Chapter 0650: Escaping from the Sacred Shrine
“Ji Luofei greets Lord Sacred Master.” Ji Luofei followed Mi Jin inside and quickly offered a bow.
This was the Sacred Master in front of them. She originally went by the name Mi Hui[1] and the one who told Ning Cheng to get lost. But compared to the past, her imposing aura felt more cohesive and mighty. Although the Eternal Realm and the Life and Death Realm only had a difference of one realm, the strength and power of the two could not even be remotely compared.
Mi Hui looked at Ji Luofei from top to bottom before speaking slowly, “You’re Ji Luofei, Ning Cheng’s Dao Companion?”
“Yes, Ning Cheng is this junior’s husband.” Ji Luofei replied with even more respect.
“Oh, how did Ning Cheng escape when he was trapped in the Changing Earth Mountain?” Mi Hui spoke with a flat tone.
Ji Luofei quickly replied, “My Lord Husband had a Void Cleaving Escape Talisman, which allowed him to escape.”
Mi Hui nodded, “I understand, you can step back now.”
Ji Luofei did not come here to answer Mi Hui’s questions. She came here to ask Mi Hui’s permission to let Shi Qionghua cultivate under the Everlasting Sacred Tree. Therefore, how could she back down at this moment? Hesitating for a short moment, she quickly bowed again before speaking, “Lord Sacred Master, Senior Apprentice Sister Qionghua is currently in danger of losing her life because of the forbidden technique she used. Sacred Master, please let Senior Apprentice Sister Qionghua cultivate under the Everlasting Sacred Tree…..”
“You go down. I have my own opinions.” Mi Hui looked down and spoke with impatience.
“Lord Sacred Master…..” Seeing that the Sacred Master showed no intentions of approving Senior Apprentice Sister Qionghua to cultivate under the Sacred Tree, Ji Luofei spoke up in a hurry, causing a slight increase to the pitch of her voice.
“Get down. A slut who sleeps around with a man dares to go against my will.” Mi Hui’s expressions immediately turned ugly. Raising her hand, she gave a slight wave. The next moment, Ji Luofei flew backwards like a broken kite, while spilling out a mouthful of blood.
“Senior Apprentice Sister Sacred Master….” Mi Jin quickly stepped forward to stop her.
Mi Hui looked at Mi Jin with a sombre look before speaking, “Mi Jin. It looks like you’re getting more and more confused. From now on, don’t casually bring in women who sleep around with men into my Sacred Shrine.”
Mi Jin did not dare to refute, but she still bowed and spoke, “Senior Apprentice Sister Sacred Master, Sacred Lady Qionghua…..”
“The Everlasting Sacred Tree is the most precious treasure of our Sacred Shrine. Qionghua did not obey the rules, made friends with evil spirits, and even entangled with men. Is she still qualified to be a Sacred Lady? She is not eligible even to ask for cultivating beneath the Everlasting Sacred Tree. Don’t even try mentioning about this from now.” Mi Hui spoke with a very disgruntled tone.
Hearing those words coming directly from Sacred Master’s mouth, Mi Jin did not dare to speak any more about it and hurried gave a bow to her. She had truly thought that Sacred Master valued Sacred Lady Qionghua like her own child. In fact, Sacred Master had truly appreciated Sacred Lady Qionghua in the past. Who knew that Sacred Master’s attitude towards Sacred Lady Qionghua would make a complete reversal after she advanced to the Eternal Realm? Compared to the past, it was like a contrast between noon and midnight.
Seeing that Mi Jin did not go on talking about the Sacred Lady, Mi Hui nodded. Her expressions softened a bit before speaking up, “There are too many guests today. You can go and entertain them and also announce that my Everlasting Sacred Shrine is going to choose another Sacred Lady.”
“Yes.” Mi Jin bowed. Although Sacred Master had always been strong compared to her, the Sacred Master right now gave her a completely different feeling. This Sacred master felt like a complete stranger to her. Not only was she strong, she even gave off the impression that forced people to revere her as the sole orthodoxy.
“Wait….” Mi Hui once again called out Mi Jin.
Mi Jin, in fact, was very fond of Sacred Lady Qionghua, but she also felt extreme fear regarding Ning Cheng. She didn’t want Everlasting Sacred Shrine to nurse a feud with Ning Cheng, nor did she want Qionghua to fall like that. Once Sacred Master decided not to let Shi Qionghua cultivate under the Everlasting Sacred Tree, Qionghua would definitely die. At that point, Everlasting Sacred Shrine and Ning Cheng would become sworn enemies, with hatred so deep, it would be impossible for the two of them to coexist under the same sky.
Mi Hui looked at Mi Jin and spoke, “Qionghua ignored the Sacred Shrine’s kindness, entangled with men, and even used the forbidden technique, which seriously violates the rules set down within the Sacred Shrine. Therefore, she deserves the retribution coming her way. Go give her a swift ending, and take care of that Ji Luofei. As for Ning Cheng, I will take the opportunity to send out an arrest warrant during this ceremony.”
Mi Hui said this because she hadn’t come out yet. Once she came out, she would have known that Ning Cheng’s arrest warrant had already been posted to every corner.
“Ah….” Mi Jin looked at the Sacred Master in shock. She couldn’t have imagined that the Sacred Master would actually take such a hard stance. Not only kill Shi Qionghua but even Ji Luofei.
If she truly did this, then in the future once Ning Cheng returned, would there even be a speck of dust from the Everlasting Sacred Shrine remaining? With Ning Cheng’s potential, it didn’t seem impossible for him to reach the Eternal Realm by himself.
But because Sacred Master had now become an Eternal-level Powerhouse, she couldn’t dare to say that no one below the Heaven Seated Realm could pose a threat to him. It would be akin to slapping Sacred Master in her face.
……
“Sister Luofei.” Shi Qionghua sat up weekly and called out after seeing Ji Luofei coming into the room. A moment later, she suddenly felt that something was wrong and stood up, “Luofei, are you hurt?”
Ji Luofei quickly came up and held Shi Qionghua from falling, while she spoke up with an anxiety-laden voice, “Big Sister Qionghua, Sacred Master won’t let you cultivate under the Everlasting Sacred Tree. She even slapped me away from her. I’m afraid she will kill us eventually. And …”
Ji Luofei had been trapped in the Bridge of Storms for so many years that she no longer was the same cultivator from the past who knew nothing about the world.
Shi Qionghua’s eyes flashed with a hint of despair, and she slowly sat down before speaking, “I finally understand why Uncle Master Mi Cheng would rather leave the Everlasting Sacred Shrine and settle down in the Changing Earth Mountains. Looks like she was right.”
“Sister Qionghua, when I first came in, Senior Apprentice Sister Yiyi told me that someone seemed to have issued search warrants for Ning Cheng. I’m afraid that we can’t stay here anymore. Once this person realises that Ning Cheng is our Lord Husband, we’ll be in an even worse situation.” Ji Luofei’s tone grew even more worried.
Just then, Jing Yiyi rushed in eagerly.
“Senior Apprentice Sister Yiyi…” Shi Qionghua called out quickly.
Jing Yiyi spoke up with anxiety, “I just saw the wanted poster. It definitely is Ning Cheng and is personally issued by a mighty expert. Junior Apprentice Sister Qionghua, you should hurry up and leave this place with Junior Apprentice Sister Luofei…”
Shi Qionghua calmly asked, “Is Sacred Master really going to kill us?”
Jing Yiyi did not reply to Shi Qionghua’s question. Instead, she took out a talisman and stuffed it into Shi Qionghua’s hand, “Junior Apprentice Sister Qionghua, this is something Uncle Master Mi Jin left me. She asked me to tell you to leave Everlasting Sacred Shrine as soon as possible.”
“Many thanks, Senior Apprentice Sister Yiyi, please send our thanks to Uncle Master Mi Jin.” Ji Luofei picked up the Escape Talisman from Shi Qionghua’s hands and not waiting for Shi Qionghua to speak up, she quickly put Shi Qionghua over her back before leaving the room.
……
Everlasting Sacred Shrine was in full joy at this time, and nobody cared that Ji Luofei and Shi Qionghua had left. As for Sacred Master Mi Hui, she didn’t put the two ants in her eyes.
In a Celestial River Battleship, Ji Luofei gasped and spoke up, “Finally managed to escape. Big Sister Qionghua, why did Jing Yiyi help us?”
“I’ve always been inseparable from Senior Apprentice Sister Yiyi, and Lord Husband also saved her life. Although it was Uncle Master Mi Jin who gave the talisman to her, she took a great risk this time in helping us …” Shi Qionghua spoke with a sigh, but before she could finish her words, she fell down unconscious.
Ji Luofei quickly rushed up, picked up Shi Qionghua, and cried out in anxiety, “Sister Qionghua…..”
……
This was not the first time that Ning Cheng used the Mysterious Yellow Bead to enter a spacial collapse. According to his experience, as long as he waited for a period, he would break away from the chaotic space into a relatively stable zone.
But this time, the situation went beyond Ning Cheng’s expectations. He stayed in the Mysterious Yellow Bead for nearly five or six days, yet the Mysterious Yellow Bead still rolled around within the spacial storms and maelstroms without stopping.
Two more days later, Ning Cheng stopped observing the scene outside. Instead, he took out the remaining Perpetual Moon Pills and started cultivating in the Mysterious Yellow Bead.
Cultivating within the Mysterious Yellow Bead not only doubled his cultivation speed, but it also enhanced his ability to comprehend by a few times compared to cultivating on the outside. Ning Cheng started to gain a deeper understanding of this unique characteristic. In the first few months of cultivating inside, he had already reached the peak of middle-level Undead Realm. If it were outside, even if he had enough Perpetual Moon Pills and the aid of Mysterious Yellow Aura, it would have still taken a few years to get close to the middle-level of the Undead Realm.
Daoist Crow’s legacy definitely brought significant effects to Ning Cheng. Even if he just consumed the cultivation resources, the ten million plus Perpetual Moon Pills would be more than enough for him to cultivate for a long while.
Four months later, Ning Cheng rushed directly into the later stages of the Undead Realm. Seven months later, Ning Cheng’s cultivation finally reached the full-circle of the Undead Realm. Reaching the full-circle of the Undead Realm, and feeling the tumbling Celestial Essence within his body, Ning Cheng immediately wanted to find a Heaven Seated Starry Sky Demonic Beast to check out the strength and the might of his Celestial Essence.
In the eighth month, Ning Cheng finally stopped cultivating. His cultivation eventually stabilised at the full-circle of the Undead Realm. Once he surmounted the tribulation, he would immediately step into Heaven’s Mandate Realm. Ning Cheng knew that he was unlike other cultivators. Other cultivators did not need to surmount tribulations when advancing from the Undead to the Heaven’s Mandate Realm, but he had to overcome an ordeal every time he had to break through a realm.
Sensing that the Mysterious Yellow Bead didn’t seem to be rolling around as much as before, Ning Cheng’s Spiritual Consciousness barely managed to squeeze out. Through that, he found that there were fewer spacial maelstroms on the outside, and even spacial dislocations and storms were no longer visible.
A few days later, Ning Cheng finally came out of the Mysterious Yellow Bead and brought the Mysterious Yellow Bead back in the depths of his Zifu. When he finally came out, in addition to a few chunks of meteorites that whizzed past in the distance, there were only a few Void Wind Edges around him. As for the spacial maelstroms and cracks, they no longer appeared.
Ning Cheng guessed that he should have finally come out of the spacial crack zone, and realised that he had ended up travelling through the interface crack for over eight months within the Mysterious Yellow Bead. He couldn’t estimate how far he had moved, but he was sure that this was not his starry sky universe.
Whether it was the same or not, the most crucial thing for Ning Cheng was to find a place to surmount the incoming tribulation and advance to Heaven’s Mandate Realm.
Ning Cheng’s Spiritual Consciousness swept out and only found the void that surrounded him from all sides. He could not find any sort of mark nor any battleships or even any sort of flight-type weapons within its range.
Ten days later, Ning Cheng stopped over a broken meteorite. Since he could not find any land here, he could only surmount the tribulation within the void. However, Ning Cheng did not feel much worried about it, it wasn’t his first time to overcome a trial within the void. Moreover, he believed that, with his current strength, he should easily be able to take on the tribulation thunderbolts for the Heaven’s Mandate Thunder Tribulation.
[1] Mi Hui – Seeking Intelligence. I’m not sure if it’s her title or her name, so I decided to keep it as it is in the raws.