“Boom….” A rumbling blast erupted the moment Ning Cheng’s Nirvana Spear struck the gate.
Immediately, a horrifying wave of ‘time’ rushed out accompanying the blast, which turned Ning Cheng’s hair white even before the explosion reached him. Ning Cheng didn’t dare stay outside and entered the Mysterious Yellow Bead without hesitation.
The Mysterious Yellow Bead blocked the flowing time outside.
“So powerful….” After a while, Ning Cheng exclaimed to himself. Just the aftereffects of flowing time had turned his hair white and even sucked away a large portion of his longevity. If that wave of flowing time had reached him, there was a good chance that he wouldn’t be able to resist it all and would have definitely died in this place.
At the same time, it gave him a good idea about the terrifying strength hidden in the Temple of Time. But it also made him feel terrified about Perpetual Moon Holy Emperor’s power. Just what level of skill had this person reached to construct this Temple of Time with such horrifying Laws of Time? Even more, what was this person’s actual strength? If he had to face a person like Perpetual Moon Holy Emperor right now, just a wave from that person’s hand would be more than enough to snuff out his life in an instant.
From this display of strength alone, Perpetual Moon Holy Emperor should have stood at the peak of the universe. Yet, someone actually killed such a terrifying being. Just what level of strength did the person who murdered Perpetual Moon Holy Emperor reach?
Ning Cheng took in a deep breath. For a while, especially after killing a few Eternal cultivators, he had started to think that his strength could now compare to other Eternal cultivators. But today, on seeing the work and eventual fate of Perpetual Moon Holy Emperor, he realised who the real experts were. If someone could kill a being like Perpetual Moon Holy Emperor, then what was the extent of those real powerhouses’ strength?
Ignorance truly breeds fearlessness.
Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness carefully swept out sometime later and found that the aftershocks of flowing time had disappeared. Sensing that, he came out of the Mysterious Yellow Bead and stood outside the Temple of Time’s gate. If not for the Mysterious Yellow Bead, the power of his spear strike would have killed him.
The Temple of Time might have many strange treasures inside, but those were something unreachable yet. Without the three keys of the Temple of Time, Ning Cheng felt sure that even ten Chuan Xinlous standing here would not achieve anything.
This time, Ning Cheng didn’t stop for long before resolutely turning away and leaving. As long as he and Duan Gantai didn’t come here at the same time, no one would achieve anything by coming to this place. As for finding Duan Gantai, Ning Cheng did not worry about it. Moreover, after completing the Mysterious Yellow Celestial River’s re-arrangement, he planned to visit Culmination Starland’s Yu Clan Corner City to complete a few things.
With the word about Mysterious Yellow Celestial River and Mysterious Yellow Sect spreading, Luofei and Qionghua would not find it too difficult to find out about him.
After coming out of the Sea of Twilight using the transfer array, Ning Cheng immediately crushed the jade talisman causing the light from it to transfer him to the starry sky outside of Time Wilderness. Ning Cheng immediately recognised this place as he had come here once before, an area near the periphery of Striking Order Starland.
Ning Cheng didn’t immediately plan to visit Lucky Heaven City to find Striking Order and reminisce about the past; he still had many things to finish for the establishment of the Mysterious Yellow Celestial River. Therefore, he first wanted to head back and settle it. However, just when he was about to bring out the Starry Sky Wheel, a Celestial Bridge Cultivator quickly flew over.
After the cultivator saw Ning Cheng, he quickly bowed and saluted, “Sang Yuanshang greets Senior Ning.”
Ning Cheng looked at this Celestial Bridge cultivator in doubt, “Were you waiting for me here?”
Sang Yuanshang once again spoke up with a respectful tone, “Yes, this junior had been stationed here to wait for senior’s arrival on the orders of the Heavenly Emperor.”
Ning Cheng nodded; it should be Striking Order Heavenly Emperor. Striking Order most likely noticed that he had entered Time Wilderness by himself, so he decided to station someone to wait here. Striking Order most likely thought that if he entered Time Wilderness, he would be transferred out immediately, and would appear somewhere near this place.
“Ok, you can go first. I’ll drop by at Lucky Heaven City to see Brother Striking Order.” Since Striking Order Heavenly Emperor sent someone here to welcome him, it would make Striking Order Heavenly Emperor think more into it if didn’t go visit him. Therefore, Ning Cheng decided to drop by for a short visit before heading back.
“Yes, this junior will take his leave….” Sang Yuanshang gave a deep bow before retreating.
……
Lucky Heaven City still looked the same. Although many years have passed since Ning Cheng’s last visit, coming here invoked some mixed feelings. When he first came here, he was still an early-stage Celestial Novice cultivator and saw many strong cultivators streaming the streets. Back then, Striking Order Heavenly Emperor had only used a palm to kill many cultivators fighting on the streets of Lucky Heaven City, including Distant Stellar Celestial River King and Essence Eyot Celestial River King.
The shock from that day, now felt utterly ordinary today. As long as one’s cultivation reached a certain point, doing such things wouldn’t even require much strength. Yet today, when he came here, Striking Order Heavenly Emperor personally would have to come out to greet him. This proved that there was no such thing as impermanence in life.
Entering Lucky Heaven City, Ning Cheng stood at the door of a rest stop for a long time in silence. When he first came here, Xu Binglan had stopped him here, but Yu Qing had come out to help him.
This rest stop was still the same, but that person would no longer return.
“Giggle, this little big brother, it looks like we really do have a fated connection between us to meet again at this place after such a long time. I hope you’re not waiting for your lover again. Are you, little brother Ning Cheng?” A frivolous yet familiar voice emerged. Moreover, the transition from ‘little big brother’ to ‘little brother’ felt almost natural through that mouth.
Ning Cheng turned back and saw two familiar faces. What he saw back then was just a familiar face, but today he saw two girls who looked almost similar to each other.
The girl on the left looked like a porcelain doll. Not only was she beautiful, but even her skin had an extremely white colour. With a pair of bright yet dark eyes, it gave her an appearance of innocence and purity when she blinked. It made people voluntarily approach her on first sight.
As for the girl on the right, she looked more mature but with the same pure and beautiful appearance as the other girl.
However, Ning Cheng knew it very well that neither of the two women was pure and innocent. The mature-looking girl on the right was the younger one, while the naive looking girl on the left, the one who looked like a porcelain doll, was actually the ancestor of the girl on the right.
He knew both women, the woman on the left was Xu Binglan, and the woman on the right was Xu Yingdei. Xu Binglan was the founder and progenitor of the Severing Emotions Dao Sect, a sect of perversions and the same faction that nurtured Xu Anzhen and Xu Yingdei. So perverted, that people refused to comprehend it.
When Ning Cheng’s gaze fell on Xu Binglan’s face, he didn’t speak a word for a long time as Yu Qing’s figure had suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. Back then, when he had first seen Xu Binglan at this place, and because of the uncanny resemblance between Xu Binglan and Xu Yingdei, he had gone into a daze unable to find an excuse to get out of this situation. But at that very moment, Yu Qing helped him out. “Replying to senior, this is my friend Ning Cheng. We were supposed to meet here.”
This place remained the same, and that person also remained the same, but Yu Qing was the only one missing. Why didn’t Xu Binglan go missing instead of her?
As for Xu Yingdei, she never expected to see Ning Cheng here. She had chosen him to sever her emotions and had presumed him dead back then. However, this man did not die. He not only managed to keep his life, he even came to the starry sky and even seemed to know his grandmother[1], Xu Binglan.
No one knew that she truly had fallen in love with Ning Cheng. Back then, if not for Yin Kongchan’s sudden and abrupt appearance, she would have already become Ning Cheng’s woman. If she had become Ning Cheng’s woman, she would have never used Ning Cheng to sever her emotions. But nothing of that sort happened, which doomed everything to oblivion.
She kept staring at Ning Cheng, the man she once liked, the man who she used to sever her emotions[2].
In the Severing Emotions Dao Sect, it would already be a miracle for a man who experienced emotion severing to even stay alive, let alone grow strong enough to enter the starry skies. But Ning Cheng might have been the first, perhaps the only one.
However, no one knew that when she learned that Ning Cheng and her master Shi Qionghua became Dao Companions, it had caused extreme jealousy and torment to erupt from the depths of her heart. Regardless of her man dying or not under her, she couldn’t bear the idea of another woman holding him.
“Little Dei, do you know him?” Since Xu Binglan could enter the void, and as the progenitor of her sect, how could she be a simple person? Therefore, when she looked at Xu Yingdei’s eyes, she instantly understood that Xu Yingdei knew Ning Cheng.
Xu Yingdei spoke up with a dry voice, “Yes, he was the man I used for my emotion-severing.”
“Oh, with my Xu Clan’s woman, yet daring to sleep with other sluts, you kid, sure are something.” Xu Binglan raised her eyebrows, and her porcelain doll-like face showed a trace of anger.
Ning Cheng’s tone suddenly turned cold, “Xu Binglan, originally, I only had a hatred for Xu Yingdei and Xu Anzhen. But if you dare say even half a disrespectful word about her[3], this father wouldn’t mind turning you into ashes.”
“Hehe, this Xu Binglan wants to see how you would turn me into ashes… Believe it or not, even if I killed you here in Lucky Heaven City, nothing would happen to me at all.” While talking, Xu Binglan’s murderous aura also started to spread out. Almost like a blade about to come out of its sheath.
Ning Cheng didn’t respond. Back then, Xu Binglan’s cultivation originally was at the Celestial Bridge Realm, but she managed to advance to the Undead Realm by now. Presumably, in her opinion, it would only be a matter of a few moments to kill an ‘ant’ like him.
“Sister Lan…. Don’t kill him.” Xu Yingdei anxiously stopped Xu Binglan.
Xu Binglan looked at Xu Yingdei in surprise and asked, “Why not kill him? This man did not die under your emotion severing. I don’t mind if you pity him, but this man dared to sleep with other women and even protected other women…..”
“Sister Lan?” Ning Cheng looked at Xu Binglan and Xu Yingdei in surprise. Just how many generations separated them, why did she call her ‘Sister Lan’?
“Ning Cheng, let’s talk about it in private. I have a few words to say to you.” Xu Yingdei looked at Ning Cheng and spoke with a soft voice.
Ning Cheng only glanced at Xu Yingdei with disdain before calmly replying, “A perverted sect indeed only brings up perverted women.”
“Ant looking for death….” Xu Binglan’s killing intent burst out. However, before her killing intent and domain could press down on Ning Cheng, they suddenly disappeared.
Then, her angry expression suddenly turned into a soft, lovable smile as she took a few steps forward and spoke, “What brings the Heavenly Emperor here?”
She could see that Striking Order Heavenly Emperor had come here in a hurry. But in any case, she had to first greet Striking Order Heavenly Emperor.
Striking Order Heavenly Emperor apparently saw that she wanted to deal with Ning Cheng; therefore, he immediately slapped Xu Binglan’s face the moment she looked up, “Get lost, Sect Master Ning is my most honourable guest. Yet, a woman like you dares to act with such disrespect. If you don’t apologise to Sect Master Ning immediately, you better end yourself quickly.”
Striking Order Heavenly Emperor’s words came with absolute authority; it even contained a hint of chill.
Ning Cheng sighed in his heart on hearing those words. He could tell that Striking Order Heavenly Emperor had a soft spot for Xu Binglan. Otherwise, with Striking Order Heavenly Emperor’s nature, Xu Binglan would have already died. Why would he just slap Xu Binglan and force her to apologise to him?
Xu Binglan and Xu Yingdei stood still as if time had frozen for them. They never expected Striking Order Heavenly Emperor to attach so much importance to Ning Cheng. He even explicitly mentioned that Ning Cheng was his ‘most honourable guest’. From this, they could tell that Striking Order Heavenly Emperor had hurried over to this place to greet Ning Cheng especially. Just what was going on?
[1] I’m not completely sure if it’s ‘grandmother’ or ‘maternal ancestor’ here. But since the author makes several references to Xu Binglan being Xu Yingdei’s grandmother in the future chapters, I decided to use it here, instead of using ancestor.
[2] Some people had previously asked me if ‘desires’ would be an appropriate term here instead of ‘emotions’, but ‘severing emotions’ here refers to the part about cutting off the ‘seven emotions’ out of the ‘seven emotions and six desires’ that every human is born with. It’s the main reason why the women from Severing Emotions Dao Sect look and feel so cold and detached, yet have an insatiable sex drive after cutting off their emotions.
[3] Just to be clear, ‘her’ here refers to ‘Shi Qionghua’.
