Chapter 645

He Pingsheng's spiritual sense swept over Hongmeng Purple Gold.

There were still no seals on it, as if its rank could not be determined.

Yet, as his spiritual sense passed over it, He Pingsheng made another discovery.

He found that a large 【Treasure Space】 had suddenly appeared within the magic treasure.

Externally, nothing seemed amiss, but internally, it held an entire world.

Boom…

The next moment, He Pingsheng stepped entirely into this space.

No sky, no earth.

Just a space!

One glance revealed it to be like a purple-red cavern—yet this "cavern" was enormous, spanning ten thousand zhang in diameter.

Hehehe…

Seeing this, He Pingsheng couldn't help but laugh: now he could store all his magic treasures and materials in this space, no longer needing to use his ring.

Moreover, the Treasure Basin could also be placed here.

Boom…

He Pingsheng stepped out again from that wondrous space.

With a wave of his hand, the Hongmeng Purple Gold landed in his right palm, transforming back into the shape of a staff.

"Next… seclusion!"

He Pingsheng waved his hand, and six or seven vials flew out.

Each vial contained 【Path-Consolidating Pills】, and all were fifth-rank Path-Consolidating Pills.

One of them, the fire-affinity variant, was the supreme Path-Consolidating Pill he had helped the Rebirth Prince refine in the Yinming Imperial Palace—using a single batch of materials, he ultimately produced forty-eight supreme Path-Consolidating Pills after enhancement.

He gave the Rebirth Prince three, and the rest remained in He Pingsheng's possession.

Besides this fire-affinity vial, there were several others, each containing different elemental Path-Consolidating Pills.

These Path-Consolidating Pills were forged by He Pingsheng from the Daoic essences extracted from the rings of the five men—Gu Song Dao Ren and others.

Which pill belonged to whom was now impossible to determine.

Regardless, He Pingsheng now had six or seven distinct types of Path-Consolidating Pills, each capable of being consumed to break through his Dao barriers.

Come on!

"Boom…" One fire-affinity Path-Consolidating Pill was swallowed, instantly igniting within his body.

Simultaneously, He Pingsheng consumed another Tianzhen Pill and brought forth the Dao-Cultivation Heavenly Stele, placing it before him to refine his Dao.

Time passed slowly!

One day!

One month!

One year!

Before he knew it, ten years had passed.

He Pingsheng broke through one Dao barrier and one flesh barrier.

Thus, his cultivation base reached Soul Transformation Seventh Layer.

During the ten years, the 【Death-Substitute Puppet】 nurtured within his dantian finally succeeded.

Even if he died, he could be reborn.

Not quite… he should say: when facing a fatal strike, the puppet would automatically intercept it.

With this safeguard, He Pingsheng had no further hesitation and pulled out the Twin-Soul Talisman left by Longyue Xianzi, sending a message.

"Longyue Xianzi… shall we meet tomorrow at the Holy Fire Trading Society? Are you available?"

He had decided—he would go.

Though he knew this was almost certainly a trap, what path of cultivation is without peril?

To obtain what others cannot, one must bear risks and efforts others cannot endure.

Crucially, He Pingsheng now had his Death-Substitute Puppet—he had a safeguard, so he feared no risk.

"Husband… I'll go with you!"

Qiao Huizhu, uneasy about He Pingsheng, wore a worried expression.

He Pingsheng shook his head: "No need… don't I have my Death-Substitute Puppet?"

"I won't die. Don't worry."

"Besides, this won't take long."

"Just wait for me safely at home."

"Then…" Qiao Huizhu pulled out a sixth-rank black talisman and pressed it into He Pingsheng's palm: "This is the 【Ghost King Talisman】 you gave me before—I never used it. I'm returning it to you now."

"No need!" He Pingsheng waved his hand to refuse.

But Qiao Huizhu stubbornly insisted, forcing the Ghost King Talisman into his hand.

Fine.

The Ghost King Talisman—better safe than sorry.

After ten years of seclusion, Qiao Huizhu's cultivation had improved; she was now at Sixth Layer.

And not just her—another had also broken through: Hao Cang!

Hao Cang was even more formidable, breaking through two layers at once.

His cultivation had now reached Soul Transformation Tenth Layer.

This was because Hao Cang had already broken one Dao barrier long ago; over these ten years, he broke the second, so a double-layer breakthrough was unsurprising.

"How are the Annihilation Yellow Spring Finger and the Nine-Zhang Golden Body coming along?" He Pingsheng asked Hao Cang.

Ten years ago, He Pingsheng had given Hao Cang three excellent items.

Two abilities—one offensive, one defensive: 【Annihilation Yellow Spring Finger】 and 【Nine-Zhang Golden Body】.

Additionally, a golden supreme magical treasure: the Golden Pearl!

"My lord," Hao Cang smiled broadly, "I've perfected both abilities. With these two and the Golden Pearl, hehe… this old servant can effortlessly crush ordinary Soul Transformation Twelfth Layer cultivators!"

"Even against a Void Refinement beginner, I should be able to escape unscathed!"

This wasn't modesty—Hao Cang's combat power was truly terrifying.

Spiritually, his spiritual sense was even stronger than He Pingsheng's.

Moreover, he had also cultivated 【Formless North Star Nail】.

A single strike could instantly obliterate a Soul Transformation Twelfth Layer cultivator; an unprepared Void Refinement cultivator would suffer spiritual damage from it.

As for raw combat power?

He did not cultivate all five elements—he focused solely on the metal dantian, so his direct combat strength was slightly inferior to He Pingsheng's.

Yet, with the 【Ice Jade Loquat Ointment】, this gap could be bridged.

Combined with the Golden Pearl and these two peerless Heaven-grade abilities, he was immensely powerful.

"I won't be in danger here in the Imperial City," Qiao Huizhu said to He Pingsheng. "Let Hao Cang go with you—he can watch your back."

At that moment, the Twin-Soul Talisman in He Pingsheng's hand glowed.

Opening it, a message floated out: "Of course, Longzhe Daoist. I'll wait for you at the Holy Fire Trading Society tomorrow morning!"

…

The next morning, He Pingsheng set out with Hao Cang toward the Holy Fire Trading Society.

Longyue Xianzi had been waiting a long time.

"Daoist Long!" Seeing He Pingsheng, she beamed: "Well? Have you decided?"

"Shall we go together?"

He Pingsheng nodded: "Let's go."

"Good!" Longyue Xianzi said. "Wait a moment—I'll contact the other two."

Longyue Xianzi then sent out two Twin-Soul Talismans.

"Who… are the other two?" He Pingsheng asked.

"Have I met them?"

"No," Longyue said. "They didn't appear at the last trading society… but don't worry—they're both human, just like us."

He Pingsheng couldn't help but sneer: I'm worried precisely because they're human!

"Let's go," Longyue said. "We've arranged to meet at Gu Song Mountain. Both are very easygoing—no danger."