Chapter 789: Hiding Isn

He Pingsheng stepped forward a few paces and stood before the Golden Beast Emperor, bowing slightly: "Your Majesty, I have already handed all my magic treasures to the Great Lun Ming Wang, who is holding them for me."

Swish…

All eyes turned to the Great Lun Ming Wang.

The Great Lun Ming Wang smiled, her jade hand flicking slightly, and numerous magic treasures flew out and hovered in midair.

Naturally, among them was a blood-red turtle shell and a black long spear.

Of course, the spear was merely for disguise—it was not the Primordial Purple Gold Rod!

Hummm… hummm… hummm…

To convince everyone, the Great Lun Ming Wang even channeled some magic power into the treasures; instantly, a blue phantom turtle appeared on the surface of the blood-red shell.

Seeing this, everyone knew this was He Pingsheng's strongest defensive magic treasure.

"Hmm…" The Golden Beast Emperor's spiritual sense swept over He Pingsheng and said: "Good enough… you may enter."

In truth, He Pingsheng had not handed over everything.

For instance, his Primordial Purple Gold Rod he kept for himself, stored inside the Treasure Basin and hidden within his dantian.

This item was virtually invisible even to a Beast Emperor.

If anyone did spot it, he would simply claim it as his life-bound magic treasure.

Everyone else is allowed to keep one—why can't I?

"Wait…" Just as He Pingsheng was about to step into the green vortex, the Seventh Elder of the Phoenix Clan stepped forward. (Note: Earlier, when writing about the Phoenix Emperor, many mistakenly assumed he was the strongest of the Phoenix Clan—he is not. In my setting, the Phoenix Emperor is merely one of several Beast Emperors sent by the clan, serving as their leader; Zhao Xiangdu is not his servant, but the servant of the Phoenix Clan's Ancestor.)

The Seventh Elder of the Phoenix Clan bowed to the Golden Beast Emperor: "The human race is cunning and deceitful. I too wish to inspect him. Golden Beast Emperor, is that acceptable?"

The Golden Beast Emperor nodded: "Of course."

"Thank you." The Seventh Elder bowed, then turned to He Pingsheng; his spiritual sense surged forth violently, sweeping over He Pingsheng once more.

Yet after scanning for over a dozen breaths, he detected nothing unusual about He Pingsheng.

"He Pingsheng… I know you're a scheming little brat!" the Seventh Elder said. "But if you use any magic treasure and are seen, I will revoke your qualification!"

"Understood?"

He Pingsheng replied calmly and respectfully: "Do as you please, Beast Emperor."

With that, he stepped forward and entered the green vortex.

"Next, the Celestial Fox Clan—Bai Zhiting…"

…

He Pingsheng's vision plunged into sudden darkness!

It felt like a single breath—or perhaps the burning of an incense stick.

His vision brightened again.

Before him stretched a great river, wide as a hundred li.

In a flash, within mere breaths, his body became a streak of light, crossing the river and landing atop a towering mountain peak.

All other peaks lay below him.

From his vantage point, the ten-thousand-li surroundings appeared utterly uninhabited.

Yet life was present—abundant.

Deep within the Cangshan Mountains, roars of wild beasts echoed everywhere.

The sun, as large as a cartwheel, glowed orange-red, sinking toward the western horizon where the broad river stretched.

Just arriving in this world, the sky of this great world was already darkening.

The sunset bled crimson; the twilight burned like fire!

He Pingsheng had no interest in admiring the scenery; he waved his hand and pulled out a plaque.

A white jade tablet.

This was a prop.

Whoever collected the most props in this realm would rank highest.

Of course, the prop had another function—it contained a map.

He Pingsheng's spiritual sense instantly scanned into it.

The entire map appeared before his eyes.

He himself possessed a small world created by a Great Emperor, but such things vary in rank.

There are Great Thousand Worlds, Middle Thousand Worlds, and Small Thousand Worlds.

The one he seized from Tian Jinpeng was a Small Thousand World; the one he now stood in was a Great Thousand World.

Generally, a Great Thousand World's size was roughly equivalent to his former cultivation world.

Now, scanning the map, he began to believe it.

Indeed, its scale matched his old cultivation world.

Moreover, not only was there a map—he spotted a tiny red-glowing dot on it.

The dot lay beside a river named the 【Tongtian River】.

"Huh… so that's it… this red dot represents my current position!"

"Good heavens… it can do this too?"

He Pingsheng was overjoyed.

With a map and location marker, finding the 【Talented Stone Stele】 would be far easier.

Yet he had no intention of seeking the Talented Stone Stele!

His current score was already sufficient to climb the Stone Platform Stairway—no need to risk it.

The truth was, many here wanted him dead.

Fine.

You're strong—I'm being cautious.

Can't I just hide like a turtle?

He Pingsheng wasn't foolish.

If the Phoenix Clan wants to kill me, they must have some advantage—perhaps a great weapon, or even someone secretly slipped in with cultivation beyond Void Refinement.

So, chasing the stele would still be dangerous.

I won't go.

If I just stay still and hide, you can't touch me, can you?

One move neutralizes all your schemes.

Plop…

He Pingsheng leapt straight off the towering peak; within a few breaths, he plunged into the broad river.

He activated the Water Submersion Technique—Ren Water Submersion.

This technique was merely a spell, but it was sufficient for his current swimming needs.

Also, he still had one 【Transform into Water】 talisman—he'd used one back in his cultivation world when chased by a Soul Transformation cultivator.

He still had one left.

Too bad—it was only a fourth-rank talisman. Even if he now merged with the river as water, it offered little advantage.

Any passing cultivator would see through him at a glance.

Better to simply dive to the riverbed and hide.

He slowly swam downward.

Occasionally, giant fish over a zhang long and various water monsters darted past—though fearsome in appearance, most were ordinary aquatic creatures, not even qualifying as beast beasts.

Even when he encountered the occasional beast or spirit beast, they were all at Qi Refining level.

No threat.

Soon, He Pingsheng reached the riverbed.

He found a flat spot, pulled out array materials, and swiftly set up a third-rank waterproof array, then stepped inside.

With his current ability, he could construct a fifth-rank array.

But even that was his limit.

Moreover, a fifth-rank array took too long—he didn't have ten days to spare for the realm's duration.

So he built only a third-rank array.

Third-rank was enough.

Slowly hiding beneath the water, suppressing his aura—let's see who finds me now?

Hiding isn't cowardice—it's strategy.