Chapter 0706: Endless Void Dock’s Dock Master
“Master, this place looks stunning.” Chasing Bull stupidly stared are the Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain in the distance.
“Stunning indeed.” Ning Cheng also praised it. This was his first time visiting the Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain; it looked like a real fairyland from their point of view. It had lush green hills, continuous pavilions, and dense celestial essence that formed a faint fog lingering close to the mountain range.
It also had colourful clouds, with different kinds of rare birds flying around, making it hard for people to believe that this place was still within the Eternal Heaven Starry Sky City.
In fact, Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain truly stood within the Eternal Heaven Starry Sky City; however, the Eternal Heaven Starry Sky City had two distinct divisions, one was what people referred as the Eternal Heaven Starry Sky City, and the other was Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain.
A layer of restrictions purposefully separated the two, forming a distinct boundary in between. Typically, the restrictions here did not allow anyone to reach the Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain. In fact, even when open, this layer of restriction would not allow ordinary people through it. However, the invitation left behind by Striking Order Heavenly Emperor for Ning Cheng acted an array flag, allowing the bearer to open it and pass through. Moreover, each invitation bearer can bring along one person, which made it possible for Ning Cheng to let Chasing Bull follow him.
While Ning Cheng pondered on whether to pass through the layer of restriction around the Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain, he noticed Striking Order Heavenly Emperor and the middle-aged woman from before coming towards him, which made him stop. Since Striking Order Heavenly Emperor had sent the invitation and had even personally come to visit him, he at least could stop and greet him out of courtesy.
Striking Order Heavenly Emperor also saw Ning Cheng waiting and immediately quickened his pace. Before he came to Ning Cheng, he showed a warm smile and spoke up from a distance, “Dao Friend Ning, I have to say I felt a little bit worried that you might have not finished with your secluded cultivation. I honestly didn’t expect to meet you here. It really is a lucky thing.”
“Greetings, Senior Ning.” The middle-aged woman addressed as ‘Aunt Xu’ quickly came forward and greeted him.
Ning Cheng also cupped his fists and spoke, “Many thanks for Heavenly Emperor to grace my little store with a visit. This Ning Cheng really didn’t know where Heavenly Emperor resided; otherwise, I would have definitely come to your door to thank you.”
“Dao Friend Ning, it would be better if you called me Striking Order[1] and dropped the ‘Heavenly Emperor’. You and I are both from Striking Order Starry Sky. We both are from the same place. Besides, it’s my fault for being rude to you previously. I should have invited Dao Friend Ning back to my residence when in Lucky Heaven City. So this time, when I learned that Dao Friend Ning came to the Eternal Heaven Starry Sky City, I decided to make the visit immediately. Unfortunately, you were still in seclusion when I arrived. Otherwise, we could have met a few days earlier.” Striking Order Heavenly Emperor spoke with a very kind smile.
Even he could not accurately judge Ning Cheng’s cultivation, which meant that Aunt Xu’s words had some truth to it. Ning Cheng likely was an Eternal-level expert. Therefore, when he spoke about Lucky Heaven City, he did it purposefully to test Ning Cheng while covering bases.
Ning Cheng knew that Striking Order wanted to rope him in, so Ning Cheng gave a simple reply, “Since Brother Striking Order says so, then I will not be polite about it. I hope that this stupid bull didn’t trouble Brother Striking Order too much. I had instructed it to not call me out during seclusion.”
Ning Cheng naturally put things out in a polite manner. If Chasing Bull had really called him out for this kind of thing, then it really deserved the title of ‘stupid’ and would have definitely earned a lesson from him. As for Striking Order Heavenly Emperor’s attempt to rope him in, he pretended not to hear about it.
“No, no, Brother Ning, you don’t have to mind it. This time, several experts and powerhouses had decided to come here on the invitation of Levelled Heart Heavenly Emperor. I heard that even Yi Jiufeng[2] of the Grand Spirit Heaven Starry Sky’s Nine Phoenix Palace would also come to participate in this banquet.” Striking Order Heavenly Emperor reached out and spoke with a kind and friendly tone. Although he had tried to ask about Ning Cheng’s origins, since Ning Cheng did not answer it, he also could not continue down that line of questioning without breaking all pretexts.
The few people had just entered through the restrictions around the Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain when a servant boy came over to introduce the Ning Cheng trio to the guest hall of the Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain.
There were already many cultivators inside the guest hall. As Ning Cheng glanced around, he found that many of the experts gathered here were in the Life and Death Realm or above. However, of the one or two followers each expert brought along, all of them had shallow cultivations. Presumably, they came out to experience the world with their elders.
However, Ning Cheng didn’t see anyone who had come here with a companion beast.
As soon as Striking Order heavenly Emperor came in, the cultivators familiar with him immediately greeted from afar. Striking Order Heavenly Emperor gave Ning Cheng an apologetical look before taking the initiative to go and greet those cultivators.
As for Ning Cheng, everyone thought that he was Striking Order Heavenly Emperor’s junior and did not pay attention to him. If one had three invitations, bringing three followers was quite reasonable.
Ning Cheng reached out and patted Chasing Bull’s head. “It’s better if you go back into the ring. I don’t see any other companion beasts here, which means you stick out a lot.”
“Master, didn’t you see that person brought a One-horned Thunderbolt Leopard. He is still riding the Thunderbolt Leopard.” Chasing Bull really didn’t want to stay in the ring; moreover, this Spirit Fruit Banquet has not started yet, yet there were already various excellent drinks going around the area. What would be the point for it go back inside the ring only to spend time with those little wasps?
When Chasing Bull pointed it out, Ning Cheng immediately noticed that a white-haired cultivator in the Eternal Realm rode around over a One-horned Thunderbolt Leopard. Moreover, this white-haired cultivator had late-stage Eternal cultivation, indicating that this person’s strength had exceeded Ning Cheng, at least superficially.
“Since that’s the case, don’t create a scene and behave yourself.” Ning Cheng still didn’t feel relieved.
“Oh, Junior Apprentice Brother Ning, why are you here?” A familiar startled voice arrived, and then Ning Cheng saw Tang Yu rushing over.
Ning Cheng did not feel surprised seeing Tang Yu in this place. Her father, Tang Yitang, was an Eternal-level expert in Striking Order Starry Sky. It was no surprise that he would receive an invitation.
“I’m just basking in someone’s light. I haven’t seen you in a long time, but it looks like your cultivation has made quite a progress.”
Tang Yu’s cultivation growth had exceeded the usual standards. At this moment, her cultivation had already reached the Undead Realm. If all things went right, it would not take long for her to advance to Heaven’s Mandate Realm. I guess that was an effect of having a good backing. Tang Yu’s father was an expert in the Eternal Realm, which meant that she did not have to worry about cultivation resources.
“Your cultivation should have also improved a lot, right? By the way, you still haven’t told me how you came here?” Tang Yu felt very perplexed about this issue. It was usual for her father to bring her to such a gathering, as he was an expert in the Eternal Realm. But she knew that Ning Cheng was a rogue cultivator, without a backing. This made it strange to see him in this place.
“Junior Apprentice Sister Yu, who is this?” Another voice came over and interrupted Tang Yu’s questioning.
Tang Yu quickly replied, “Senior Apprentice Brother Xiao Yu, this is Junior Apprentice Brother Ning Cheng. He and I both come from Striking Order Starland. We haven’t seen each other for a long time, and didn’t expect to see him here at the Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain.”
After that, Tang Yu introduced Ning Cheng again, “Junior Apprentice Brother Ning, this is Senior Apprentice Brother Xiao Yu of the Spiritual Heaven Sect, the one with unmatched talent and qualifications.”
Xiao Yu showed a smile and was about to say a few polite words in rebuke, but Ning Cheng unconsciously blurted on recalling Xiao Yu, “I remember. You’re the first ranked cultivator in the Celestial Scryer Tower….”
Ning Cheng immediately reeled in his words as he quickly recalled that he had replaced Xiao Yu’s position at the top. However, he didn’t care about his own ranking at that time, so he didn’t attach much attention to it. Besides, it also felt inappropriate to point out the ranking part. However, Ning Cheng had to admit that this person had unbelievably good looks. This Xiao Yu was a stunning man to look at.
Moreover, this fellow also had quite the talent and qualifications. Back then, he heard from Ziche Jun that Xiao Yu had forcibly erased his cultivation down to the Celestial Gatherer Realm to enter the Immortal Jade Star. Yet, Ning Cheng unexpectedly saw that Xiao Yu now had a late-stage Heaven’s Mandate Cultivation.
Sure enough, Xiao Yu’s face sank. He thought that Ning Cheng intended to ridicule him, but he then felt Ning Cheng’s tone and voice not matching up with each other.
Tang Yu, however, thought that Ning Cheng’s words were a bit inappropriate, so she quickly showed a smile and spoke up, “Senior Apprentice Brother Xiao Yu later advanced to the Celestial Bridge Realm and naturally could not leave behind his name on the array formation display of the Celestial Scryer Tower. Currently, the first ranked person in the Celestial Scryer Tower is a cultivator named Wanderer from Jiangzhou. However, because this fellow entered the 81st floor, his name remains at the top. Junior Apprentice Brother Ning, your bull looks quite cute.”
The last sentence was Tang Yu’s attempt to diverge the topic, but it felt a bit obvious.
“Haha, I didn’t expect to meet you here, ha-ha…..” The laugh appeared first then the words before a pale-faced cultivator suddenly appeared in front of Ning Cheng.
“Senior Guo….” Tang Yu and Xiao Yu, on seeing the pale-faced cultivator, immediately bowed in greeting.
Ning Cheng sneered. He had planned to search for this pale-faced cultivator to settle some old scores, but this fellow had actually come to him. When cultivating on a secluded star, someone had found a trace of the Mysterious Yellow Aura and had immediately chased after him to seize the source of the Mysterious Yellow Aura. That person was this pale-faced cultivator.
At that time, if he was even a moment or two late, this fellow would have successfully caught him. For Ning Cheng, it was truly a narrow escape. If this person had captured him back then, how could he have survived?
He had initially thought that this person was an expert, but now it looked like this person’s cultivation roughly equalled that of Striking Order Heavenly Emperor. In fact, it actually felt slightly weaker than Striking Order, which was at most at the middle-level of the Eternal Realm.
“Junior Apprentice Brother Ning, this the Dock Master of the Endless Void Dock and Third Heaven’s Heavenly Emperor, Senior Guo Sangan[3]. You should quickly greet him.” Seeing Ning Cheng not moving, Tang Yu turned anxious.
The pale-faced man waved his hand and said, “No need to offer respects. Just tell me your name and who brought you here?”
He believed that as a Starry Sky Emperor, he could easily take a minor character away from this place and no starry sky emperor would dare to stop him. Moreover, it did not matter if he had to offend one starry sky emperor or even several starry sky emperors, he would take Ning Cheng away no matter what it cost him.
“I came here with Striking Order Heavenly Emperor, so what do you want from me? Want something for your sickness?” Ning Cheng said with a calm voice.
Tang Yu’s heart sank and quickly stepped back to rush towards Tang Yitang and spoke up anxiously, “Dad, please help Junior Apprentice Brother Ning Cheng. He offended Third Heaven Heavenly Emperor…..”
“What?” Tang Yitang, who was talking to another Eternal Starry Sky Emperor, suddenly changed expressions and quickly pulled Tang Yu towards him. “Tang Yu, I’ve told you before, this place has no ordinary people. You can’t run around as you please.”
As for Tang Yu’s plea to help Ning Cheng, he ignored it. He didn’t care about this ‘Junior Apprentice Brother Ning Cheng’. Since this fellow offended Third Heaven Heavenly Emperor, this brat was sure to die. He was not stupid enough to go against Third Heaven Heavenly Emperor just for some nobody.
Not to mention him, even Striking Order Heavenly Emperor would not easily offend Third Heaven Heavenly Emperor. Who here did not know the ruthless nature of Third Heaven Heavenly Emperor, the Dock Master of the Endless Void Dock? Moreover, the Endless Void Dock came under the jurisdiction of Culmination Starland, while Third Heaven Heavenly Emperor also shared a relatively good relationship with many other Eternal Starry Sky Emperors.
Besides, the only reason many cultivators in the Eternal Realm came here from different starry skies was to search for things they needed. In other words, they all came here to serve their own self-interests and not to act out in selflessness.
Noticing the situation, Striking Order Heavenly Emperor quickly pushed his way forward.
[1] Striking Order (Man Lun) is both a name and a title of the same person.
[2] Jiufeng in ‘Yi Jiufeng’ means ‘Nine Phoenix’.
[3] Sangan in ‘Guo Sangan’ refers to ‘Third Heaven’.