t
Ning Cheng managed to walk away in time, by the time those Explosive Golden Wasps came out, Ning Cheng had already left. Otherwise, with the fearsome tracking abilities of the Exploding Golden Wasps, they would have definitely caught up to him.
Ning Cheng had come to the Yellow Sand Lake a few months ago. However, he had not reached it yet when he saw that the area around the Yellow Sand Lake contained even more cultivators with his Spiritual Consciousness. From this, one could imagine that the allure of the Earth Origin Bead was something that no one could refuse.
After Ning Cheng advanced to the Celestial Bridge Realm, Chasing Bull started behaving with even more arrogance and literally tried to walk all the way to edge of the Yellow Sand Lake.
Ning Cheng had not yet reached the edge of the lake when he noticed several cultivators amid a confrontation. One side only had a female cultivator while the other party was an all-male cultivator group confronting each other at the edge of the Yellow Sand Lake. Ning Cheng recognised the female cultivator as that Senior Apprentice Sister Jing Yiyi who accompanied Shi Qionghua. Jing Yiyi still wore a gauze that covered her face. As for the other party, which comprised of three male cultivators, Ning Cheng also knew two of them. He had initially driven them away from the canyon entrance to the Exploding Golden Wasp Colony but never expected that these two fellows would actually show up at the Yellow Sand Lank and confront Jing Yiyi.
When Ning Cheng saw Jing Yiyi, he immediately thought of Shi Qionghua.
“Go there.” Ning Cheng just spoke two words, and Chasing Bull immediately changed directions, completely ignoring the surrounding cultivators. The surrounding cultivators on seeing Chasing Bull rushing over quickly parted to two sides.
They did not care about the bull, but someone who could stand on the back of a beast that looked like a mountain definitely was not someone simple. Most of the cultivators here came either to look at the Earth Origin Bead or to obtain the Earth Origin Bead. Either that or they came here to see if they could understand something from this Earth Origin Bead. As such, none of them felt willing to clash against such an arrogant-looking cultivator. Only arrogant cultivators would want to mess with other such cultivators.
Several powerful cultivators also saw Ning Cheng riding while standing on the back of the bull and showed an angry frown. Even they could not stand at the edge of this Yellow Sand Lake, so why could he just waltz right to the side? Why was he so arrogant?
The several cultivators confronting Jing Yiyi immediately turned their attention to Ning Cheng, especially the two fellows who knew Ning Cheng, who kept staring at Ning Cheng in nervousness. They felt worried that Ning Cheng had come here to settle accounts. At this time, many people actually wanted to create trouble for this fellow riding the bull but did not make any move. As for the three cultivators in front of him, without even the need to think, everyone knew that they were now Ning Cheng’s opponent.
Jing Yiyi also took a step back and stared at Ning Cheng with vigilance.
“You two again?” Ning Cheng did not even get down from the bull’s back and just glanced at the two fellows in front of him with a condescending gaze.
“Friend, we do not want any trouble from you. Besides, we took the initiative to retreat before. For this friend to come chasing us here, is it not too much?” A middle-aged man stared at Ning Cheng and spoke with a reasonable tone. However, everyone who heard those words felt that the words only showed this fellow’s timid nature and weakness.
“Why do you want to fight in this place? Don’t you know that this place has the Origin Bead? If you don’t want to observe the Origin Bead, then at least don’t stop others from the view.” Although Ning Cheng did not hold much affection for Jing Yiyi, in this place, he, of course, would help Shi Qionghua’s Senior Apprentice Sister Jing Yiyi.
Previously, he did not see Shi Qionghua entering the Immortal Jade Star, now that he saw Jing Yiyi here, Ning Cheng had to make sure of it.
Jing Yiyi also could make out that Ning Cheng had some past conflicts with these cultivators. Sensing that, she immediately came forward and spoke to Ning Cheng, “This Dao Friend, I obviously came to this place first, but these cultivators came in later and demanded to give them this spot.”
So this confrontation was only because of such a trivial matter, Ning Cheng thought to himself with a little speechlessness. From the looks of it, Jing Yiyi definitely wasn’t a kind old man[1]. If it really was because of such a matter, then maybe he should just let it be.
“That’s right, this father took a fancy to this place. As for you kid, just because you ride a stupid cow, did you think that you’re awesome? Fuck off; otherwise, I will kick you into the lake……” The cultivator who did not know about Ning Cheng acted as if Ning Cheng was nothing in front of him.
However, when this cultivator’s two companions heard this, they knew that the situation had taken a turn for the worse. Ning Cheng’s might, they had witnessed it with their own eyes.
Ning Cheng on hearing that the two parties were only arguing for a spot, didn’t want to ask any further questions and meddle into the matter. He just wanted to ask about Shi Qionghua before leaving. Moreover, Ning Cheng also understood that if one wanted to find something, then one must also have a legitimate reason. One simply can’t act arrogant without a valid reason.
He never expected that someone would actually talk about kicking him into the lake. Ning Cheng had come here with a deliberately arrogant act to let people know about his domineering attitude and wait for the right time to snatch the Origin Bead. This way, those who did not like to meddle in other people’s affair would also not voluntarily entangle with him.
Now that someone came actively looking for a beating, how could he voluntarily remain polite? Ning Cheng did not choose to come down from the bull’s back; instead, he just flew out.
The cultivator who wanted to teach Ning Cheng a lesson, on seeing Ning Cheng directly rushing over, gave a sneer and brought out a green-coloured awn. However, before he could even activate this green-coloured awn, the cultivator immediately felt a formidable suppression descending over him. That’s right, it was a suppression, a suppression brought by a powerhouse’s imposing aura, which was similar to a Domain suppression.
This kind of suppression immediately slowed down his Spiritual Consciousness and Celestial Essence. Even if this fellow was an idiot, this Celestial Gatherer Cultivator knew that he met a powerhouse. Without waiting for him to speak up, a huge foot came right at his face.
“Bang” A muffled sound rang out, and Ning Cheng’s kick directly sent the cultivator into the Yellow Sand Lake.
A moment later, the cultivator transformed into a pile of sand before disappearing into the Yellow Sand Lake under the earth-attributed assimilation laws in front of everyone’s eyes.
Even without a face-to-face battle, that fellow did not even have the time to make a single attack, before Ning Cheng kicked him into the lake. At this moment, there was nothing but silence all around the edge of the Yellow Sand Lake. This cultivator riding the bull too bullish and too powerful. Seeing that, some of the cultivators started to leave quietly. With such powerhouses present here, even if they could snatch something, they would not be able to keep it.
The two cultivators who knew about Ning Cheng turned even paler. They immediately cupped their fists towards Ning Cheng and quickly retreated. Even so, the two of them still did not choose to leave the vicinity of the Yellow Sand Lake.
Jing Yiyi’s face also turned a little white. She had never encountered such a terrifying Celestial Gatherer Cultivator.
“Many thanks for the help.” Although Ning Cheng had not done this for her, she still hurried forward and thanked him with cupped fists. She did not dare to offend such a character.
Ning Cheng casually spoke up, “Where are you from?”
The surrounding cultivators on hearing Ning Cheng’s words intentionally or unintentionally gave up on any ideas. From the people’s perspective, this fellow who rode the bull here most likely has taken a fancy to this veiled female cultivator; otherwise, he would not have gone out of his way to help and even ask questions.
“I am from Grand Culmination Starry Skies’ Everlasting Sacred Shrine.” Jing Yiyi, though felt worried, still spoke with a relatively calm tone.
“Oh, Everlasting Sacred Shrine, is it? Are you the only one here from the Everlasting Sacred Shrine?” Ning Cheng feigned surprise.
“Yes, I’m the only one from the only one from the Everlasting Sacred Shrine here.” Jing Yiyi did not have any clue as to what Ning Cheng wanted. Therefore, when answering, she spoke very carefully and secretly remained on guard.
What puzzled her, even more, was that this powerhouse who had just asked this question only nodded and did not speak anymore. After waiting for a long time, she did not wait for Ning Cheng to speak up and started to move away carefully, little by little.
Ning Cheng’s display of strength made a lot of people uncomfortable, but no one dared to come up and talk. None of them had come here to measure their strength against others, but for the Origin Bead in front of everyone.
After Ning Cheng showcased his might, he then started to look around carefully. The last time he came here, he experimented a bit with the Spiritual Consciousness Blade. Although Ning Cheng could have entered the Yellow Sand Lake at that time, it would have cost him severely. Maybe by the time he managed to grab the Earth Origin Bead, he might not have had any time or even the strength to take it away because of the severe losses. There was also a good chance that he might have even died before making it out of this place.
Now that he advanced to the Celestial Bridge Realm and once again came to this place, the first thing naturally would be to gauge the surrounding situation once again and then try to see if his Spiritual Consciousness Blades could actually keep him safe while grabbing the Origin Bead.
Ning Cheng’s Spiritual Consciousness had just swept over the Yellow Sand Lake when his expression immediately changed. Only at this moment did he notice a concealed Monitory Array Formation all around the Yellow Sand Lake. Moreover, this Monitoring Array Formation not only covered the entire Yellow Sand Lank but also a significant area around the Yellow Sand Lake.
Previously, his Spiritual Consciousness had not grown powerful enough to detect it; as such, he had not noticed it. However, at this moment, he could make it out as clear as day.
If someone else had discovered this Monitoring Array Formation, everyone would have most likely thought that this array formation had formed naturally. However, Ning Cheng was not someone else. He owned the Mysterious Yellow Bead, which was a Good Fortune Treasure. Moreover, Cang Wei’s reminder also suddenly popped up in his head. Putting two and two together, Ning Cheng realised that the Earth Origin Bead in front of him was only a lure. And the one who they wanted to reel in with this bait was Ning Cheng.
At this point, Ning Cheng had to consider seriously if he wanted to snatch this Origin bead. Fortunately, he had decided to change his appearance before and after entering the Immortal Jade Star. Otherwise, with such a thing here, someone would have already figured out from where he came.
Ning Cheng also guessed that the cultivators standing within the range of the Monitoring Array Formation had no idea that someone had set up an array formation over this lake to monitor their every move.
Just as Ning Cheng anxiously tried to think of ways to break this Monitoring Array Formation, someone immediately exclaimed.
“Look, there is a sapling sprouting in the heart of the lake……”
With this exclamation, almost everyone’s gaze focussed on this sapling. A pale yellow sprout had mysteriously started growing at that location at a rate visible to the naked eye.
“That’s the Wind Thunder Apricot. It’s definitely the Wind Thunder Apricot. I didn’t expect that the Wind Thunder Apricot would appear next to the Earth Origin Bead……” A cultivator spoke up in amazement.
At this point, even an ignorant cultivator could make out that this sapling was that of a Wind Thunder Apricot. This light yellow-coloured sapling contained not only a robust wind-attribute aura but also had faint lightning arcs that danced around it.
That was not the end of it, Ning Cheng could also feel that the moment this Wind Thunder Apricot started growing, the earth-attributed assimilation laws around the Yellow Sand Lake also started weakening. That is, once this Wind Thunder Apricot matured to a certain extent, anyone would then be able to enter this Yellow Sand Lake.
“The earth-attributed assimilation laws are weakening…..” Since Ning Cheng could see it, the other cultivators could naturally also sense it, and someone finally called it out.
At this moment, almost all the cultivators felt intense excitement. Once this Wind Thunder Apricot grew to a certain extent, the earth-attributed assimilation laws over this Yellow Sand Lake would finally disappear. At that moment, they could all go in and snatch it.
Ning Cheng also felt a little restless at this sight. If there were no Wind Thunder Apricot, he would have had the best chance to obtain this Earth Origin Bead. But now that this Wind Thunder Apricot came out, one could say that now everyone had a fair chance to get the bead. However, all of this was secondary. The main problem was the powerhouses observing everything from outside the Immortal Jade Star.
Ning Cheng silently stared at the growing Wind Thunder Apricot and tried to deduce the rate of growth of this Wind Thunder Apricot. Once this Wind Thunder Apricot grew to a certain extent, how should he proceed to grab the Erath Origin Bead?
[1] ‘A kind old man’ here is an idiom for someone who never tried to offend anyone.
