Chapter 0486: None to depend on
“It really was destroyed, it was destroyed… I destroyed the academy, I killed my master, and it was my fault….” Jing Hao muttered to himself for a long while. He even forgot about Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng shook his head and turned away. He did not continue to talk with Jing Hao. Initially, Ning Cheng had heard that Jing Hao had dared to fight against the entire Le Continent for his woman. He felt that this person had a good heart; however, the feeling he got right now was just of pittance and relief. After exchanging a few words with Jing Hao, Ning Cheng felt that Jing Hao possessed a somewhat cowardly character. If such a thing had happened to him, he would have definitely tried to find a way to go back and wipe out all the parties involved in the destruction of Kun Yun Academy.
This matter was just like the feud between the Rainbow Fall Sword Sect and the Red Star Sword Faction; however, he had already turned the Red Star Sword Faction to ashes.
“Wait a little while.” Jing Hai reacted and quickly caught up with Ning Cheng.
Ning Cheng cupped his fists and spoke, “What else does senior want from me?”
“Just call me Jing Hao from now on. It has been a while since I saw anyone from the Graceful Star Mainland. We both are from the same hometown; can you sit with me for a while?” Jing Hao’s eyes showed a glimmer of hope. Ning Cheng immediately understood the loneliness deep inside his heart from the look in his eyes. People only regarded other people coming from the same place as ‘home-towners’ after stepping out into the starry skies.
“All right.” Ning Cheng knew that whether he sat with Jing Hao or not, someone had already noticed him. In that case, he might as well clear this matter, to avoid the situation of the pot calling the kettle black.
Jing Hao took Ning Cheng to a medium-sized rest stop and waved at the server, “Two pots of ‘None to depend on’…”
Saying those words, he seemed to have thought of something and hurriedly whispered to Ning Cheng, “Do you have Black Coins? The price of ‘None to depend on’ is not low. A pot of it costs a hundred thousand Black Coins. I don’t have any.”
Ning Cheng nodded while feeling speechless. He had the money anyway. Not to mention the hundred million Black Coins he had, there was still the bunch of Blue Essence Ores.
After a few moments, the server brought two dark grey jugs. Ning Cheng picked up one of the pitchers and saw a row of words at the bottom, “Often apart, an abandoned heart; gazing at distant stars, none to depend on.”
“Often apart, abandoned heart; gazing at distant stars, none to depend on……” Jing Hao muttered to himself before opening the other jug and taking a big gulp.
This person is not lovelorn, is he? Ning Cheng immediately thought of the Female Devil but did not ask about it. He also opened his jug and took a sip.
The wine was mellow and was like a gentle stream that flowed down while nourishing his throat. To tell the truth, Ning Cheng did not like wines with such characteristics; he preferred something stronger, which burned all the way down from the mouth. Something that stimulated a feeling of passion within his chest.
However, Ning Cheng soon realised the terrifying feeling of dependence ‘None to depend on’ evoked. He had clearly drunk a small sip of the wine, but it elicited a powerful surge of hurt and sadness within him. It felt as if Ning Cheng honestly had no one to depend on; a parting will that filled his heart. He felt as if he stood on a single boat, and the oat flowed along in a constant drift on an endless river. While Luofei and Shi Qionghua silently looked at him from the pavilion by the riverside. Their eyes filled with the hope of his early return, made him feel a one-of-a-kind burning within his heart. This feeling was like a hot knife piercing through his heart, something that made people feel a kind of torment and suffering.
“Often apart, abandoned heart; gazing into the distant stars, none to depend on…..” No, Ning Cheng suddenly stood up. He did not want to gaze into the distant stars.
“Oh, evidently this friend is just as passionate as me. ‘None to depend on’ is the worst kind of alcohol to drink, especially if you end up downing a pot filled with ‘None to depend on’. Once you get sucked in, you can never wake up.” Jing Hao gave a sigh and spoke.
Ning Cheng felt cold shivers run down his body, immediately sobering him. He had only drunk a mouthful of this wine.
“Many thanks for Brother Jing’s reminder.” Ning Cheng held up his cupped fists towards Jing Hao as a show of gratitude. He could feel that his heart and mind were still far from perfection. Otherwise, how could he lose his calm just because of a sip?
As Jing Hao said, he still had no idea about the challenges that he would have to face in the future within the starry skies that could have a significant effect on his heart and mind. If he could not keep his heart calm because of just a sip of wine, what would happen to him in the future?
“Well, it’s no wonder that you would dare to come to the Lesser Thunder Star with a Plundering Life Cultivation. Oh right, I didn’t get to ask this friend’s name?” Jing Hao showed a glimmer of appreciation in his eyes. The desolation and decadence from before also seemed to have wiped away from his face.
Ning Cheng felt moved in his heart. He had previously felt that Jing Hao’s appearance in the street outside was the real deal; however, there now seemed to be a new feeling to him. Therefore, he calmly held up his cupped fists and spoke, “My name is Ning Cheng, and I was brought here by a senior with a Celestial Gatherer Cultivation.”
Lan Ya did not possess a Celestial Gatherer Cultivation; however, Ning Cheng also felt that Lan Ya would not face many difficulties in advancing to the Celestial Gatherer Realm. At the same time, it was also necessary to mention that he had a patron to rely on.
“Brother Ning, everyone has their own story. You must have your own story that led you to this place. However, I will not ask about your story, I just want you to hear my story. If you think that I’m not worth wasting your time, I won’t blame you at all.”
As Jing Hao spoke those words, he once again drank a big mouthful of ‘None to depend on’ before continuing, “Her name was Shi Yulan, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. For her, I could abandon everything, even if she was a Devil Cultivator….”
Ning Cheng realised that Jing Hao was talking about the matter between him and that Female Devil. He felt no impatience, might as well hear out what the person had to say.
“She had killed several important disciples of the few 9-Star Academies; however, I still chose to stand by her and even took her to my academy. This was a secret affair; however, none of us could figure out as to how people discovered it. Several of the 9-Star Academies then united with the other academies to march on a crusade against my Kun Yun Academy. My master, to protect me, packed me off and sent me away secretly, ha-ha……”
As Jing Hao laughed, he once again grabbed the wine jug and chugged down a few mouthfuls of ‘None to depend on’; however, there were tears in his eyes.
“Today, I finally know that I not only lost my Master, I even caused the destruction of my academy. The many brothers and sisters… All died… I am not a human; I am not even a beast… Haha…..”
Ning Cheng remained silent. He could guess that Jing Hao might have ended up entering Heaven’s Way with Shi Yulan after leaving the academy. As for how Jing Hao reached the Lesser Thunder Star, Ning Cheng did not intend to ask. Before coming here, even he did not know that he would end up in the Lesser Thunder Star.
If Ning Cheng replaced him in this matter, what would he do? Ning Cheng asked himself silently, and quickly got the answer. If he knew that the academy faced complete destruction, he would never escape alone, let alone when he had such a respectable master?
Ning Cheng did not despise Jing Hao; Jing Hao already seemed extremely downcast. Presumably, this matter had left a significant psychological impact over him. Otherwise, no matter how disappointing a Celestial Novice Cultivator he was, he definitely would not let others trample over him on the streets.
“She and I relied on a weapon to rush into the Chaotic Star Space of the Graceful Star Mainland; however, because of our carelessness, we got sucked into a Spacial Collapse. By the time we came out, we were already in the starry sky……”
When he heard this, Ning Cheng felt shocked. Not because Jing Hao and Shi Yulan could enter the Chaotic Star Space, but because of the words that the two people ended up sucked into a Spacial Collapse, yet had not died and had even arrived in the starry skies. One had to know that even Lan Ya, with a Celestial Shatterer Cultivation, almost lost her life in the Spacial Collapse. What weapon did Jing Hao use? It was just too powerful
“Brother Jing, I heard from the Celestial Gatherer Senior who brought me here that it would prove extremely difficult to preserve someone’s life once they get sucked into a Spacial Collapse.” Ning Cheng did not directly ask Jing Hao about the weapon he used; however, his words already indicated his thoughts. If Jing Hao did not provide an answer, he will also not continue asking about it. It was a kind of secret that nobody would willingly share it with others anyway.
Jing Hao put up a soundproof restriction around them, before giving out a sigh and speaking, “Junior Brother Ning, I had no intention to hide this from you. It was all because of a True Spirit World that I had obtained by chance. The reason why my cultivation method could sweep through the entire Graceful Star Mainland was also due to that world.”
“Miniature World?” Ning Cheng immediately thought of the Miniature World Ring that he had; however, it was also not much different from an ordinary ring. The only reason why he could preserve his life in the Void Collapse was all due to the Mysterious Yellow Bead, not the Miniature World.
Jing Hao shook his head, “Not a Miniature World, but a True Spirit World. When I obtained this world, I realised that it was a True Spirit World. Thankfully, it was a Spacial Collapse at the low-levelled Planar Boundary. If we had entered a high-levelled Planar Boundary’s Spacial Collapse, then I estimate that even the True Spirit World would not have helped us survive.”
Ning Cheng frowned but did not continue. It was a first for him to hear about something like a True Spirit World.
“After entering the starry skies, I gave her the True Spirit World. Later, we drifted around until we reached the Lesser Thunder Star and finally reached the Ocean Gambling City. Once within the Ocean Gambling City, I did everything in my power to seek out resources for her cultivation. There were simply too many powerhouses within the Lesser Thunder Star, and most of the cultivation resources were under their control. So the only way to obtain more resources was to head into the stars.”
“One time, I found a sliver of Fire-attributed Origin. Since she possessed a Fire-attributed Spirit Root, this sliver of Origin allowed her to advance rapidly. In a short while, her cultivation far surpassed mine…..”
Ning Cheng could not bear to remain silent at this point and interrupted Jing Hao once again, “Brother Jing, did you say that you found the Fire-attributed Origin?”
Initially, he had sensed the Water-attributed Origin Aura in the Angry Axe Valley, which resulted in obtaining the Water-attributed Origin Bead by following that sliver of Water-attributed Origin Aura. This allowed his Mysterious Yellow Bead to gain a hint of water-attributed properties. Since Jing Hao mention Fire Origin, did it have any relation to Fire Origin Beads?
“Yes, it definitely was the Fire Origin. Because she obtained a sliver of Fire Origin, she almost spent her entire time in seclusion, while the words exchanged between us grew fewer and fewer. I still had to earn Blue Coins from the starry skies, and then use them to exchange for some cultivation resources, which ultimately all went to her. When she finally came out, she had already reached the Celestial Shatterer Realm, while my domain had still not reached grand completion. Haha…..”
Jing Hao gave out a self-deprecating laugh while finishing the entire pot of win in one gulp. He eyes gradually turned cloudy before he spoke up, “Later, an important figure visited the Ocean Gambling City, a Celestial River King. He and Shi Yulan actually fell in love at first sight; ha-ha, love at first sight…”
Jing Hao shook the empty jug and suddenly shouted, “Waiter, another jug of ‘None to depend on’…”
“Do you know what she said? Just before she left with the Celestial River King, all she said was ‘Thank you for taking care of me for all these years.’ A fucking thank you…..” Jing Hao cried while smiling at the same time.