The moment the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds wound down for a moment. The endless starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats swarmed in and quickly started filling the space around Ning Cheng without leaving any gaps.
Ning Cheng also finally witnessed the nauseating scene, with so many starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats crowded around him making sharp teeth grating sounds. It almost made his head explode.
Most of these starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rat did not have a high rank, and were at most equivalent to Soul Essence Cultivators in strength; however, there were also a few high-ranked Spirit Devouring Rats in the back that exceed starry skies’ cultivators in the Celestial Scryer Realm.
In such a crowded area, not to mention Ning Cheng using his teleport-like speed, it was starting to prove difficult for him to use his Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds like usual. His teleport-like speed was the result of the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Cloud’s instantaneous acceleration and was not real teleportation that involved manipulation of space. If he could use teleportation through space manipulation, he could have easily ignored these starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats. However, with just speed, there was no way to accomplish it.
Previously, there was still a small gap within the dense Spirit Devouring Rats. However, the moment he entered the starry skies, many Spirit Devouring Rats had suddenly swarmed in closing up the hole in just a blink of an eye. Without any hole, how could he take advantage of his speed to rush out?
Ning Cheng no longer hid his Celestial River Flame, the Celestial River Flame transformed into a flaming spear as it shot out. Bright purple flames exploded all around Ning Cheng and the terrifying temperatures instantly transformed countless starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats into ashes, allowing a gap to appear in front of Ning Cheng. Ning Cheng fully stimulated the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds while rushing in, before finding himself once again surrounded by another layer of starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats.
This was not the way to go, Ning Cheng thought while not recalling the Celestial River Flame. The Celestial River Flame once again condensed into a spear before plunging into the countless starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats.
A variety of harsh screams and burning fumes filled the area. Although the starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats had smooth skins that were fire resistant, they still could not handle the extreme temperatures of the Celestial River Flame.
The Celestial River Flame condensed into a spear was akin to a sharp ploughshare that could extend easily. A gap once again appeared in front of Ning Cheng. Ning Cheng no longer decided to stimulate the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds; crazily activating the Celestial River Flame, Ning Cheng immediately flew out riding just behind the flames.
Ning Cheng had no idea about how many starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats had fallen along the way; however, he also knew that these dead starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats were not even equivalent to a single hair among the rat tide.
Although the Celestial River Flame had the necessary power and fierceness to it, Ning Cheng also was aware of a significant drawback of the Celestial River Flame. Simply put, it consumed a considerable portion of his reserves. In a relatively short time, Ning Cheng started to feel extremely fatigued.
At this time, Ning Cheng felt a powerful aura lock on to him.
This was a high-ranking starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rat, at least equivalent to a cultivator in the Celestial Bridge Realm. At this moment, the starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats in front of Ning Cheng had loosened up and were not as dense as before. Although Ning Cheng felt extremely tired, he stimulated the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds to its max, and with a faint afterimage, instantly disappeared.
After taking advantage of the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Cloud’s instantaneous acceleration, Ning Cheng found that although the surrounding area still had many starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats, they were a lot more sparsely distributed.
At this moment, Ning Cheng only had a single thought in his mind, and that was to escape.
After upgrading the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds to four pairs of shimmering lights, the already teleport-like speed had also improved by several times compared to before. Ning Cheng crazily wielded the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds, after flying for almost half a day, Ning Cheng finally could not continue anymore. At the same time, he found out that there were no starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats around him. Moreover, that strong aura that locked on to him had also complete disappeared.
Ning Cheng finally stopped and sucked in a few deep breaths while cursing inwardly. This starry skies’ beast tide was just too scary. Previously, Lan Ya and Shi Yulan had mentioned that they wanted to become starry skies’ wanderers. At that time, Ning Cheng had thought that they had decided that based on adequate information and experience. However, everyone’s path was their own personal choice; as such, he did not want to interfere with what other people choose for themselves.
Ning Cheng took out the imitation Celestial River Class Battleship while simultaneously bringing out Lan Ya and Shi Yulan.
“Did we really escape?” Lan Ya asked while looking at the vast starry skies all around. How could they not even see a shred of those starry skies’ Spirit Devouring Rats?
Ning Cheng spoke with a tired voice, “Yes, we escaped. I have to go in and rest. This battleship has the positional coordinates of the Man Lun Star Land. Senior Apprentice Sister Lan and Junior Apprentice Sister Yulan, I will have to trouble you to take control of it.”
“Ning Cheng, go in and take rest. Leave the rest to me.” Lan Ya spoke with a gratitude-filled tone. This kind of life-saving graciousness was not something that she could express with just thanks.
……
Ning Cheng immediately went into one of the battleship’s cabin to rest; however, Lan Ya and Shi Yulan felt waves surging within their hearts. The pair took joint control of the Celestial River Battleship for over several days and even then could not wholly calm down.
“Senior Apprentice Lan, what are you thinking?” Shi Yulan on seeing Lan Ya’s always-hesitant expression finally asked.
Lan Ya did not immediately answer Shi Yulan but looked at Shi Yulan and asked, “Junior Apprentice Sister Yulan, what are you thinking?”
Shi Yulan bowed her head and remained silent for a long time before she finally shook her head and replied, “I don’t know.”
“Junior Apprentice Sister Yulan, I don’t want to head to the Time Wilderness. My cultivation is still too low. If we go in, we might end up dragging down Ning Cheng. I have already set my heart on becoming a starry skies’ wanderer. After we reach the Bell Edge Star, I will say my goodbyes to Ning Cheng.” Lan Ya looked deep into the starry skies outside the Celestial River Battleship. Although her tone remained relaxed, it gave off a feeling of firm determination.
The Bell Edge Star was a star within the Man Lun Starry Skies, and near to the Man Lun Star Land
Out of Lan Ya’s expectation, Shi Yulan did not feel surprised. She also stared into the vast and empty starry skies before her and spoke up after a long time, “Senior Apprentice Sister Lan, what you don’t plan to say, I plan to say that. Our cultivation and strength have no comparison to other powerful Celestial Scryer Cultivators. Senior Apprentice Brother Ning also has saved me a few times; however, I can’t rely on him forever.”
Lan Ya showed a smile, “Junior Apprentice Sister Yulan, it is I who should speak that sentence. I just wanted to tell you that after I leave, you should continue to remain at Ning Cheng’s side.”
Shi Yulan also showed a faint smile before shaking her head and speaking, “Senior Apprentice Sister Lan, I already have a man I love, and I can never forget his appearance. Every time I close my eyes, it is as if I am leaning beside him. In this world, no one can replace that man. Although Senior Apprentice Brother Ning is a good man, he is not mine, and I also can’t be with him.”
“Is it that starry skies’ Wanderer?” Lan Ya asked as she looked into Shi Yulan’s eyes.
Shi Yulan’s face showed a hint of ruddiness before she finally nodded and spoke, “Yes, I love him. If only I could be with him, wandering the starry skies together, relying on one another… I wish I could give him a child, and we all could travel the starry skies, together….”
As Shi Yulan spoke, her tone gradually turned soft and gentle. She already had an unparalleled face, and because of those tender and soft words along with her blush, it made her face look even more beautiful. Even Lan Ya could only stare at her in stunned silence.
Lan Ya held Shi Yulan’s hand before looking at her and speaking, “Junior Apprentice Sister Yulan, I know that you are very well aware that that starry skies’ Wanderer is Ning Cheng. Since the Orchid Borough Celestial River’s 9-Step Obscure Array, we have all known about it. It is just that we never choose to talk about it. After I leave, you can remain at Ning Cheng’s side. He is also not an utterly unfeeling cultivator, you…..”
Without waiting for Lan Ya to finish talking, Shi Yulan interrupted Lan Ya, “Senior Apprentice Sister Lan, I know. I already knew that Senior Apprentice Brother Ning is that starry skies’ Wanderer; however, he cannot replace the starry skies’ Wanderer in my heart. He is Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, which is different. Maybe you would not understand, but I know it in my heart. I know it very well……”
Lan Ya looked at Shi Yulan in amazement; she had a vague understanding of what was going on. Shi Yulan fell in love with the starry skies Wanderer, not Ning Cheng who stood right in front of her eyes. The person she saw in her heart, that person did not even exist.
“I understand…..” Lan Ya grabbed Shi Yulan’s shoulder and spoke up with a broken voice.
Shi Yulan immediately burst into tears, and only after a long while, did she shake her head and speak, “Elder Sister Lan Ya, you don’t understand.”
Lan Ya felt shocked. At this moment, she finally understood Shi Yulan’s heart. She sighed and took Shi Yulan, still crying, into her arms and spoke softly, “Junior Apprentice Sister Yulan, come with me to the starry skies. Let’s look for things that we must look for.”
The crying Shi Yulan gradually calmed down. She walked to the deck of the Celestial River Battleship and looked at the vast starry skies in front of her. After a while, she finally spoke up softly, “The vast skies, the vines in the east, like the yellow bird, but no mulberries in the middle; to have stars flash and twinkle, but not for me……”
After the song spread out and dispersed into the vast starry skies, it only left behind faint ending tones.
By this time, Ning Cheng had fully recovered. Moreover, because of his Starry Skies’ Sea of Consciousness formidable strength, even though he consumed most of his power for inducing teleport-like speeds of his Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds, he could recover a lot quicker compared to the past.
Just as he was about to come out, Ning Cheng heard Shi Yulan’s song. He immediately stopped, letting Shi Yulan’s song seep into his bones. Ning Cheng had to admit that he had never heard such a beautiful song until now.
It was just that the meaning of the lyrics was a little mournful, roughly translated, “Within the vast and boundless skies, I am like a vine without roots which spreads among the skies without any direction. I seem to be like a tired yellow finch that roamed the skies without finding a mulberry tree to perch. Although there is a star that shines brightly within the sky beckoning me, I know that it is not where I go…”
