Chapter 998
Chapter 0998: Liu Fanglin’s Purpose
When Hou Fu heard those words, his face stiffened. He loved Liu Fanglin to the bone, and although he came to the Burial Shadow Blue Sands for other things, it was also partly for Liu Fanglin.
However, he also realised that he couldn’t protect his Senior Apprentice Sister Fanglin with his strength alone. Senior Apprentice Sister Fanglin choosing to stay with Ning Cheng was a much safer option than being with him.
Hou Fu showed a slightly embarrassed smile, “Well then, I will take my leave first. Please feel free to send me a message if you need me for anything. Senior Apprentice Sister Fanglin, take care. Dao Friend Ning, farewell.”
After saying that, Hua Fu’s figure flashed and quickly disappeared from sight.
Ning Cheng looked at Liu Fanglin suspiciously and said, “Fellow Daoist Liu, you know that I can’t stay with you, and I still have a lot of things to do. Besides, I have already been marked by a Burial Shadow Fiend. So I guess once I enter the Burial Shadow Blue Sands, those Burial Shadow Fiends will again swarm towards me.”
Liu Fanglin didn’t answer his words directly but instead leaned forward again and spoke up, “I was born with a naturally charming body. I didn’t mean to use that natural charm on Brother Ning. I hope Brother Ning can forgive me.”
Only then did Ning Cheng realise a few things. He already knew that Liu Fanglin didn’t intentionally reveal that seductive appearance. But Ning Cheng had attributed it to a side-effect of a charming technique that she cultivated. He never expected that she would be born with a naturally charming body. After all, such kinds of bodies were relatively rare. If such a person cultivated a charming technique, they would definitely have remarkable achievements. It’s just that there were several different kinds of naturally charming bodies, so he couldn’t tell which one Liu Fanglin had.
Seeing Ning Cheng suddenly realising something, Liu Fanglin continued, “Brother Ning, I stayed back for two reasons. One of them is Ding Si. He will definitely not let you go. So I want to help you deal with him.”
Ning Cheng only showed a faint smile, “Many thanks for the offer, but I don’t need your help. I believe that I can deal with that Ding Si by myself.”
Liu Fanglin didn’t care and continued, “I don’t know Exquisite Star Golden Hidden Leaf’s exact location. But I do know of one place where it might exist. I’m already heading to that place; that’s the second reason I wanted to stay with Brother Ning.”
“What place?” Ning Cheng’s face immediately showed surprise. He had entered the Burial Shadow Blue Sands for the sole purpose of finding the Exquisite Star Golden Concealed Leaf. However, even until now, he couldn’t find a single clue about its whereabouts. Now Liu Fanglin said that she knew of a place that ‘might’ have the Exquisite Star Golden Concealed Leaf; how could Ning Cheng not feel surprised?
Liu Fanglin shook her head, “Truthfully, I don’t know where this place is either; I only have a general direction. But I believe that as long as I stay alive in Burial Shadow Blue Sands, I will be able to find it.”
“What did you come to look for in the Burial Shadow Blue Sands?” Ning Cheng finally couldn’t help but ask.
Liu Fanglin looked at the far side of the Valley of Life and remained silent. Only after a long while did she speak, “It’s the Ripple Bone Flower.....”
“Ripple Bone Flower?” Ning Cheng asked with a surprised voice.
He was a pill sage; how could he not be clear about the Ripple Bone Flower? The Ripple Bone Poison was one of the ten most potent poisons in the world. To be counted among the ten most potent poisons in the Grand Essence Realm, how could it be ordinary?
Moreover, the Void Star Sect wanted him to refine the Renewing Heaven Ripple Bone Pill to remove the Ripple Bone Poison. If the Ripple Bone Poison was simple, it wouldn’t leave the Dao Fusion elder of a mysterious sect in such a helpless situation.
Ning Cheng never imagined that Liu Fanglin had come here to look for the Ripple Bone Flower. Since she came here for the Ripple Bone Flower, she obviously had only one purpose: the Ripple Bone Poison. He didn’t know who this woman wanted to poison, but no matter who it was, once hit by the poison, it was as good as a death sentence. The poison was not just impossible to get rid of, but it also required almost no effort to spread the poison.
“Actually, I have another identity, that of a Dao Raising Pill Deity, from the Heavenly Star Pill Sect.” When Liu Fanglin finished speaking, she noticed that Ning Cheng had a calm expression instead of the expected surprise of hearing about the Ripple Bone Flower.
One must know that in the Grand Essence Realm, a Dao Raising Pill Deity was still quite a respectable position. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this identity would scramble almost everyone to make friends with her.
Ning Cheng nodded, “Looks like you and Brother Hou come from the same background.”
Although he said that, he secretly thought about how Hou Fu looked at Liu Fanglin with such an adoring gaze. Most likely, Hou Fu should have also come from the Heavenly Star Pill Sect and was head-over-heels for Liu Fanglin.
Liu Fanglin shook her head and remained quiet for some time before replying. “Junior Apprentice Brother Hou Fu is quite nice. And although what he likes is just my body, he’s quite sincere towards me.”
Ning Cheng couldn’t help but look at Liu Fanglin in surprise. Liu Fanglin said those words as if they were an ordinary everyday occurrence. Isn’t it a thing people purposely keep as vague as possible? Besides, it’s not like he and Liu Fanglin were quite familiar with each other to have such conversations, were they?
Liu Fanglin didn’t care what Ning Cheng thought. She simply continued, “My husband’s name was Tu Qinfei, a Heavenly Star Pill Sect disciple. He and I fell in love and tied the knot in Heavenly Star Pill Sect. Truthfully, not many people truly cared for us or even gave the marriage their blessings. Rather, a lot many coveted my body. Although friendly to us on the surface, they all secretly thought filthy things about me and my body.”
Ning Cheng frowned slightly; this Liu Fanglin seemed a bit too paranoid. Still, having cultivated to become a holy emperor showed that her heart wasn’t ordinary. Moreover, although Liu Fanglin’s body aroused temptations in other men, it was only an unconscious resonation of senses. It would naturally fade away after a while.
“Finally, one day, a man named Wei He took a fancy to me. Immediately following that, my husband inexplicably died, and the Heavenly Star Pill Sect ‘graciously’ decided to marry me off to Wei Clan’s Wei He.......”
Hearing this, Ning Cheng finally felt something wrong with the development. Wasn’t Qi Yuling, Qi Shisanxing’s elder sister, Wei He’s dao companion? Why did he want to marry Liu Fanglin then? What about Qi Yuling?
“I have no idea what the Heavenly Star Pill Sect got from the Wei Clan, but I know that the Heavenly Star Pill Sect got a ‘good price’ for me. As for that Wei Clan, they’re nothing but a clan of bastards and filths. Even Wei Jingbing from before lusted after my body, despite being Wei He’s uncle, but failed.....”
Ning Cheng understood why Liu Fanglin wanted to kill that fellow. Looks like it was all because of this.
“Have you been to the Wei Clan at the Battlefront Cliff?” Ning Cheng asked.
Liu Fanglin’s face immediately darkened with fury. “Yes, after my husband fell, Heavenly Star Pill Sect forced me to marry into Battlefront Cliff’s Wei Clan. From the oldest to the youngest, those beasts from Wei Clan all look charming and gentlemanly on the surface. But I could see that every one of them wanted and lusted after my body. If I wasn’t a pill deity and had some insights into the field of detoxification, those beasts from Wei Clan would have repeatedly ruined me. Fortunately, I pretended to be poisoned and managed to escape by killing Wei Quan, who tried to force himself on me. I then came to Burial Shadow Blue Sands to make the Ripple Bone Poison and avenge my husband.”
“Wei Jingbing realised that I had escaped and was also one of those bastards that tried to force himself on me back then. I was ready to finish him off as soon as I saw him today, but I never expected Ding Si’s involvement. Ding Si definitely has a mysterious origin and is extremely powerful. Facing him, even after pushing myself to the limits, I couldn’t even fight back.”
Ning Cheng could clearly feel the bursts of killing intent erupting from Liu Fanglin. He understood that Liu Fanglin’s hatred had reached an unimaginable peak. However, he also guessed why the Wei Clan wanted Liu Fanglin’s seductive body. Most likely, it had something to do with the cultivation methods of the Wei Clan.
When he clashed against Wei Jingbing, he had already noticed that Wei Jingbing’s spiritual consciousness lacked softness. It meant that his cultivation method was too rigid and yang-oriented. If one continued to cultivate solely using a yang-oriented cultivation method, there was a good possibility that one’s dao heart would also go out of control. In extreme cases, this wild dao heart would give birth to a type of yan-oriented dao fire that would eventually consume the person’s heart and soul, turning them into mindless beasts if they didn’t die.
However, a woman born with a charming physique was the best solution to mitigate the dangers of using such cultivation methods. They could either use that body for dual cultivation or break the woman’s body into blood pills. In fact, dual cultivation was better than pills to counteract the aftereffects, as such a method could be used repeatedly. Unfortunately, no matter what kind of charming physique one talked about, they were rare and far between.
Wei Clan most likely wanted Liu Fanglin for such purposes. Otherwise, even if Wei Clan’s people were shameless, they would not be unable to resist the temptation of a woman with a naturally charming physique. Especially when this woman never even took the initiative to seduce any of them.
Ning Cheng didn’t dwell on this matter too much but asked one other question, “Then, do you know about a woman named Qi Yuling?”
“Qi Yuling? I’ve never heard of this name.” Liu Fanglin shook her head and replied.
Ning Cheng guessed that if Qi Yuling didn’t go to the Wei Clan. Looks like something did happen in the Profound Moon Spirit Gate.
Ning Cheng simply said, “Fellow Daoist Liu, you already know that I have offended Ding Si, and you are also clear about Ding Si’s strength. And you also know that as soon as I leave the Valley of Life, I will be besieged by the Burial Shadow Fiends. Coming with me would mean a meagre chance of survival. How about this, you tell me the location or just the direction of the place you spoke about, and then we can go look for the things we want by ourselves. How about it?”
Liu Fanglin took a deep breath and said, “Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, you’re the only one who saved me, not because you had thoughts about me. And although I want to exact my revenge very much, I also know that if I can’t even repay the kindness people showed me, what’s the point of talking about revenge? But more importantly, Brother Ning, although your Seven Bridges are powerful, your cultivation is still not high enough to fully control it. If you have my help, you may be able to finish off Ding Si. Without my help, I’m afraid that.....”
Ning Cheng’s face reddened slightly when he heard Liu Fanglin’s previous words. It was true that he did not have any lewd thoughts about Liu Fanglin. But that natural physiological reaction had still happened when he first saw her.
But when he heard Liu Fanglin’s last words, he understood that Liu Fanglin truly wanted to repay the favour of saving her life. After all, he wasn’t entirely confident that the Seven Bridges could trap a peak Dao Transformation powerhouse like Ding Si. It’s not like Liu Fanglin knew about the 5-Coloured Star Splitting Arrow.
“In that case, let’s go together. You can lead the way.” Ning Cheng no longer dwelled on this matter. Even if his opponents knew about his Seven Bridges, they didn’t know about the 5-Coloured Star Splitter Arrow. What’s more, Liu Fanglin might even know the exact location of the Exquisite Star Golden Concealed Leaf.
Man Jiuren knew that he had the 5-Coloured Star Splitting Arrow, but since Man Jiuren died, who could say he didn’t say it to anyone else? Instead of worrying about others knowing about his treasures, he might as well try to improve his own strength.
Hearing Ning Cheng agreeing, Liu Fanglin showed a faint smile and took out a 5-coloured bead that floated up and came to a stop right above her head. “We are in one of the Valleys of Life, but to reach that place, we will have to leave this place. Whether it’s the Burial Shadow Fiends or Ding Si, I suggest you should take out your thunder fort for defence.”
She had seen Ning Cheng’s defensive treasure, the Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort. Even without the artefact spirit, it was still a top-notch defensive artefact. At least she hadn’t seen a more robust defensive artefact than Ning Cheng’s Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort.
“No need. You can lead the way in front.” Ning Cheng shook his head. He had no intention of taking out the Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort.
The Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort could protect him, but the Burial Shadow Fiends wouldn’t let him go anyway, so why waste his energy maintaining a passive defence? Moreover, after listening to Liu Fanglin’s description of the Burial Shadow Fiends, Ning Cheng vaguely suspected that these fiends were something similar to souls.
However, they are also quite different from souls and essence spirits. At the very least, these fiends only existed within the Burial Shadow Blue Sands and couldn’t be detected by spiritual consciousness. Against such things, the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique might actually be a better option. Therefore, he didn’t take out the Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort and instead chose to keep the Seven Bridges Realm Book at hand.
Only if the Seven Bridges Realm couldn’t deal with those Burial Shadow Fiends would he choose to use the Everlasting Blue Thunder Fort for defence.