Chapter 997

Chapter 0997: Dao Fruit Distribution

Wei Jingbing quickly put away his weapon and withdrew from the battle. Hou Fu’s strength wasn’t any lower than him, and there was also a Ning Cheng to help. What’s more, many people were here, yet not one had come forward to help him. It meant he couldn’t waste his strength at this critical moment.

Once Wei Jingbing stepped back, Hou Fu didn’t chase after him, and Ning Cheng also stopped. He didn’t come here to kill people. He wanted an opportunity to get those Loyal Heart Spirit Zoysia Fruits while saving Liu Fanglin and Hou Fu.

Therefore, seeing Wei Jingbing retreat, Ning Cheng casually grabbed the ice spike embedded in Liu Fanglin’s chest and pulled it out.

“Don’t touch.....” Hou Fu thought Ning Cheng didn’t know about the Spirit Soul Ice Spike. Unfortunately, his warning didn’t come in time.

The Spirit Soul Ice Spike was a special kind of hybrid[1] spirit technique that tore the essence spirit of any person that touched it. If someone tried to forcibly take it out, it could even shatter the spirit soul of the pierced person.

Therefore, even Liu Fanglin felt shocked by Ning Cheng’s action. She didn’t want to die right now, but she also had no power to stop Ning Cheng.

How could Ning Cheng not know about the power of the Spirit Soul Ice Spike? He, after all, was a pill sage and even had a Dao Essence Pill Sage’s qualification token.[2]

Plus, not only was his spiritual consciousness powerful, but he also cultivated the Dark Netherworld Devouring Spirit Scroll. Therefore, the moment he grabbed the Spirit Soul Ice Spike, his spiritual consciousness wrapped around it and easily isolated it from Liu Fanglin’s essence spirit. Ning Cheng then took out the ice spike, set it on fire, and threw a healing pill into Liu Fanglin’s mouth in one motion.

When Ning Cheng plucked the ice spike in Liu Fanglin’s chest, the crowd couldn’t help but shake their heads in silence. To them, it signalled the death of Liu Fanglin. Even Wei Jingbing, who injured Liu Fanglin, felt shocked. He had restrained Liu Fanglin not to kill her later but to take her away. After all, he had been coveting this woman for a long time.

But to everyone’s disbelief, Liu Fanglin didn’t die or even show any indication that she was on the verge of death. As for the Spirit Soul Ice Spike, it had burned into nothingness under Ning Cheng’s flame.

Liu Fanglin finally understood that Ning Cheng had truly saved her. Not only did Ning Cheng help her get rid of the Spirit Soul Ice Spike, but even that healing pill he gave her was a top tier spirit pill.

“Many thanks, Brother Ning, for saving me once again.” Liu Fanglin hurriedly thanked Ning Cheng.

Ning Cheng only gave a slight nod. “You should prepare yourself. We might have to face another vicious battle, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it alone. I will once again need your and Brother Hou’s help.”

Ning Cheng understood that the early-stage Dao Transformation cultivator he fought against a few moments ago wasn’t the only culprit behind this mess. Wei Jingbing definitely didn’t have the strength to restrain Liu Fanglin and Hou Fu by himself. It also meant that someone was helping him.

But regardless of why they wanted to stop Liu Fanglin and Hou Fu, there definitely might be a fight when grabbing those Loyal Heart Spirit Zoysia Fruits. Ning Cheng also understood that he couldn’t go against everyone here by himself, which meant he needed to pull in allies. And right now, only Liu Fanglin and Hou Fu were the only ones who could help him.

“I’m Wei Jingbing from Battlefront Cliff’s Wei Clan; care to tell us who you are?” Seeing Ning Cheng easily pull out his Spirit Soul Ice Spike, Wei Jingbing couldn’t help but ask. After all, even Dao Essence Holy Emperors had to be careful while pulling it out. Yet, Ning Cheng had pulled it out like an ordinary thorn. It was very likely that Ning Cheng had some connection to his Wei Clan.

“Battlefront Cliff’s Wei Clan?” Ning Cheng suddenly recalled a familiar name, Wei He. Wei He was the fiancé of Qi Yuling, Qi Shisanxing’s elder sister. He was also considered a man with quite a few redeeming qualities. Even Ning Cheng had a good impression of him.

Ning Cheng also planned to check on Qi Shisanxing’s situation at the Profound Moon Spirit Gate, especially since he hadn’t heard from him in a long time. However, Ning Cheng also knew that his strength wasn’t up to the mark. If something really happened to Qi Shisanxing and he went to the Profound Moon Spirit Sect, it wouldn’t help Qi Shisanxing and put him in mortal danger.

“A clan of filth.” Liu Fanglin, who stood beside Ning Cheng, suddenly cursed out sharply.

“Ungrateful bitch.....” After hearing Liu Fanglin’s words, Wei Jingbing suddenly became furious and almost stepped up to strike again.

“Wait.” A thick voice stopped Wei Jingbing.

Hearing that voice, Ning Cheng suddenly felt a slight chill. Only then did he realise that he had overlooked a person.

This person wore a dirty grey robe and looked ordinary; one could easily mistake him for a beggar in a mortal city. No, one wouldn’t even notice this person in a crowd unless someone specifically pointed him out. But, as soon as he stood out, the surrounding space seemed to have come entirely under this person’s control. Any movement from anyone within this space, no matter how subtle, couldn’t escape from this person’s sight.

Peak Dao Transformation? Ning Cheng’s gaze contracted slightly. He had initially regarded this person as an ordinary Dao Transformation cultivator. But now he realised that he had made a gross mistake.

If he wanted to take out this person, he would have to use the 5-Coloured Star Splitting Arrow. But even if he had to use the 5-Coloured Star Splitting Arrow, he first had to find the opportunity to even use the arrow. There was a good chance that the other party could finish him off before even getting the opportunity to activate the arrow.

What’s more, he didn’t have complete control over the Seven Bridges, which meant that he couldn’t use it to get rid of this person, at least for now.

“Brother Ning, he’s the one who injured me previously and restrained Senior Apprentice Sister Fanglin. It was why she got hit by Wei Jingbing’s Spiritual Soul Ice Spike.” Fearing that Ning Cheng might have no idea about this person’s strength, Hou Fu quickly sent a message to Ning Cheng.

“You were able to kill four Dao Transformation Holy Emperors, which shows that you’re extraordinary. You also have the qualification to break Lu Li’s restriction and get a piece of the pie. Everyone came to the Burial Shadow Blue Sands to seek out heavenly treasures. Since we all have gathered together, then everyone here will have a share.”

The grey-robed man spoke in a thick voice. He was neither slow nor anxious with his words, and after finishing that sentence, he continued without any hurry. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. You see, my name is quite easy to remember. I’m called Ding Si[3], and I’m as simple as my name and like to make friends. As to why I had to move against your friend, well, your friend wanted to kill Wei Jingbing as soon as she arrived. I had no choice but to let Wei Jingbing capture her. For that, I will apologise. I should have tried to stop the two.”

Ding Si. It was indeed a very simple name to remember.

Ning Cheng, however, didn’t think that this person was as simple as his name. After all, this person was far stronger than him. That Dao Transformation Holy Emperor, who he originally wanted to kill, must have told Ding Si about his Seven Bridges Spirit Technique.

After all, there were only two possibilities for Ding Si to be so friendly right now. One was that he was as simple as he said he was and knew how to make friends. But Ning Cheng quickly dismissed this possibility not because it would only fool a naive person but because the likelihood of Ding Si being such a person was very small.

The other possibility was that Ding Si knew that he had the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique or the Seven Bridges Realm Book. He didn’t want to finish him off here and wait till things were done before striking at him in a place when there was no one around. Ning Cheng believed this possibility to be much more likely. Otherwise, Ding Si didn’t need to announce to everyone that he had killed four Dao Transformation Holy Emperors. Ding Si wanted to indirectly warn others not to move against him by speaking about this matter.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter even if you know about the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique. After all, you don’t know that I also have the 5-Coloured Star Splitter Arrow. If you want to finish me off, you will need to have a good set of teeth.

Ding Si had an incredibly calm expression, while Ning Cheng looked equally quiet and collected. He simply clasped his fists and said, “Ning Cheng greets Fellow Daoist Ding.”

When the people heard the exchange, they couldn’t stop their mouths from opening wide. Ning Cheng could take out four Dao Transformation Holy Emperors? But the strength Ning Cheng displayed just now was definitely not enough to finish off four Dao Transformation Holy Emperors, right?

Then again, who can say for sure that Ning Cheng had even put in any effort just now? After all, unless one had a life-and-death grudge against people like Wei Jingbing, no one would even use one-tenth of their abilities. Especially not with so many people around.

A few people who didn’t take the initiative to come forward to pick a fight with Ning Cheng started to feel secretly happy. Whether or not Ning Cheng genuinely matched up to what Ding Si said, it at least clarified that he wasn’t a simple person. Otherwise, Ding Si wouldn’t speak such words.

Wei Jingbing also couldn’t help but look at Ning Cheng in disbelief. He thought he could easily kill Ning Cheng if Hou Fu hadn’t suddenly jumped in to assist. After all, wasn’t Ning Cheng just a Dao Sculpting Holy Emperor? How could he have the ability to kill four Dao Transformation holy Emperors?

“Dao Friend Ning, there is a Loyal Heart Spirit Zoysia Tree here, with 58 Loyal Heart Spirit Zoysia Fruits. There are also a total of eighteen people here. I propose distributing one fruit to each Dao Sculpting Holy Emperor, two fruits from Dao Raising Holy Emperors, four each for the other Dao Transformation Holy Emperors, and the rest for the two of us to share equally. What do you think?” When Ding Si finished speaking, he looked at Ning Cheng with a harmless-looking smile.

Not a single person objected to Ding Si’s distribution plan. Everyone here had witnessed Ding Si’s strength and had no choice but to agree to it. If Ding Si hadn’t mentioned anything about Ning Cheng killing four Dao Transformation Holy Emperors, maybe someone would have stood up and spoken out against it. But with Ding Si’s strength and his previous words, no one here dared to stand up and refute it.

According to Ding Si’s distribution plan, there would be sixteen Loyal Heart Spirit Zoysia Fruits left in the end, which meant that Ning Cheng would get eight of them. This also told that Ding Si treated Ning Cheng with absolute respect, at least on the surface. After all, his distribution plan put Ning Cheng on the same level as him.

Ning Cheng could also see that Ding Si was in complete control here. If not for suspecting that Ding Si might know about the Seven Bridges Realm Book, Ning Cheng would have been really confused about why Ding Si was so indulgent towards him.

Now that he guessed Ding Si’s purpose, he simply arched his back and cupped his fists. “Many thanks for your generosity, fellow Daoist Ding. But I only need four Loyal Heart Spirit Zoysia Fruits; you can keep the rest. Also, I will be taking this Loyal Heart Spirit Zoysia Tree; I wonder what Dao Friend Ding thinks about it?”

Dao fruit trees were tough to replant correctly, let alone grow after replanting them. But at the same time, many sects and major forces would pay a sky-high price to obtain such an item. Therefore, in everyone’s opinion, Ning Cheng’s interest in this dao fruit tree was purely to make a fortune.

Ding Si had not said anything about the dao fruit tree in the distribution plan, indicating that he too wanted the dao fruit tree. Now that Ning Cheng also showed his interest in the dao fruit tree, everyone immediately turned to look at Ding Si. They wanted to see how Ding Si would handle this matter.

Ning Cheng now felt even more sure that Ding Si would move against him when they were alone. In fact, Ning Cheng didn’t necessarily want the dao fruit tree. Instead of waiting till later, he wanted to see if he could bait Ding Si to start a fight right away instead of waiting till later. He could then work with Liu Fanglin and Hou Fu to kill Ding Si and Wei Jingbing. Even if the Dao Transformation Holy Emperor who arranged the restriction joined in, he could kill them using the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique, albeit at a high price.

Ding Si didn’t expect that even after giving Ning Cheng such a high treatment, Ning Cheng would still want the dao fruit tree. However, his expressions quickly returned to normal, and he showed a warm smile, “Well, the dao fruit tree is of little use to me, so I’d rather let Dao Friend Ning have it.”

Although people couldn’t figure out why Ding Si wanted to compromise, that one sentence decided everything for the crowd.

Everyone quickly gathered around the restriction in just a moment, and Lu Li[4] opened it. Once everyone got their dao fruits according to the agreed plan, no one came up to cause trouble with anyone and quickly left the area. After taking the agreed upon dao fruits, even Ding Si immediately left. As for Ning Cheng, he unceremoniously put away the dao fruit tree and the four Loyal Heart Spirit Zoysia Fruits but stayed in the area.

“Brother Ning, Ding Si is really strong. We saw him instantly kill a Dao Transformation Holy Emperor. You should be careful.” Hou Fu now held heartfelt gratitude towards Ning Cheng for saving his life twice. He also guessed that Ding Si knew Ning Cheng had the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique and wanted to strike at Ning Cheng secretly without anyone else around.

Who didn’t want the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique? After all, it was a supreme spirit technique that everyone in the Grand Essence Realm coveted.

“Many thanks.” Ning Cheng clasped his fists. He wasn’t afraid of facing Ding Si alone. Plus, he also had the Burst Spirit Pill. It meant that even if he couldn’t kill Ding Si, Ding Si would also not be able to kill him.

Seeing that Ning Cheng understood what he meant, Hou Fu then turned to Liu Fanglin. “Senior Apprentice Sister Fanglin, we should also leave quickly.”

Liu Fanglin shook her head, “Junior Apprentice Brother Hou, you go first. I want to be with Brother Ning.”

[1] Here, the actual word is ‘mixed spirit technique’, where a cultivator creates an ‘artefact’ using a spirit technique. It’s opposite to the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique that uses the Seven Bridges Realm Book (an artefact) to cast and amplify the effects of the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique

[2] Not sure how being a pill sage and having an identification token figures into knowing about the power of a spirit technique, but that’s what the raws say.

[3] Ding Si = Four-Four

[4] I’m not sure if this is the name of the person or the title as there is very little known, so I decided to keep it in the raws.