Translated By – DemonKiller
Checked and Edited By – Livewidsmile
Proofread By – DemonKiller
Please do not host our works anywhere else without our permission.
Chapter 0436: Scaring to death someone above the Crucible Transformation Realm
The Desiccated Purple Flame Heart's cocoon encasing the flame gave a "Katcha" sound; the next second, the Desiccated Purple Flame Heart scattered into flying ash, disappearing without even a trace left behind.
Ning Cheng looked at the Star River suspended over his hand in surprise; he knew that Star River had finally levelled-up to a whole level. Initially, when the Desiccated Purple Flame Heart had encased the Star River, the flame still possessed a faint yellow colour; however, currently, the Star River had turned red, showing that the might of this flame had strengthened many times over. Of this, Ning Cheng was the clearest of all.
"Haha, Senior Mu, I have succeeded." Ning Cheng laughed. For the last 20 years, other than continuously resisting the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan, most of his energies were concentrated in helping Star River to level-up.
The Star River's ability to absorb the Desiccated Purple Flame Heart was far faster than ordinary flame sparks by several folds. Combined with the help provided by Ning Cheng, the absorption of the Desiccated Purple Flame Spark turned even swifter, ultimately leading to completing the level-up in just 20 years.
"Senior Mu?" Only at this moment did Ning Cheng discover that Mu Ziming was not in a position to speak any words. 20 years ago, he already had an almost-bony appearance; however, at this time, Mu Ziming had genuinely turned into a near-bones state. His skin was currently akin to dried parchment hanging onto his skeleton, without any clear indication of him being alive or dead.
Ning Cheng then looked at Jia Shisan and Xiao Bisheng. The two of them were also not in any better condition. In fact, he was also extremely exhausted and sporting an utterly emaciated appearance. It was as if a gust of wind would be more than enough to blow him away. If it were not for the Array Formations protecting him, not allowing the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan to directly absorb his Essence Blood, which was practically the sustenance needed for continuing the level-up of the Star River, he most likely would have already perished a long time ago.
Ning Cheng did not spend much time pondering over it; he directly stretched out his hand and sent out the Star River. Other than the Maximal Flame Spiritual Technique, he did not have any other flame-type cultivation method; as such, he could only use the flame as an incinerator.
A tongue of red flame erupted, akin to the eruption of a volcano; the next moment, Ning Cheng immediately felt an intense burst of the charred stench around him. The inexhaustible and seemingly endless Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan, under the effect of the Star River, almost instantly turned into ashes. Ning Cheng gave out a sigh, before finally walking out of the Array Formation.
Trapped for nearly 40 years, before suddenly coming out, Ning Cheng couldn't help but feel a little weak in his legs.
With the rapid incineration speed of the Star River, in just a dozen breaths of time, all the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan present in the blue hole around them turned into ashes.
The greasy smell that filled the blue hole was disgusting with the potential to make any person sick. Fortunately, trapped in this place for nearly 40 years, Ning Cheng had long since become accustomed to the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan's disgusting smell.
"Plop…" Three consecutive sounds emerged.
Without the restraints of the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan, Mu Ziming, Xiao Bisheng, and Jia Shisan, the three of them immediately fell to the ground.
Ning Cheng quickly took out two pills and threw them into the mouths of Mu Ziming and Xiao Bisheng. Finally feeling a faint breath of vitality from the two of them, Ning Cheng immediately felt relieved in his heart. Fortunately, the two of them were able to persist until now.
"Careful…" Mu Ziming and Xiao Bisheng immediately called out at the same time.
At this moment, an incomparably swift and fierce killing intent suddenly shot towards Ning Cheng's back.
A sneak attack from Jia Shisan, Ning Cheng instantly understood. However, he did not even turn around; extending his hand behind him, Ning Cheng immediately seized a giant seal. This giant seal, in Ning Cheng's hands, quickly started to shrink, before turning into a somewhat large stamp that rested atop on his outstretched hand.
"You…." The almost-bones Jia Shisan behaved as if he had just seen a ghost while staring at Ning Cheng. He had never encountered such a fear-inducing scene. Just a puny cultivator at the 4th Level of Sea Opening Realm yet this person not only seized his Magical Weapon easily; he even directly severed and erased his Spiritual Consciousness link to his Magical Weapon. What kind of terrifying ability was this?
Even Mu Ziming and Xiao Bisheng were horrified as they stared at Ning Cheng. Trapped in this place for these many years, Jia Shisan was in the same state as them. Although his strength would have also dropped considerably, his power would still be above that of Crucible Transformation Cultivators. While Ning Cheng was just a Sea Opening Cultivator, yet was able to seize Jia Shisan's giant seal with ease. What kind of horrifying cultivation was this?
Ning Cheng also looked at the giant seal in his hand. When Jia Shisan attacked him, he had perceived it almost instantly. At that same moment, Ning Cheng had unconsciously extended his hand backwards and seized the giant seal bearing down on him. In his heart, he felt strangely sure that he could deal with this giant seal, a kind of self-confidence that came out of experiences from the past.
In the past few decades, although his cultivation level had not risen at all; however, his Spiritual Consciousness had skyrocketed in strength. Moreover, because he was regularly using Array Formations to resist the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan, combined with his powerful deduction and self-correcting ability granted by the Mysterious Yellow Formless, his familiarity in utilising his True Essence and Spiritual Consciousness had reached an utterly incredulous level.
In Ning Cheng's opinion, his True Essence had not increased by much; in fact, his True Essence was in an almost consumed state for the most of the time. Yet, even in that state, Ning Cheng was still able to keep the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan at bay. From this, it was evident that once he restored his True Essence to its full capacity, he would be a lot stronger compared to what he was previously.
Because of the Mysterious Yellow Origin and the Mysterious Yellow Formless Cultivation Method, his 40 years of cultivation were equivalent to someone else's 400 or even 4000 years.
For 40 years, Ning Cheng did not gain even the slightest bit in his cultivation level; however, he vaguely felt that he had reached the highest realm of cultivation using the Mysterious Yellow Formless. Instead of taking the initiative to cultivate, his subconscious mind drove itself to promote his cultivation at every moment. This was the true Formless Realm of the Mysterious Yellow Formless.
Jia Shisan immediately reacted; with fear completely filling every corner of his being, he screamed out wildly and jumped away from his position to escape. However, the next moment, he felt as if he did not belong to the space around him. Although he felt like he had taken a few steps forward; however, in reality, he remained frozen in place.
"Domain?" Mu Ziming and Xiao Bisheng cried out in an extremely shocked voice. Ning Cheng hadn’t even moved from his spot, yet he could easily stop an expert on the level of Jia Shisan from escaping. Didn't it mean that he now possessed the ability to control the surrounding space? This kind of control, in the True Cultivation World, had a specific term, 'Domain'.
"Domain…." Jia Shisan murmured the single word to himself in a low voice, before he directly fell to the ground dead.
He was already extremely close to death and had stimulated that tiny bit of vitality in him to sneak attack Ning Cheng, finally turning him into a dried up oil lamp. Finally, he had no choice but to run away. However, he encountered an extremely horrifying scene that he could never think of as being possible. A Sea Opening Cultivator stretching out their Domain. This concept had itself caused the collapse of his worldview, shattering his mind completely.
In other words, he ended up scared to death by Ning Cheng.
"He's dead. I can't believe that you have a Domain. Maybe he was scared to death because of that." After Xiao Bisheng swallowed the pill from Ning Cheng, he took out a few more pills and ate them, allowing his spirit and vigour to recover significantly. Although he still looked like a skeleton covered in skin, his Essence Blood was slowly replenishing.
Mu Ziming was also in the same situation as Xiao Bisheng. However, since his cultivation turned out higher when compared to Xiao Bisheng, so after listening to Xiao Bisheng's words, he shook his head and spoke, "That's not it, although the skill shown by Sect Master Ning in controlling the surrounding space looked like a Domain; however, it definitely is not a Domain. That move is just a kind of skill to take partial control over the surrounding space; it is still incapable of full use. There is still a long distance to actually reach the realm of Domain."
However, Mu Ziming was a lot clearer in his mind. Even if Ning Cheng had not comprehended the Domain, with this kind of performance, grasping Domain was just a matter of time. If he was not wrong, then the reason for Ning Cheng's comprehension should definitely have some relations to his battle with Rong Jin at that time. This kind of talent caused Mu Ziming to feel extremely shocked to the core.
As long as Ning Cheng received the right guidance, Ning Cheng would definitely be able to comprehend Domain. Trapped in this place for 40 years, the three of them had reached the edge of death. Moreover, Ning Cheng's cultivation was the worst among them, but not only did it not turn disadvantageous for them, it actually transformed into a blessing in disguise.
Because of this, he did not continue to address him as Ning Cheng; instead, he directly called him Sect Master Ning, out of genuine respect.
Ning Cheng had no previous contact with Domain; hearing those words, he quickly cupped his fists and spoke: "Hope Senior Mu can point me in the right direction."
Mu Ziming waved his hand and spoke, "Don't call me Senior. If we talk about real strength, then both Xiao Bisheng and I are inferior to you. Just call me Brother Mu from now on."
"Yes, hereafter, we are friends from the same generation." Ning Cheng saved Xiao Bisheng's life. Combined with his extraordinary strength, it was already a long written fact that they would become friends. Moreover, he also heard that Ning Cheng shared a good relationship with his Heavenly Dao Academy's Li Lingfan. As such, this friendship would also cement the relationship between them.
"Then I will also not remain polite about it. I hope Brother Mu can provide me with some guidance about what Domain entails." Ning Cheng, after quickly recovering his True Essence and Spiritual Consciousness, perceived that his own personal strength had become many times stronger. As such, he also chose to no longer remain as polite as before.
Mu Ziming sighed and spoke, "Actually, not to mention me, even if it were the entire Yi Xing Mainland, I estimate that there are only a very few individuals who understand the concept of Domain. If Xu Anzhen had not suffered injuries before, then she might have understood something about it; however, even if she fully recovered from her injuries, she would not be able to gain any sort of understanding about Domain. Truthfully, I won't be able to give you any explanation as to what a Domain is. However, if you really want to understand what a Domain entails, then the only way to do so would be to enter Heaven's Way."
"I've decided, after going out and arranging a few matters of my academy, I will enter Heaven's Way." Xiao Bisheng spoke out without any hesitation.
Mu Ziming and nodded, "Yes, I'm also going to enter the Heaven's Way this time. What does Sect Master Ning think about it?"
"Although I do want to enter, I will still wait for a bit." Ning Cheng knew that it was impossible for Ning Ruolan and Ji Luofei to advance to the Crucible Transformation Realm during these years. Therefore, he can only wait for the two of them to enter the Crucible Transformation Realm before thinking of going to Heaven's Way. After going out of this place, he first had to find a way to search for cultivation resources that would help them.
Mu Ziming did not know much about the things related to Domains, causing Ning Cheng to feel a little bit disappointed. He could take control of the surrounding space; however, it was a just vague comprehension gained from the battle with Rong Jin.
Lifting his hand and picking up Jia Shisan's ring from the ground, Ning Cheng once again spoke up, "After I completely burn away the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan, we can then find a way to leave this place."
"Sect Master Ning, burning away the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan does not mean it is finished. Although it may look like you completely burned away the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan in this blue hole. However, the fact is, these rattan vines have only retreated in fear of your flames." Xiao Bisheng explained.
Without waiting for Ning Cheng to answer, Mu Ziming looked at the red coloured Star River floating in front of Ning Cheng in the puzzle and asked, "Sect Master Ning, I have seen a lot many kinds of flames; however, I have never seen any flame like yours. Supposedly, the level of your flame is not high, so how was it able to burn away the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan?"
Mu Ziming also wanted to ask another question but chose not to ask it; that is, even if Ning Cheng's flames underwent consecutive level-ups, it should still face a few difficulties in burning away the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan. Initially, the only reason he had decided to take out the Desiccated Purple Flame Heart was due to the faint hope in his mind. He never expected that Ning Cheng's flame would completely absorb his Desiccated Purple Flame Heart in just twenty years. If he was to come up with another Desiccated Purple Flame Heart, he suspected that Ning Cheng's flame would once again undergo another level-up, but this time in less than a year.
The higher the grade of the flame, the faster the absorption of the ore.
"I am not too familiar with this flame. This flame is something that I received from a senior." Ning Cheng did not mention that his flame actually came from an Immortal Mansion. Moreover, saying that the fire was something that he received from a senior was also not false. If not for the white-haired old woman leading him to look for the Immortal Mansion, he would not have obtained the Star River.
Mu Ziming didn't continue to cross-examine Ning Cheng about his flames. He looked into the deepest area of the blue hole and spoke up with anxiety, "These Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan truly is a menace. Even if we can escape from this place today, these Ghost Rattan would still be able to enter the Tian Continent in the future, which will only end in a disaster. What's more, we also can't get out of this place without completely extinguishing this Ghost Rattan."
Translated By – DemonKiller
Checked and Edited By – Livewidsmile
Proofread By – DemonKiller
Please do not host our works anywhere else without our permission.
Chapter 0437: Destroying the Ghost Rattan King
"Brother Mu, haven't these Ghost Rattans already entered the Tian Continent? Is this place not within the range of the Tian Continent?" Ning Cheng asked in doubt.
Mu Ziming shook his head and spoke, "No, it's not. If I did not guess incorrectly, this is the Yi Xing Mainland's Domain Boundary Abyss. This Domain Boundary Abyss has a partial connection to the Void, making it very difficult to discover the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan growing in this place. Even I don't know how Jia Shisan discovered that this place contained the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan."
Ning Cheng also frowned, if these Underworld Crow Ghost Rattans chose to completely shrink into the walls of the blue hole and not come out, even he would be helpless in dealing with it. The walls of this blue hole were tough; moreover, even if he could manage to break it apart, it would not mean that he could also find the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan hiding inside.
"This won't do, let me go all the way in with my flames, find the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King, and burn it down." Ning Cheng had lived in the Yi Xing Mainland for many years, allowing him to gather a few friends. He also did not want the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King to sweep through the entire Yi Xing Mainland.
Mu Ziming and Xiao Bisheng both shook their heads simultaneously, "Your flames can only burn the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan around the edges. This Underworld Ghost Rattan King should be quite weak since it did not continue to pester us after suffering burns and allowed us to out. If you are really determined to deal with the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King, then it would truly be difficult to determine as to who the final winner would be."
"If I do not take the initiative, then the suction force at the entrance of that hole would not dissipate, and we will also remain stranded in this place. Although our situation is slightly better than before, once the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King grows up, we will still end up dying." As Ning Cheng thought about it, he decided to throw everything away on a gamble to destroy the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King.
The blue hole was ice cold. Considering that Mu Ziming and Xiao Bisheng were currently too weak, Ning Cheng arranged a Rank 8 Defensive Array Formation, allowing the two of them inside the Array Formation to help them recover faster. He then started to explore the depths of the blue hole to search for the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King. If after he left the area, if these rattan vines once again tried to entangle the Mu Ziming duo, the two of them would still be able to hang on for 2 or 3 days with the help of the Rank 8 Defensive Array Formation.
Maybe the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King sensed the presence of the Star River, which it dreaded very much, on Ning Cheng's body, so once Ning Cheng started moving towards the depths of the blue hole, no rattan vines came erupted to entangle him. In the entire blue hole, in addition to the sounds of his footsteps, there was only a misty blue dim light, as well as the omnipresent freezing cold that cut to the bone.
This blue hole was just like a bottomless pit. As Ning Cheng's Spiritual Consciousness swept forwards, he could only perceive a faint blue film in front of him. It was as if something blocked the path forward for his Spiritual Consciousness, keeping him from seeing into the depths of this place.
An hour later, Ning Cheng finally understood something. For decades, trapped at the outermost layer of this blue hole, none of them knew about the mysteriousness of this place.
Another half an hour later, Ning Cheng finally came to a stop. There were two entrances adjacent to each other in front of him, again in the form of holes. He did not know whether to enter the left hole or the right hole.
However, Ning Cheng suddenly felt something wrong. If this Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King lived this deep, how was Jia Shisan planning to use the 9-Colored Mirage Tree to capture the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan? He apparently did not have any unique flames on him; as such, it was almost impossible for him to reach this far into this place.
Thinking of this, Ning Cheng did not move forwards; instead, he took out a 9-Colored Mirage Stone and started to refine it into an Array Flag.
After an incense stick worth of time, Ning Cheng refined the 9-Colored Mirage Stone into an Array Flag for a Cloth Array. As a top-class Tier 8 Array Formation Grandmaster, after refining a 9-Colored Mirage Stone into an Array Flag, Ning Cheng then laid out an Illusion Array in a short time.
Even Ning Cheng himself did not know what would happen after he arranged the Illusion Array, or about the next steps. He only knew that Jia Shisan wanted to capture the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King with the help of the 9-Colored Mirage Tree. This showed that this Ghost Rattan King should show some form of resistance towards illusions.
What surprised Ning Cheng was that just as he finished arranging his Illusion Array, the two holes in front of him immediately started to disappear. At the same time, a third entrance appeared right in the middle of the previous two holes. After another moment, the left and right holes disappeared.
This Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan really had some relations to illusions; Ning Cheng thought as he grabbed the Array Flag and immediately rushed into the hole that had just appeared. Just as he went in, many rattan vines shot into the air towards him, accompanied by bouts of thunderous roaring noises.
Ning Cheng did not feel any surprise in regards to this; on the contrary, he knew that he did not go astray on the path. This place here indeed was the lair of the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King.
The Star River, just like a burst of fireworks, immediately spread and proliferated around Ning Cheng's surroundings. Explosion sounds immediately erupted from all around him when Ning Cheng once again sniffed the familiar burning stench.
From this, Ning Cheng estimated that he was reasonably close to the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King. Especially since these rattan vines still pounced towards Ning Cheng location, despite suffering intense burns. It's as if these vines simply did not care about the raging flames in the surroundings.
As he went further in, these rattan vines started attacking Ning Cheng in an even crazier manner, not giving Ning Cheng's Star River enough time to burn them away. These Ghost Rattan Vines only had a single purpose. That is, to block Ning Cheng, to not let Ning Cheng close to the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King.
Maybe the reason why the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King had gotten this angry was that it sensed Ning Cheng's intent of destroying its foundation.
Although the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King might have turned angry because of his behaviour, Ning Cheng was also similarly feeling a peculiar rage build up inside of him. Sealed for decades by this Ghost Rattan, he had not even made a move, when this Ghost Rattan actually gained a head start over him.
During the decades of entrapment, Ning Cheng had not chosen to use the remaining Essence Birthing Bamboo Pith with him. However, at this time, Ning Cheng did not hesitate to take out what little Essence Birthing Bamboo Pith that he possessed and emptied it into his mouth. As his True Essence quickly recovered, Ning Cheng immediately started crazily stimulating the Star River.
The Star River's flame, with the help of Ning Cheng's stimulation and his True Essence, immediately exploded out.
An even more intense charcoal-like smell emerged; no one knew how many rattan vines were attacking Ning Cheng, nor could anyone guess as to how many rattan vines turned to ashes by Ning Cheng. At this time, Ning Cheng did not think of anything else, just desperately catalysing the Star River's flames. In the same way, the rattan vines crazily and repeatedly pounced onto Ning Cheng.
The originally ice-cold blue hole, because of Ning Cheng's deadly catalysation of the Star River's flames, turned scorching hot in almost an instant. The ice-cold atmosphere completely vanished as if it never existed.
The feeling of once again being able to control the surrounding space welled up inside his mind again. At the same time, Ning Cheng immediately caught each of the rattan vines trying to attack him. These flocked over rattan vines seemed frozen in space.
This definitely was similar to what the Mu Ziming trio had thought of previously, about it having some relations to a Domain. It was also the same feeling that Ning Cheng felt when he went up against Rong Jin. However, compared to the last time, where Ning Cheng ended up trapped in Rong Jin's Domain-like space, this time, it was the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan that was caught in his Domain-like area.
Ning Cheng, instead, closed his eyes, while a clear picture of his Star River crazily burning away the rattan vines appeared inside his consciousness. However, these rattan vines honestly gave the feeling of being inexhaustible, causing Ning Cheng to give out a sigh while calming himself down from his previous angry mood. At this moment, he already prepared himself for a long and drawn out battle, he did not believe that he would not be able to burn away these rattan vines.
Once Ning Cheng converged his anxious and angry feelings, the situation of the rattan vines surrounding him became even more apparent. He could perceive a round altar. In the middle of this altar, there was a green, shiny looking vine growing. The countless rattan vines that were rushing over to block his path forward were all spreading out from this green vine.
This definitely was the Ghost Rattan King, Ning Cheng's heart immediately started to overflow with even more powerful killing intent. Although the number of rattan vines attacking him increased, as long as he killed the Ghost Rattan King, everything would disappear.
The bright green shiny-looking vine growing on the round altar seemed to have also noticed Ning Cheng's killing intent. The green rattan vine suddenly rose up, the entire vine transforming into a stout and thick vine, several dozen times larger than its previous state, which then turned into an incomparably and terrifyingly large rattan vine in the next instant as it rumbled towards Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng felt his heart shiver; however, he knew that it was too late to call back his Spiritual Consciousness. Without even thinking of anything else, he immediately activated the Maximal Flame Spiritual Technique.
As the incomparably thick green vine came crashing down, he knew that the Star River's flame would not be able to burn away the vine in time by itself. If the Star River were unable to resolve the deadlock with this gigantic Ghost Rattan King, then this Ghost Rattan King would definitely stab into Ning Cheng's body, killing him instantly. Looking at this thick and sturdy looking Ghost Rattan King, Ning Cheng estimated that his own flesh and blood would not be enough to even engulf it.
At this moment, a feeling of space collapsing emerged, followed by the seemingly inexhaustible flames in the surrounding to disappear almost instantaneously. The rattan vine on sensing that the Star River's fire had suddenly vanished, it felt itself at a loss.
Even the massive Ghost Rattan King rushing towards Ning Cheng stilled for a moment; however, a moment later, the endless rattan vines recovered and accelerated towards Ning Cheng.
A few of the rattan vine, in just a twinkling of an eye, tore through Ning Cheng's robes. A few rattan vines even whipped across Ning Cheng's body. However, at this moment, the surrounding space disappeared. In this vanishing space, even the Ghost Rattan King couldn't help itself from stopping.
"Boom…." A violent and tearing explosion rang out at the periphery. At the same time, everything within the range of the blast disappeared. Everything turned to nihility.
Terrifying flames emerged but also vanished a moment later after clearing away everything into nihility.
These flames emerged quickly, vanishing even quicker. After the explosion disappeared, all the rattan vines in the surroundings also disappeared. Even the green coloured Ghost Rattan King on the round altar had also vanished. Only a fist-sized green glowing object remained suspended over the platform in the air. Just now, the Maximal Flame Spiritual Technique had eradicated everything around; however, it failed to destroy this fist-sized green object.
Ning Cheng felt extremely shocked in his heart as he could feel that his Maximal Flame Spiritual Technique turned out to be countless times more powerful when compared to the past. However, he quickly suppressed this feeling as he raised his hand and grabbed onto the fist-sized green ball.
A powerful wooden attributed aura transmitted from the ball, allowing Ning Cheng to instantly understand what this object was. This object was none other than the Essence of Wood.
As an Earth Pill Grandmaster, who would soon advance to Tier 8, he undoubtedly had heard about the Essence of Wood. However, he had never seen the Essence of Wood, let alone obtaining such a large clump of it. Essences and Origins were not the same; compared to Origins, Essences were definitely inferior. However, Essences had a direct effect on a cultivator.
Ning Cheng quickly took out a jade box, before carefully placing the Essence of Wood into it from his hands before sealing it and putting it away. In his heart, he felt genuinely overjoyed, as he thought that his unexpected trip here did not end up in vain.
After the level-up of his Star River, his Maximal Flame Spiritual Technique's power also had risen considerably, causing it to display a horrendous might when unleashed. Ning Cheng estimated that the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King, under his Maximal Flame Spiritual Technique, should have turned into nihility.
The thought of hurrying back to where Mu Ziming and Xiao Bisheng were waiting had just popped up in Ning Cheng's mind when bursts of thunderous roars started echoing all around as the surrounding walls of the blue hole began to collapse. As the walls of this blue hole collapsed, one could make out this place indeed had connections to the Void.
Ning Cheng once again turned significantly anxious in his heart as he swept out with his Spiritual Consciousness to find an escape route. However, before he could find an escape route, he discovered a section of greyish-black rattan vine.
Didn't he destroy the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan? Ning Cheng felt greatly surprised in his heart. Rather than choosing to leave, he immediately came forward and grabbed the greyish-black piece of rattan vine with his hand.
Holding the section of rattan vine in his hands, Ning Cheng instantly understood that this object was a part left behind from the burned Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan. It turned out to be a section that managed to survive his Maximal Flame Spiritual Technique. Since even his Maximal Flame Spiritual Technique could not destroy this thing, then it definitely was not a simple object.
Ning Cheng swiftly started to retreat from this place while simultaneously took out a jade box and put the section of the rattan vine in it before sealing it and storing it away.
Translated By – DemonKiller
Checked and Edited By – Livewidsmile
Proofread By – DemonKiller
Please do not host our works anywhere else without our permission.
Chapter 0438: To be regarded as an old friend
Ning Cheng, on sensing the familiar feeling of the void growing stronger around him, immediately unleashed his Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds at its full capacity, rapidly moving upwards. At this moment, he knew he could not attend to Mu Ziming and Xiao Bisheng. Not to mention that he currently had no means to locate the two due to the intense Spacial Dislocations.
Half an hour later, the feeling of entering 'true' space emerged in Ning Cheng's consciousness, while Ning Cheng could also now unleash his Spiritual Consciousness completely.
A barren rocky ground suddenly appeared under Ning Cheng's foot. The same time that Ning Cheng descended on this rocky ground, he saw Mu Ziming and Xiao Bisheng, both of whom were only a step ahead of him.
"Haha, I knew that Sect Master Ning would be okay." Xiao Bisheng laughed, causing his almost skeletal face to appear comical. It also showed that a short period of recuperation would not be enough for him to fully recover.
Mu Ziming also exuded a very joyous mood as he spoke up, "The blue hole is starting to collapse; it should mean that Sect Master Ning must have already extinguished the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King. Sect Master Ning has done an enormous favour to my Yi Xing Mainland. I hope that you accept this Mu Ziming's gratitude."
Seeing both Mu Ziming and Xiao Bisheng about to give him their most respectful salutes, Ning Cheng quickly stopped them.
However, Mu Ziming spoke up in a somewhat stern voice, "Sect Master Ning saved my life. I should be grateful for it, not to mention that you even dispelled and exterminated that Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan King. If that Ghost Rattan King were not completely destroyed, it would have taken root in this world one day, before sweeping across the entire Tian Continent, and eventually the entire Yi Xing Mainland."
"What Brother Mu said is correct. However, we are still not in good health. We must rush back to our respective factions immediately. When I and Brother Mu recover, we will definitely come to the Rainbow Fall Sword Sect to visit Sect Master Ning." Xiao Bisheng spoke up with a warm smile on his face but with the same strict tone.
Ning Cheng quickly spoke up, "I also have to thank Brother Mu for my flame; otherwise, it would have been completely impossible for my flame to level-up."
Experiencing the level up of his flame, Ning Cheng realised how difficult would it be for his Star River to advance.
"I'm also glad that I could give you the Desiccated Purple Flame Heart. Well then, we'll definitely be seeing you later." Mu Ziming gave a hearty laugh. Bringing out his flight-type Magical Weapon, he soon disappeared from that place along with Xiao Bisheng.
Ning Cheng also cleaned himself and changed into a set of clean robes, only to discover that the place he came out from a moment ago had disappeared without any rhyme or reason.
Ning Cheng gave a deep sigh in his heart; he did not understand as to what had transpired on the inside. Luckily, he came out early; otherwise, he most likely would not have been able to find the exit.
At the edge or a marsh, four cultivators were besieging a seriously injured Class 7 Black Gold Spider. Black Gold Spiders had a very high value attached to them; moreover, it was also several times stronger when compared to other Class 7 Monstrous Beasts. Also, one could use the golden threads secreted by the Black Gold Spider to knit a high quality defensive inner armour.
These four cultivators were all in the Soul Essence Realm, seeing that they were just about to succeed in this efforts, they pushed all their abilities to their limits.
The Black Gold Spider seemed to have realised that its poor life was about to reach its end, so it mustered all the strength it could gather and shot out a black coloured blade light as its last desperate effort to seek life, while simultaneously shooting out spider silk into the surroundings. A male cultivator, who lost his concentration briefly, ended up stabbed in the chest by one of the spider's long legs. This caused the male cultivator to fly out back while screaming in pain and anguish.
The male cultivator, severely injured by the Black Gold Spider, seemingly realised that he suffered severe injuries. Immediately taking out and swallowing a pill, he quickly sat down in desperation to heal himself.
At the same time when the Black Gold Spider stabbed the male cultivator, a double-edged blade, in the hands of a black-robed female cultivator, pierced into the Black Gold Spider's head from the back. The Black Gold Spider gave out a tragic and mournful cry before it finally collapsed onto the ground. The next instant, the Magical Weapons from the other two cultivators, a man and a woman, simultaneously smashed into the body of the Black Gold Spider.
The Black Gold Spider, suffering such fatal attacks one after another, finally succumbed to its death.
"Finally killed it, Yujing, you and Wan Cheng break down the Black Gold Spider, I will go check out Liang Shi's injuries…. Huh, who are you?" The black-robed female cultivator, the one who killed the Black Gold Spider, had just finished her sentence when she found that there suddenly was a person more amongst them.
Having a pair of bright eyes but sporting a pale complexion, with a headful of messy hair, this extra person amongst them turned out to be a young male cultivator.
"I'm looking for Meng Yujing." The young male cultivator pointed to the only other female cultivator among the four Soul Essence Cultivators.
"Is that you?" Meng Yujing called out in shock. Apparently, she knew this young male cultivator with the pale complexion.
The young male cultivator's tone was very indifferent as he spoke up, "You and I are going to take a trip."
"Ok." Meng Yujing did not refute and immediately nodded in agreement. Then, she turned to the other three and spoke. "I have to take care of something, you can go back. For the time being, do not look for me."
"Yujing, this Black Gold Spider also contains a share for you." The male cultivator called Wan Cheng quickly spoke up.
Meng Yujing immediately replied, "Keep it with you; I will collect it from you when I return."
After saying that, Meng Yujing calmly looked at the young male cultivator and spoke, "Let's go."
The black-robed female cultivator and Wan Cheng looked at the disappearing airship type Magical Weapon, not daring to even talk until it entirely disappeared from their view. They could feel that the young male cultivator, who took away Meng Yujing, was definitely not someone that they could counter.
"I think I know who he is?" Wan Cheng suddenly called out in a shocked voice.
"Who?"
"He is Rainbow Fall Sword Sect's Sect Master Ning, the one who disappeared after killing Rong Jin in the Sect Surpassing Censure at the Heavenly Dao Public Square. Because of this matter, several major factions besieged the Rainbow Fall Sword Sect. All of them claimed that he escaped into the Heaven's Way, yet unexpectedly we encountered Sect Master Ning in this place……" Wan Cheng spoke with shock in his voice.
That female cultivator in the black sleeveless robes stood there quietly in thought before finally speaking up, "That's right, it should be him. However, he looks a lot thinner than before, and even his complexion is not too good. Yujing going with him, there won't be any problems, right? From what I saw, he had a somewhat happy look of meeting a woman after a long time in his eyes."
Wan Cheng shook his head and quickly replied, "That's not it. Sect Master Ning has a good reputation. In the past, he rescued more than a hundred Core and True Inheriting Disciples of the major factions. However, he is also a revengeful person. That year, the Yin Yang Dao Sect had forcefully taken away the Rainbow Fall Sword Sect's Perception Pagoda, and now the Rainbow Fall Sword Sect's Sect Master Ning suddenly came back. This definitely would entail a good show."
"As for Meng Yujing, I don't think there would be any problems. She and Sect Master Ning, both are from the Le Continent. For Sect Master Ning to look for her, maybe he wants to invite Yujing to the Rainbow Fall Sword Sect. We don't have to worry about it."
Wan Cheng had not spoken incorrectly; this young male cultivator with a pale complexion was none other than Ning Cheng. He remained trapped within the encirclement of the Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan at the edges of the Void Domain Boundary for decades, yet managed to escape with just a pale complexion. Compared to the state of Mu Ziming and Xiao Bisheng, it was innumerable times better.
Ning Cheng's airship stopped in the air, Meng Yujing stood in front of Ning Cheng before speaking up in neither arrogant nor servile manner, "Don't know for what matter has Sect Master Ning come looking for me?"
She knew that back in the Hua Continent, Ning Cheng was the one who had tracked her. Moreover, she also knew that Ning Cheng thought very poorly of her. As for what reason, Yujing simply had no idea about it. When she knew that Ning Cheng was the one who tracked her, and had even peeped in on her private secret, her heart had involuntarily given birth to the idea of killing and getting rid of Ning Cheng.
"You just take me to Kang Cheng." Ning Cheng indeed had a poor impression of Meng Jingxiu. In Ning Cheng's eyes, other than looking pretty, she did not have any other merit.
Meng Yujing stood there in stunned silence, before she spoke up in a quivering voice, "Sect Master Ning, can you see Kang Cheng's Spiritual Consciousness Restriction on my body?"
Others never knew that she was under Kang Cheng's bondage, yet Ning Cheng had suddenly shown up to inquire about Kang Cheng's whereabouts. Apparently, it must have been because of Ning Cheng perceiving the Spiritual Consciousness Restriction placed on her body by Kang Cheng.
"That's right; I did feel Kang Cheng's Spiritual Consciousness Restriction on you; so I'm going to look for him to settle some accounts." Ning Cheng nodded and quietly spoke up.
Meng Yujing's heart suddenly felt like it was going through a storm. Kang Cheng was currently an early stage Sea Opening Cultivator. Even Crucible Transformation Cultivators, when they scanned her, could not perceive the Spiritual Consciousness Restriction placed by Kang Cheng, yet Ning Cheng could immediately discern it with a single casual glance. At the same time, he even realised that it was Kang Cheng's Spiritual Consciousness Restriction. What kind of terrifying cultivation was this? What scary Spiritual Consciousness did he possess?
"I never thought that this person would actually be a Sea Opening Cultivator." Ning Cheng showed a cold smile. By the looks of it, after Kang Cheng arrived at the Tian Continent, his cultivation speed soared quite fast.
Meng Yujing's heart calmed down a bit. She knew very well that even though Kang Cheng's qualifications were inferior to her own, but that person found a backer to rely on, at the same time had his own secrets. All these factors allowed him to have a far greater cultivation speed when compared to others. As for her, she could only struggle systematically in the Tian Continent, while under constant suppression from Kang Cheng.
Originally, Meng Yujing wanted to ask Ning Cheng to help her remove the Spiritual Consciousness Restriction over her; however, just as those words came to her mouth, she swallowed them back down. Ning Cheng travelled from the Hua Continent to the Le Continent then made his way to the Tian Continent. Moreover, she had also heard many of Ning Cheng's tales. Although she never made any contact with Ning Cheng, she somewhat understood what kind of a person Ning Cheng was.
If she did not ask Ning Cheng's help, perhaps Ning Cheng would take the initiative to help her after waiting for some time. If she sought out Ning Cheng's help, then maybe Ning Cheng might despise her even more.
At this point, Meng Yujing calmed down and gave Ning Cheng a deep bow, "Yes, I know where Kang Cheng is, and I am also willing to take Sect Master Ning to find Kang Cheng."
Ning Cheng had always felt prejudiced towards Meng Yujing; however, that did not mean Meng Yujing's beauty had turned inferior because of Ning Cheng's prejudices. When Meng Yujing gave that bow, snow-white skin and a deep gully immediately reflected in Ning Cheng's eyes.
God help me, Ning Cheng didn't really want to peek at Meng Yujing's assets. He even suspected that Meng Yujing had done this intentionally; otherwise, for a Soul Essence Cultivator, how could they now know that this kind of action would result in some indecent exposure?
The Underworld Crow Ghost Rattan had trapped Ning Cheng for a long time. Although, it might have helped him in cultivation, that did not mean that he cultivated in the ways of monks. Exposed to Meng Yujing's assets made him immediately recollect his memories with Shi Qionghua, then he immediately thought of Ji Luofei waiting for him at the sect.
This time, he definitely would go back and marry Ji Luofei, as Ning Cheng thought of such thoughts, his pale complexion showed a slight trace of ruddiness.
Feeling Ning Cheng's mood change, Meng Yujing's tensed mood in front of Ning Cheng also started to suddenly relax. She knew why Ning Cheng went through such a change, which should have been because he saw her exposed cleavage. In fact, she had not done this on purpose. However, she did not feel awkward about it in her heart. This kind of matter felt nothing to her, mainly because of being a rogue cultivator. This also showed that although Ning Cheng might be mighty, he was ultimately like her, a person made of flesh and blood.
"I know that Sect Master Ning has some views about me; however, Sect Master Ning and I are both from the Hua Continent. For the name of Sect Master Ning to grow and flourish to such an extent in the Tian Continent, we, the cultivators from the Hua Continent and the Le Continent, only feel pride within our hearts." Meng Yujing hesitated before she looked at Ning Cheng and spoke a few words on her own initiative.
She felt that there was not much resentment between herself and Ning Cheng. Besides, this situation only arose because Ning Cheng saw her making out with another male cultivator.
Ning Cheng recovered his calm, took out two chairs, sat down on one of them before indicating Meng Yujing to sit on the other and spoke, "Since we are on the way to find Kang Cheng, I also wanted to ask you a question out of convenience. Years ago, I knew a person by the name of Kou Hong….."
Ning Cheng's words had not yet finished when Meng Yujing, who had just sat down, stood up in shock. Even her complexion had turned pale, a lot paler than Ning Cheng's own current appearance.