Chapter 971: You win! For now

Chapter 971: You win! For now

“Stop…..” Feeling Ning Cheng’s horrendously powerful attack, this spirit soul that had invaded Ning Cheng’s Sea of Consciousness felt truly scared.

Ning Cheng acted as if he didn’t hear the other party’s words. His spirit sense rolled through his Sea of Consciousness, and a terrifying killing intent quickly coalesced within it. Trying to take over this father’s body, go to hell for me!

“Celestial River Flame, keep burning that bastard for this father!”

“Time Wheel, shovel that trash into slag for this father!”

“First Bridge of Coping, come out……”

“Second Bridge of Looking Homewards, get ready…….”

“Sunset’s Dusk, condense my spear intent…..”

“None-to-depend-on, suppress his spirit sense….”

“5-coloured Star Splitting Arrow…… You don’t need to shoot him, just hover above the Sea of Consciousness and keep that bastard suppressed…..”

Sneaking into Ning Cheng’s Sea of Consciousness, the spirit soul initially thought it could finish off Ning Cheng and take over his body. But at this moment, it could only dumbfoundedly watch as insane killing methods popped out one after another.

He wanted to cry but couldn’t. Before, when Ning Cheng used the Dark Nether Devouring Spirit Scroll to suppress him with the Spiritual Consciousness Devourer and the Celestial River Flame, that itself felt terrifying. Now, it no longer was ‘just’ terrifying. If crying could help him dissolve these attacks, he would have cried out a long time ago.

At this moment, it could only mutter, “What kind of person am I trying to take over? Crazy, just too crazy…….”

It wasn’t clear whether he used the words for Ning Cheng or himself for trying to take over such a perverted cultivator. If given another chance, even if he had to seize a Dao Perfection expert’s body, he would willingly do so instead of trying to take over Ning Cheng’s body.

If he could vomit blood, his spirit soul would have puked a hundred litres of blood a long time ago. This wasn’t just barging in and taking over a house but rather intruding into the liar of a perverted dragon.

How could he even hope to fight against all of this? He hadn’t even started to move yet, but the other party’s methods had already scared him to the point of death. He had cultivated the Dark Nether Devouring Spirit Scroll and had crushed too many Seas of Consciousness. He had also seen all kinds of mighty Seas of Consciousness. But those Seas of Consciousness were all mere dribbles compared to this alchemist’s Sea of Consciousness in front of him. This alchemist could use spirit techniques and even change the laws at will within his Sea of Consciousness. Could it even be called a proper attack and defence confrontation? How could one even hope to defend against all this?

Just as Ning Cheng was about to quickly finish off this spirit soul in his Sea of Consciousness, the Spiritual Consciousness Storm locking the other party suddenly cracked open. Before Ning Cheng could react, the spirit soul in his Sea of Consciousness rushed out through the gap and escaped from his Sea of Consciousness.

Next, Ning Cheng felt a powerful repelling force sweeping away his body. A hoarse voice also arrived in the same instant, “This sage might not be able to take over you, but I can always send you out.”

Ning Cheng’s expressions turned ugly. He understood the problem; it was the Dark Nether Devouring Spirit Scroll.

At this moment, Ning Cheng felt sure that the Dark Nether Devouring Spirit Scroll could capture spirit souls and take over others’ bodies. This spirit soul couldn’t have escaped if he hadn’t used the Dark Nether Devouring Spirit Scroll. It essentially opened a gap in his Spiritual Consciousness Storm to escape.

From the looks of it, his mastery over the Dark Nether Devouring Spirit Scroll was still far from perfect yet. If he wanted to use this technique in the future, he would have to devote more time to perfecting this technique.

The space outside his body belonged to that spirit soul. Since it escaped from his Sea of Consciousness, it could teleport him out without effort.

Sure enough, after that powerful push, the power of teleportation rolled in, and he disappeared. Ning Cheng then appeared next to the crystal screen in the middle of the City Lord Mansion’s guest hall.

Ning Cheng secretly sighed with relief. Since he got teleported out, it’s better to forget about this matter. He hadn’t suffered a loss anyway. Not only did he harvest all those spirit grasses and dao fruit trees, but he also wouldn’t need to bother with that spirit soul who tried to take over his body. But even if Ning Cheng didn’t bother with it, that spirit soul who wanted to take over his body would have still vomited mouthfuls of blood once he realised what it lost. It was akin to losing one’s wife and also losing the army.

Seeing Ning Cheng teleported out, not only Jian Sanshan, who had just come out, even Sheng Houtian also felt somewhat puzzled.

In Sheng Huotian’s opinion, since Ning Cheng got teleported out right now, he shouldn’t be the one who opened the thirteenth gate. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been teleported out so early. Jian Sanshan also had a good understanding of Ning Cheng’s alchemic talents and felt equal, if not more, puzzled on why he got teleported out so early.

Everyone’s spiritual consciousness immediately shifted their focus to Ning Cheng’s storage bag. Unfortunately, none of their spiritual consciousnesses could peer into Ning Cheng’s storage bag. Apparently, Ning Cheng had added a formation that shielded others’ spiritual consciousness from looking at the contents.

“Looks like the person who could refine the Empyrean Consciousness Transmutation Pill is quite powerful. Since he came out just now, it should be because he managed to break into the second level of the Illusionary Fruit Orchard, right?” Man Huishan’s voice emerged slowly as if afraid that others wouldn’t know that Ning Cheng had entered the second level of the Illusionary Fruit Orchard.

Ning Cheng swept a cold glance at Man Huishan, “It’s none of your business how many levels I’ve entered. Keep a check on your words now, and better not have any bad intentions; otherwise, hehe……”

Man Huishan’s expressions changed slightly, but he no longer spoke again. The people in the guest hall couldn’t help but stare back and forth between Ning Cheng and Man Huishan in confusion. Some even guessed that there seemed to be a few secrets between these two.

“Brother Ning, come here.” Jian Sanshan’s sound transmission came just in time.

Ning Cheng had long since noticed that Jian Sanshan no longer sat in the same seat from when he came here. Instead, he sat in a very prominent position in the middle of the guest hall, in full view of everyone. A squinty-eyed Dao Transformation Holy Emperor was also seated at the same table as Jian Sanshan. This Dao Transformation Holy Emperor also had a storage bag beside him. But unlike Ning Cheng’s bag, it didn’t have any restrictions. Everyone could see the spirit herbs inside it with just a sweep of their spiritual consciousness.

The spirit herbs in his pouch were the same as the ones in Jian Sanshan’s bag, and all of them were relatively precious, with a few low-grade spirit grasses mixed in. However, those spirit grasses couldn’t compare to the extinct spirit grasses he had obtained.

From its looks, the conspicuous seats were for the spirit herb exchange that was due after the harvest. In other words, it was a spot especially prepared for the alchemists who had entered the Illusionary Fruit Orchard.

Ning Cheng didn’t immediately head over to Jian Sanshan. Jian Sanshan and the squinty-eyed Holy Emperor were the only people sitting in the spirit herb exchange area. It meant that only two of them had come out so far among the alchemists who entered the Illusionary Fruit Orchard. Ning Cheng’s gaze swept towards the crystal screen and found six open doors that led to the second level of the Illusionary Fruit Orchard on display. He also saw two alchemists standing in front of the door to the third level.

“Alchemists entering the Illusionary Fruit Orchard aren’t allowed to put restrictions on their storage bags. It looks like Alchemist Ning doesn’t care about this rule.” A slightly gloomy voice emerged, tinged with sarcasm.

9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond again, huh. Ning Cheng’s gaze swept over the few women from the 9-Revolution Sacred Dao Pond’s seating area and a hint of disgust flashed across his eyes.

Jian Sanshan’s sound transmission quickly reached Ning Cheng’s ear. “Brother Ning, there is indeed such a rule.”

“I congratulate Alchemist Ning on entering the first level of the Illusionary Fruit Garden. However, Elder Shu from 9-Revolutions Sacred Dao Pond is correct. As long as an alchemist has entered the Illusionary Fruit Orchard, they are not allowed to put any kind of restriction on their storage bag.” Le Jiesheng spoke up with a loud voice; it even contained a hint of righteousness.

Ning Cheng’s gaze had long since swept through the rest of the crystal screen and saw that the first three most challenging to refine pills were all made by him. As such, he understood that sooner or later, his entry into the thirteenth gate of the Illusionary Fruit Orchard would be exposed. Since Le Jiesheng asked, Ning Cheng simply cupped his fist. “Because I didn’t know about the rules for entering the Illusionary Fruit Orchard before, I ended up putting a restriction on my storage bag…..”

Le Jiesheng showed a slight smile, “It doesn’t matter. You can just remove the restriction on your storage bag.”

Although Le Jiesheng had a smile on his face, he was internally cursing at Ning Cheng’s cunningness in his heart. The duo could enter the first level of the Illusionary Fruit Orchard, which was why he took out six Empyrean Consciousness Transmutation Pills. Although he, Le Jiesheng, hadn’t necessarily suffered a loss, he had definitely fallen for Ning Cheng’s trickery.

If Ning Cheng could take out six Empyrean Consciousness Transmutation Pills, it meant he had more of them on him. But that wasn’t the most crucial point. The critical point here was that Sheng Houtian stood behind Ning Cheng, which meant he couldn’t seize Ning Cheng’s storage bag.

Ning Cheng showed a slight smile. “I didn’t understand the rules of the Illusionary Fruit Orchard before, but now that I have read the rules, I feel that I’m fully entitled to keep the restriction.”

The rules of the Illusionary Fruit Orchard were clearly engraved on the corner of the crystal screen. However, very few people would bother to look at them. But on hearing Ning Cheng’s words, almost every pair of eyes landed on the corner of the crystal screen.

The third rule stated that the alchemists entering must use a spirit bag for a fair distribution of the spirit herbs harvested from the Illusionary Fruit Orchard. The bag must not have a spiritual consciousness shielding restriction to show that it was open to the public.

“City Lord Le, may I ask if this ‘fair distribution’ of spirit herbs harvested from the Illusionary Fruit Orchard applies to me?” Ning Cheng asked with a smile as he looked at Le Jiesheng.

Le Jiesheng was also an old and cunning bastard, so how could he not know what Ning Cheng meant. He regretted a little in his heart; he should have known to not agree to Ning Cheng’s request to keep all the spirit herbs he could obtain inside. Ning Cheng would have no excuse if he held the base minimum of 10% of the harvest. But now, all the spirit herbs Ning Cheng obtained belonged to Ning Cheng. As such, there naturally was no need for a ‘fair distribution’. Where was the need to let others know how many spirit herbs he obtained since it all ‘rightfully’ belonged to him?

Ning Cheng knew that Le Jiesheng wouldn’t answer; he also didn’t expect him to answer either. Therefore, he continued after a short pause. “I already negotiated a bit with City Lord Le before entering the Illusionary Fruit Orchard. I paid six top-grade spirit pills to City Lord Le to keep all the spirit herbs I obtained in the Illusionary Fruit Orchard. I believe all the Daoists here had heard it clearly. Since the spirit herbs I obtained are now rightfully mine, I naturally have the option to put a restriction on it.”

Tong Mengzi from River Luo Sacred Sect sneered, “The spirit herbs from the Illusionary Fruit Orchard have to be traded openly, even if they are yours. Otherwise, no one would be willing to take out the spirit grasses or the dao fruits for trade. If that happened, what would be the point of the Illusionary Fruit Orchard’s existence?”

“That person is Tong Mengzi, an elder of River Luo Sacred Sect, and Guo Haoge’s master.” Jian Sanshan’s sound transmission fell on Ning Cheng’s ears.

Ning Cheng’s gaze then fell on Tong Mengzi and spoke up coldly. “So, according to you, as long as you come here to participate in the Illusionary Fruit Garden, you should make your stuff public?”

Tong Mengzi didn’t fall for Ning Cheng’s trickery. “When did I say that one has to make their things public? I only said that the spirit herbs are the things to be traded, so it has to be made public.”