Chapter 1018: An Acquaintance in Su’s Corner
“Then, I’ll tag along.” Ning Cheng hastily clasped his fists and thanked him. He decided to go to Su’s Corner and then head to Broken Spear Spirit City from Su’s Corner.
Fortunately, Xu Yan acted enthusiastically and spoke with a sense of proportion. He didn’t even ask about Ning Cheng’s injuries or why he hit the void airship.
Ning Cheng also learned from him that the yellow-robed girl who saved his life was Xu Yan’s fiancee, Su Xiqian. She represented Su’s Corner in business around this edge of the Grand Essence Realm. The blue-robed girl was Mo Yuan, an ardent follower of Su Xiqian. As for the middle-aged man who brought him back to the airship from the void, he was called Zuo Zhong and was an early-stage Dao Raising cultivator. He was also the one with the highest cultivation level on the airship.
Not too far from the Grand Essence Realm, there was a relatively large star called Silky Dependence Star. It was covered in primitive mountain ranges and forests, and many cultivators who lived in this part of the Grand Essence Realm came here to look for resources. Because of this, several large starry sky cities emerged and were established in the Silky Dependence Star.
Consequently, many chambers of commerce and merchant clans living at the edge of the Grand Essence Realm choose to come to the Silky Dependence Star to make transactions. Su’s Corner was one of the smaller but more famous merchant families around these parts. They could easily leave the Grand Essence Realm to enter the void and were established not too far from the Silky Dependence Star.
Moreover, Su Xiqian was also known by the locals here as a gentle and kind person. In fact, many businesses on Silky Dependence Star also had a close relationship with her as she always came to the Silky Dependence Star to do business on behalf of her family.
……
The airship ripped through the void, finally entered the Grand Essence Realm, and arrived at Su’s Corner in just a few days.
Su’s Corner was similar to what Ning Cheng imagined. Surrounded by mountains and rivers, with a relatively peaceful environment. It’s just that the spirit qi here wasn’t particularly dense as in the Grand Essence Domain. Moreover, as it sat at the edge of the Grand Essence Realm, it wasn’t very stable as it appeared on the surface. Many void demon beasts regularly assaulted the interface near the edge, and a few occasionally tore the void from the centre to enter.[1]
The laws of the Grand Essence Realm were broken, so the protective boundary restrictions on the interfaces had also weakened considerably, not even having the most basic blocking effect.[2]
Therefore, whenever a void demon beast attacks, Su’s Corner can only rely on their own defensive restrictions to resist.
Su Xiqian’s grandfather, Su Jian, was the head of Su’s Corner and, similar to Su Xiqian, was a kindly old man. Moreover, unlike his old age, Su Jian was an extremely enthusiastic fellow. Therefore, after learning that Ning Cheng was saved by his granddaughter on the way, he became even more enthusiastic about Ning Cheng. Not only did he take out numerous spirit fruits, he even invited Ning Cheng to taste the famous dishes of Su’s Corner.
The wine and dishes of Grand Essence Realm all contained the powerful aura of spirit qi, and as a result, many cultivators would indulge themselves in them by going to restaurants and taking their time savouring the dishes. In fact, such a way of improving one’s cultivation while enjoying oneself was quite popular among many cultivator communities.
However, Ning Cheng rarely went to restaurants to eat after entering the Grand Essence Ruins. After all, unlike others, using this way to increase one’s spirit essence was too slow for him. One could even say it was entirely ineffective for someone like Ning Cheng. What’s more, Ning Cheng had been struggling with various dangers since he stepped into the Grand Essence Realm, so where would he be in the mood to go to a restaurant to slowly savour these things.
But this time, he felt the warmth and life-saving grace of the Su family, which was why he raised his glass to toast at the banquet.
If Su Xiqian hadn’t saved him, he might have not necessarily fallen, but the chances of dying would have increased exponentially. Not to mention the various celestial objects and vortexes in the void; if he had met a powerful void demon beast, it would have taken him out in one bite. As such, Ning Cheng felt really grateful to Su Xiqian.
“Dao Friend Ning is so young and already at the late-stage Dao Sculpting Realm. Your future achievements would certainly be limitless.” Su Jian spoke with emotion while accepting Ning Cheng’s toast.
It wasn’t any wonder that he was lamenting. He had been cultivating for so long, yet he stagnated at the late-stage Dao Raising Realm for hundreds of years.
Ning Cheng quickly said, “Junior Apprentice Xiqian’s cultivation is no weaker than mine, so her achievements would also not be lower than mine in the future.”
Su Jian shook his head, picked up his wine glass, and gulped it in one go. He didn’t explain.
Ning Cheng didn’t pry into it and changed the topic. “I heard that the largest city in the Grand Essence Domain is called Heaven Essence Sacred City, where all kinds of heavenly treasures are concentrated with many people coming and going. Not to mention the Heaven Essence Sacred City, there should also be other equally huge sacred cities in the other parts of the Grand Essence Domain. Why doesn’t Su’s Corner go to these sacred cities to do business instead of leaving the Grand Essence Realm to go to the Silky Dependence Star?”
Ning Cheng didn’t have an answer to this, so he deliberately asked a roundabout question. It was a reasonable assumption that his fame wasn’t small. Yet, Su Jian of Su’s Corner hadn’t even heard of him. The only possibility was that there was no intersection between Su’ Corner and the bustling areas of the Grand Essence Domain.
Su Jian sighed, “It’s not that we don’t want to go to those sacred cities to do business, but because we do not have the qualifications to reach that far. Not to mention that we can’t afford to buy things from those sacred cities; the things we could take to them wouldn’t even be worth anything to them.”
Ning Cheng vaguely understood a few things from this answer. But at that moment, a servant walked into the hall and bowed to Su Jian, “A woman is requesting to see the family head, saying that she has something to discuss and is very strong.”
“Bring her in.” Su Jian quickly stood up.
This made Ning Cheng realise a few things about how Su Jian dealt with this. Being kind to people everywhere and going with the mindset of not offending people no matter what.
In truth, the overall strength of Su’s Corner was rather weak; therefore, Su Jian’s attitude and how he took care of things couldn’t be said to be wrong.
Not long after, the servant walked in with a woman with a veil on her face.
The woman didn’t say anything initially. But as her gaze swept through the hall, it finally stopped on Ning Cheng, “Huh, you’re here too?”
Ning Cheng stood up, cupped his fists towards this woman, and said, “Many thanks for the kindness of saving me back then, Senior Apprentice Sister.”
This woman was none other than Ruo Xi, someone Ning Cheng knew quite well. The two had previously joined forces to infiltrate the 9-Revolutions Sacred Dao Pond. And if it wasn’t for Ruo Xi, he, Yan Ji and Shui Yueke would have definitely died in the 9-Revolutions Sacred Dao Pond. However, the reason why Ruo Xi was able to escape back then was also because of his existence.
Hearing Ning Cheng’s words, Su Xiqian and others looked at Ning Cheng in surprise. How come Ning Cheng was saved by women everywhere?
Ruo Xi’s serious eyes finally showed a tinge of happiness, and she waved her hand. “Your cultivation always shocks me every time we meet. Except for one person, I haven’t met or heard of anyone who can advance to the Dao Sculpting Realm as quickly as you. Besides, we were mutually helping each other back then, so no one can say who helped who. Today, I’m here to discuss a few things with Patriarch Su. Could it be that you also have the same purpose as me?”
“No. I came here to look for a way to head back to the Grand Essence Sea.” Ning Cheng had indeed come here to see if he could find a way to get back to the Grand Essence Sea as quickly as possible. After all, he wanted to return to the Dragon Washing Pool and cultivate for as long as possible before the Five Grand Realms’ Alchemy Competition.
Ruo Xi smiled but didn’t continue speaking with Ning Cheng. Instead, she turned to Su Jian and asked, “I have some personal matter that I want to trouble Patriarch Su with, I wonder if Patriarch Su would be willing to speak to me alone?”
After saying that, she didn’t wait for Su Jian to refuse and directly took out a ring and placed it in front of Su Jian. “Consider the things inside as payment for your time.”
Su Jian’s spiritual consciousness swept into the ring, and his facial expressions changed slightly. However, he quickly handed the ring back to Ruo Xi and spoke respectfully, “This dao friend, I dare not accept these things.”
Ning Cheng knew that Ruo Xi had a very high cultivation level and that the things she took out must have scared Su Jian. After all, they hadn’t even begun to talk, and the other party had already taken out frightening things. It would be a strange matter if a patriarch of a small family wouldn’t panic.
“It doesn’t matter. As long as Patriarch Su is honest, whether it can help or not, I’ll still give you this thing as a reward.” Ruo Xi didn’t take back the ring.
Su Jian’s face filled with wrinkles of concern, and his gaze immediately turned towards Ning Cheng, asking for help.
Ning Cheng also understood Su Jian’s meaning. The patriarch of a small family indeed didn’t dare to take such things from others casually. The reason why Su’s Corner could survive in this place was most likely because of Su Jian’s kindness along with his cautious and careful attitude.
Thinking of this, Ning Cheng spoke up with a smile, “Patriarch Su, you don’t have to worry about it. Senior Apprentice Sister isn’t a person who speaks presumptuously. Let’s do this, I’ll be her guarantor.”
Ning Cheng and Ruo Xi had teamed up to go to the 9-Revolutions Sacred Dao Pond, so he knew Ruo Xi’s temperament. She was very principled and wouldn’t take out her anger on others for no reason.
Hearing Ning Cheng saying this, Su Jian could only put away the ring. “Then, please follow me to the inner chambers.”
Since Ning Cheng declared him as Ruo Xi’s guarantor and knew Ruo Xi, there was nothing wrong with Su Jian inviting both of them.
Without waiting for Ning Cheng to refuse, Ruo Xi nodded and said, “Okay, then Junior Apprentice Brother Ning can come along.”
……
Su Jian brought Ning Cheng and Ruo Xi to the inner chamber and poured a cup of spiritual tea for each of them before cupping his fists. “Dao friends, you might as well put it straight to me.”
He could tell that Ruo Xi’s cultivation level far exceeded his own. Therefore, although he didn’t address Ruo Xi as ‘senior’, he still felt quite worried in his heart.
Ruo Xi also noticed Su Jian’s worry and casually said, “Patriarch Su, there is no need to worry. I’m just here to ask about one thing. I heard that Patriarch Su knows of a place at the edge of the Grand Essence Realm where the laws are weak, where one can leave the Grand Essence Realm and enter a new positional plane?”
Su Jian’s expressions changed when he heard Ruo Xi’s words but didn’t speak.
Ning Cheng’s heartbeat also accelerated a little, but he chose to not speak. After all, he also wanted to know about such a place. It sounded similar to the Graceful Star Mainland’s Heaven’s Way. A place with weak laws was most likely the way out.
Ruo Xi didn’t seem to be in a hurry and waited quietly on the side, and the room turned silent.
After a long time, Su Jian stood up, bowed to Ruo Xi and said, “Although I am the patriarch, I can’t decide on this matter alone. Can I ask this dao friend to wait for a while?”
Ruo Xi nodded, “It’s okay. Patriarch Su, you should make yourself comfortable. Junior Apprentice Brother Ning and I will wait for you here.”
After Su Jian left, Ning Cheng raised his hand and immediately formed several forbidden restrictions before asking, “Senior Apprentice Sister Ruo Xi, didn’t you have the Opening Heaven Talisman’s child talisman? If you want to leave this place, can’t you just use the child talisman?
Ruo Xi sighed, “I turned soft-hearted once again and lent that child talisman to someone else. Now, I can’t leave this place by myself. If there is still no way out of here, I might have even come to ask you to borrow your child talisman.”
Ning Cheng spoke up helplessly, “You saved Yan Ji and me; I wouldn’t mind if you borrowed my child talisman. It’s just that the child talisman on me isn’t mine either. It belongs to a friend of mine. Even if I lend it to you, you’ll have to tell me how you’re going to return it to me in the future.”
“You’re really willing to lend it to me?” Ruo Xi’s eyes showed surprise. She had only mentioned it casually. After all, with the preciousness of the Opening Heaven Talisman’s child talisman, who would be willing to lend it to others casually?
Ning Cheng smiled, “Let’s not talk about the matter of me lending you the child talisman. If I recall correctly, you don’t know any people in the Grand Essence Realm, much less have good friends, right? Why would you let the Opening Heaven Talisman’s child talisman to someone else?”
[1] I’m assuming that this Su’s Corner is like a city/town established on a drifting moon/planet within a shattered interface, as the author didn’t mention it.
[2] For those confused, imagine the grand realms as huge bubbles made out of laws, with the various positional planes as smaller bubbles within a huge bubble (a grand realm) and the interfaces as even smaller bubbles within the small bubbles (a positional plane). The ‘space’ between these internal bubbles is the ‘void’, not to be confused with ‘space’ within the spheres. Under normal circumstances, the progression would be: Planet/Star -> Star System -> Interface -> Positional Plane -> Grand Realm. But because the huge bubble (great realm) is broken, the internal bubbles (positional planes) are now free to move around. The same goes for when certain small bubbles (positional planes) are broken, forcing the smaller bubbles (interfaces) to roam freely. Bubbles all the way!!
