novelraw Chapter 365 - 176: Ancient Sect Token (Part 2)
Chapter 365 - 176: Ancient Sect Token (Part 2)
The people left in the hall felt both disappointed and envious.
"That old man Cheng really has had some lucky streak, being noticed by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator."
"Perhaps that senior was interested in his granddaughter instead."
...
As these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other, but no one dared to respond.
The middle-aged cultivator who had just spoken also realized that he might have said something inappropriate, and his face turned pale.
Luckily, at that moment, Chu Ning had already led a few people out of the courtyard, seemingly not having heard his words.
Chu Ning truly hadn’t paid any attention to the gossip of those Low Tier Cultivators behind him.
If he really wanted to overhear, with his Divine Sense, he could even clearly hear everything inside Jiang Hongguang’s entire cave mansion.
The reason he chose this grandfather and granddaughter pair was quite simple.
These two were precisely the pair of grandfather and granddaughter he had encountered a few days ago when he was pretending to be chased by a Toad Demon above that lake.
After leaving Jiang Hongguang’s cave mansion, Chu Ning inquired about their names.
The thin old man was called Cheng Zuyuan, and Chu Ning could just call him Old Man Cheng, while the little girl was called Cheng Xinxin.
At the moment, the two naturally didn’t know that the Foundation Establishment Cultivator in front of them was the person they had met a few days ago.
Chu Ning naturally had no intention of telling them, but he also casually asked,
"Old Man Cheng, where did you live before? Why did you suddenly think of coming to Feihong Island?"
Upon hearing Chu Ning’s question, Cheng Zuyuan immediately responded courteously,
"Reporting to Senior, I previously lived near Bluestone Island and Shuiyun Island with my little granddaughter, relying on catching Spirit Fish for a living.
A few days ago, we accidentally found the corpse of a Tier One Advanced Demon Beast that someone had killed. We sold it for some Spirit Stones.
So, we thought we’d come here to find a Spirit Field to farm, which would be more stable."
Chu Ning just nodded slightly and didn’t ask much more.
What made him choose this Old Man Cheng, besides having a good impression of the pair, was also largely because of what he said to Cheng Xinxin afterward.
Even though helping with planting and managing the Spirit Field wouldn’t expose too many of his secrets,
Chu Ning naturally hoped to find someone cautious and steady, and tight-lipped.
Cheng Xinxin was only at the Second Layer of Qi Refining, and her Wind Control speed was truly too slow.
After thinking it over, Chu Ning directly took out a Flying Boat from his Storage Bag.
He said to the two of them,
"Both of you, come aboard. I’ll take you to the cave mansion."
This Flying Boat was something he had organized over the past two days.
As for Cheng Zuyuan, being older, even if he hadn’t used it, he must have seen something of the sort.
When Cheng Xinxin stepped onto the Flying Boat, she immediately looked around in surprise with a face full of delight.
With a casual wave of his hand, Chu Ning cast a Magic Shield around the two of them. In the next moment, under the little girl’s sparkling eyes, the Flying Boat soared into the air, quickly heading towards Yanfeng.
In just a moment, Chu Ning brought the two of them to a landing outside the cave mansion.
"There’s an Array here, follow me carefully so you don’t get lost."
Chu Ning turned his head to remind Cheng Zuyuan and Cheng Xinxin, and they immediately followed cautiously behind him.
Leading them to an open area just outside the Spirit Field, Chu Ning finally said to Cheng Zuyuan,
"You can build a house here and live in this place from now on..."
As he spoke, Chu Ning handed over a Token for entering and exiting the outer part of the large array to Cheng Zuyuan.
This was a simple way to settle them down.
As for how to arrange their living area, that was naturally up to them.
In the following days, Chu Ning clarified the daily tasks for Cheng Zuyuan.
He even instructed him to gather some significant news about the Thousand Lakes and Thousand Islands from time to time.
Thus, the pair of grandfather and granddaughter was officially settled.
As for Chu Ning, he immersed himself in cultivation within his cave mansion.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed.
During these two months, Chu Ning made some gains.
The Spirit Fruits unexpectedly formed from the three types of Spirit Fruits were something Chu Ning had almost given up expecting after waiting for so long.
But upon trying them, he unexpectedly discovered that their effect on Body Refinement was even slightly better than that of the Iron Sun Fruit.
Chu Ning named this fruit the Iron Essence Fruit, and it became an auxiliary item for his Body Refinement cultivation.
Additionally, it got Chu Ning thinking.
During these two months, he partitioned multiple small areas within the Spirit Medicine Garden to experiment with various hybrids of Spirit Fruits and Spirit Medicine.
Apart from those like Iron Stem Orchid, Primordial Yang Fruit, and Golden Essence Fruit, which he had used in the past, he also experimented with some Spirit Fruits like the Flame Wood Twin Fruit that he brought from the Spirit Realm.
He even took out the Iron Soul Flower to experiment with it.
Since he was going to hybridize a few of each kind of fruit, Chu Ning wanted to see if there might be any surprising discoveries afterward.
On this day, as Chu Ning was cultivating inside the cave chamber, the voice of Old Man Cheng suddenly came from outside.
"Young Master, I have an important matter to report."
Chu Ning, after all, was only in his twenties, so being called ’Senior’ by an almost fifty-year-old man every day felt somewhat awkward.
So, he asked him to change it to ’Young Master.’
Upon hearing Old Man Cheng’s shout, Chu Ning exited the cave chamber and came to the outer Spirit Field area.
Instead of looking at Old Man Cheng first, Chu Ning’s gaze fell on Cheng Xinxin, who was nearby.
"Little girl, you’ve advanced to the Third Layer of Qi Refining? Not bad."
Upon hearing Chu Ning’s words, Cheng Xinxin, with two little braids, immediately bowed and said,
"Thank you, Young Master, for granting the Spirit Medicine. Xinxin just broke through a few days ago."
At this moment, Cheng Xinxin’s small face showed an uncontrollable excitement with her two big eyes sparkling.
A month ago, when Chu Ning observed that Cheng Xinxin had good talent and was faintly nearing the peak state of the Second Layer of Qi Refining, he casually gave her a few Low Tier Elixirs.
He didn’t expect that with this help, she would break through to the Third Layer of Qi Refining.
Chu Ning nodded, accepting her courtesy, before turning his attention to Old Man Cheng.
"Old Cheng, was this the matter you wanted to tell me?"
"No, it’s about the Song Family in the Thousand Lakes and Thousand Islands," Old Man Cheng promptly shook his head and replied.
"The Song Family matter?"
Hearing this, Chu Ning asked Old Man Cheng to continue, and he finally learned the general situation.
To be honest, this matter was related to Chu Ning.
After several Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Song Family were successively killed by Chu Ning, initially, when Song Li stood up to maintain stability, no major turmoil occurred.
However, as time passed and Song Cheng and several others never reappeared, people naturally started realizing something must have happened.
Originally, the Thousand Lakes and Thousand Islands were relatively balanced, but when the Cen Family allied with the Chen and Shi families, it slightly broke this balance.
Now, with the Song Family suddenly reducing in strength, this balance could no longer be maintained.
"A group of Tribulation Cultivators attacked the Song Family, and only Song Li, who was in the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, escaped.
The remaining Song Family members were wiped out, and the other five families of the Thousand Islands Alliance issued a search warrant in the Thousand Lakes and Thousand Islands, vowing to find the culprits."
As Cheng Zuyuan spoke, a hint of sarcasm appeared on Chu Ning’s face.
He asked with deep meaning,
"The Song Family has always been on good terms with the Liu and Huo families. When the Song Family was attacked, did they not come to help defend?"
Cheng Zuyuan had a peculiar expression as he replied,
"It’s said that on that day, the families of the Thousand Islands Alliance were discussing the Thousand Islands competition.
Song Family’s ancestor, Song Li, left angrily for some unknown reason, taking the Song Family members away from the Thousand Islands Hall.
They returned directly to their island, and the incident happened that night, beyond the reach of other families."
"Beyond the reach, indeed," Chu Ning chuckled lightly.
"Although several Foundation Establishment Cultivators have disappeared from the Song Family, Song Li, a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator, remains.
They must have several familiar Foundation Establishment Isle Masters, and for these Tribulation Cultivators to force the Song Family into such a corner, either there was intervention from a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator,
or numerous Foundation Establishment Cultivators joined forces; who in the Thousand Lakes and Thousand Islands has such power?"
Chu Ning didn’t directly name the five families, but Cheng Zuyuan could discern it.
In fact, anyone with a bit of savvy in the Thousand Lakes and Thousand Islands would have similarly speculated.
It’s just about whether someone is willing to speak up.
Naturally, Chu Ning wasn’t interested in intervening in these messy, treacherous affairs.
He said to Cheng Zuyuan, "Alright, I understand. It doesn’t relate much to me."
Cheng Zuyuan promptly added,
"Young Master, I’m afraid it is somewhat related to you."
Upon hearing his words, Chu Ning’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.