Chapter 619: Departure, Trading

Clang…

A loud sound!

He Pingsheng accidentally dropped the Hongmeng Purple Gold Rod on the ground.

Because it was too heavy.

It wasn't that He Pingsheng couldn't lift it—he simply hadn't expected it to be this heavy, so he slipped and dropped it.

This thing was even a hundred times heavier than an ordinary magic treasure.

"Huh…" He Pingsheng took a deep breath and picked the rod back up from the ground.

It was heavy.

But this time, it didn't slip from his grasp.

He Pingsheng swept his spiritual sense over the rod, wondering if it was a magic treasure, and whether it bore any seals.

None…

Not a single seal.

Then…

That meant it couldn't be cultivated?

Or perhaps this thing wasn't a magic treasure at all—just raw alchemical material.

But how could ordinary alchemical material take the shape of a rod?

Boom…

He Pingsheng tried channeling his magic power into the rod.

Useless!

The rod rejected all magic power.

It made sense—if it was merely raw material, it couldn't accept cultivation.

Then…

Since it has no seals, could I cultivate it using blood refinement?

Let me try!

He Pingsheng dripped a few drops of his essence blood onto the rod.

Hummm…

A strange phenomenon occurred.

The rod absorbed He Pingsheng's blood.

A peculiar connection formed within He Pingsheng's mind.

"Boom…"

This time, when He Pingsheng sent his magic power into the rod, it no longer resisted.

Instantly, the rod expanded to ten zhang in length.

"Good rod…"

No man could refuse a straight, sturdy rod.

Collect…

The next moment, the ten-zhang rod shrank to the size of a finger and landed in He Pingsheng's palm.

The next instant, it entered his dantian and began to be nurtured.

Theoretically, even raw alchemical material could slowly develop seals over a sufficiently long period of nurturing.

Of course, the process was extremely slow.

During his recent sixty-year seclusion, He Pingsheng had devoted himself to studying the 【Tai Xuan Immortal Artifact Method】 of alchemy; though he still couldn't forge high-grade magic treasures, he had acquired considerable knowledge of basic alchemical principles.

"Once I'm out, I'll see if I can refine this material," He Pingsheng murmured.

At the same time, he paced around the hall.

After confirming there was nothing else in the hall, he stepped out and landed outside the Hongmeng Hall.

Beyond the ten-thousand-zhang island lay an endless sea.

The sea held no beasts, no life of any kind.

Just pure, empty ocean.

Moreover, there was no spiritual energy in this sixth zone.

Whoosh…

He Pingsheng shot through the void as a streak of light, then hovered in midair, waving his hand to summon the Hongmeng Purple Gold Rod into his grip.

His Five Elements Unified Force surged forth, pouring entirely into the rod.

Then, he activated the 【Heavenly Mechanism Thirteen Staves】 technique and swung the rod downward at the mirror-smooth sea below.

It looked like one strike—but it was thirteen.

In an instant, he struck thirteen times; the thirteen strokes merged into one, descending from the void.

The hundred-zhang rod, infused with Five Elements Unified Force, turned pitch black.

The once tranquil sea erupted into towering waves a hundred zhang high.

Wave after wave rolled endlessly toward the horizon.

"Sssss…" He Pingsheng himself was startled by the power of the strike: Too strong.

Go…

He tucked away the rod, then continued unfolding the Silver River Sky Shuttle, heading back.

Half a day later, he returned to his original location and used his Poison Dao technique to open the passage barrier, returning to the fifth zone.

"Dragon Crawl, friend!"

"Why are you back?"

"Yeah… you only entered the sixth zone less than a day ago!"

After emerging, the seven demonic emperors surrounded him.

"Dragon Crawl, what's the sixth zone like? Any heavenly treasures?"

He Pingsheng merely shook his head Dandandi, "It's just an endless ocean."

"I flew for half a day straight and found nowhere to land!"

"No life, no beasts in the sea!"

"There's no spiritual energy at all!"

"Look!"

He Pingsheng waved his hand, revealing a recorded image.

It was footage he had collected in the sixth zone.

Everyone glanced at it and was stunned.

"This this this…"

"It's really just an ocean?"

"There's truly no spiritual energy!"

Without spiritual energy, no heavenly treasures could grow—so naturally, there were none.

"Dragon Friend, you really didn't find anything?" Nan Li didn't believe it.

He Pingsheng smiled, "If I had found something valuable, I wouldn't have told you."

"There might be treasures inside."

"But all I saw was an endless ocean."

He Pingsheng didn't bother to explain further.

"Alright," Nan Li looked around at the group. "We have only two months left before the Yinming Emperor Palace closes. Even if we turned back now, we wouldn't make it in time!"

"Might as well wait here until the realm shuts down."

It takes half a month just to fly from the fifth zone's passage to the fourth zone's passage.

Then from fourth to third, second, first…

Why bother?

Might as well wait patiently—it's closing soon anyway.

"We nine aren't strangers anymore," Nan Li continued. "I propose we hold a small trading gathering here. What do you think?"

The Bone Clan Crown Prince said: "Good idea!"

The Chong Ming Crown Prince nodded: "I agree!"

"I agree too!"

He Pingsheng nodded: "No problem."

The nine gathered together, and the small trading gathering began.

Nan Li said: "Everyone, state your needs. And if you have anything valuable, bring it out."

"I'll go first!"

"I have a fifth-rank fire essence, left behind by an ancestor of my Zhu Que clan."

"Look!"

She truly produced a fire essence: "I don't have any particular needs. If anyone has something that interests me, I'm open to exchanging."

He Pingsheng was intrigued!

Because this is a fifth-rank fire rule.

Once consumed, this thing can break at least one Dao barrier.

Moreover, it can be used to refine a fifth-rank Gathering Dao Elixir!

"I I I..." Prince Chongming raised his hand and said, "Lady Nanli, I have an item here—could you see if it can be exchanged?"

Prince Chongming did not say what his item was, but tossed a ring to Nanli.