Chapter 442: Arrival at Tianfushan

He He Pingsheng waved his hand and retrieved the treasure ship.

Everyone landed on the mountaintop.

This was where he had agreed to meet Qiao Qiao Huizhu.

After landing on the mountaintop, He He Pingsheng saw no sign of Qiao Qiao Huizhu.

He called out several times, but no one answered.

Vast mountains, endless peaks—no trace whatsoever.

He He Pingsheng's brow furrowed slightly; his spiritual sense erupted outward, covering over three hundred li with fifty-five thousand zhang of perception.

He scanned every mountain, every valley, every cave.

Nothing!

Not a single trace of Qiao Qiao Huizhu.

"Master, don't worry!" Cheng Xiaohe said: "Maybe Shiniang hasn't returned from the Cultivation Alliance yet… Think about it—she's back at her home sect; she might stay on Tianfushan for a few days!"

He He Pingsheng nodded. "I hope so."

"What do we do now?" Cheng Xiaohe asked. "Do we keep waiting here for Shiniang, or go back?"

After all, that Soul Transformation elder might still be searching for them!

He He Pingsheng's gaze swept over his Master and the others.

Their conditions had recovered well; each looked as young as in their prime.

"Here's what we'll do," He He Pingsheng suggested. "Split up—Cheng Xiaohe, take your Grandmaster and the others back to Liang's imperial capital. Go to the Guild, cultivate slowly, and wait for me."

"I'll wait here a few more days."

He He Pingsheng meant to split their forces.

"Agreed!" Jiang Lan said. "Staying here together isn't safe. I still have a flying vessel—slow, but enough to reach Liang's imperial capital."

Next, Jiang Lan and Cheng Xiaohe departed with Master Yu Ning and the others.

Only He He Pingsheng remained on the peak.

He could hide far more easily alone.

Just find any cave, suppress his aura, and vanish.

The entire Shangdang Commandery is filled with endless mountains and forests—do you really think a Soul Transformation cultivator can search every inch?

He He Pingsheng was right.

The Third Ancestor had indeed searched for the teleportation array, chasing all the way to the empty dragon ship Jiang Lan had released.

Finding no one, the Third Ancestor realized he couldn't succeed alone, so he returned to the imperial capital.

After all, the capital needed someone to guard it—if this was a diversionary tactic, the cost would be too great.

…

He He Pingsheng was now safe.

He waited in place.

While waiting, he cultivated the body refinement technique Nine Poison Golden Body.

Before he knew it, another half-year passed.

He He Pingsheng's body refinement reached Level Eleven.

Yet still, not a whisper of Qiao Qiao Huizhu.

He He Pingsheng's brow tightened.

He remembered that setting up the six pairs of teleportation arrays with Cheng Xiaohe had taken nearly half a year—now another half-year had passed.

A full year had gone by.

Still no word?

Could Qiao Jiejie have returned long ago to the Xuanyao Immortal Sect?

He He Pingsheng could not fathom it.

He did not believe anyone in the Cultivation Alliance could match Qiao Jiejie.

"I can't wait any longer!" He He Pingsheng took a deep breath, then summoned the Eight Treasures Ship and headed straight for Hongshi City.

First, check the situation at the Xuanyao Immortal Sect!

In seven or eight days, He He Pingsheng arrived at the Xuanyao Immortal Sect in a rush.

Upon reaching Elder Biyun Peak, he immediately saw Qiao Xiaoqiao.

"Brother-in-law, what did you say?"

"Sister is missing?"

Qiao Qiao Xiaoqiao panicked: "Didn't you two leave together? Why did you split up?"

He He Pingsheng's face darkened to its deepest shade: "I went to the Qi Kingdom's capital to rescue someone; she went to the Cultivation Alliance to investigate… I saw no danger, so I let her go alone!"

"Quick—go to your Master's hall and check if her Life Tablet is still there!"

Qiao Qiao Xiaoqiao said: "It's definitely there—you can be sure. If Sister's Life Tablet had shattered, Master would have notified me immediately!"

Though she said this, Qiao Qiao Xiaoqiao herself grew uneasy; she led He He Pingsheng to Elder Biyun Elder Biyun Xianzi's main hall.

Elder Biyun Elder Biyun Xianzi personally guided them to the Tablet Hall.

Qiao Qiao Huizhu had once left her Life Tablet here.

The Life Tablet was intact!

Not broken!

Seeing the tablet, He He Pingsheng exhaled in relief—at least his sister was still alive.

"Madam Elder Biyun, I'll borrow this Life Tablet for now—I must find my sister!"

He He Pingsheng suspected Qiao Qiao Huizhu hadn't returned because, as Cheng Xiaohe suggested, she was staying at her home sect, Tianfushan.

It was possible.

Or perhaps something had gone wrong on Tianfushan.

If so, He He Pingsheng had no choice but to go to the Cultivation Alliance.

"Fine!" Elder Biyun Elder Biyun Xianzi said. "Take it. If you hear anything, send word immediately—I'm on edge lately. What's going on?"

"The old ones vanish, the young ones wander off… My head aches…"

He He Pingsheng had no patience for Elder Biyun Elder Biyun Xianzi's complaints. After taking the Life Tablet, he vanished in a flash of light, then reopened the Eight Treasures Ship and returned to Shangdang Commandery.

Crossing the border of Shangdang, he entered Dingxiang Commandery.

After flying for over a dozen days, he finally reached the Cultivation Alliance's territory.

He He Pingsheng spotted the familiar marketplace below, retracted the Eight Treasures Ship, and landed within it.

Mount Matou!

Rows of houses, cultivators hawking wares, and guild halls everywhere.

Familiar scenery—but the people had all changed.

The world changes; seas turn to mulberry fields.

"Huh…" Standing at the entrance of Mount Matou marketplace, He He Pingsheng exhaled deeply.

When he was about fourteen or fifteen, he had first come here with his senior brother Wang Dun, witnessing the deceit and splendor of the cultivation world.

Now, returning, he was over one hundred and ten years old.

A century of change—time flies like a white colt passing a crevice.

The old man who always sold pills at the gate was gone.

He probably never reached Foundation Establishment—already perished on the endless immortal path.

The Liu Shopkeeper of Fenghe Village was gone too.

With a single thought, He He Pingsheng scanned the entire Mount Matou marketplace—guilds opened freely, no one cared, all doing minor trade.

The guilds sold only Grade One or Two medicinal ingredients.

Nothing higher.

He He Pingsheng rose again on his sword, shooting off like a streak of light toward Tianfushan.

He wasn't here to revisit old memories—he was here to find his wife.

The only reason Qiao Qiao Huizhu would linger in the Cultivation Alliance was Tianfushan.

Mount Matou was not far from Tianfushan.

He had never been there before, but he estimated the distance was similar to that of Grand Void Gate.

In Qi Refining, it took two hours.

Now, He He Pingsheng needed less than half a stick of incense—he became a streak of light and landed gracefully at Tianfushan's gate.