Chapter 646: Zhou Qingmei

Gu Song Mountain!

Located atop Snow Mountain.

Beneath a lone pine on a certain peak, He Pingsheng sat on a massive stone chair, sipping spiritual tea leisurely as he gazed at the endless snow-capped mountains in the distance.

The mountain peaks were blanketed in thick snow, yet the upright rocks protruded in large patches through the snow, appearing green or black.

Opposite He Pingsheng sat Lady Longyue.

"Since Gu Song's demise, the disciples of this mountain have scattered like birds and beasts!" Lady Longyue said casually: "Now, only a few dozen disciples with nowhere else to go remain to guard it. In ten years, no one has seized this sect's territory!"

"In another decade, it'll be utterly abandoned!"

He Pingsheng frowned: "That doesn't make sense… Logically, someone should have taken it by now!"

Lady Longyue shook her head: "Because the dragon soul of this mountain's spiritual vein was drained away!"

"In ten or twenty years, the spiritual energy here will be completely exhausted!"

"When that happens, not only will there be no spiritual energy left, but even the vegetation will wither, and the sect gate will be buried under snow!"

He Pingsheng understood: "So that's why!"

Still, whoever drained the spiritual vein's soul here must be truly heartless.

After waiting atop Gu Song Mountain for about two hours, two streaks of red and blue light arrived together from the horizon.

The two streaks landed instantly before He Pingsheng and Lady Longyue.

The lights resolved into a man and a woman.

He Pingsheng's spiritual sense swept over them.

The man's cultivation base was Soul Transformation Level 11!

Yet the woman's cultivation base had reached Level 12—just one step away from entering Void Refinement.

But under normal circumstances, ninety-nine percent of Level 12 cultivators are stuck there due to blocked wisdom.

Otherwise, who would linger in such a place?

"Let me introduce you!" Lady Longyue rose quickly and addressed the pair: "This is Daoist Longzhe—he now holds the fourth token!"

"Daoist Longzhe!" Lady Longyue pointed to the couple: "This is the True Person Beichen. Beichen is a human prodigy with a Star Spirit Root, cultivating the Star Dao, and his combat power far exceeds others of his realm!"

He Pingsheng was startled inwardly but immediately feigned humble awe, bowing: "I am Longzhe, honored to meet Senior Brother Beichen!"

One must always be courteous, after all.

"This is another human prodigy: Zhou Qingmei!"

Zhou Qingmei was Level 12.

"Heh…" she gave a cold laugh: "What prodigy? I'm merely a blocked-wisdom cultivator—how could I be called a prodigy?"

Indeed!

He Pingsheng had just suspected this woman was likely blocked-wisdom.

"Sister Zhou needn't worry!" Lady Longyue said: "Once we find the Nine Heavens Mystic Fire and fuse it with our bodies, won't that restore your wisdom root?"

"I am Longzhe, honored to meet Senior Sister Zhou!" He Pingsheng bowed to Zhou Qingmei.

Zhou Qingmei wore red robes, had fair skin, and a slender figure—undoubtedly a rare beauty among humans.

Yet He Pingsheng had no interest in her; after all, many humans used 【Preserving Youth Elixir】 or 【Beauty Elixir】 to enhance their appearance.

As for what they truly looked like naturally—only the spirits knew.

"Hmm!" Zhou Qingmei nodded, glancing at He Pingsheng with clear disdain: "I recall the final token was in Gu Song's hands—how did it end up with you?"

"Where is Gu Song?"

"Are you his disciple or his junior?"

No wonder others looked down on He Pingsheng—his cultivation base was only Soul Transformation Level 7.

In Zhou Qingmei's eyes, He Pingsheng was unworthy of comparison to Gu Song.

"Senior Zhou misunderstands!" Before He Pingsheng could speak, Lady Longyue interjected: "Daoist Longzhe has no relation to Daoist Gu Song. Since Gu Song perished, the token passed into Daoist Longzhe's hands!"

"What?"

Upon hearing Lady Longyue's words, Zhou Qingmei and Beichen both gasped in unison.

Then their gazes turned to He Pingsheng.

"Did you kill him?" Zhou Qingmei frowned, her expression icy.

He Pingsheng replied: "Senior Zhou seeks revenge?"

He didn't answer directly, but smiled at Zhou Qingmei.

Zhou Qingmei took a deep breath, then shook her head: "No… I had no kinship with him—I won't avenge him. Since the token is with you now, I accept you as its holder!"

As she spoke, the earlier disdain vanished from her face.

In its place came respect.

"Who is this…?" Beichen asked, glancing at Hao Cang.

Hao Cang said nothing.

He Pingsheng said: "This is my master's old servant… you may ignore him."

At these words, Beichen and Zhou Qingmei both stiffened.

Old servant?

A Soul Transformation Level 7 cultivator had an old servant at Level 10.

No wonder, no wonder!

So it was the two of them together who killed Old Gu Song—I knew this fellow, at Level 7, couldn't have seized the Mystic Fire Token alone!

"Sit down and talk," Lady Longyue waved, then sat first.

He Pingsheng, Beichen, and Zhou Qingmei followed suit.

"We are all human, in this spirit world teeming with myriad races—calling each other kin isn't an exaggeration," Lady Longyue said: "Now, let's discuss the journey to the Mystic Fire Sacred Ground."

"Not yet!" Zhou Qingmei placed her hand on the stone table: "First, let's settle how we'll divide the 【Nine Heavens Mystic Fire】 once we obtain it!"

"After all, there's only one Nine Heavens Mystic Fire, yet we have four tokens and five people!"

As she spoke, Zhou Qingmei shot a resentful glance at Hao Cang beside her.

He Pingsheng said: "Don't worry—my servant won't compete. It'll still be just the four of us."

"Excellent!" Zhou Qingmei beamed.

Beichen said: "Even four is too many… the Nine Heavens Mystic Fire can't be split into four portions."

"How should we divide it?"

Lady Longyue didn't know what to say.

He Pingsheng, momentarily distracted, asked: "What's your suggestion, both of you?"

Zhou Qingmei said: "Once we find the Nine Heavens Mystic Fire, each of us will use our own methods—the one who claims it gets it."

"Of course, by 'methods' I mean only against the Nine Heavens Mystic Fire—none of us four may attack each other!"

As she spoke, she glanced again at Hao Cang: "And Daoist Longzhe's servant must not participate in the struggle."

Beichen said: "I agree—I have no objections."

"I have no objections either."

"I agree too."

He Pingsheng and Lady Longyue also agreed.

There was no other option.

It would have to come down to fortune.