After Ning Cheng returned to the Bright Gist Resting Pen, Lan Ya and Shi Yulan had still not come back. Although Ning Cheng felt worried about Jing Wuming, he could only wait.
At the same time, after learning the purpose for which the Imperial Concubine Xuan Yu had called him for, Ning Cheng understood that he must somehow come up with a Spiritual Consciousness Cultivation Method. Otherwise, it would prove difficult for Jing Wuming and him to escape.
Therefore, after Ning Cheng came back while waiting for Jing Wuming to return, he tried to extrapolate a cultivation method to cultivate Spiritual Consciousness. After deducing a rough outline for a cultivation method to cultivate Spiritual Consciousness, he could then present it to Imperial Concubine Xuan Yu to get out of this present difficult time. As long as he could reach the Man Lun Starry Skies, it would turn out fine.
What surprised Ning Cheng was that it was not even night yet when Jing Wuming returned to the Bright Gist Resting Pen. Not only had he returned Jing Wuming also sported a refreshed look.
Jing Wuming did not immediately head to his room and instead went straight to Ning Cheng’s room.
“Not only did Xuan Yu hold you back, she even let you go this easily?” Ning Cheng spoke as he doubtfully looked at Jing Wuming.
Jing Wuming sported a very embarra.s.sed look, and only after a good while later did he shook his head showing a hesitating expression. He did not know how to breach this news to Ning Cheng.
“Wuming, what’s the matter? If you want to speak then speak.” Ning Cheng was not in the mood to guess at what Jing Wuming hinted.
“Brother Xiaocheng, I think I’m in love with Xuan Yu, I…..”
“WHAT?” Even with Ning Cheng’s solid emotional control, he could not help feel shocked by Jing Wuming’s words. Did this fellow really want to die that badly?
Jing Wuming finally calmed down and spoke with confidence, “I fell in love with Xuan Yu, just like when I first fell for Yulan. I initially thought that I would end up all alone in this life and that I would never love another woman. However, I couldn’t reject Xuan Yu, she made me realise, I……”
Ning Cheng interrupted Jing Wuming’s words and spoke out coldly, “Wuming, you already know this that you and Shi Yulan have no chance together. You also know who Xuan Yu is; she is a Celestial River King’s woman. Besides, I don’t want my brother to be a third person.”
Jing Wuming sucked in a deep breath. Then seriously looked at Ning Cheng and spoke, “I loved Yulan. However, I also know that it is impossible for us to get back together. Not to mention about her being with a son of a man who killed her father, even if she was willing, the departed spirits of my ancestors wouldn’t allow me to be with her.”
“Whether you want to get together with her or not, that’s not the issue here. The issue is what you said about Xuan Yu a few moments ago.” Ning Cheng frowned. Imperial Concubine Xuan Yu was a Celestial River King’s woman. If others knew that Jing Wuming wanted to stir the pot with a married woman, what would happen then?
“She asked me how I knew you and about your origins. Initially, I did not know what was going on, and just blurted out everything, including the matter with Shi Yulan. After she heard, she remained silent for a long time before she finally told a lot of thing about her……”
“Xuan Yu leads a wretched life, nothing like the glory everyone sees on the surface. Moreover, I can’t forget her anymore…..” Jing Wuming spoke slowly but with conviction.
“Did you f*ck her?” Although Ning Cheng might have not understood what had happened, he was also not someone who was born yesterday. From the words and behaviour, Jing Wuming and Xuan Yu most likely had s.e.x.
Jing Wuming gave a sheepish nod before continuing, “She had an elder sister called Lu Yu, and the one Orchid Borough Celestial River King originally had taken a fancy to. At that time, Lu Yu already had someone she loved. With the intention of not marrying the Orchid Borough Celestial River King, Lu Yu and her lover escaped from the Orchid Borough Celestial River. It resulted in the Orchid Borough Celestial River King venting his anger on Lu Yu’s family. Fortunately or unfortunately, he saw Xuan Yu, resulting in shifting his goal. Xuan Yu ended up marrying Orchid Borough Celestial River King to save her family from complete destruction. However, she does not bore even half a shred of love towards that man.”
Ning Cheng remained speechless for a long time before speaking quietly, “What you did is not something trivial. Once the Orchid Borough Celestial River King came to know about this, we all will die without a burial.”
“I’m not going to take any chances. I have already discussed things with Xuan Yu and will still head to the Time Wilderness. After I come out of the Time Wilderness, she and I would secretly leave the Man Lun Starry Skies. If I cannot come out of the Time Wilderness, she will anyway leave the Man Lun Starry Skies by herself. Her younger brother had already perished a few years ago. Now she does not have any family left.” Jing Wuming spoke in a gentle yet firm tone.
Ning Cheng stood up and patted Jing Wuming’s shoulder before speaking, “Whatever you want to do think it out clearly and remember to tell Lan Ya and Shi Yulan about your decision. Otherwise, once you run away with the Imperial Concubine of the Orchid Borough Celestial River King, the Orchid Borough Celestial River King would immediately launch a Celestial River-wide hunt. At that moment, every person that you’ve been in contact with will face grave dangers.”
……
After sending away Jing Wuming, Ning Cheng pondered for a long time. This incident had revealed many bizarre surprises from the start to the end. That Imperial Concubine Xuan Yu definitely was an outstanding woman, with cultivation that far outstripped that of Jing Wuming’s. Even if she had no love for Orchid Borough Celestial River King, logically speaking she would never consciously sleep with Jing Wuming, or would she?
Although Jing Wuming also had outstanding qualities, it should not be enough to get into her eyes. What did this woman want from Jing Wuming? Was it really love at first sight?
Alternatively, was it an induced infatuation? However, that woman and Jing Wuming had even slept together; can someone fake such a ridiculous matter? With cultivation on the level of Xuan Yu, generally speaking, as long as she was not a dissolute woman, such an affair would only result in substantial consequences.
Maybe Xuan Yu felt moved by Jing Wuming’s past, especially his pa.s.sion for Shi Yulan, giving birth to the thought that this man was worth her love. On the other hand, she might just want to leave Orchid Borough Celestial River, and Jing Wuming happened to cross her eyes.
Ning Cheng sighed, whether it was true or not, leaving the Orchid Borough Celestial River was the right thing for now.
……
Three days later, a silver Void Airship departed the Orchid Borough Public Square. Just like a warping shadow, it rushed out of the Orchid Borough Star.
This was the airship plying between the Orchid Borough Celestial River and the Man Lun Starry Skies; as such, apart from the 10,000 partic.i.p.ating cultivators, many other cultivators were travelling by this airship.
It was also the first Time for Ning Cheng to ride an Apex Rank Celestial River Cla.s.s Airship. The primary role of an ordinary Celestial River Cla.s.s Airship was to carry people; however, this Apex Rank Celestial Cla.s.s Airship, in addition to moving people, also had the capabilities of an Apex Rank Celestial River Cla.s.s Battleship. It felt like a Celestial River Cla.s.s Battleship that someone had fused with an airship of the same rank.
This airship was like a small city in itself and had five floors above and below. The bottom floor belonged to the more impoverished cultivators. Most of them had to spend almost all their Celestial Coins to get a seat on the ship and had no extra money to spare. As such, many of the people had to huddle together on the lowest floor to support each other.
The top floors contained cultivators with both high cultivation and high statuses. They not only had private cabins a.s.signed to them, but even their cabins were also highly luxurious.
The third and fourth floors were home to some of the mid-level cultivators and had all kinds of merchant houses and even hotels. As long as one had the money, one could comfortably live the most luxurious life over this Void Airship
The second floor was also a place for the ordinary cultivators; however, it also contained some low-level merchant houses. Nevertheless, compared to the third and fourth floors, the standard of living here was quite low.
Ning Cheng and the partic.i.p.ating cultivators had to live on the second floor. Although the place was not too s.p.a.cious, the top 1000 to 5000 in rankings still received single rooms. As for the first 1000, they did not live on the second floor but on the third.
After entering the Void Airship, Ning Cheng had not seen Imperial Concubine Xuan Yu. However, from Jing Wuming’s demeanour, Ning Cheng could tell that he and Xuan Yu were doing well. Ning Cheng, anyway, was not a person who likes to gossip; as such, he did not ask Jing Wuming about it. Before ascertaining the matter, why worry?
Shi Yulan and Lan Ya apparently received some news from Jing Wuming too, and after the two of them entered the airship, they decided not to come out of their cabins. As for Ruan Mingshu, who currently resided on the third floor, she did not choose to look for Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng returned to his cabin after a short tour of the ship’s merchant houses. From the Revolving Jade City to the Man Lun Starry Skies’ mainland, the Man Lun Star Land, it would take a few more months. During these months, Ning Cheng wanted to consolidate his cultivation further.
After battling Suo Qiaoye, although he gained a lot, he did not have the time to go into seclusion to sort out his gains. Now that he had more than half a year, he could definitely use it for himself.
……
The Mysterious Yellow Formless was the best cultivation method within the starry skies. However, even if Ning Cheng became aware of his shortcoming and wanted to blend in the comprehensions that he gained, it was not something simple and easy to accomplish.
Three months later, Ning Cheng’s cultivation had also steadily made its way to the mid-stage Celestial Novice Realm; however, he still could not come up with an attack method for his Spiritual Consciousness. In addition to this, aside from the improvements in cultivation, the only other improvement was coming up with a move for his powerful Spear Intent, named ‘Traceless’.
He had realised this technique from the Everlasting Blue Thunder City’s projection. A powerful cultivator had used a purple spear to kill a powerhouse that could easily demolish a planet. After seeing that projection, he felt extremely shocked in his heart, which finally led to condensing all of his comprehension into that one technique.
He had also used this one spear to kill many strong opponents. Once this spear came out, it would not bring any warning, nor would it leave behind the slightest trace. It cut through the s.p.a.ce to kill the opponent directly. As such, calling this technique ‘Traceless’ was also appropriate.
Now, Ning Cheng had at least two techniques to use with his Spear Intent, Nothingness Flame Patterned Spear and Traceless.
……
On this day, Ning Cheng was still deducing a method of using Spiritual Consciousness for combat when he felt the room suddenly shaking.
Was it a starry skies’ demonic beast attack? Ning Cheng immediately thought of starry skies’ demonic beasts. He had remained in seclusion for almost three or four months, and the journey also remained smooth until now. He had already come to an understanding that in front of this Apex Ranked Void Airship, if not for a relatively large starry skies’ demonic beast horde, nothing else would cause it to shake so much.
However, Ning Cheng did not come out to look. In the face of this Apex Rank Celestial River Cla.s.s Airship, with a Celestial River King on board, ordinary starry skies’ demonic beasts would not pose much risk. Moreover, even if he came out, he would not be able to do much anyway.
However, even after a full hour, the vibrations did not weaken at all. Instead, it grew even stronger. The restrictions inside the cabin had started to shake slightly. At this moment, Ning Cheng finally stood up. It looks like this starry skies’ demonic beast horde was not easy to deal with.
At this moment, the restriction over the door suddenly flickered. Ning Cheng immediately opened the restriction and saw Lan Ya and Shi Yulan standing there in anxiety. He immediately asked, “What happened?”
“Are you really not anxious? An endless horde of starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rat Tide has attacked our ship. Most of the restrictions on the outside of the hull have disintegrated. Those starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats even devoured a Heaven Seated Expert. All the people have already scattered, we also need to hurry and escape….” Lan Ya explained the situation quickly.
“What?” Ning Cheng felt shocked in his heart; at the same time, he immediately swept out with his Spiritual Consciousness. After entering the starry skies, Ning Cheng especially spent some time studying about the starry skies’ demonic beast hordes. As such, he was no stranger to the starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats. This was a horrifying and terror-inducing starry skies’ demonic beast. This kind of demonic beast tide could easily cover the entire range of one’s Spiritual Consciousness, which was what made it so terrifying.
Once the starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rat Tide found a target, it would never show any fear and completely swarm the target. No matter what, as long as there was even a whiff of Spirit Qi, this rat tide would frantically rush up and bite down until nothing remained of their meal. Moreover, the starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats were also highly toxic. Once bitten, he or she would end up poisoned with complete surety.
As Ning Cheng’s Spiritual Consciousness swept out, he immediately saw the broken restrictions along with an endless horde of starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats pouring into the airship through those broken restrictions. The scene quickly turned his scalp numb.