Chapter 0358 – The Sudden Change In The Sifting Orchid Star
“I asked you something, didn’t you hear?” The male cultivator without eyebrows suddenly unleashed his imposing aura, trying to use it to force Ning Cheng to acquiesce to his demands. He could see more and more cultivators making their way towards them, with his cultivation of Soul Sculpting 7th Level, he would not be able to dominate others whose cultivation was above him.
However, Ning Cheng quietly waited until enough cultivators had gathered around his stall. Then he looked at the eyebrow-less male cultivator and spoke, “I heard you, although I do have a bit of Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar to my name, if you want me to sell them to you, then you just have to bring out the kind of Spiritual Grasses that I mentioned. Just selling to one person is anyway a bad business, so why should I chose to sell only to you, even if you want to buy it?”
“Is it really the Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar aah?”
“Ahh, it’s the Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar, what’s your price?”
......
In just a short time, the front of Ning Cheng’s stall turned overcrowded to the point of bursting. All the people were greedily staring at the Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar placed at the front of Ning Cheng’s booth. Every person there was trying to sweep the stall with his or her Spiritual Consciousness. Unfortunately, all of these Spiritual Consciousnesses were blocked by the restrictions protecting it without any exception.
At this moment, everyone in the crowd realized that Ning Cheng was an Array Formation Master, causing the surrounding crowd to sober up a little. If it were not the last resort, only a handful of people would take the initiative to offend an expert in Array Formations.
“Ladies and gentlemen, my Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar can only be exchanged with Spiritual Grasses, as for Spirit Stones, I will not accept them. If it is a precious Rank 7 Spiritual Grass, then I will trade one strand of it for one drop, if they are just ordinary Rank 7 Spiritual Grasses then depending on the quality, I will be trading one drop for two to five strains. If you have Rank 8 Spiritual Grasses, then I will exchange them for ten to twenty drops, again depending on the value of the strain.” Ning Cheng held up his cupped fists and spoke out loudly.
“That can’t be right, right? How can it be so expensive? It’s a Rank 7 Spiritual Grass, but the exchange price is still set this high.”
Ning Cheng was also fully aware that the exchange price he quoted was highly unreasonable, he had indeed undermined the value of Rank 7 Spiritual Grasses, even by his own standards. However, Ning Cheng did not intend to change it, it was anyways a one-time deal. More importantly, the most important things for him were the Rank 8 Spiritual Grasses. He was currently a Tier 7 Pill Master, even if was able to obtain a mountain full of Rank 7 Spiritual Grasses, it would only help him in raising his level of refinements of Rank 7 Pills a bit higher.
As for the Rank 8 Spiritual Grasses, their real exchange value was also far beyond the twenty drops of Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar that he had set. However, Ning Cheng knew that he did not need many good quality Rank 8 Spiritual Grasses. As long as he was able to refine Rank 8 Pills, it would be more than enough. As such, it was unimportant for him when it came to the degree of the preciousness of such Spiritual Grasses.
Ning Cheng did not explain the price he set for the Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar. Instead, he spoke out loudly, “These things are limited; if you want to buy them then come forwards first, otherwise don’t cry when the deal expires.”
Ning Cheng’s words were more powerful than any kind of explanation. He had just finished his words, when someone immediately brought out a few Spiritual Grasses and pushed himself to the front before speaking up, “I have Black Bamboo Bud, Silver Earth Ginseng, and Thoughtless Ice Flower....”
“I have the Black Elm Orchid, the Profound Moon Ephemera....”
“I have....”
At this moment, although there were a few people who wanted to raise the issue of the high exchange price, the ones who wanted to first complete the exchange of the Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar pushed them all back.
Ning Cheng’s hand speed was also rapid, and in just a short time, the Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar that he had placed on display in his stall changed into one handful of Spiritual Grass after another. When the other cultivators saw Ning Cheng bring out even more Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar from inside his ring, especially those who were not able to squeeze into the crowd before, it caused fiery glints to emerge in the eyes of a few ferocious cultivators.
Ning Cheng was just a single person, yet he possessed this much Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar, which he was rapidly changing into heaps of Spiritual Grasses. This kind of wealth was inconceivable, causing all of them to formulate their own plans. Once Ning Cheng left this place, they would immediately follow him.
Only Gongye Yingxiu’s face was growing incomparably dark, he knew that he would never even get to have a share of the things on Ning Cheng’s body. Ning Cheng was publically selling a considerable quantity of Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar, if the top level cultivators did not already mark him, then it would indeed be a strange event. In his opinion, Ning Cheng was a complete idiot. He could only sigh himself for having such rotten luck.
Only an hour had passed by, but Ning Cheng had already exchanged his goods for over a thousand Rank 7 Spiritual Grasses, and more than 300 Rank 8 Spiritual Grasses. However, it was just as Ning Cheng expected, most of these Spiritual Grasses were only ordinary Spiritual Grasses, with only a few precious Spiritual Grasses coming out.
Ning Cheng was also very helpless regarding this, he was also well aware that if he had opened an Alchemy stall in this place, then he would have been able to obtain even more Spiritual Grasses. Moreover, even the quality would also be a lot better, while at the same time, it would also provide him with an enormous advantage in improving his Alchemy skills. Unfortunately, he was also aware that it was too risky to produce Rank 7 Pills, let alone Rank 8 Pills. Regardless of other factors, just the furnace time required would already be too long. He also did not want to spend any more time in this place.
“Good, my Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar has been completely exchanged, so for the friends at the back, I can only give you my apologies.” Ning Cheng emptied the last jade bottle that he had placed at the front of the stall, while at the same time deliberately picked up that same jade bottle and spoke out in a loud voice. Whatever be the case, Ning Cheng now had the materials to become a Tier 8 Pill Master, barely. Since Ning Cheng already had enough Spiritual Grasses, then he did not need to continue with the exchange.
Some of the cultivators who were not able to conduct an exchange, immediately erupted in a cacophony of noises, at the same time, several among them even began to make their way towards Ning Cheng’s stall.
The eyebrow-less cultivator and Gongye Yingxiu were among the ones who were not able to bring out any Spiritual Grasses for the exchange, causing them to stare at Ning Cheng with heated eyes. They could not help but calculate as to how wealthy this person currently was in their hearts.
When they saw that Ning Cheng’s stall was about to be close up, they were also able to sense that many of stronger cultivators wanted to cause some trouble. Therefore, they also decided to gang up with some of them to kill Ning Cheng. In any case, they were aware that killing Ning Cheng by themselves would be impossible in the face of such a crowd. Therefore, at this moment, they could only follow the others and then see if they would be able to obtain a slight advantage.
However, even in such a scenario, Ning Cheng was not the least bit startled, he was already holding onto the Talisman that he obtained from the bottom of the Blood River, and was prepared. Once any of them actually made a move, he would immediately activate the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds to escape, before leaving the Sifting Orchid Star for good.
Ning Cheng did not believe that he would not be able to crush the talisman; however, even if he was not able to break it, he still had the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds. If ordinary cultivators wanted to catch him in the Sifting Orchid Star, then it was only a dream. There was no Mountain Protecting Grand Array here like in the Severing Emotions Dao Sect; moreover, he was also not that little Soul Essence 3rd Level Cultivator that he was back then.
“Ladies and gentlemen... Ladies and gentlemen.....” Just as these swarming cultivators were about to erupt into hostilities, a loud and incomparably clear sound resounded.
This sound had a very penetrative effect. Although there were more than ten thousand cultivators on the Coiling Reef Mountain, everyone was able to hear these words clearly, as if the person who spoke it was standing right next to them.
“It’s Senior Zhong”
“Senior Zhong would definitely have something important to speak.”
......
This was a black-haired middle-aged male cultivator, who looked like an erudite Confucian scholar. Ning Cheng did not know anything about the cultivator who was talking; however, he was able to feel that this cultivation was far stronger than Qi Le’s.
From the discussions that erupted in the surrounding cultivators, he came to understand that this person was surnamed Zhong; while at the same time, he was also able to learn that this cultivator surnamed Zhong had an extremely high reputation among the people here.
In fact, this cultivator surnamed Zhong had only spoken twice before the surrounding cultivators immediately turned quiet, from this Ning Cheng deduced that this cultivator had a powerful influence.
Seeing the quietness around him, this middle-aged male cultivator surnamed Zhong spoke out in a resonant voice, “Ladies and gentlemen, what I am going to say today is not a happy thing. Over the many years, the Sifting Orchid Star has been our home. Although there were all kinds of danger here, it also gave us all kinds of opportunities.....”
“Senior Zhong, please speak freely of the matter that you wish to say, we will definitely listen to you.” Many voices echoed out, sharing the sentiment.
But that man surnamed spoke with a heavy voice, “Seven months ago, the Sifting Orchid Star experienced a volcanic eruption of gigantic proportions. Although volcanic eruptions are quite common in the Sifting Orchid Star, however, this one from seven months ago was not normal. Both the scale and area of influence of this volcanic eruption was far more powerful than anything compared to the past was. Although the cultivators staying on the Sifting Orchid Star are not many, but this volcanic eruption still managed to claim the lives of more than a hundred people.”
“Five months ago, a Spacial-Storm swept across almost half of the Sifting Orchid Star, I was almost buried alive in that very Spacial Storm. Three months ago, the masses of Monstrous Beasts went into a panic and began scurrying around the Sifting Orchid Star without any apparent purpose. Some of the flight type monstrous beast even chose to rush out of the Sifting Orchid Star. I believe many of our friends here have already witnessed such a thing for yourself.”
“In the last couple of months, thunderstorms, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and even the Spacial Storms have intensified by a huge margin. All of these signs point in the direction that we cannot continue to stay on the Sifting Orchid Star. From what I investigated, these outbreaks are just the precursor and point to the Sifting Orchid Star brewing a more powerful storm. Even if this star explodes, it would still be within the realm of possibility......”
“Aah, is the Sifting Orchid Star really going to explode?”
“No wonder I met two terrifying Spacial Storms one after another.....”
“What do we do now? If the Sifting Orchid Star really explodes, then isn’t venturing into the Void akin to seeking our deaths?”
......
A variety of panicked emotions started spreading around; some of the cultivators with low cultivators even felt on the verge of despair. With their little cultivations, they were not able to find a place for refuge inside the Sifting Orchid Star. Once the Sifting Orchid Star really blew up, then it would immediately send them into the Void, at that point, it really would be a dead end for all of them.
The middle-aged male cultivator surnamed Zhong raised his hand causing the panicked discussions among the people to subside once again, before he once again spoke in a somewhat heavy voice, “Since that is the case, if you have the ability, then please leave the Sifting Orchid Star as soon as possible. Although I wish I could help everyone, this is the only thing I can do right now.”
As if to confirm the words of this cultivator surnamed Zhong, just as his words ended, a place not so distant from the Coiling Reef Mountains erupted with a burst of intermittent thunder cackles. Even the people standing atop the Coiling Reef Summit were able to feel the aftershocks.
One did not need to investigate using their Spiritual Consciousness. The cultivators standing atop the Coiling Reef Summit were able to make out the continually spraying bright red lava pillars erupting from that same not-so-distant location. These lava pillars, each of them were over tens of thousands of feet high and looked incredibly terrifying.
A torrent of lava swept out in an instant. It would only be a matter of time before this flood of lava swept through the Coiling Reef Mountains.
Initially, some people wanted to create trouble for Ning Cheng; some cultivators even intended to track Ning Cheng in secret. However, at this time, they were in no mood to do such a thing. Bringing out their Magical Weapons, they immediately escaped far away in just a twinkling of an eye. As for those cultivators who had set up their stall, they also started to run away as fast as possible one after another.
In just a short time, there were only a hundred people left behind.
Ning Cheng took out the Communications Pearl to send news to Chao Hei, mainly because he did not see Chao Hei during the meet. Chao Hei was a good man, so before he planned to leave this place for good, he wanted to deliver a bottle of Spiritual Enhancement True Nectar to Chao Hei, while at the same time inform Chao Hei that he was going to leave.
However, even after Ning Cheng sent the news and waited for a while, he did not receive any reply from Chao Hei. Ning Cheng only gave a sigh, living in this kind of place, no one could guarantee if one would still be alive the next moment.
Although Ning Cheng had only just sent the news a few moments ago, he found that he was the only person left on the Coiling Dragon Reef. Moreover, the fiery lava sweeping towards the Coiling Reef Mountains was only a thousand meters away from the foot of the mountains.
Ning Cheng no longer remained hesitant. He took out several hundred thousand Spirit Stones and rapidly arranged a Spiritual Gathering Array, while simultaneously brought forward the Transmission Jade Talisman that would take him to the bottom of the Blood River. Organizing the Spiritual Gathering Array was just to provide a contingency in case something unexpected happened.
The Sifting Orchid Star may or may not explode immediately, or it might even wait for a long time before it finally blows. In any event, Ning Cheng did not plan to continue to stay in this place.
This time, under the stimulation from the True Essence gathered by Ning Cheng, the Transmission Jade Talisman issued a crisp breaking sound. It immediately followed with a clump of golden light that wrapped around Ning Cheng.
When the lava torrent finally reached the Coiling Reef Summit, Ning Cheng had already disappeared without even a trace left behind. Only the overflow from the golden clump of light remained which was also quickly dissipating in the four directions.
(Author’s Note: Today’s update ends here, at the same time the Sixth Volume has finished. Tomorrow is the start of the Seventh Volume, have a good night my friends!)