Chapter 591

He He Pingsheng looked up and saw a black vortex above him, identical to the one outside!

This is the entrance!

And the exit!

The sky was a clear, deep blue; beneath his feet, mountains stretched endlessly.

He He Pingsheng extended his vast spiritual sense, yet could not probe the entirety of the Imperial Palace.

Not even a single corner.

One could only imagine how vast this Imperial Palace was.

"Incredible…" He He Pingsheng muttered as he scanned his surroundings: "They say after reaching the Mahayana Emperor realm, demonic emperors can carve out miniature worlds!"

"But this miniature world is too huge!"

This Yinming Imperial Palace, without doubt, was a miniature world forged by the Mahayana Emperor's own magical power.

Where exactly was he now?

What lay within this Yinming Imperial Palace?

And how large was it? What were its directions—east, west, south, north?

He He Pingsheng knew nothing.

What he most urgently needed was a map of the Yinming Imperial Palace.

Whoosh…

He He Pingsheng transformed into a streak of light and took to the skies in this empty world.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

After all, only twelve years had passed; there were still eighty-eight years left to seek opportunities.

As he flew, He He Pingsheng contracted his spiritual sense tenfold, meticulously sweeping across the mountains below.

That way, if he encountered any heavenly treasures, he wouldn't miss them, right?

Along the way, he found almost no heavenly treasures at all.

Not even fifth- or sixth-grade ones; even third- and fourth-grade ones were rare.

First- and second-grade ones were plentiful, but He He Pingsheng had no need for them.

It seemed the heavenly treasures here had long been stripped clean by countless cultivators over the past twelve years.

Any remaining treasures had already been gathered by passing cultivators.

He He Pingsheng flew aimlessly for two hours, when suddenly he saw two streaks of light slicing through the void from the horizon.

Boom…

He He Pingsheng extended his spiritual sense.

Two demonic cultivators, both at the Soul Transformation realm.

One at Soul Transformation Level One, the other at Soul Transformation Level Two!

Their true forms differed: one was some kind of ape, the other a giant bird.

He He Pingsheng had never seen this bird before; he didn't know its exact species.

Shiiii…

The two demonic beings landed directly before He He Pingsheng.

Blocking his path.

"Greetings, Elder!" He He Pingsheng bowed to the two.

At the very least, maintaining politeness was always wise.

"No need for formalities!" The ape grinned at He He Pingsheng: "Are you new here?"

He He Pingsheng replied: "Yes… I just entered!"

The firebird eyed him: "The Imperial Palace has been open for twelve years—why are you only entering now? Everything in the First Zone has already been stripped clean!"

He He Pingsheng said nothing, but asked: "Are you two… leaving?"

"Yes!" The giant ape said: "We both failed to awaken our wisdom. Staying here serves no purpose—we're leaving!"

He He Pingsheng's brows twitched: "May I ask, do either of you have a map of the Yinming Imperial Palace? If so, I'm willing to trade a treasure for it!"

He lacked only a map.

The giant ape and the firebird exchanged glances.

"Hehehe…" The ape chuckled: "We do… have one."

"But what are you offering in exchange?"

As he spoke, the ape actually pulled out a jade slip.

"Here, take a look…" The ape handed the jade slip to He He Pingsheng.

He He Pingsheng sent a thread of spiritual sense into it.

The shape of the Yinming Imperial Palace was strange—like a string of sugar-coated haws.

Or rather: it consisted of several circular spaces, all connected, though the connections were narrow.

The map was simple, showing only rough directions and outlines, plus the general resources in each space.

But exact locations were not marked.

What delighted He He Pingsheng was that the so-called【Huang Quan】was in the first zone.

The very space he currently occupied.

"How about this…" He He Pingsheng pulled out two vials of 【Bing Yu Pipa Ointment】 and handed them to the ape: "Elder, these are fifth-grade spiritual essences—each vial instantly restores a depleted dantian, invaluable in a pinch!"

The ape took them, inspected them, and said: "Fine… I agree."

The map was useless to him now!

"Thank you, Elder!" He He Pingsheng bowed again: "Have you seen the Huang Quan?"

The ape said: "I have."

He pointed leftward: "Over there… but there's nothing of value at the Huang Quan. Young master, you'd be better off heading to the Second Zone!"

He He Pingsheng thanked him, but did not head to the Second Zone—he went straight toward the Huang Quan.

His sole reason for coming to this Imperial Palace was to find the Huang Quan, collect its essence, and brew the【Shi He Dan】.

To revive Qiao Qiao Huizhu.

As for anything else?

Irrelevant!

Watching He He Pingsheng's figure vanish into a streak of light, the firebird sighed softly: "Brother Yuan… this kid's got plenty of good stuff."

"I think we could…"

The bird made a slashing motion.

"This…" The ape shook his head: "No. We're already wisdom-dead—why do such cruel, heaven-defying deeds?"

"I say we leave."

"Sigh…" The bird said: "Brother Yuan, that kid pulled out Bing Yu Pipa Ointment like it was nothing—he must have many more. Besides, he's definitely carrying a 【Yinming Token】; that alone could fetch a fortune in spirit stones!"

"We're wisdom-dead—treasures mean little to us, but spirit stones can fund our clan's younger disciples!"

"The two of us against one? We'd crush him easily."

"And he only just entered—he's clearly no one with influence. Just a wild, unaffiliated cultivator, and a human at that. What's to fear?"

But the ape shook his head: "Brother Gu Yu, I won't join you. If you want to act, go ahead."

"Farewell!"

The ape instantly turned into a streak of light and departed toward the exit.

Gu Yu pondered, convinced his Soul Transformation Level Two cultivation could easily overpower the boy, and chased after He He Pingsheng.

His speed was twice that of He He Pingsheng's.

In about half a stick of incense time, he caught up.

"Elder… is there something you need?" He He Pingsheng stopped and faced the bone bird.

Gu Yu chuckled: "Young master, I'd like to borrow something from you."

He He Pingsheng sneered: "Borrow?"