Chapter 852: Are You Trying to Get Something for Free? (8th Update)

It was easy to understand the old man's state of mind at that moment.

If you had three talismans, why didn't you kill me?

You only killed the other two Body Integration cultivators—so you must have had only two talismans.

Now that your trump cards are spent, it's my turn to kill you.

Just a moment ago, the Profound Heaven Valley lost two Body Integration elders; the old man was indeed filled with grief and rage—but then his spiritual sense shifted, and he suddenly realized that with his two brothers dead, he was now the head of the Profound Heaven Valley, and his spirits lifted again.

Is the Profound Heaven Valley weaker now?

So what?

My power has only grown greater.

Hehehe… from now on, I'll take whatever resources the sect has.

"Flying Sword Slash!"

The Body Integration third-layer elder's mind cleared, and his long sword became a streak of light, hurtling straight at He Pingsheng.

Before the flying sword arrived, a vast sword aura swept over him.

The void trembled slightly, and the entire world shimmered with sharpness.

"Open…"

He Pingsheng smiled coldly, then waved his hand—a black lotus platform flew out and instantly expanded to three hundred zhang in size!

The black lotus platform rotated slowly, and with each turn, a wave of black energy rippled outward.

This was a defensive energy formed by combining the Five Elements Unified Force with the Heavenly Gang Three Transformations, then condensed with Nine Heaven Mystic Fire.

It was not a divine technique.

It was a move He Pingsheng had devised himself.

Yet this move possessed immense defensive power.

Boom…

The next instant, the flying sword struck the black lotus platform.

Yet the platform stood firm, trembling only slightly.

Its defensive strength rivaled that of the blood-red turtle shell.

"This…" The Body Integration elder's eyes narrowed. "What technique is this?"

"How can a mere Void Refinement cultivator possess such a powerful divine technique?"

Before the Body Integration cultivator finished speaking, He Pingsheng retracted the lotus platform and pulled from his hand a purple-red staff.

The purple-red staff stretched into hundreds of zhang, then suddenly turned black and came crashing down upon his head.

Divine Technique: Heaven's Mechanism Thirteen Strokes!

Of course, it wasn't merely the Heaven's Mechanism Thirteen Strokes—He Pingsheng had infused it with the Five Elements Unified Force and the Heavenly Gang Three Transformations.

It appeared as one technique, but was in truth three techniques fused as one.

Combined with the thirteen strokes of the Heaven's Mechanism Thirteen Strokes merging into a single strike, the power was unimaginable.

The Body Integration third-layer cultivator had just manifested his Law of Heaven and Earth technique—a five-hundred-zhang divine form—when this single stroke shattered it to pieces.

Puff…

His body instantly turned to mush.

His soul fled in terror, seeking to escape under the pull of his avatar's power—but He Pingsheng's black hook, already prepared, shot out with a hiss, snagged it, and yanked it before him.

It sounded long, but all of this happened in the blink of an eye.

"It's not that I ran out of talismans!" He Pingsheng stared at the Body Integration third-layer soul, coldly smiling. "It's that trash like you isn't even worth wasting a seventh-rank talisman on. That's all."

"I was wrong!" the old man's soul said. "I never imagined you and your master both possessed such abilities!"

The other two souls chimed in: "Your disciple Luo Bingyao killed our disciples—it was our disciples' fault to begin with; she was right to kill them. We were blind, unable to tell right from wrong!"

"Please, friend, release our souls—we'll be eternally grateful!"

"And we'll repay you handsomely!"

He Pingsheng ignored them and asked: "Didn't you just call my disciple a little bitch?"

"This…" They fell silent, embarrassed.

Now that they were at his mercy, they had no choice but to bow: "It's all our fault. Please, friend, release us!"

"We've cultivated for a thousand years—it hasn't been easy. Please, for the sake of the Dao, spare our three souls!"

He Pingsheng said nothing but let out a scoff and summoned the Nine Heaven Mystic Fire.

The three souls screamed for several breaths within the fire, then vanished into nothingness.

Simultaneously, their avatars—now without their master souls—collapsed instantly, becoming living corpses.

He Pingsheng couldn't help but sigh: This 【Huang Quan Soul Hook】 is truly useful!

He collected the three rings, tidied up the battlefield slightly, then turned into a streak of light and returned toward the Divine Thunder Imperial City.

"Master has returned!"

Seeing He Pingsheng, Feng Wu still looked worried.

He Pingsheng nodded: "Mm… I'm back."

"Then…" Feng Wu asked again. "Where are they? Miss Luo?"

He Pingsheng said: "They didn't capture Bingyao—they lied to me. They tricked me out to kill me!"

"Oh…" Feng Wu exhaled in relief.

He Pingsheng added: "Good thing they didn't kill me!"

"Enough. Go attend to your duties. I'm going to refine pills."

He Pingsheng didn't go to refine pills—he slipped quietly into his room, sealed the array, and began inspecting the rings he'd just taken for treasures.

Too bad!

No treasures!

The rings contained only alchemical and forging materials, vast quantities of spirit stones, and some magic treasures.

A few jade slips.

These items weren't low-grade—but to He Pingsheng, they seemed ordinary.

He strengthened everything, then began refining pills.

One batch after another of pills was refined, then tossed into the Treasure Gathering Basin for strengthening.

Before he was done, Feng Wu shouted from outside: "Master! Master! Someone's here—Cangqiong Daoist came again!"

Cangqiong Daoist?

Who's that?

He Pingsheng was baffled.

After a moment's thought, he remembered—the guy who'd come to him earlier to commission 【Avoid Lightning Pills】.

Hmm…

Wait a bit.

He Pingsheng refined two more batches of pills before stepping out from the back room.

When he saw Cangqiong Daoist again, he barely recognized him.

The man was disheveled, his robe torn, his face pale—as if he'd suffered severe injuries.

"What happened?" He Pingsheng asked. "You… got hurt?"

"Yes!" Cangqiong Daoist gave a bitter smile. "My original body is dead. This is just my avatar—if I hadn't fled fast enough, I'd be dead too!"

"And this is a Dao wound—ordinary pills can't heal it!"

"I need a seventh-rank 【Heal Dao Pill】!"

"Brother, I came here asking you to refine me a batch of Heal Dao Pills—but my Dao wound is severe, so the higher the pill's quality, the better!"

"It's best if it's top-grade!"

He Pingsheng nodded. "Fine. Wait a few days."

"Bring out the materials. To craft a top-grade pill, you need twenty sets of raw ingredients."

"This…" Cangqiong Daoist smiled bitterly again. "Brother, I don't have twenty sets—only one. Can you make it work?"

He Pingsheng's face darkened instantly: "You're fucking trying to get something for free?"