Chapter 0508: Concealment Artefac
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“I decided to follow Shang Mou and immediately left the Ocean Gambling City. He said that it was not safe to keep the True Spirit World on me and decided to keep it with him for my sake. In any case, I did not have even half a shred of ability to resist that man.” Shi Yulan’s tone also calmed down. Ning Cheng guessed that Shi Yulan must have already written down this vendetta.
“How did you come to the Orchid Borough Celestial River, before ultimately ending up in the slave market?” Ning Cheng asked doubtfully.
Shi Yulan’s hands turned pale as she clenched them hard, “Shang Mou came to the Revolving Jade City at the invitation of the Orchid Borough Celestial River King, and he brought me here. In fact, he already made it out that I was a vengeful person and did not trust me enough to leave me behind in the Shang Mou Celestial River. I did not want to turn into a puppet and ended up using his name to sign up for the Man Lun Starry Skies’ Celestial Scryer Genius Try-outs, which angered him. In front of many people, he decided to leave me in the slave market, without even a shred of mercy.”
“Is Shang Mou Celestial River King still in the Revolving Jade City?” Ning Cheng asked with surprise.
He felt startled that Shang Mou Celestial River King actually came to the Revolving Jade City. As for Shi Yulan wanting to take part in the Celestial Scryer Genius Try-outs, he already realised that it was to save her life. To leave the Shang Mou Celestial River King, the only path was to reach the Man Lun Starry Skies.
Shi Yulan nodded, “Yes, he is indeed in the Orchid Borough Celestial River; however, he will soon leave the Orchid Borough Celestial River.”
“I’m afraid that he won’t let you go once he realises that the man who bought you was Wuming.” Ning Cheng spoke with a frown.
Shi Yulan remained silent. She honestly did not have any place to go. If Ning Cheng drove her away, the next moment, she would once again fall to the hands of Shang Mou Celestial River King.
“For now just stay here and don’t go out. Just go and talk to Lan Ya and keep her from getting out. Wait until the selection rounds for the Orchid Borough Celestial River begins, that Shang Mou Celestial River King should leave by then. Shang Mou Celestial River also has the same try-outs; as such, he can’t stay here for long.” Ning Cheng eventually decided to let Shi Yulan stay.
Shi Yulan did not say any thanks; instead, she stood up and gave Ning Cheng a deeply respectful bow before turning towards the door of Ning Cheng’s room.
“Wait a minute.” Ning Cheng stopped Shi Yulan, “Do you know any place in the Revolving Jade City that specialises in concealment artefacts?”
“There is a place called Ice Wind Merchant House. It is not a conspicuous place, but many people know it inside the Revolving Jade City. Moreover, that place contains some of the best concealment artefacts. At the same time, the price for those artefacts are also very high; as such, ordinary cultivators would not even think of willingly going there even if they knew about the place…..”
Speaking until here, Shi Yulan subconsciously tried to take out a jade strip containing the map of Revolving Jade City from her ring. However, it suddenly showed a self-deprecating smile. Apart from the set of robes over her body, she did not have any other things. However, she continued to speak, “The Ice Wind Merchant House is located near the gate of the North City District of the Revolving Jade City. When you get there, just ask any local cultivator, and they will point it out to you.”
Ning Cheng nodded and spoke, “You go back and tell Lan Ya to not come out during this time. I’ll bring you and Lan Ya a ring tomorrow.”
Shi Yulan also did not refuse, in a city within the starry skies, without a ring and without a weapon; it would only result in death. To say nothing about participating in the try-outs in such a condition.
Shi Yulan had just left when Jing Wuming arrived at the door to Ning Cheng’s room.
Ning Cheng opened the restriction and let Jing Wuming come in. Jing Wuming had already heard Shi Yulan’s words, while Ning Cheng also knew that Jing Wuming had stood by the other side of the door to listen. Because of this, Ning Cheng had deliberately not activated the Sound Isolating Restriction over the door, all to let Jing Wuming hear the contents of the discussion. To clear the misunderstandings between two people, the first step was to make sure both parties knew what the misconceptions were.
However, between Jing Wuming and Shi Yulan, there were no misunderstandings at all. For both of them, it was a father’s vendetta; as such, Ning Cheng had no way to resolve such a situation.
“I heard it all.” After Jing Wuming came in, those were the first words he spoke.
Ning Cheng gave a sigh, “I don’t know how to help you. Since you and Shi Yulan had a very close relationship, you will have to figure out some way to deal with it yourself.”
Jing Wuming’s face no longer showed the torment and agitation that he showed before; even his tone had become calm and steady. “Xiaocheng, this is the end of the matter. There is no right or wrong about this matter. By all accounts, I should have killed her for revenge; however, I could not get down to doing such a thing. Her parents and her entire family perished at the hands of my Kun Lun Academy, and yet she did not lay a hand over me. The only thing I feel sorry about is the lost lives of brother and sisters of the Kun Lun Academy. I….”
“The dead are already dead, Wuming, I shouldn’t need to say any more of this matter. However, even if there were no Shi Yulan, the Kun Lun Academy would still have such a side; eventually, such a thing was bound to happen. If it were just general hatred and distaste, then it would have been fine; however, hatred wasn’t even an option, as even children were also not spared from death.” Ning Cheng gave out a deep sigh.
When he had gone to the Red Star Sword Faction for revenge, he took the initiative to allow the cultivators unrelated to the Red Star Sword Faction to escape. When the Kun Lun Academy destroyed her family, they did not even spare the children. What was more important was that the two sides did not have any enmity between them. Replaced by Ning Cheng, in the face of such evil actions, he would also not have chosen to endure it.
“Wuming, don’t overthink about it. I wanted to tell you something. I originally planned to ask you and Lan Ya for help in ambushing Miao Pu. However, I have seen Miao Pu’s cultivation, which should be at least in the Undead Realm. If we tried to ambush him, it would only prove extremely difficult. With the addition of Shang Mou Celestial River King in the Revolving Jade City, I suggest that you stay put in the Bright Gist Resting Pen for this month and do not casually venture out. If there is something else, wait till the selection rounds are over.” Ning Cheng’s tone turned more cautious this time. At this moment, many things were piling up over each other. In case of an accident, the few of them would not even have the chance to run away.
Thinking about a few more things, Ning Cheng added, “Give me the images of the two cultivators you and Lan Ya met in the arena.”
Jing Wuming raised his hand and drew out the images of the two cultivators, “It’s these two fellows. They shouldn’t be at the level of a Celestial Lord; however, I guess that that Celestial Lord had temporarily requested for their help during that time.”
“Also be careful. I will go into cultivation seclusion for the remainder of the month. From now on, I will leave everything behind and concentrate on cultivation. As for the matters related to Shi Yulan, you do not have to worry about it. Just like meeting someone new, she and I no longer have any past between us.”
As Jing Wuming finished, he slowly turned and left. As for whether he could genuinely forget everything or not, only the heavens could know about it.
……
Ning Cheng did not really stay in the room to rest; he anyway could not cultivate in this place for a month. With the speed at which he now absorbed the starry skies’ Essence Qi, his progress in cultivation during the month would not even count as minimal.
Although he still disguised himself out of habit, his technique had ultimately come from Elder Sister Shu. However, Ning Cheng had never managed to see her again since the moment him, and Lan Shu separated.
With his current attainments in disguising, it was still too hard for him to hide in the Revolving Jade City. However, he also had a formidable Spiritual Consciousness; as such, using Spiritual Sense as a cover, it helped in changing his aura. However, it was only a temporary measure; therefore, what Ning Cheng wanted to buy now was a concealment artefact that could completely hide him.
If not for Shi Yulan’s words, Ning Cheng would never have heard of the Ice Wind Merchant Shop in the Revolving Jade City. Although the name ‘Ice Wind Merchant House’ sounded imposing, the place was not as good. Not only was it in a remote area, but even the building looked like a broken wooden shack put together by someone who had no sense of building a cabin.
After entering the broken wooden building, only then did Ning Cheng realise that this place still was relatively lively. There were at least eight or nine people huddled inside this small wooden building, and with various concealment artefacts displayed around in the viewing windows inside the wooden structure. An old man with a thick book in his hand sat behind a dilapidated counter and peered into the book with intense concentration.
As Ning Cheng came in, no one noticed it at all. Ning Cheng, like the rest of the people, immediately concentrated his gaze over the concealment artefacts displayed in the viewing windows.
Only when some cultivators selected a concealment artefact and had to pay for it did the people pay Ning Cheng a little attention. A concealment artefact on the level of a Best Quality True Artefact cost 500 million Blue Coins. Also, if a cultivator wanted to buy a concealment artefact on the level of a low-grade Dao Artefact, it would cost them 20 billion Blue Coins.
This kind of pricing was indeed costly, Ning Cheng thought to himself as he recalled Shi Yulan’s words. At any other place, Best Quality Artefacts had a price between 100 million and 300 million Blue Coins; even the general cost of a low-grade Dao Artefact was around 10 billion Blue Coins. However, this place had directly doubled the prices.
The people around Ning Cheng had already picked their items and left; however, he still had not made any decisions.
“If you want to conduct a major business, I’ve got a middle-grade Dao Artefact here, do you want it? However, because no one has refined this middle-grade Dao Artefact yet, it would arbitrarily change the appearance of the first person who refines it. Moreover, if you end up being the first person to refine it, then even I wouldn’t know if you stood there wearing a concealment artefact.” The old man reading the book suddenly put down the book in his hand and spoke to Ning Cheng with a smile.
Ning Cheng did not feel too excited. He knew that he could not afford a middle-grade Dao Artefact. “Senior, do you see me as a person who could afford a middle-grade Dao Artefact?”
“If you don’t have enough Celestial Coins, you can also exchange items. If you can get me something that makes me happy, I will exchange it with you.” The old man spoke with surety.
Ning Cheng thought that this old man might actually be a Crafting Master. A Crafting Master usually possessed a fire-attributed main Spirit Root. Since he had many Fire Origin Crystals, he did not know if he could use it in this situation.
“How many Celestial Coins does this middle-grade Concealment Dao Artefact cost?” As Ning Cheng thought about the Fire Origin Crystal, he still could not help but ask a sentence.
“This Dao Artefact is slightly flawed; therefore, I will give you the lowest price. 10 billion Green Coins.” The old man spoke with increasing interest.
Ning Cheng took out a Fire Origin Crystal, “I don’t have that many Green Coins, only a piece of Fire Origin Crystal….”
The old man’s eyes immediately lit up on seeing the Fire Origin Crystal in Ning Cheng’s hand; without even waiting for Ning Cheng to finish his words, he eagerly cried out, “Yes, yes, you can exchange my concealment artefact with that fire crystal. Today, someone finally came up with something decent…..”
Under anxiety, the old man even grabbed onto Ning Cheng’s hand that held the Fire Origin Crystal.
Ning Cheng unhurriedly took back the Fire Origin Crystal and spoke slowly, “All my life’s worth is this piece of Fire Origin Crystal. If I ended up exchanging it for just a concealment artefact, what would I do in the future, eh?”
Although he spoke those words with his mouth, Ning Cheng could not help but curse at this old man in his heart. This old fellow used the lure of a middle-grade Concealment Dao Artefact to exchange for good things. It definitely was not for sale as he indicated.
At the same time, Ning Cheng also realised the preciousness of the Fire Origin Crystals. Since he now recognised its potential, he now wanted to get a little more.
“I will also give you some Green Coins. Just name your price.” The old man cried out with even more anxiousness, as if afraid that Ning Cheng would just turn around and leave.
Ning Cheng reached out his hand and unfolded one finger at a time, “I need a weapon specialising in a head-on offence, a real Celestial River Class Battleship, a little pocket money and some good pills and medicines for cultivation. By the way, I am also planning to buy an Immortal Cave in the Revolving Jade City and find a few wives…..”
The old man’s face became a shade darker with every word he heard from Ning Cheng’s mouth.