Chapter 378: Unified Five Elements Complete, Golden Core Level Five

"Master Mi, have you received the rule force of metal?" He Pingsheng looked at the delighted Mi Cangyuan, already guessing the general outcome.

Mi Cangyuan chuckled: "That's right—I've obtained exactly what I needed!"

This was no surprise.

Because in this world, nine out of ten rule treasures are of the Five Elements.

Metal is one of them; among these twenty-plus Great Nascent Souls, someone must possess a metal-rule treasure.

It's just a matter of whether they're willing to part with it.

"Let's go…" Mi Cangyuan didn't dawdle; he immediately summoned his flying vessel and departed with He Pingsheng.

After returning to Hongshi City, He Pingsheng rushed straight to his small cottage and began seclusion.

First, check the formation.

After confirming the formation was intact, he pulled out the Treasure Gathering Basin and tossed in a glossy black pearl.

This pearl, of course, was the Sumeru Pearl he had acquired at the Dao Discourse Gathering.

The next morning, the Sumeru Pearl had been strengthened into two.

Their surface color had also changed—both pearls were now earth-yellow.

They looked identical.

He Pingsheng casually picked up one, and his spiritual sense surged into it; the pearl's information immediately surfaced.

Name: Great Freedom Pearl.

Rank: Grade Four, Supreme!

Function: Contains an entire world within!

The description was very simple.

He Pingsheng's spiritual sense surged into it again.

The space before him instantly stunned him.

Blue sky, white clouds, towering mountains!

Several small streams flowed down from the peaks, converging into a vast lake at the mountain's base.

He Pingsheng extended his spiritual sense—this place spanned ten thousand zhang.

What did ten thousand zhang mean?

Sixty li in diameter!

That's how big it was.

It was more than enough—not just for the Phoenix Egg to hatch into a Phoenix, but even to house tens of thousands of people.

He picked up the other pearl: identical.

Same name, nearly indistinguishable mountains, rivers, and terrain inside.

The only thing that disappointed He Pingsheng was the absence of spiritual energy.

In short, this was not a true self-contained world—it was merely an ordinary space, still dependent on the cultivation realm he currently inhabited.

This item had great utility, but it wasn't anything extraordinary.

Cultivating heavenly treasures was impossible, as there were no spiritual veins.

Even planting spirit stones could only support the growth of Grade-Two spiritual herbs.

Hummm…

He Pingsheng infused his spiritual sense into the Great Freedom Pearl, then concealed it away.

Next, He Pingsheng began his true seclusion and cultivation.

First, he swallowed a Supreme-grade Gathering Essence Pill.

Enhance his cultivation base!

Then, the Five Element rules within him coalesced, and he began cultivating the 【Five Elements Unified Force】 technique.

He had longed for this for over twenty years—finally, he could cultivate it.

Don't let me down.

Once the Five Element rules were complete, actually practicing the Five Elements Unified Force proved effortless.

Roughly half a year later, He Pingsheng had perfected this technique.

"Gather…"

In the practice ground, He Pingsheng softly uttered a word, and a wisp of flame coalesced before him.

This flame was not crimson.

It was black.

This flame was forged from the fusion of the Five Elements, grounded in the 【Five Elements Unified Force】.

It had no heat, no sensation of scorching.

Not even a flicker of light.

Yet it was undeniably flame—it could be used to refine elixirs or for attack.

"Change…"

He Pingsheng softly spoke again.

The wisp of flame before him instantly transformed into a small shield: the Golden Shield.

This was his technique.

But now, when cast with the Five Elements Unified Force as its base, the Golden Shield had changed form.

It was no longer a shimmering golden shield—it was now a black one.

Merely by appearance, it looked more than twice as thick.

In truth, it was more than twice as strong.

With the enhancement of the Five Element rules, his defensive power had increased several-fold.

"Fall…"

He Pingsheng waved his hand casually; the black shield instantly transformed into a humanoid figure, landing on the ground.

This figure stood three zhang tall, moving back and forth under He Pingsheng's spiritual control.

This was his technique: Yellow Turban Warrior!

He hadn't used this technique in a long time—and now, powered by the Five Elements Unified Force, the Yellow Turban Warrior had become the Black Turban Warrior.

Its combat power had grown stronger.

The greatest strength of the Five Elements Unified Force lay here: as an energy source, He Pingsheng could mimic any technique or spell—and amplify its power.

He dismissed the techniques and sat cross-legged again.

He continued cultivating to raise his cultivation base.

He swallowed another Supreme-grade Gathering Essence Pill.

At the same time, he pulled out another item: the Spear Intent Crystal.

He had previously been unable to comprehend it, as it contained Daoist rule principles—but now that he had reached the Golden Core stage, there was no longer any barrier to understanding it.

He Pingsheng drew his flying sword, expanded its size to one chi with his spiritual power, then gently scraped off some powder from the Spear Intent Crystal and swallowed it.

Now he could comprehend the Spear Dao!

…

Cultivation knows no years; seclusion counts no time!

In the blink of an eye, over four more years had passed.

The black Spear Intent Crystal, the size of a human head and marked with purple veins, had been completely consumed by He Pingsheng.

He now possessed his own unique understanding of the Spear Dao.

Boom…

In a single thought, the Heaven-Defect Divine Spear materialized before him in empty air.

Its thickness was perfect for a single hand's grip; its length, three zhang.

"Too long…" He Pingsheng's eyes narrowed slightly: a spear isn't better for being longer.

"Shorten…" Under spiritual guidance, the three-zhang spear suddenly shrank by more than half, becoming one zhang long.

Now it matched He Pingsheng's stature better.

Man and weapon complemented each other perfectly.

Hummm…

The Five Elements Unified Force, infused with Spear Intent, slowly flowed from his body and into the black divine spear.

The spear trembled slightly; one after another, powerful spear intents surged forth from its body—before it was even wielded, it could strike fear into the heart.

These years of seclusion had yielded He Pingsheng more than just these gains.

Besides comprehending the Spear Intent and perfecting the Five Elements Unified Force, he had also fully subjugated the final seal layer of the 【Ten Thousand Souls Banner】.

The Thirteenth Layer.

Now, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner was a Low-grade Ancient Treasure.

Most crucially, during these five years of seclusion, He Pingsheng's cultivation had finally broken through.

From Golden Core Level Four, he had ascended to Golden Core Level Five.

"Hmm…" He Pingsheng stepped forward, stepping outside his cottage, and looked up at the sky: it was time to go out and see.

The Nine Nations Grand Competition was still four or five years away!

Perfect—he should head to Ruokai Mountain and see if he could hatch the Phoenix Egg.