Chapter 628

The Zhu Que Demon Emperor vanished instantly!

The lake shimmering before him also disappeared.

Before He Pingsheng, the endless mountain ranges reappeared.

Hao Cang was still nearby.

Originally, that had not been an illusion, but a temporary fusion of another space—or a portion of his own miniature world—with this world, achieved by Zhu Que Demon Emperor's immense power.

Just thinking about it sent a chill down He Pingsheng's spine.

Just as He Pingsheng turned into a streak of light and flew toward the entrance of the Youmingdigong, Zhu Que Demon Emperor's voice echoed again in his ears.

"When breaking through a bottleneck, you may use heavenly treasures and rare medicines—but I believe that should be your last resort!"

"If you can break through your bottleneck by other means, the rewards will be immense!"

"Remember!"

"A cultivation bottleneck is a gift bestowed by Heaven's Dao upon all living things!"

What the hell?

While flying, He Pingsheng nearly thought he'd misheard.

Bottleneck?

A gift?

So it means I have two bottlenecks per major realm—making me even more impressive than others?

Heh…

This…

But after hearing Zhu Que Demon Emperor's words, He Pingsheng felt a strange, suffocating unease in his chest.

Since he began cultivation—Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul!

He had encountered eight bottlenecks in total.

He broke through these eight bottlenecks using seven heavenly treasures: 【Water Elemental Spirit Apricot】, 【Crimson Essence Ginseng】, 【Nan Qi Fruit】, 【Blood Jade Purple-Skinned Jujube】, 【Greed-Anger Fruit】, 【Rootless Grass】, and 【Dragon Essence Fruit】.

Only the Golden Core bottleneck was broken through during a life-or-death moment while being hunted by Jiang Yu.

This…

So I rejected seven gifts from Heaven's Dao?

What a loss…

Huge loss!

But there was no choice!

On one hand, neither he, nor his friends, nor his Master or sect, had sufficient experience to inform him of these things.

So every time He Pingsheng broke through a bottleneck, he sought external treasures.

Secondly, how can one's life be perfectly flawless?

Cultivation inevitably carries shortcomings at times.

Fortunately, now that he understood this issue, he would be more careful in the future.

Shhh…

Two streaks of light landed again at the entrance of the Youmingdigong.

"Husband…"

Qiao Huizhu flew over the moment she saw He Pingsheng.

"You also ended up outside?" she looked at him.

He Pingsheng shook his head: "No… I just ran into an enemy!"

"Ah?" Qiao Huizhu's heart jolted. "Are you alright? Where's the enemy?"

He Pingsheng smiled: "Don't worry—the enemy's been beaten to pieces by me and Hao Cang!"

Hao Cang, beside him, quickly bowed respectfully to Qiao Huizhu: "Hao Cang greets the Mistress…"

He Pingsheng said: "Just call her Madam from now on."

"Yes!" Hao Cang quickly corrected himself: "Hao Cang greets Madam!"

"Hello," Qiao Huizhu nodded amiably at Hao Cang.

He Pingsheng had already told her about Hao Cang while inside the Youmingdigong.

"What now?" Qiao Huizhu looked at He Pingsheng. "Where do we go?"

Qiao Huizhu had been revived inside the Youmingdigong; this was her first time seeing the true Spirit Realm, and she was still disoriented.

He Pingsheng said: "First, go to the Imperial City…"

Zhu Que Imperial City!

Zhu Que Imperial City was still quite far away; last time, He Pingsheng had hired a flying ship and spent several days to get there.

Fortunately, there were now flying ships heading toward the Imperial City.

After paying for three tickets, He Pingsheng boarded the ship.

The ship was small, capable of carrying only about a hundred people.

Half a month later, the flying vessel landed in Zhu Que Imperial City.

The three of them disembarked.

He Pingsheng found a merchant guild entrance, then pulled out the 【Heartbond Talisman】 linked to Liu Haoran, activated it, and sent his location.

Upon receiving He Pingsheng's message, Liu Haoran's 【Heartbond Talisman】 instantly ignited.

After waiting two full hours, Liu Haoran finally appeared.

Liu Haoran's cultivation had also improved.

He had been at Soul Transformation Stage Eight back then.

Now, after roughly eighty years, he had advanced one level—to Soul Transformation Stage Nine.

But He Pingsheng had risen from his original Nascent Soul Stage Twelve to Soul Transformation Stage Six.

Liu Haoran was stunned: "You… you you you… He Dao You … I truly had no idea who you were!"

"You're already Soul Transformation Six!"

"Heh!" He Pingsheng smiled. "Yes… I owe it to the many treasures inside the Youmingdigong that allowed me to break through consecutively. It's a pity you didn't enter, Your Highness!"

"Enough of that!" Liu Haoran shook his head. "He Dao You, I owe you an apology. I didn't know you were He Pingsheng, so I told Tian Yao about you. She concluded you were He Pingsheng, and thus the Heavenly Fire Divine Emperor sent Bing Yi to kill you!"

"Thank goodness you didn't meet her… Phew… Thank heavens… Thank heavens…"

"If you had died, I would have been heartbroken."

"But you must be careful—don't leave the city for now!"

"Wait until you break through to Void Refinement before venturing out. Then you won't have to fear Bing Yi."

As Liu Haoran spoke, his face was filled with remorse.

But He Pingsheng smiled lightly: "It's fine. It's not your fault."

"I once promised you a top-grade 【Holy Essence Pill】. Here—take it."

He Pingsheng pulled out a small vial and tossed it into the empty air before Liu Haoran.

Inside the vial was a top-grade Holy Essence Pill.

He Pingsheng knew Liu Haoran had traveled all the way from the Heavenly Peng Imperial Region not out of concern for him, but for this pill.

Having lived for centuries, He Pingsheng had learned to see through such human nature.

"Thank you… Thank you so much…"

Seeing the top-grade Holy Essence Pill, Liu Haoran nearly knelt down to bow to He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng asked: "How's Tian Yu lately?"

Liu Haoran said: "Tian Yu has advanced rapidly—he's now at Soul Transformation Stage Five, just one level below you!"

"I'm no match for him anymore!"

"That guy somehow learned a Spirit Refining technique—Heh… I can't beat him anymore."

"Ah," He Pingsheng nodded politely with a smile. "Your Highness, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. Until we meet again."

"Yes yes yes!" Liu Haoran said. "Until we meet again… Oh, and please, be careful! Bing Yi might still be watching you!"

…

After parting with He Pingsheng, Liu Haoran returned to his residence. He sat on a large chair, frowning slightly: This is strange.

"Logically, Bing Yi shouldn't have failed to capture He Dao You …"

"She shouldn't have missed the chance at all."

"Could it be… this woman has taken a fancy to He Dao You … and is feeling tender affection?"