Chapter 0558: Aboard
Although Returning Jade Scale Pills did not come at a low price, it definitely provided some positive effect. Ning Cheng’s injuries were not light, and his Celestial Essence had reached an all-time low. As such, only after downing several Returning Celestial Jade Scale Pills did his injuries stabilise.
Once again reaching the entrance of the trade union, Ning Cheng did not see the middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator. However, he also knew that there was no better place to wait than this location; in the absence of Celestial Essence and on top of the severe injuries wrecking his body, it was better to stay in this location. If that middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator brought no news, he would have no choice but to leave Lucky Heaven City and find some other way.
At this moment, Ning Cheng could only rely on luck; once the news spread about the death of all Yue Clan’s cultivators within Lucky Heaven City, even if people saw him as a Celestial Novice Cultivator, they would still scrutinise everyone who invoked suspicion.
“Senior, this junior was just thinking about when you would show up; I didn’t expect you to come so soon.” A pleasantly surprised voice emerged. Ning Cheng turned around to see the middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator. His Spiritual Consciousness had still not recovered yet, while his Celestial Essence was at a ‘barely passable’ level, all of which contributed to the fact that Ning Cheng could not discover the other party first.
Ning Cheng showed a deliberate frown, trying to put up an impatient front.
Although Ning Cheng currently had no access to his cultivation, because he took the Returning Celestial Jade Scale Pills, it allowed him to suppress his injuries to the point that it did not show on the surface. Despite that, the middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator could still smell the faint scent of blood coming from Ning Cheng; however, he did not dare to ask about it.
Seeing Ning Cheng frown, he quickly spoke up. “Senior, I do not have a ticket; however, I have a way for Senior to get on to the airship. It’s just that you would have to pose as a servant…”
Not expecting that this fellow could really come up with a way, Ning Cheng almost praised this fellow in his heart. However, he still pretended to ponder over it for a moment before speaking, “Is it on the same airship with the selected geniuses heading to Grand Culmination Starry Skies for the finals?”
The middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator quickly replied, “No. This time, because Heavenly Emperor is also heading to Grand Culmination Starry Skies in person, many merchant houses want to take advantage of it and head out with them; as such, more than a dozen merchant ships are heading to that place.”
Ning Cheng waved his hand and spoke, “You don’t have to mention to me about the specifics. I do not care what type of identity you get me; however, I will make it clear that I will not act as a servant. I just need a separate place to rest, and I don’t need someone to order me around.”
The middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator nodded and spoke, “Naturally, it’s just that the price…..”
“How many celestial coins, just name it.” Ning Cheng asked with a calm face.
“1….1.3 billion green coins….” Initially wanting to quote 1 billion celestial coins, the middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator felt that Ning Cheng did not care much about money and added another 300 million to the figure midway.
So cheap? Ning Cheng had initially thought that a ticket would cost him at least four to five billion green coins. He never thought to obtain a place with only 1.3 billion green coins. Ning Cheng also knew that this middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator had added a bit more to the initial amount. However, Ning Cheng had no issues with the number of celestial coins, what he really wanted to know was about how early could he leave this place.
Ning Cheng hesitated for five to six minutes, waiting for this middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator to turn anxious, before giving out a sigh, “So expensive……”
Without waiting for this middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator to take the initiative to reduce prices, Ning Cheng spoke, “If it is 1.3 billion green coins, then 1.3 billion coins it is. Fortunately, everything added up on me barely manages to cover this price. When does it leave, I do not have time to wait. Otherwise, I will have to look for others.”
Seeing Ning Cheng not haggle over the price, the middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator quickly spoke, “You can leave immediately; Senior can pay the money after embarking the airship.”
This was what Ning Cheng wanted to hear the most. He knew that the airships heading to Grand Culmination Starry Skies would anyway leave in a few days. If the Celestial Novice Cultivator could not provide him with what he wanted, Ning Cheng would have chosen to leave Lucky Heaven City without hesitation and find some other way.
……
An hour later, the Celestial Novice Cultivator took Ning Cheng to a more secluded courtyard in Lucky Heaven City.
Without cultivation, Ning Cheng really did not want to enter this small courtyard. However, he also knew that if he had any chance of leaving Lucky Heaven City safely, he had to go in.
“Is he?” A low and deep voice came from the inside of the small courtyard.
Ning Cheng had just entered the small courtyard when he saw a dark-faced man with a thin body appear in front of him. This dark-faced fellow had three Celestial Wheels behind him, indicating that he most likely had a Celestial Gatherer Cultivation.
The middle-aged Celestial Novice Cultivator, who brought Ning Cheng in, immediately responded in a respectful voice, “Yes, just as master requested. We have already agreed on the price. This guest only requires a quiet place to rest, without any objection over the quality of the place, all for the price of 1.3 billion green coins……”
Ning Cheng immediately saw a flash of joy pass through this dark-faced fellow’s eyes, indicating the satisfaction he felt with the price.
“My name is Pei Long; many thanks to this friend for trusting us.” The black-faced man cupped his fists towards Ning Cheng and spoke in a polite tone.
Ning Cheng took out a card with 1.3 billion green coins on it and handed it over while speaking with a flat tone, “I hope to board the airship right now.”
Without his cultivation, Ning Cheng did not dare to haggle with others over money. However, when he took out the green coin card, Ning Cheng did so in a very bold manner, that way things would not drag out. As for registration and other stuff, Ning Cheng never really thought about it.
“Haha…..” Pei Long received the green coin card and laughed, “This friend sure has a way with actions, and I really appreciate your bluntness. Please let this Pei Long accompany you to the airship.”
Following Pei Long out of the small courtyard, Ning Cheng gave out a deep sigh in his heart. In the future, no matter the place, he cannot let himself fall into an absolute disadvantage. With an almost total lack of cultivation, he could not put up any resistance at all.
Pei Long, on seeing that Ning Cheng did not like to talk, also did not continue talking to Ning Cheng. With the green coins in hand, he anyway did not have to ask about anything else.
Pei Long gradually led Ning Cheng out of Lucky Heaven City before bringing out an airship and giving Ning Cheng a smile, “All the merchant ships heading to Grand Culmination Starry Skies are stationed outside of Striking Order Starland and will leave three days later. I will send you to the airship now. However, after boarding the airship, try not to talk with others; after all, you do not have an official ticket.”
“Many thanks.” Ning Cheng nodded and entered Pei Long’s battleship. If Pei Long had any thoughts, he might not be able to do much about it, but he might still manage to take down the other party with him.
To Ning Cheng’s relief, Pei Long stuck to the principles of his business and did not scheme against Ning Cheng. After almost an hour, Pei Long brought Ning Cheng outside of a colossal starry skies’ public square, right outside of Striking Order Starland.
Apart from the buildings that issued Identity Jade Cards to the new arrivals, there were also a dozen huge airships docked near the edges of this starry skies’ public square.
Just as Pei Long took Ning Cheng to one of the docked airships, another Celestial Gatherer Cultivator with goat-like whiskers came over. Pei Long and this cultivator exchanged a few words after which Ning Cheng saw Pei Long take out something and hand it to the cultivator.
“You and Steward Lu can board together. If there is anything you need help with, you can look for Steward Lu. I’m leaving.” Pei Long gave Ning Cheng a simple explanation before turning around and leaving.
“Follow me.” The man with the goat-like beard brought Ning Cheng to the foot of one of the airships and then made a gesture to a cultivator on board the airship. A small door then suddenly opened on the side, and a ladder quickly extended out from inside.
Ning Cheng felt a little relieved at this scene. He feared that this fellow would make him fly on to the airship directly, an ability that he could not utilise right now.
After Steward Lu brought Ning Cheng to the airship, he led Ning Cheng all the way down. After an almost half-an-incense stick worth of time, Ning Cheng finally heard some whispering sounds followed by Steward Lu’s words, “You stay here for now…..”
Ning Cheng then saw a huge hall, filled with all kinds of cultivators, a mix of both men and women. He then looked at Steward Lu with a little surprise. He had made an agreement for a quiet place to rest, so why did this fellow bring him to this big hall?
Steward Lu did not wait for Ning Cheng to talk, and spoke with a smile, “Wait till the miscellaneous goods room gets empty, I will give that room to you then.”
Ning Cheng immediately understood from Steward Lu’s words that this fellow definitely would not provide him with a quiet room. However, now that Ning Cheng had already boarded, he could only sigh in his heart and hold out his cupped fists at Steward Lu and say, “Then many thanks, Steward Lu.”
Steward Lu showed a smile and turned away. On the void airships heading to Grand Culmination Starry Skies, one might not even find the place to stand, so how could he give out a single room for an ignorant fellow?
Although starry sky cultivators filled the hall, there were just too many people crammed inside. As such, it was unavoidable for some odours and unusual smells to linger around; moreover, it was also not easy to find a relatively open space to sit down.
Ning Cheng looked around for quite a while but still had not found a place to sit down. Some of the cultivators on seeing Ning Cheng walking towards them had even stretched out their feet intentionally, indicating that some people already occupied that spot.
“Friend, you can sit with me. I still have some free space here.” Just when Ning Cheng thought of looking for a place in the middle of the hall, a voice called out to him.
When Ning Cheng turned his head to look back, he found an old man with similar hair as his current appearance; moreover, this old man also held a wine jug in his hand.
“Many thanks, friend.” Ning Cheng replied in kind before walking up to the old man and sitting down. This location was somewhat closer to the corner of the hall and did not attract attention.
The old man nodded to Ning Cheng and did not speak.
Ning Cheng had suffered some severe injuries; as such, he also was in no mood to chat with others. Although he really wanted to take out the Perpetual Moon Pills to cultivate, he also knew that it would be akin to suicide if he decided to bring out even a single Perpetual Moon Pill inside this hall.
However, because of the formidable nature of his starry skies’ Sea of Consciousness along with a resilient Celestial Essence Cultivation, it once again brought Ning Cheng great benefits. If other cultivators had ingested a Violent Celestial Pill, then even after a few months, they might not see even the slightest sign of recovery. However, for Ning Cheng, with just a few hours of rest, found his Celestial Essence starting to gather once again while his Spiritual Consciousness also showed signs of recovery.
This really surprised Ning Cheng. In such a place, without cultivation, one would only find themselves at the other end of humiliations and insults. He had initially thought that he would have to remain without cultivation for at least a dozen days. Ning Cheng never expected that he would start recovering so soon.
At this moment, Ning Cheng did not even care about the inconveniences of the area he currently sat at and focussed his mind on recovering his Spiritual Consciousness and Celestial Essence. Ning Cheng even ignored all the noise in the hall.
Although Ning Cheng did not think much about the consequences of his actions, something huge had gone down in Lucky Heaven City. All the Yue Clan cultivators residing in Lucky Heaven City had perished; from what it looked like, this matter had some connections to the case relating to the death of Yue Huangfu. From this, everyone understood that someone definitely held a grudge with the Yue Clan.
The death of all the Yue Clan Cultivators staying in Lucky Heaven City had also ended up infuriating Heavenly Emperor Striking Order. If only one or two cultivators from Yue Clan had died, it would not have mattered much to someone like him. However, this time all Yue Clan cultivators residing in Lucky Heaven City had perished, it was akin to slapping his face in public. Moreover, he was about to head to Grand Culmination Starry Skies, how would he explain this to the rest of the Yue Clan?