Whatever happened in here, Ning Cheng wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
Ning Cheng had just taken a few steps back when a burst of buzzing-like sound erupted followed by an invasive killing intent that wrapped around Ning Cheng.
A Grade 5 Celestial River Trap and Kill Formation, Ning Cheng immediately realised as he was an Array Formation Master almost on the verge of breaking through Grade 4. As such, he could feel it the moment this Celestial River Array activated.
Immediately bringing out the Everlasting Blue Thunder City, Ning Cheng knew that he had to retreat as fast as possible as he had no way to counteract a Grade 5 Celestial River Killing Formation. However, the only way to leave was to tear through this array formation, provided he managed to find one of the controlling nodes first.
“Chi” Another burst of killing intent tore through s.p.a.ce and directly blew through Ning Cheng’s Celestial River Domain. Although this burst of killing intent had not slammed into Ning Cheng yet, Ning Cheng could still feel his Sea of Consciousness swaying violently.
“Katcha” The Everlasting Blue Thunder City’s projection shattered; however, it still could not dissipate this burst of killing intent that surged towards him.
Ning Cheng immediately brought forth his Treasured Thunder Spear; he had barely managed to cast the Traceless Spear Intent, and it had not yet torn through the void when it encountered a terrifying force.
“Boom” The moment the explosion rang out, Ning Cheng spat out another mouthful of blood and slammed into a wall behind him. Although this wall enjoyed the augmentation from an array formation, giving it immense resilience, the array formation had already shattered due to the overpowering concussion from the previous explosion of Celestial Essence. Now that Ning Cheng crashed into it, the wall immediately broke down.
A rich Celestial Essence-filled air rushed out, and a large chamber appeared in front of Ning Cheng.
Although it was a large chamber, it had simple furnishings. It contained a stone bed and a jade statue placed at the edge of the stone bed. The figure was of a young man with clear and distinct features.
On the ground on one side of the room, sat a white-faced yet very beautiful looking Daoist Priestess over a praying mat. However, this Daoist Priestess had blood flowing down the corner of her mouth, and even the robes covering her body looked shredded into strips, exposing her white skin and a stunning figure.
Only a few steps from this Daoist Priestess was a handsome-looking man without any eyebrows slumped on the ground. A cyan-coloured long sword pierced through his chest and nailed him to a pillar by the wall, which had an array formation inscribed over it. This array formation made it so that this fellow could not move at all. At this moment, his breath was in disorder, and even the celestial wheels behind this fellow looked vague and faint.
“An ant who hadn’t even stepped into the Celestial River Realm managed to escape my killing formation. Even managed to stop my attack…..” The eyebrowless man saw Ning Cheng crash inside with Qionghua, spoke up with a hint of disdain.
Ning Cheng shot a cold glance at this man without any eyebrows, while he deployed his Celestial River Domain to guard himself. Carefully looking at him, Ning Cheng calmly spoke up, “Nothing but a dead dog in the Heaven Seated Realm, yet claiming to act as the master of the universe.”
Although Ning Cheng spoke with a calm tone, he knew in his heart that this fellow, who had a long sword pierced through his chest and nailed to the pillar, was dangerous. The other party could take his life at any moment and anywhere.
“Can you really see my cultivation?” The eyebrowless man nailed to the pillar by the long green sword looked at Ning Cheng in shock.
At this moment, Qionghua also came to her senses and quickly spoke, “Thank you, thank you, Senior Apprentice Brother, you can let me down now.”
Ning Cheng carefully put Qionghua down, stood in front of her, and said, “This eyebrowless freak can still move, you have to be careful.”
“Many thanks, Senior Apprentice Brother, for saving me……” Qionghua still whispered. Her face had turned red all the way to her ears. Not to mention her own ident.i.ty, ever since birth, no man had taken her into his arms.
“Did Mi Hui sent you?” The Daoist Priestess, who sat on the praying mat, suddenly spoke up with a hoa.r.s.e voice.
Qionghua quickly broke free from her embarra.s.sment and said, “Yes, are you Uncle-master Mi Chen? How did this happen to you? There are many bodies of Senior Apprentice Sisters outside…..”
The Daoist Priestess still spoke with a hoa.r.s.e yet calm voice, “Go back, and tell Mi Hui that from the moment my husband died, I no longer belonged to the Everlasting Sacred Shrine. You should count your blessing that I did not come looking for revenge against Everlasting Sacred Shrine. This world no longer contains the one named Mi Chen[1], only Lu Hechen[2]……”
The eyebrowless man laughed, “Want to leave…..”
During the conversation, an invisible hand once again grabbed Qionghua.
Lu Hechen gave a snort, “Hurry up and leave, don’t get caught by him……”
Qionghua only had a Celestial Novice Cultivation; as such, she had no way of blocking this five-star palm. The eyebrowless man’s invisible palm had just stretched out when she automatically moved towards it.
Ning Cheng would never let Qionghua fell into the hands of this eyebrowless man and once again blasted out with his Treasured Thunder Spear, shooting out another Traceless Spear Intent.
“Boom…..” The horrifying Celestial Essence explosion immediately shook the s.p.a.ce and Qionghua once again found herself within Ning Cheng’s embrace, who protected her from the powerful aftershocks from the Celestial Essence explosion.
Ning Cheng’s Treasured Thunder Spear gave out a buzzing-like sound before he was once again smashed back by the power of the explosion.
“Boom-Boom-Boom……” At the same time, Ning Cheng slammed into a Trap and Kill Formation, causing several killing lights to slash apart Ning Cheng’s back, which then caused copious amounts of blood to flow down.
Ning Cheng had not yet fallen to the ground when he lifted his hand and threw out dozens of array flags. This caused the killing formation’s killing lights to weaken before a safe s.p.a.ce formed around Ning Cheng due to the array flags that he had shot out.
“Oh, I really did not think that a puny ant would not only have such strong Celestial Essence and Spiritual Consciousness but even know about array formations……” The eyebrowless man looked at Ning Cheng in surprise, as his eyes flashed with a strange glint. Should he keep struggling while nailed to this place, or should he take possession of Ning Cheng? In any case, he had not seen such a perfect corporeal body in his life till now. Not only was this a body-refining cultivator, but even this fellow’s cultivation was far more powerful compared to other Celestial Scryer Cultivators.
Although the spear in Ning Cheng’s hand looked average, that shadow of the Thunder City felt incredibly remarkable.
“Qionghua, wait for me to tear open this Trap and Kill Formation, then you can leave first. This eyebrowless freak can only use such despicable skills……” Ning Cheng knew that even if this eyebrowless man nailed to the pillar looked severely injured, this fellow was still a lot stronger than the current him. Although he wanted to leave this place with Qionghua unscathed, it seemed impossible judging by the situation. As such, he could only let Qionghua go first, while he blocked this fellow in front of him.
“What about you?” Qionghua obviously knew that she was the burden here. However, after asking that question, she immediately noticed the blood trickling down the back of Ning Cheng and immediately asked in a frightened voice, “Are you injured?”
Ning Cheng put Shi Qionghua down and took out a few array flags, “I’m fine. You do not have to worry about me. Wait till I tear apart this Trap and Kill Formation to let you out. After you go out, use these array flags to tear apart the Entrapment Formation outside the Changing Earth Mountain. I’ll try to buy you enough time, enough for you to escape.”
That said, Ning Cheng added another sentence, “Once you get out, immediately call for your Sacred Master, if you want to save me. Otherwise, we will all die in this place.”
Even during the time when he handed the array flags to Shi Qionghua, Ning Cheng still kept his attention trained over the eyebrowless man. Fortunately, the eyebrowless man only stared at Ning Cheng with a strange glint in his eyes. Although Ning Cheng could not figure out what he was thinking, he did not care about it right now.
“Many thanks, Senior Apprentice Brother, Qionghua wants to know Senior Apprentice Brother’s name.” Apparently, she also had realised that Ning Cheng had to remain here, and decided not to argue. If she did not get out, Ning Cheng would find himself in even more danger. However, if she got out, she could still seize the small chance to save Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng smiled, “My name is Ning Cheng. Remember it but do not tell it to others. I have offended a lot of people. We used to be husband and wife, vowing to be with each other for the rest of our lives. Besides, I owe you a lot.”
Qionghua did not immediately answer Ning Cheng’s words, she obviously thought of her Senior Apprentice Sister Yiyi’s words; although his Senior Apprentice Brother Ning spoke with a polite yet urgent voice, it felt too glib-tongued. What was this about being husband and wife for the entire lifetime in the previous life; if not for the life-saving grace, she truly would have turned around and left.
“Is there anything else that Senior Apprentice Brother Ning need from me?” Although a little unhappy, Qionghua did not show it. Instead, she asked Ning Cheng if he had anything else to do. Even if it proved challenging, she would still help to pay back this grace.
After seeing Qionghua show a slight frown after hearing about them being a pair of husband and wife for a lifetime, Ning Cheng secretly gave out a sigh before staring at Qionghua and speaking with a slightly hoa.r.s.e tone, “I have nothing else to ask from you, I just wanted to see your face again……”
With a slight hesitation, Qionghua pulled down the veil covering her face and looked at Ning Cheng while speaking with a steady voice, “I’m the Sacred Lady of Everlasting Sacred Shrine.”
Seeing the familiar face appear in front of Ning Cheng, Ning Cheng almost went into a trance. He felt his throat closing up. How long has it been since he saw Qionghua’s face? Since separating on Sifting Orchid Star, Ning Cheng had not seen Qionghua again. However, when he saw Qionghua again after all these years, the blue seas had already turned into mulberry fields, and the people involved no longer the same.
Was this Qionghua in front of him, not the one he loved, Shi Qionghua, or the original Qionghua, who used to call him as Husband? She did not even know his name. What’s more, she said that she was the Sacred Lady of Everlasting Sacred Shrine, what did it mean for Ning Cheng?
Even if he left today, where would he go? Facing the Everlasting Sacred Shrine, could he really take away Qionghua, if she did not believe that she was his Qionghua?
“Separated by the yin and yang for several years, we meet again in a different place. Asking about a family name unknown, yet speaking of their name holding slight distress. Parting from the azure ocean, words left unfinished. Tomorrow’s light, how much more could the autumn mountain bear?[3]”
Seeing Ning Cheng turning sentimental, the eyebrowless man manifested a few more array flags, causing three red lights to shoot towards Ning Cheng’s glabella. Whether or not he could take possession of Ning Cheng’s body, he must first seriously injure Ning Cheng; especially since he was currently nailed to one place.
The moment the murderous intent pierced through his Celestial River Domain, Ning Cheng’s Everlasting Blue Thunder City suddenly appeared.
“Boom, katcha.” Ning Cheng’s Everlasting Blue Thunder City instantly broke; at the same time, the area occupied by his Celestial River Domain suddenly transformed into nothingness.
The Treasured Thunder Spear blasted out once again, and Ning Cheng threw out a few array flags. Utilising the moment when the eyebrowless man wanted to re-energise the Grade 5 Celestial River-level Trap and Kill Formation, Ning Cheng ripped apart the Trap and Kill Formation.
“Katcha…….” Ning Cheng’s Treasured Thunder Spear also ended up crushed by one of the red lights.
“Puff, Puff…..” The other two red streaks broke through his Celestial River Domain and Everlasting Blue Thunder City. And even though Ning Cheng forced his body to move, two flowers of blood still bloomed over Ning Cheng.
“Strange.” The moment those red streaks pierced through Ning Cheng’s body, the eyebrowless man immediately felt that he could not seal up this fellow’s meridians. From this, he also concluded that Ning Cheng definitely had a huge secret.
Ning Cheng grabbed Qionghua and threw her out of the Trap and Kill Formation while also shouting the words, “Hurry up and call in support. And you have a last name, you are called Shi Qionghua.”
[1] Mi Chen = Seeking Earth
[2] Lu Hechen = Land burdened with dirt
[3] Author Note: Do not entangle yourself in the poetry, these are just words trying to express Ning Cheng’s inner feelings.