Ning Cheng knew that he was the new person in town, but he had no intention to invite any great powers for the opening and the establishment of his sect. Therefore, he had purposefully not sent out any invitations.
Therefore, he didn’t expect Chuan Xinlou and Yi Jiufeng to show up outside, let alone together with Striking Order Heavenly Emperor, Heavenly Emperor Wu Hong, and the Premier Pill Emperor Cang Caihe. In addition to them, the line-up also consisted of Tang Yitang of Striking Order Starland, Cheng Xingwen[1] of Spirit Heaven Sect, and Snagging Ascendance Starry Sky’s Starry Sky Emperor Shen Mao.
With so many prominent figures showing up at Jiangzhou Star, Ning Cheng naturally had to come out to meet them in person.
“Haha, Brother Ning, you secretly come to Jiangzhou Star and start a new sect, yet you didn’t even come to say h.e.l.lo to this Striking Order.” Striking Order Heavenly Emperor spoke up, and seeing Ning Cheng coming over, said h.e.l.lo from afar.
Ning Cheng felt slightly relieved; since Striking Order said Jiangzhou Star, it was tantamount to giving his tacit consent. He quickly gave a small bow and apologised, “Brother Striking Order, this little brother knows that he didn’t do things properly. I wanted to finish things here first before coming to Grand Culmination Starry Sky to ask for elder brother’s forgiveness. But before I could do this, Brother Striking Order arrived here first.”
Striking Order Heavenly Emperor casually waved a hand and said, “Just like I said to Brother Ning when we first met, Brother Ning and I come from the same place, we both belong to the Striking Order Starry Sky. When I heard someone say something about Brother Ning setting up a sect in Striking Order Starry Sky and live next to each other, I couldn’t be any happier. As a matter of fact, I came here to gift the entire Named Descendant Celestial River to Brother Ning, and Levelled Heart Heavenly Emperor also agreed…..”
Chuan Xinlou quickly interrupted Striking Order Heavenly Emperor’s words, “Congratulations to Dao Friend Ning for establishing your sect.”
“Sect Master Ning, you won’t let us stand here and talk, would you?” Yi Jiufeng spoke with a crisp voice, with a hint of charm.
Ning Cheng didn’t expect that Striking Order would actively give Named Descendant Celestial River to him; however, he felt more concerned about Chuan Xinlou’s vague intentions. Therefore, he quickly spoke up, “I just set up a small sect. I didn’t expect that it would alarm Levelled Heart Heavenly Emperor and Nine Phoenix Heavenly Emperor. I know Brother Cang and Wu Hong, but who are the others?”
Striking Order Heavenly Emperor quickly came forward and made the introductions, “These three are Sect Master Chen Xingwen of the Spiritual Heaven Sect, Tang Yitang of my Striking Order Starry Sky, and Starry Sky Emperor Shen Mao of Snagging Ascendance Starry Sky.”
Chen Xingwen and his name complemented each other. He had a scholarly aura to him with a faint touch of elegance. Combined with a long beard, it seemed to give him the touch of a celestial. As for Tang Yitang, Ning Cheng knew about him for a long time. It’s just that when Tang Yu asked him to help him out back then, this fellow acted quite timidly. As such, Ning Cheng didn’t intend to form any kind of deep relationship with a person like him. But when it came to Snagging Ascendance Starry Sky Emperor Shen Mao, it was truly Ning Cheng’s first time meeting him face to face. This cultivator looked incredibly skinny but was already at the later stage of the Eternal Realm.
“All of you can enter my Jiangzhou Star today to celebrate the Mysterious Yellow Sect’s grand ceremony. You all are distinguished guests of this Ning Cheng.” Ning Cheng spoke a few polite words to everyone before leading everyone into the Jiangzhou Star.
……
Although Bei Junyi had advanced to the Heaven Seated Realm, he was still not eligible to speak with Heavenly Emperors. Therefore, he felt shocked when he saw Ning Cheng and Striking Order Heavenly Emperor talking to each other like brothers, with even Levelled Heart Heavenly Emperor and others congratulating him. He had thought that Ning Cheng was just a newly ascended powerhouse who came here to grab some territory. In Bei Junyi’s heart, he had already prepared himself for a fight.
He initially had a strong feeling that once Striking Order Heavenly Emperor returns, it would definitely result in a dispute. Therefore, if he could not take on the enemy, he at least would be able to escape with a Heaven Seated cultivation.
But he never thought that what he expected would never happen at all. Striking Order Heavenly Emperor did come, but with even more prominent. However, these people came here not to drive away Ning Cheng but to congratulate him, which was a dazzling affair. Although they came to see Sect Master Ning, it indirectly told everyone that they were not rootless bottomless people.
……
As soon as everyone entered Covered Snow City, the group immediately felt the vibrant starry sky Essence Qi. Although no one asked, everyone understood that Ning Cheng had placed a Starry Sky Essence Qi Vein under Covered Snow City. It really was truly a generous move. Yi Jiufeng thought to herself as she looked at Ning Cheng with a deep gaze.
“Sect Master Ning, looking at your Mysterious Yellow Sect’s style, I’m afraid that even Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain might not compare to it.” When Yi Jiufeng arrived outside the Mysterious Yellow Sect, she couldn’t help but speak up in amazement.
Ning Cheng showed a slight smile, he naturally knew what Yi Jiufeng meant. He always had shown a friendly face to this woman, so he did not expect this woman to play him off against Levelled Heart Heavenly Emperor right off the bat.
But Ning Cheng also knew that even if Yi Jiufeng didn’t instigate things, there was already a ‘relationship’ between him and Levelled Heart Heavenly Emperor. However, it would never be as good as his rapport with Striking Order Heavenly Emperor.
Seeing Ning Cheng showing no response, Yi Jiufeng spoke up once again, “Whether it’s the Star Protecting Grand Array outside, or the City Protecting Grand Array here, both look spectacular. I think it’s possible to arrange this Star Protecting Grand Array by myself. But within the entire Grand Culmination Starry Sky, even if I looked at my Grand Spirit Heaven Starry Sky, I’m afraid that only a few can arrange such array formations. Looks like Sect Master Ning has a limitless future, this Nine Phoenix definitely admires you.”
Ning Cheng sneered internally. The reason I remained cordial with you Yi Jiufeng, is not that I feel afraid of you, but that I want to exchange the Wind Thunder Apricot Tree on you. Seeing Yi Jiufeng’s constant provocation, Ning Cheng no longer bothered to give Yi Jiufeng any face and spoke calmly, “Although my Jiangzhou Star has just been established, it still remains within the bounds of Culmination Starry Sky. In the future, if anything happens to Grand Culmination Starry Sky, I hope my level of array formations would provide it with at least some help. As for your Grand Spirit Heaven Starry Sky, hehe, even if if it contained a few good arrangements, I wouldn’t be able to help.”
This is Jiangzhou Star, my base. Even if you Yi Jiufeng were a real phoenix, you will have to listen obediently.
As if not knowing what Yi Jiufeng’s words implied, Chuan Xinlou spoke up, “Yes, Sect Master Ning’s insights into the Dao of Arrays would be beneficial for my Grand Culmination Starry Sky in the future.”
“Please do come in. This is the guest hall of my Mysterious Yellow Set. It’s just that we have only recently finished constructing the Mysterious Yellow Sect, so we currently do not have a welcome boy. Hope you can forgive me for this.” With a smile, Ning Cheng brought everyone into the guest-welcoming hall.
Heavenly Emperor Wu Hong had already set his mind and heart to cultivate a heart-to-heart relationship with Ning Cheng. Therefore, he spoke up with a smile, “For Sect Master Ning coming out in person to meet us, that itself is the highest honour we can receive.”
Striking Order Heavenly Emperor also quickly spoke up, “Yes, Yes, that’s what I was about to say.”
Ning Cheng showed a smile before replying, “Although Elder Brother took the effort to come here, I have nothing to entertain to you all right now. However, I did obtain some good wine from a place not too long ago. I can take it out, and we can at least get drunk over it.”
After saying that, Ning Cheng waved and directly brought out nine jade cups, each of which filled with fragrant wine. The rich and intoxicating aroma of the wine overflowed, giving people a strong sense of nostalgia.
“None-to-depend-on!” Yi Jiufeng spoke up in shock, before speaking again with even more excitement, “That’s not right, this is the real None-to-depend-on Wine; moreover, it’s even the best quality None-to-depend-on Wine. How could this wine still exist?”
Ning Cheng understood the meaning behind Yi Jiufeng’s words. After all, he was one who killed Zhu Zhengfeng in the first place. Moreover, the wine Ning Cheng served was the same None-to-depend-on Wine stored in Zhu Zhengfeng’s ring. However, this None-to-depend-wine was far worse than the bucket of best quality None-to-depend-on Wine he had obtained from the cellar. From this, Ning Cheng also understood that Zhu Zhengfeng’s None-to-depend-on Wine was not the true None-to-depend-on.
Chuan Xinlou’s complexion also changed slightly, and spoke up with a dignified voice, “It really is the real None-to-depend-on. I truly never expected to see it, let alone have the honour to drink such a fine wine here.”
Wu Hong, Cang Caihe, Striking Order, Tang Yitang, Cheng Xingwen, and Shen Mao also found it truly unexpected.
“Where did Sect Master Ning obtain this good wine? This is definitely the long-lost None-to-depend-on.” Chen Xingwen asked in doubt.
Ning Cheng showed a faint smile, “It was merely by chance, nothing more.”
Yi Jiufeng took a sip of None-to-depend-on before closing her eyes and drowning herself in intoxication for a short while before waking up and speaking, “In fact, this wine was originally called the Mutual Dependence. As for None-to-depend-on…..”
“I heard that this wine was initially brewed by a person surnamed ‘Mo’, wasn’t it because of this surname that people started to call it None-to-depend-on?” Cang Caihe obviously was familiar with None-to-depend-on.
Yi Jiufeng sighed, “Yes and no. People from Mo Clan were the only ones who could make it, but they called it ‘Mutual Dependence’. The taste of this wine brought along a strong sense of dependence, more specifically, the feelings of love and affection between two people. It made people reluctant on ever giving up, and to never abandon.”
“Later, for some unknown reason, the most beloved person of that cultivator surnamed Mo, the one who created the Mutual Dependence Wine, suddenly left him, causing a significant change in the temperament of that cultivator. As a result, the wine he brewed also significantly changed, from a feeling of dependence arising from never giving up, it turned into a special kind of sadness, filled with bitterness and disappointment. Later, he added the character ‘Mo’ to Mutual Dependence to reflect that sentiment. Everyone thought that this addition was to indicate that people with surname Mo made the Mutual Dependence Wine. But in fact, it did not indicate the name Mo at all, but the meaning behind the character ‘Mo’[2].”
“‘Always apart, abandoned heart; looking at the distant stars, none to depend on…..’ These words tell others that one can look across the stars to see each other, but one should never be dependent on the other.”
“Today is the day of establishment of the Mysterious Yellow Sect; let’s not talk about such sad things.” Striking Order Heavenly Emperor smiled and downed his cup.
“Good wine, it truly is a good wine….” Even if Striking Order was an Eternal-level expert, the moment he downed the cup filled with wine, he immediately felt a stream of endless dest.i.tute thoughts starting to bubble up inside of him.
Although the wine Ning Cheng brought out had strength, ordinary cultivators wouldn’t be able to bear it at all. However, all the people here were Eternal-level experts; as such, just a cup of wine was not enough to get them drunk.
After drinking the wine, Chen Xingwen also praised the wine several times, before turning to Ning Cheng and speaking up with cupped fists, “Sect Master Ning, I came here to congratulate you for the establishment of the Mysterious Yellow Sect on behalf of the Spiritual Heaven Sect. Sect Master Ning presumably should be Jiangzhou’s Wanderer who set foot on the 81st floor of the Celestial Scryer Tower, am I right? He is the only person to have done so in a long time.”
Ning Cheng quickly thanked him with a sentence. Admitting that he renamed the Second Revenant Star to Jiangzhou Star because of the name Jiangzhou’s Wanderer. Besides, within the starry sky, having a famous name also provided a layer of deterrence against others.
“I’ve heard people say that someone managed to refine the Ancient Desolace Abandoned Land’s Foreign Heaven’s Arrow. Does Sect Master Ning know anything about it?” Chen Xingwen once again asked.
Ning Cheng already knew that he had no connection to Chen Xingwen, which meant that Chen Xingwen had no reason for coming here. But from the looks of it, he understood that this fellow came here for information about the Foreign Heaven’s Arrow. However, Ning Cheng still had yet to figure out Yi Jiufeng and Chuan Xinlou’s intentions for coming here.
“Foreign Heaven’s Arrow? I’ve heard of it in the past, any ideas on who refined it?” Ning Cheng asked in surprise.
Ning Cheng would never admit that the Foreign Heaven’s Arrow was on him. This was his trump card. Everyone here could turn into his potential enemy the next moment, so he naturally would never tell others about his trump cards.
Cheng Xingwen didn’t show any disappointment, but spoke with slight regret, “So you also don’t know.”
Yi Jiufeng spoke up suddenly, “Let’s not talk about that. I heard that Sect Master Ning has an Earth Origin Bead. I happen to be interested in the Earth Origin Bead. Would Sect Master Ning be willing to part with it? Naturally, I would not let Sect Master Ning suffer.”
[1] Cheng Xingwen (陈星文) = Exhibiting Celestial Gentleness
[2] Mo (莫) means ‘Do not/there is none who’. For the sake of context, I decided to translate it as ‘None’