Chapter 355

After a brief battle, He Pingsheng could basically conclude: this Jingxin Elder's combat power was terribly weak.

It was practically the weakest of the weak.

A bottom-tier Nascent Soul cultivator.

Yet even such a pitiful being was beyond the reach of his mere Foundation Establishment Stage One.

The gap between realms was too vast to bridge.

He Pingsheng felt he'd only have a chance to tangle with this woman once his cultivation reached Foundation Establishment Stage Six or higher—or if he mastered the 【Five Elements Unified Force】 and the teleportation technique.

Right now, if properly prepared, he could at least ensure he wouldn't lose.

But killing her was nearly impossible.

To slay a Nascent Soul cultivator at the early stage, He Pingsheng believed he'd need at least Foundation Establishment Stage Five or Six.

Of course, all this was merely his speculation.

Right now, as a Foundation Establishment Stage One cultivator, he definitely couldn't defeat her.

If he couldn't defeat her, he could only intimidate.

So He Pingsheng pulled out a fourth-rank teleportation talisman.

"This…?" Jingxin gasped in shock: "This… this carries spatial Dao fluctuations—it's a fourth-rank talisman, a fourth-rank Dao talisman…"

Though she didn't recognize the talisman in He Pingsheng's hand, she still possessed basic knowledge.

For instance, she could identify it as fourth-rank.

She could also sense the spatial law energy emanating from it.

"Exactly!" He Pingsheng continued to bluff: "This is a spatial Dao talisman. Once activated, it unleashes a surge of spatial law energy and instantly annihilates you."

If he could scare Jingxin off, perfect. If not, he'd just activate the talisman and leave.

Worst case, he'd waste one talisman.

"Hehe…" Jingxin sneered coldly: "You're trying to scare me, aren't you?"

He Pingsheng's heart jolted: No way, was he found out?

But Jingxin went on: "This is undoubtedly a fourth-rank talisman, but you're only a Foundation Establishment Stage One cultivator—you can't activate it in less than five breaths!"

"Five breaths? I could kill you ten times over in that time!"

If He Pingsheng dodged, Jingxin might not actually kill him within five breaths.

But if he dodged, he couldn't activate the talisman.

If he activated the talisman, he couldn't dodge—and then he'd be dead ten times over in five breaths.

He Pingsheng smiled and said: "Elder Jingxin, you underestimate me… Though I'm Foundation Establishment, I possess spiritual sense equal to yours!"

"If you don't believe me, I'll show you!"

Boom…

As he spoke, He Pingsheng's spiritual sense surged outward, crushing toward Jingxin.

Jingxin's spiritual sense erupted at the same moment.

Their invisible spiritual sense strengths were nearly identical—around ten thousand zhang each.

In direct collision, neither gained the upper hand.

"I have no grudge against you; killing you would be pointless!" He Pingsheng gripped the 【Teleportation Talisman】: "More importantly, I only have one such talisman—I must keep it as my last resort for survival. I don't want to waste it on you!"

"If you believe me, leave now!"

"If you don't believe me, try it—see whether you live or die today!"

"Even if I lose a fourth-rank supreme talisman, I can still loot your corpse afterward and Weibi gain something valuable!"

"I might not lose at all!"

As He Pingsheng spoke, he tightened his grip slightly.

The Dao energy radiating from the talisman grew denser.

"Stop! Fellow Daoist, stop!" As a great Nascent Soul cultivator who had spent countless efforts and fortune to reach her current height, Jingxin dared not gamble.

She waved her hand and said: "Fellow Daoist, stop—I'm leaving!"

Saying this, she truly retracted her sword light and summoned a defensive magic treasure, slowly retreating.

Only after exceeding He Pingsheng's attack range did she transform into a streak of light and vanish.

He Pingsheng exhaled deeply in relief.

She'd finally been scared off.

Scared off was enough…

He Pingsheng reactivated the Eight Treasures Boat and sped swiftly toward the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect.

"Meeting Jingxin today was actually a good thing!" He Pingsheng sat on the deck, his spiritual sense sweeping ten thousand zhang, constantly scanning his surroundings to avoid another ambush like before, while muttering to himself: "Good thing—it poured cold water on me, woke me up!"

That's right!

After just breaking through to the Golden Core, especially after the Golden Core passage, He Pingsheng had felt one thing: strength.

He felt stronger than ever before.

But after fighting a Nascent Soul Stage One cultivator today, his rationality fully returned.

He was still weak!

From now on, he must act with extreme caution—no room for carelessness.

Of course, this battle also gave He Pingsheng a new understanding of the terrifying power of Nascent Soul cultivators.

In the future, if possible, he should avoid provoking them entirely.

First, focus on cultivation.

The sense of urgency returned, clinging to him like a shadow.

One day later, he arrived at the gates of the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect.

"Brother, please halt!"

As soon as he reached the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect's mountain gate, someone flew into the sky and blocked him.

The man was Foundation Establishment Stage Eight; he mistook He Pingsheng for another Foundation Establishment cultivator: "Brother, you're not a disciple of the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect—you may not enter our mountain gate!"

He Pingsheng said nothing and simply pulled out a token.

This token had been given to him long ago by the Shen Transformation-era Xiaoyaozi.

Upon seeing the token, the disciple was stunned and bowed deeply: "You're a distinguished guest! With this token, you may come and go freely within the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect!"

"Hmm, thank you," He Pingsheng thought, and immediately retracted the Eight Treasures Boat, switching to sword flight.

The spiritual mountain where the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect resided was split in two by a wide river.

The smaller section ahead was the Outer Sect.

Beyond the Outer Sect, crossing the great river led to the Inner Sect.

He Pingsheng landed directly on Biyun Peak.

"Husband…"

Seeing He Pingsheng, Qiao Huizhu rushed over.

Her face looked weary, yet she remained beautiful.

Her bright eyes were filled with longing.

He Pingsheng took her hand and pulled her into his arms.

After two years apart, he had missed her terribly.

"Huh…" Qiao Huizhu rested her head on his chest, closed her beautiful eyes, inhaled his scent deeply, and said: "I heard everything—you crossed the Golden Core heavenly tribulation at the secret realm's entrance, and now you're a Golden Core disciple!"

"But why did it take so long to come find me?"

"Didn't you know?"

"I've been waiting for you to return!"

"I was so worried, so lonely for you!"

As she spoke, two large, clear tears spilled from beneath her tightly shut eyelashes.

He Pingsheng felt overwhelming guilt: "I'm sorry, Senior Sister!"

"Actually… the Bu Dao Pill…"

"Don't say it!" Qiao Huizhu lifted her head and looked at him seriously: "The Bu Dao Pill doesn't matter—I can always seek enlightenment after reaching Nascent Soul!"

"It's not that different."