Chapter 332: Deceiving Heaven, Escaping the Trap

There were four or five princes who entered the secret realm this time.

And over a hundred royal disciples entered the secret realm.

Under the command of the Thirteenth Imperial Prince, they all converged toward this spot.

They were waiting for He Pingsheng to emerge, then launch a collective attack.

…

Within the fire dragon, there was a tiny space.

The space was cylindrical, about one zhang in diameter at the base.

On this one-zhang ground lay an oval egg with a gray shell.

The gray shell bore streaks of crimson patterns, like subterranean magma, flickering with fire-elemental Daoist runes.

"Is this the Phoenix Egg?"

He Pingsheng's heart pounded with excitement, his whole body trembling slightly.

The Phoenix Egg was about a foot long, oval, resting on the crimson ground.

Around the Phoenix Egg were clusters of fire-elemental crystals.

He didn't know what these crystals were, but he could tell each one contained abundant fire-elemental Daoist energy.

Just like the ice-elemental Daoist energy within the 【Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow】.

These were all derivatives of the Fire Dragon or Ice Dragon.

Huh…

He Pingsheng took a deep breath.

He did not rush to collect the Phoenix Egg or the red crystals; instead, he looked outward.

Amazingly, within the Fire Dragon, he was unaffected by the tidal forces outside—and his spiritual sense could now extend outward.

Every blade of grass and tree outside was clear to him.

Of course, he still could not see through the sea of fire.

But he clearly saw how the Thirteenth Imperial Prince had gathered over a hundred disciples waiting outside.

Now the question was: what to do?

Fight our way out?

Don't be foolish!

There are too many people outside.

Even if a true Golden Core cultivator arrived, he could not fight over a hundred Foundation Establishment peak disciples at once.

He Pingsheng was certain: the moment he stepped out, he'd be reduced to ash in an instant.

There'd be no chance to escape.

What if he swallowed the Twin Divine Pills and launched a spiritual sense attack?

Also impossible!

He could summon at most seven Wu Xiang Beidou Nails—enough to kill seven people at most.

What about the remaining hundred-plus?

Would he still not be killed?

He needed to think carefully about how to handle the situation outside.

He Pingsheng sat within this space roughly one zhang across, beginning to think.

But this was nearly a dead end—there were almost no means for him to escape.

He thought for half a day straight, yet came up with nothing.

The only way to survive was to throw the Phoenix Egg out.

But if he threw it out, wouldn't he be doing someone else's work for them?

Wait!

He Pingsheng frowned: "I've got it!"

He stared at the Phoenix Egg: first, store it in the Treasure Basin, then stay inside the Fire Dragon and use the Treasure Basin to enhance it!

Enhancement wasn't necessary—but he could turn one into two.

Then, when he walked out carrying the Phoenix Egg, he'd return it to the imperial family and secretly keep one for himself.

That could work.

True, he'd lose one.

But he'd gain one!

Good… let's do it!

With this thought, He Pingsheng no longer hesitated—he waved his hand and collected the Phoenix Egg.

After taking the Phoenix Egg, the pile of crimson crystals that had supported it now seemed superfluous.

"Hmm…"

Collect…

He Pingsheng gathered all the crimson crystals into his storage ring.

He even worried the fire-elemental rules within the crystals might be too strong, burning through the ring.

The result proved otherwise.

Thinking about it, it made sense.

Fire crystals were at most fourth-rank items, no stronger than Ice Marrow.

If a supreme storage ring couldn't hold fourth-rank fire crystals, it'd be utterly useless.

Next came the waiting.

Wait until nightfall!

Once night came, he could enhance the Phoenix Egg.

But an unexpected event occurred.

After he took the crystals and the Phoenix Egg, the fire-elemental rules and aura of the Fire Dragon suddenly dropped by twenty percent.

The Fire Dragon, after absorbing tidal energy, had been no more than eighty zhang tall.

He Pingsheng noticed this change—and so did the cultivators outside.

"This…"

The first to notice was Mingyu True Person of the Tianwang Immortal Sect—he exclaimed in shock: "The Fire Dragon has shrunk!"

"The fire-elemental power here has weakened!"

"We…"

"We can now enter within ten zhang of the Fire Dragon to retrieve the Phoenix Feathers!"

As soon as he spoke, countless cultivators turned toward the Fire Dragon.

"Heavens, it really has weakened!"

"Wonderful!"

"We can enter too!"

Thousands of cultivators standing at the fire's edge clenched their fists, eager to move.

The Thirteenth Imperial Prince's face turned pale: "Bad… damn it! He must have taken something from inside—that's why the Fire Dragon's power has weakened!"

"Yes!" the Ninth Imperial Prince nodded.

The Thirteenth Imperial Prince glanced outside at the restless cultivators and shouted loudly: "All of you, I warn you—do not intrude!"

"Otherwise, my imperial clan…"

His words had barely ended when over a dozen cultivators simultaneously charged into the sea of fire.

"How dare you…" the Thirteenth Imperial Prince roared: "Kill them!"

But before the imperial clan could act, even more cultivators rushed in.

Once someone leads, the rest follow.

Instantly, thousands of cultivators surged into the sea of fire.

The entire fire sea boiled over.

Inside, He Pingsheng was overjoyed: Hahaha… perfect chance to stir up chaos.

He did not rush out; instead, he first transformed himself into an ordinary female cultivator using the 【Jin Lan Treasure Robe】, then leapt out from within the Golden Dragon's space.

The sea of fire blocked spiritual sense, and now there were thousands of cultivators within it.

Who would notice me?

Hehehe…

I've escaped!

He Pingsheng did not rush out.

He remained within the sea of fire, observing.

Many had entered within ten zhang due to the weakened fire, and the Phoenix Feathers were quickly divided among them.

Some even penetrated the core of the Fire Dragon.

Most, lacking fire-elemental or water-elemental roots, were simply swept away by the tidal waves.

He Pingsheng rode the tidal current along with them, carried out of the fire.

He entered as a man; he emerged as a woman—no one, no matter how hard they thought, would suspect this woman was He Pingsheng.

Outside, the faces of the imperial family disciples turned as dark as soot.

"Thirteenth Brother!" the Ninth Imperial Prince said. "Someone else has entered the Golden Dragon! If we don't move now, everything inside will be snatched away!"

"That's right!"

"Exactly, Thirteenth Imperial Prince, let's go too!"

"Go!" said the Thirteenth Imperial Prince. "Keep your eyes wide open—once you spot that bastard, kill him on the spot!"