Chapter 69: Copper Skin Golden Bone Scripture

Did you see the eighteen Foundation Establishment disciples behind?

Zhao Linger nodded toward the eighteen figures in golden robes.

He Pingsheng’s gaze shifted again to the rear of the square.

Eighteen disciples clad in golden Daoist robes, each at Foundation Establishment realm.

Of course, He Pingsheng could not see their actual cultivation levels—he simply couldn’t pierce through their concealment, so he guessed they were Foundation Establishment.

Now that Zhao Linger had confirmed it aloud, he finally knew for sure.

“I see…” He Pingsheng nodded. “What is it, Senior Sister?”

“Nothing!” Zhao Linger said. “These eighteen people come from eighteen different sects, jointly guarding this entrance!”

“No sect can sneak in ahead of schedule!”

He Pingsheng was stunned. “Isn’t this place only opened once every thirty years? Can people enter at other times?”

“You’re too naive, Young Brother!” Zhao Linger smiled, then pulled him closer and whispered: “To be blunt, this so-called secret realm isn’t natural—it was created by human hands.”

“Because there are numerous spiritual veins exposed within a thousand li radius, ancient masters used great power to seal this place with a massive array!”

“And this array isn’t opened only once every thirty years—it can be opened anytime!”

“But to ensure fair exploration by all sects, the opening date was artificially set to once every thirty years.”

“If no one guarded it, a powerful cultivator from one sect could secretly activate the array and send his descendants inside—then the fairness of this Dao Alliance secret realm would be ruined!”

“So, to guarantee fairness, eighteen Foundation Establishment disciples were placed here as guardians.”

“And these eighteen Foundation Establishment disciples each come from a different sect.”

“My Master told me there’s even an Elder from our Grand Void Gate guarding here—but I can’t tell which one he is!”

He Pingsheng nodded.

Now he finally understood what this so-called secret realm truly was.

“Young Brother! Senior Sister!” Fat Eighth, Xu Kunlun, ran over, grinning. “Look—someone’s setting up a stall! Should we go take a look?”

He Pingsheng lifted his gaze and indeed saw several cultivators setting up stalls along the edge of the vast square.

This wasn’t surprising.

Everyone here was a Qi Refining disciple from major sects or clans—all at the same level—so trading with each other was convenient.

As soon as someone set up a stall, many others rushed over.

Then even more began setting up stalls.

“Let’s go…” He Pingsheng hadn’t moved yet when he saw Hou Muxian walking over.

So he hurried after him.

If you see something good, being first means you get first pick, right?

He Pingsheng walked up to the stalls and glanced at what they offered—the Qi Refining disciples’ wares were all much the same.

Elixirs!

Mostly Golden Bone Elixirs!

At this point, no one would buy Spirit Gathering Elixirs.

Because Spirit Gathering Elixirs are for cultivation—who cultivates inside a secret realm?

Golden Bone Elixirs were different: if you got injured inside, swallowing one brought great benefits.

Besides elixirs, there were talismans.

Some sold all sorts of strange items.

He Pingsheng had no shortage of talismans or elixirs.

He currently carried fourteen attack talismans—each one enhanced.

A single strike could kill any Qi Refining disciple.

As for Golden Bone Elixirs, he had no need at all—he carried two vials of top-grade Golden Bone Elixirs, twenty-four pills total.

He also had some ordinary mid- and low-grade ones.

More than enough.

But here he encountered an acquaintance.

Not exactly an acquaintance—just someone he’d seen before: the beautiful woman who sold talismans at Mount Matou marketplace.

He hadn’t expected to meet her here again.

She still had a stall, selling talismans.

He’d once thought she used a Disguise Talisman to appear so beautiful—but now he doubted it…

Because Disguise Talismans were extremely rare and lasted only two hours—how could this woman, even if wealthy, use them constantly to maintain the same appearance?

More likely, she was naturally this beautiful.

“Young Brother, do you want talismans?” The beautiful woman looked up and glanced at He Pingsheng.

He’d been staring at her for too long.

He Pingsheng blushed deeply, awkwardly rubbed his nose, and said: “No, no!”

“Hehe…” The beautiful woman smiled. “I recognize you—you bought my Disguise Talisman at Mount Matou, didn’t you?”

He Pingsheng was surprised she remembered him; a strange thrill surged through him. “Yes, yes, yes!”

Immediately after, he cursed himself for being weak.

Why was he so flustered just because a beautiful disciple spoke to him?

He quickly walked away, heading toward another stall.

“Young Brother…” Zhao Linger followed behind him. “You’re smitten? Hehehe… I see her Dao robe—she’s from Heavenly Talisman Mountain. Hehehe… Perfect match for our Grand Void Gate!”

He Pingsheng’s face turned even redder.

He didn’t know how to respond to Zhao Linger, so he pretended to examine goods, squatting casually by a stall and absentmindedly picking up a glowing green jade slip, pressing it to his forehead.

It was a cultivation technique.

Of course, only the outline.

The technique’s name: Copper Skin Golden Bone Scripture.

According to the summary, it was a body-refining technique that enhanced physical defense, turning the body into copper skin and golden bones—when perfected, one could withstand attacks from peers of the same realm without any external tools.

So powerful?

He Pingsheng was tempted.

“Young Brother, I have the complete body-refining technique!” The vendor was a Daoist nun, around forty, smiling warmly at He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng was stunned—so old, and still Qi Refining?

But after a moment’s thought, he found it normal.

After all, many male disciples in their seventies or eighties remained at Qi Refining.

“No!” Zhao Linger snatched the jade slip away. “Your cultivation is already difficult enough—you should focus all your energy on advancing your realm. Why waste time on this fringe art?”

“This kind of thing takes too much time!”

He Pingsheng smiled, took the technique back from Zhao Linger, and said: “I want to try it.”

Waste time?

For others, perhaps it truly was.

But for He Pingsheng, it wasn’t.

He was cultivating all five elemental attributes simultaneously to stall his realm advancement—he was already at Layer Seven.

Even so, he feared his cultivation might breakthrough too quickly.

If he could practice this body-refining technique, wouldn’t it perfectly fill his spare time?