Ning Cheng had no idea that he had interfered with Duan Gantai’s plans; but even if he knew about it, he would not hesitate to pull away Interdependence Chamber of Commerce’s Starry Sky Essence Qi Vein.
Not to mention that this Essence Qi Vein initially belonged to Mo Clan, which the Interdependence Chamber of Commerce had taken over, he would have still taken it away from Mo Clan and replaced it with something of equivalent value. Even without Mo Wang, he would not miss out on the opportunity to obtain a Starry Sky Essence Qi Pulse. What did he lack the most right now? That’s right, cultivation resources.
Ning Cheng had not made a wrong guess. Although Interdependence Chamber of Commerce had detected the sudden removal of its Starry Sky Essence Qi Vein, it could not react in time, which helped Ning Cheng leave Moyi City calmly.
After leaving Moyi City, Ning Cheng did not go far when he once again sensed Duan Gantai through the Connecting Spirit Silk. Duan Gantai, who’d been missing for a long time, had re-established the link.
From this, Ning Cheng understood that Duan Gantai had intentionally disconnected the Connecting Spirit Silk and that he must have done it for something crucial, which he did not want to reveal. But now that Duan Gantai restored the link to the Connecting Spirit Silk, he should have completed whatever he wanted to accomplish.
Ning Cheng had his own private matters to attend to right now; therefore, he did not unlock the restrictions on the Connection Spirit Silk. Just like Duan Gantai did not want him to know about his actions, he also did not wish to let Duan Gantai know about his actions.
However, he also understood why Duan Gantai behaved it such a generous manner with him and even gave him the location of the Temple of Time. This person wanted to avoid angering him and had also disconnected the connection with the Connecting Spirit Silk, making it so that the two of them had no way to contact each other. Since Duan Gantai gave him the location of the Temple of Time, then it served only one purpose. That is, if the two of them could not contact each other, they had to meet up at the Temple of Time.
“What a crafty bastard.” Not far from Moyi City, Duan Gantai gnashed his teeth again. As he expected, he truly did not make a mistake. Just like he could unlock the Connecting Spirit Silk by himself, Ning Cheng also had a similar ability. Thinking back to when Ning Cheng happily agreed to bind themselves together with the Connecting Spirit Silk, Ning Cheng most likely had the same idea as him.
……
The Sacred Light Mountain Range. Although the name sounds extraordinary, the fact was that one found nothing but desolation here. One would find nothing in this place. Even the starry sky Essence Qi in this place was not as vibrant as other locations. Moreover, not to mention the sacred light, one would have a hard time searching for spots with regular sunlight.
If not for a small dilapidated temple known across the entire Mysterious Yellow Starland, no one would probably even remember that a mountain range called Sacred Light existed in this place. This small temple even had a majestic name, the Mysterious Yellow Temple.
Because of this small temple, the Sacred Light Mountain Range was not only known throughout the entire Mysterious Yellow Starland, it also attracted an endless stream of cultivators.
The most popular time to visit the temple was when a secret place was about to appear in the Mysterious Yellow Starland. That’s when cultivators from all around would flock to the Sacred Light Mountain Range to offer worship. All the cultivators who came to the Sacred Light Mountain Range only went for a specific thing. They went to the Sacred Light Mountain Range’s Mysterious Yellow Temple to offer worship on the faith that it would enhance and strengthen their fortunes.
But in recent years, fewer and fewer cultivators came to the Sacred Light Mountain Range. The reason was not only the continually deteriorating state of the Mysterious Yellow Temple but also because many cultivators found that offering their worships in the Mysterious Yellow Temple did not seem to enhance their respective fortunes. Those fated to die, faced death just the same.
When Ning Cheng came to the Sacred Light Mountain Range, he did not see even a single person around the place. To be honest, Ning Cheng felt that calling the Sacred Light Mountain Range as a mountain range would not be accurate. At best, it was a relatively large hill scape.
Yellow sands littered a few hundred miles around the Sacred Light Mountains without even a single strand of grass. If one looked at this place from above, they would find it akin to a large yellow cloth with a greyish-black dot in the centre. It was this greyish-black spot that was known throughout the Mysterious Yellow Starland, known as the Sacred Light Mountain Range’s Mysterious Yellow Temple.
If not for the strong winds blowing through the area, the entire Sacred Light Mountain would have drowned in the yellow sand. Even still, it was as if a yellow haze covered everything in this area. The yellow fog even obscured the sun, preventing it from shining over the Sacred Light Mountain Range.
Ning Cheng put away his flight-type weapon on reaching outside the yellow haze covering the Sacred Light Mountain Range. However, just when his spiritual consciousness was about to sweep out, he felt surprised to find that the yellow sky, which initially had relatively strong winds blowing around, had suddenly grown quiet.
The yellow dust in the air, as if experiencing a sudden increase in gravity, fell to the ground. In just a few breaths, the entire area around the Sacred Light Mountain Range turned clear. The yellow dust in the air disappeared, and the sun finally shone onto the yellow sand around the Sacred Light Mountain Range.
Sounds of indistinct prayer hymns rang in Ning Cheng’s ears, which made Ning Cheng stop immediately. However, when he focussed on listening to the words carefully, the sounds disappeared without a trace.
Ning Cheng frowned. He felt a little weird. Did the Sacred Light Mountain Range’s Mysterious Yellow Temple really have a connection to his Mysterious Yellow Bead?
Standing in the same spot for a long time, Ning Cheng did not find any abnormalities. So, he decided to proceed into the Sacred Light Mountain Range.
Ning Cheng walked slowly, yet after half an incense stick worth of time, he managed to reach the foot of the Sacred Light Mountains. A very mysterious feeling flowed into his mind, which made him feel some familiarity but found it difficult to describe.
As Ning Cheng moved further up the mountain, this feeling kept growing stronger. At this moment, Ning Cheng even wanted to turn around and leave. However, the mysterious sense of familiarity made him want to go the top to have a look.
Another half an incense stick worth of time later, Ning Cheng stood in front of the entrance to the Mysterious Yellow Temple. The temple looked dilapidated, with half of the outer walls broken. However, a pious feeling unconsciously rose in Ning Cheng’s heart, causing Ning Cheng to subconsciously step through the temple’s door.
If one found the outside of the Mysterious Yellow Temple dilapidated, then the interior of the temple looked even shabbier.
The interior did not look any larger than five square meters, with a broken praying mat placed in the middle. In front of this praying mat was a stone altar and behind it was a small shrine with a clay statue.
Ning Cheng’s gaze had just reached the clay statue when a buzz erupted in his mind.
A solemn voice echoed within his mind. Ning Cheng seemed to see himself standing in the endless void, and above this endless void was a powerful existence sitting over a cloud. Tens of thousands of seven-coloured lights shone down from the sky and fell on this mighty powerhouse.
Millions of people lay prone on the ground as if worshipping this entity, some were even kowtowing with utmost reverence. It didn’t matter if one was a peddler or an emperor; a mortal or a cultivator……
“Bai-Bai-Bai[1]……”
As the sound rang in Ning Cheng’s mind, Ning Cheng unconsciously felt the need to kneel onto to the praying mat and offer worship.
“Worship me, and I can grant you great power….”
“Worship me, and I can grant you a supreme grand Dao ….”
“Worship me, and I can grant you the most supreme inheritance….”
“Worship me, and I can grant you the power to command the universe….”
“Worship me….”
At this moment, the thought of worship filled the entirety of Ning Cheng’s mind, it made him want to kneel on all fours, spewing prayers and all kinds of pious words….
At this moment, Ning Cheng’s legs trembled while a voice continued to call out to him to kneel and worship repeatedly. If he bowed down in worship, he could get everything he wanted.
But another voice in his mind kept telling him that it wasn’t what he wanted.
Why didn’t he want it? For what reason did he become a starry sky cultivator? Wasn’t it to become a powerhouse? Without wielding the required power, could he take control of his destiny?
Cold sweat trickled down Ning Cheng’s face, and he felt utterly overwhelmed by the pressure, he even found it difficult to breathe. He had no choice by to bow down in worship.
No….
A more tenacious thought emerged from the depths of Ning Cheng’s mind. No one can bestow the ‘most formidable power’ to others. No one can ‘gift’ the most supreme Dao to others. You had to earn it by yourself.
No matter how mighty the power gifted to you, the one who gave you that power would remain stronger than you. Even if the Dao gifted to you proved to be supreme, it would still mean that the one who bestowed it to you was more powerful. No matter how ancient the inheritance passed on to you, it stemmed from others. Even if this existence made you the ruler of the universe, you would only be a chess piece in the hands of that existence….
He had pondered over this thought since the beginning, and by now, Ning Cheng firmly believed that meat pies wouldn’t suddenly fall out of the sky for no reason. This was always the case in the past, and it would still be the same in the future. Therefore, it must be the same now.
Even if Ning Cheng desired for the highest power, to reign supreme over the Grand Dao, he had to achieve that through his own efforts. He absolutely cannot choose this way.
“Katcha….” The bones in Ning Cheng’s legs fractured. Even if he had a Celestial River body, it could not resist the terrifying pressure which grew increasingly powerful with each passing moment.
However, even if the sounds of worship grew stronger, no matter how bewitching it sounded, it could not force Ning Cheng to bow down and offer worship. His personality would not allow it. If he had to do things against his will, then he would rather face death without any compromise.
Seeing that Ning Cheng managed to forcibly resist the pressure, a faint hint of surprise seemed to flash through the sounds of worship, and the bewitching sounds of worship then disappeared without a trace. However, an even more powerful force descended.
Ning Cheng quickly brought out the Everlasting Blue Thunder City, which collided with the descending force. Ceaseless bursts of horrifying thunderous explosions rang out.
In just a few breaths, the shadow of Ning Cheng’s Everlasting Blue Thunder City shattered. That force then bypassed everything and slammed into Ning Cheng’s Sea of Consciousness, which almost choked Ning Cheng.
In just a moment, Ning Cheng understood that this was not a power generated from true essence, nor was it a power formed from celestial essence. His Everlasting Blue Thunder City was something that he controlled using celestial essence and spiritual consciousness, yet it could not block this mysterious force.
However, he quickly recognised this power. It was the Power of Hope.
Ning Cheng immediately recalled the Imperial Jade Seal that he had obtained in the past. The Imperial Jade Seal from the Lan Yi True Country, the pale-golden Imperial Jade Seal in the shape of a bird he couldn’t recognise.
When he had first obtained that Imperial Jade Seal and tried using the Power of Hope stored in it, a scene of countless people from Lan Yi True Country worshipping around a temple also appeared in his mind. Because of all the worship, the Imperial Jade Seal ended up collecting a significant amount of the Power of Hope. Later, when he had almost entirely used up the Power of Hope contained in the Imperial Jade Seal, he had completely forgotten about it. Today, he once again encountered the Power of Hope. However, compared to the Power of Hope contained in the Imperial Jade Seal back then, this Power of Hope was countless time more powerful.
“Boom….” Just when Ning Cheng understood this, a sudden explosion rang out within his Sea of Consciousness and a golden hand materialised in his Sea of Consciousness. Without any hesitation, the hand grabbed the Mysterious Yellow Bead hidden in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness. However, the Mysterious Yellow Bead gave out buzzing-like sounds as if wanting to escape from the grasp.
Even more violent external power rushed into Ning Cheng’s Sea of Consciousness. But despite having a Starry Sky Sea of Consciousness, Ning Cheng could not bear it anymore. He opened his mouth and vomited a mouthful of black blood.
“Son-of-a-bitch….” First, you want me to worship you, now you even want to snatch my Mysterious Yellow Bead. Wrath and anger erupted in Ning Cheng’s heart and mind as if the three rivers and four seas were about to explode.
[1] ‘Bai’ here is a phonetic sound to pay one’s respects by bowing with one’s hands in front of one’s chest either by clasping joss sticks or with palms pressed together. In short, it is a religious ceremony in which people make offerings to a deity.
