Ning Cheng didn’t even think, and with a flash, appeared right in front of the woman. The female cultivator wore a scarf over her face, which covered her appearance and concealed her aura and cultivation.
Seeing her from the front, Ning Cheng felt increasingly sure that this female cultivator was Shi Qionghua. However, standing in front of her, he suddenly realised that he couldn’t make any waves. Especially since Ning Cheng currently impersonated Ji He. Thinking of this, Ning Cheng quickly asked, “Do you know about Sifting Orchid Star?”
“Get lost.” A shout, followed by a strong domain, came crashing down. Ning Cheng, unguarded, had to take ten steps back before stopping.
Only then did Ning Cheng see the tall female cultivator standing next to the female cultivator with a scarf on her face. He knew this woman, named Shi Yishuang. This woman seemed to love talking down to people. In Peng Ruimei’s words, she acted as if the flesh on her body was on a different plane of existence from others.
Wait-wait…
Shi Yishuang had the surname ‘Shi’ and came from 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond. Plus, Qionghua also held the surname ‘Shi’ and cultivated the 9 Life Revolutions…… Was Shi Yishuang, Qionghua’s sister, and the veiled woman Qionghua?
Ning Cheng couldn’t take it anymore and quickly walked over.
“You’re looking for death….” Shi Yishuang raised her hand, and a red half-moon-shaped ring appeared over her head. At the same time, several female cultivators from 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond also gathered around.
As the powerful killing intent from several people concentrated at one spot, Ning Cheng felt shocked and quickly calmed down. He had assumed Ji He’s identity, which meant that he couldn’t ‘behave’ like Ning Cheng; thus, he couldn’t create a conflict with 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond. Even if Qionghua knew him, ‘Ji He’ couldn’t have known Shi Qionghua.
Moreover, the woman in front of him, the one wearing a veil, didn’t seem to have any impression of Sifting Orchid Star. If this person truly were Qionghua, she would have never forgotten about the Sifting Orchid Star. Meaning, she wasn’t Qionghua; either that or someone sealed or had taken away that memory from her.
“So, thinking about bullying others just because you have more people, eh?” Qi Shisanxing finally reacted and arrived next to Ning Cheng with a step. It didn’t sit well with him seeing Ning Cheng being attacked by Shi Yishuang and surrounded by people from 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond.
Shi Yishuang didn’t know about Qi Shisanxing; plus, her strength had also exceeded Qi Shisanxing’s apparent power. So how could she feel afraid of Qi Shisanxing and Ning Cheng?
“That’s right. I’m using the crowd to bully a few. Were you not convinced? Dare poke your nose in this matter, and I will kill you right away. You can see if I dare to or not.” Shi Yishuang showed a disdainful sneer and spoke up with a sarcastic voice.
Some sects used rogue cultivators to enter the Grand Essence Mystic Realm for collecting divine grasses. In the end, they were still just rogue cultivators. Yet, they dared to talk in such a manner to people from her 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond.
At this time, more and more cultivators started gathering near the exit array. They even called in their friends to watch the show in excitement. Every cultivator who knew Shi Yishuang knew that Shi Yishuang wouldn’t speak empty threats. If she said that she would dare kill Qi Shisanxing and Ning Cheng, she would truly do such a thing. They all just wanted to see if it would stir up some waves after she killed them.
Qi Shisanxing’s face twitched with anger. Qi Shisanxing was also someone from the top ten forces; plus, he was even the Sect Master’s son. When has he ever received so much despise?
“Did you think that your 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond can run around without any consequences? Does this place belong to your 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond? Just because someone’s standing here, you want to kill them, huh. I’m standing here, come on, come kill me.” Yan Xishuang’s cold voice arrived before she appeared next to Ning Cheng and Qi Shisanxing.
Both Yan Xishuang and Shi Yishuang had “Shuang”[1] in their name, and both had a cold expression on their faces. But in Ning Cheng’s view, both encompassed two different types of coldness. Shi Yishuang always thought of herself as above everyone else, while Yan Xishuang simply had a cold personality.
Seeing Yan Xishuang stand up, the disciples of Seven Star Sacred Shrine also stood up immediately. Some of them even started to prepare for battle.
Shi Yishuang’s expressions turned ugly in an instant. She could despise Ning Cheng and Qi Shisanxing, but she couldn’t look down on Yan Xishuang. Seven Star Sacred Shrine was one of the top ten sects and one of the three sacred shrines.
“Yan Xishuang, I just said that I want to kill these two ants. What does this matter have to do with you? Do you want to poke your nose in other people’s business?” Shi Yishuang spoke with a sombre tone.
Yan Xishuang showed a disdainful tone before bursting into a laugh, “Kill two ants? I’m afraid that even if these people stood in front of you and asked you to kill them, would you still dare do it?”
The red half-moon ring over Shi Yishuang’s head suddenly buzzed and started to overflow with killing intent. Shi Yishuang only felt irritated with Qi Shisanxing and Ning Cheng before and wanted to teach them a lesson. But now, because of Yan Xishuang, she truly overflowed with the killing desire to rip them apart.
If Ning Cheng didn’t know about Yan Xishuang’s character, he would have thought that Yan Xishuang deliberately wanted to rile her up.
Seeing that Shi Yishuang truly had the desire to kill them, Qi Shisanxing finally turned around his head. “I’m Profound Moon Spirit Gate’s Qi Shisanxing and remained inside the Grand Essence Mystic Realm for 60,000 years. Is there anyone here from Profound Moon Spirit Gate?”
“Little Sect Master?”
……
Qi Shisanxing had purposefully not stated his name before. Plus, some were also not sure about his identity. But now that Qi Shisanxing finally said his name, the disciples from Profound Moon Spirit Gate immediately confirmed their speculations and stood up.
More than a dozen cultivators flew over in just a few breaths and appeared in front of Qi Shisanxing and even greeted him with highly respectful salutes.
Shi Yishuang’s expressions twisted into something grotesque. She never thought that a person she felt as a random nobody would turn out to be the young master of one of the top ten sects. Even if she liked to act with wanton abandon, she would never dare to kill Qi Shisanxing of the Profound Moon Spirit Gate. Especially not in front of so many cultivators.
Moreover, the 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond also didn’t have the strength to go against them.
“Stinky woman, did you think too highly of your 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond? Ptooee.” Qi Shisanxing spat at the ground to vent.
Even if Shi Yishuang could hold herself back, she couldn’t bear the arrogance and disdain shown by Qi Shisanxing. What’s more, she was never a person who could take such insults. She was always the one to despise others; when had someone else dare scolded her in public?
A war of domains was just about to start.
But at this time, a half-step Dao Sculpting female cultivator standing behind Shi Yishuang stopped Shi Yishuang from taking action. “Junior Apprentice Sister Yishuang, we can’t make the first move.”
The raging Shi Yishuang finally calmed down a bit after receiving the timely reminder.
Ning Cheng also stopped Qi Shisanxing in time. Replaced with any other sect, if Qi Shisanxing wanted to go crazy, he would have helped him.
But he felt pretty sure that this sect was most likely from where Qionghua came from; as such, no matter what, he couldn’t start a fight against them. If he truly took action, it might become difficult for him to face Qionghua in the future.
Since both parties stopped at a crucial moment, the fight everyone expected did not happen. By this time, cultivators from the Profound Moon Spirit Gate had already surrounded Qi Shisanxing. They kept asking why he chose to stay in this place for so many years out of concern.
Ning Cheng also finally looked away from the female cultivator wearing a scarf over her face. In the future, he must go to the 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond, but not now. Regardless of whether this female cultivator was Qionghua or not, he currently couldn’t do anything.
Qi Shisanxing finally got himself free from his sect disciples’ clutches after explaining why he remained in the Grand Essence Mystic Realm for 60,000 years. He then immediately ran to Ning Cheng’s side. He patted Ning Cheng’s shoulder and tried to comfort him. “Although the women from 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond look beautiful, you don’t need to care about any of them.”
After speaking, he shot a glance at Yan Xishuang, indicating that Yan Xishuang was much more beautiful than Shi Yishuang.
Ning Cheng only smiled but did not explain.
In the following days, more and more cultivators arrived from everywhere. Ning Cheng also started to feel the increasing pressure standing near the perimeter. Under such pressure, even a cultivator who didn’t know the way would actively take the initiative to reach this place.
As more and more people gathered at the teleportation array, it finally lit up. As Ning Cheng made a rough count, he found that the number of cultivators going out was far less than the 10,000 that came in with him. The Grand Essence Mystic Realm seemed to have become their final resting place from the looks of it.
Ning Cheng also didn’t see Xiong Cang, who came looking for him earlier to form a team. But Ning Cheng didn’t feel surprised that Xiong Cang did not come out.
Xiong Cang only had average strength and thought about robbing divine grasses from others. Even if he had many ace cards, how could any cultivator entering the Grand Essence Mystic Realm be simple? Always walking by the river, one’s shoes would eventually get wet. Whether he died or disappeared, it was already an expected thing. Similarly, Ning Cheng also didn’t see any of the cultivators who entered Pill Sage Min Kong’s medicinal garden with him. It seems those fellows also suffered from some ill fortune.
“Ninth Prince didn’t come out….” A low voice sounded not far from Ning Cheng. Ning Cheng calmly scanned through the crowd and locked in a few cultivators giving off a strong sea aura. These fellows most likely came from the Grand Essence Sea.
Whether this Ninth Prince fell in the Grand Essence Mystic Realm or not, no one would try to ask them about it, no matter what the reason. The Barbarian Dragon Clan had a Dao Perfection powerhouse, which meant that even the three sacred shrines wouldn’t want anything to do with this matter.
Once the array activated, cultivators started teleporting out one after another. Ning Cheng and Qi Shisanxing also teleported out following the many disciples from the Profound Moon Spirit Gate.
……
The place Ning Cheng came out was the same spot from where Ning Cheng went inside. A year ago, when Ning Cheng had entered from here, it was only a barren wilderness. There were only a few residential structures set by the major sects, and it wasn’t so busy.
But a year later, once Ning Cheng came out, it had become much livelier. The barren wilderness had become something akin to a huge public square with three platforms placed in the middle for counting divine grasses. The major sects set themselves up around these three divine grass-counting platforms and were ready to receive the divine grasses and distribute rewards.
As soon as Qi Shisanxing came out, people from the Profound Moon Spirit Gate once again surrounded him. Qi Shisanxing had remained trapped inside the mystic realm for 60,000 years and finally managed to come out. It naturally was a very happy occasion for the Profound Moon Spirit Gate.
Ning Cheng understood that Qi Shisanxing and the people from his sect had a lot to discuss, so he decided to not join in on the fun and festivities. Instead, he just stood there quietly, letting several powerful spiritual consciousnesses sweep over him, over and over again.
Ning Cheng remained calm and unwavering under this scrutiny. He also didn’t use his spiritual consciousness to find Man Huishan’s location. Rather, he felt sure that Man Huishan checked every cultivator coming out of the mystic realm. The news about the fall of Ninth Prince Man Jiuren should have already reached Man Huishan when the first group came out.
Even Qi Shisanxing wouldn’t have managed to escape Man Huishan’s scrutiny.
As Ning Cheng felt more and more spiritual consciousness falling on him, he started to feel a little worried. He was a Dao Sculpting Pill Emperor. He could take advantage of the Form Changing Pill and the Mysterious Yellow Formless Cultivation Method to camouflage himself from others perfectly. However, Ning Cheng didn’t know if it could work against a Dao Essence powerhouse. Once discovered, it would become disastrous for him. After all, he had no ace cards except for Qi Shisanxing.
If Man Huishan wanted to take him away by force, he wouldn’t even have the ability to resist.
[1] “Shuang” here means “Chilly/Frost”.
