Chapter 0458: Ning Cheng’s Chain Killing Formation
Eleven powerful auras rushed into the North City District, before arriving at the location of Ning Cheng’s Immortal Cave. The cultivators living in the vicinity, on sensing the incoming cultivators’ aura, withdrew every scrap of their Spiritual Consciousnesses. They did not dare to sweep out lest it offended them.
At this time, every cultivator in the vicinity couldn’t help but wonder why there were so many powerful cultivators coming to this corner of the North City District? This place was one of the most unremarkable areas of the Rootless Black City. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for any person of status to waste their time in this place. What’s more, there were even two Plundering Life Realm experts among the incoming strong ones.
The reason soon came out. The 11 strong auras surrounded an Immortal Cave with a courtyard; moreover, everyone also knew that someone had just recently moved into this Immortal Cave. The other residents gave out a sigh at the new resident’s lousy luck. Although these experts were not targeting them, no one wanted to be patronised by such strong entities. Even if they were just visiting their neighbours, it made them feel insecure.
With so many experts coming to this place, the patrolling guards in this location not only did not increase, if fact, even the occasional patrolling guard had also disappeared without a trace. Apparently, these patrolling guards knew who these incoming people were and were not willing to offend them.
Ning Cheng on finding these many experts coming for him felt somewhat puzzled; it was reasonable to say that the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce would not attach so much importance to him.
This kind of line-up would almost be enough to wipe out the entire Yi Xing Mainland. As 9 of the 11 experts were at the late stages of the Crucible Transformation Realm while the other two were cultivators in the Plundering Life Realm.
Ning Cheng quickly understood why this was the case. After these cultivators arrived, they did not immediately attack his Immortal Cave; instead, they started to arrange an Array Formation. In just a short time, a Concealment Array Formation sprang up around them.
Seeing the other party’s actions, Ning Cheng secretly sneered in his heart. These people were just helping him bury their heads in the sand. The entire world knew that they came to this place to extinguish him, yet these fellows decided to try to cover up their act. To others, using this kind of cover up would be meaningless; however, to the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce, this covering up still had some use. That is, it would prevent investigative eyes.
Ning Cheng took out a crystal ball and recorded everything these people did. Thinking that these 11 people would soon end up dead in the coming future, he also did not intend to block them from arranging a Concealment Array Formation. Ning Cheng, anyway, also needed this Array Formation. That way, he could covertly kill these people away from prying eyes.
Among the Array Formation Masters that came here, the highest one was only at the Tier 6 Array Formation Grand Master. This showed that it was impossible for the other party to see the Concealed Array Formation that he had laid out previously.
….
“Association Head, I can easily go in and get out. It’s just a cultivator at the trivial Sea Opening Realm.” Among the cultivators standing outside the courtyard of Ning Cheng’s Immortal Cave, a longhaired man with a bizarre appearance spoke up.
The man addressed as ‘Association Head’ was none other than Pu Leng of the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce. Pu Leng possessed a very tall stature, with a height upwards of two meters. On hearing the words of this longhaired man, he gave a smile before speaking up, “No, let’s go in together. This little Sea Opening Realm Cultivator is not simple at all. He levelled out my Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce’s Rest Stop on the Receiving Heaven’s Stone and even dared to enter the Rootless Black City. I don’t know if he is fearless or ignorant, or does he intend to depend on the skills of a Tier 6 Array Formation Grand Master. It really makes me want to meet him and see if he really has three heads and six arms as the people say.”
Pu Leng gave the surroundings a cursory glance; he could clearly see that the outside of Ning Cheng’s Immortal Cave contained a Rank 6 Defensive Array.
“Boom…..” After Pu Leng spoke those words, his fist immediately shot out.
His already massive fist rolled into a barely visible Fist Shadow as it descended onto the Rank 6 Defensive Array Formation arranged by Ning Cheng, immediately shaking up this Rank 6 Defensive Array. With a ‘Ka’ sound, this Rank 6 Defensive Array started cracking apart. It could not even block a single punch from Pu Leng.
Not waiting for Pu Leng to continue, another Crucible Transformation 9th Level Cultivator kicked out with his leg. With a resounding crash, the Rank 6 Defensive Array finally could not endure the onslaught against the kick and punch before finally exploding apart.
With that, Pu Leng and the other walked into Ning Cheng’s courtyard within the Immortal Cave. They found Ning Cheng and Ji Luofei calmly staring at them from the middle of the yard.
“Your courage truly is not small at all; not only did you kill my Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce’s Goukang Yeshan, you even razed my Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce’s Rest Stop at the Receiving Heaven’s Stone. Yet, you even dared to stay inside the Rootless Black City.” Pu Leng spoke as his cold gaze fell on Ning Cheng. He did not expect Ning Cheng to be so young. Not only that, Ning Cheng indeed was a Sea Opening Realm Cultivator. He had previously suspected that Ning Cheng actually was not a Sea Opening Cultivator but a Crucible Transformation Cultivator under concealment.
Ning Cheng did not speak. He immersed himself in calculating the best time to activate his Rank 7 Trap Kill Array Formation and the Rank 8 Killing Formation, and if he had to use his Maximal Flame Spiritual Technique. He had anyway decided to kill all the 11 people who entered his premises in one go.
“Let me see what are you capable of, daring to look down on my Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce….”
Pu Leng had not yet finished his words when Ning Cheng instantly sent Ji Luofei a sound transmission, “Start. At the ‘Heaven’ position……”
Ji Luofei had long since prepared herself. The moment Ning Cheng’s sound transmission arrived she immediately stimulated the Array Flag in her hand. The Rank 7 Trap Kill Formation was a full rank higher compared to a Rank 6 Array Formation; didn’t that also mean that its superiority was also a whole level higher?
Almost at the same time as Ji Luofei started, Ning Cheng also raised both his hands. Suddenly, the brightly lit central courtyard turned dark as many killing lights materialised out of thin air from all sides before shooting forward arbitrarily. This time, not to mention normal vision, even when using one’s Spiritual Consciousness, everything appeared vague. The ones trapped inside could not make out the surrounding scenery, nor could they hear even the slightest sound.
“Not good, it a Rank 7 Trap Kill Array. Don’t panic and follow my actions…..” The Tier 6 Array Formation Grand Master with them spoke only a few words before his words abruptly cut off. He understood that this was not just a Rank 7 Trap Kill Array, but it even included many Illusionary Array Formations, forming into a chained Rank 7 Trap Kill Formation.
Pu Leng turned surprised when his surroundings turned vague; however, he also soon realised that he had stepped into a Rank 7 Trap Kill Formation.
If a Rank 7 Trap Kill Formation had no one presiding over it, he could eventually break through it with his strength. However, currently not only did it possess a controller, but there was also an auxiliary support person.
Despite this, Pu Leng still did not feel afraid. He was someone who had experienced many storms and waves in his life. Not to say about a Rank 7 Trap Kill Formation, even if it was a Rank 8 Trap Kill Formation, so what? Besides, he did not come to this place alone today. He immediately gathered his True Essence and shouted, “Before everyone starts, make sure that there are no one around; if not, then do your best……”
Pu Leng’s words suddenly paused. He discovered that there was no way to transmit his voice. There was even an Audio Masking Array Formation in this place.
If it were just an Audio Masking Array Formation, Pu Leng would not have felt worried in his heart. However, he was inside a Rank 7 Trap Kill Formation, with countless Blade Lights attacking him from all the sides. These attacks could not harm him for the time being, but they also prevented him from quickly breaking apart this Array Formation.
“I didn’t expect that I would really end up underestimating you. Just a trivial Sea Opening Realm Cultivator yet actually a Tier 7 Array Formation Grand Master. Interesting…..” Pu Leng knew that even if the other cultivators from his Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce could not hear him, Ning Cheng should be able to listen to his words.
However, Pu Leng could not finish his words, because while he tried to find a way to at least escape this Rank 7 Trap Kill Formation, several more terrifying and murderous attacks shot towards him. These Killing Lights even distorted the surrounding space somewhat and contained a hint of killing intent. The Blade Lights no longer were the primary means of attack, while those traces of Killing Intent and Spacial Constraints were the ones becoming more and more frightening.
Not good, Pu Leng immediately felt cold sweat dripping down his head. This was not a Rank 7 Trap Kill Formation, but a Rank 8 Killing Formation.
However, what scared him the most was not this. The most frightening aspect was that the moment he brought out his Magical Weapon, it felt as if Pu Leng no longer belonged to the area he was standing in. This was not a simple Spacial Constraint. It felt as if he had entered someone else’s Domain; moreover, he also felt as if he no longer had any control over his actions under the influence of this Domain.
A threat of death finally made its way into his heart. Pu Leng knew that this matter did not solely involve the Rank 7 Trap Kill Array and the Rank 8 Killing Formations; instead, a few other Array Formations linked up with the Rank 7 Trap Kill Array and the Rank 8 Killing Formation to form a Chain Linked Array Formation.
If it was just a Chain Linked Array Formation, Pu Leng still felt confident that he could rush out. However, what cast the shadow of death in his heart was the person presiding over the Grand Array, who was also the one who arranged this Array Formation.
Even if was just all that, Pu Leng could still escape by paying a considerable price. However, the last thing that broke Pu Leng’s confidence was that the Grand Master, who arranged this Array Formation, also had a comprehension of a Domain, something only reserved to the powerhouses.
Domain, this one thing was what any cultivator yearned for the most. Even if he was Pu Leng, he still couldn’t touch the boundary of a Domain until now. However, he unluckily ended up fighting against an expert who had already comprehended the Domain. If he knew that Ning Cheng understood Domains, he would have never come to this place at all. Even if he identified with full clarity that Ning Cheng was the one to demolish the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce’s Rest Stop, he would never come here.
At this moment, he finally understood why Ning Cheng possessed such a great deal of confidence in himself. Courage large enough to not only destroy the Silver Thunder Rest Stop on the Receiving Heaven’s Stone but also daring enough to live in the Rootless Black City.
At the same time, Pu Leng also knew that if he were facing this high level of difficulty in breaking through or even defending against this Chain Linked Killing Formation, the others who accompanied him would find it even more difficult. He must break through this Array Formation in the shortest possible time; at the very least, he had to find a flaw in this Array Formation. Otherwise, once someone dies, it would prove even harder for him to break apart this Array Formation.
“Aah…..” Screams erupted one after another, Pu Leng, just like his name, felt his heart go ice-cold. These were not just a single scream, but six consecutive screams in a row.
This also showed that six of the Crucible Transformation Cultivators from the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce had already met their makers; moreover, the opposite party had intentionally allowed him to hear those screams; otherwise, he would have never heard them even if he wanted to. There was also a very high possibility that the number of cultivators from the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce who met their makers might even be more than six.
“Stop, I pledge that the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce……” Pu Leng roared out, while simultaneously violently burning his True Essence. The ring in his hand immediately enlarged transforming into a colossal Ring Blade. This Ring Blade was several times more potent than usual. Under this mighty Ring Blade, a huge rip opened up in the area in which he did not belong.
Pu Leng had just relaxed for a moment when 12 Axes shot towards him. These 12 Axes each transformed into an Axe Trace, which overflowed with dense, murderous Axe Intent. Pu Leng had just managed to free himself from the fretters when he once again felt that he no longer belonged to the area around him.
Pu Leng’s face immediately drained of blood; forced by a cultivator in the Sea Opening Realm to such an extent, such a thing had never happened before. He was sure that these 12 Axe Traces did not belong to the Killing Formation. The Killing Formation was already powerful enough; but it still couldn’t compare to these 12 Axe Traces overflowing with killing intent, which fused into a single Axe Trace right in front of his eyes.
He could imagine that since Ning Cheng chose to attack him with such a terrifying Axe Intent, then the rest of his men apparently also fell victim to Ning Cheng’s methods in the same way.
Chapter 0459: After Going In, They Never Came Out
A flash of regret passed through Pu Leng’s heart. He investigated Ning Cheng before coming here and knew that only three people lived here. Ning Cheng was just a cultivator in the Sea Opening Realm, while the woman accompanying Ning Cheng possessed the cultivation of Crucible Transformation 2nd Level. This level of cultivation was utterly negligible in front of him. As for the young girl, in the eyes of the experts from the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce, she was nothing more than air.
How could he have thought that the situation would turn out completely different to what he initially imagined?
Pu Leng rarely regretted things he did in his life. However, this time, he really regretted his impulsive actions sincerely. He definitely knew that Ning Cheng’s cultivation had not yet reached the Crucible Transformation Realm, yet Ning Cheng was such a terrifying cultivator in the Sea Opening Realm. In his 500-600 years of cultivation, Pu Leng had never seen anyone like Ning Cheng. Not only had he not seen anyone like him, he had never even heard of anyone remotely powerful like Ning Cheng. If he took into consideration the foremost expert of the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce, Xue Yiren, he found that even someone like him was not this terrifying compared to Ning Cheng in the Sea Opening Realm.
Even if he took into account the rumours of geniuses within the Starry Sky, he believed that even the most potent talent among them would not be this terrifying within the Sea Opening Realm.
Once again, a few more screams rang out; Ning Cheng’s face also paled as he continuously threw out Array Flags while controlling the 36 Cosmic True Devil Axes at the same time.
Even though Ning Cheng killed 8 people, he knew it very well in his heart that he has not clinched victory yet. At the same time, he also knew that he could not persevere on in such a manner.
Ji Luofei could not provide him with any more help, so Ning Cheng had already sent her into his Miniature World. Ning Cheng knew that once his Array Formation broke, and he did not launch his Maximal Flame Spiritual Technique, he then would not have another opportunity to end this matter.
Don’t look at him using the Chain Linked Killing Formation to gain the upper hand in this exchange; in fact, there were still three people left alive, whom he could not kill right away. If a gap appeared in his Array Formation, then the result would turn out exactly the opposite of what he hoped and wished.
In his present condition, blocking the combined collaboration of two Plundering Life Realm Cultivator and the other Crucible Transformation Cultivator head-on would be impossible.
……
At this time, the cultivators around Ning Cheng’s Immortal Cave could only feel the shaking of the surrounding space. However, just the slight overflow of the murderous intent frightened those cultivators to not dare to even look in that direction.
All the people felt shocked at Ning Cheng’s toughness, even if this person was an expert in Array Formations, how was he able to block those 11 people for such a long time? Despite knowing of the strange happenings, no one dared to use their Spiritual Consciousness to look around.
“Poof…..” When Ning Cheng’s 12 Axes split apart the longhaired demonic looking person, the surrounding area around Pu Leng, locked down by the axe, weakened for a moment. The ring in Pu Leng’s hand immediately erupted with a brilliant radiance. Several Ring Blades immediately then rushed into the surrounding area.
“Kacha….” Ning Cheng’s Chain Linked Killing Formation finally blew open under his attacks, while the surroundings also cleared up around him. Allowing him to see the final fate of Si Pingxuan.
At this moment, Si Pingxuan had already turned into a dozen pieces of flesh and blood. At this sight, Pu Leng’s mind immediately blacked-out, he never imagined that Si Pingxuan’s life would end right in front of him.
Si Pingxuan was the only Plundering Life Realm Cultivator in the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce besides him. Although not as powerful compared to him, he, however, was very crucial to him and the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce.
“Beast, I’m going to swallow you…..” Pu Leng screamed out. The ring in his hands once again erupted with a Ring Light in the shape of a crescent moon before it swept out. He did not possess a domain; however, his ring actually could curl up and resist the fretters of a Domain.
Even in the midst of fury, Pu Leng still did not lose his senses. He knew that his crescent-shaped ring light most likely would not show much effect against Ning Cheng. However, because the other person was more proficient in Domain applications, he could only use his own Magical Skills to counter the Spacial Shackles, while the opposite party could control the surrounding space anytime and anywhere.
It was precisely this fear towards Ning Cheng that caused Pu Leng to hide half a step behind his ring’s killer attack to deal the fatal blow.
Staying half a step behind his ring, whether Ning Cheng chose to evade or block it, he could change his attack accordingly. With his True Essence and Essence Blood raging, his ring would rupture eventually, exploding into countless Ring Lights. These Ring Lights would help him in controlling the surrounding Killing Power before blasting it all towards Ning Cheng. Even if the Ring Lights could not kill Ning Cheng, at least the two of them would suffer serious injuries. What’s more, he still had a Yan Fu. Moreover, he believed that if he staked everything on his desperate attack with his ring, he could definitely kill Ning Cheng.
Yan Fu was just a cultivator at the Crucible Transformation 8th Level; relative to Ning Cheng and the 11 people here, his cultivation simply was unremarkable. With such cultivation, he actually managed to stick to the end with Pu Leng; it showed that even Ning Cheng felt afraid of him.
However, Pu Leng not only overestimated Ning Cheng, he even had an exaggerated opinion of his Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce’s dominance. As he broke through Ning Cheng’s Chain Linked Trap Kill Formation, while simultaneously staking everything on a single strike, Yan Fu had also brought out something.
What Yan Fu brought out was not a Magical Weapon to attack Ning Cheng, but an Escaping Talisman. When his ring rumbled out, the Escape Talisman also activated at the same time. A burst of blinding white light erupted, and in just a twinkling of an eye, Yan Fu broke through the area.
Seeing Yan Fu escaping at this time, Pu Leng turned extremely angry.
In just one moment, the ring slashed through Ning Cheng’s waist, drawing a long line of blood.
Pu Leng immediately sobered up from the anger of Yan Fu’s escape, feeling completely surprised. He could feel that Ning Cheng was just as spent as he was, he could not even evade his phoney Crescent Ring attack. He just could not believe that the opposite party could not escape his attack.
On seeing this, Pu Leng did not hesitate at all, and directly took control of the ring, wanting to kill him instantly. His Spiritual Consciousness had just surged into his Magical Weapon when he suddenly felt intermittent waves of collapse all around him. It seemed as if the area around him had something missing from it, this kind of state felt very similar to that of a Domain; however, it prevented him from making the correct choice within the shortest possible time.
With the interruption of the just-stimulated ring, the threat of death immediately loomed over him, causing Pu Leng to subconsciously shiver in fright.
“Boom….” Suddenly raging flames broke out all around him, followed by a deluge of fire that encompassed Pu Leng from all four sides. These horrifying flames made Pu Leng feel despair. He finally understood what this collapse actually was; a fire that burned everything in its path created by a False Collapse.
It was a pity that by the time he understood this point it was already too late. As the crazy fiery waves squeezed up on him, Pu Leng couldn’t help but scream out in utter despair. As a cultivator in the Plundering Life Realm, he was too explicit about his own situation.
He knew that he was finished. At this point, there was only a single thought in his mind, and that was regret. He did not regret coming here to deal with Ning Cheng; he regretted that he should not have used his Crescent Ring feint. If he had chosen to rush out of the Array Formation, he would not be the one facing death, but Ning Cheng.
Just because he overestimated Ning Cheng’s condition, he ended up choosing to use the Crescent Ring feint; with the result, he was the one to end up dead. After the thought of regret passed through his mind, he immediately started hating someone. The person he hated was not Ning Cheng, but Yan Fu who just fled.
If only…
The most despair-inducing thing about this world was that one was free to make whatever choices one wanted, but one was never free from the consequences of those choices.
The ‘most worthless’ thing of this world was if you had the power to change something and you did not do anything to achieve it then you would never be able to change that thing again.
Raging flames rose up within Ning Cheng’s courtyard; at the same time, the entire North City District also heard the barely audible sound of an explosion. However, no one came to investigate, no one even brought out his or her Spiritual Consciousness to probe around.
……
Rootless Black City Trade Union’s Second Floor.
A young man wearing black robes sat in the middle of the hall on the Second Floor, and on his side stood two beautiful and comely female cultivators.
This young man’s face looked slightly longer than ordinary, but his young, energetic and robust looking body, compensated for his long face and did not make him look obtrusive at all.
“Why hasn’t Association Head Pu come yet? If he is going to be late, then I don’t have the time to continue waiting for him.” The young man with a long face spoke with a greatly unsatisfied tone while raising a glass of Spiritual Wine from the table in front of him.
Suddenly, he stood up and looked at the sky outside the window, before frowning and speaking up after a moment, “Who in the Rootless Black City used such a top-class Escaping Talisman? Check it out.”
“Yes, Junior City Master.” Two cultivators answered, and then both of them vanished from the hall on the Second Floor after acknowledging the commands from this Junior City Master.
This black robed youth was none other than Junior City Master Xu Liangzhi of the Rootless Black City. His father was Xu Kai, the foremost expert in the Rootless Black City; at the same time, this Xu Kai was also the City Master of the Rootless Black City.
Although Xu Kai could leave the Rootless Black City at any moment, he just did not want to go. Not only was he unwilling to go, even his only son, Xu Liangzhi, also did not want to permanently leave the Rootless Black City.
Xu Liangzhi already had more than 50 cultivators in his team, with the worst cultivation among them at the Crucible Transformation 4th Level. For Xu Liangzhi, what he wanted at present was to pick out 50 more people who did not need to return.
Do not look at Xu Liangzhi as a sex maniac; he was also an extraordinarily sinister and malicious person. In the Rootless Black City, as long as he took a fancy to any female cultivator, if he could get his hands on them, then he would get his hands on them. If they could not satisfy his demands, then he entirely had the capabilities to make the life of that female cultivator even worse than death. As for those who offended him, they would eventually die without even an intact body.
However, he was still a man of his words. At least, he always honoured his promises. It was only because of this characteristic that so many people signed up after receiving the news of him forming a team.
The cultivators sent by Xu Liangzhi soon returned. That was because, just as the two of them reached the entrance of the Trade Union, they had already obtained the news.
“What happened?” Xu Liangzhi put down the cup of Spiritual Win in his hand.
“Reporting to Junior City Master, Association Head Pu Leng of the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce took ten people to the North City District to catch someone named Ning Cheng. However, after they went in, they never came out. The people around only heard constant explosive sounds coming from the inside, along with strong fluctuations in the surrounding space. As for what went on inside, it is still not clear. We returned to ask if Junior City Master wants to go visit the other party’s Immortal Cave or not?”
After this cultivator finished his report, not only did Xu Liangzhi’s face change drastically, even the cultivators all around him felt extremely shocked.
The Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce, including Pu Leng, had two Plundering Life Realm Cultivators in their group. Moreover, all of them went together. However, not even one of them came out. How couldn’t they treat it as an urgent matter?
“Don’t go to that place, immediately look up information about this cultivator called Ning Cheng. Find out why he flattened the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce’s Rest Stop at the Receiving Heaven’s Stone.” The first sentence Xu Liangzhi spoke out after standing up was to order his people to look into the cause of all this.
Pu Leng and the others accompanying him did not come out after entering. This kind of matter, he did not need to ask. They were all dead. Otherwise, Pu Leng would have definitely come to the Trade Union’s Hall long ago.