well."

To obtain the fruit without burning through a third-rank talisman was naturally preferable.

As for three or two?

To He Pingsheng, it made little difference.

Even if he received two, he could still use the Treasure Gathering Basin to strengthen them into four.

Besides, crafting the Pò Huà Elixir doesn't require so many.

"When I take the fruit, you must not attack!" He Pingsheng warned the Long Jiao. "Otherwise, even if I cannot kill you, I can destroy this Liè Yuán Léi Fruit tree in an instant!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" said the Long Jiao. "Rest assured, when you take the fruit, I shall lie still at the bottom of the water!"

"If I make any move, you'll have time to react!"

The two reached an agreement.

Yet He Pingsheng still clutched the Jī Léi Talisman, leaping several times toward the mountain fissure.

"Comrade Long Jiao, may I ask—are you always lived here?"

He Pingsheng asked out of mere curiosity.

The Long Jiao replied: "No. Long ago, my master placed me here."

"Ah?"

He Pingsheng said: "You have a master? Then he must be of the imperial family?"

"Yes," said the Long Jiao. "But that was long ago. When he placed me in this secret realm, I was merely a small Foundation Establishment beast. Calculating precisely, fifteen hundred years have passed—my master is surely long dead."

"It's not just me!"

The Long Jiao continued: "Within the Five Dragon Gully, though the Five Elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—now each have their own domain, the Golden Dragon, Wood Dragon, Fire Dragon, and others were all placed here by the imperial family!"

"Merely to enhance the opportunities here."

He Pingsheng was left speechless.

So this secret realm was created by the imperial family.

Of course, not entirely created—just stocked with many things to increase opportunities for low-rank disciples.

"Thank you," He Pingsheng bowed.

The Long Jiao said: "Comrade, no need to thank me—I'll give you another opportunity."

"The Fire Dragon in the Fire Dragon Gully is the transformed remains of a fallen blood phoenix. It is said that after the phoenix's rebirth, an egg still lies within the Fire Dragon—after many years of gestation, its rebirth is imminent!"

"If you can enter the flames and retrieve the phoenix egg, hehehe…"

The Long Jiao did not continue, but smiled.

He Pingsheng said coolly: "Thank you."

Whether this was true or a trap laid by the dragon, it remained unknown.

No need to believe too readily.

Still, if an opportunity arose, he could go test it.

"Comrade, please take the immortal fruit. These fruits have no special properties—just store them in a jade box."

Splash…

As soon as he finished speaking, the Long Jiao truly plunged beneath the water.

He Pingsheng's spiritual sense extended outward, naturally locking onto it—but unless actively searching, it was extremely difficult to detect the giant Long Jiao hidden in the water.

Huh…

All prepared!

He Pingsheng took a deep breath, then leaped again, landing within the mountain fissure.

His entire spiritual sense was focused on locking the Long Jiao.

While harvesting the spirit fruit, he was at his weakest defensive moment—defense was low, but surveillance must be flawless.

He Pingsheng kept his gaze fixed on the Long Jiao while pulling out the jade box and snapping it open.

A thread of spiritual sense settled upon the silver thunder fruit.

One fruit detached from the tree and floated into the air.

"Collect…"

The fruit was sealed into He Pingsheng's jade box.

Throughout the collection of the Liè Yuán Léi Fruit, the Long Jiao beneath the water never moved.

Yet He Pingsheng still did not lower his guard.

He continued locking the Long Jiao with his spiritual sense while gathering the fruit.

The second fruit was collected the same way, placed into the jade box.

He Pingsheng was a man of honor—he took the two fruits and immediately retreated from the mountain fissure.

The Long Jiao beneath the water sighed in relief.

But the instant He Pingsheng landed on the cliff after collecting the two fruits, sudden change erupted.

In the distance, several swift leaps brought a man clad in pale white Daoist robes to land squarely before He Pingsheng.

"Liè Yuán Léi Fruit?"

"Good heavens—it's a fully mature Liè Yuán Léi Fruit!"

"Hehe… good fortune indeed!"

"Kid, I saw you just now—you took two, didn't you?"

This man was none other than the Ninth Imperial Prince.

Though he arrived after He Pingsheng had already stored the fruit, his spiritual sense had arrived before his body—he had seen clearly He Pingsheng collecting the two fruits.

"Correct!"

He Pingsheng admitted frankly: "I took two."

"Fine!" said the Ninth Imperial Prince. "Don't you dare run—wait here…"

"I'll deal with you after I take this fruit!"

The Ninth Imperial Prince's plan was simple: all three fruits are mine.

Imperial property cannot fall into the hands of a lowly scoundrel like you!

As he spoke, he leaped again toward the final thunder fruit.

But halfway through his leap—

Splash! The Long Jiao burst from the water.

"Roar…" A tremendous roar accompanied a massive tail sweeping through the air, smashing the Ninth Imperial Prince clean away with a thud.

Fortunately, the Ninth Imperial Prince was indeed formidable—he activated his defense at the critical moment, so he merely spat out a few mouthfuls of blood before being flung onto the cliff.

"Jin Dan beast?" the Ninth Imperial Prince wiped blood from his lips. "Damn it…"

"You beast, without reason—why did you ignore him when he took the fruit, but attack me when I try?"