Chapter 92: Soul-Extinction Bell

The wind of heaven howled fiercely!

A massive paper crane glided through the void.

Sitting atop the crane was a cultivator—He Pingsheng.

Earlier, he had used his last shred of spiritual sense to activate a talisman and kill Luo Yu.

Then he had fainted.

When he awoke again, several hours had passed, so He Pingsheng dared not shatter the teleportation talisman to leave the secret realm.

Because most likely, Yu De was already waiting by the realm’s entrance like a hunter by a tree stump.

He Pingsheng struggled to control the paper crane, his head throbbing as if about to split open; beads of sweat the size of soybeans pattered down from his forehead.

Shhh…

The flying paper crane lost stability and tumbled sideways out of the void.

It narrowly missed crashing into a massive cliff rock beside it.

“Ah…” He Pingsheng endured the explosive pain and forcibly guided the crane past the cliff, landing in the deep valley opposite.

The valley was profound, with a small river winding through it.

At a bend where the river washed against the rock, there was another deep cave entrance, leading straight into the mountain’s core.

At this moment, He Pingsheng had no more desire to travel; his spiritual sense was nearly exhausted, so he had no choice but to drag his weary body into the cave.

Once inside the cave, his only thought was: sleep!

He fell into deep slumber.

Yet he knew he could not sleep.

With his current spiritual sense, setting up an array was impossible; he could only hastily pile up several massive rocks to block the cave entrance, then collapse onto the ground and snore loudly.

Yes, He Pingsheng’s spiritual sense was injured—severely.

Had he not cultivated the [Mystic Heart Calming True Scripture], a spiritual refinement technique that made his spiritual sense stronger than ordinary Qi Refining cultivators, he would have shattered under Luo Yu’s Golden Bell ambush.

That golden bell was simply too powerful.

The closer the target, the greater the destruction—it specifically targeted spiritual sense.

Fortunately, it was all over.

He Pingsheng lay in this dark, damp cave, sleeping without knowing day or night for three full days and nights before awakening.

“Ah…” After waking, his head still throbbed as if torn apart.

But now, it was slightly less unbearable than right after the ambush.

“Huh…” He Pingsheng exhaled deeply, enduring the headache, then turned to look around the cave where he rested.

The cave’s entrance was small, only a few chi in diameter, but inside it was remarkably spacious—roughly several zhang wide, as large as a big house.

Behind the cave was another, even deeper small entrance, leading further into the mountain’s depths.

But this small entrance was far too narrow—only about one chi wide—too small to crawl through. So He Pingsheng did not know how deep it went, yet cold air continuously gushed from within, turning into chilling winds that brushed against his skin, sending shivers down his spine.

He Pingsheng took several fire-element spirit stones from his storage pouch and casually tossed them onto the ground.

Instantly, fire-element spiritual energy surged forth, driving away the dampness in the cave.

He Pingsheng then took out a meditation cushion, water, and some elixirs from his storage pouch.

Then his brow furrowed.

With less than ten days left until the secret realm’s closure, searching for treasures now was nearly impossible.

He Pingsheng could not even control the paper crane, let alone cast spells or fight others—he had lost all means to compete for any treasure.

Fine, I’ll just wait here.

“At this point, that old bastard Yu De must already be waiting at the realm’s entrance,” He Pingsheng muttered under his breath.

So he could not shatter the teleportation jade talisman now—otherwise, certain death.

Then what to do?

If he didn’t leave now, he’d still have to leave when the realm closed!

Wouldn’t that mean certain death too?

As he pondered, He Pingsheng waved his hand and took out two items from his storage pouch.

One: a talisman—Disguise Talisman.

One: a book—[Mystic Heart Calming True Scripture].

He Pingsheng had already planned his escape: first, cultivate the [Mystic Heart Calming True Scripture] to restore at least some of his spiritual sense—even if not fully, every bit helped.

After leaving, he would gather materials and spirit herbs to craft the second-rank elixir [Soul-Recovering Pill].

Before the realm closed, he would disguise himself and leave.

But he didn’t know if disguise alone could fool Yu De, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

In short—it was fate.

If he couldn’t hide, he’d fight for survival from death’s jaws.

If he could hide, he’d escape to life.

He Pingsheng closed his eyes and meditated, beginning to cultivate the [Mystic Heart Calming True Scripture].

“Ah…” The moment he began, stabbing pain shot through his mind—almost unbearable.

But he knew this was normal.

To repair spiritual sense, pain was unavoidable.

Enduring the agony, He Pingsheng continued circulating the [Mystic Heart Calming True Scripture].

Unaware, one day passed.

His spiritual sense had slightly recovered.

As night fell and the moon rose, He Pingsheng quickly pulled out the Treasure Gathering Basin and tossed in the small golden bell.

This golden bell was the [Soul-Calling Bell] Luo Yu had used to ambush him.

The Soul-Calling Bell was a low-grade [Spirit Artifact], bearing five sealing layers.

This delighted He Pingsheng—he had never possessed a treasure of [Spirit Artifact] quality before.

But he wasn't sure if placing this Spirit Artifact into the Treasure Gathering Basin could enhance it to a Supreme Spirit Artifact.

Let’s try!

He Pingsheng placed the Treasure Gathering Basin behind him, then used the faint spiritual sense he had just regained to form a defensive array within the cave.

Now he needn’t fear beasts or people approaching.

Once done, He Pingsheng sat cross-legged on the cushion again, cultivating the [Mystic Heart Calming True Scripture] to heal his spiritual damage.

Soon, the night passed.

At dawn the next day, He Pingsheng opened his eyes and found his spiritual sense had healed further.

Put simply—he no longer had a headache.

But his spiritual sense was still weak, roughly equivalent to Qi Refining Stage One.

He still couldn’t project it beyond his body.

Full recovery in the short term was impossible.

He Pingsheng turned his head toward the Treasure Gathering Basin behind him.

As expected, the number of treasures inside had increased from one to two.

Yesterday evening, he had thrown in a golden bell; now it had become a dull yellow small bell and a red rattle drum.

He Pingsheng first reached out and picked up the dull yellow small bell.

Though his spiritual sense was extremely weak, probing this treasure was still possible.

The bell had a solid, substantial feel.

Rank: Supreme Spirit Artifact.

Sealing Layers: Eight!

Name: Soul-Extinction Bell.

Effect: After refinement, channeling magic power into it allows the bell to emit a spiritual sense attack—the closer the target, the stronger the strike.

He Pingsheng was overjoyed.

He had previously worried that the Treasure Gathering Basin couldn't enhance Spirit Artifacts to Supreme.

Now he saw he had been mistaken.

Directly Supreme, with eight sealing layers.

That meant—if fully refined—this object’s single strike would be far stronger than the former Soul-Calling Bell.