Chapter 78: One Against Two

“You two are joking!”

He Pingsheng remained unfazed, constantly monitoring their movements, saying: “Forget whether your claims are true!”

“Even if they were, there’s no logic to it!”

“This secret realm belongs jointly to all sects and families of the Daoxuan Alliance!”

“How can you claim private ownership?”

“If today your family plants Yangyang flowers here and forbids others to harvest them, what if my Grand Void Gate disciples plant the entire secret realm—would you still not come?”

“That reasoning holds no water!”

The woman smiled and said: “Young brother, you’re being unreasonable!”

He Pingsheng said: “If you insist on that, then when we exit this secret realm, go argue with our Grand Void Gate Elder and see if they agree.”

The man and woman from the Zhuang family instantly darkened in expression.

Exactly!

Their logic doesn’t hold.

Does Grand Void Gate not plant either?

Tian Xiaoqing followed her master Yu Ning’s instructions, bringing various seeds from outside and scattering them along the way—all so future disciples could harvest heavenly treasures here.

But Grand Void Gate never claimed these things as their own!

The secret realm is public property.

If you plant something and don’t reveal its location, then sneak back later to harvest it—that’s fine.

But if someone else harvests it first, they’re just unlucky.

All of this falls within the rules.

“Enough, enough…” the man said: “Since the young brother already harvested them, then let him have them… Young brother speaks sense. Our Zhuang family…”

The man feigned surrender, speaking reasonably, but simultaneously launched a sudden attack.

In his hand, a black spear suddenly appeared, snapping open with a bang into a length of over three meters, piercing the void with a deafening sonic boom.

By the time He Pingsheng reacted, the spear was already less than three zhang away.

A fine ambush.

“Open…”

He Pingsheng had already prepared—he’d held the [Stony Talisman] in his hand for some time; now he flicked his wrist, and a thick light membrane enveloped him.

Boom…

The spear struck the thick light membrane.

Yet the [Stony Talisman]’s membrane merely trembled slightly, showing no sign of piercing.

He Pingsheng exhaled deeply in relief.

Things enhanced by the Treasure Basin are amazing!

“Cut…”

At the same moment, the woman beside him didn’t hold back—her flying sword shrank to three chi in length and slashed down from the void toward He Pingsheng’s shield.

Yet the shield still held.

He Pingsheng wouldn’t sit idle.

His fire-affinity cultivation surged violently, and three fire crows immediately coalesced around him.

“Go…”

The flames had formed outside the defensive membrane, so they didn’t need to pierce through—it struck the woman directly.

In He Pingsheng’s view, the woman’s cultivation was slightly lower, making her the easier target to break.

“Child’s play!”

The woman’s lips curled with faint mockery; she yanked her sword free and slashed again.

This slash was fiercely potent—the blade-light solidified into a crescent moon shape, slicing toward He Pingsheng’s fire crows.

In her eyes, He Pingsheng was merely Qi Refining seventh layer—this single slash should obliterate all three fire crows.

But her confidence was excessive.

Puff…

The first fire crow was indeed cut down.

Yet her blade-light vanished immediately after destroying the first crow.

The remaining two fire crows still charged toward her.

The woman was stunned.

“No good…”

She instantly retreated sharply.

She knew the strength of that slash—it was nearly her strongest strike.

And yet that peak strike could only destroy one fire crow; even a fool could deduce the crows’ power.

She dared not meet it head-on—only retreated, hoping to create distance.

But to her despair, the fire crows changed direction and flew after her again.

“Damn it…”

“Cut…”

The woman slashed again, barely cutting down He Pingsheng’s second fire crow.

But the third was already nearly at her face.

What now?

The woman had no choice—she gritted her teeth, heart bleeding, and hurled a talisman.

Boom…

A silver shield materialized before her, shielding most of her body.

This was one of her trump cards—an upper-grade defensive talisman.

She had paid a heavy price to obtain it.

Boom…

He Pingsheng’s third fire crow slammed into the talisman shield.

Boom…

The talisman exploded outright.

He Pingsheng’s third fire crow also exploded.

A powerful surge of fire spiritual energy erupted.

Though unharmed, the woman was blasted backward five or six steps by the massive spiritual force.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it…” she raged, repeating “damn it” three times.

Not only had she lost the Yangyang flower pollen, but also a precious talisman.

Wasn’t that enough to make her spit blood?

“Hahaha… Let me handle him…”

“Today, he must die!”

Behind He Pingsheng, the Zhuang family male cultivator burst into loud laughter.

He Pingsheng turned his head and saw the man hovering three zhang above the ground, radiating a faint glow.

Above his head, the black spear had turned blood-red.

“Watch me break his shield!”

“Zhuang Family Thirteen Spears…”

“Open!”

As he spoke, a crimson spear-shadow erupted from the black-red spear above him.

The spear-shadow carried overwhelming spiritual power, lancing toward He Pingsheng.

Boom…

The spear-shadow struck the shield.

The shield didn’t shatter, but its glow dimmed slightly.

This shield was formed by a talisman—its power came solely from the talisman itself, not from the cultivator’s spiritual power.

Once dimmed, it couldn’t be replenished.

“Open…”

A second spear-shadow shot forth.

Crash…

Boom…

Boom…

Five spears in succession!

The talisman shielding He Pingsheng grew ever dimmer, on the verge of breaking.

Though the [Stony Talisman] was top-grade, a talisman is still a talisman—it cannot replenish energy; each bit consumed is gone forever.

It can withstand a single strike from a Qi Refining twelfth-layer cultivator, but not continuous, unrelenting assaults.

Sixth spear!

Seventh spear!

Boom…

He Pingsheng’s [Stony Talisman] shield was instantly shattered.

“Hahahaha…” The man laughed loudly. “Die…”

The eighth spear shot forth with a whistle, piercing toward He Pingsheng.

Yet, suddenly another shield appeared around He Pingsheng’s body.

Technique: Earth Armor Spell!

As he cast the Earth Armor Spell, He Pingsheng violently channeled his metallic spiritual energy.

Boom…

A bright, ten-foot-tall figure suddenly landed on the ground.

Technique: Yellow Turban Warrior!

Under He Pingsheng’s spiritual sense control, the Yellow Turban Warrior sprinted toward the woman.

Strike first to gain the advantage.

Otherwise, when this man and woman launch a joint attack, defense will become difficult.