“Absolutely not, if he had enough time, why wouldn’t he escape; how could he possibly save you? Junior Apprentice Sister Qiong, these kinds of starry sky cultivators only have their own self-interests in their hearts; as for people who truly have skills, they definitely possess good self-control. Otherwise, why would someone approach an unfamiliar female cultivator on a public square for no reason? He followed us here without knowing what happened in this place. If he knew about it, I am 100% sure that he would not have come.” Jing Yiyi spoke categorically.
Thinking that it might not have been enough, she added more, “Within the starry skies, strength is everything. Dao Companions are just partners in the pursuit of the Dao. Once the two ‘companions’ end up encountering differences in each other, they would immediately choose to head their own separate ways. Don’t ever believe that your Dao Companion would try to save your life, it’s not going to happen……”
Shi Qionghua gave a sigh, “You said that Uncle-master Mi Chen turned her back on our Everlasting Sacred Shrine. Wasn’t it because our sacred shrine killed her Dao Companion?”
Jing Yiyi’s face turned red, she remembered that Uncle-master Mi Yue[1] and her Dao Companion seemed to be different from what she had spoken about; however, she quickly forgot Shi Qionghua’s words and pulled her close in surprise, “Junior Apprentice Sister Qiong, Sacred Master is coming.”
Jing Yiyi’s words had not ended when a delicate looking Daoist Priestess appeared in front of the two people, “What happened at the Changing Earth Mountain? How did this happen?”
Apparently, this Daoist Priestess had already noticed that the Changing Earth Mountains had transformed into a deep ravine.
“Sacred Master…..” Jing Yiyi, after giving a bow, hurriedly described the tragic situation they saw within the Changing Earth Mountains.
The Daoist Priestess then looked at Shi Qionghua and asked, “Qionghua, as Yiyi said, was that how you managed to come out?”
Shi Qionghua immediately thought back towards this Daoist Priestess’s even worse attitude towards Ning Cheng and decided to continue with her lie, “After disciple got sucked into the cavern, I found Uncle-master Mi Chen and an eyebrowless man slumped on the ground. Uncle-master Mi Chen sent this disciple out and gave this disciple a few array flags. These array flags allowed this disciple and Senior Apprentice Sister Yiyi to escape from the array formation around the Changing Earth Mountain.”
The Daoist Priestess showed a frown and immediately spoke up, “You and Yiyi wait for me here. I’ll be right back.”
As soon as the Daoist Priestess finished her words, her figure quickly disappeared as she rushed towards the Changing Earth Mountain that had transformed into a dust-laden ravine.
“Qionghua, why are you wearing two storage rings?” Jing Yiyi felt relaxed at this time, allowing her to notice that Shi Qionghua had two storage rings on her hand.
“Ah….” Shi Qionghua also realised that she really had two storage rings on her hand, one of which only contained a few simple restrictions; however, it definitely was not her storage ring.
Who put this storage ring on her hand? Shi Qionghua’s thoughts churned slightly before she immediately thought of Ning Cheng. Most likely, this storage ring came from Ning Cheng. Only Ning Cheng had the opportunity.
“It contains some raw materials that I wanted to sell and exchange for some medicinal pills in Eternal Heaven Starry Sky City. Because we came here in a hurry, I forgot to put it aside.” Finished speaking, Shi Qionghua took off the storage ring and put it inside her own storage ring.
Jing Yiyi had some doubts regarding Shi Qionghua’s words. She suspected that the other storage ring on Shi Qionghua’s hand came from Uncle-master Mi Chen. If it came from Uncle-master Mi Chen then definitely contained some precious treasures. However, since Shi Qionghua did not say much about it, she also did not dig deep into it. Instead, she showed a smile and spoke, “I got injured a bit. I’m going to heal.”
Shi Qionghua also regained her previous composure and nodded before hesitating for a short while and speaking, “Senior Apprentice Sister Yiyi, that person who had tracked us to the Changing Earth Mountain. Why did you not tell Sacred Master about it? I’m afraid that Sacred Master would think badly of it.”
Jing Yiyi brought out an abode-type artefact before she smiled and spoke, “Junior Apprentice Sister Qiong, since you did not mention about it, then I also choose to not talk about it. If Sacred Master got upset, it would become tough for us to come out next time.”
Seeing her Senior Apprentice Sister enter her abode, Shi Qionghua also brought out an abode-type artefact. After sealing it from the inside, she then took out the other storage ring.
Only simple restrictions covered the storage ring, which she quickly wiped off. Following which, the first thing that Shi Qionghua saw was a rusty copper coin. Moreover, when she picked up the copper coin, she found a jade strip under it.
As her Spiritual Consciousness swept inside the jade strip, a short text appeared within Shi Qionghua’s mind, “Qionghua, this copper coin is called the Five-element Treasure Fall Copper Coin. You should keep it. In the future, you would understand why I gave you this copper coin. Even if you do not understand, think of it as your own weapon and do not give it to anyone else. There are also ten jade boxes inside, each jade box contains a Time Stone. These Time Stones contain traces of the Laws of Time; therefore, you must be very careful with using those stones.”
“I also studied array formations for a long time, so if you use these restrictions in tandem with the Five-element Treasure Fall Copper Coin, it can help you suppress the aura of the Laws of Time. If you do not have any use for it, then I suggest to not taking them out. I have had to consume a lot of cultivation resources because of some problems in my cultivation method; therefore, there are only ten thousand Perpetual Moon Pills left with me. You can use them. Your cultivation is still too low to think about trying to harmonise with the Celestial Bridge early. Finally, please do not worry about me, I am fine.”
“Time Stones?” Although Shi Qionghua had never visited Striking Order Starry Skies, it did not mean that she had no idea about Time Stones. This was a treasure coveted even by the Eternal-level powerhouses. How could Ning Cheng have so much wealth? How could he give her ten pieces at once?
Shi Qionghua did not take out the Time Stones. She knew that once this thing came out, there was a good chance that its aura would leak out.
Putting everything back inside the storage ring again, Shi Qionghua held the storage ring as she looked at it with a frown.
……
Ning Cheng’s Spiritual Consciousness swept out and found that the surrounding explosion had already disappeared. Sensing that, he immediately came out of the Mysterious Yellow Bead.
Looking at the surrounding void, he understood that the explosion had torn through the fabric of space and pushed him into the void. This made Ning Cheng very worried. If he were still near Culmination Starland, it would be for the best. However, if he had not appeared near to Culmination Starland, would he not miss the opportunity to make a fortune from the Immortal Jade Star?
Ning Cheng took out a starry skies’ directional compass, which he had previously bought in Eternal Starry Sky City. He knew that this starry skies’ directional compass would only work near the Culmination Star Land. Any further and he would never be able to find a location lock.
A small bright spot appeared over the starry skies’ directional compass. Seeing the two tiny words ‘Culmination’ over it immediately made Ning Cheng happy. As long as he could find the directional coordinates of Culmination Starland, he would not have to worry too much. It is just that Ning Cheng suffered some severe injuries, especially from the two red streaks of light that Fu Wumie had shot at him. Moreover, after Fu Wumie’s red streaks of light pierced him, he had even cast the Sunset’s Twilight[2], which aggravated his injuries even more.
Ning Cheng took out a Celestial-grade Battleship in his storage ring and connected the starry skies’ directional compass before programming it to head back to Culmination Starland.
Since he could not use his original appearance, Ning Cheng once again put on the mask-type weapon and turned himself into a young rogue cultivator with a slight beard.
Ning Cheng chose to change his appearance not because he did not have any belief in Shi Qionghua but because he did not trust Jing Yiyi. As for the explosion in the Changing Earth Mountain, it was not something that Ning Cheng had not expected. Even now, Ning Cheng believed that the explosion definitely involved more than one Heaven Seated Cultivator’s self-destruction. It definitely felt much stronger than the self-destruction of a cultivator in the Heaven Seated Realm. Although the explosion did not cover a large area, it definitely could tear through the fabric of space. So, how could someone ordinary survive such a sudden eruption of energy?
If Jing Yiyi realised that he had somehow survived such an explosion, she would definitely think that he had some sort of top-grade weapon. Although he did not have any fear towards Jing Yiyi, that Daoist Priestess and Sacred Master behind her definitely made him somewhat fearful.
Using a Celestial-grade Battleship to fly through the starry skies was akin to riding a snail compared to Celestial River-grade or Starry Sky-grade Battleships.
However, Ning Cheng had no choice but to use this Celestial-grade Battleship as he did not want to expose his Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds. The Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds was an upgradeable type of a weapon, the higher one could upgrade it, the more formidable the weapon becomes. Moreover, there were too many powerhouses in this part of the starry skies. If someone discovered him using it, there was a good chance someone would want to take it from him.
……
In the Baichi Artefact-crafting Store, Junior Apprentice Sister Yan sat with some worry. Since the last time she sold those middle-grade Dao Artefacts, Senior Apprentice Brother Ning had gone missing and had not returned yet. It would not have mattered much to her if Senior Apprentice Brother Ning had not come back, but what concerned her the most was that Master Baichi had also not returned till now.
Master Baichi had mentioned that he would return in half a month; however, it has already been a month.
“Is Zhongli Baichi not here?” A sudden voice awakened the still concerned Junior Apprentice Sister Yan, and she immediately stood up and looked towards the entrance in confusion.
Although Zhongli Baichi also called himself Baichi and his store was named Baichi Artefact-crafting Store, cultivators who wanted to custom design artefacts from him, even those powerhouses in the Heaven Seated Realm, would still honour him as Master Baichi or Master Zhongli. For someone to call out the name ‘Zhongli Baichi’ directly; moreover, in such a loud manner, she had never encountered anything like this.
At the entrance stood two cultivators, a man, and a woman. The male had a head full of red hair and a red face with very thick lips. The female cultivator, in contrast, looked petite, and although she looked average, the tight suit she wore accentuated the voluptuous curves of her body.
Junior Apprentice Sister Yan showed a professional smile on her face and spoke with a clear voice, “Can I ask the two friends about what weapons you want us to create? Master is currently not in the store right now, so the two of you can just leave your materials here along with any other specific requirements.”
“Haha, did you think we would need Zhongli Baichi to craft artefacts for us? Let me state this clearly, we came here to issue a challenge.” The man laughed and spoke with a loud voice.
Junior Apprentice Sister Yan still showed the same smile and continued, “Then you will have to return after Master comes back. As I said, Master is not here right now.”
“I don’t think you understand the situation, do you? My master is Jinming Qianbo….”
After the man said the words ‘Jinming Qianbo’, the profession smile over Junior Apprentice Sister Yan’s face finally disappeared and turned into a shock.
She knew very well what those four words ‘Jinming Qianbo’ entailed. This person had lost to Master Zhongli Baichi during a prestigious Grand Meet for Artefact-crafting. Because of this, he lost a very precious treasure and had to move away from Culmination Starland.
As for what he lost, Master Zhongli Baichi had not told her; as such, she also had no idea about it, and only knew that it was something incredibly precious. Moreover, because of the loss of this thing, Jinming Qianbo developed a hatred as deep as the ocean for Zhongli Baichi. Now that Jinming Qianbo’s disciples came to their doorstep to issue a challenge, it definitely did not have anything good in it.
Junior Apprentice Sister Yan knew that this was a grave matter; she quickly calmed down and once again showed her professional-looking smile, “Two friends, I will definitely bring this news to Master.”
The full-bodied yet petite female cultivator suddenly spoke up, “Aren’t you also a disciple of Zhongli Baichi? So, why not represent your master; in any case, this match is all about the disciples. If you don’t want to accept it, then take down the brand of Zhongli Baichi and apologise to our master before immediately leaving Eternal Starry Sky City.”
[1] The author once again uses two different names for the same person, Mi Yue (Seeking Clouds) and Mi Chen (Seeking Earth). I decided to keep it according to the raws since it doesn’t appear to be a typo with so many occurrences.
[2] The author alternates between Dusk and Sunset’s Twilight for the attack. I’ll also be using the same convention.
