Chapter 1004
Chapter 1005: Qi Shisanxing Appears
Ning Cheng could also feel Yan Ji’s changes. He took a deep breath and gently pat Yan Ji’s back. “Try to stop worrying about other things and cultivate here in peace. Feel free to use any cultivation resource you find inside. I’ll dig up the spirit gra.s.ses outside, and then we can head back to see Luofei.”
“Mm.” Yan Ji could only mumble. Even though her cultivation had been restored, she did not have much strength to do anything at this moment.
……
With Yan Ji cultivating safely in the True Spirit World, Ning Cheng naturally came out to harvest the spirit gra.s.ses here.
With Yan Ji now fully recovered, Ning Cheng no longer had any worries. Therefore, he harvested almost all the spirit gra.s.ses of some value in just a short while and transplanted them into the True Spirit World.
Just when Ning Cheng wondered if Liu Fanglin found the Ripple Bone Flower, he saw a clump of spirit gra.s.ses that he had never seen before.
To be exact, it wasn’t ‘gra.s.s’ but a patch of flowers. Only an inch tall and a thumb thick, a small blooming flower the size of a rhizome. Unlike the Exquisite Star Golden Concealed Leaf, which only had a pair of leaves, this ‘gra.s.s’ was just a flower.
Ning Cheng had seen many kinds of flowers, both beautiful and ugly, fragrant and smelly. But he was sure that this flower was the most unique one he had ever seen. The open flower had several colours intermingling as light reflected off them. At first, one would only notice one colour, but more than a dozen different colours would pop out if noticed more closely.
Each blooming flower had two ‘white’ petals with a ‘golden’ stripe going down the middle. The whole flower looked captivating, yet it also gave people a sense of sadness. It seemed to be telling a story without an ending, a story that evoked many emotions within whoever observed it.
If one had to shorten it to a single phrase, the beauty of this flower would be that of poignant beauty.
It only took a moment for Ning Cheng to realise what kind of flower this was; it should be none other than the Ripple Bone Flower. He had read about the Ripple Bone Poison and the Ripple Bone Flower, but it was the first time he had seen this flower.
No wonder Liu Fanglin came here looking for the Ripple Bone Flower. After all, even he never expected to find it here. Maybe this place also contained the antidote for the Ripple Bone Poison apart from the Ripple Bone Flower.
Regardless of whether this place had an antidote for the Ripple Bone Poison or not, Ning Cheng decided to carefully dig up the flower and plant it in the True Spirit World. At the same time, he also instructed Yan Ji and everyone else inside about the highly poisonous nature of the flower.
If, after going out, Liu Fanglin didn’t find the Ripple Bone Flower, he can give a strand to her in return for the favour of bringing him to this place.
Besides, the value of the Ripple Bone Flower was much higher than ordinary Dao Transformation Dao Fruits. As it wasn’t only rare but also problematic to plant.
……
Half a month pa.s.sed quickly. Just as Liu Fanglin had said, Ning Cheng found himself teleported out of the valley at its end.
However, he saw no sign of the grey stone stele or Liu Fanglin. Looks like we got teleported out to different locations.
After making sure that there were no signs of Liu Fanglin around him, he started preparations to leave Burial Shadow Blue Sands.
Whatever be the case, Ning Cheng felt quite satisfied with this trip to the Burial Shadow Blue Sands. Although he encountered many dangers and almost died in this place a few times, he still obtained quite a big harvest. But more importantly, Yan Ji’s foundation has been completely restored; even her qualifications also went up by another level.
However, he also understood that it wasn’t easy to find the way out even if he didn’t face the Burial Shadow Fiends. After all, many people entering this place died, not because of Burial Shadow Fiends, but mainly because they got lost and couldn’t find their way out.
Ning Cheng’s cultivation level was only at the Dao Sculpting Holy Emperor level. However, his Sea of Consciousness and spiritual consciousness was stronger than any Dao Sculpting Holy Emperor. Even an ordinary Dao Transformation Holy Emperor wasn’t a match for him in this regard.
This especially came in handy in a place like the Burial Shadow Blue Sand that suppressed a cultivator’s spiritual consciousness. But also because of this, many Holy Emperors came up with their own ways of stretching out their suppressed spiritual consciousness for survival. Just like how Liu Fanglin could bring out and use her coloured beads for defence.
After all, having a ‘strong’ spiritual consciousness essentially meant using their spiritual consciousness more fluidly in places with spiritual consciousness suppressions. Thus, giving them a higher chance of survival and a better chance of finding the way out.
Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness wasn’t only powerful; it could also stretch out wider than others in the Burial Shadow Blue Sand, giving him a ma.s.sive advantage. Moreover, after the battle with the mature Burial Shadow Fiend, no other Burial Shadow Fiend dared to sneak up on him. Thus, he managed to find an exit in just seven days and got out of the Burial Shadow Blue Sands.
……
If one wanted to reach the Grand Essence Ruins’ Public Square from the Grand Essence Ruins, they would have to pa.s.s through a semi-deserted zone. However, many cultivators considered this area much more dangerous than even the depths of the Grand Essence Ruins.
That’s because this area did not belong to the Grand Essence Ruins’ Public Square. In other words, no one would care if a fight broke out in this area. In fact, even if someone important died here, no one would come to perform even a courtesy inspection.
Because of this, many cultivators who ended up offending any of the named experts would die here even before entering the Grand Essence Ruins. After all, entering the Grand Essence Ruins at least presented one with a few chances of escaping, making it safer than this semi-deserted area.
At this moment, one could see a wretched-looking figure rushing towards the Grand Essence Ruins. One glance at this figure revealed several severe, almost fatal-looking, injuries. But despite pushing himself to the limits, this figure had to stop within this semi-deserted area, just a few short steps away from the Grand Essence Ruins’ entrance.
“Qi Shisanxing. If I was you, I would remain hidden in the Grand Essence Mystic Realm till the end of time. Why bother pushing your luck?” A late-stage Dao Raising cultivator spoke up. An early-stage Dao Raising cultivator accompanied him, who quickly moved to block all escape routes.
Qi Shisanxing was about to curse profanities at them when he suddenly looked dumbly at a Starry Sky Wheel flying in the distance. Ning Cheng’s Starry Sky Wheel was all too familiar to him, but more importantly, he saw Ning Cheng standing at the front of the Starry Sky Wheel.
The same instant Qi Shisanxing saw Ning Cheng, Ning Cheng also noticed Qi Shisanxing.
After recovering her foundation, Yan Ji decided to stay in the True Spirit World and cultivate as suggested by Ning Cheng. While she did that, Ning Cheng had also managed to come out of the Grand Essence Ruins’ Burial Shadow Blue Sands and waited for Liu Fanglin for a few days near the entrance. Since she didn’t show up even after a week of waiting, Ning Cheng decided to no longer wait for her and started preparing to go back to the Stately River Star. But he never expected to see Qi Shisanxing, who he had not seen or heard of in a long time, right outside the Grand Essence Ruins.
However, Qi Shisanxing’s surprise at seeing Ning Cheng quickly dissipated and got replaced with anxiety. He quickly turned away and tried rushing out in a different direction. He prayed that Ning Cheng wouldn’t throw himself into the net to help him. The two cultivators blocking him were Dao Raising Holy Emperors; it would be a piece of cake for them to kill Ning Cheng, just like crushing an ant.
“Want to leave?” The toothy thorns in the hands of the early-stage Dao Raising Holy Emperor transformed into a th.o.r.n.y canopy, completely trapping Qi Shisanxing. As the strong domain and the mighty pressure of a Dao Raising Holy Emperor swept over, Qi Shisanxing couldn’t even move a muscle before the canopy shrunk and bound him in place.
He had just succeeded in reaching the Dao Sculpting Realm, but his dao foundation hadn’t solidified yet. Therefore, it would be bizarre if he could move in the face of two Dao Raising Holy Emperors. If it wasn’t because these two didn’t want to kill him and only wanted to take him away, he would have died a thousand times at their hands.
After the early-stage Dao Raising Holy Emperor bound Qi Shisanxing, he took out a rope-like artefact and tossed it. This artefact suddenly came ‘alive’. It immediately moved towards Qi Shisanxing and coiled itself around him as if it had grown eyes.
But just when this rope-like artefact was about to completely bind Qi Shisanxing, a dao flame suddenly materialised in front of Qi Shisanxing.
This dao flame immediately pounced on the rope-like artefact coiling around Qi Shisanxing and incinerated it to ashes with speed visible to the naked eye.
The early-stage Dao Raising Holy Emperor, controlling the rope-like artefact, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his Sea of Consciousness. He immediately understood that his rope-like artefact had indeed burned away into ashes. At the same time, he also saw Ning Cheng abruptly appearing in front of them before stepping down and putting away the Starry Sky Wheel.
“Who are you? How dare you make a move against me for no reason?” The early-stage Dao Raising Holy Emperor asked sharply.
He could see that Ning Cheng only had a cultivation level of a Dao Sculpting Holy Emperor. However, if Ning Cheng hadn’t just burned away his rope-like artefact with ease, he would have already moved to kill Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng ignored this early-stage Dao Raising cultivator and collected the Star River Flame after it burned the rope-like artefact into ashes. He then directed it towards the th.o.r.n.y canopy around Qi Shisanxing and let it blaze till nothing remained.
Qi Shisanxing felt his body immediately loosening up and fell unsteadily to Ning Cheng’s side. He couldn’t help but look at Ning Cheng with a shocked expression. In fact, he couldn’t even think of anything as he looked at Ning Cheng.
“Are you Pill Sage Ning?” The late-stage Dao Raising Holy Emperor, who was about to make his move, quickly recognised Ning Cheng just before he was about to attack.
Qi Shisanxing quickly returned to his senses and asked in shock, “Ning Cheng, when did you become a Pill Sage?”
Qi Shisanxing knew that Ning Cheng was a Pill Emperor, but to say that Ning Cheng was a Pill Sage, he honestly couldn’t believe it. The difference between the two was simply too huge.
“Let’s talk about that later; first, tell me why these two guys are after you?” Ning Cheng kept a close eye on the two Dao Raising Holy Emperors and asked Qi Shisanxing.
Only then did he recall that Ning Cheng had not only burned down a Dao Raising Holy Emperor’s artefact but also his spirit technique. When they were in the Grand Essence Mystic Realm, Ning Cheng and his cultivation level seemed similar, so how did Ning Cheng become so strong?
The late-stage Dao Raising Holy Emperor didn’t wait for Qi Shisanxing to answer before he cupped his fists towards Ning Cheng and said, “Since it’s a friend of Pill Sage Ning, we dare not offend; let’s all stop for…..”
As this late-stage Dao Raising Holy Emperor spoke, he quickly pulled the early-stage Dao Raising Holy Emperor and immediately retreated.
Since Ning Cheng had no idea what started this matter, he didn’t go after them as long as Qi Shisanxing was fine.
“Dao Friend Ao, why are you pulling me away? Although that person has a powerful flame, he’s only a Dao Sculpting Holy Emperor. Wouldn’t we be able to take care of him? How can we return and give our report if we retreat like this?” The early-stage Dao Raising Holy Emperor asked with some reluctance.
The late-stage Dao Raising Holy Emperor surnamed Ao replied solemnly, “Brother Huan, didn’t you hear me call that man a Pill Sage?”
“So what if he’s a Pill Sage? A mere Dao Sculpting Pill Sage dared to talk …….”
“Shut the h.e.l.l up.” Not waiting for this Holy Emperor surnamed Huang to finish, the one surnamed Ao quickly stopped him from saying anything else. “Other than his ident.i.ty as a Pill Sage, he’s also surnamed Ning…….”
The Dao Raising Holy Emperor surnamed Huang didn’t catch it the first time. But this time, he quickly connected two and two together and exclaimed, “You’re saying that he’s the Dao Essence Pill Sage, Ning Cheng?”
The Dao Raising Holy Emperor surnamed Ao only gave a short nod without answering.
After seeing that affirmative reaction, cold sweat started dripping down the Dao Raising Holy Emperor surnamed Huang’s back. Even though they had a Dao Raising cultivation, facing Ning Cheng, a Dao Essence Pill Sage, was nothing more than wishing for death. No, they didn’t know how to write ‘death’.
What’s more, Ning Cheng wasn’t just a Dao Essence Pill Sage. He’s even representing the Grand Essence Realm in the Five Grand Realms’ Alchemy Compet.i.tion. As long as he gave the word, every major force in the Grand Essence Realm would willingly trip on their feet to hunt them down. Even if Ning Cheng didn’t say anything, people would immediately come after their heads if word got out that they tried to capture Ning Cheng’s friend. Perhaps they might not even get to live long enough to see tomorrow.
“Fellow Daoist Ao, many thanks for your timely reminder. I’m giving up on this mission.” The early-stage Dao Raising Holy Emperor surnamed Huang sucked in a cold breath and spoke with incomparable fear.
The Dao Raising Holy Emperor surnamed Ao also nodded, “I’m also giving up on it. I didn’t expect Ning Cheng to have such a good relationship with Qi Shisanxing. Just pray that he doesn’t come looking for us to cause trouble. As for continuing with the mission to capture Qi Shisanxing? Let others who are tired of living do it.”
They no longer had the heart to talk and didn’t even stay at the Grand Essence Public Square. In fact, they immediately chose to leave the Grand Essence Public Square through a teleportation array.