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“Is your name Mu Shan? Who is Mu Xunlin to you?” Ning Cheng asked the male cultivator looking at him.
Mu Shan obviously couldn’t see Ning Cheng’s cultivation. So, when he saw Ning Cheng ask about Mu Xunlin, he quickly bowed and replied, “Answering to senior, Mu Xunlin is my grandfather.”
“That means Mu Nan is your father?” Ning Cheng could see some similarities between Mu Shan and Mu Xunlin, which allowed him to guess at a few things.
“Yes, did Senior come here for my father?” Mu Shan showed some caution in his eyes. A person he had never seen had come to ask about his grandfather and father. This made him somewhat cautious and suspicious.
“Your grandfather gave me this token before he died and asked me to give it to his son Mu Nan. But because I got held up by a few personal matters, I couldn’t come here immediately. It was only a coincidence that I caught sight of your sect and came here. Since your father Mu Nan is not here, you can have it.” With that, Ning Cheng put the Sect Master Token into Mu Shan’s hand.
Mu Shan heard Ning Cheng’s words calmly but received the token with trembling hands. At the same time, his eyes also turned red after confirming the authenticity of the symbol. His father had told him repeatedly before death that grandpa would definitely return. In fact, the only reason he stayed here, apart from guarding the already finished Formless Sect, was to wait for his grandfather to return. But now grandpa hadn’t returned, all that came back was a sect master token.
Mu Shan grabbed the token with both hands and bowed to Ning Cheng, “Many thanks, for bringing back my Formless Sect’s token. Can benefactor honour me with your name, this junior will always remember your kindness.”
For Mu Shan, he knew that he most likely would have no chance to repay Ning Cheng’s kindness. So, this kindness, he could only bear in his heart.
Ning Cheng nodded, “It’s just a minor thing, you don’t have to worry about it. Besides, your grandfather and I only interacted a few times. Your grandfather only wished for the growth of the Formless Sect. So, I hope that you can work hard at cultivation and fulfil your grandfather’s will. Since the token returned to you, I’ll take my leave.”
Ning Cheng had come here purely to return a favour. He had helped Mu Xunlin back then, now, in a strange twist of fate, he brought back Mu Xunlin’s Sect Master Token. Besides, it didn’t take any extra effort at all.
Seeing Ning Cheng about to leave, Mu Shan quickly spoke up, “Senior, please stay for a moment. This junior has a few words to say to this senior.”
After he finished speaking, Mu Shan turned his head and said to Cao Yun, “Little Yun, you go out first. I have a few words to say to this senior in private.”
“Okay.” Cao Yun made a well-behaved sound before turning around and leaving.
Ning Cheng had a strange expression over his face. He had just now noticed a few weird things with Cao Yun as she went out. Moreover, with what he saw of Mu Shan’s attitude towards Cao Yun, it was quite reasonable to assume that he would not ask her to leave.
“Senior, this junior’s father had passed on a few things to me before he passed away. He said that if Grandpa really doesn’t manage to return, and if someone else came back with his Sect Head Token, I was supposed to take them to the Formless Sect’s Stone Stele and then disband the Formless Sect. I’m here not to just guard the Formless Sect but also to guard the stele.” After Cao Yun went out, Mu Shan spoke up with a humble voice.
Stone stele? Ning Cheng thought to himself in doubt.
“It’s the stone stele with the three characters ‘Formless Sect’ engraved. The one currently covered in moss. In fact, one of the three characters for ‘Formless Sect’ was added later.” Mu Shan, on seeing Ning Cheng’s doubt, quickly explained.
Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness immediately fell on the initially unremarkable stone stele currently sprawled on the ground. This time, he paid more attention and found that one of the three characters for ‘Formless Sect’ had a different feel to it. In fact, the first two characters ‘Formless’ had a subtle grandeur embedded into it. It even had a hint of a vague unrecognisable aura. As for the word for ‘Sect’, it looked flat and dull, without any sign of grandeur.
What shocked Ning Cheng, even more, was the small area within this stone stele that his spiritual consciousness could not penetrate. Not only that, but he also felt a somewhat familiar aura coming from it.
This stone stele definitely held a secret.
Ning Cheng didn’t immediately go to the stone stele. Instead, he had decided to help out Mu Shan. Regardless of the strangeness of this stele, Ning Cheng could tell that Mu Shan had diligently followed his father’s instructions to guard Formless Sect’s stone stele. Ning Cheng might not have fully agreed to it, but he still admired such people in his heart.
“Mu Shan. I can see that you and Cao Yan share quite a good relationship with each other. So why did you send her out to talk to me?” Ning Cheng asked with some doubt.
Mu Shan responded quickly, “Senior, my father stressed on this point too much and even forced me to make a vow. He said that information about the stone stele cannot spread out and that I can only speak about it to the person who brought back the Formless Sect’s Sect Master Token. Moreover, when speaking about the stone stele, I should not have anyone else around. Otherwise, it would only bring harm to everyone involved.”
There was one other sentence that Mu Shan did not say. His father had also said that any cultivator who can return the obscure 4-Star Formless Sect’s Sect Master Token, was entitled to own this stone tablet.
“Do you know the origin of this stele?” Ning Cheng asked again.
Mu Shan nodded, “It was my great-grandfather who had obtained this stone stele and was also the one to uncover the word ‘Formless’ on the stele. My great-grandfather felt that this stone stele had some extraordinary characteristics to its, and added the character for ‘Sect’ after ‘Formless’ to establish the Formless Sect. It got passed down from generation to generation until it reached me. With the stele sent away, the Formless Sect will also disappear forever.”
So, this was the case. Ning Cheng immediately had an improved impression of Mu Shan. He also understood Mu Nan’s intent. The Mu Clan couldn’t solve the mystery of this stone tablet even after several generations. At the same time, Mu Shan only had average qualifications and talent, and thus shouldn’t be able to solve it. Because of the strangeness of this stele, if he left it in Mu Shan’s care, then not only would it waste Mu Shan’s time, it might create even more trouble for his family. Therefore, Mu Nan simply asked his son Mu Shan to give away the stone stele.
“From what I saw just now, you seem to have two lovers….” Instead of asking about the stone tablet, Ning Cheng asked about the two women.
When Mu Shan heard Ning Cheng’s words, his face suddenly turned red. He spoke up with some embarrassment, “This junior’s family affair will only make Senior laugh.”
Ning Cheng only showed a slight smile, “I’m not laughing. I’m just asking about what you plan to do?”
Mu Shan didn’t know why this senior wanted to ask about such things. But since Ning Cheng asked, he had to speak up. “Hong Yi and Little Yu are both women I love. But I feel like Hong Yi is not someone who I would like to share life’s joys and sorrows with. So, I decided to take Little Yun out of this place and become a rogue cultivator.”
“I heard Hong Yi speak about Rainbow Fall Sword Sect recruiting disciples. She is right you know, why not go to Rainbow Fall Sword Sect?” Ning Cheng asked in doubt.
Mu Shan shook his head, “Rainbow Fall Sword Sect is just too far from this place. I simply don’t have the spiritual stones to reach that place. Besides, even if I could go, I know that Rainbow Fall Sword Sect wouldn’t select me. I know my own limits.”
Ning Cheng said, “Mu Shan, if I were you, and I had to choose between those two women, I would choose Wei Lengyu instead of Cao Yun to share your joys and pains.”
“Ah….” Mu Shan looked at Ning Cheng in disbelief. Facing the very selfless woman who accompanied him through all the hardships, why would he choose a very selfish woman? Why would he even consider such an option?
Ning Cheng gave a calm reply. “That Cao Yun doesn’t share the same sincerity as you. She not only has a lot of cultivation resources on her, but she has also sealed her cultivation. Her real cultivation is at Profound Core 2nd Level, not True Condensation 3rd Level.”
During the random scan before, Ning Cheng had really thought that Cao Yun was at True Condensation 3rd Level. For an ordinary female cultivator, he naturally did not care too much about it. Moreover, he wouldn’t stoop to that point where he would consciously look at her through his spiritual consciousness. Later, however, when Cao Yun walked by him, his gaze once again fell on her for the second time. Only then did he notice the restriction over Cao Yun.
Moreover, Cao Yun had placed that sealing restriction on herself, so it didn’t create any unusual fluctuations. Combined with the fact that he didn’t care, he had ignored it at first sight. But now that he decided to help Mu Shan, he naturally started to care about it.
Cao Yun had not only sealed her cultivation through her own restrictions but also had a storage bracelet. It’s just that she kept her storage bracelet hanging between her breasts, something Ning Cheng wouldn’t consciously pay any attention. However, now that he looked again, Cao Yun’s storage bracelet had a lot of high-rank spiritual stones.
In contrast, the number of spiritual stones in Mu Shan’s ring looked quite pitiful. Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness then caught up with Wei Lengyu and forcibly opened Wei Lengyu’s ring. But found the number of spiritual stones inside just as pitiful. Not at all more than Mu Shan’s amount.
Mu Shan opened his mouth wide and couldn’t believe Ning Cheng’s words. He felt just too familiar with Cao Yun. Why would she put a restriction on herself and seal her cultivation? He had nothing on him worth anything. Besides, if Cao Yun really wanted something from him, wouldn’t it be much easier to just ask him directly or even kill him?
“Does Wei Lengyu usually pick on Cao Yun?” Ning Cheng asked Mu Shan again despite his surprise.
Mu Shan apparently hadn’t recovered from Ning Cheng’s previous words and took a while to answer. “No, this was the first time Hong Yi cursed at Little Yun.”
Ning Cheng sneered, “If I’m not wrong, then as long as Wei Lengyu does not dare to come back, Cao Yun will kill her.”
“Why?” Mu Shan still felt reluctant to accept Ning Cheng’s words.
Ning Cheng did not answer. As his domain stretched out, he raised his hand and made a grabbing motion. In just a few moments, a crystal ball appeared in Ning Cheng’s hand. He then threw the crystal ball at Mu Shan and said, “You can see for yourself.”
This crystal ball was Ning Cheng’s memory crystal ball[1] about Cao Yun. Cao Yun had come to the Formless Sect to find something. She only knew that this ‘thing’ was something very remarkable, and was acquired by Mu Xunlin’s father in the past. As for what it was, she didn’t know at all.
It’s just that when she came here, Mu Xunlin’s father had already fallen and Mu Xunlin had also gone missing a long time ago. Mu Xunlin’s son, Mu Nan, had also fallen, leaving behind only Mu Nan’s son, Mu Shan. With Cao Yun’s strength, she couldn’t search Mu Shan’s soul as he had already reached the Essence Building Realm. As such, she could only stay beside Mu Shan and put up an act.
It’s just that Mu Shan always kept his father’s words in his mind and never revealed the secrets of Formless Sect’s stele.
But staying together for a long time, Cao Yun started to develop some feelings for Mu Shan. Besides, she also wanted to find a chance to kill Wei Lengyu, but Wei Lengyu never left Mu Shan’s side. But this time, Cao Yun had successfully angered Wei Lengyu. But before she could take any action, Ning Cheng appeared with the Sect Master’s Token. This development immediately caught her attention. Unfortunately, despite hiding outside and trying to listen in for a long time, she heard nothing.
[1] Even I’m confused as to how Ning Cheng created this ‘memory’ ball, but it is what it is.
