Chapter 74: Water Dashing, Alone

“Oh...”

“Dead, dead, dead...”

“I’m going to die...”

“What do I do, what do I do?”

Tian Xiaoqing panicked, scratching her head and pacing frantically.

She stared at the light membrane surrounding her body.

The membrane’s exterior was completely covered in a dense swarm of golden bees, making it impossible to see anything outside.

She could not see the sky, the sun, her senior sister, or the two junior brothers—only the light on the membrane growing dimmer and dimmer.

If this continued, the membrane would shatter within ten breaths.

“Don’t panic!” He Pingsheng could not see anyone else either, but he remained relatively calm: “Senior sister... Senior brother... beyond the cliff is empty space, and about a hundred zhang below is a deep pool!”

“My idea is: we jump from here—it’s not certain we’ll die from the fall, is it?”

All of them were late-stage Qi Refining cultivators; under normal circumstances, falling from a hundred-zhang cliff might kill them, but below was a water pool—they certainly wouldn’t die.

“That won’t kill you!” Xu Kunlun’s voice came through: “But you’ll likely break your legs!”

Zhao Linger said: “I don’t know how to swim, and I have no Water Dashing technique—if I break a leg and fall in, I’ll definitely die!”

Tian Xiaoqing said: “I can’t either... I don’t know how to swim!”

“What do we do?”

“I’m going to die...”

“I can’t hold on anymore!”

Boom...

A crisp sound echoed.

It was the sound of a jade talisman being crushed.

“Junior brother, senior sister, I’m leaving!”

Shiiii...

Three breaths later, Tian Xiaoqing was instantly teleported away.

He Pingsheng said: “Don’t go... jump with me... I know Water Dashing!”

Zhao Linger said: “No... I’m afraid of heights... Junior brother, when you get the treasure, share some with us!”

Crack...

Zhao Linger’s jade tablet shattered.

“Junior brother... I’m leaving too!”

Crack...

Xu Kunlun’s jade tablet was crushed as well.

In an instant, all three of them were gone.

Only He Pingsheng remained at the cave entrance.

Leave?

Or stay?

He Pingsheng took a deep breath and made his decision immediately.

He leapt forward, covering ten zhang in a single bound.

Then, like a stone, he plummeted downward, carrying the large light membrane and the countless tiger-striped golden bees upon it.

A hundred zhang was still very high.

A wave of dizziness washed over him.

Two breaths later, some light began to filter through the membrane surrounding He Pingsheng.

Many of the tiger-striped golden bees had flown away.

Another breath passed.

Boom...

He Pingsheng landed in the emerald-green pool, sending up a massive splash.

Intense pain surged through his left leg—the first part to hit the water.

Accompanying it was a sharp, crisp crack of bone.

A hundred zhang was still too high.

This was over half a li!

Falling from such a height wouldn’t kill a person, but He Pingsheng’s left leg, having struck the water first, had its bone cracked by the immense impact.

“Ahh...”

He roared, plunging fully into the deep water.

Fortunately, only his left leg was injured.

The rest of his body was fine.

Moreover, once submerged, the swarm of tiger-striped golden bees did not follow.

After all, they had no instinct for diving.

Unfortunately, his [Green Wood Shield], with four layers of seals, had sunk into the deep water.

It would be impossible to retrieve for now.

“Dashing...” He Pingsheng gritted his teeth against the pain and immediately activated the [Water Dashing Technique], his body gliding like a fish, instantly covering dozens of zhang underwater, moving downstream.

He swam continuously for half an incense stick before daring to surface.

This spot was several li away from the cliff—there would be no tiger-striped golden bees here.

He Pingsheng dragged his soaked body and injured leg onto shore.

He looked around and found the area surprisingly peaceful.

He found a relatively flat boulder, took out his array materials, and quickly sketched a top-grade Level One array upon it.

A defensive array.

With this array, he was temporarily safe.

It could repel any Qi Refining cultivator or beast.

Once everything was set, He Pingsheng pulled a green jade vial from his storage pouch.

He opened it and took out a blood-red pill: [Golden Bone Pill].

And it was top-grade.

He swallowed one top-grade [Golden Bone Pill].

He sat quietly within the defensive array, waiting for his body to heal.

Because the pill was top-grade, the healing was swift.

After about an incense stick’s time, his leg injury was fully restored.

It was that miraculous.

After all that commotion, night had fallen.

He Pingsheng had no intention of continuing his treasure hunt—he decided to spend the night right here!

Cuiping Mountain, the vast square.

Shiiii... shiiii... shiiii...

Three white flashes appeared in succession.

Xu Kunlun, Tian Xiaoqing, and Zhao Linger materialized on the square.

“Hahahaha... Grand Void Gate!”

“Grand Void Gate disciples!”

“Old Man Xuanyang, you lost...”

“Hehehe...”

The moment they appeared, voices came from nearby.

They turned—and saw their own ancestral elder, Elder Xuanyang, face dark with fury.

Apparently, several sect elders had placed bets on which disciple would be teleported out first.

No one expected it to be Grand Void Gate disciples.

Xuanyang growled: “It’s barely been a day—how are you three so stupid... what did you run into?”

Zhao Linger said: “Ancestral Elder... I’m sorry, I know I’m wrong!”

The three immediately knelt on the ground.

Xuanyang said: “Get up. Tell me what happened.”

“Yes!” Zhao Linger said: “My fellow disciples and I encountered the [Tiger-Striped Golden Bees], chased by tens of thousands—they trapped us, we had nowhere to run, so we had no choice but...”

“What?”

“[Tiger-Striped Golden Bees]?”

“Where?”

“Where...?”

Upon hearing those four words, the surrounding elders all leapt to their feet.

This is a valuable item.

Though they cannot use it, for low-rank disciples, Tiger-Striped Golden Bee Nectar is an unparalleled treasure.

It is also an excellent blending spirit liquid for alchemy.

“Stop!” Elder Xuan Yang, sensing the gravity of the matter, urgently said solemnly: “Say no more...”

“All three of you, come with me!”

He quickly led the three to a secluded spot, then waved his hand to summon a barrier that enveloped them, saying: “Alright... tell me—where did you find the Tiger-Striped Golden Bees?”

If the exact location is known, next time the secret realm opens, we can devise a strategy to send disciples there specifically to harvest the bee nectar.

Though the secret realm belongs to all.

Yet each major sect keeps secret the locations of treasures they discover.

Such things are never shared under normal circumstances.

“We don’t know!” Zhao Linger shook her head: “We haven’t figured out where it was yet.”

Seeing Elder Xuan Yang’s gloomy expression, Zhao Linger quickly added: “But Master, don’t worry... Young Brother is still inside. When he comes out, we can ask him!”