Chapter 653: Mingyue Zunzhe

"You have no choice but to believe me!"

He Pingsheng regarded Zhou Qingmei with a calm gaze: "Don't force me to crush this talisman—sixth-rank talismans are extremely valuable!"

"If you waste another one of my talismans, you'll have nothing left but death!"

The Zhou Qingmei across from him hesitated.

If He Pingsheng truly crushed this final talisman, she would vanish completely.

After cultivating for tens of thousands of years, she could not accept this fate.

Seeing Zhou Qingmei still hesitating, He Pingsheng spoke again: "How much do you know about the Youmingdigong?"

Zhou Qingmei replied: "I know some."

He Pingsheng said: "I am the only one who has ever entered the Sixth Zone."

At these words, Zhou Qingmei's face finally showed a look of shock.

The Sixth Zone?

That was the legendary region no one had ever entered.

He had actually gone there.

"Moreover, I can tell you plainly—I possess the Nine-Nine Destiny!"

"Do you think I have any chance of reaching Body Integration?"

"Huh…" A flicker of impatience crossed He Pingsheng's face: "I won't die today—stop thinking about counterattacking!"

"I'll give you ten more breaths."

"After ten breaths, I'll activate this Ghost King Talisman!"

"Ten… nine… eight…"

He Pingsheng's voice drifted out slowly.

The countdown had begun.

Zhou Qingmei's mind raced, then she suddenly knelt before He Pingsheng, Ningjuchu a Heavenly Dao Slave Seal from her own blood and tossed it before him.

"Before the Heavenly Dao, this servant Zhou Qingmei pledges herself as my master's slave. When my master reaches Body Integration, I beg to be granted freedom!"

He Pingsheng smiled, reached out, and took the Heavenly Dao Slave Seal, merging it into his spiritual sense.

In an instant, a master-servant bond formed between them.

"Come, let me introduce you," He Pingsheng pointed to Hao Cang. "This is Hao Cang—he was already at the eighth layer of Soul Transformation when I was still a Nascent Soul. He tried to bully me and kill me, but nearly got himself cut down—since then, he's been my slave!"

"Indeed!" Hao Cang bowed respectfully to He Pingsheng.

Zhou Qingmei's expression turned utterly stunned: A Nascent Soul could overpower Soul Transformation?

Truly a prodigy!

"Don't worry," He Pingsheng said. "Follow me, and you won't regret it. For you, this might even be a rare opportunity!"

"What are your plans now?"

Zhou Qingmei thought for a moment: "Originally, I intended to kill you all, devour the Luli Baby, and ascend to Void Refinement Level Twelve, then merge with the Dao!"

"But now, the Luli Baby seems insufficient."

She possessed only one Luli Baby—Beichen's.

Long Yue had already escaped.

He Pingsheng said: "Don't worry—I have several Luli Babies myself."

"And I also possess some Dao methods."

He Pingsheng carried several space and time Dao methods—Dao methods outside the Five Elements, accessible to anyone.

As he spoke, he pulled out several Luli Babies and handed them to Zhou Qingmei.

Most of these Luli Babies were harvested by He Pingsheng during his time in the True Cultivation Realm.

All were from Nascent Soul cultivators.

He also had a few from Soul Transformation cultivators—the Luli Babies of Wen Wo and He Nian—kept sealed in his ring, now perfect for Zhou Qingmei's use.

Four in total!

Because they had been enhanced.

Although He Pingsheng had removed their space and time Dao methods, these Luli Babies still retained many other Dao attributes.

"Thank you, Master!" Zhou Qingmei accepted the items, her face expressionless, merely bowing mechanically to He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng did not blame her.

After all, a great cultivator on the verge of Body Integration, controlled by a mere Soul Transformation cultivator—no one would be pleased in the short term.

"By the way," He Pingsheng asked again: "You're currently at Void Refinement Level Nine—how long until you reach Level Twelve?"

"No bottlenecks?"

Zhou Qingmei replied: "With body splitting cultivation, as long as the split body doesn't surpass the original, there are no bottlenecks—the original has already broken them."

"As for how long?"

"With sufficient resources, I can reach Body Integration within a hundred years."

A hundred years?

He Pingsheng nodded: A hundred years wasn't too long.

"Master," Zhou Qingmei warned, "I am a Shixiao. During our battle, I tore open the underground array—the Yin Ghost energy has leaked. The Demon-Slaying Monks of the Heavenly Buddha Imperial Domain will arrive soon!"

"We must leave immediately!"

"Good!"

He Pingsheng nodded, then led Hao Cang, Zhou Qingmei, and his split body out of the ground, emerging into the canyon.

The canyon still pulsed with mist and vapor.

"Are the Demon-Slaying Monks strong?" He Pingsheng asked.

Zhou Qingmei shook her head: "Not particularly strong—but Buddhist artifacts naturally suppress spirits like us Shixiao, Yin Ghosts, and Corpse Cultivators. When fighting Buddhist Buddhas, our power is suppressed by over ninety percent—we're like lambs awaiting slaughter!"

"And when they kill us Yin Cultivators, they gain spiritual fortune and merit—so they never tire of hunting us."

"Five hundred years ago, I was wounded by a Void Refinement monk from the Heavenly Buddha Imperial Domain—otherwise, I wouldn't be stuck at my current level!"

Boom…

He Pingsheng activated the Silver River Shuttle.

The four of them leapt inside, and the Silver River Shuttle shot out of the mist-filled canyon into the void.

Yet the next moment, the azure void turned blood-red.

Ten thousand zhang of sky turned crimson.

It stretched endlessly.

Hummm… hummm… hummm…

As He Pingsheng stared in shock, golden lines began to coalesce across the crimson sky.

The golden patterns etched into the crimson void radiated solemn majesty.

"Amitabha Buddha..."

A Buddhist chant echoed.

From the crimson sky descended a young monk, bare-chested.

He appeared extremely young!

His skin was pale and delicate, his face clean-shaven, his eyebrows sharp as swords, radiating heavy killing intent.

Hao Cang muttered: "What a handsome monk!"

Beside him, Zhou Qingmei turned pale: "No… it's Mingyue Zunzhe..."

"He is the Mingyue Buddha Zun of the Heavenly Buddha Imperial Domain!"

"Fall!" The bare-chested monk in the void raised his hand and seized the sky.

The crimson sky rippled under his grip.

The crimson void, etched with golden lines, suddenly plummeted toward He Pingsheng's Silver River Shuttle.

Only then did He Pingsheng realize it wasn't the sky at all.

It was merely the monk's cassock.