novelraw Chapter 371 - 182: Each Playing Their Own Part
Chapter 371 - 182: Each Playing Their Own Part
Chu Ning leaped down from the iron meteorite, staring in the direction of the newcomers, with a look of caution appearing on his face.
He was completely flustered.
"Who is it?"
Just as Chu Ning jumped down, Chen Chengzong immediately shouted sharply.
At the same time, he swiftly appeared before Chu Ning.
"Who?"
Chu Ning also shouted lowly, while the Fire Phoenix Feather Spear in his hand was held horizontally in front of him.
The next moment, when the other people appeared one after another, Chu Ning showed a look of immense joy.
His voice was also filled with ecstatic cheer.
"Is it the fellow Daoists from the Thousand Islands Alliance? You’ve finally arrived!"
Chen Chengzong did not know Chu Ning, just looking at him with an unpleasant expression.
But Cen Wenquan and the others recognized Chu Ning.
"Fellow Daoist Chu?"
"Indeed!" Chu Ning breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands towards Chen Chengzong and Cen Wenquan and others.
"Greetings to the alliance leaders and all the seniors."
Cen Wenquan immediately introduced to Chen Chengzong and Liu Yishan, Bai Heng, and others on the side:
"Gentlemen mentors, this is Fellow Daoist Chu Ning, a newly promoted cultivator from Feihong Island.
He should be with Fellow Daoists Wen Linghua and Chen Xinming."
Upon hearing this, Chen Chengquan immediately shouted:
"Did you come in together with them? What exactly happened?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Ning’s face stiffened slightly.
Cen Wenquan immediately explained:
"Fellow Daoist Chu, Fellow Daoist Xinming and the others are in trouble, Uncle Chen is anxious, please understand."
"They are all in trouble?" Chu Ning pretended to be shocked.
Immediately, he said:
"So Song Li indeed showed no mercy."
"Was it really that old bastard Song Li who did it?" Chen Chengquan shouted angrily upon hearing this.
Chu Ning nodded, then recounted how everyone had searched for several days, how they split up after entering this Pinghu Island.
He mostly described what really happened.
Just slightly changed his story after the encounter with Song Li.
"After Zou Huiqing’s sneak attack and Song Li’s appearance, the three of us realized we were no match.
All three of us fled to seek reinforcements, Song Li chased Fellow Daoist Chen Xinming, Zou Huiqing chased Fellow Daoist Zhang Lu.
That’s how I escaped luckily, but there are so many arrays in this stone forest.
I wandered for a long time without finding the other Daoists or an exit.
So I hid here to restore my Magical Power until you arrived."
Listening to Chu Ning, Chen Chengquan and the others exchanged glances.
There seemed to be nothing wrong with Chu Ning’s words, and they mostly believed him.
Chen Chengquan gritted his teeth at this moment.
"Song Li, Zou Huiqing, let me find them and I’ll grind their bones to dust!"
On the side, the tall and thin Bai Heng said to Chu Ning:
"Fellow Daoist Chu, follow us and continue to search in this stone forest.
When we find Song Li and Zou Huiqing, we can confront them."
"Okay!"
Chu Ning agreed almost without hesitation.
Song Li and Zou Huiqing were long dead at his hands.
Chen Xinming had also been gravely wounded by Song Li, then beheaded by Zou Huiqing.
He naturally was not worried about any confrontation.
Next, Chu Ning spent three full days searching the stone forest with the others.
To Chu Ning’s surprise, there was indeed another survivor in this stone forest.
It was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator named Shen Yonggen.
He and Chu Ning were both summoned from other islands.
After entering this Pinghu Island, Shen Yonggen was assigned to Wen Linghua’s group.
His account was similar to Chu Ning’s.
During Song Li and Zou Huiqing’s attack on Wen Linghua and another cultivator, he fled amidst the chaos and got lost in this stone forest.
At this time, after several days of searching, Cen Wenquan had completely dismantled the ancient arrays in this stone forest.
The Chen Family then organized dozens of Foundation Establishment Cultivators to search the stone forest.
And the various areas outside the stone forest on Pinghu Island were turned upside down.
The result, apart from Chu Ning and Shen Yonggen, naturally yielded nothing.
Thus ten days passed before Chen Chengquan and Chen Jiasheng gave up completely.
All cultivators departed from Pinghu Island, heading to other islands to search.
But after this incident, no cultivator from any family dared to act rashly.
Chu Ning and Shen Yonggen, as the two involved, were not sent away but returned to Thousand Illusion Island together.
In the Thousand Islands Alliance’s council hall, Chu Ning and Shen Yonggen were placed at the far end.
Besides the two survivors and the missing Zou Huiqing, the bodies of the other were found and laid in the hall.
In front of several family ancestors and the five current alliance leaders, Chu Ning and Shen Yonggen were asked to recount their experiences again.
Chu Ning naturally followed the previous story once more.
Listening to Chu Ning, Chen Chengzong’s face could not look any darker.
Chen Jiasheng, on whom the Chen Family had high hopes, had just succeeded in Foundation Establishment, only to meet a fate of decapitation.
This drove the entire Chen Family to madness.
Despite spending so much time, they still couldn’t find any trace of the enemy.
Chen Chengquan was undoubtedly suppressing his fury all along.
When Chu Ning finished speaking, Shen Yonggen had only half-stated his case before Chen Chengquan impatiently waved to interrupt:
"Enough, there’s no point in repeating the same thing.
Sending you two to escape and report back, yet you couldn’t even make it out of the Stone Forest, leading to my grandson’s wrongful death at the hands of the scoundrel."
The more Chen Chengquan spoke, the angrier he became, and at this moment, he slammed the table and stood up.
"If that’s the case, you might as well go down and be buried with him!"
As he spoke, the magical power around Chen Chengquan began to surge, and he really seemed to have the intention of attacking Chu Ning and Shen Yonggen.
Seeing this, both Chu Ning and Shen Yonggen’s expressions changed slightly.
"Brother Chen, please wait!"
At that moment, Liu Yishan stood up and spoke.
"Fellow Daoist Chu and Fellow Daoist Shen were invited to help search for the alliance, and they have already fulfilled their duty.
Both Daoists are at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, while Song Li is at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, along with support from the array and collaborators from within.
According to the two Daoists, it wasn’t that they were unwilling to save, but rather powerless to do so.
If Brother Chen were to blame them for this, it might chill the hearts of the other Daoists in the Thousand Lakes and Thousand Islands."
"Brother Liu is right," Huo Zhenshan added in agreement.
"In this matter, quite a bit of responsibility still falls on Xinming.
If he hadn’t insisted on dispersing after entering the island, Song Li wouldn’t have been able to carry out any scheme."
Upon hearing Huo Zhenshan’s words, Chen Chengquan immediately cast a cold gaze.
He was well aware of what they were saying as well.
His desire to attack Chu Ning and Shen Yonggen was merely to vent his frustration.
Moreover, it wasn’t without the intention to test the responses of the families.
Now with Liu Yishan and Huo Zhenshan intentionally exposing past grievances, it made him wary.
Earlier, the Liu Family and Huo Family had agreed to join forces with them against the Song Family, not just for the promised benefits.
They also saw promise in Chen Xinming’s future development.
After all, both Cen Zijin and Chen Xinming were considered the most likely to form the Core Formation in the Thousand Lakes and Thousand Islands.
But now Cen Zijin is missing, and Chen Xinming is dead.
Additionally, the Song Family has become a shadow of its former self.
Evidently, the Liu Family and that Huo Family’s attitudes are becoming subtle.
Thinking this, Chen Chengquan sat down.
Appearing as if he’d been persuaded by his peers.
Chu Ning and Shen Yonggen naturally were unaware of these complex relationships behind the scenes.
Seeing Chen Chengquan sit down slowly, they both sighed in relief.
At this moment, Bai Heng took over and said:
"Fellow Daoists, since the matter here is now clear, please return, and thank you both for your efforts."
Hearing this, Chu Ning and Shen Yonggen promptly stood up, bowed, and walked out of the council hall.
Meanwhile, Liu Yishan and Huo Zhenshan exchanged an inadvertent glance.
Immediately, their eyes fell on Chu Ning and Shen Yonggen.
With Chu Ning’s strong divine sense, his perception was exceptionally sharp.
As he was turning to leave, he felt a gaze land on him, making his heart skip a beat.
Though the gaze swept over him briefly, Chu Ning still sensed something was amiss.
"Liu Yishan, why is he looking at me like that?
Is it just because he spoke up on our behalf earlier?"
This thought flashed through his mind, but on the surface, Chu Ning remained calm and followed Shen Yonggen out of the hall.
Once they exited the Thousand Islands Hall, and just as they approached the teleportation array, Shen Yonggen suddenly stopped and said with a sigh:
"Fellow Daoist Chu, I never imagined it would be just the two of us who survived."
Saying this, the honest-looking middle-aged man offered:
"How about coming to my Puhe Island, let’s have a few drinks and celebrate our survival?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Ning immediately declined:
"Thank you for the kind offer, but honestly, I’m quite shaken, and having only recently established my Foundation, I’d like to return and rest in secluded cultivation."
"That’s truly a pity," Shen Yonggen replied with regret.
The two of them bid farewell at the teleportation array.
Chu Ning directly teleported back to Feihong Island, returning to Yanfeng.
As he approached the outskirts of his cave mansion, Cheng Zuyuan and Cheng Xinxin came to greet him.
"Young Master, you’re back. I heard some trouble happened recently..."
Chu Ning gave a slight "hmm" and briefly shared with Cheng Zuyuan what he had told the members of the Thousand Islands Alliance.
After hearing Chu Ning, Cheng Zuyuan and Cheng Xinxin appeared visibly relieved.
"Young Master, it’s fortunate you have such great fortune."
Cheng Zuyuan undoubtedly spoke from the heart, knowing that if anything had happened to Chu Ning, it wouldn’t bode well for them either.
At this time, Chu Ning’s brow slightly furrowed, without any hint of joy.
He turned to walk into his stone chamber, and after some thought, said to Cheng Zuyuan:
"These days, the Thousand Lakes and Thousand Islands are unstable. You both should stay in my cave; there are a few vacant stone chambers."
Hearing Chu Ning’s words, Cheng Zuyuan showed a puzzled expression.
But, seeing that Chu Ning seemed unwilling to explain further, he wisely chose not to ask.
"Hopefully, I’m just overthinking things,"
Chu Ning thought to himself.
The last look from Liu Yishan felt as if the man had some ill intentions.