Chapter 0860: The First Bridge’s Epiphany
A moment later, a late-stage Eternal cultivator with a round face and hints of fat appeared within the range of Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness. He didn’t look too old, but with his tender-looking and fat face, this person looked more like an overgrown teenager instead of an adult.
Ning Cheng had already prepared himself to fight at any time. He discovered the Law Soil first but lost the Law Soil only because of a lack of experience. Besides, he didn’t know that there was another way to search for the Law Soil underground.
Regarding the actions of this round-faces fat cultivator who s.n.a.t.c.hed the Law Soil, Ning Cheng didn’t feel angry either. He could just grab it back. In this place, the speed of one’s hand determined everything, which meant getting angry wouldn’t solve anything. There was no place for politeness and jealousness in an area that relied solely on strength.
The round-faced fat cultivator seemed to have understood Ning Cheng’s intentions. Therefore, after grabbing the clump of Law Soil, he didn’t leave. Instead, he waved his hand and opened up a private s.p.a.ce around him and Ning Cheng. At the same time, he spoke up with an anxious voice, “This friend, please don’t start…..”
Ning Cheng’s domain locked onto the fat cultivator and spoke up with a calm tone, “Who found this clump of Law Soil just now?”
The round-faced fat cultivator quickly spoke up, “Of course, this friend found it first. But didn’t you see that I didn’t leave and stayed behind to consult with you? If I wanted to leave, here, take a look at my talisman, and you would realise that I could leave at any time. Besides, my cultivation is also not worse than you. So, if you still want to talk with your fists, then I wouldn’t talk to you anymore.”
After speaking, the fat cultivator raised a talisman in his hand. At the same time, he also stretched out his domain as if to prove his strength.
But Ning Cheng still spoke with a calm voice, “You can give it a try.”
The round-faced fat cultivator smiled and even put the talisman away, “My friend, I just want to speak a few sincere words with you. I don’t want to grab things and leave. This clump of Law Soil is almost as big as half a fist. It indeed has a lot of value. But who am I? I’m Peng Shan. No matter how precious the thing, I wouldn’t grab it even if thrown in front of me. However, I truly require this thing urgently, which is why I have to s.n.a.t.c.h this Law Soil from you. But don’t worry, my friend, I will compensate you for it.”
Ning Cheng’s killing intent dissipated quite a bit after hearing this round-faced fat cultivator’s words. If this fellow had just grabbed it and left, Ning Cheng would have killed him immediately.
“Let’s do this then, you divide that clump of Law Soil into two halves, and we each take one half of it.” Ning Cheng’s tone also eased a bit.
This round-faced person, called Peng Shan, showed a pitiful expression, “My friend, if this were possible, I would have already done it. One could break down Law Soil’s clumps into chunks, but its value would take a huge hit once separated. Moreover, it would become less conducive for the growth of Dao Fruit Trees. For example, this clump of Law Soil in my hand, if halved, would be worth less than a tenth of its original value.”
You said you needed the Law Soil urgently, and you even wanted to swallow it alone. Don’t even think about it.
Seeing Ning Cheng’s expressions turning cold, Peng Shan quickly took out a piece of Law Soil that wasn’t much larger than a nail and said, “I will give you this small piece of Law Soil. Moreover, I’ll even give you 5,000 points, plus 50,000 spirit crystals. I’ll even promise you a favour. How about that?”
But even after Peng Shan stated his conditions, Ning Cheng still didn’t say anything. Seeing this, Peng Shan had no choice but to continue, “You may not know me, but I’m from Flaming Feather Spirit Mountain. In the future, if you find yourself in trouble, you can use this favour to ask me for help. You at least know about Flaming Feather Spirit Mountain, right? That’s one of the three Grand Essence’s Spirit Mountains.”
While speaking, Peng Shan even took out a jade card and shook it in his hands.
Ning Cheng shook his head and said, “Flaming Feather Spirit Mountain, huh. I haven’t heard of it…..”
Peng Shan suddenly felt discouraged. How could there still be people who didn’t know about his Flaming Feather Spirit Mountain? If any other person heard that he came from the Flaming Feather Spirit Mountain, they would have immediately shot him with jealous and envious stares.
However, Ning Cheng’s next words lit up Peng Shan’s eyes, “However, I agree to your terms.”
When Peng Shan heard it, he immediately put the jade card in his hand and the clump of Law Soil about a big nail’s size into a ring. After putting another 50,000 spirit crystals in the ring, he then sent it to Ning Cheng. “Many thanks, my friend. Remember, my name is Peng Shan. But how do I address this friend?”
Ning Cheng took out a black card and said, “My name is Ning Cheng. Do you want to give me the points now?”
“Brother Ning spoke correctly. I will give you the points.” Peng Shan took out his Quest Card. It wasn’t much better than Ning Cheng’s card. Just a white card, about a grade higher.
Point exchanges required both owner’s consent. Otherwise, even if you s.n.a.t.c.h someone’s point card, you wouldn’t be able to siphon away that person’s points. When Ning Cheng saw Peng Shan start transferring the points to him, he also saw that Peng Shan’s card only seemed to have 5,000 points. Seeing this, it made him feel a little more optimistic about Peng Shan.
This fellow only had 5,000 points. If he had more, he might have even offered him more points.
After a.s.signing the 5,000 points to Ning Cheng, Peng Shan looked delighted, “Brother Ning, many thanks for this. Since I obtained what I came here for, I have to go back. By the way, this is for you.”
After speaking, Peng Shan took out a white ball, “This is the treasure that helped me s.n.a.t.c.h that clump of Law Soil. Even if you found clumps of Law Soil later, if you have this thing, you can s.n.a.t.c.h away the other person’s Law Soil quickly. I don’t need it anymore, so I decided to give it to Brother Ning.”
Ning Cheng already knew that Peng Shan used some unusual means to s.n.a.t.c.h that clump of Law Soil, and now Peng Shan came up with such a thing.
Ning Cheng smiled and refused Peng Shan’s gift. He didn’t want such a thing anyway.
“Okay, Brother Ning truly is an outstanding individual. I’ll take my leave now. In the future, if Brother Ning needs any help from me, just remember to go to the Flaming Feather Spirit Mountain to find me.” After Peng Shan gave Ning Cheng a thumbs up, his body flashed, and he escaped from the ground.
Seeing Peng Shan leaving, Ning Cheng also quickly left his location. He didn’t rush out of the ground but kept moving even further below.
The only one reason why he agreed to transact with Peng Shan, apart from Peng Shan’s good impression. It was because he suspected that he already had this Law Soil on him.
The edges inside the Mysterious Yellow Bead seemed to contain this kind of Law Soil. He didn’t care about it before and hadn’t even thought about it until he came into contact with that clump of Law Soil.
The Mysterious Yellow Bead still needed one item to complete it; therefore, the laws in the marginal areas inside it continued to condense, grow and fuse without a balance. In any case, asking for points wasn’t much of big deal for him. After recalling this, he didn’t even need to look for Law Soil in this place. If needed, he could just dig out some of the soil from the edges inside the Mysterious Yellow Bead.
Therefore, what Ning Cheng urgently wanted to do was to enter the Mysterious Yellow Bead. He wanted to see if the soil inside the Mysterious Yellow Bead was indeed the Law Soil or not. If it were Law Soil, then it would mean he hit the jackpot.
Ning Cheng dived to the farthest depths he could reach, and after nearly half a day, when he couldn’t dive deeper any more, he finally stopped.
Reaching that depth, Ning Cheng then began arranging a Concealment Array. Once he finished setting up the Concealment Array, he then took out the drop of Weak Water. He wanted to use Weak Water’s drop to cover up the Mysterious Yellow Bead’s remaining aura.
Only after making sure that he didn’t overlook anything within the arrangement did Ning Cheng enter the Mysterious Yellow Bead. He then went straight to the Mysterious Yellow Bead’s edge.
The Mysterious Yellow Bead no longer looked as if it only contained a yellow mist within it. After gathering four different kinds of origin, the Mysterious Yellow Bead seemed to have gained various auras that seem to give it a unique life force. The original scenery devoid of colour had started to grow colourful. He could even see the outlines of mountains and rivers.
The Mysterious Yellow Bead had already recognised Ning Cheng as its master. Therefore, Ning Cheng could easily walk within the Mysterious Yellow Bead. In fact, with just a thought, he reached the edge of the Mysterious Yellow Bead.
Ning Cheng took out the nail-sized Law Soil he got from Peng Shan and then dug out some of the soil from the Mysterious Yellow Bead’s edge. Although the two clumps contained different law auras, he realised that the soil dug out from the Mysterious Yellow Bead’s edge was indeed the Law Soil.
Ning Cheng slowly calmed down from the initial excitement and then put down the Law Soil he picked up from the Mysterious Yellow Bead. After confirming this once again with a different sample, he calmed down entirely.
He had to think about other issues. The first was that the Mysterious Yellow Bead has not yet fully formed its inner world. Once he dug out the Law Soil from the edges and brought it out, it might end up causing an unstoppable chain reaction. Second, if the Law Soil he dug out from the Mysterious Yellow Bead had differences from the Law Soil found outside, could the powerhouses sense it?
If someone suspected that he had a Good Fortune Treasure because of the Law Soil, he dug up; it no longer would be an issue of earning points.
After thinking about it for a long time, Ning Cheng decided to dig up some soil from the outside. He wanted to see if he could bring that clump of soil from outside into the Mysterious Yellow Bead and place it at the bead’s edge. If he could transform this soil into Law Soil, then it would solve everything.
……
Time pa.s.sed by quickly, and Ning Cheng had remained within the Broken Land for almost three months. Three months ago, he had dug up many clumps of soils, both large and small. Ning Cheng successfully managed to bring them to the Mysterious Yellow Bead’s edge before they got refined away. He then stayed within the Mysterious Yellow Bead, refining the Seven Bridges Realm Book, while waiting for soil clumps to transform into Law Soil.
After the Seven Bridges Realm Book collected the five bridges’ spirit techniques, Ning Cheng no longer had to wander around cluelessly. In just three months, Ning Cheng had already refined more than ten restrictions of the Seven Bridges Realm Book. At that point, the book suddenly fell into Ning Cheng’s Purple Palace[1].
Ning Cheng’s Purple Palace already contained the Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort and the Celestial River Flame. But as soon as the Seven Coloured Realm Book entered his Purple Palace, it immediately started to hover over the Celestial River Flame and the Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort. From its looks, the grade of the Seven Bridges Realm Book far exceeded the Celestial River Spirit Flame.
Feeling delighted, Ning Cheng even forgot about the Law Soil waiting for inspection and immediately started to sense the First Bridge of Coping’s spirit technique. In just half a day, he once again got caught up in an epiphany.
This time, the epiphany took a few months. But during this time, the Seven Bridges Realm Book’s dao charm and Ning Cheng’s thoughts fused and the hidden profile of the Seven Bridges Realm Book’s Bridge of Coping started to grow sharp.
Ning Cheng felt a vague sense of control over something and suddenly stood up. At the same time, he raised his hand and gave a gentle wave.
A vaguely contoured stone arch bridge appeared in front of Ning Cheng, with a few words scribbled at the bridgehead, the First Bridge of Coping.
The bridge’s dao charm formed into Yin Winds while blood tumbled below the bridge like a blood river. Moreover, a seemingly endless dao charm aura encircled the bridge, creating various scenes from one end to another. It was no longer an illusion, but a manifestation of reality. It felt as if anyone who saw this bridge would have no choice but to step up, without any possibility of backing off.
It was a path that every mortal must take, the First Bridge of Coping. Whether you were an immortal, a spirit, a demon, or a devil before, as long as you saw the First Bridge of Coping, you would turn back into a mortal.
No return from life, no retreat from death, once you enter, you never return.
No looking homewards, no hope for reincarnation, only the blood river to cleanse your sins…..
[1] I’m changing the translation of ‘紫府’ from ‘Zifu’ to ‘Purple Palace’ to keep the translation in-line with the writing style.