Chapter 0767: Returning to Forbidden Grounds

“Don’t you have a younger sister named Ning Ruolan? How come she’s not with you?” The red-robed woman asked something unrelated.

“Ruolan is in secluded cultivation right now. But it’s none of your business. Just remember not to ask unnecessary questions. Otherwise, I’ll not let you follow me.”

“Then, can I be your younger sister, Ning Ruolan?” The red-robed woman asked again. But when she saw Ning Cheng’s unhappy expression, she quickly spoke up. “I don’t like the name, Shiluo Xin. I just didn’t want to forget that I came from Lost Mountains. But since I’m leaving this place, I feel like I should change to a nice-sounding name. If you think it’s not good to take your younger sister Ning Ruolan’s name, then let me be your big sister, um, also named Ning Ruolan.”

Ning Cheng felt that she must have damaged her brain when crossing through positional planes’ interfaces. So, he patiently replied, “I don’t need a big sister, and it’s not appropriate for you to become my big sister either. If you want to change your name, then let it be Ning Ruo…. Ning Ruoqing. It’s similar to my sister’s name.”

The red-robed woman didn’t care about it initially. But halfway through, she grabbed Ning Cheng’s hand in surprise and exclaimed, “Good, I’m your younger sister Ning Ruoqing from today.”

“Okay, now that you have a good name, we need to go to a place before leaving.” Before the red-robed woman accepted the name Ning Ruoqing, Ning Cheng only wanted to take her out of Graceful Star Mainland out of sympathy and some worry.

But after this red-robed woman changed her name to Ning Ruoqing and expressed her desire to become Ning Cheng’s sister, Ning Cheng started to feel a little more connected to her. He felt as if his feelings towards this red-robed woman had changed entirely. This feeling, even Ning Cheng found it very strange. It was as if this red-robed woman was truly his younger sister Ning Ruoqing and that Ning Cheng truly was Ning Ruoqing’s elder brother.

Ning Cheng didn’t know it yet but letting this red-robed woman call him ‘big brother’ was the most arrogant and ignorant thing he had ever done in his life.

……

The Hidden Mist Cemetery looked the same as before, still covered in a cold and gloomy mist. However, unlike then, Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness could now directly sweep through everything within this Hidden Mist Cemetery. No matter the spiritual consciousness-hindering array formations, restrictions, or other obstructions within Hidden Mist Cemetery, nothing could hide under his gaze.

“What are you looking for in this place?” Ning Ruoqing kept following Ning Cheng and copied everything Ning Cheng did. Now that she saw Ning Cheng suddenly stopping, she asked a question out of curiosity.

Ning Cheng gave a reply. “Right, when I returned to this place, I couldn’t help but think that there is something strange about this place.”

Ning Cheng, at his current level, could easily tear apart any Isolation Array Formations and restrictions covering the Forsaken Land with just a wave of his hand. But he suddenly had a strange thought. Why did Graceful Star Mainland have so many fallen powerhouses? In all respects, it was just a low-level interface.

Just beside him was Ning Ruoqing, who wanted to be his younger sister. Then there was Cang Wei, who he rescued from the Blood River Mountains and Taishu Shi’s ancestor Taishu Yi. Plus, there was also that soul-devouring old fogey.

Not only those fallen experts but this mainland also contained many strange places, like the Forsaken Grounds, Angry Axe Valley, and quite a few Immortal Mansions. He had even obtained the Celestial River Flame from one of these Immortal Mansions’ entrances. Thinking of Immortal Mansions, Ning Cheng also recalled that woman with white hair[1].

Ning Cheng had found no trace of that white-haired woman or even any traces of that old fogey. But regardless, both the old fogey and that woman had some tricks up their sleeves.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the old fogey confused him with someone else and got scared. So, Ning Cheng believed that this old fogey had already gone into hiding, which was why he couldn’t find any trace of it. As for the woman, he didn’t have any idea about her.

“What is it?” Ruoqing casually asked.

Ning Cheng thought for a while before looking at Ning Ruoqing and asking a question. “Do you have any recollection of what happened before you came to this place?”

Hearing Ning Cheng’s words, Ning Ruoqing started pulling at her hair again.

Ning Cheng quickly replied, “Forget it. Don’t think about those things. In the future, you can slowly uncover it step by step.”

Finished speaking, Ning Cheng lifted his hand and tore away all the isolation restrictions and array formation in front of him. The Forsaken Land’s desert then suddenly appeared within the range of Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness. Seeing that, Ning Cheng took one step forward and shouted, “Don’t think about it. Just come in quickly.”

Ning Ruoqing truly stopped thinking about it and followed Ning Cheng into the Forsaken Land.

In the beginning, anyone entering this place would find their cultivation sealed. But when Ning Cheng came again, he couldn’t feel anything at all. Even Ning Ruoqing, who came in behind him, felt no pressure. It once again proved that her cultivation exceeded Ning Cheng.

“There is an eye at the bottom of the lake. But I don’t like that dagger.” Standing next to the white-robed ghost lake, Ning Ruoqing frowned.

Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness fell on that eye and once again felt the same aura coming from it like that from the sealed giant. However, he also felt quite lucky with his timing. A different aura had already invaded this eye. If he had not come here, someone would have already refined this eye in a few more years.

Ning Cheng couldn’t see the dagger initially, but now he could feel the power coursing through this dagger.

Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness swept out and quickly reached Princess Mann in Yaren City. As for the original City Master Yi Zhonghuan, he had long since disappeared, even his son had vanished. The great hall of the city master’s mansion now only had Princess Mann, with two maids standing near the entrance.

The two maids had a deathly look on their faces, looking as if their hearts had already died.

On the outermost edge of the City Master Mansion stood rows of expressionless bodyguards, as well as some more maidservants with similarly pale faces.

The entire Yaren City felt as if it had lost its original life force with a deathly aura filling up each corner. Even a living person looked like a walking corpse.

As for Princess Mann, her face had turned entirely blue, and the cyan crystal point on her forehead had significantly expanded, looking like a smoky third eye.

Ning Cheng gave a cold snort and raised his hand. This woman hadn’t changed at all. Besides, just like he guessed back then, someone else occupied Princess Mann’s empty shell. Using the protection offered by the City Master’s Mansion in Yaren City, she wanted to refine the eye at the bottom of the lake slowly.

……

Princess Mann, sitting in the City Master’s Mansion, suddenly stood up and gave a cold snort. The two maids standing at the door, on hearing the cold snort, quickly walked inside.

“Ready the Thousand Chestnut Flowers, I want to take a bath.” Princess Mann spoke without any expression.

The slightly taller maid replied with a very respectful voice. “Replying to the lord, the original Thousand Chestnut Flowers are all used up, and the collection of the new batch of Thousand Chestnut Flowers is still underway. The servants are collecting them as we speak….”

“Slap….” The maid hadn’t finished speaking yet when Princess Mann slapped her face. The slightly taller maid opened her mouth and spat out a few teeth and mouthful of blood.

However, Princess Mann didn’t stop there; she grabbed the maid’s collar and raised her in the air. With a ripping sound, she then tore off the maid’s robes, revealing her white skin.

When Princess Mann saw the white skin, a trace of strange light flashed across her eyes, and she stuck her tongue out to lick her lips. However, she didn’t take the next step, but glanced at the other trembling maid and spoke the same words. “Ready the Thousand Chestnut Flowers, I want to take a bath.”

The other maid quickly bowed her head and said, “Replying to the lord, I’ll get it ready. I’ll get it ready right away….”

She had already steeled herself. As long as this King Mann agreed, she would go out and commit suicide. Staying by this woman’s side would eventually result in her death anyway, so better to die on one’s own accord.

“Slap, rip….” However, another slap resounded in the hall along with ripping noises as Princess Mann tore off the other maid’s clothes.

“Bitch, daring to lie to this King.” Princess Mann’s eyes started to glow red, looking more and more like a demon.

At this time, a sarcastic voice came over. “Princess Mann, I haven’t seen you for quite some time, and you’ve already become a king. Not only did you become a king, but you also wield quite a lot of power now.”

This abrupt voice not only surprised Princess Mann, but even the two maids also looked around in horror. They couldn’t see anyone around them, so where did this voice originate?

“Who is it?” Princess Mann asked with calm composure. However, her voice trembled slightly. She had become used to controlling the life and death of everyone around her, so she never expected such a thing to ever happen to her.

“You forgot me this quickly, huh. Back when I saw you, you made me open six holes with three knives….”

Upon hearing this voice once again, Princess Mann’s face grew pale. She immediately understood who spoke those words. After appearing in Yaren City, she had suffered only one loss, to Ning Cheng. She did not cultivate a complete cultivation method, so she understood that she wasn’t Ning Cheng’s opponent.

“I have nothing to do with you….”

Princess Mann only said a few words when Ning Cheng interrupted her. “Wrong, you not only have a grudge against me, but you’re also trying to refine my friend’s eye……”

When Princess Mann heard Ning Cheng talking about his ‘friend’s’ eye, she became even more confused. Without waiting for her to reply, an invisible hand grabbed her neck and took her away from the City Master’s Mansion.

The two maidservants, who Princess Mann had slapped around and ripped their robes, fell to the ground. Everything they saw just now had thoroughly shocked them.

It took a while for the tall maid to react. She eventually managed to stand up and said, “Yue Min, let’s leave immediately. Let’s take advantage of this opportunity to escape.”

The other female cultivator wiped the blood off from the corner of her mouth, pursed her lips and spoke up. “Sister Lu, with her means, if she doesn’t die, escaping to any place wouldn’t be of any use. But I’ve heard of this Ning Cheng. He had once taught Princess Mann a lesson in the past. Since this Ning Cheng took away this woman, I bet that she most likely will not return.”

“You want to bet?” The maid called Sister Lu asked in exasperation.

“Let’s replace that woman and take control of this Yaren City.” The maid named Yue Min, stared at the tall maid and spoke word-for-word.

The tall maid hadn’t spoken yet when they heard Ning Cheng’s voice again. “Princess Mann won’t be returning, so you can take control of Yaren City. But keep in mind how you obtained that power. If you also act the same as Princess Man, sooner or later you’ll also face the same retribution.”

When the two maids heard Ning Cheng’s words, they quickly fell to their knees and agreed.

Ning Cheng naturally didn’t care how these two women would take control of this Yaren City. He also didn’t care as to what they did with it. Ning Cheng only left behind those words to help the innocent civilians currently residing within the city. As to whether the two maids would listen to him, he wouldn’t stay here to monitor it anyway.

[1] It refers to the woman who had taken Ning Cheng to the immortal mansion under the scorching river, back when Ning Cheng hadn’t yet come out of the Hua Continent.