Chapter 0274: Karma House
The Rainbow Fall Sword Sect’s middle aged scholar, on seeing Ning Cheng take the jade talisman, stood up and gave a gentle smile towards the other two young looking man and woman standing in the middle of the room before speaking up, “This time our Rainbow Fall Sword Sect’s Ning Cheng has the lowest cultivation, both of you are at the Soul Essence 1st Level, so I hope that you would take care of your Junior Apprentice Brother Ning Cheng.”
That young looking male cultivator on hearing the words of the middle aged scholar, quickly spoke up, “Please be reassured Senior Bei, this Xin Hai will definitely look after Junior Apprentice Brother Ning.”
The other beautiful looking woman gave a stare at the young looking male cultivator standing beside them as if he was up to no good and spoke up, “Listening to someone as fat as you speak while gasping for breath, and although the Rainbow Fall Sword Sect has a solid foundation, however even if there was another Soul Essence Cultivator, after they leave here, they might necessarily not be better than this Ning Cheng.”
Ning Cheng only at this moment knew that he might have somehow wandered in between these two young looking man and woman, who were none other than Xin Hai and Bu Mei with whom he had to set off together. This Xin Hai was still polite as he responded to the words of the Rainbow Fall Sword Sect’s middle aged scholar, but that Severing Emotion Dao Sect’s Bu Mei acted as if she did not even hear anything, and was standing motionless.
……
“Junior Apprentice Brother Ning, your cultivation at this moment is truly a bit too low, so it would be better to be behind me. Once anything goes wrong, I advise you to immediately crush the jade talisman in your hands.” Once Xin Hai came out, he really seemed to show some care and consideration towards Ning Cheng.
“Many thanks Senior Apprentice Brother Xin.” After Ning Cheng thanked him once, he added another sentence, “Why would that Crucible Transformation Senior think that it was certain that it would turn out the same as previous?”
Xin Hai spoke up in a dignified tone, “The problem is this place itself, it’s not without reason that those Crucible Transformation Seniors would think that nothing would come out of this venture, rather it is just that compared to all those Crucible Transformation Seniors, we are basically nothing. There is also that odd place, the location where the immortal cave appeared, which is inaccessible even to the spiritual consciousness of those Crucible Transformation Cultivators.”
“Doesn’t it mean that there is an array formation there?” Ning Cheng asked.
Xin Hai nodded and spoke, “Listening to what those Crucible Transformation Seniors spoke, there is indeed an array formation these. But even a Tier 9 Array Formation Grand Master is not able to see through the array formation here, let alone for us to even look at it.”
Speaking till here, Xin Hai changed the subject, “You are just a Profound Core Cultivator, and yet you still dared to come here, it in itself is quite amazing, but you should still listen to the advice I gave you, although the reward given by the academies is quite tempting, but you also need to have the ability to earn it.”
Ning Cheng already had a bit of understanding towards Xin Hai’s mettle. As such, he was quite sure that Xin Hai was not trying to ridicule him, but rather had good intentions with his words.
“I will try to be careful, and besides didn’t Senior Apprentice Brother Hai say that he would keep an eye on me, as such how could I not feel assured.” Ning Cheng also spoke out in a random manner.
Sure enough, Xin Hai gave a grin, before he stretched out his fat palm and patted Ning Cheng’s shoulder before speaking, “Junior Apprentice Brother Ning can rest assured, even if there is something dangerous, as long as we crush the jade talisman in our hands in time, we can be transferred out in the same moment. Although I will definitely look after you, but you also have to pay attention at all times. Severing Emotion Dao Sect’s Junior Apprentice Sister Bu’s cultivation is also very powerful; as such she will also be looking after you and would be able to help you out in a whisk or two of a second.”
From the time they met with Ning Cheng, until this moment, that young looking female cultivator only gave a frown, but did not speak even a single word.
“Junior Apprentice Brother Ning, you should pay attention from this point on, once we cross this yellow line we would have already entered the dangerous area. All the disciples who came looking for the immortal cave, each and every one of them have gone missing after crossing this line.” Xin Han pointed towards a thick yellow line at their foot, and reminded Ning Cheng with a sentence.
Ning Cheng stepped over the yellow line, and was once again greeted by the sight of an incomparably desolate land in front of him, looking at the craters that seemed to have been created due to the recent war; he couldn’t help but speak out in doubt, “There is simply nothing here aah? There are no mountains or valleys or even rivers here, how can someone go missing…..”
Ning Cheng suddenly stopped speaking, he found that Xin Hai and Bu Mei who were just by his side a moment ago had unexpectedly disappeared, there was simply no sign of them, and had completely disappeared without a single fluctuations.
Just as a creepy scalp tingling sensation arose in Ning Cheng, he felt his entire body covered in a light, the next moment he appeared in an incomparably dark hall. Not to mention about crushing the jade talisman, he simply did not even have the chance to even respond to what was happening. Only at this moment did Ning Cheng immediately crush the Jade Talisman, unfortunately it did not even have the slightest effect.
There seemed to be no one in this incomparably huge hall other than him, in addition to it there was also the cold chill that he was feeling on the outside. Nevertheless, this icy coldness also induced a gloomy feel to the surroundings apart from making one feel cold.
Ning Cheng immediately focussed his attention, he couldn’t help but feel as if he wouldn’t be able to exercise control over himself in this place.
This certainly was a transmission array, but it seems that the level of this transmission array was simply too high, something against which even a Tier 9 Array Formation Grand Master would feel helpless. It also looks like Xin Hai and Bu Mei were sent to different places since they were not with him here.
Although Ning Cheng was paying full attention and was always using his spiritual consciousness to observe the surroundings, but even so, he chose to stay in the hall for a long time. He confirmed that there was no danger here, with the only different feel being a strange yet powerful aura surrounding the hall all around. If Ning Cheng had not come into contact with the Power of Hope previously, he certainly would not have known what this strange power was.
Since Ning Cheng had already come into contact with the Power of Hope, he was able to sense this. However, although this mysterious power seemed to be similar to the Power of Hope, he was able to tell that this power definitely was not the Power of Hope that he was knew.
At the same time, Ning Cheng also found that there was no way to exit from the hall; as such, there was no choice but to go deeper into the hall. When he finally made his way to the deeper parts of the hall, he could see a glimmer of weak light emanating from there; moreover once his spiritual consciousness came into contact with the seemingly weak looking light he couldn’t help but feel extremely comfortable. This light was something produced by spiritual qi, Ning Cheng couldn’t help but feel moved in his heart, as he immediately accelerated his pace towards it.
……
At the same time, in a snow white house that seemed to have come from a fairy tale like world, there were more than a hundred cultivators frozen. All of these cultivators ranged from Profound Congealing to Soul Essence in strength.
The snow white house that seemed to be made from pure white ice had a strange name to it. It was called the ‘Karma House’.
All the cultivators in this Karma House had a common characteristic. That is, each one of them were frozen in crystal like clear icicles. And all of these cultivators had brought out their own magical weapons that seemed to have covered their body from top to bottom. Although they were not able to move, but at least they were able to resist the terrifying cold emanating from the icicles.
Suddenly, one of the cultivators trapped inside the icicles gave a slight tremble, before the lustre on his defensive magical weapon turned dark. Soon a ‘Katcha’ sound emerged followed by a faint shadow, which floated out from the cultivator, before it floated into the mouth of a huge cauldron that was sitting on top of the ice house. The next moment, the ice encasing this cultivator’s body started melting with a speed visible to the naked eye, as it slowly disappeared.
The remaining cultivators trapped in their own icicles remained silent on watching this scene, other than desperately stimulating their magical weapons to block the cold chill from the icicles, there was simply no other means to survive.
This kind of scene was something that occurred on a daily basis in this Ice House. Initially, there were many disciples from the influential and long standing sects and academies trapped in here, along with the many rogue cultivators who had undertaken this assignment. After being teleported to his place, each one had no choice but to come to this ice house, only to end up frozen. The only thing that they could do was to resist the cold seeping into them with everything they got, once they were unable to continue resisting it, their soul would simply float out of their body, before being sucked into the ice house’s huge cauldron.
Once the soul disappears, the corporeal body, that is the flesh and bones, would start rotting and would disappear with a speed visible to the naked eye. Once the corporeal body melts off, all the magical weapons and other belongings would also disappear completely, as if they never existed in the first place.
Besides, the power of the icicles trapping them in this ice house did not seem to be related to their cultivation. Rather, if one really wanted to make a comparison then the higher ones overall strength was, the more powerful would be the frozen icicles encasing you.
Once you end up frozen inside this ice house, you could only rely on a good defensive magical weapon. If a cultivator had a strong spiritual consciousness and true essence then they would be able to resist for a bit longer. But even for them, they would only be able to resist for a tiny bit longer. In the end, they would still turn into ice dregs before they disappeared without a trace.
Only at this place, can one see the difference between a rogue cultivator and disciples from the sects and academies. Of the ones who could use magical weapons to protect themselves for a few months before they disappeared after being frozen, most of them were academy disciples, and only an extremely few rogue cultivators. But with the passage of time, the icicles in the ice house grew less and less in numbers, and from the initial more than a thousand icicles, there were now just a little bit more than a hundred left.
Seeing three more Taoist shadows falling in three different corners, all the people trapped in the ice house knew that there were three more icicles that were going to be added to the ice house.
Although the people who arrived recently could not see the ice house, but the people trapped inside the ice house were able to clearly see the people who just arrived. They themselves had also entered the same way, and once they tried to touch any of the treasures inside the hall, they were immediately teleported to the ice house where they were immediately encased and frozen in an icicle.
This hall and the ice house’s name was very strange, if you did not try to take anything from the inside, then you would not be teleported into the ice house. But the fact was, after they entered the hall, there was not a single cultivator among them who could not hold himself or herself back from trying to take away the things from here. Moreover, after entering the hall, the only thing that they seem to remember was that this place was just an ancient immortal cave, and only knew that they had come here to find good things. As to why it was like that, it was probably because their consciousness was blurred, or maybe it was not important, or maybe none of them even wanted to think about it.
“How come Ning Cheng is here?” Liang Kexin, who was also frozen inside an icicle, was able to identify Ning Cheng in a single glance, before she sighed. Although Ning Cheng was really powerful, but she was certain that, he would also be joining them soon and soon turn just like her, frozen in the ice house, slowly waiting for death,
In this ice house, the number of Profound Congealing Cultivators able to survive for three to four months without dying absolutely were no more than five, and Liang Kexin was one of them. However only she knew was aware that the reason she was able to survive until now was that she used to be a cultivator in the Soul Essence Realm in the past. As such, the cards in her hand were far more than what an average Profound Congealing Cultivator could possess, even if that was the case, she was also acutely aware that she would only be able to resist for a day or two more before she ended up falling.
……
“Low Grade True Artefact?” Xin Hai had just been teleported inside, causing him to feel slightly surprised, but when he saw a low grade True Artefact in front of him, he did not hesitate to reach out and grab it. At this moment, he completely forgot how or why he had come in.
The cultivators frozen inside the ice house couldn’t help but shake their heads, if that was even possible for them, this person’s resistance was simply too poor, and simply couldn’t help but get his hands on a low grade True Artefact. But then thinking of themselves, their shaking heads couldn’t help but turn into a deep sigh. Were they also not the same as that person? Didn’t they also see a piece of treasure, and then reach out to grab it, only to end up teleporting into the Karma House?
The instant Xin Hai grabbed the low grade True Artefact; he was immediately swept over by a power that he was simply not able to resist, causing him to immediately realize that it was not something good. It was only at this moment that he was finally able to remember as to what had transpired. However, before he was even able to react, the next moment he appeared in the ice house, and was frozen inside an icicle.
Looking at the more than a hundred icicles inside the ice house, with each icicle containing a trapped cultivator, Xin Hai finally was able to piece together as to what had happened. No wonder, why there were so many cultivators who disappeared. It seems the cultivators here were also originally like him, who wanted to grab the treasure, only to end up frozen inside the ice house.
His thoughts had just reached this point, when a light flashed in the ice house, as another icicle that was similar to a pillar, appeared out of thin air inside the room. Looking at Bu Mei inside the pillar, Xin Hai shook his head and knew that Junior Apprentice Brother Ning would also be joining in with them soon.
A burst of an ice cold wave hit him, causing him to feel that his corporeal body was being torn apart from the inside out, in order to absorb his soul. Xin Hai quickly brought out his defensive magical weapon, using it to cover his entire body, only after which he felt a little better. He was also able to notice Ning Cheng immediately, Ning Cheng had had also walked into the hall the same way he entered the hall before.