Even though the two had exchanged only two blows, Ning Cheng realised that Lu Yixian’s strength had far surpassed the others here. Most likely, he didn’t even get serious during his fight against Aiden. But even if that horned-shaped copper lamp could kill him, Ning Cheng didn’t care about it at all.
Lu Yixian had an ace card, but did he think that he, Ning Cheng, didn’t have a few ace cards of his own? If it weren’t for the fact that there were other people here, he would have opened with the First Bridge of Coping. Ning Cheng didn’t believe that Lu Yixian could even cross the first bridge.
If they two fought with everything on the line, Ning Cheng believed that he had more than a 90% chance of killing Lu Yixian.
Hearing Ning Cheng’s words, Lu Yixian’s momentum suddenly soared, and the celestial essence swirling around him once again started buzzing around. However, Ning Cheng remained unfazed. He had already taken down a few half-step Dao Sculpting experts and full-circle Eternal cultivators. Even if this person was an expert among experts, Ning Cheng didn’t fear him in the slightest.
Lu Yixian could see Ning Cheng’s calm face without any fluctuations. Moreover, just as his momentum rose, spear shadows suddenly appeared around Ning Cheng. Seeing this, Lu Yixian frowned. He had a feeling that what he faced right now wasn’t a cultivator or a spirit technique but rather a majestic mountain. No matter how powerful the waves crashed around this mountain, no matter how high the waves were, they couldn’t get past this mountain.
This man was a strong rival. He definitely was an expert among experts. Lu Yixian looked at the other cultivators and suddenly converged his aura.
He wasn’t afraid of Ning Cheng, but he also didn’t want to get into a bloody fight here. Ning Cheng’s strength had gone far beyond his expectations. Although he had the confidence to defeat Ning Cheng, he didn’t have the confidence of coming out of the fight unscathed.
Even if no one else acted against him, Yin Ying and Aiden would still be a threat to him. If he ended up with severe injuries against Ning Cheng, he most likely might end up losing his life here even if he won the fight. In any case, Ning Cheng was nothing more than a rogue cultivator whose life wasn’t as valuable as his life. Besides, it was just a spirit essence transformation, which meant that the spirit spring in the second stone door would also be more than enough for him.
As Lu Yixian’s momentum converged, his expressions also softened a bit. He slowly put away the horn-shaped copped lamp and looked at Ning Cheng. “You’re quite the lucky fellow today. I will give you the first spring. But you won’t be lucky the next time we meet. If you manage to escape Holy Emperor Barbarian Dragon’s hands one day, make sure to never meet me. Otherwise, I will kill you.”
Ning Cheng waved his hand again, and, with a flash, the long spear disappeared without a trace. Instead, he looked at Lu Yixian and spoke with a slightly helpless tone, “Would it kill you to not be such a show-off?”
Lu Yixian frowned, not able to understand what Ning Cheng meant by those words[1]. He ignored Ning Cheng and walked towards the second stone door.
This was the difference between him and Ning Cheng. If Ning Cheng swapped places with him, as long as Ning Cheng felt even remotely confident about killing his opponent, he would never give up on the first stone door. Ning Cheng came to the Extraterritorial Spirit Spring while willingly risking his life for only one purpose. That is, to experience a perfect spirit essence transformation.
Lu Yixian’s caution had kept him alive through numerous situations, but it also cost him many precious opportunities.
The fight for the second stone door between Aiden and Zhongmeng Yuxiu continued to rage. Unfortunately, even though Zhongmeng Yuxiu’s thunder rays contained enough power, they couldn’t restrain Aiden’s black smoke.
Just when Lu Yixian came over, Aiden’s black smoke caught Zhongmeng Yuxiu and slammed her into the ground hundreds of feet away from the door.
Zhongmeng Yuxiu grabbed the two thunder beads with some embarrassment but no longer came forward to continue the fight against Aiden.
By this time, Aiden and Zhongmeng Yuxiu saw Lu Yixian walk over. Seeing that, Aiden gave a begrudging laugh and said, “Alas, if I had known about the outcome, I might have chosen the third stone door instead of wasting so much time. But it’s not too late, I think.”
After he finished, Aiden quickly walked away from the second stone door, which he just obtained, and stood in front of the third stone door. After experiencing the true strength of Lu Yixian, Aiden no longer wanted to fight against him. Moreover, from Lu Yixian’s last fight, he understood that Lu Yixian hadn’t used his full strength during their battle.
Yin Ying cupped her fists towards Ning Cheng and said, “Pill Emperor Ji, I’m not your opponent. If you don’t mind, I’m going to change my selection.”
Ning Cheng smiled, “Many thanks. Don’t worry about me, and go ahead.”
If he could secure his spot without a fight, then Ning Cheng naturally wouldn’t take part in meaningless brawls.
Yin Ying nodded, and her eyes moved past Lu Yixian’s second stone door and immediately fell on Aiden’s third stone door. But she quickly moved on once again, and her eyes fell on the fourth stone door.
Yan Xishuang frowned slightly. She had just defeated Mu Shuifeng and had also suffered a severe injury. If Yin Ying decided to fight for this stone door, she truly would have no choice but to admit defeat.
But before Yin Ying spoke up, Zhongmeng Yuxiu suddenly stepped in front of Yan Xishuang and said, “I want the fourth stone door.”
Yan Xishuang sighed. If she wasn’t hurt right now, she wouldn’t have feared a Zhongmeng Yuxiu. But with her current injuries, she definitely couldn’t fight against Zhongmeng Yuxiu.
But just when Yan Xishuang was about to open her mouth and admit defeat and switch stone doors, Ning Cheng suddenly spoke up. “The fourth stone door belongs to my friend. If you want it, don’t blame me for stepping up and grabbing it from you.”
Zhongmeng Yuxiu’s face turned white when she heard Ning Cheng’s words. She initially wanted the second stone door, but now, she couldn’t even get the fourth stone door. This made her sullen and irritable and pushed her to the limits of her patience.
Fortunately, she wasn’t stupid. Ning Cheng could force Lu Yixian to willingly give up the first stone door. That level of strength wasn’t something that Zhongmeng Yuxiu could go against right now. Moreover, she also understood that Ning Cheng had a decisive thought process; otherwise, he wouldn’t have killed Guo Haoge as soon as the fight started. Since this rogue cultivator could kill Guo Haoge, he would have no problems killing her, Zhongmeng Yuxiu. Moreover, whether it came to strength or fame, Guo Haoge’s River Luo Sacred Sect was on a much higher pedestal when compared to her Profound Aquatic Palace.
Forcing down the hatred and bitterness bubbling in her heart, Zhongmeng Yuxiu started walking towards the fifth stone door. Unfortunately, Yin Ying had quickly stepped in front of the fifth stone door and spoke up with a quiet tone, “This stone door, I want it.”
Zhongmeng Yuxiu feared Lu Yixian, couldn’t fight against Aiden and didn’t dare to fight against Ning Cheng. But if Yin Ying wanted to dance over her head too, she could only dream about it.
This time, Zhongmeng Yuxiu didn’t even say anything and brought out the pair of thunder beads before blasting towards Yin Ying.
Yin Ying knew Zhongmeng Yuxiu’s character and brought out her golden book. If it weren’t for Ning Cheng, she would have already challenged and replaced Yan Xishuang. But since Ning Cheng covered for Yan Xishuang, she had no other choice but to secure the fifth stone door.
The golden book’s light clashed with Zhongmeng Yuxiu’s lightning arcs. The next moment, the golden book’s killing lights and the lightning arcs erupted with brilliant flashes of light.
Although Zhongmeng Yuxiu held high aspirations, her strength, unfortunately, couldn’t match up to the ambition in her heart. In just half an incense stick worth of time, Yin Ying managed to suppress her completely. Even her thunder beads’ powerful lightning arcs couldn’t break past the suppression formed by the light rays created by Yin Ying’s golden book. A few breaths later, Zhongmeng Yuxiu’s two thunder beads got blasted away a second time. A moment later, Zhongmeng Yuxiu also followed the same fate.
Zhongmeng Yuxiu even coughed out several mouthfuls of blood as she flew through the air uncontrollably. By the time she hit the ground, her aura had turned sluggish and extremely unstable. She slowly stood up but no longer continued the fight with Yin Ying for the fifth stone door. In fact, Zhongmeng Yuxiu didn’t even come up to claim the sixth or the seventh door. Instead, she slowly walked over to the eighth stone door.
The seventh stone door had the injured Mu Shuifeng standing in front of it. Although Zhongmeng Yuxiu also suffered severe injuries, she knew that the difference between the seventh and the eight stone doors wasn’t huge. As such, she didn’t want to risk a fight.
No one needed to say anything. Everyone understood that if Ning Cheng hadn’t killed Guo Haoge, Zhongmeng Yuxiu, most likely, would have been forced to the tenth stone door.
Ji Pingzhong currently occupied the tenth stone door and had planned to kill Ning Cheng after finishing the spirit essence conversion process. But after he saw the fight between Ning Cheng Lu Yixian, he immediately put down the thought, at least for now. Even if he finished the spirit essence transformation process perfectly, he knew that he couldn’t have matched up to Lu Yixian pre-transformation. Yet, Ning Cheng had forced that same Lu Yixian to give up his choice.
Leaving aside whether Lu Yixian was Ning Cheng’s opponent or not. Just the fact that Lu Yixian conceded his position meant that he felt afraid of Ning Cheng. Since even Lu Yixian felt fearful of Ning Cheng. Ji Pingzhong, whose cultivation couldn’t even force Lu Yixian to take him seriously, shouldn’t even dream about wanting revenge.
Yan Xishuang glanced at Ning Cheng and nodded, giving him a silent thanks for the help.
Only one person hadn’t participated in selecting a stone door, and only one person didn’t harbour any grudge against others. That person was the lone 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond’s disciple, Shui Yueke. Seeing everyone else had already decided on their stone door, she finally came forward. “Since everyone has chosen their stone doors, let’s all put our respective qualification cards into the stone door’s groove. Senior Apprentice Brother Ji, can we trouble you to take care of the ninth stone door’s groove?”
As a disciple from 9-revolving Sacred Dao Pond, she would have never even bothered to look at Ning Cheng, who was just a rogue cultivator. But she also saw how easily Ning Cheng took down Guo Haoge and even pushed back the best genius among the Grand Essence’s 12 Sacred Children, Lu Yixian. With all that, she understood that Ji He, at least for now, deserved respect worthy of an expert and decided to address him as ‘Senior Apprentice Brother Ji’.
Everyone took out their qualification cards and inserted them into the grooves. Ning Cheng also took out his card and inserted it into the first stone door’s groove. Next, he took out Guo Haoge’s qualification card and flicked his hand. Guo Haoge’s card then flew across everyone and perfectly landed into the ninth stone door’s groove.
With the ten qualification cards now in the respective slots, the ten stone doors gave out a ‘squeak’ sound and slowly opened.
The rich aura of the spirit spring that blasted out made everyone feel extremely comfortable, almost euphoric. Even if people here sported severe injuries, at this moment, they all felt their wounds healing quickly.
The ten qualification cards then immediately came out of the grooves and started to fall to the ground. Ning Cheng quickly grabbed his qualification card and then immediately entered the stone door.
When Ning Cheng entered through the stone door, the stone door instantly shut behind him. It felt as if it never opened. As for the square platform outside, it once again regained its tranquil and undisturbed atmosphere. As if nothing had happened.
Feeling the vibrant spirit essence in this place, Ning Cheng immediately wanted to sit down and cultivate to the late stage of Eternal Realm.
However, a moment later, an upward-inclined staircase appeared in front of Ning Cheng out of thin air. The spirit aura around the staircase felt so dense that it felt like his spiritual consciousness had gotten stuck in a primal chaos-like atmosphere. Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness stretched out, but the atmosphere created by the vibrant spirit essence obscured everything. His spiritual consciousness couldn’t extend much farther at all. Ning Cheng understood that it wasn’t because of a spiritual consciousness restriction but because of the density of spirit aura in this place.
As Ning Cheng started walking up the steps, he could feel the density of spirit aura increasing with each step he climbed up.
As Ning Cheng continued to move up, the surrounding spirit aura gradually started to transition from an invisible to a mist-like state that drowned Ning Cheng within it. Ning Cheng even felt as if he was walking through clouds. This kind of cosy and comfortable feeling was something that he found difficult to describe in words.
Coming to the Extraterritorial Spirit Spring was the right choice. Even if Ning Cheng had to put in a hundred times more effort or paid a hundred times the price, the rewards here would have been worth it. Moreover, once he went out of this place, he would have experienced a monumental change.
[1] I believe this is because Ning Cheng used a modern Earth way of speaking, instead of the traditional language that cultivators use while speaking.
