Chapter 0754: Shen Mengyan Trapped
“Senior……” Ning Cheng did not expect this Celestial Shatterer cultivator following him to call out to him, and with a very respectful tone.
Ning Cheng stopped and looked at this white-haired Celestial Shatterer cultivator and asked, “Are you looking for me?”
The Celestial Shatterer cultivator quickly came forward and spoke up, “This junior is called Ai Ku. If this senior is a friend of Little Miss and really came here to bring back something from Little Miss, then please follow this junior.”
Ning Cheng directly brought out the Starry Sky Wheel and motioned this Celestial Shatterer cultivator to get on-board. He then asked, “If you’re Little Miss is Yu Qing, then lead the way.”
No matter what the other party wanted to accomplish, Ning Cheng did not feel any fear. With his current strength, even if several Eternal-level experts besieged him, he could easily escape without any extra efforts.
“Yes.” The Celestial Shatterer cultivator quickly responded.
Chasing Bull took control of the Starry Sky Wheel and under the directions of this Celestial Shatterer cultivator quickly moved away from the Yu Clan’s Corner.
After just over an hour, the Starry Sky Wheel stopped near a makeshift open-air market.
This makeshift market was of a meagre standard. In fact, Celestial Bridge Realm was the highest cultivation here, with not even a handful. Most of the cultivators hovered in the Celestial Scryer Realm.
Ai Ku took Ning Cheng around a few corners within the makeshift market before stopping at one of the most secluded and remote corners. In fact, one couldn’t see any shops here, only a few humble-looking caves.
It’s not that the caves here were lousy. But the Starry Sky Essence Qi circulating within these caves was so scarce that nobody would consider it as a functional cultivation area. Ning Cheng guessed that he wouldn’t come anywhere close to the Eternal Realm if he had to cultivate in such an area and had no help from external aids. Even if he tried for 10,000 years.
Moreover, although Ai Ku stopped in front of a cave, Ai Ku hadn’t opened the cave’s restrictions. However, Ning Cheng had already seen the situation inside the cave. There was only one person inside, a person who Ning Cheng knew.
It was the girl who accompanied Yu Qing, the one who liked to talk and make trouble. Ning Cheng only knew her as Sisi. However, at this time, Sisi’s face looked haggard, and even her hair looked messy. In fact, she looked more than a decade old compared to when they first met. Besides, although her cultivation hovered around Celestial Shatterer Realm, it looked like it was regressing instead of improving.
Seeing Sisi, Ning Cheng felt a warm feeling coursing through him. Sisi seemed really close to Yu Qing back then. However, Ning Cheng was different from Yu Qing and thus looked at Sisi with different thoughts.
Ai Ku eventually opened the cave’s restriction, and Ning Cheng followed him into the cave after ordering Chasing Bull to keep a lookout on the outside.
“Sisi. This senior said he is a friend of Little Miss…..” Ai Ku quickly spoke up as soon as he entered.
Sisi raised her head and looked at Ning Cheng in a daze. A moment later, surprise started to creep into her eyes, and she immediately interrupted Ai Ku’s words, “You are…. Yes, your name is Ning Cheng. Sister Qing told me, how did you come here?”
Finished speaking, Sisi recalled Ai Ku’s words and quickly asked, “Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, have you met Sister Qing?”
Ning Cheng turned around and said to Ai Ku, “Ai Ku, please stay outside for some time. I have to share a few private words with Junior Apprentice Sister Sisi.”
“Okay.” Ai Ku gave a respectful bow and left the room.
“How did you come here? If I recall correctly, didn’t Sister Qing say that you fell in Time Wilderness? Sister Qing had asked to cooperate with you, but then she ended cooperating with another person without any contact from you.” Sisi, on seeing Ning Cheng, immediately started talking as if he was someone close to her. In fact, she seemed quite eager to speak with him. It felt as if she hadn’t had contact with anyone for quite some time, and didn’t even think of how Ning Cheng found Ai Ku.
Ning Cheng sighed and looked at Sisi before speaking, “I’m sorry Sisi, I lied to Yu Qing back then. In fact, Wanderer is my pseudonym. Moreover, the reason Yu Qing re-entered Time Wilderness was also because of me……”
Yu Qing entered Time Wilderness for the second time because of Wanderer, a fact she already knew. In fact, she even knew that Sister Qing had fallen for the one who had carried and taken care of her for several years inside Time Wilderness. She knew that Yu Qing had gone through several life and death situations with Wanderer. But she never thought that Ning Cheng was Wanderer and that Ning Cheng had not fallen. Moreover, he even came out of the Time Wilderness.
After hearing Ning Cheng’s words, Sisi turned speechless. Only after a long time, did she suddenly speak up after understanding something. She pointed at Ning Cheng and stuttered, “You, you… I understand now, you’re Jiangzhou’s Wanderer, the Jiangzhou’s Wanderer who rushed to the top of Nine-by-nine Celestial Scryer Tower.”
If Ning Cheng had not mentioned it, Sisi wouldn’t have connected it to Ning Cheng. Even if Sisi knew the person who reached the top of the Celestial Scryer Tower was Jiangzhou’s Wanderer.
Ning Cheng nodded, “Yes. I’m that Jiangzhou’s Wanderer.”
Sisi remained in shock for only a moment before turning decadent once again. Even her voice turned unusually low, “Sister Qing really has a good vision. She once said that the person she likes must be outstanding and even had to take the first spot in the Celestial Scryer Tower’s ranking. Although she didn’t see it with her own eyes, you actually climbed to the 81st floor of the Celestial Scryer Tower… Unfortunately, Sister Qing is no more….”
As she spoke those words, her tone once again changed, turned even more downcast.
Ning Cheng spoke up in a low voice. “Sisi, when Yu Qing met me, I was just a wanderer. When she fell for ‘him’, I hadn’t even reached the 81st floor of Celestial Scryer Tower. I’m sure that she said those words so that other people wouldn’t bother her. She’s a person with character, a good woman……”
Sisi sighed, “I’ve been with Sister Qing since I was young. Yet, I’ve never seen or heard of any person kinder than Sister Qing. Did you know the reason why Sister Qing made me splash wine on you in Revolving Jade City’s rest stop? It was to help you. That white-robed Heaven Seated Cultivator who marked you was actually a demon who loves to devour cultivator’s spiritual roots. He had already placed a Spiritual Consciousness Mark on you, which was why Sister Qing wanted to help you.”
Thinking about Yu Qing’s absence now, Sisi couldn’t speak anymore.
“I know.” Ning Cheng’s tone also felt a little lonely. If he could, he would rather save Yu Qing at any cost.
“You should quickly leave, and don’t let anybody know that you’re Jiangzhou’s Wanderer. If someone comes to know that you’re Jiangzhou’s Wanderer, people might capture you to possess your body. I can’t even help myself right now, so I have no way to help you.” Sisi’s mentality had changed drastically. If it were before, she would have definitely attributed Yu Qing’s death to Ning Cheng. But now, she just wanted to let Ning Cheng escape quickly. Her Sister Qing had given up her life to save this person, so she didn’t want to let her down.
Ning Cheng didn’t leave. Instead, he calmed down and asked, “Sisi, can you tell me what happened? Why are you hiding here?”
Sisi had interrupted Ai Ku before he could say anything about Ning Cheng coming here to return Yu Qing’s belongings. But with Sisi’s mind still in a daze, she didn’t overthink about Ning Cheng asking her about her situation. Besides, she knew now that Ning Cheng was her Sister Qing’s favourite person. So when Ning Cheng asked, she also didn’t conceal anything, “Soon after Sister Qing left, Aunt Lan fell in Twin Tower Hills….”
“Who is Aunt Lan? Where is this Twin Tower Hills?” Ning Cheng immediately asked.
“She was Sister Qing’s teacher, and I’m also following Aunt Lan’s cultivation method. As for Twin Tower Hills, it’s a trial place outside Culmination Starland. When Aunt Lan went to the Twin Tower Hills, she had just advanced to the late-stage Life and Death Realm. However, she didn’t fall due to the dangers within Twin Tower Hills, but because of that bastard Ji Lei. That bastard killed Aunt Lan…..” As Sisi recounted, she kept gnashing her teeth.
“Who is this Ji Lei? And how could he kill Aunt Lan who had already reached the late-stage Life and Death Realm?” Ning Cheng’s tone also turned a little different.
Sisi didn’t take note of Ning Cheng’s different tone and explained, “Ji Lei is one of Chuan Xinlou’s dogs, with early-stage Eternal cultivation.”
Ning Cheng became even more confused and asked, “If Chuan Xinlou had ideas about Yu Clan’s Corner he could just raise his hand and wipe it out of existence. Why would he send Ji Lei to do such a thing?”
Sisi shook her head, “No, Ji Lei killed Aunt Lan purely because of those scumbags in Yu Clan’s Corner. There is a vicious woman named Bao Yingge in Yu Clan’s Corner, who asked Ji Lei to do it. After instigating Ji Lei to kill Aunt Lan, she falsely accused Aunt Yan’s virtues. With that, Yu Clan abolished Aunt Yan’s cultivation and locked her in the water prison. Moreover, she and her sister took away Aunt Lan’s Essence Qi Praying Mat.”
“So because Bao Yingge wanted that Essence Qi Praying Mat, she played such a poisonous hand? But Bao Yingge doesn’t have the surname Yu, so how could she do something like this in Yu Clan’s Corner? Besides, why didn’t Yu Qing’s father not come forward to speak?” Ning Cheng’s tone turned colder. If it had a direct bearing on Yu Qing, he wouldn’t ignore the affairs of her master and her mother.
Sisi sighed again, “Sister Qing’s father is Yu Yuechen. Sister Qing’s mother Shen Mengyan and Bao Yingge both fell in love with Sister Qing’s father at the same time. However, Sister Qing’s father only chose Aunt Yan. Moreover, shortly after Sister Qing’s birth, he left Culmination Starland for something but never returned. Since that point, Aunt Lan and Aunt Yan raised Sister Qing jointly.”
Ning Cheng felt even more confused by this, “Sister Qing’s father had not selected Bao Yingge. So how could she snatch the Essence Qi Praying Mat from Yu Clan’s Corner?”
Sisi explained, “Because Bao Yingge also has an elder sister named Bao Lingling. She is Yu Xingxian’s Dao Companion, an elder of Yu Clan’s Corner. With an early-stage Life and Death cultivation, he remains one of the core members of the Yu Clan. He controls most of Yu Clan’s cultivation resources. In fact, he now holds a very high status in Yu Clan’s Corner.”
“Does this woman called Yingge have a Heaven Seated cultivation?” Ning Cheng raised his hand and projected an image of a woman in the air.
When Sisi saw the image, she immediately spoke up in shock, “It’s her, Senior Apprentice Brother Ning. How do you know this woman?”
Ning Cheng waved his hand and let the image dissipate before speaking, “Because I just came from Yu Clan’s Corner. Yu Qing had entrusted me to bring something to Aunt Yan. But I couldn’t enter Yu Clan’s Corner to meet her.”
When she heard Ning Cheng’s words, she immediately grabbed Ning Cheng’s hand in excitement. She asked, “Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, have you seen Sister Qing? Is Sister Qing doing alright?”
Ning Cheng’s tone once again dropped, “I’m sorry, Sisi. I managed to enter Time Wilderness once again sometime back and saw Yu Qing. However, she only left a purple jade for me to bring to her mother.”
After Sisi heard Ning Cheng’s words, she put down her hand in a daze. She didn’t know the difficulties in re-entering Time Wilderness. She only knew that since Sister Qing could go in, then Ning Cheng could also naturally go in.
After a while, she muttered, “No wonder you can come here. I had asked Ai Ku to stay behind in Yu Clan’s Corner. I wanted to wait for Aunt Yan’s friends to come looking for her and then ask them for help in saving Aunt Yan. I didn’t expect Ai Ku would bring you here.”
Ning Cheng clenched his fists and spoke, “Sisi, you’re right. You and I should go save Aunt Yan.”
“Ah….” Sisi looked at Ning Cheng in disbelief, “What did you say?”