Chapter 1022: Calculations

Five-elements Star, this was the star’s name Ning Cheng saw written on the jade strip. It was a masterless star that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, without rhyme or reason, in the void outside the Grand Essence Realm.

It was then discovered by a lucky cultivator, who eventually found a strand of earth-attributed Primal Chaos Aura while exploring it. In fact, even the name ‘Five-elements Star’ was given to it by the lucky cultivator who obtained that strand of Primal Chaos Aura.

Based on the information on the jade strip, the Five-elements Star had ‘popped’ out of existence because it had been drifting in the void for too long, causing its natural Star Protecting Grand Array outside it to wear down and weaken. The jade strip also clearly recorded the location and directions to this star, even the coordinates from where to leave the Grand Essence Realm.

To put it bluntly, the only reason why Ning Cheng had willingly parted with a Dao Transformation Dao Fruit for this information was so that he could go over and take a look. The auction was still half a month away; maybe he could use this time to collect some of that Five-elements Primal Chaos Aura.

If he could truly obtain the Five-elements Primal Chaos Aura, let alone a Grand Amplification Spirit Fruit, even if he took out all the Grand Amplification Spirit Fruits on him, it would still result in a massive profit.

However, Ning Cheng hesitated after seeing the contents on the jade strip. Previously, he had already guessed that this was some sort of conspiracy. After all, why would any cultivator give out the location from where he obtained the strand of Five-elements Primal Chaos Aura? If his guess was correct, this fellow most likely did it to fish in troubled waters. Most likely, the source of this Five-elements Primal Chaos Aura was not something easy to obtain, which was why this fellow needed a lot of people to take the lead. After the mob took care of the threats around the source, it would definitely weaken the mob, allowing that fellow to take the spoils for himself. At the very least, it would become much easier for this scheming fellow to obtain what he wants.

As for what kind of threat one would face when going after the Five-elements Primal Chaos Aura’s source, it might be an array formation, or it could even be a demonic beast. Ning Cheng wouldn’t have cared much about these.

But Ning Cheng quickly understood that he had made the wrong assumptions. Since the strand of Five-elements Primal Chaos Aura was ‘accidentally’ discovered from a masterless planet, it meant that it was never meant to be seen by others. Unless it wasn’t one person but a group of people who discovered it. If these people were in a group, then as long as everyone wasn’t dead, they wouldn’t allow the cultivator who obtained the strand of Primal Chaos Aura to create a map to this place and sell it at an auction. After all, not everyone would be an idiot; why would they share such a precious treasure with the public?

But if it was indeed a group that discovered it at the start, and all of them died, leaving behind only the fellow who obtained the strand of Five-elements Primal Chaos Aura, then it would be even more impossible for this fellow to reveal the location to others.

But since such a secret did leak out and made known to everyone, the only explanation was that it was done intentionally.

Since it was a deliberate set-up by others, should he still go there?

Ning Cheng started to hesitate even more. He suspected that Ni Jing also knew about this matter. Perhaps, the Cheerful Treasure Chamber of Commerce was also part of this conspiracy.

Ning Cheng ruffled his messy hair and understood that he had already suffered a loss this time. Most likely, he got swindled by that old fox, Ni Jing. After all, Ni Jing most likely assumed that even if he saw the contents of the jade strip, he wouldn’t dare to go there.

To go or not to go?

Whether he went there or not, Ning Cheng had already left Broken Spear Spirit City in secret. He even changed his appearance to that of a servant of a random family before re-entering Broken Spear Spirit City. Since the Cheerful Treasure Chamber of Commerce was most likely involved in this, Ning Cheng decided to not let himself be put under its surveillance.

The second time he walked through the entrance of Broken Spear Spirit City, Ning Cheng saw two acquaintances. A man and a woman. Ning Cheng remembered that the man was called Su Gui, who should be Su Xiqian’s elder brother. He had seen Su Gui at Su Jian’s banquet in Su’s Corner. Ning Cheng also knew the woman next to Su Gui; she should be Yan Jinqing, Su Gui’s wife.

Su’s Corner wasn’t too far from Broken Spear Spirit City, so Ning Cheng didn’t think much when he saw Su Gui and Yan Jinqing here. In any case, Ning Cheng had no plans to meet Su Gui, even if he hadn’t changed his appearance.

Therefore, Ning Cheng deliberately bypassed Su Gui and walked into a moderately-sized restaurant. After picking a table in the lobby, he asked for a cup of spiritual tea and continued pondering on whether he should go to the Five-elements Star or not. Plus, he had also intentionally chosen this inn to hear what the cultivators thought about the upcoming auction.

At this time, the entire Broken Spear Spirit City was indulged in discussing the strand of Five-elements Primal Chaos Aura for auction. No matter which inn or restaurant one went to, one would hear about it.

Ning Cheng was halfway through his cup of spiritual tea when he saw Su Gui and Yan Jinqing walking into his restaurant. However, this time, they weren’t just two people. Just behind them was a middle-aged man.

This middle-aged man had higher cultivation than Su Gui at the early-stage Dao Raising Realm.

Noticing the unusual expressions of the three, Ning Cheng felt somewhat curious and let his spiritual consciousness trail Su Gui.

A few moments later, the Su Gui trio entered a private booth, and one of them activated the restrictions in the room, cutting off Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness. This time Ning Cheng didn’t hesitate and let his spiritual consciousness slice through the room’s restrictions. The restrictions couldn’t detect Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness, let alone block it.

Not to mention the garbage-level restrictions of this small inn, even if the isolating array formations and restrictions here were a few grades higher, they still couldn’t have stopped Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness. This wasn’t just because Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness had been enhanced after obtaining the Dark Nether Spirit Devourer, but more importantly, because Ning Cheng’s attainments in the Dao of Arrays were too high. He could easily figure out the gaps and weaknesses of the array formations here and find the point of least resistance for his spiritual consciousness to sweep in.

“Big brother, what the hell is going on? Why didn’t you come to Su’s Corner and tell us to come to Broken Spear Spirit City instead?” The first person to speak was Yan Jinqing, her tone a bit unhappy.

Only then did Ning Cheng understand that this middle-aged Dao Raising Holy Emperor, who had followed Su Gui, was Yan Jinqing’s elder brother.

The middle-aged man spoke in a deep voice, “Su Gui, the Su family would be yours sooner or later; there’s no need for you to make a move in advance right now. In the future, if Su Jian doesn’t let you take control of the Su family, we will naturally help.”

Su Gui frowned but glanced at Yan Jinqing. Why would he want to control the Su family? I live a great life. Why would I want to ruin it by taking control of the family?

Yan Jinqing quickly said, “Big Brother, I asked you to bring someone to help control Su Gui’s grandfather and that Zuo Zhong. Not to take control of the Su family, but because of other things.”

The middle-aged man waved his hand, “Whatever it is, it’s not as important as this matter now. Besides, it’s not like Su’s Corner will disappear overnight. Don’t worry, I will help you when the time comes. I called you both to Broken Spear Spirit City because, if we succeed, we most likely would be able to walk the path to Dao Confirming’s Second Step. In fact, it might even be possible for us to go beyond the second step in the future.”

“What?” Hearing those words, Su Gui and Yan Jinqing immediately forgot their purpose of coming here and focussed their attention on the middle-aged man. Not to mention surpassing Dao Confirmation’s Second Step; even if it was reaching Dao Confirmation’s Second Step, how many could actually achieve it?

Su Gui even asked with an eager voice, “Elder Brother Pengjin, what exactly is it that would make it possible for us to reach Dao Confirming’s Second Step?”

The middle-aged man waved his hand and put up a few more forbidden restrictions; unfortunately, even if he put up stronger restrictions, it would be in vain under Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness.

After feeling satisfied with the restrictions, the middle-aged man named Pengjin whispered, “Do you know anything about the upcoming auction in Broken Spear Spirit City?”

Su Gui nodded, “Yes, I heard that there would be a strand of earth-attributed Primal Chaos Aura appearing; but what does it have to do with us? With our strength and background, it would be impossible to get our hands on that strand of Primal Chaos Aura.”

Pengjin grunted, “Going to the auction to compete for the Primal Chaos Aura, our Yan and Su families combined wouldn’t be enough. I’m talking about the place where this Primal Chaos Aura appeared. I know the location of the source. We might not be able to bid for the Primal Chaos Aura, but we can at least look for the more strands of Primal Chaos Aura.”

“Ah.” Pengjin’s words immediately excited Su Gui and Yan Jinqing, even their faces flushed with excitement.

Even Ning Cheng’s ears perked up. Did this fellow also know about the Five-elements Star?

“According to the information I got, the Five-elements Primal Chaos Aura came from Five-elements Star, which isn’t too far away from the edge of the Grand Essence Realm. This information will be auctioned off in about half a month, so we can go to the Five-elements Star in advance. I called you both here because, one, you both are my family, and second, we can join forces and increase our strength.

Pengjin whispered.

When Ning Cheng heard those words, he almost crushed the cup in his hand. Ni Jing, that old bastard, really did swindle him. That fellow had obviously been leaking news about the Five-elements Star secretly, and yet, he still wanted to play hard to get by hiding behind the excuse of not being able to sell the jade strip in advance.

Not only did that bastard swindle him, Ning Cheng even helped him count the money. A Dao Transformation Dao Fruit for a useless piece of information, and I didn’t even get a jade strip. I, Ning Cheng, was truly a clown in that old fox’s vision.

Ning Cheng’s anger, however, quickly dissipated, and he sighed secretly in his heart. Compared to these professional actors, he was still quite worse. But then again, since the jade strips were to be auctioned off, why would they willingly leak the information in advance?

“Then, what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry up and go.” Yan Jinqing stood up eagerly.

Her older brother Pengjin, however, immediately stopped her. “Even if we combine our strength right now, we’re still too weak. We need to find some more people to help. Since that fellow put the location up for auction, the place should be dangerous enough that one person can’t venture inside alone.”

After saying that, Pengjin suddenly recalled the conversation from before and looked at Yan Jinqing and asked, “You said you wanted me to bring a few people to Su’s Corner, and it wasn’t for Su Gui? Why?”

Yan Jinqing replied in a whisper, “A mysterious guest came to Su’s Corner, and he casually gave a Purple Heaven Pill and a Mysterious Crossing Dao Pill to Su Gui’s grandfather Su Jian. I’m afraid these two pills are wasted on Su Xiqian, so I wanted to get them for Brother Gui.......”

“What?” This time it was Yan Jinqing’s older brother’s turn to be shocked. He immediately followed up with an eager tone, “Then, where is this mysterious guest who gave them the pills?”

“Don’t try to have any ideas about that mysterious guest. Although he is just an ordinary Dao Sculpting Holy Emperor, he has a very powerful friend. I suspect that she’s already reached Dao Confirmation’s Second Step. I just want to get the two pills he sent to Su’s Corner and leave them to Brother Gui.” Yan Jinqing quickly replied.

Pengjin said bitterly, “You’re really an idiot. With the cultivation of Su Gui’s sister, it would take her several years to refine the pills. We don’t have to worry about it for now; however, that mysterious guest you spoke of is entirely a different matter. His friend might be amazing, but does it mean he would stay by his friend’s side for the rest of his life? As long as he can be separated from his friend, can’t we easily kill him?”

Su Gui and Yan Jinqing looked at each other and realised they had never even thought of such a simple truth.

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