Chapter 95: Spoils Distribution

“Bad!” Qiao Hui Zhu, barely holding onto her control, clutched He Pingsheng’s waist tightly and gasped: “This… huff… this… huff… is a Dao talisman!”

“Don’t let him activate it!”

“Otherwise, we’ll all die!”

He Pingsheng was also greatly startled.

Even without Qiao Hui Zhu’s warning, he knew how dangerous this talisman was.

A Dao talisman is a special talisman, a burst of energy wrapped in the cultivator’s own Dao method by a Nascent Soul cultivator.

For example, the Dao talisman in Xiao Bufan’s hand, though a first-rank talisman, contained immense power.

Once activated, He Pingsheng’s defensive array would surely shatter.

If the array broke, He Pingsheng and Qiao Hui Zhu would be in grave danger.

What to do?

He absolutely couldn’t let him trigger the talisman.

“Brother!” Xiao Bufan held up the Dao talisman and continued: “Don’t worry—if you hand me this woman, I’ll give you a thousand spirit stones!”

“I am Xiao Bufan, the eldest disciple of the Ice Ultimate Immortal Sect. If you hand her over, I’ll owe you a favor!”

“What do you say?”

“Fine!” He Pingsheng nodded, then waved his hand and opened a gap in the array: “Brother, please come in and speak!”

Xiao Bufan was overjoyed.

The Dao talisman in his hand was priceless—it was his lifeline, his greatest trump card.

Whether or not he could use it, he’d rather not!

Besides, the cultivator across from him carried no Treasure Bag and no magic artifacts on his person.

And what could a mere seventh-layer cultivator possibly do, even if he had some skill?

Could he possibly be a threat to me?

Xiao Bufan, clutching the Dao talisman, walked forward confidently.

Just as he lowered his guard, He Pingsheng suddenly waved his hand—a frozen arrow shot out.

Talisman: Frozen Arrow Talisman!

Whoosh…

The frozen arrow flew with blinding speed, bursting through the array before Xiao Bufan could react, piercing straight through his body!

Boom…

The frozen arrow exploded.

Xiao Bufan made no resistance—he was instantly shattered into countless fragments.

At that moment, the gap on the external supreme array sealed shut again.

“Huh…” He Pingsheng exhaled deeply, then felt his vision spin—he collapsed to the ground, utterly drained.

The next instant, darkness engulfed him—he fainted, lying motionless on the ground.

That was because, over these days, his soul awareness had only just recovered a tiny fraction—and to activate the [Frozen Arrow Talisman], he had burned through that last sliver of recovered soul awareness.

…

Half-asleep, He Pingsheng felt parched.

It was as if he had wandered into an endless desert.

Hot!

His whole body burned.

In his dream, he saw a clear spring in the desert, leapt joyfully into it, and drank his fill.

Then he lay comfortably on the sandy shore beside the spring, falling asleep.

So content. So warm.

As he slept, he didn’t know how long passed—until he suddenly opened his eyes and sat bolt upright.

A faint, sweet fragrance drifted through the air.

He Pingsheng turned his head and saw a woman in green robes, sitting upright barely two feet behind him, deep in cultivation.

Qiao Hui Zhu!

“Huh…” He Pingsheng exhaled again.

Good—he hadn’t been killed after fainting.

Check it out!

Hmm… his Treasure Bag was still there, untouched.

The treasure [Treasure Basin] still rested and nurtured within his dantian, unchanged.

Lucky to have met someone with conscience!

At that moment, Qiao Hui Zhu sensed movement—she opened her eyes, smiled at He Pingsheng, and said: “You’re awake?”

“Mm.”

He Pingsheng tapped his head and said: “Earlier, during the fight, I was tricked and my soul awareness was injured—forgive me for embarrassing myself before Sister Qiao!”

“It’s nothing!” Qiao Hui Zhu smiled generously.

He Pingsheng’s gaze left Qiao Hui Zhu and turned toward the array’s exterior.

He remembered clearly—he had killed Xiao Bufan before passing out.

Now, outside, everything had been cleaned up.

Looking down at his seat, his original meditation cushion was gone—in its place was a pink one.

Clearly a woman’s item.

“Where’s my cushion?” He Pingsheng exclaimed.

Qiao Hui Zhu said: “I threw it away.”

“Why?” He Pingsheng asked.

Qiao Hui Zhu said: “It was dirty—I replaced it for you!”

“If you like it, it’s yours!”

“If you don’t, when I go out, I’ll buy you another!”

He Pingsheng nodded: “No need to trouble Sister Qiao—it’s fine.”

It was just a cushion—no need to dwell on it.

“Sister Qiao, how long was I asleep?” he asked.

Qiao Hui Zhu said: “Not long—just one day and night.”

That was good.

He Pingsheng relaxed.

That meant there was still time before the secret realm closed.

“Brother… I still don’t know your name?” Qiao Hui Zhu looked at He Pingsheng, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

He Pingsheng smirked.

He remembered when they first met in the secret realm—Qiao Hui Zhu had warned him not to enter the swamp, and they had exchanged names then.

Sadly, she’d forgotten.

This…

Sigh.

“He Pingsheng…” He Pingsheng told her again.

Qiao Hui Zhu grinned mischievously: “Brother He… don’t worry—I forgot your name last time, but I won’t forget again!”

“Here—this is Xiao Bufan’s Treasure Bag!”

“I haven’t opened it.”

“You killed him—by right, all the spoils belong to you.”

He Pingsheng’s spiritual sense swept over the Treasure Bag—the faint spiritual imprint of Xiao Bufan still lingered, meaning Qiao Hui Zhu truly hadn’t opened it.

Beside the bag lay a high-grade magic treasure sword and a golden talisman.

That golden talisman was the Dao talisman.

“Split it evenly!” He Pingsheng reached out and opened the Treasure Bag.

Whoosh…

Contents spilled out.

Five thousand spirit stones!

Some herbs and spirit grasses.

And pills.

Most eye-catching were three green apricots.

He Pingsheng had never seen these before.

“What are these?” he asked.

Qiao Hui Zhu said: “Water Elemental Spirit Apricots.”

“Huh?” He Pingsheng was even more confused: “Aren’t Water Elemental Spirit Apricots golden?”

“Yes,” Qiao Hui Zhu said. “But the ones you mean are ripe Water Elemental Spirit Apricots.”

“When I and Xiao Bufan came, the ripe ones in the Ice Frost Lake had already been harvested—he found a few unripe ones and picked them up.”

"Actually, picking them is useless—just a waste of time!"

"Oh..." He Pingsheng murmured, then silently tucked away the three unripe [Water Elemental Spirit Apricots].

Doesn't matter if they're not ripe—I'll just put them in my Treasure Basin later and strengthen them; what if they do strengthen?

Even if they don't strengthen, I don't lose anything, right?

"Let's split the spirit stones evenly!" He Pingsheng said.

Qiao Huizhu shook her head: "I don't want any spirit stones or other items—this [Talisman of the Dao]... if Brother He doesn't need it, I'd like it!"

"Of course, I can give you some compensation!"