“Haha, so you’ll make things difficult for others if they hinder your path to resources? This father, Gong Xiuzhu, now definitely wants to see it. If you got any means then, by all means, let me see if I, Gong Xiuzhu, can get in your way.” A full-faced male cultivator stood out and disdainfully ridiculed the cultivator in Heaven’s Mandate Realm called Shaokui. After saying that, he also brought out his weapon, apparently ready to start fighting at any time.
The cultivator, called Shaokui, felt surprised for a moment. He did not expect that someone would actually stand up and speak for two Celestial Novice ants. The only reason why he had spoken up in the couple’s favour was that he knew that Celestial Shatterer male cultivator’s elder brother, who was also a late-stage Heaven’s Mandate cultivator. However, that did not mean that he would actually fight for those two against that cultivator in Heaven’s Mandate Realm.
“Senior, I only said those words because these two deliberately blocked our path to s.n.a.t.c.h Perpetual Moon Pills. Elder Brother Wan Shaokui just wanted to help me by putting in a good word.” That Celestial Shatterer male cultivator immediately felt things going south and quickly tried to come up with an explanation. He never expected that a cultivator in Heaven’s Mandate Realm would actually stand out to speak up for Ning Ruolan and Helian Dai.
“Is that right? Today, if I was the one blocking your path to resources, would you take me on too?” Gong Xiuzhu spoke up with disdain.
At this moment, a few more cultivators with Heaven’s Mandate cultivation came in. They also felt somewhat curious about the situation. Why was this Gong Xiuzhu, who usually remained indifferent to the world, suddenly act so righteous at this time? Was it because of these two female cultivators?
But when they saw the two female cultivators, especially Ning Ruolan, they immediately understood.
“Everyone, if you see her, please help me look after her. When I come out later, I will definitely reward you.” That was what that senior had said before they entered the temple. The female cultivator in the yellow robe in front of them, wasn’t this person the same female cultivator that senior had asked everyone to look after?
“Humph, bring it on then.” This cultivator in Heaven’s Mandate Realm called Shaokui initially didn’t intend to step in and start fighting, but that Gong Xiuzhu was just too aggressive.
“Haha, it’s not just Dao Friend Gong Xiuzhu blocking your path to resources, even I, Ban Kang, am not happy with your face and will block your way to wealth. Today, if you dare to touch even a hair of these two Junior Apprentice Sisters, I, Ban Kang, will personally destroy you. Try me if you don’t believe it.”
“And I, Huai Yushan….”
“Count this Bei Junyi too….”
In the blink of an eye, all the four Heaven’s Mandate cultivators who had just arrived came forward, all in support of Ning Ruolan and Helian Dai.
Not to mention the dumbfounded surprise of Ning Ruolan and Helian Dai, the rest of the cultivators present here also could not understand what was going on. They had roamed and explored the Ancient Shadow Temple for about two or three months, but now they collectively wondered how helping others had suddenly turned fashionable? Why did several Heaven’s Mandate Cultivators step up to help these two female cultivators?
Ning Ruolan quickly came forward and spoke up with a respectful tone and cupped fists, “Many thanks, seniors. The fact is that these two people want to coerce out our stuff.”
She didn’t understand what was going on, but she quickly realised that these several seniors in Heaven’s Mandate Realm truly wanted to help her. Therefore, she immediately came forward to thank them.
“Is that so?” Bei Junyi felt that he should show off a bit more, especially now that he stood up for them. He rushed up to the male cultivator who wanted to coerce Ning Ruolan and Helian Dai and slapped his face.
The male cultivator never thought that this person would actually lay hands on him. But even if he did know about it, he would have no way to resist or avoid it. A Celestial Shatterer cultivator and a cultivator in the Heaven’s Mandate Realm, the difference in realms was too huge.
“Slap.” With a slap from Bei Junyi, the Celestial Shatterer male cultivator shot back tens of meters while spraying blood in the air before directly falling into the swamp. Bei Junyi didn’t plan to kill this person; otherwise, a slap would have been more than enough to kill that Celestial Shatterer male cultivator.
Wan Shaokui’s expressions turned ugly. However, he just gave a snort before turning away and leaving. He would be humiliating himself even more by staying here; moreover, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to beat those four by himself.
With Wan Shaokui gone, how would this Celestial Shatterer couple dare to speak even half a word of nonsense? As for continuing with the coercion, they didn’t even dare to think about it anymore. The Celestial Shatterer male cultivator climbed out of the swamp, pulled the female cultivator down and apologised before quickly retreating from this place.
There were four Heaven’s Mandate cultivators who stood out to help these two Celestial Novice female cultivators. Unless everyone here turned completely stupid, no one would even think about creating any trouble for those two anymore. The rest of the cultivators also left quickly, leaving behind only the four newly arrived Heaven’s Mandate cultivators along with Ning Ruolan and Helian Dai.
Helian Dai also quickly came forward to thank them, if it weren’t for these four cultivators in Heaven’s Mandate Realm, they might have lost all their Perpetual Moon Pills. However, she still felt a bit uneasy; they had no connection to these four people, so why did they help them?
“You’re welcome; this is how it should have been.” Gong Xiuzhu, who seemed to be the leader of the group, felt delighted that he could actually help Ning Ruolan; however, he spoke up with a relatively dismissive tone.
“How it should have been?” Ning Ruolan and Helian Dai felt even more confused.
Just then, a loud explosion erupted in the distance. Extremely rich Starry Sky Essence Qi soared into the sky. Even Gong Xiuzhu and his group could feel the surge despite being so far away from the source.
“Something good is coming out.” Ban Kang said with bright eyes before turning to the others and saying, “Let’s hurry up and go have a look.”
Not to mention Ban Kang, but the other three cultivators in Heaven’s Mandate Realm also wanted to go and check it out. Gong Xiuzhu eagerly glanced at Ning Ruolan, since they just saved Ning Ruolan, they naturally could not ask her for benefits right away.
But Huai Yushan spoke up first, “Two junior apprentice sisters, there must be something coming out there, do you want to join us to take a look?”
Although these four people had rescued them, Ning Ruolan felt a little nervous around them. Therefore, when these four asked if they wanted to go with them, Ning Ruolan naturally did not feel willing. Besides, with their cultivation, even if they went with them, they would not get any benefits.
Thinking of this, Ning Ruolan bowed again and cupped her fists before speaking. “Our cultivations are still low, and we were already preparing to go out. So we would like to pa.s.s up on the offer.”
“Ok, you can leave first. In the future, we will definitely come to visit your shop…..” Gong Xiuzhu quickly spoke up.
The Cheng Ruolan Material Store was almost right out the Ancient Shadow Temple. Once they came out later, they could then go meet the senior who had asked them to look out for the girl. Therefore, even if Ning Ruolan did not stay with them, they would definitely obtain benefits in the future.
Seeing the four Heaven’s Mandate Cultivators really leaving, Ning Ruolan and Helian Dai felt a bit uncomfortable. Helian Dai asked in doubt, “Big Sister Ruolan, why were they so kind to us? Do they know us from when they came to our restaurant to have a drink? But our restaurant is already gone? Besides, we never had any seniors in Heaven’s Mandate Realm coming to our store in the past.”
Ning Ruolan also frowned at this. She couldn’t understand what was going on. After thinking over it for some more time, “No matter what, let’s get out of this place first and stay far away from this place for some time.”
“Okay….” Helian Dai quickly responded and left the place following Ning Ruolan.
……
Brother Zhu, why didn’t you explain to her about that senior asking others to help her?” Ban Kang asked after the four went far away from Ning Ruolan.
“You really are stupid. Everyone knows that we saved those two female cultivators. Those two would definitely go out and talk about it later, eventually reaching senior’s ears. If we deliberately pointed to them that we were entrusted by that senior to look after them, the sentiment they would have felt would be much weaker than what they feel right now. Besides, since we wouldn’t have to speak about it ourselves, and coupled with that senior’s generous nature, how could we lose out on the reward?” Gong Xiuzhu spoke up with a dismissive tone.
“That’s right, Brother Zhu, you said it right. If we had pointed it out, others would have thought we were trying to scheme them through a show of kindness. If we pretended to know nothing about it, that senior might give us more rewards.” Huai Yushan immediately agreed.
Bei Junyi, who followed along, also spoke up. “Then it would be better for us to get to that place quickly and then go out immediately.”
The other three people looked at Bei Junyi silently, apparently agreeing to his words. If it weren’t for the explosion of Starry Sky Essence Qi, indicating a potential emergence of a treasure, they would have also left immediately with Ning Ruolan.
…….
Ning Cheng stopped in front of a layer of mist that seemed similar to Primal Chaos. Even his spiritual consciousness could only penetrate about a dozen feet into it. It had a toxic feel to it. From what he observed, the aura inside it would smash anyone to pieces the moment one tried to enter the mist. He hadn’t expected to encounter such a thing either. He never expected that walking down one of the bluestone paths lined with layers of restrictions would lead to such a place.
Although Ning Cheng felt sure that Ning Ruolan would not be able to enter this place, he couldn’t help but feel curious as he stepped in to see what was behind the mist exuding such a violent aura.
Lacerating blade lights immediately struck Ning Cheng’s skin, causing a lot of pain despite the strength of Ning Cheng’s Starry Sky Body. From this, Ning Cheng understood that this mist not only contained a toxic aura, it also carried a powerful bite. If any ordinary cultivators tried to come in, the fog would have immediately shred that cultivator apart.
After Ning Cheng walked in a few hundred meters, a huge door appeared in front of him, blocking his path. There were only four words over the gate, Ancient Shadow Temple.
Ning Cheng took in a deep breath, looks like this was the real entrance to the Ancient Shadow Temple. The areas he pa.s.sed by definitely were not the real thing. Moreover, as if to drive home the point, this Ancient Shadow Temple gate truly looked like an ancient shadow.
Ning Cheng tried to explore the door with his spiritual consciousness but found that his spiritual consciousness could not seep into it at all.
Around this gate, he also found a few Grade 9 Starry Sky Array Formations, even a few array formations that went beyond Starry Sky Grade 9. Seeing this, Ning Cheng understood that with his current ability, it would not be easy to open the door to the Ancient Shadow Temple. Moreover, Ning Cheng also noticed that someone had been here recently and had attacked the door judging by the situation around the array formations. However, they couldn’t open it.
It looks like the person who came here before went out to find someone to help. Ning Cheng guessed. Besides, with the level of array formations and restrictions around the real Ancient Shadow Temple, ordinary cultivators definitely would find it impossible to open it.
Ning Cheng did not even attempt to attack the door. With his cultivation and the level of attainments in array formations, even if he really wanted to open the door to get in, it would still take him a long time. For Ning Cheng, the most important thing right now was not to enter the Ancient Shadow Temple but to find Ruolan.
Ning Cheng decided to retreat. He knew that with his own strength, it would be tough to find someone in the Ancient Shadow Temple, especially when his spiritual consciousness could not extend everywhere. Instead, Ning Cheng decided to retreat and wait near the entrance. That way, he could instruct the cultivators entering the Ancient Shadow Temple that no matter who met Ning Ruolan, they had to ask her to come out. That way, he could achieve a better efficiency compared to searching on his own.
Fortunately, he arranged a transfer array near the entrance; therefore, he didn’t need to retrace his steps at all. As long as he brought along the transfer array flags, he could return to the original entrance.
Throwing out several Transfer Array Flags, several rays of lights emerged from the Transfer Array and wrapped around Ning Cheng. In just a few breaths, he returned to the entrance.
Just as Ning Cheng stepped out of the Transfer Array, he saw two female cultivators rushing towards the exit. One of them looked extremely familiar.
“Ruolan….” Ning Cheng forced down the emotions welling up inside him and shouted