Ning Cheng sighed. Despite the preparations, he understood that Man Huishan had succeeded. However, he couldn’t tell how many experts here would willingly help him. If these people couldn’t help him, Ning Cheng would have no choice but to use the Breaking Boundary Talisman. But Ning Cheng had no confidence that he would get the chance to even bring out the Breaking Boundary Talisman. Let alone activate it. Especially when Man Huishan kept a close eye on his every movement.
One simply couldn’t help but indulge in one’s greed. If not for the allure of the Extraterritorial Spirit Spring, Man Huishan might not have even heard of him. Let alone come here looking for him.
The middle-aged female cultivator’s stance finally relaxed a bit and spoke. “Holy Emperor Barbarian Dragon, if you have nothing else to do, please have a seat and continue watching the rest of the matches.”
Man Huishan once again cupped his fists and spoke up. “Thank you. This time, I came here for two specific reasons. First is to see the various emerging experts of the Grand Essence Realm and second, to take away one person.”
After finished speaking, Man Huishan’s gaze fell on Ning Cheng. Of course, if Ning Cheng hadn’t entered the top 25, he would have already taken Ning Cheng away without any of this nonsense. But, this wasn’t the wilderness, and he also had to give some face to the other experts hosting the Great Meet in this place. In any case, he also understood that sometimes things didn’t work out the way he wanted.
The middle-aged female cultivator then looked at Ning Cheng; one could see the glimmer of unhappiness in her eyes even from afar. She never imagined that Ning Cheng would have the audacity and courage to rope them all in such a situation. If she hadn’t spoken out before when Ning Cheng made that ‘request’, she would have given him up without any hesitation.
Ning Cheng met the middle-aged female cultivator’s gaze and understood that she wouldn’t speak for him. He also understood that this woman felt afraid of Man Huishan. Looking at everything, Ning Cheng couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. One could only control one’s fate by themselves; without sufficient power, all the schemes and plans simply would be of no use. Nothing more than a waste of time and effort.
The red-faced old man laughed, “Since Dragon Emperor wants to take away a person, then you naturally can. But only if this person in question hasn’t entered the top thirteen of my Grand Essence Great Meet.”
Man Huishan also smiled and cupped his fists, “Many thanks, Holy Emperor Extreme Void. I won’t take away the top thirteen. I just want to take away the cultivator named Ji He. I have a few personal things that I want to inquire…..”
Man Huishan’s words suddenly stopped as he saw Ji He’s name among the top thirteen on the Great Meet’s display. How was this possible? It hadn’t been a long time since Ji He entered the top twenty-five. How did he reach the top thirteen? At most, only an hour had passed. Moreover, even before he came in, he had already locked onto Ning Cheng with his spiritual consciousness. He knew that Ning Cheng didn’t have the time to fight against anyone or even do anything.
Suddenly, Man Huishan thought of one possibility, the one free draw.
Sure enough, Man Huishan had just figured it out when the old man addressed as Holy Emperor Extreme Void shook his head. “Dragon Emperor, this is truly an unfortunate thing. Ji He has just entered the top thirteen through the free draw.”
Man Huishan’s expressions turned hard to look at, and even his tone turned slightly hostile. “Everyone should already be aware that this person isn’t Ji He. He’s faking Ji He’s identity. This person killed my son Man Jiuren in the mystic realm, so I have to take him away for questioning and revenge.”
Man Huishan wasn’t sure if Ning Cheng truly killed Man Jiuren. But it didn’t matter as long as he took away Ning Cheng.
With Man Huishan speaking those words, even the red-faced Holy Emperor Extreme Void, who spoke on behalf of Ning Cheng, couldn’t continue to defend him. He had already seen through Ning Cheng’s changed appearance. But if not for Man Huishan, he wouldn’t have cared for any of it. Man Huishan came here and even openly announced that Ning Cheng participated with a changed appearance and killed Man Jiuren. If he continued to speak on behalf of Ning Cheng, it would create a life-long feud between his clan and the Barbarian Dragon Clan.
If Ning Cheng had an uncommon origin, he could have still taken that risk. But from Ning Cheng’s actions, he also understood that Ning Cheng was a rogue cultivator without backing. So should he still continue to help Ning Cheng?
Since Holy Emperor Extreme Void didn’t speak, the rest also had no reason to talk. This fake Ji He had killed Man Jiuren, which made it perfectly reasonable for Man Huishan to come here to take him away. However, they also wouldn’t take the initiative to help Man Huishan or ask Man Huishan to take away Ning Cheng.
Man Huishan saw the situation and sneered in his heart. He knew that things had become too easy. At this moment, he wouldn’t have to say anything. He could just take that fake Ji He and leave without any resistance.
Ning Cheng’s heart sank even further on witnessing the development. He didn’t come forward to refute the accusations as he understood that denying it would be a meaningless task. At this moment, even if Man Huishan grabbed him and took him away, no one would come forward to help him. Even a deluge of heavenly flowers from the sky would be of no use.
Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness formed a link with the Breaking Boundary Talisman. He prepared himself to go all out and activate it at the most opportune moment.
“Hold on, Holy Emperor Barbarian Dragon. Ji He is still in the top thirteen of the Grand Essence Great Meet. If we let you take him away without hearing his side of the story, it would truly be unfair.” Holy Emperor Extreme Void suddenly spoke up and stopped Man Huishan.
After he finished, he then smiled and said to Ning Cheng, “Ji He, you can tell us what happened. We’re the hosts of the Grand Essence Great Meet. As such, it is not only our responsibility to keep the matches fair and just. We also have the responsibility of ensuring the safety of all disciples taking part in it.”
Ning Cheng gratefully looked at Holy Emperor Extreme Void and nodded. He understood that Holy Emperor Extreme Void didn’t particularly want him to tell the story to the judges but rather give him enough time to escape. Whether he used a talisman or any other means, he could use this time to run as long as he had the means.
“Ji He, I thought you left. I didn’t expect you to be here, ah. It looks like luck’s still on my side.” The crisp voice of a woman arrived, and the next moment, a woman wearing a black robe and veil appeared in front of Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng quickly stopped the activation of the Breaking Boundary Talisman and cupped his fists towards this woman, “Ji He greets Senior Nie.”
The black-robed woman smiled at Ning Cheng and said, “Looks like you’re once again involved in something, am I right?”
Ning Cheng nodded, “Yeah. I didn’t know that I would have to question the security of disciples participating in the Grand Essence Great Meet. If I had known about it, I would not have come to participate in this tournament. If not for senior Holy Emperor Extreme Void, I most likely would have become the first cultivator to be captured and taken away during the great meet.”
Ning Cheng, anyway, was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. Plus, his words also caused the expressions of the Great Meet’s judges to twist a bit. But despite the ugly truth, these people still came up to personally greet the black-robed woman.
“Star Stepping Tower Master, Ji He has changed appearances to participate in this competition. He’s involved in the death of my son Man Jiuren. I have to take him away.” When Man Jiuren saw this black-robed woman come over, a bad feeling started to emerge in his heart.
The black-robed woman shot an ice-cold glare at Man Huishan, “Are you the one hosting the Grand Essence Great Meet? Or did you forget that the Grand Essence Great Meet has no rule against participating with a changed appearance?”
This black-robed woman spoke with a harsh tone, which immediately caused Man Huishan to feel uneasy. At the very least, he was a Dragon Emperor. Moreover, when it came to fame, he was ten thousand times better than this black-robed woman.
“So you want to stand up for him? Should I just forget about him killing my son Man Jiuren?” Man Huishan couldn’t find the right words to counter her. Therefore, he decided to break things off and spoke up in a cold tome. The Star Stepping Tower might be mighty, but he wasn’t afraid of it.
The black-robed woman replied with equal disdain, “So Man Jiuren is your son, huh? Wasn’t it the same idiot who tried to show his arrogance in my Star Stepping Tower and ended up with broken hands and feet? It’s his good luck that such a person managed to live this long before croaking.”
“You…..” Man Huishan didn’t expect that this black-robed woman wouldn’t give him any face. But, instead, the anger he felt forced his powerful momentum to gush out, which immediately shook the surrounding space.
Seeing Man Huishan and the Star Stepping Tower Master about to erupt in a fight, the cultivators who came to watch the tournament quickly rushed away in fright. If these two people did indeed start fighting, then most likely none of them could escape the aftershocks. In just a few moments, the Heaven Essence Public Square turned chaotic, with countless cultivators trying to rush away as fast as possible.
The several hosts on the central platform quickly rushed over to try and stop the two. Suppose Man Huishan and this black-robed woman started fighting on the Heaven Essence Sacred City’s public square. In that case, let alone the public square, the entire city might turn into ashes in a moment. Fortunately, they managed to intervene in time, and order finally returned to the public square. But the still-frightened cultivators continued to retreat, albeit quietly.
Man Huishan understood that the other party didn’t fear him, but he only snorted and didn’t leave. He didn’t want to leave this place without Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng cupped his fists towards the black-robed woman and said, “Many thanks, Senior, for saving my life.”
The black-robed woman smiled, “Don’t be so eager to thank me. I came here to trade with you. If you do not have what I need or can’t afford it, I will leave right away. Whether you live or you die, it doesn’t have anything to do with me, nor do I care about it.”
Ning Cheng had long since understood that there wasn’t any free meal in this world. No one would help others without expecting something in return. So he stopped this gesture of thanks and instead asked, “What does Senior need from me?”
“I want that pill. How much for it?” The black-robed woman looked at Ning Cheng. Although she looked calm on the surface, she felt truly nervous in her heart.
She felt afraid that Ning Cheng might just say that he had no such pill.
Ning Cheng felt relieved that this woman hadn’t explicitly mentioned it. Yet, he still understood what pill this black-robed woman wanted. Ning Cheng even felt grateful to Xin Xiu and Wu Qihong. If not for these two people, this woman wouldn’t have known that he had the Empyrean Consciousness Transmutation Pill.
Ning Cheng didn’t hesitate to take out ten jade bottles and put them in the black-robed woman’s hands. “I only have ten bottles. Senior can have them all.”
Ning Cheng had prepared these ten bottles for Qi Shisanxing. But he had to take them out to save his life.
Trading and exchanges also had different levels and types, one of which was where one side simply had no bargaining power. Currently, Ning Cheng faced such a type. He had no other choice and could only accept his fate and place his little life in the hands of others. However, since a sliver of hope finally revealed itself, he didn’t want to take any other risks.
The black-robed woman naturally knew of the preciousness of Empyrean Consciousness Transmutation Pills. She initially intended to purchase 10 to 20 of these pills and would have been happy even with five. However, she never expected that Ning Cheng would come up with such a surprise of ten jade bottles. As a standard, a jade bottle consisted of 12 pills. In other words, Ning Cheng had just given her 120 Empyrean Consciousness Transmutation Pills.
The black-robed woman immediately opened a jade bottle. But then, her spiritual consciousness touched the twelve top-quality Empyrean Consciousness Transmutation Pills inside it. The pure-to-the-extreme aura that poured into her Sea of Consciousness almost made her refreshingly drunk.
The black-robed woman opened and closed the jade bottle quickly. But the spiritual consciousness of the several experts on the public square still felt a refreshing aura wash over their Sea of Consciousness.
Was it a Spirit Essence Pill? No, even the Spirit Essence Pill from the legends shouldn’t be this good, right? Besides, the pill recipe for the Spirit Essence Pill had long since vanished. What’s more, Divine Chalcedony, the main ingredient required to refine the Spirit Essence Pill, was also a treasure almost impossible to find.
Seeing the black-robed woman putting away all the jade bottles with joy in her eyes, everyone felt the itch to ask her to take out the jade bottle and let them have a look at it.
Unfortunately, everyone here also knew very well about the Star Stepping Tower Master’s strength and background. They also understood why this black-robed woman dared to open the jade bottle here; that is, she had no fear of anyone in this place.
