In just three months, he advanced once again from Crucible Transformation 8th Level to Crucible Transformation 9th Level. Another three months later, Ning Cheng’s cultivation reached the Grand Completion of the Crucible Transformation Realm.
Ning Cheng immediately stopped cultivating after reaching this juncture. He knew that he had to find a place to surmount the incoming tribulation and then advance to the Plundering Life Realm.
A Thunder Tribulation for the Plundering Life Realm did not account for much in the Lesser Thunder Star, so after leaving the Ocean Gambling City, Ning Cheng just chose a spot of barren wilderness.
In the Lesser Thunder Star, trying to surmount the Thunder Tribulation for crossing a realm did not require any need of pills or even decorating a Spirit Gathering Array Formation. This was because the Worldly Law’s and the Worldly Essence Qi in this place was more than enough.
Ning Cheng, who had already reached Grand Completion of the Crucible Transformation Realm, under the powerful Worldly Laws, almost immediately touched upon the barrier to the Plundering Life Realm. Ning Cheng had just thought to attack the boundary of the Plundering Life Realm when his Celestial Essence instinctively struck the Plundering Life Realm’s Cultivation Barrier.
After it attacked the barrier a few times, the Thunder Tribulation immediately started gathering in the sky above and quickly descended down onto him. The first wave of this Thunder Tribulation consisted of dozens of thick lightning arcs, mixed in with large swaths of Thunder Waterfall.
Ning Cheng possessed a Thunder Spirit Root, plus his True Essence had long since transformed; therefore, even if the Thunder Tribulation turned even more violent, he felt that he would not need to bring out his Everlasting Blue Thunder City.
Ning Cheng easily breezed through the first two waves of the Thunder Tribulation. At the same time, just when the Thunder Tribulation’s third wave descended, Ning Cheng finally managed to break through from the Crucible Transformation Realm, becoming a Plundering Life 1st Level Cultivator. Following that, Ning Cheng felt disinclined even to passively resist the rest of the Thunder Tribulation. He just sat down on the spot and let the Thunder Tribulation descend upon him; however, he made sure to absorb as much of the Thunder Spirit Source along with converting it into Celestial Essence to improve his cultivation as much as possible.
When the last wave of the descending Thunder Tribulation disappeared, Ning Cheng also managed to break through from the Plundering Life 1st Level, advancing to the Plundering Life 2nd Level.
In the Lesser Thunder Star, a Plundering Life 2nd Level might be something insignificant; however, Ning Cheng still felt some satisfaction. As he thought back upon it, there should only be a handful of people like him, who could immediately reach the second level right after surmounting their tribulations, right?
At the time of entering the Ocean Gambling City, Ning Cheng was only a cultivator at the Crucible Transformation 7th Level; yet, now his cultivation had reached the second level of Plundering Life Realm. Looking back at it, it only took him 6 months to accomplish it. Initially, Lan Ya had said that he might need a few decades to advance from the Crucible Transformation Realm to the Plundering Life Realm. As for cultivating to the Domain Realm, it might even take a hundred to two hundred years. However, if he followed his current rate progress, then he definitely had a significant chance of advancing to the Celestial Novice Realm within 10 years.
Ning Cheng finally felt the benefits of cultivating within the starry skies. Not only was the starry skies’ Essence Qi a lot stronger than ordinary Spirit Qi, but even the Worldly Laws were also far from those within the low-level Void. One just did not need to prepare too much for advancing to the Plundering Life Realm.
After cleaning himself, Ning Cheng then returned to the Ocean Gambling City. It was just as he thought; his descending Thunder Tribulation had not attracted the attention of anyone at all. After returning to the Ocean Gambling City, he still wanted to continue with his original thought of cultivation, cultivation and even more cultivation.
There were many people within the Ocean Gambling City with similar cultivation to Ning Cheng, and many with cultivation even lower compared to Ning Cheng. Therefore, Ning Cheng with his cultivation of Plundering Life 2nd Level did not stand out within the streets of the Ocean Gambling City.
“Get out….” someone thundered, followed by a young man wearing grey robes flying out and falling right in front of Ning Cheng. If not for Ning Cheng’s quick reaction, of immediately taking a few steps back, the flying youth would have definitely smashed into him.
The grey-robed youth was just about to get up, when a man with brown hair descended and with a foot on the back of the grey-robed youth coldly spoke, “Jing Hao, the next time you dare to repudiate a debt in my casino, I will immediately sell you to the slave market, get lost…..”
After the brown-haired man finished his words, he spat on the grey-robed youth before turning around and slowly walking into the building across the street.
Ning Cheng then saw the words ‘Ocean Gambling’s Premier Casino.’ This casino also had a pair of couplets underneath those words, ‘Guests from the boundless heavens, bringing together endless wealth.’
Ning Cheng shook his head internally, not to mention about Lan Ya’s warning to him about not going to such a place, even if Lan Ya had not reminded him, Ning Cheng would never visit such a site. This person, named Jing Hao, seems like a Celestial Novice Cultivator, how could he still indulge in establishments like casinos?
Jing Hao?
Ning Cheng suddenly had another thought before he came to an immediate stop. It was as if he had heard of this name somewhere.
In just a short moment, Ning Cheng recalled where he had heard the name, Jing Hao. Once in the Graceful Star Mainland, there was quite a famous character by the name of Jing Hao.
This person was once the premier disciple of the Kun Yun Academy; however, because he loved a woman, who also was a Devil Cultivator, he decided to help her. As a result, it ended with the eradication of the Kun Yun Academy by the joint forces of the other academies at that time.
At that time, Ning Cheng felt quite the admiration towards that Jing Hao. If replaced by him, he also would not have hesitated to help the woman he loved. No matter what label people put on her.
However, now that the Kun Yun Academy had long since disappeared in the long rivers of time, Ning Cheng could not confirm if this Jing Hao was the same Jing Hao from the Kun Yun Academy.
Thinking of this and wanting to satisfy his curiosity, Ning Cheng deliberately went to the other party and asked with cupped fists, “This senior, I want to ask if senior knows about the Le Continent’s Kun Yun Academy?”
Even if Jing Hao had an embarrassed look over his face, he still had a Celestial Novice Cultivation; as such, Ning Cheng did not dare to act out at will.
Initially, seeing that Ning Cheng was just a little Plundering Life Realm Cultivator, the grey-robed man did not care much about him. Even if kicked out by the casino, he still had a Celestial Novice Cultivation, while Ning Cheng was just a little cultivator in the Plundering Life Realm, how could he place someone like him on an equal footing?
However, after hearing Ning Cheng’s words, he only felt shocked. His mouth remained open as he stared at Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng did not need an answer from the other person; he knew that his guess was spot on. This Jing Hao definitely was the premier disciple Jing Hao from the Le Continent’s Kun Yun Academy.
“How do you know about the Le Continent’s Kun Yun Academy? Where are you from?” Only after a good while did Jing Hao spoke out in eagerness.
However, Ning Cheng felt a few vague Spiritual Consciousnesses sweep over his body at this time; these Spiritual Consciousnesses absolutely did not have any good intentions contained within them. Ning Cheng sighed; it seems that this Jing Hao has offended a few influential people within the Ocean Gambling City. To be honest, he actually had nothing to look for and talk to with Jing Hao,
his previous actions were just to satisfy some curiosity; however, he did not know if he would end up finding himself in trouble.
“I’m sorry.” Jing Hao suddenly apologised to Ning Cheng with a truly apologetic tone, before he once again asked in anxiety, “Excuse me but, is Kun Yun Academy still okay? My master…..”
Jing Hao was not a fool. On seeing Ning Cheng’s change in expression, he immediately guessed some of the things that might have happened.
Ning Cheng also did not feel the need to conceal anything and spoke up, “When I went to the Le Continent, I found that Kun Yun Academy had already vanished a long time ago. However, I also heard that several other major academies had joined forces to destroy the Kun Yun Academy.”
Chapter 0486 – None To Depend On
Translated By – DemonKiller
Checked and Edited By – Livewidsmile
Proofread By – DemonKiller
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“It really was destroyed, it was destroyed… I destroyed the academy, I killed my master, and it was my fault….” Jing Hao muttered to himself for a long while. He even forgot about Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng shook his head and turned away. He did not continue to talk with Jing Hao. Initially, Ning Cheng had heard that Jing Hao had dared to fight against the entire Le Continent for his woman. He felt that this person had a good heart; however, the feeling he got right now was just of pittance and relief. After exchanging a few words with Jing Hao, Ning Cheng felt that Jing Hao possessed a somewhat cowardly character. If such a thing had happened to him, he would have definitely tried to find a way to go back and wipe out all the parties involved in the destruction of Kun Yun Academy.
This matter was just like the feud between the Rainbow Fall Sword Sect and the Red Star Sword Faction; however, he had already turned the Red Star Sword Faction to ashes.
“Wait a little while.” Jing Hai reacted and quickly caught up with Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng cupped his fists and spoke, “What else does senior want from me?”
“Just call me Jing Hao from now on. It has been a while since I saw anyone from the Graceful Star Mainland. We both are from the same hometown; can you sit with me for a while?” Jing Hao’s eyes showed a glimmer of hope. Ning Cheng immediately understood the loneliness deep inside his heart from the look in his eyes. People only regarded other people coming from the same place as ‘home-towners’ after stepping out into the starry skies.
“All right.” Ning Cheng knew that whether he sat with Jing Hao or not, someone had already noticed him. In that case, he might as well clear this matter, to avoid the situation of the pot calling the kettle black.
Jing Hao took Ning Cheng to a medium-sized rest stop and waved at the server, “Two pots of ‘None to depend on’…”
Saying those words, he seemed to have thought of something and hurriedly whispered to Ning Cheng, “Do you have Black Coins? The price of ‘None to depend on’ is not low. A pot of it costs a hundred thousand Black Coins. I don’t have any.”
Ning Cheng nodded while feeling speechless. He had the money anyway. Not to mention the hundred million Black Coins he had, there was still the bunch of Blue Essence Ores.
After a few moments, the server brought two dark grey jugs. Ning Cheng picked up one of the pitchers and saw a row of words at the bottom, “Often apart, an abandoned heart; gazing at distant stars, none to depend on.”
“Often apart, abandoned heart; gazing at distant stars, none to depend on……” Jing Hao muttered to himself before opening the other jug and taking a big gulp.
This person is not lovelorn, is he?
Ning Cheng immediately thought of the Female Devil but did not ask about it. He also opened his jug and took a sip.
The wine was mellow and was like a gentle stream that flowed down while nourishing his throat. To tell the truth, Ning Cheng did not like wines with such characteristics; he preferred something stronger, which burned all the way down from the mouth. Something that stimulated a feeling of passion within his chest.
However, Ning Cheng soon realised the terrifying feeling of dependence ‘None to depend on’ evoked. He had clearly drunk a small sip of the wine, but it elicited a powerful surge of hurt and sadness within him. It felt as if Ning Cheng honestly had no one to depend on; a parting will that filled his heart. He felt as if he stood on a single boat, and the oat flowed along in a constant drift on an endless river. While Luofei and Shi Qionghua silently looked at him from the pavilion by the riverside. Their eyes filled with the hope of his early return, made him feel a one-of-a-kind burning within his heart. This feeling was like a hot knife piercing through his heart, something that made people feel a kind of torment and suffering.
“Often apart, abandoned heart; gazing into the distant stars, none to depend on…..”
No
, Ning Cheng suddenly stood up. He did not want to gaze into the distant stars.
“Oh, evidently this friend is just as passionate as me. ‘None to depend on’ is the worst kind of alcohol to drink, especially if you end up downing a pot filled with ‘None to depend on’. Once you get sucked in, you can never wake up.” Jing Hao gave a sigh and spoke.
Ning Cheng felt cold shivers run down his body, immediately sobering him. He had only drunk a mouthful of this wine.
“Many thanks for Brother Jing’s reminder.” Ning Cheng held up his cupped fists towards Jing Hao as a show of gratitude. He could feel that his heart and mind were still far from perfection. Otherwise, how could he lose his calm just because of a sip?
As Jing Hao said, he still had no idea about the challenges that he would have to face in the future within the starry skies that could have a significant effect on his heart and mind. If he could not keep his heart calm because of just a sip of wine, what would happen to him in the future?
“Well, it’s no wonder that you would dare to come to the Lesser Thunder Star with a Plundering Life Cultivation. Oh right, I didn’t get to ask this friend’s name?” Jing Hao showed a glimmer of appreciation in his eyes. The desolation and decadence from before also seemed to have wiped away from his face.
Ning Cheng felt moved in his heart. He had previously felt that Jing Hao’s appearance in the street outside was the real deal; however, there now seemed to be a new feeling to him. Therefore, he calmly held up his cupped fists and spoke, “My name is Ning Cheng, and I was brought here by a senior with a Celestial Gatherer Cultivation.”
Lan Ya did not possess a Celestial Gatherer Cultivation; however, Ning Cheng also felt that Lan Ya would not face many difficulties in advancing to the Celestial Gatherer Realm. At the same time, it was also necessary to mention that he had a patron to rely on.
“Brother Ning, everyone has their own story. You must have your own story that led you to this place. However, I will not ask about your story, I just want you to hear my story. If you think that I’m not worth wasting your time, I won’t blame you at all.”
As Jing Hao spoke those words, he once again drank a big mouthful of ‘None to depend on’ before continuing, “Her name was Shi Yulan, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. For her, I could abandon everything, even if she was a Devil Cultivator….”
Ning Cheng realised that Jing Hao was talking about the matter between him and that Female Devil. He felt no impatience, might as well hear out what the person had to say.
“She had killed several important disciples of the few 9-Star Academies; however, I still chose to stand by her and even took her to my academy. This was a secret affair; however, none of us could figure out as to how people discovered it. Several of the 9-Star Academies then united with the other academies to march on a crusade against my Kun Yun Academy. My master, to protect me, packed me off and sent me away secretly, ha-ha……”
As Jing Hao laughed, he once again grabbed the wine jug and chugged down a few mouthfuls of ‘None to depend on’; however, there were tears in his eyes.
�
��Today, I finally know that I not only lost my Master, I even caused the destruction of my academy. The many brothers and sisters… All died… I am not a human; I am not even a beast… Haha…..”
Ning Cheng remained silent. He could guess that Jing Hao might have ended up entering Heaven’s Way with Shi Yulan after leaving the academy. As for how Jing Hao reached the Lesser Thunder Star, Ning Cheng did not intend to ask. Before coming here, even he did not know that he would end up in the Lesser Thunder Star.
If Ning Cheng replaced him in this matter, what would he do?
Ning Cheng asked himself silently, and quickly got the answer. If he knew that the academy faced complete destruction, he would never escape alone, let alone when he had such a respectable master?
Ning Cheng did not despise Jing Hao; Jing Hao already seemed extremely downcast. Presumably, this matter had left a significant psychological impact over him. Otherwise, no matter how disappointing a Celestial Novice Cultivator he was, he definitely would not let others trample over him on the streets.
“She and I relied on a weapon to rush into the Chaotic Star Space of the Graceful Star Mainland; however, because of our carelessness, we got sucked into a Spacial Collapse. By the time we came out, we were already in the starry sky……”
When he heard this, Ning Cheng felt shocked. Not because Jing Hao and Shi Yulan could enter the Chaotic Star Space, but because of the words that the two people ended up sucked into a Spacial Collapse, yet had not died and had even arrived in the starry skies. One had to know that even Lan Ya, with a Celestial Shatterer Cultivation, almost lost her life in the Spacial Collapse.
What weapon did Jing Hao use? It was just too powerful
“Brother Jing, I heard from the Celestial Gatherer Senior who brought me here that it would prove extremely difficult to preserve someone’s life once they get sucked into a Spacial Collapse.” Ning Cheng did not directly ask Jing Hao about the weapon he used; however, his words already indicated his thoughts. If Jing Hao did not provide an answer, he will also not continue asking about it. It was a kind of secret that nobody would willingly share it with others anyway.
The Gate Of Good Fortune c1-905 Page 395