Chapter 0486: None to depend on
“It really was destroyed, it was destroyed… I destroyed the academy, I killed my master, and it was my fault….” Jing Hao muttered to himself for a long while. He even forgot about Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng shook his head and turned away. He did not continue to talk with Jing Hao. Initially, Ning Cheng had heard that Jing Hao had dared to fight against the entire Le Continent for his woman. He felt that this person had a good heart; however, the feeling he got right now was just of pittance and relief. After exchanging a few words with Jing Hao, Ning Cheng felt that Jing Hao possessed a somewhat cowardly character. If such a thing had happened to him, he would have definitely tried to find a way to go back and wipe out all the parties involved in the destruction of Kun Yun Academy.
This matter was just like the feud between the Rainbow Fall Sword Sect and the Red Star Sword Faction; however, he had already turned the Red Star Sword Faction to ashes.
“Wait a little while.” Jing Hai reacted and quickly caught up with Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng cupped his fists and spoke, “What else does senior want from me?”
“Just call me Jing Hao from now on. It has been a while since I saw anyone from the Graceful Star Mainland. We both are from the same hometown; can you sit with me for a while?” Jing Hao’s eyes showed a glimmer of hope. Ning Cheng immediately understood the loneliness deep inside his heart from the look in his eyes. People only regarded other people coming from the same place as ‘home-towners’ after stepping out into the starry skies.
“All right.” Ning Cheng knew that whether he sat with Jing Hao or not, someone had already noticed him. In that case, he might as well clear this matter, to avoid the situation of the pot calling the kettle black.
Jing Hao took Ning Cheng to a medium-sized rest stop and waved at the server, “Two pots of ‘None to depend on’…”
Saying those words, he seemed to have thought of something and hurriedly whispered to Ning Cheng, “Do you have Black Coins? The price of ‘None to depend on’ is not low. A pot of it costs a hundred thousand Black Coins. I don’t have any.”
Ning Cheng nodded while feeling speechless. He had the money anyway. Not to mention the hundred million Black Coins he had, there was still the bunch of Blue Essence Ores.
After a few moments, the server brought two dark grey jugs. Ning Cheng picked up one of the pitchers and saw a row of words at the bottom, “Often apart, an abandoned heart; gazing at distant stars, none to depend on.”
“Often apart, abandoned heart; gazing at distant stars, none to depend on……” Jing Hao muttered to himself before opening the other jug and taking a big gulp.
This person is not lovelorn, is he? Ning Cheng immediately thought of the Female Devil but did not ask about it. He also opened his jug and took a sip.
The wine was mellow and was like a gentle stream that flowed down while nourishing his throat. To tell the truth, Ning Cheng did not like wines with such characteristics; he preferred something stronger, which burned all the way down from the mouth. Something that stimulated a feeling of passion within his chest.
However, Ning Cheng soon realised the terrifying feeling of dependence ‘None to depend on’ evoked. He had clearly drunk a small sip of the wine, but it elicited a powerful surge of hurt and sadness within him. It felt as if Ning Cheng honestly had no one to depend on; a parting will that filled his heart. He felt as if he stood on a single boat, and the oat flowed along in a constant drift on an endless river. While Luofei and Shi Qionghua silently looked at him from the pavilion by the riverside. Their eyes filled with the hope of his early return, made him feel a one-of-kind burning within his heart. This feeling was like a hot knife piercing through his heart, something that made people feel a kind of torment and suffering.
“Often apart, abandoned heart; gazing into the distant stars, none to depend on…..” No, Ning Cheng suddenly stood up. He did not want to gaze into the distant stars.
“Oh, evidently this friend is just as passionate as me. ‘None to depend on’ is the worst kind of alcohol to drink, especially if you end up downing a pot filled with ‘None to depend on’. Once you get sucked in, you can never wake up.” Jing Hao gave a sigh and spoke.
Ning Cheng felt cold shivers run down his body, immediately sobering him. He had only drunk a mouthful of this wine.
“Many thanks for Brother Jing’s reminder.” Ning Cheng held up his cupped fists towards Jing Hao as a show of gratitude. He could feel that his heart and mind were still far from perfection. Otherwise, how could he lose his calm just because of a sip?
As Jing Hao said, he still had no idea about the challenges that he would have to face in the future within the starry skies that could have a significant effect on his heart and mind. If he could not keep his heart calm because of just a sip of wine, what would happen to him in the future?
“Well, it’s no wonder that you would dare to come to the Lesser Thunder Star with a Plundering Life Cultivation. Oh right, I didn’t get to ask this friend’s name?” Jing Hao showed a glimmer of appreciation in his eyes. The desolation and decadence from before also seemed to have wiped away from his face.
Ning Cheng felt moved in his heart. He had previously felt that Jing Hao’s appearance in the street outside was the real deal; however, there now seemed to be a new feeling to him. Therefore, he calmly held up his cupped fists and spoke, “My name is Ning Cheng, and I was brought here by a senior with a Celestial Gatherer Cultivation.”
Lan Ya did not possess a Celestial Gatherer Cultivation; however, Ning Cheng also felt that Lan Ya would not face many difficulties in advancing to the Celestial Gatherer Realm. At the same time, it was also necessary to mention that he had a patron to rely on.
“Brother Ning, everyone has their own story. You must have your own story that led you to this place. However, I will not ask about your story, I just want you to hear my story. If you think that I’m not worth wasting your time, I won’t blame you at all.”
As Jing Hao spoke those words, he once again drank a big mouthful of ‘None to depend on’ before continuing, “Her name was Shi Yulan, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. For her, I could abandon everything, even if she was a Devil Cultivator….”
Ning Cheng realised that Jing Hao was talking about the matter between him and that Female Devil. He felt no impatience, might as well hear out what the person had to say.
“She had killed several important disciples of the few 9-Star Academies; however, I still chose to stand by her and even took her to my academy. This was a secret affair; however, none of us could figure out as to how people discovered it. Several of the 9-Star Academies then united with the other academies to march on a crusade against my Kun Yun Academy. My master, to protect me, packed me off and sent me away secretly, hha……”
As Jing Hao laughed, he once again grabbed the wine jug and chugged down a few mouthfuls of ‘None to depend on’; however, there were tears in his eyes.
“Today, I finally know that I not only lost my Master, I even caused the destruction of my academy. The many brothers and sisters… All died… I am not a human; I am not even a beast… Haha…..”
Ning Cheng remained silent. He could guess that Jing Hao might have ended up entering Heaven’s Way with Shi Yulan after leaving the academy. As for how Jing Hao reached the Lesser Thunder Star, Ning Cheng did not intend to ask. Before coming here, even he did not know that he would end up in the Lesser Thunder Star.
If Ning Cheng replaced him in this matter, what would he do? Ning Cheng asked himself silently, and quickly got the answer. If he knew that the academy faced complete destruction, he would never escape alone, let alone when he had such a respectable master?
Ning Cheng did not despise Jing Hao; Jing Hao already seemed extremely downcast. Presumably, this matter had left a significant psychological impact over him. Otherwise, no matter how disappointing a Celestial Novice Cultivator he was, he definitely would not let others trample over him on the streets.
“She and I relied on a weapon to rush into the Chaotic Star Space of the Graceful Star Mainland; however, because of our carelessness, we got sucked into a Spacial Collapse. By the time we came out, we were already in the starry sky……”
When he heard this, Ning Cheng felt shocked. Not because Jing Hao and Shi Yulan could enter the Chaotic Star Space, but because of the words that the two people ended up sucked into a Spacial Collapse, yet had not died and had even arrived in the starry skies. One had to know that even Lan Ya, with a Celestial Shatterer Cultivation, almost lost her life in the Spacial Collapse. What weapon did Jing Hao use? It was just too powerful
“Brother Jing, I heard from the Celestial Gatherer Senior who brought me here that it would prove extremely difficult to preserve someone’s life once they get sucked into a Spacial Collapse.” Ning Cheng did not directly ask Jing Hao about the weapon he used; however, his words already indicated his thoughts. If Jing Hao did not provide an answer, he will also not continue asking about it. It was a kind of secret that nobody would willingly share it with others anyway.
Jing Hao put up a soundproof restriction around them, before giving out a sigh and speaking, “Junior Brother Ning, I had no intention to hide this from you. It was all because of a True Spirit World that I had obtained by chance. The reason why my cultivation method could sweep through the entire Graceful Star Mainland was also due to that world.”
“Miniature World?” Ning Cheng immediately thought of the Miniature World Ring that he had; however, it was also not much different from an ordinary ring. The only reason why he could preserve his life in the Void Collapse was all due to the Mysterious Yellow Bead, not the Miniature World.
Jing Hao shook his head, “Not a Miniature World, but a True Spirit World. When I obtained this world, I realised that it was a True Spirit World. Thankfully, it was a Spacial Collapse at the low-levelled Planar Boundary. If we had entered a high-levelled Planar Boundary’s Spacial Collapse, then I estimate that even the True Spirit World would not have helped us survive.”
Ning Cheng frowned but did not continue. It was a first for him to hear about something like a True Spirit World.
“After entering the starry skies, I gave her the True Spirit World. Later, we drifted around until we reached the Lesser Thunder Star and finally reached the Ocean Gambling City. Once within the Ocean Gambling City, I did everything in my power to seek out resources for her cultivation. There were simply too many powerhouses within the Lesser Thunder Star, and most of the cultivation resources were under their control. So the only way to obtain more resources was to head into the stars.”
“One time, I found a sliver of Fire-attributed Origin. Since she possessed a Fire-attributed Spirit Root, this sliver of Origin allowed her to advance rapidly. In a short while, her cultivation far surpassed mine…..”
Ning Cheng could not bear to remain silent at this point and interrupted Jing Hao once again, “Brother Jing, did you say that you found the Fire-attributed Origin?”
Initially, he had sensed the Water-attributed Origin Aura in the Angry Axe Valley, which resulted in obtaining the Water-attributed Origin Bead by following that sliver of Water-attributed Origin Aura. This allowed his Mysterious Yellow Bead to gain a hint of water-attributed properties. Since Jing Hao mention Fire Origin, did it have any relation to Fire Origin Beads?
“Yes, it definitely was the Fire Origin. Because she obtained a sliver of Fire Origin, she almost spent her entire time in seclusion, while the words exchanged between us grew fewer and fewer. I still had to earn Blue Coins from the starry skies, and then use them to exchange for some cultivation resources, which ultimately all went to her. When she finally came out, she had already reached the Celestial Shatterer Realm, while my domain had still not reached grand completion. Haha…..”
Jing Hao gave out a self-deprecating laugh while finishing the entire pot of win in one gulp. He eyes gradually turned cloudy before he spoke up, “Later, an important figure visited the Ocean Gambling City, a Celestial River King. He and Shi Yulan actually fell in love at first sight; hha, love at first sight…”
Jing Hao shook the empty jug and suddenly shouted, “Waiter, another jug of ‘None to depend on’…”
“Do you know what she said? Just before she left with the Celestial River King, all she said was ‘Thank you for taking care of me for all these years.’ A fucking thank you…..” Jing Hao cried while smiling at the same time.
Chapter 0487: Friends
Ning Cheng remained silent, not knowing how to comfort Jing Hao.
One could not say that Jing Hao had invested himself heavily in Shi Yulan. The two of them had probably gone through many hardships to reach this place, only for Shi Yulan to dump Jing Hao and willingly leave with the Celestial River King.
Ning Cheng simply chose not to express his opinion, especially since he had never seen Shi Yulan. Nor did he know what kind of person was Shi Yulan.
However, with Ning Cheng’s experience in the True Cultivation World, even if he and Jing Hao came from the same star, Jing Hao would not be so open with him without any reason. Apparently, Jing Hao had something to ask from him; however, it looks like the conversation touched upon his sore wound, causing him to vent out of frustration.
“In that case, why didn’t Brother Jing leave the Ocean Gambling City to strive for success, instead of staying in this place?” Ning Cheng asked. He very much wanted to ask about the situation with the Fire-attributed Origin; however, he also knew that it was not the time.
Jing Hai finally sobered up from his sad recollections and picked up the second pot of wine that the server had just brought in. He took a swig from it before giving out a sigh and continuing, “It’s not that I do not want to leave, rather I can’t leave. After Yulan left, I felt as if I hit rock bottom, and unexpectedly got seduced into gambling at the casino. I just wanted to forget about this matter.”
Ning Cheng noticed that this was the first time that Jing Hao called out the word ‘Yulan’, contrary to how he previously referred to her as ‘she’.
“I ended up owing a few million Blue Coins to the casino, while the deadline to pay it back is approaching fast. I have been working like crazy for the past many years to repay the Blue Coins that I owe. However, even after so many years, there are still a few million Blue Coins that remains to be paid back, alas…”
Ning Cheng asked with a doubtful voice, “Since it amounts to just a few millions of Blue Coins, why can’t you pay it all off?”
Jing Hao shook his head and spoke, “The deadline is fast approaching, and it’s only a few months from now. If I cannot pay off these Blue Coins before the deadline, I will become a slave and mortgaged off to others. From then on, this world will no longer have a Jing Hao, only a slave with the same name.”
Ning Cheng remained silent. He had already heard from Lan Ya that turning into a slave was the worst kind of fate one could experience.
“The only reason I chose to go back to the casino was to just obtain a chance. However, every time I went there, not only did I not win any Blue Coins, I instead kept losing more and more.”
As Jing Hao spoke until here, Ning Cheng finally understood why Jing Hao decided to head to the casino. If replaced with him, with the deadline fast approaching, other than the casino there might not be any other way to earn back such a vast amount of Blue Coins. Simply put, it was a move out of complete desperation.
“Therefore, I want to ask a small favour from you…..” After Jing Hao finished this sentence, Ning Cheng finally understood what the other party needed from him; in other words, Jing Hao wanted to borrow money from Ning Cheng.
A few hundred million Blue Coins simply was not something that Ning Cheng could take out casually. Therefore, Ning Cheng replied apologetically, “Brother Jing, although I want to help you, I, however, do not have that many Blue Coins. All I have is around a few million Black Coins on me. Its miles apart from you are asking.”
Jing Hao’s eyes revealed a hot light, “Junior Brother Ning, as long as you provide me with some Black Coins, I will definitely win it back and more in the casino.”
Ning Cheng could not help but speak up in exasperation, “Brother Jing, it’s not that I do not believe in your gambling skills. As far as I know, there is absolutely no way to make a fortune by gambling. Every gambler’s history shows regret, built upon blood and tears. I do not recommend that you go gambling. Just think about it, if the casinos can’t make money, would people open casinos?”
Jing Hao stood up and grabbed Ning Cheng’s robes and spoke, “Junior Brother Ning, no Big Brother Ning, you must help me out, please. I know that gambling is not something good; however, I do not have any other way apart from this one. If I do not pay the amount I owe back, I will turn into a slave in a few months. I practically have no way of retreating at this moment. Besides, the casinos merely rake in a small portion; the casino itself does not participate in gambling. Going into gambling is entirely based on luck.”
Ning Cheng sneered. He felt too lazy even to retort back at Jing Hao. Casinos do not take part in the gambling and raked in a small percentage, this is not even enough to deceive ghosts. He came from Earth and had seen too much of such things back there. This Jing Hao has lived for at least a thousand years more than he has; however, it looks like he either led a life devoted to cultivation or disdained to spend time and inquire about such things.
“Well, I will not give you any more advice. I only have a few million Black Coins on me. You can take some of it if you want; however, just stop speaking anymore.” Ning Cheng took out the Black Coin Card and handed it to Jing Hao. He anyway had a few things to ask from Jing Hao, and these few million Black Coins were not enough for him to feel a pinch while giving it away anyway.
Jing Hao took the Black Coin Card before bowing in ceremony towards Ning Cheng and speaking, “Many thanks, Brother Ning. Whether I am successful or not, I will forever remember Brother Ning’s kindness.”
“It’s nothing much. Brother Jing doesn’t have to mind it…..” Ning Cheng quickly replied in politeness. These few million Black Coins were just equivalent to a million Blue Coins, which really did not amount to much compared to his reserves. Besides, the Immortal Cave that Ning Cheng rented out required a million Blue Coins per year.
Jing Hao nodded and no longer remained polite. After he put away the Black Coin Card, he once again deployed another sound isolating restriction and spoke, “Brother Ning, since we are about to separate, there is one thing that I have to tell you. When I obtained the sliver of fire attributed Origin, there was also a Fire Origin Bead, and the trace of the fire attributed origin definitely originated from the bead. However, my cultivation at that time was too low, and I couldn’t take away the Origin Bead…..”
Ning Cheng suddenly felt his heart pounding. He was just thinking of ways to ask Jing Hao about the location from where he obtained the Fire Origin. He never expected that even before he asked, Jing Hao would actually take the initiative to talk about it. What surprised him, even more, was the confirmation about the Fire Origin Bead.
“When I gave her the trace of origin, she immediately decided to go into seclusion. I had initially thought that I would tell her about it once she came out. However, it looks like I do not have to share this information with her anymore. This jade strip contains a star map inside it, which is marked with the location where I found the Fire Origin Bead. I drew it in a very detailed manner; you can have it ……” Jing Hao spoke as he took out a jade strip and handed it to Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng subconsciously received the jade strip; however, thinking about how Jing Hao took the initiative to give it to him, he couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed as he spoke up, “This, Brother Jing, I am aware of what an Origin is, its value is something that cannot be measured. As for an Origin Bead, its value is simply inconceivable. Although I do have desires for such kind of things, but……”
“I’ve been working tirelessly all year round to make money, looking for various cultivation resources; however, I do not have anybody to call my friend. You are the only friend to me. You actually lent me a few million Black Coins the first time we met, despite knowing that I possibly might not be in a position to return it back. Giving this thing to you is just to satisfy my heart.” Jing Hao spoke and then gave out a long sigh. He had initially wanted to obtain this Fire Origin Bead for Yulan; however, she had already abandoned him.
He was like a mortal who found a golden mountain and only scrapped a bit of golden sand off the golden mountain to bring it back to his lover just for his lover to kick him away after taking it from him. Wonder what she would have thought if she knew that, he still had the location of the golden mountain.
“Brother Jing, since you have this jade strip, no matter where you go, you can easily exchange this for tens of billions of Blue Coins.” Ning Cheng spoke slowly.
Jing Hai laughed at himself before speaking, “Brother Ning, you too naive to think that. Did you actually think that I could exchange this jade strip for Blue Coins? If I took it out in the open, its equivalent to forfeiting my life. Besides, no one will give me tens of billions of Blue Coins just because I took out a jade strip. It would be much simpler for people to just take me to the place where I found the Fire Origin Bead and then kill me after obtaining it.”
“Besides, this Fire Origin Bead is something that I found after facing many hardships. I will not give it up this easily to those bloodsuckers. Brother Ning, we both are from the Graceful Star Mainland, and I can see that you and I are somewhat similar in nature to each other. I anyway have a Metal attributed Spirit Root so I cannot use this thing even if I obtained it. Giving this thing to you is something out of my own willingness.”
“In that case, this Ning Cheng offers his thanks to Brother Jing for the gift.” Ning Cheng received the jade strip before standing up and giving a formal bow towards Jing Hao to show his sincere thankfulness. Origin Beads were really too important to him. Moreover, with his experience, he had a vague feeling that Jing Hao had not lied to him and spoke out his words in full sincerity.
Ning Cheng had a character that reciprocated ten times the respect that he received. Not to mention that the Origin Bead simply had no actual value attached to it in traditional denominations. To put things in perspective, even if the Ocean Gambling City emptied every scrap of its Blue Coin reserves, it still would not possess the capability to purchase something like a Fire Origin Bead.
He had not asked about it, yet Jing Hao took the initiative to provide him with the location of the Origin Bead. This fact alone resolved Ning Cheng’s mind that even if Jing Hao could not win back the few million Black Coins, he would definitely use the Blue Coin reserves within his ring to help Jing Hao. It was a mutual payout anyway; Ning Cheng did not want the other party to think of him as someone who just took advantage of others without intending to pay them back.
Jing Hai laughed and tossed down the second pot. The sadness and melancholy from before completely disappearing from his face. It was as if the sad and melancholic person from before was someone else entirely. “Ning Cheng, you should go back and cultivate. Your cultivation is too low. At least wait until you reached the Celestial Gatherer Realm before heading out. I am going to the casino; regardless of success or failure, I have no other choice but to try once again. Regardless of whether you treat me as a friend or not, I already regard you as my friend.”
“Brother Jing, let me accompany you to the casino.” Ning Cheng also tossed the wine down his mouth and calmly spoke up while sitting at the table.
Jing Hao could not help but look at Ning Cheng in doubt before speaking up, “I thought of you as a person who hated gambling. So why do you want to come with me?”
“I definitely hate gambling; however, that doesn’t mean that I hate Brother Jing. I don’t have many friends, and since Brother Jing regards me as his friend, then this Ning Cheng only hopes that Brother Jing will continue to remain friends with me into the future.”
He honestly did not have many friends, let alone those that he could consider as close friends. Except for Taishu Shi and Cang Wei, there were only a select few in his list of friends. Xun Hanrui and Liang Kexin also were his friends; however, they were women.
Ning Cheng already knew that a few people had set their targets over Jing Hao. Since he already decided to regard Jing Hao as his friend, he chose not to care about them at all. Paying for someone did not constitute as being friends, just icing over the cake, but lending a helping hand in the hour of need, is what formed a real friendship. Similarly, Ning Cheng also hoped that Jing Hao did not turn into a friend who was just icing on the cake, but a friend who could lend his hand to others in the time of need.
“Good, from now on there is no such person as Jing Hao. I will take up the name Jing Wuming (nameless) from now.” Jing Hao did not believe that Ning Cheng had no awareness of the troubles coming his way in associating with him; yet, he still chooses to treat him like a friend despite knowing about the risks.
Previously, when the two of them entered the pub to drink together, although it might have had some lingering effect over Ning Cheng, it would not have been too big. As long as Ning Cheng could explain things out clearly, no one would willingly aim to cause trouble for some cultivator in the Plundering Life Realm. As long as the only reason between the meeting between Ning Cheng and him remained on the topic of borrowing money, it would have been fine.
However, now that Ning Cheng expressed his wish to accompany him to the casino, it created an entirely different meaning. This implied that the two of them advanced and retreated together. He never thought that he and Ning Cheng would have such similar thinking; Ning Cheng definitely was a friend worthy enough. If real friends met with adversity, they always shared the burden together, or at least put some effort in facing the challenges together.
Only at this moment did he discover the multitude of things had he missed during the time he poured all his energies into that woman. Friendship, such a warm feeling that seemed incredibly distant to him, was now something that he also currently possessed.
Ning Cheng also understood the meaning of Jing Hao’s words. The reason why Jing Hao chose to change his name was to forget about his past completely, preferring to remain a nameless person from now on.