Chapter 1065: Grand Change Alchemy City

“Big Brother Ning, how was it?” As soon as Ning Cheng returned, Xixi couldn’t help but ask.

Ning Cheng said, “You don’t need to worry. The place where Xi’er lived has not changed. The woman living there is someone similar to your sister Xi’er, with a heart free of dust and a clear dao heart. Moreover, she’s living there because Liu Fangzhen wants to use her as a sacrifice to suppress the Underground Abyss’s devilish entities. It’s just that Liu Fangzhen didn’t expect this woman to be so highly talented that she grew into a Dao Fusion powerhouse in just under ten thousand years. Her strength felt beyond ordinary Dao Fusion cultivators, which should be why he didn’t dare move on her.

After hearing Ning Cheng’s explanation, Xixi finally sighed in relief. “Then, Big Brother Ning, where are we going now?”

“How long will it take to get to the Underground Abyss?”

“At our speed, I’m afraid it will take a few months. Our journey might take longer as the two teleportation arrays we must pass through are quite far apart.”

After learning that reaching the Underground Abyss would take too much time, Ning Cheng decisively said, “Let’s head back to the Grand Change Alchemy City first and then find a way to go to the Underground Abyss after the Five Grand Realms’ Alchemy Competition.”

Ning Cheng had no choice. Whether it was for Sichen Qiutian or himself, he couldn’t miss the Five Grand Realms’ Alchemy Competition. Moreover, if Ning Cheng didn’t arrive in time, the Grand Change Pill Union might start a search for him. If it did, no matter where he teleported, there would always be a possibility of exposing his whereabouts, even if he disguised himself. Going to the Underground Abyss with Xixi had to be done secretly, meaning they couldn’t afford to be exposed before that.

Xixi also understood that Ning Cheng spoke the truth. Even though she didn’t want Xi’er to suffer any more in the Underground Abyss, they had no choice.

Two hours later, Ning Cheng suddenly stopped the Starry Sky Wheel, forcing Xixi to look doubtfully at Ning Cheng. Suddenly, however, a dark airship appeared abruptly before the Starry Sky Wheel.

As the airship stopped, a sturdy cultivator in the late stages of the Dao Raising Realm appeared at the ship’s bow.

“Bandits!?” Xixi exclaimed in surprise. She had encountered many bandits before, but they usually lived in remote and uninhabited areas. They wouldn’t dare appear in the Treasured Stone Dao Court’s territory.

“He’s not a bandit. He came here to kill me and take you away.” Ning Cheng said in a matter-of-fact tone. He didn’t even put away his Starry Sky Wheel.

Ning Cheng had already realised that he had unknowingly flown into a killing formation. With an early-stage Dao Raising cultivation facing a late-stage Dao Raising cultivator controlling a killing formation, even an idiot could tell that Ning Cheng had no chance of coming out alive.

However, in Ning Cheng’s opinion, the one doomed wasn’t him, but this late-stage Dao Raising cultivator who stopped him. With his understanding of the Dao of Arrays, how could such a simple trap-and-kill formation stop him? This fellow didn’t know his limits.

After hearing Ning Cheng’s words, Xixi, however, felt slightly surprised. How did Ning Cheng know the other party’s intentions? But when she saw the person, she quickly understood the situation. Looking at the late-stage Dao Raising cultivator blocking their patch, a hint of sorrow slowly crept across her eyes.

Two days ago, this person was still talking about how he wanted to help her, and now he had disguised himself as a stranger and wanted to take her away. Xixi had wandered the void for so many years. How couldn’t she recognise that the person blocking their path was Yuan Ji?

Thinking back to Ning Cheng’s previous question, the only purpose of Yuan Ji blocking their way was to capture her. The reason for capturing her also didn’t require much thought: her identity. Yuan Ji didn’t know her background; therefore, he was doing someone else’s bidding. As for the person behind Yuan Ji, their intentions were most likely to force Pan Qian’s whereabouts from her.

Sure enough, after seeing the Starry Sky Wheel come to a stop, Yuan Ji made his move. A huge black cauldron descended from the void, ignoring Ning Cheng’s domain. In an instant, the entire world beneath the black cauldron fell under Yuan Ji’s control.

Sounds of tearing could be heard, chilling to the bone. One after another, sharp pin-point compressions converged towards the centre of the space enveloped by the black cauldron. Then, an icy-cold arrow imbued with an aura of death pierced through the centre of the tight space, while Ning Cheng found himself at the heart of this oppressive killing intent.

Yuan Ji’s eyes showed complete disdain. He had set up a trap-and-kill formation, but it was completely unnecessary. In his eyes, once his divine ability, Black Cauldron Cold Arrow had emerged, Ning Cheng could only wait for his death. If Ning Cheng had been stronger than him, he might have had a chance to break free from his divine ability. But now, he knew Ning Cheng couldn’t escape from it.

Ning Cheng didn’t bother to break free from the intense coldness emanating from the black cauldron, not because he couldn’t, but because this ability posed no threat to him.

When the ice-cold arrow descended, a spear suddenly appeared in Ning Cheng’s hand and shook slightly, creating countless icy-spear patterns imbued with his spatial dao rhythm before surging forth. It caused the suppressed space around him to loosen instantly before breaking down with a sudden cracking noise.

Even Xixi, who watched the battle from the Starry Sky Wheel, could feel the pressure around her easing up as the oppressing feeling brought on by the black cauldron dissipated.

The moment the space controlled by the black cauldron crumbled under the spear patterns of Ning Cheng’s Void Cold Light Spear, Yuan Ji sensed it, and a look of shock flashed in his eyes. But without waiting for him to react, the silent spear patterns blasted at the centre of the black cauldron’s cold arrow.

“Boom!” The icy-cold arrow filled with the aura of death exploded into dust the moment it came in contact with the Void Cold Light Spear, and the tearing, cold intent within it scattered into nothingness in just a few breaths. Even the death aura within the arrow dissipated without a trace.

Not good. This person is too strong. I’m not a match against him. Yuan Ji immediately understood the power gap between him and Ning Cheng. Even with the trap-and-kill formation, he still couldn’t win against Ning Cheng.

At this moment, he had long since stopped thinking about killing Ning Cheng. Instead, he raised his hand to take out several formation flags while a talisman appeared in his other hand.

Ning Cheng would never let Yuan Ji activate the talisman and escape. Even if a late-stage Dao Raising cultivator were no threat to him, because this late-stage Dao Raising cultivator had set up a trap-and-kill formation to kill him, Ning Cheng wouldn’t let him escape.

Ning Cheng’s figure seemed to twist like distorted space, gracefully disappearing as the endless killing dao rhythm bombarded him. These dao rhythms also bombarded the Starry Sky Wheel but only caused the Starry Sky Wheel’s defensive restrictions to shake a bit.

Only one breath had passed from when Yuan Ji took out the formation flags and the Escape Talisman to when Ning Cheng easily passed through the trap-and-kill formation.

One breath later, Ning Cheng’s Void Cold Light Spear’s spear patterns bound Yuan Ji’s escape talisman. As the seemingly boundless oppressive aura came crashing down, a trace of despair finally flashed through Yuan Ji’s heart. He never expected Ning Cheng to be this strong. Despite being in the Dao Raising Realm like Ning Cheng, with even higher cultivation, he still couldn’t put up any resistance against Ning Cheng.

“Poof!” The Void Cold Light Spear pierced the talisman and pinned Yuan Ji in the void.

“Let me go, and I’ll tell you who wants to capture Xixi…….” Yuan Ji’s eyes showed a sense of hopelessness as he looked at Ning Cheng and pleaded.

Ning Cheng raised the Void Cold Light Spear and lifted Yuan Ji, saying calmly, “Are you going to say that it was Crow Pavilion Sacred Dao City’s Liu Fangzhen who sent you to find Xixi?”

Yuan Ji’s eyes revealed disbelief. How did he know who ordered him to find Xixi?

“I’ll give you three breaths of time. Tell me why Liu Fangzhen wants Xixi.” Ning Cheng speculated that Yuan Ji probably didn’t know why Liu Fangzhen wanted Xixi, but he still asked.

Upon hearing Ning Cheng’s words, Yuan Ji hurriedly said, “Xixi, remember the times we teamed up together……”

“One breath.” Ning Cheng interrupted him.

“I don’t know. You should already know that Liu Fangzhen wouldn’t explain why.” Yuan Ji realised he couldn’t get Xixi to save him when he saw she didn’t come forward.

“Two breaths….” Ning Cheng ignored Yuan Ji’s words.

Yuan Ji’s face turned pale, knowing that saying anything further would be useless.

As the three breaths Ning Cheng gave elapsed, the Void Cold Light Spear tore through Yuan Ji’s essence spirit, and Ning Cheng collected Yuan Ji’s ring.

“Let’s go. Yuan Ji doesn’t know why Liu Fangzhen wants to find you. I suspect it’s related to Pan Qian’s matter.” Ning Cheng landed on the Starry Sky Wheel and said to Xixi.

Xixi’s eyes were filled with disappointment. She didn’t have many friends in the Grand Change Realm, but Yuan Ji, who had teamed up with her a few times, could be considered a friend. But now, the brutal reality left her deeply saddened.

……

In the Grand Change Realm, the five Grand Dao Courts and the three Great Dao Sects occupied almost 80% of the entire Grand Change Realm. The remaining unclaimed territories were either public places that came into existence from long and deep negotiations or extremely dangerous environments.

However, despite the situation, some areas in the Grand Change Realm belonged to forces other than the five Great Dao Courts or the three Great Dao Sects despite technically falling within their territories. The Grand Change Alchemy City was one such place that existed independently from the other major forces.

In name, the Grand Change Alchemy City belonged to the Grand Change Pill Union, but in reality, it was more of a home or a personal residence of the Pill Union rather than a territory. Moreover, unlike other forces, the City Lord of the Alchemy City didn’t necessarily come from the Pill Union; rather, it was a position obtained through alchemy competitions. The competitors for the City Lord position could be rogue cultivators, alchemists, or even figures from the five dao courts or the three dao sects.

Regardless of their background, one thing was certain: the City Lost had to be fair and just. Otherwise, the Pill Union would immediately eliminate that City Lord without hesitation.

Because of this, the Grand Change Alchemy City could be considered the fairest and the most peaceful sacred city in the entire Grand Change Realm, similar to Ning Cheng’s Covered Snow City in the Stately River Star.

As soon as Ning Cheng arrived in the Grand Change Alchemy City, he could sense this situation, and it was probably because of this environment that the Grand Change Alchemy City was bustling with activity. After entering the Grand Change Realm, this Grand Change Alchemy City was the liveliest sacred city Ning Cheng had ever seen.

“May I ask if you are Alchemist Ning?” Ning Cheng and Xixi had just walked into the Grand Change Alchemy City and were about to find a place to settle down when a crisp voice stopped Ning Cheng.

Ning Cheng paused and looked at the beautiful young girl who called out to him, asking with a hint of confusion, “Yes, I am Ning Cheng. Are you looking for me?”

He didn’t recognise this girl at all. If Sichen Qiutian, Lu Dongze, or Kong Lianbo were looking for him, they would have contacted him directly instead of sending a stranger.

The girl bowed respectfully and said, “I’m not the one looking for you; it’s our City Lord who wants to meet you. If Alchemist Ning has the time, please follow me.”

“Your City Lord? The City Lor of Grand Change Alchemy City?” Ning Cheng thought. I just entered the Grand Change Alchemy City, so how could the City Lord come to look for me? It seemed too much of an honour. Even if he won against Lu Dongze, he knew he wouldn’t be qualified to receive such treatment.

“No, it’s City Lord Liu.” The girl quickly explained.

Ning Cheng couldn’t help but blurt, “Wait, Liu Fangzhen, the City Lord of Crow Pavilion Sacred Dao City?”

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