“Brother Ning should not rush to refuse; it’s not just a question of money. To be honest, Brother Ning’s billions of Green Coins is not a lot of money if you entered the Man Lun Starry Skies. If you wish to step into the universe beyond it, then this amount of star currency is not even worth mentioning. What’s more, a cultivator cannot do much with just money. If Brother Ning deems it worthy enough to offer help, then I promise that not only could you easily breeze through the Celestial Scryer’s Three Realms, you might even get the chance to advance to the Celestial Bridge Realm in the shortest possible time…..” Ruan Zhuo spoke out calmly; as he spoke, he also kept a close eye over Ning Cheng’s expressions.
For Ning Cheng, the most uncomfortable thing he faced currently was that his cultivation speed had once again slowed down to a crawl. After he advanced to the Celestial Novice Realm, although he could still absorb the Starry Skies’ Essence Qi to cultivate, Ning Cheng could no longer enjoy the same speed as he had in the Plundering Life Realm. Because of this, Ning Cheng felt somewhat disinclined to seek out a place to go into seclusion and cultivate despite wanting to do so. In any case, he also did not have much time to consider going into seclusion.
However, now that he heard Ruan Zhuo say that there was a chance that he could advance to the Celestial Bridge Realm in the shortest possible time, it truly made him feel excited. Moreover, in a place like this, although possessing riches certainly made one feel good, money alone could not help Ning Cheng in obtaining the things that he needed. What’s more, Ruan Zhuo also struck the nail on its head when he said that the money in his possession did not mean much at all in the world outside.
“Brother Ruan, please enlighten me.” Ning Cheng asked; in any case, it would not hurt to listen to this person.
“Brother Ning should already know about the Man Lun Starry Skies’ Celestial Scryer Genius Try-outs, right?”
Ruan Zhuo spoke with a warm smile.
Ning Cheng gave the nod before replying, “I know about this.”
“Oh, then why hasn’t Brother Ning signed up for it? With Brother Ning’s ability, you most like could enter the core of Orchid Borough Celestial River, even moving up to the Man Lun Starry Skies would not prove impossible.” Ruan Zhuo asked in a slightly puzzled tone.
Ning Cheng calmly spoke up, “I don’t think that my cultivation is up for it. Now that I won a little money, I plan on finding a place to go into seclusion and cultivate.”
“Haha, Brother Ning, you really have a huge misconception. If your cultivation is not enough, then who could be more eligible for the awards from the Man Lun Starry Skies’ Try-outs?” Ruan Zhuo spoke up quickly while animatedly waving his hands around.
“Please enlighten me.” Ning Cheng really had no idea about the rewards for these try-outs; Jing Wuming had not mentioned it to him. As for Lan Ya, even she had not spoken to him about this. Presumably, both of them felt that he had shallow cultivation to participate in the try-outs.
Ruan Zhuo cautiously spoke up, “Brother Ning, with your skill, if you took part in these try-outs, there is a high chance that you would end up reaching the Man Lun Starry Skies. As long as you participate and manage to obtain a selection into the Man Lun Starry Skies, even the Orchid Borough Celestial River would shower you with amazing rewards. What’s more, do you know where the try-outs are going to be held in the Man Lun Starry Skies, once selected?”
Ning Cheng smiled before speaking, “Even if the rewards are amazing, I know my own limitations. The stage on the level of Man Lun Starry Skies is like passing clouds for me, and it is impossible for someone like me to procure a spot to enter the Man Lun Starry Skies.”
Ruan Zhuo spoke up disapprovingly, “Brother Ning, your thoughts are not something befitting a person like you. Besides, you do not even have to go to the Man Lun Starry Skies’ try-outs stage; just participating in the selection round for the Man Lun Starry Skies’ try-outs will bring a huge amount of benefits. Let me put it out in the open, the selection for the Man Lun Starry Skies’ try-outs will take place in the Time Wilderness. It is the Premier Mystical Place within the Man Lun Starry Skies and also the most mysterious place in the entire Man Lun Starry Skies.”
“There are countless treasures within the Time Wilderness; one will find luck smiling down on them by just entering. When you finally come out, even if not chosen, you, at the very least, would have obtained many things that you want to get your hand on. Many geniuses participating in the selection do not even think about actually getting selected for the Man Lun Starry Skies or wanting to rush into the broader universe to participate in higher-level selections. All they want is an opportunity to enter the Time Wilderness.”
Although Ning Cheng felt very intrigued by the Time Wilderness, he also knew that Ruan Zhuo would not show such kindness without any reason. Therefore, he still spoke unhurriedly, “Brother Ruan, I already know that my cultivation is not up to par. With a forest of geniuses participating, I am afraid that I will not even be able to enter the Time Wilderness even if I wanted to. Moreover, Brother Ruan and I don’t even know each other, so why is Brother Ruan so eager to offer me such help?”
Ruan Zhuo spoke up in a somewhat embarrassed voice, “Brother Ning, although I want to help you by inviting you to participate in the selection for the Man Lun Starry Skies’ Celestial Scryer Genius Try-outs, I also have my reasons for it. All I can say is that Brother Ning would not suffer any harm and that this cooperation would be beneficial to both of us.”
Sensing Ning Cheng carefully hanging on to every word he spoke, Ruan Zhuo felt more confident that Ning Cheng wanted to participate in these try-outs, which immediately calmed down his heart before he continued, “Whether Brother Ning’s cultivation really is at the Celestial Novice Realm or higher than the Celestial Novice Realm, it doesn’t matter. However, from what I observed in the casino, I can definitely tell that Brother Ning has a first-rate Spiritual Consciousness. Even surpassing that of Celestial Gathering Cultivators…..”
When Ning Cheng heard Ruan Zhuo, he immediately realised that other people definitely had their suspicions about his sleight of hand. Only, those people did not have any concrete evidence and just some speculations.
Ruan Zhuo continued, “Brother Ning not only has a strong Spiritual Consciousness, but you are also quite young. There is a place in the Time Wilderness that is a dream of every cultivator who wants to go there. However, not many people are aware of this location, and we just happen to know about it. If Brother Ning is willing to represent my Ruan Clan…..”
Ruan Zhuo spoke until here and stopped; Ning Cheng had already understood what this person meant. That is if Ning Cheng could represent the Ruan Clan, the other side could take that as a sign of cooperation and share the benefits. If he did not, then he could forget about it.
Seeing Ning Cheng silent, Ruan Zhuo added another sentence, “That place contains more than a few things that would prove more than enough for someone to advance to the Celestial Bridge Realm. However, individual performance will determine the distribution of the rewards. Nevertheless, there is one thing in that place that we must obtain. As for what this thing is, I will not be able to tell you.”
“Will you tell me about that thing if I agree?” asked Ning Cheng.
Ruan Zhuo shook his head and spoke, “I’m sorry, this thing is something that my clan must obtain. Whether you know about this thing or not, it will not affect our cooperation or rewards in any way,”
“Well, even if I agree, how could you let me retrieve something like that?” Ning Cheng asked with a frown.
“Of course, there will be someone going in together with you.”
Ruan Zhuo’s arrogant and indirect rebuttal immediately cleared a few things for Ning Cheng, who intentionally blurted out a stupid question. The Ruan Clan would definitely send in someone together with him. How could they put their hopes in the hands of a stranger like him? The only reason the Ruan Clan took a fancy to him must have some relations to his strong Spiritual Consciousness.
“Then can you tell me what would I obtain from this ‘cooperation’?” Ning Cheng asked in an excited tone.
“As long as you agree, we will certainly tell you. However, you will have to discuss the specifics with the Clan Head in person.” Ruan Zhuo showed a genial smile. It seemed as if Ning Cheng’s agreement was within his expectations.
……
The Thunder Enforcement City was the Lesser Thunder Star’s Premier City, and the place where the Lesser Thunder Star’s Celestial Lord resided.
Ning Cheng followed Ruan Zhuo into the Thunder Enforcement City; temporarily putting aside the matter of looking for Jing Wuming and Lan Ya, they directly headed towards the Ruan Clan.
The Ruan Clan looked very unremarkable on the surface and looked like an ordinary small clan. However, after Ning Cheng entered the domain of the Ruan Clan, he immediately realised that it was not what it appeared on the surface. The Starry Skies’ Essence Qi in this region was very rich and dense, much purer than the outside. Moreover, he could also feel several powerful auras concealed around this region letting Ning Cheng know that this place had many influential individuals.
It was not until Ning Cheng saw Ruan Cheng that he realised that what he sensed was most likely just a small part. This Ruan Cheng’s cultivation most likely was at the Heaven’s Mandate Realm; perhaps even the Lesser Thunder Star’s Celestial Lord might not match up to him.
Ning Cheng could not help but think about the evaluation of the Lesser Thunder Star’s Celestial Lord that Lan Ya had given, i.e. weak and incompetent. Initially, Ning Cheng did not care much about it; however, he now felt somewhat sympathetic towards the Celestial Lord of the Lesser Thunder Star. If any domain within the territory controlled by a Celestial Lord contained a powerhouse like the existence within the Ruan Clan, it only served to show that this Celestial Lord had fallen on hard times.
Moreover, if this Ruan Clan was such a powerful clan, why did it choose to stay in such a shrunken and low profile territory within the Lesser Thunder Star?
Ruan Chen was a tall fellow with big eyebrows, giving off the feeling of a battle-hardened army veteran even without any expression over his face, and did not look like any Starry Skies’ Cultivator he had met before.
“Good, Ruan Zhuo truly did not misread you. You really have a powerful Spiritual Consciousness. Since you have already made it here, please make yourself comfortable, you are exactly the type of person I am looking for. My name is Ruan Cheng. Dao Friend Ning, please take a seat.”
Ruan Cheng spoke with mild enthusiasm, while the tone of his speech was loud and clear to the ears.
Ning Cheng cupped his fists and spoke, “Thank you for the invitation Manor Master Ruan; however, this Ning is most likely not competent for the task you have in your mind.”
“No. You are competent enough. Let me get to the point; I have two tasks that need your help. First is to escort my daughter and help my daughter enter the Perpetual Moon Lake in the Time Wilderness.”
“Perpetual Moon Lake?” Ning Cheng repeated the words; guessing that it must be what Ruan Zhuo hinted in their talks before.
“Yes. The Perpetual Moon Lake.” Ruan Cheng affirmed. “There is an ancient desolate fort beneath the Perpetual Moon Lake. And the Perpetual Moon Pill is within the desolate fort.”
“Is this pill left behind by the ancients?” Ning Cheng asked once again. He, anyway, had never heard of the Perpetual Moon Pill.
Ruan Cheng gave a calm reply, “No. The Perpetual Moon Pill is not something artificially refined. It is actually pure Celestial River Essence Qi condensed to the extreme and has never experienced any kind of artificial refining. These kinds of pills also contain a law inside and multiply the effect on one’s cultivation. Moreover, because it is not something artificially refined, there are also no side effects associated with it. Plus, there is also practically no wastage if one cultivated with it.”
Ning Cheng felt his heart move a bit, “What Manor Master Ruan means is that I can easily advance to the Celestial Bridge Realm by obtaining a few Perpetual Moon Pills?”
Ruan Cheng nodded with appreciation, “Yes, your reward is the Perpetual Moon Pill. These kind of pills are scarce. Even within the Man Lun Starry Skies, these pills are not common. As for what we want, you will have to follow my daughter’s instructions.”
Ning Cheng gave a slight nod. From his previous conversation, he already knew that he would have to act as an escort to this Ruan Cheng’s daughter.
Seeing Ning Cheng remaining silent without asking about it made Ruan Cheng feel even more satisfied. “My daughter is called Ruan Mingshu. Because of some misunderstandings from my part, I ended up falling out with a cultivator by the name of Zhao Yanxing. I hope that you can keep an eye over my daughter and don’t let her get too close to Zhao Yanxing…..”
Ning Cheng immediately understood the situation. In other words, Ruan Cheng did not feel very satisfied with this Zhao Yanxing; however, his daughter and this Zhao Yanxing most likely shared some intimate feelings with each other. Ruan Cheng feared that his daughter and this Zhao Yanxing would end up acting unreasonably within the Time Wilderness and wanted to make him work as a divider between them.
Ning Cheng could not help but secretly curse this person in his heart. Although he might possess a mighty Spiritual Consciousness, he cannot actually stop two people from a fling, especially if consensual. Moreover, this matter absolutely had nothing to do with him.
“I’m sorry, Manor Master Ruan. I cannot take up this task. Besides, the Bright South Celestial River King has already invited me to visit the old man’s Bright South Celestial River. I’m afraid that I can’t stay too long in the Orchid Borough Celestial River.” Ning Cheng did not hesitate to reject the task, even mentioning the Bright South Celestial River King to incite some fear in this Ruan Cheng.
Ruan Cheng gave a smile, “Ruan Zhuo had already heard the complete message left behind by the Bright South Celestial River King and had passed on the words to me. However, you do not have to worry about it too much. If you truly feel that this task is a bit too difficult, then let me add a second clause to it.”
After he finished, he did not wait for Ning Cheng to give an answer. He directly called out, “Mingshu, you can come out now. Come out and meet your partner Ning Cheng.”
Ruan Cheng conveyed a clear intent. That is, you do not have to use the Bright South Celestial River King to pressure me. You are just a paper tiger; at the same time, the relationship between you and the Bright South Celestial River King is not as good as you say.