Chapter 721: The Qín Woman Vanishes, the Golden Beads Still the Wind

Of course, none of these things concern He Pingsheng anymore.

He turned around and looked toward the other side of the entrance road: "Let's go, this way!"

Carrying Zhou Qingmei and Zi Qing, He Pingsheng walked straight ahead along the main path.

After walking about half a stick of incense time and turning a corner, they reached the Spirit Tea House where He Pingsheng once drank tea and listened to music.

"Go!"

The three entered the Spirit Tea House.

Inside the Spirit Tea House, the noise of voices remained as loud as ever.

"Honored elders, this way—there's a window seat here!"

Seeing the guests arrive, especially ones with terrifyingly high cultivation, the shopkeeper personally came over and led He Pingsheng and the other two to a window seat.

Many eyes turned toward them.

After all, He Pingsheng was flanked by two stunningly beautiful women.

"Shopkeeper!" He Pingsheng looked at the man and said: "Bring us three cups of spirit tea!"

As he spoke, he placed three superior-grade spirit stones on the table.

In the past, one cup of spirit tea cost ten thousand inferior-grade spirit stones.

Yet seeing the three superior-grade spirit stones He Pingsheng produced, the shopkeeper was utterly stunned.

Not only the shopkeeper, but countless cultivators around him were stunned.

"Th-this… this… this…!" The shopkeeper, terrified, could not speak—he took two deep breaths before saying: "Elder, our spirit tea costs only one inferior-grade spirit stone per cup. No need for superior-grade!"

"Oh?" He Pingsheng frowned: "That's not right… when I drank tea here before, it was definitely ten thousand inferior-grade spirit stones per cup!"

At these words, someone snorted in disbelief.

"Heh… impossible!"

"You must be mistaken!"

Though they could not discern He Pingsheng's cultivation, they still spoke up.

"Crazy… ten thousand spirit stones for a cup of tea!"

"I've never heard of such a thing!"

Most people believed He Pingsheng was boasting.

But one man in red stood up, bowed to He Pingsheng, and asked: "May I ask, Elder, when was your last visit here?"

He Pingsheng replied: "About two hundred and eighty-three years ago."

"Sssss…"

Everyone around drew a sharp breath.

Two hundred and eighty-three years ago, this man came here seeking heavenly treasures to break through his bottleneck.

So now… what realm is he in?

Could he be a Soul Transformation elder?

He must be a Soul Transformation elder.

"That's right!" the red-clad man said: "I've also heard that back then, this tea house's spirit tea truly cost ten thousand spirit stones per cup—and everyone gladly paid it!"

"The main reason was that there was a woman here who played the qin—rumor says she was peerlessly beautiful, unmatched under heaven!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" someone chimed in: "I've heard too—apparently, there really was such an immortal lady here before!"

"I've heard it too!"

No one remembered the tea's price, but when the tale of the peerlessly beautiful woman playing the qin was mentioned, everyone recalled it.

Though none had witnessed it, they had all heard the stories.

Soon after, the shopkeeper brought forward an elderly man.

The old man bowed to He Pingsheng: "Old man greets the Elder!"

He Pingsheng glanced at the elder—his cultivation was not low; he had reached Soul Transformation Layer One.

"Hello," He Pingsheng nodded to the old man.

The elder said: "Elder, you came here over two hundred and eighty years ago… and met Lady Zhaoran?"

"Yes," He Pingsheng said: "I came here roughly two hundred and eighty-three years ago."

"Oh… oh oh oh…" the elder said: "This tea house has always been under my management!"

"About three hundred years ago, Lady Zhaoran came to my tea house to play the qin, and at her request, the price of spirit tea was raised to ten thousand spirit stones."

"Lady Zhaoran played here for twenty years—and roughly at the time you mentioned, two hundred and eighty-three years ago, she left."

"Left?" Zi Qing stared in shock: "Why did she leave?"

We came to see the most beautiful woman in the world—and she's gone?

Zi Qing was not only astonished, but also displeased.

The elder chuckled: "Immortal, don't be upset—I asked Lady Zhaoran the same thing back then. She said she had waited for the one she was waiting for… and now she could leave."

"I see," He Pingsheng nodded, then bowed again: "Thank you, old sir. We came only to see Lady Zhaoran—since she's gone, we'll take our leave. Please, attend to your business."

The old man bowed respectfully and departed.

Zhou Qingmei and Zi Qing both felt a pang of disappointment.

For a woman, the most beautiful woman in the world mattered greatly.

"By the way," Zhou Qingmei said: "Young Master, Lady Zhaoran said she had waited for the one she was waiting for—could that one be you? After all, she left not long after you arrived!"

He Pingsheng smiled bitterly: "No… back then, I was rude, and she used her qin music to drive me out of the tea house!"

The scene from that time rose vividly before him.

"Enough!" He Pingsheng waved his hand: "Let's go see the entrance to the Nine You Heavenly Abyss!"

Since Lady Zhaoran was gone, they might as well leave.

The three exited the tea house and returned to the abyss's entrance.

"Young Master, will you enter?" Zhou Qingmei asked: "The Gang wind here is strong, but your servant can suppress it for a moment."

"No," He Pingsheng said: "Even if I gathered the fifth-rank Rootless Grass, it would do me no good—so I won't enter."

"I just remembered I still have a string of Buddhist golden beads. Since the golden beads here carry too weak a Buddhist power, I thought I might try using mine."

As he spoke, He Pingsheng truly pulled out a string of Buddhist golden beads.

These were the items he obtained after slaying the avatar of Mingyue Buddha.

One string, one hundred and eight beads.

And a cassock!

"These are Mingyue's belongings?" Zhou Qingmei recognized them instantly.

He Pingsheng nodded.

He had not strengthened these beads.

Originally, he planned to strengthen them before using them to suppress the Yin Ghost Gang wind here—but Zhou Qingmei knew these beads intimately; if he strengthened them, she might recognize them, and that would be problematic.

So He Pingsheng had not strengthened them—he simply took them out as they were.

"Fall!"

He Pingsheng roared, channeling boundless magic power into the Buddhist golden beads.

The one hundred and eight beads instantly swelled, then each one descended around the original Buddhist golden bead.

As the one hundred and eight beads settled upon the malevolent energy, the Gang wind here was instantly suppressed, forming a calm entrance roughly a thousand zhang wide.

Instantly, He Pingsheng understood the beads' power.

This string of beads could suppress the Gang wind here for six hundred years.

After six hundred years, the beads would shatter.

But… what could be done? Six hundred years it would be.