As Ning Cheng retreated, the sound of a cold snort spread out from somewhere behind him. Despite his current cultivation and strength, that cold sort shook his soul to the core.
The next moment, waves of nether winds suddenly rushed towards him, and Ning Cheng’s Essence Spirit started to loosen up. It felt like it wanted to leave his body permanently. If it weren’t for the Mysterious Yellow Bead nourishing Ning Cheng’s body and soul, Ning Cheng guessed that he wouldn’t have held on for so long.
Ning Cheng’s only thought right now was to stimulate his celestial essence to its limits and rush out of the Yellow Spring Pond. He had a hunch that if he delayed things for even an extra moment, he might not get to leave this place at all.
The sound of the cold snort spread, a hollow almost-human sounding voice rang out within Ning Cheng’s mind, “Did you think you could just leave after taking my stuff?”
Just as the voice ended, the winds around the bridge suddenly churned and shot out one wave after another of nether winds. The winds had not even reached the silhouette of Ning Cheng’s Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort when the black-as-ink water of the Yellow Spring Pond also started churning.
Ning Cheng didn’t care anymore and ignited his celestial essence to rush out.
This time, Ning Cheng moved faster than when he dived to the bottom of the Yellow Spring Pond. But just after he rushed out of the pond, the black water churned even more violently, and an intense roar erupted from inside it.
Ning Cheng didn’t even look back after coming out and rushed towards the paper door. He didn’t rush towards either of the ‘Life’ or ‘Death’ doors, as he now felt that both doors had some problems.
If his Sea of Consciousness hadn’t expanded, he might have chosen one of the two doors. However, now that his Sea of Consciousness had grown, it skyrocketed the power of his spiritual consciousness. With this rapid increase in strength, he could now use his Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds on reaching that hall again.
Moreover, he had a vague feeling that returning to that main hall was the only safest option right now.
Ning Cheng had just rushed out of the Yellow Spring Pond when dozens of waves of nether winds also rushed out. These winds came out with such force that it lifted the Yellow Spring Pond’s water a few hundred feet into the air as it rushed towards Ning Cheng.
Fortunately, Ning Cheng managed to grasp the opportunity in time. Therefore, when those winds emerged from the Yellow Spring Pond and reached the paper door, Ning Cheng had already rushed onto the large public square.
The waves of nether winds banged onto the paper door, forcing it to rattle even more violently. The paper door managed to stop the first wave, but as more waves of nether winds crashed into the paper door, the winds finally tore through the door and quickly rushed towards Ning Cheng.
But Ning Cheng didn’t stop at all. Rushing to the public square, he immediately brought out the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds.
Just as the waves of nether winds swept into the public square, Ning Cheng activated the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds. With the expansion of his Sea of Consciousness, he quickly managed to fly up from the public square.
“Bang…..” But still, several nether winds struck Ning Cheng’s Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort, and the thunder glow over the Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort suddenly dimmed. A series of sudden rattling-like noises erupted, and Ning Cheng’s rising body quickly started to drop.
Ning Cheng knew it very well that he could not fall back onto the dark public square. He simply put away the Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort and started pouring every shred of strength he could muster into the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds.
Without the added consumption of Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort, Ning Cheng’s speed increased once again. In just a little more than a dozen breaths, Ning Cheng could finally see the edge of the pentagon-shaped hall.
Just then, however, a violent wave of nether winds swept over.
Ning Cheng had put away the Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort; therefore, this wave of nether wind directly tore through Ning Cheng’s domain and struck Ning Cheng’s body.
Ning Cheng shivered the moment the wave of nether winds hit his body and felt his Essence Spirit almost loosening and leaving his body. This caused his spiritual consciousness and celestial essence circulation to plummet, weakening him considerably.
Sensing his Essence Spirit about to loosen entirely and his body about to fall again, Ning Cheng immediately went into a panic. He grabbed a Rootless Green Bamboo Leaf and stuffed it into his mouth.
His Essence Spirit, on the verge of scattering, forcibly stabilised and the Mysterious Yellow Origin Aura started flowing more quickly. Feeling his spiritual consciousness and celestial essence growing stronger once again, Ning Cheng stimulated the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds to its limits. He had almost died just now, if not for the Rootless Green Bamboo, he couldn’t even imagine what would have happened to him.
No wonder those Eternal-level cultivators couldn’t escape those nether winds sweeping through the area.
“Boom….” Two more waves of nether winds blasted towards Ning Cheng. But just at the exact moment that these two waves of nether winds were about to wrap themselves around Ning Cheng’s ankle, Ning Cheng managed to switch directions and land at the edge of the pentagonal-shaped hall.
Not waiting for the nether wind to catch up to him, Ning Cheng immediately rushed out from the hall without even stopping or looking back.
Those waves of nether wind also rushed into the hall, but couldn’t seem to come out from the hall’s doorway. It felt as if an invisible force stopped it from getting out. However, Ning Cheng didn’t dare to relax. He immediately started throwing out array flags, sealing the pentagonal-shaped hall with layers and layers of array formations.
Half a day later, Ning Cheng managed to seal the pentagonal-shaped hall completely, before finally sitting down weakly on the ground. Having experienced the terror of those nether winds, he understood that he had managed to escape by an extremely minuscule margin.
As for how Grey Toottoot reached the Futility Bridge, Ning Cheng still couldn’t figure it out. But he knew for sure that there had to be someone on the other side of that Futility Bridge. But Ning Cheng suspected that this person couldn’t come out. If he or she could actually come out, then escaping would have been an impossibility.
But since that person can’t get out, how did Grey Toottoot get onto the Futility Bridge?
……
This was the 39th day since Ning Cheng came out of the Ancient Shadow Temple. During these 39 days, Ning Cheng tirelessly worked on arranging the most powerful Sealing Array Formation outside the Ancient Shadow Temple. The Sealing Array Formation arranged was on the same level as the Star Protecting Grand Array if not higher. Moreover, Ning Cheng refined and used only high-rank Dao Artefacts for the array base.
Moreover, Ning Cheng had also arranged many sealing arrays inside that would prevent anything from reaching outside. The terrifying events that had transpired inside the Ancient Shadow Temple had invoked a particular dread within Ning Cheng. Since Jiangzhou Star now belonged to him, and now that Covered Snow City had become his home, he did not want the terrors from inside to spill out.
However, he also didn’t want to move the Mysterious Yellow Sect. Ning Cheng believed that his sealing would suffice for now. If something happened to the Ancient Shadow Temple, he would immediately know about it. Moreover, under such a blockade, even Chuan Xinlou would find it challenging to come out.
By the time Ning Cheng finally finished and came out of the Ancient Shadow Temple’s site, he looked frail and almost on the brink of collapse. He had remained inside for more than a month under constant pressure and now looked even weaker.
Fortunately, he was still in Jiangzhou Star. As long as he walked a little further, he could return to Covered Snow City to heal.
Ning Cheng had just walked through the gates of Covered Snow City when he saw Ning Ruolan rushing out.
“Ruolan, what’s the matter?” Ning Cheng called out in confusion.
“Brother…..” Ning Ruolan on seeing Ning Cheng immediately turned happy. She quickened her pace and rushed into Ning Cheng’s arm, “Wu…. you scared me. I thought you would never return…..”
Ning Cheng gently patted Ning Ruolan on her shoulder and spoke with a comforting voice, “Ruolan, what’s going on?”
Seeing Ning Ruolan once again, Ning Cheng felt quite happy. Moreover, Ruolan’s cultivation had already reached the Celestial Shatterer Realm despite cultivating in seclusion for only a short while. From this, he could tell that Ruolan had quite a fast cultivation speed with the support from his massive stash of cultivation resources.
Ruolan finally eased up but still spoke with some fear, “I heard rumours that nearly 20 Eternal experts had entered the Ancient Shadow Temple this time. But none could come out, all perishing in the Ancient Shadow temple. After hearing that, I immediately came out to look for you……”
Ning Cheng frowned; none of the people who entered the Ancient Shadow Temple came out? Where did this rumour come from? Arguably, they had only been in the Ancient Shadow Temple for less than two months. Moreover, even if an Eternal expert did not come out for two full years, no one would spread rumours about their deaths this quickly.
However, Ning Cheng also understood that if he hadn’t managed to return, this rumour most likely would have turned into a fact. Was he really the only one to come out of the Ancient Shadow Temple?
“Brother, since you’re here, then those rumours obviously are false.” Ning Ruolan spoke in a relaxed tone.
Ning Cheng shot a cautious look at Ruolan and said, “Ruolan, remember, if you ever hear such a rumour in the future, you must never act on it. Just think about it, if I really did die in the Ancient Shadow Temple, what’s the use of you going in there?”
Ning Ruolan understood that Ning Cheng spoke the truth and nodded, “I know. Brother, are you staying this time or are you heading out once again?”
“Well, I have a few things to take care of outside. Besides, I haven’t heard any news about your sister-in-laws Luofei and Qionghua, and I still have to take a trip to Grand Culmination Starry Sky. Ruolan, when I’m not here, you must work hard by yourself. Put everything else aside and just focus on cultivation. Only if you have the required strength will others listen to you, whether it’s this place or anywhere else.” Ning Cheng urged.
Ning Ruolan nodded and stopped talking. She knew that the power gap between her and her big brother was widening with each passing day. If she didn’t work hard on her cultivation, it would only hold back her big brother in the future.
“Well, someone called Duan Gantai came to Jiangzhou Star to find you. Sect Master Cang stopped him outside and did not allow him to enter.”
Ning Ruolan had just finished speaking when Cang Caihe came out followed by a few other people.
“Sect Master…..” Cang Caihe turned genuinely happy on seeing Ning Cheng. He had also heard about the rumours that none of the Eternal experts who entered the Ancient Shadow Temple had come out, which Cang Caihe believed to a certain extent. As one of the Eternal experts, he usually kept a lookout for any news about other Eternal-level experts. Besides, the Ancient Shadow Temple was in the Jiangzhou Star, which meant that this rumour had a direct bearing on him, so how could he not pay attention to any reports concerning it.
Ning Cheng gave a calm reply, “Looks like Sect Master Cang worked quite hard while I was away.”
“Greetings Senior Ning…..” Two cultivators in the Heaven Seated Realm carefully approached Ning Cheng and bowed.
Ning Cheng nodded. One of the two was Ou Zhenkong, the one with his restriction. Looking at him now, it seems like someone had forcibly sealed the restriction as a temporary measure. If he didn’t show up, the restriction would have eventually threatened Ou Zhenkong’s life.
“Senior, this is my uncle Ou Xingshang. My uncle was the one who brought Dao Friend Warren and me to Jiangzhou Star…..” Ou Zhenkong couldn’t hide the relief welling up inside his heart on seeing Ning Cheng.
After Ning Cheng put the restriction on him, he could not remove it at all, no matter what method he tried. If Ning Cheng had truly fallen in the Ancient Shadow Temple, he would have had no choice but to accept his fate. Moreover, the Mysterious Yellow Sect’s Deputy Sect Master Cang Caihe was not only the Premier Pill Emperor but also a late-stage Eternal powerhouse. Which meant that even without Ning Cheng around, his Ou Clan wouldn’t dare to offend this force.
“Greetings Sect Master….” Warren and Yue Wanxue had long since wanted to come to greet him but didn’t want to interrupt others who tried to speak to Ning Cheng.
In all respects, Ning Cheng had saved both of their lives. Moreover, without Ning Cheng, they both would have died at least twice. Therefore, although everyone had only shown them kindness after coming to Covered Snow City, they couldn’t calm down until they finally met Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng laughed, “Everyone here is a friend, what is the need of such politeness? Do the two of you have any plans for the future?”
Warren and Yue Wanxue quickly replied, “Sect Master, we want to join the Mysterious Yellow Sect….”
After hearing those words, Ning Cheng immediately took out two jade bottles and sent them to the two. “Each one has an Accordance Heavenly Pill. Go into seclusion and prepare to advance to the Heaven Seated Realm. Once you advance to the Heaven Seated Realm, you can become elders of my Mysterious Yellow Sect.”
Even if Warren and Yue Wanxue had not planned to join the Mysterious Yellow Sect, Ning Cheng would have still entertained them politely before sending them away with a few gifts. However, he would have never taken out even a single Accordance Heavenly Pill. He didn’t have many Accordance Heavenly Pills to distribute anyway.
Although vaguely aware that Ning Cheng wanted to bring them in under him, after receiving the Accordance Heavenly Pill, Warren and Yue Wanxue once again became excited and found it difficult to control themselves. Both were rogue cultivators with a lifetime of adventures; however, both knew it very well that no matter what they did, they might never obtain an Accordance Heavenly Pill. Roaming around while cultivating in the starry sky, they had to rely mainly on chance encounters.
