Chapter 1039: Looking for a Bodyguard
The two had just returned to Sea Dragon Sacred City when Ning Cheng saw three people quickly walking over, looking like they wanted to stop him from leaving the city. One of them, a tall silver-haired woman, had come with Gong Chi earlier. Along with this silver-haired woman was a Dao Essence Holy Emperor and a Dao Transformation Holy Emperor. As for Yin Yueshue and Zhu Xiuxian of the Profound Aquatic Palace, Ning Cheng didn’t see them.
“That’s him; he’s the one who injured Brother Chi.” The tall, silver-haired woman pointed at Ning Cheng and shouted. This silver-haired woman had been staring at Ning Cheng from the side when Deacon Xia made his move. Therefore, she had naturally seen when Ning Cheng’s disguise tore off. That was why she could recognise Ning Cheng immediately.
Ning Cheng hadn’t put up his disguise. In any case, with Deacon Xia dead, he knew no one would suddenly move against him. Plus, now that he had Ba Meng with him, a Dao Essence Pill Sage, he didn’t need to change appearances anymore.
“Were you the one who injured my Silver Dragon Clan’s, Gong Chi?” The Dao Essence Holy Emperor stared at Ning Cheng and asked in a cold voice.
He would have immediately taken action against Ning Cheng on sight any other time. But now, he found things had exceeded his expectations with another Dao Essence Holy Emperor like Ba Meng beside Ning Cheng. Although he could see that Ba Meng’s Dao Essence Dao Rhythm had not yet stabilised, Ba Meng was still a genuine second-step Dao Confirming Holy Emperor.
“Yeah, I did it.” Ning Cheng gave a simple reply. He had purposefully not killed Gong Chi for this exact situation. He believed this matter would easily resolve if he took out Gong Huayu’s token.
“Wait, you’re the Red-haired Ba Meng of the Border Sea. You reached Dao Confirmation’s Dao Essence Realm!” The Dao Transformation Holy Emperor in the silver-haired woman’s group finally recognised Ba Meng beside Ning Cheng and spoke up in surprise. His tone even had a hint of envy. A holy emperor who was once in the Dao Transformation Realm like him had now reached a higher standing than him, which made him feel jealous.
Ba Meng said calmly, “Yeah, I’m Red-haired Ba Meng. Ning Cheng is my friend, so his business is also mine..”
Ba Meng didn’t know that Ning Cheng had a friendship with Silver Dragon Clan’s Gong Huayu. But seeing people stop Ning Cheng and accuse him of injuring Gong Chi, an important person from Silver Dragon Clan, made him understand that Ning Cheng had caused quite a lot of trouble. However, he didn’t care. Ba Meng and his son would have departed for the yellow river without Ning Cheng. Now that Ning Cheng needed his help, he, Ba Meng, naturally would go all out without any qualms.
The Dao Essence Holy Emperor from Silver Dragon Clan casually looked at Ba Meng before shifting his gaze to Ning Cheng and speaking in a light tone. “No matter who it is, whoever injures a disciple of my Silver Dragon must give an explanation. You are no exception.”
Anyone could tell Ba Meng’s words didn’t make this Dao Essence Holy Emperor let go of Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng smiled indifferently, “Naturally, I will explain it to your Silver Dragon Clan. But I have to see my friend. Once I confirm that my friend is fine, I will give you the explanation.”
The Dao Essence Holy Emperor looked at Ba Meng before nodding. That would be fine with him if Ning Cheng didn’t attempt to escape.
……
When Ning Cheng returned to the original place where it all started, Mo immediately stood up. Except for his somewhat depressed demeanour, his injury didn’t seem serious.
“It’s you?” Mo looked at Ning Cheng in confusion.
“You recognise me?” Ning Cheng asked.
Mo nodded, “Back in Boundary Essence Spirit Sea City, I went to buy a jade strip, and you followed me. I didn’t expect to see you again in Sea Dragon Sacred City.”
There was another sentence he didn’t say. Back then, Ning Cheng’s strength was at most at par with his, but now he was far behind compared to Ning Cheng. At this moment, Mo also understood why Ning Cheng helped him, despite seemingly not knowing each other. It turned out to be due to sympathy. Ning Cheng appreciated him, and he also appreciated Ning Cheng’s temperament in doing what he wanted to do.
Ning Cheng secretly sighed that Mo’s memory was too powerful. Back then, he had only followed him out of curiosity, they hadn’t even exchanged half a word, yet Mo could still remember it so clearly.
Beside Mo also stood Yin Yueshu and Cen Ruxuan, along with Zhu Xiuxian, with her head bowed, standing at the far end, apparently reprimanded.
“Greetings to Pill Sage Ning.” When Cen Ruxuan saw Ning Cheng coming, she immediately walked over with a smile while also giving Ning Cheng a proper cultivator’s salute.
“Yueshu greets Pill Sage Ning.” Yin Yueshu, on the other side, also hurriedly came over and saluted; the arrogance on her face disappeared, replaced by a soft meekness.
Ning Cheng hurriedly returned the salute and said, “Many thanks, Senior Apprentice Sister Cen, for helping my friend. And many thanks to you, Junior Apprentice Sister Yin.”
Ning Cheng was now appearing as a Dao Essence Pill Sage, so it wasn’t a violation for him to address Cen Ruxuan as ‘Senior Apprentice Sister’. As for Yin Yueshu, calling her ‘Junior Apprentice Sister’ was just out of pa.s.sing courtesy.
Cen Ruxuan didn’t point out that it was inappropriate for Ning Cheng to call her ‘Senior Apprentice Sister; and Yin Yueshe as ‘Junior Apprentice Sister’. Instead, she giggled and said, “I wonder if Pill Sage Ning is free. If you are, my Profound Aquatic Palace would like to welcome Pill Sage Ning for a grand tour.”
Ning Cheng smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor refusing, but only said, “Let’s all find an inn to sit down and chat slowly.”
Ba Meng originally thought there would be a vicious battle, but he never expected Cen Ruxuan to treat Ning Cheng with such respect. Not only that, Ning Cheng even called Cen Ruxuan ‘Senior Apprentice Sister’, yet Cen Ruxuan took it as normal. Who was Cen Ruxuan? Ba Meng naturally knew; a Dao Essence powerhouse from the Profound Aquatic Palace.
Ba Meng already knew that Ning Cheng was an alchemist, but the question was, how could Ning Cheng be a Pill Sage?
Not only was Ba Meng full of doubts, but the group from Silver Dragon Clan also looked at Ning Cheng and Cen Ruxuan in complete confusion. The Dao Essence Holy Emperor from the Silver Dragon Clan even frowned as he tried to comprehend the situation. With Cen Ruxuan and Ning Cheng so close, he most likely wouldn’t be able to exact any justice for Gong Chi’s injury.
Wait, Pill Sage Ning? The Dao Essence Holy Emperor instantly came to his senses. Didn’t someone with the same t.i.tle refine the Six Yin Soul Pills for the young master?
Moreover, didn’t ‘Pill Sage Ning’ shoot into the limelight because of this at the Alchemy Discourse? Earning the spot to represent the Grand Essence Realm to partic.i.p.ate in the Five Grand Realms’ Alchemy Compet.i.tion.
After thinking about this, dots suddenly connected in his mind, and cold sweat seeped out from the back of this Dao Essence Holy Emperor from the Silver Dragon Clan. Fortunately, he hadn’t taken any action against Ning Cheng; if he had done so, it would have marked the end of his life.
After understanding Ning Cheng’s ident.i.ty, this Dao Essence Holy Emperor hurriedly stepped forward and cupped his fists, “I’m Silver Dragon Clan’s Gong Ximao; greetings to Pill Sage Ning.”
Ning Cheng had helped Silver Dragon Clan’s Young Master Gong Huayu refine a furnace of Six Yin Soul Pill. However, not everyone in the clan knew about it. But seeing Gong Ximao greet him with such respect, the other Dao Transformation Holy Emperor and the silver-haired woman hurriedly clasped their fists to greet Ning Cheng.
Gong Chi had a high position in the Silver Dragon Clan, but no matter how high it was, it wasn’t higher than the position of the young palace master, Gong Huayu. Unless they were idiots, no one from the Silver Dragon Clan would dare to even think of crossing paths with Ning Cheng, who Gong Huayu considered his most valuable friend.
As Ning Cheng’s friend, although Ba Meng had several questions, he didn’t ask. It wasn’t the time or the place for it.
Seeing Ning Cheng and his group enter the nearby rest inn, Gong Chi, who stood at the side, turned blue in anger. He was also a direct descendant of the Silver Dragon Clan, but now he understood that, compared to Gong Huayu, he was even worse than a dog.
His father, Gong Jiufei, was Gong Huayu’s eldest uncle. If Gong Huayu hadn’t overtaken him, the position and the status of Silver Dragon Clan’s Young Palace Master would have belonged to him, Gong Chi.
……
After the group entered the inn, Gong Ximao immediately apologised to Ning Cheng formally, and then Zhu Xiuxian, Yin Yueshu and the others all stood up to apologise to Ning Cheng.
After another round of polite greetings and introductions, Cen Ruxuan said, “I heard from Yueshe that someone wanted to trouble Pill Sage Ning. I wonder if my Profound Aquatic Palace can put in a little effort to ease things?”
“Count my Silver Dragon Clan too. Pill Sage Ning is my Silver Dragon Clan’s most esteemed guest. It boggles my mind that someone is so unenlightened and dared to cross Pill Sage Ning.” Gong Ximao didn’t hold back and immediately stood up to express his stance with bootlicking.
Ning Cheng smiled faintly, “That person later realised he was in the wrong, so I managed to persuade him to leave.”
Cen Ruxuan glanced at Ba Meng sitting beside Ning Cheng and said to herself. At least tell it outright that you killed him. If you, Pill Sage Ning, could suffer a loss, you wouldn’t be the Pill Sage Ning I know.
“Dao Friend Ning should be preparing to partic.i.p.ate in the Five Grand Realms’ Alchemy Compet.i.tion, right?” Gong Ximao also wanted to draw a relationship with Ning Cheng and picked a different topic.
Ning Cheng nodded and said, “Yes; unfortunately, certain circ.u.mstances made me stray too far. So I wanted to rush back using the Sea Dragon Sacred City’s teleportation array. I would have also had to use the teleportation arrays of Silver Dragon Clan and Profound Aquatic Palace for a.s.sistance.”
Without waiting for Cen Ruxuan to speak this time, Gong Ximao hurriedly said, “That naturally wouldn’t be a problem. Pill Sage Ning can use my Silver Dragon Clan’s transmission array anytime. The young palace master hasn’t come out of retreat yet, so if Pill Sage Ning wants, you can always stop by my Silver Dragon Clan to rest.”
Ning Cheng saw that Cen Ruxuan seemed to want to speak, so he spoke up first, “My friend, Sheng Houtian, was poisoned, so I urgently have to return to Heaven Essence Sacred City to see, so I…….”
Ning Cheng’s words stopped abruptly after he said only half of what he wanted to say.
The sudden thought of why Sheng Houtian got poisoned popped into his head. Wasn’t it to lure him out? Now that he revealed his trail in the Sea Dragon Sacred City, would the parties involved in luring him out let him reach Heaven Essence Sacred City safely?
Thinking of this, Ning Cheng sighed internally. He had just killed Deacon Xia, who had chased him for hundreds of millions of miles, only to find that he was still not safe. If still under disguise, maybe he could have a shot at reaching Heaven Essence Sacred City safely. But now, there might be some hiccups along the way there.
Cen Ruxuan and Gong Ximao were old foxes, so the two instantly figured out what was happening when Ning Cheng’s words suddenly stopped. Ning Cheng spoke about Sheng Houtian before suddenly stopping, meaning he must have stumbled upon something.
Sheng Houtian was struck by Ripple Bone Poison, and Ning Cheng was the only person who could refine the Renewing Heaven Ripple Bone Pill, which was a fact known to everyone. No one would believe it was a coincidence and had nothing to do with Ning Cheng.
“Dao Friend Ning, my Profound Aquatic Palace’s Palace Master Luan will be taking a trip to Heaven Essence Sacred City, and I will also be accompanying Palace Master Luan. If Dao Friend Ning is willing, we can travel together.” Cen Ruxuan immediately decided after seizing the point in question.
Gong Ximao also understood the problem but couldn’t do anything about it apart from feeling anxious. The Silver Dragon Clan’s sole Dao Fusion Holy Emperor was still in seclusion, while he was only at the middle-stage Dao Essence Realm. Ning Cheng already had an early-stage Dao Essence powerhouse next to him, so he didn’t know if Ning Cheng would even agree to let him follow him.
Regardless of whether Ning Cheng would accept him or not, Gong Ximao had no choice but to clasp his fist and say, “I also plan to go to Heaven Essence Sacred City, and my Silver Dragon Clan is willing to fully support Dao Friend Ning in partic.i.p.ating in the Five Grand Realms’ Alchemy Compet.i.tion. I wonder if Dao Friend Ning would accept this old man as a companion on this journey?”
Ning Cheng knew what these two people meant, but he was also not in a position to refuse. Therefore, he stood up and cupped his fists before speaking, “Heaven Essence Sacred City is a long way from here, so it would be safer to travel there in a group. After we arrive at Heaven Essence Sacred City, and once I get some time free, I wonder if there will be anything I can kelp Senior Apprentice Sister Cen and Brother Gong with?”
Cen Ruxuan and Gong Ximao felt overjoyed. The only reason they had lowered themselves this much was to hear those precise words from Ning Cheng.