Chapter 315: Hand Over the Treasures

"This…"

"Poisoned!"

"Damn… you're a poison cultivator…"

"I…"

The ninth prince, trapped in the thorn thicket, instantly turned ashen and collapsed, poisoned into unconsciousness.

He Pingsheng exhaled in relief.

Finally won.

That damn prince was truly hard to deal with.

Hmm…

Let's see what good items he's got on him!

He Pingsheng took a deep breath and leapt carefully to the cliff edge where the prince lay.

Just as he cautiously reached for the prince's storage ring, the already unconscious ninth prince suddenly opened his eyes.

A burst of red flame erupted from his body.

Boom…

A wave of flame burned away all the thorns surrounding him.

Then, a blood-red treasure blade slashed toward He Pingsheng.

The blade was a full zhang long, spewing flames.

The ninth prince had never been dead.

He had feigned unconsciousness to launch a surprise attack.

This time, He Pingsheng had truly been fooled.

He had no time to summon any defensive magic treasure.

He could only hastily activate the technique: Golden Shield with his golden spiritual force.

The Golden Shield was strong, absorbing most of the prince's attack.

Yet five percent of the force still struck He Pingsheng's body.

He Pingsheng was instantly flung backward.

He was a body-refining cultivator, with an immensely powerful physique.

Naturally, he was unharmed.

"Hahahaha…" the ninth prince laughed loudly: "I am a royal prince—do you think I lack a simple antidote treasure?"

"Now… let's see how you'll manage."

"Cut…"

The prince raised his long blade once more and slammed it toward He Pingsheng.

This strike seemed to stir the very rules of reality, sealing off the space around He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng tried to flee, but for some reason, the space around him was like thick glue, pinning him in place.

"Rule treasure?" He Pingsheng abandoned escape.

"Open…"

In an instant, he changed his attire, replacing his Seven-Clasp Sharp Gold Armor with the supreme magic treasure: Fire Essence Blood Mirror Armor.

Boom…

Countless fire spiritual forces surged into the Fire Essence Blood Mirror Armor.

A crimson armor phantom appeared around He Pingsheng's body.

Thud…

The blade's force struck the armor phantom but failed to even halve its defense.

"Good treasure…" the prince said: "Who are you? How do you have so many treasures?"

He Pingsheng waved his hand and pulled out another treasure.

Supreme spiritual artifact: Soul-Extinction Bell.

"Go…"

His magic power surged into it; the palm-sized Soul-Extinction Bell instantly expanded to a foot wide. He shook it hard, sending an invisible mental attack toward the ninth prince.

Spiritual sense attack.

He Pingsheng could have used the Formless North Star Nail instead, but he had already used it once and suffered significant spiritual sense depletion.

If he forced it now, he could kill the prince—but he would need to swallow a supreme Soul-Returning Pill afterward to restore his soul energy.

Too costly.

So He Pingsheng chose the Soul-Extinction Bell.

Puff…

The prince was struck by the bell and instantly spat blood; a blue jade pendant on his chest cracked open.

"Stop!"

"Brother, stop!"

"Don't fight anymore!"

The ninth prince stared at He Pingsheng in terror: "I am a royal prince—I bear a divine curse. If you kill me, a mark will appear on your head. When you leave this secret realm, you will die for certain!"

"Brother… let's talk this through!"

The ninth prince, as a prince, carried many treasures.

Not only did he have poison-resistant items, but also ones that blocked spiritual sense attacks.

Unfortunately, the item that blocked soul attacks had just shattered.

If He Pingsheng used the Soul-Extinction Bell again, he would surely be slain.

So the ninth prince had no choice but to call for a halt.

He Pingsheng inverted the Soul-Extinction Bell in his hand and smiled at the ninth prince: "You think I won't kill you?"

"No no no…" the prince said: "Brother, killing me isn't worth it!"

"We… uh… can negotiate!"

"Good!" He Pingsheng loved to negotiate.

He waved his hand and summoned the Eight-Treasure Boat.

The Eight-Treasure Boat landed on the water's surface!

He Pingsheng stepped onto the bow and called to the ninth prince on the cliff: "Come—let's talk!"

Soon, both sat on the boat's bow.

Night was falling; the sun had not yet set, but the valley already felt like dusk.

Pitch-black water. Pitch-black sky.

He Pingsheng said: "You attacked me to steal my treasures—I acted in self-defense."

"Regardless, I was not the first to strike!"

"Yes," the prince said: "I underestimated your combat strength."

"Now that I've lost, tell me—what do you want?"

He Pingsheng said: "That red blade of yours just now was impressive."

"No!" the prince said: "I'm not unwilling to part with it—it was gifted by my father. If I lose it, I'll die, and so will you!"

"Choose something else!"

Though at a disadvantage, the prince remained calm.

Besides the blade, he had a spear.

But He Pingsheng had no need for a spear.

He already possessed the Heaven-Defect Divine Spear.

"How about this?" the prince offered: "I have many spirit herbs—many second-rank, a few third-rank heavenly treasures!"

"Take them all!"

He Pingsheng didn't even glance at the herbs—only waved his hand dismissively: "No… I have no interest in spirit herbs."

"How many of those speed-boosting talismans did you use when chasing me? Give them all to me!"

That was a valuable item.

At critical moments, whether fleeing, chasing, or seizing treasures, it was a powerful tool.

If reinforced with the Treasure Basin and paired with the Golden Pattern Cloud-Treading Boots beneath my feet, it could make me faster than the wind.

"Fine!" The prince didn't hesitate—he pulled out three talismans: "These are Speed Talismans, third-rank."

"Stuck on the body, they double the speed of Foundation Establishment cultivators!"

"For Jin Dan cultivators, they only increase speed by half."

He Pingsheng was overjoyed: This was perfect.

"Good!" He Pingsheng took the three Speed Talismans: "Then I won't be polite."

"Hmm," the prince said: "Third-rank talismans are valuable—you've made a great deal."

"Brother, can you let me go now?"

"You've taken many of my treasures—I doubt you'd want my meager items."

He Pingsheng smiled and continued: "Don't rush—how do you know what I won't want?"

He scanned the Ninth Imperial Prince from head to toe and said, "Bring out that treasure of yours that wards off poison—I'm interested in it!"