Chapter 0462: Coming to sue for peace
“So you are called Yan Fu. Come in.” Ning Cheng’s voice rang next to Yan Fu’s ear; immediately, the dense fog in front of Yan Fu parted revealing a path leading towards the central courtyard.
Yan Fu had just entered this pa.s.sage within the Array Formation when the courtyard’s Defensive Array closed up once again behind him.
Ning Cheng quickly recalled the details of this Crucible Transformation 8th Level Cultivator in front of him. The Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce’s group totalled 11 people, along with Pu Leng. Of these eleven individuals, two were Plundering Life Realm cultivators, whom he had killed within the Array Formation. However, this Yan Fu, who did not have high cultivation, unexpectedly managed to last until the end. With just a faint opportunity presented to him, he immediately used an Escape Talisman to escape.
Now that Yan Fu returned once again, Ning Cheng didn’t think that he willingly came here to look for death. Such a person would always show extreme seriousness and caution when it came to preserving their life; as such, this kind of a person would never willingly court death without a good reason.
After Yan Fu entered the living quarters, he immediately saw Ning Cheng and Ji Luofei sitting in a leisurely manner. He quickly raised his hands and swiped at his face. His appearance instantly transformed into a middle-aged man, with small eyes, looking very ordinary. He was the type of person who could easily lose himself in a crowd.
Ning Cheng recalled that this was the real face of Yan Fu. For Yan Fu to show such an approach, it showed that he came here without any malice and full of honesty.
“Yan Fu greets Brother Ning.” Yan Fu did not choose to mention even half a word regarding the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce. After coming in, he immediately offered his greetings with cupped fists and in a very genuine and respectful manner.
Ning Cheng nodded in acknowledgement and spoke, “Strictly speaking, me and Brother Yan should be enemies. Yet, I don’t know why Brother Yan dared to return to this place? Aren’t you afraid of dying?”
Yan Fu spoke up without even half a bit of worry; instead, his words were quite positive, “Brother Ning, I should make it clear that we are not enemies. From the beginning to the end, I never thought of Brother Ning as my enemy. Brother Ning should know that for a rogue cultivator to gain greater benefits within the Rootless Black City, they would have no choice but to join one of the main factions in this place. So I just chose to work with the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce; however, I must state it clearly that it never was my faction, just a place for me to cooperate with others for some benefits. The Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce has already vanished now, while I’m still me. This fact itself cuts me off from any a.s.sociation you think I have with the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce.”
“I came here today to look for Brother Ning for some cooperation. Brother Ning might already have an inkling about it. When I came to your residence that day, I only came for self-preservative reasons. I never attacked with more than half of my power. If Brother Ning is not willing to cooperate, then I will leave immediately. If Brother Ning deems it necessary to kill me, then it only shows that my eyes have gone bad, and will not blame any other person but me for my failure.”
Ning Cheng had to admit that Yan Ji was quite the talkative person. He didn’t wish to continue beating around the bush with meaningless words, and just pointed to the seat in front of him and spoke, “Such being the case, please take a seat first Brother Yan.”
After Yan Fu sat down, Ning Cheng only asked a single question, “What does Brother Yan want me to cooperate on?”
“Brother Ning should know why Pu Leng and Xu Liangzhi came back at this time, right? It’s because of a giant Essence Stone Mine that we found……”
Ning Cheng interrupted Yan Fu and spoke, “Are you talking about the Black Essence Stone Mine?”
Yan Fu held up his cupped fists towards Ning Cheng and spoke, “If it were just a Black Essence Stone Mine, then I wouldn’t need to reveal such shortcomings. What we found was not a Black Essence Stone Mine, but a Blue Essence Stone Mine.”
“Blue Essence Stone?” Ning Cheng asked in doubt.
Yan Fu nodded and spoke, “That’s right, Blue Essence Stone. In the Rootless Black City, there are no Blue Coins in circulation. However, in the boundless Starry Sky, Blue Coins are worth far more than Black Coins. A Blue Coin is equivalent to 100 Black Coins.”
Ning Cheng’s complexion changed slightly. He had only recently arrived at the Rootless Black City and didn’t know much about it. However, he believed what Yan Fu spoke. Even the currency on Earth had different denominations. So initially, when he saw that every Black Coin was just a single unit, he couldn’t help but find it somewhat strange. It turned out that there was still a denomination called ‘Blue Coin’ above it.
Thinking of this, he quickly asked, “You will have to pardon me for this Brother Yan, but is there a more advanced form of currency other than Blue Coins?”
Yan Fu spoke up in an affirmative tone, “Naturally, in the endless Starry Sky, currency is the most direct means to go around. Incomparable to Spirit Stones. Especially since these objects can only be used by cultivators. I heard that in the endless Starry Sky, there are many other beings apart from cultivators. There are still Martial Artists from Technological Civilisations that are equivalent or even more powerful compared to True Cultivators and use different energies. The Starry Sky…..”
As he spoke until here, Yan Fu paused for a slight bit before continuing, “All kinds of forces exist within the Starry Sky Universe. Every force, when taken to the extreme, has the potential to break through any limitations. However, my cultivation is still too low, while these are things that I heard from others; however, I am not too clear on many of these things.”
Ning Cheng had also felt such a hunch when he first gazed at the 5-Star Battle Disc, Sifting Orchid. However, now that he heard Yan Fu’s words, he still couldn’t help but feel incomparably shocked. The vast universe of the Starry Sky was not as simple as he imagined.
Yan Fu on seeing that Ning Cheng seemed to have gone into shock after hearing his words did not choose to continue with this line of conversation. He returned to the previous topic and spoke, “I came to Brother Ning’s place this time to inform Brother Ning about this Blue Essence Stone Mine. If I’m not mistaken, the Blue Essence Stone Mine should contain Blue Coins worth at least hundreds of millions. This equates to tens of billions of Black Coins.”
Ning Cheng, by this time, had completely calmed down. He showed a faint smile before speaking, “Brother Yan, I believe what you told me, but how would it be useful for us? Moreover, can we even obtain those Blue Essence Stones with just our strengths?”
“The two of us certainly won’t be able to obtain all of it. However, Brother Ning, you are an expert in the Dao of Array Formations, you could go ahead and arrange some Array Formations in advance.” Yan Fu spoke up calmly.
Ning Cheng instantly understood Yan Fu’s intent. With the reputation of the Rootless Black City’s Junior City Master, after discovering the Blue Essence Stone Mine, most of it would anyway make it into his pockets. What Yan Fu intended was to wait for Xu Liangzhi to completely open the Blue Essence Stone Mine and enter it. Then, he could activate the Array Formation, destroying all the people trapped inside, and then gathering all the Blue Essence Stones.
This Yan Fu was a person with quite the wicked heart; to obtain a share of Blue Essence Stone Mine, he was willing to kill anyone who came in his way.
However, Ning Cheng knew that he could not work together with Yan Fu. He had his own bottom line. When it came to the people from the Rootless Black City’s City Master Mansion, Ning Cheng could kill them all without any guilty heart; after all, if Ning Cheng did not kill them off, they would undoubtedly seek an opportunity to kill him. Just like the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce, which he recently extinguished. If Ning Cheng had not chosen to exterminate the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce, eventually, they would have killed him. Therefore, he did not feel even half a shred of guilt or psychological burden when extinguishing them. Just as in the case when two opposing armies fighting in a war, the soldiers who killed the opposing army’s soldiers would not feel any of the psychological burden, at least not during the process.
Moreover, the cultivators who chose to team up with Xu Liangzhi had a similarity, that is, they all were struggling for survival in the Rootless Black City. Using those people to dig out the mine and then exterminate them, Ning Cheng confessed to himself that he could never do such a thing.
“Since you shared this with me, how much do you want to get out of it?” Ning Cheng’s tone did not contain any excitement.
Feeling Ning Cheng’s tone, Yan Fu suddenly felt a bit confused in his heart. He had initially thought that no one would remain indifferent when hearing about the opportunity to gain tens of billions of Black Coins. However, this Ning Cheng in front of him remained utterly calm, which made him not know about what Ning Cheng thought.
“I only need one-tenth of it. If you think it is high, then I can also take a smaller share.” From the moment he arrived at this place until now, it was the first time Yan Fu felt that he lacked confidence.
Ning Cheng calmly spoke up, “You and I are different. I’m a person who doesn’t act against those who do not offend me nor do I have any interest in taking prisoners. The Rootless Black City’s Junior City Master wanted to kill my friend, driving her into the Void in the process, for that, I will definitely take his life. As for those who chose to form a team with Xu Liangzhi, I do not share a direct hatred with them; therefore, I’d rather not get my hands stained with their blood.”
Yan Fu immediately turned silent; he had never encountered any cultivator like Ning Cheng. He even thought that Ning Cheng wanted to deceive him. In this place, who would still choose to cling to morality and ethics? He was sure that among the ten thousand cultivators within the Rootless Black City, as long as a sufficient pile of benefits were dangled in front of them, 9999 of them would not hesitate to kill each other to obtain that benefit.
If Ning Cheng disagreed with him, then he might not necessarily preserve his pitiful life. Ning Cheng mentioned that he would not act on those who did not offend him, nor did he have any interest in taking prisoners; however, he was a person from the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce, who had already openly offended Ning Cheng.
Yan Fu only hesitated for a short while before he took out a jade strip and pa.s.sed it on to Ning Cheng before speaking, “This jade strip contains the location of the Blue Essence Mine within the Void.”
Ning Cheng accepted the jade strip and swept his Spiritual Consciousness into it before speaking out calmly, “From now on we don’t owe each other anything. I will go search for the Blue Essence Stone. If you want to go there, then I will also not stop you. Whoever manages to grab onto it first will be the one to keep it.”
“Many thanks.” Yan Fu once again cupped his fists towards Ning Cheng, before he quickly retreated from the area and walked away. Only when he reached the entrance, did he suddenly turn his head and spoke, “Brother Ning, there is one more thing that I want to tell you. Xu Liangzhi is definitely not just a mindless worm, his scheming run very deep. Also, I heard that his father, Xu Kai, is about to advance once again.”
After Yan Fu finally left his courtyard, Ning Cheng once again closed up the Array Formation, while still thinking about the words left behind by Yan Fu. Whether it was the information about the various capable people within the universe of the Starry Sky or the Blue Essence Stone Mine, Ning Cheng couldn’t help but feel that the last bit of information was the most important one.
“Dear, the person he reminded us just a few moments ago, surnamed Xu, should not be someone simple. His father must be a cultivator in the Plundering Life Realm, don’t you think? If he advances once again…..” Ji Luofei’s tone was fraught with worry.
“As long as he did not advance past the Plundering Life Realm, I do not fear him. Oh, I forgot to ask Yan Fu about the realm beyond the Plundering Life Realm, alas….” Ning Cheng gave a sigh. He wasn’t actually afraid of Xu Kai advancing beyond the Plundering Life Realm; he gave out a sigh because he had too little knowledge about it.
At this moment, another voice arrived from outside his residence, “Shen Zimo from the City Master’s Mansion requests a meet with Brother Ning.”
Ning Cheng and Ji Luofei glanced at each other with a strange look in their eyes. What kind of day was today? First, the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce’s Yan Fu came for a visit, and now people from the City Master’s Mansion arrived at their doorstep. One must know these two forces shared a common hatred against him.
Ning Cheng once again opened the Array Formation, allowing this cultivator named Shen Zimo to come in.
Shen Zimo seemed to possess cultivation at the Crucible Transformation 7th Level, with a square-shaped face and big ears; however, his body gave off a hint of lifeless spirit.
This Ning Cheng felt it very clearly. Although he had not encountered any cultivators possessing a lifeless spirit aura similar to Shen Zimo, he just happened to be one of them. Because of coming in contact with Origin Aura, he found some commonalities between this lifeless spirit aura and Origin Aura, which allowed Ning Cheng to easily sense it.
“I don’t have any previous contact with the City Master’s Mansion, nor do I know anybody within the City Master’s Mansion. So why did you come here looking for me?” After Ning Cheng hinted Shen Zimo to sit down, he immediately spoke out in a soft tone.
“I am just following orders to come here. The Junior City Master has placed substantial importance on Brother Ning’s skills. He wants to invite Brother Ning to venture into the Void to look for that Black Essence Stone Mine. He even promises to share half of it ……”
Shen Zimo was still in the middle of talking when Ning Cheng took a step forward and tightly grabbed onto Shen Zimo’s wrist. With Shen Zimo’s cultivation, although he might not be an opponent against Ning Cheng, he at least possessed the capability to prevent Ning Cheng from grabbing his wrist. However, he did not do any such thing and continued talking about all the conditions put forward by Xu Liangzhi.
Even if Yan Fu had not visited this place a few moments ago, Ning Cheng would still never believe that Xu Liangzhi would actually send someone to sue for peace. Not to mention about Yan Fu’s reminder, he already knew instinctively that a person like Xu Liangzhi definitely would not be as simple as he looked on the surface. Combined with the lifeless spirit aura coming from Shen Zimo, how could he believe that Xu Liangzhi would sue for peace?