Chapter 83: Goodwill, Hongde Courtyard Disciple

He Pingsheng pushed off with his foot and leapt nearly thirty feet, then reached out to grab a protruding rock on the cliff face.

He pressed his right hand against the rock, exerted slight force, and leapt another thirty feet.

The next instant, he was pressed against the cliff wall again.

Repeating this three or five times, he leapt from the base of the cliff to its summit.

Having walked through these mountains frequently these past days, he had gained experience.

Standing atop the cliff and gazing around, the view stretched wide and open before him.

He Pingsheng checked the sun’s position, then pulled out a jade slip from his storage pouch and studied it, finally fixing his gaze northward: “It should be that direction!”

He wanted to see the location where the [Zhu Yu Fruit] grew.

He had no special purpose anyway.

Walking along, he could simply collect any heavenly treasures or rare herbs he encountered—this method of gathering was quite good.

“Huh…” He Pingsheng took a deep breath, then looked at the long, steep slope ahead, stepped forward, and shot off like an arrow.

The rugged mountain path felt as level as flat ground.

After walking nonstop for about an hour, the sun reached its zenith.

The weather gradually grew hotter.

Five or six cultivators in light blue robes flew past through the air ahead.

Each of these five or six cultivators rode a paper crane.

He Pingsheng looked up, but the height and the blinding sunlight made it impossible to see their faces or the markings on their robes, so he could not determine their sect.

Yet one paper crane suddenly lowered its altitude and landed in front of He Pingsheng after a few breaths.

He Pingsheng looked up and froze slightly.

What a beautiful woman.

He had seen her before—she was a female disciple of Tianfu Mountain, whom he had met once at Mount Matou Market, where she bought a disguise talisman, and again at the secret realm’s entrance.

He knew only that she was from Tianfu Mountain, but not her name.

“Is it you?” The woman looked at He Pingsheng, her eyes filled with faint surprise.

“Disciple He Pingsheng greets Senior Sister!” He Pingsheng bowed respectfully with clasped hands.

Under the sunlight, her light blue robe appeared even more elegant and flowing; her snow-white skin dazzled the eyes, and her exquisitely refined features made He Pingsheng’s face flush crimson.

He tried hard to control himself.

But he couldn’t.

His face truly turned red.

Uh…

So awkward.

The woman smiled gently and said, “We just passed through here!”

As she spoke, she lightly extended a finger toward the direction He Pingsheng was about to go; as her jade arm lifted, the wide sleeve of her light blue robe slid down to her elbow, revealing a smooth, lotus-white forearm.

Her skin was truly like congealed fat, making one’s spirit daze.

“Ahead lies a vast swamp, filled with many unknown venomous snakes!”

“Their venom is extremely potent, and they move in swarms!”

“Younger Brother, if you reach that swamp, remember not to step into it!”

“Just go around it!”

“One of our Tianfu Mountain disciples was injured there just now and remains unconscious from the poison!”

He Pingsheng felt warmth in his heart.

He had not expected a stranger to kindly warn him of danger at such a moment.

In the cultivation world, this was truly rare.

Yet there was another possibility—that the swamp concealed some treasure or secret, and this woman wished to keep it hidden, so she deliberately told him to avoid it.

With his current wisdom, He Pingsheng could not tell which was true.

But he preferred to believe it was the former.

“Thank you, Senior Sister,” He Pingsheng said again.

The woman replied, “No need to thank me!”

With that, she flipped over and mounted her paper crane, ready to soar into the sky.

“I am He Pingsheng of Grand Void Gate!” He Pingsheng’s face turned even redder; he swallowed hard, as if summoning all his courage, and asked: “May I ask your name, Senior Sister?”

The woman, swaying slightly atop the crane, smiled and studied him for two moments: “Qiao.”

“Qiao Huizhu!”

With that, her yellow paper crane shot skyward, instantly shrinking to a tiny dot.

Only a lingering fragrance remained, drifting through the air before slowly fading.

He Pingsheng took a deep breath and continued leaping forward.

It wasn’t because he lacked a paper crane.

On the contrary, he had several, all top-grade ones capable of twelve uses each.

He walked close to the ground because doing so allowed him to better spot heavenly treasures along the way.

He had already collected quite a few by now.

About two incense sticks later, He Pingsheng arrived beside a vast swamp.

“Is this it?”

Standing on the grass beside the swamp, He Pingsheng frowned as he stared ahead.

The swamp the Tianfu Mountain senior sister mentioned must be this one.

He believed she had not lied to him.

Yet he had no intention of following her advice to avoid it.

He wanted to enter and see if he could kill some venomous snakes and extract their venom cores.

He needed them.

And he needed them in large quantities.

Besides, even if bitten, he wouldn’t be poisoned—come on!

…

Shhh…

A yellow paper crane flew through the air.

Upon it sat a male disciple dressed in moon-white robes.

If He Pingsheng saw him, he would recognize him as a disciple of Grand Void Gate.

Not just any disciple—he was from Hongde Courtyard of Xiuzhu Peak.

The man’s name was Yang Xu, ranked below Linglong in Hongde Courtyard, with a cultivation base of Qi Refining Stage Ten.

Since entering the secret realm, he had never once searched for heavenly treasures; instead, following Linglong’s orders, he had ridden his paper crane daily across the realm, searching for someone.

He Pingsheng!

The secret realm was vast, stretching a thousand li in length and width.

Yet flying over it once on a yellow crane took only an hour.

But finding He Pingsheng was extremely difficult.

No matter.

If you can’t find him, search slowly.

Yang Xu understood his mission.

Compared to searching for heavenly treasures, Linglong Senior Sister’s task was far more important.

After all, failing to find heavenly treasures meant merely losing some opportunities.

But failing Linglong Senior Sister’s task meant certain death.

Moreover, he was not alone in flying through the air searching for He Pingsheng—there were three others.

Four in total.

How coincidental.

As Yang Xu rode his crane through the air, he arrived at the edge of the swamp.

He immediately spotted He Pingsheng.

“Is that…” Yang Xu felt excitement: “One of our Grand Void Gate disciples?”

Any Grand Void Gate disciple might be He Pingsheng.

So Yang Xu lowered his crane slightly.

Once he saw He Pingsheng’s face, he grinned with delight: Found him.

Finding He Pingsheng meant everything.

This was a major achievement!