Chapter 0325: I’m Afraid I’ll Be Leaving
Ning Cheng had not walked very far when he once again stopped, turned back and looked back at the immortal cave that had been temporarily been dug out by Shi Qionghua. Even if he used Concealment Array Formations to completely hide the immortal cave, he still felt uncomfortable in his heart. Unfortunately, he currently did not have the ability to move the mountain. Even if he did have that ability, his miniature world would still not be able to accommodate it.
He was a nostalgic person, if he wanted to forget the events that transpired in this place then even if he spent his entire lifetime, he would not be able to do it.
It was only after a long time that Ning Cheng once again turned around. Not knowing from how long, a woman wearing white robes, stood in front of him not much far away from where he was. She was just like a beautiful landscape, with her robes gently swaying as the winds brushed past it, as if the next moment she would simply fly away.
Ning Cheng did not know when such a scenery had abruptly appeared, but his heart immediately started to pound violently. A moment before, he was really eager to see Shi Qionghua, but he had truly not expected that Shi Qionghua would return, or even come back to this place.
People’s thoughts truly were very strange, before when Ning Cheng forced himself on Shi Qionghua, he found out that Shi Qionghua already had unsealed herself and also had the ability to retaliate, so the first thought that popped up was to bring out the talisman and get ready to escape.
But at that time Shi Qionghua did not make even a single move to bring harm to him or even kill him, rather she silently walked out of the immortal cave, causing Ning Cheng to feel at a loss at what to do. At this moment when he saw Shi Qionghua again, he did not bring out the talisman, and also forgot that Shi Qionghua had the ability to kill him. He even did not know how he ended up arriving in front of Shi Qionghua.
He looked at Shi Qionghua’s delicate face that seemed to have risen above the worldly affairs, and could not think of anything to speak. In his mind, the scene emerged of him traversing the world accompanied by Ji Luofei and Shi Qionghua, going back to Jiangzhou with them, and then holding a grand wedding in Jiangzhou. He saw his sister Ruolan, smiling happily, causing him to suddenly feel an incomparable satisfaction.
Although it was only a moment, but he was completely immersed in this kind of soul stirring happiness.
Not knowing for how long the two of them stood there, Shi Qionghua, who had been staring at Ning Cheng suddenly spoke out, “Why didn’t you take out that escaping talisman that you held in your hand before?”
Ning Cheng suddenly sobered up, while the vision from before also slowly disappeared. He simply shook his head but did not speak. If at this moment Shi Qionghua wanted to kill him, then even if had the means to escape, he would not employ them. Being killed by Shi Qionghua, he would not feel any kind of resentment for it.
The two people turned silent again.
Gentle breezes blew between the two of them, yet they still stood there quietly. Although it was silent between them but the two of them were feeling anything but silence.
After a long time, Shi Qionghua once again spoke up, “If you have a Nine-Coloured Mirage Stone, can you give one to me?”
Ning Cheng was already feeling extreme guilt in his heart, to the point that he simply did not know what to speak. Somethings simply cannot be remedied by just a sorry.
But at this time, when Shi Qionghua spoke about Nine-Coloured Mirage Stones, Ning Cheng did not even think before taking out a jade box and handing it to Shi Qionghua, “The Nine-Coloured Mirage Stone is inside.”
Shi Qionghua was surprised as she took the jade box. She was someone who could be said to have understood Ning Cheng the most. Ning Cheng was unlike most cultivators, that is, he was very kind at heart. However, he was also a person who did not bother to keep good terms with everyone, nor would he casually give out things at random. The last time when he had to escape from the Heavenly Dao Public Square, it was because someone wanted to get something from him.
“Such a precious thing, why did you not ask for a reward for it, let alone give it to me?” Shi Qionghua asked at she looked at Ning Cheng in puzzle.
Ning Cheng shook his head and spoke, “In my eyes, even if it were all the Mirage Stones that existed in the entire universe, it would never add up to the grief and sadness you had to suffer. Let alone the Mirage Stones, even if you want to kill me here and now, if it would make you feel happy, I would not have even half a shred of regret. There are some matter that can never be rectified with just mere apologies.”
Ning Cheng was not an expert when it came to love, but he had come from Earth, so the reason he was able to come up with these words was that he had ended up picking them up out of his habit of listening. However, at this time, these words did indeed come out from his heart; he felt such a heavy guilt to the point that he even felt that he really owed Shi Qionghua his life. The debt of the disciple being repaid by the master, in Ning Cheng’s heart of hearts, this kind of reason was utterly unjustified.
However, Shi Qionghua had never heard of such sweet whispers, causing her eyes to go soft. She looked at Ning Cheng for a moment, before she softly spoke up, “It was my own intentions that led to it. If I did not want to do it then you would also have no means to achieve that.”
Shi Qionghua also did not speak any more nonsense, at the moment when Ning Cheng had entered her body; she had already regained her strength. At that time, she could have easily killed Ning Cheng at her whim. However, she did not, not only did she not do such a thing, but also let Ning Cheng have free reign over her body.
Ning Cheng opened his mouth. However just as the words came to the tip of his tongue, he swallowed it back down.
Shi Qionghua looked at the jade box in her hands, before she levelled a calm gaze at Ning Cheng and asked, “You want to ask me as to why did I save you, right? And also why did I let you do as you pleased?”
Ning Cheng spoke up with a dry voice, “Yes.”
Although Shi Qionghua was kind, however she would never use her own body to save someone. Moreover, he and Shi Qionghua did not even have a good relationship. To be exact, the first time he had ever laid eyes on Shi Qionghua was when Shi Qionghua had saved him.
Shi Qionghua did not speak, rather once again moved towards the immortal cave that Ning Cheng had just left. At the same time, she also threw out several Array Flags, creating another layer over the Concealment Array Formation that Ning Cheng had placed around the immortal cave, before entering it.
Ning Cheng knew that since Shi Qionghua had come over, then there must be something that she wanted to say. What he did not expect was that Shi Qionghua’s attainments in array formations was so high, that even he was not much worse than her.
Looking at the clean insides that was obviously was tidied up by Ning Cheng; Shi Qionghua paused for a slight while. But then returned to her previous calm, before she took out a jade table and two chairs.
Seeing Shi Qionghua sit down, Ning Cheng also sat down, while waiting for Shi Qionghua to speak.
“I’m afraid I’ll be leaving.” Shi Qionghua spoke slowly.
Ning Cheng was not surprised. He assumed that Shi Qionghua must have been talking about going back to the Severing Emotions Dao Sect. He himself was preparing to take a trip to the Severing Emotions Dao Sect.
“I’m anyways coming to visit the Severing Emotions Dao Sect.” Ning Cheng also did not hide his intentions. At this moment, Shi Qionghua’s shadow had already deeply imprinted into his mind and heart. At this present moment, it could even be said that she was already at the same level as Ji Luofei, even if he did not understand how it came to be. However, he also was aware in his heart that this was not true. He already had Ji Luofei, so he should not think about Shi Qionghua. However, he found himself really unable to ignore what had happened, let alone try to forget it.
Shi Qionghua shook her head, “I told you before, you can’t go to the Severing Emotions Dao Sect, nor can you go to find Xu Yingdei…..”
Ning Cheng took a deep breath before looking at Shi Qionghua and spoke, “I’m not looking for Xu Yingdei. I have never even had a crush on her, so why would I look for her? She saved my life, while I already have repaid it back to her. The reason I was going to the Severing Emotions Dao Sect was to look for you.”
Looking at Shi Qionghua, Ning Cheng once again took a deep breath before speaking, “I think, I’ll never be able to forget about you in my entire life, whether you care about me or not.”
“I heard that you already have a fiancée?” Shi Qionghua spoke in a very calm tone.
Ning Cheng also nodded and spoke, “Her name is Ji Luofei, she is not my fiancée, rather she is my wife.”
Slightly pausing at this moment, Ning Cheng once again spoke up while stressing each word and phrase, “In my eyes, you are now like Ji Luofei to me, although in your eyes, I am only a Profound Core Ant.”
Shi Qionghua did not answer Ning Cheng’s words, rather she just looked at the entrance towards the immortal cave and spoke, “When I said that I would be leaving, I was not saying about returning to the Severing Emotions Dao Sect. I’ll be leaving the Yi Xing Mainland forever. Otherwise, I will never have the chance to live. It is also the reason why I came back and wanted to warn you once again, to not go to the Severing Emotions Dao Sect.”
“Are you going to the Heaven’s Way?” Ning Cheng asked in shock, his thoughts transformed extremely quickly, to the point that he even had guesses as to why Shi Qionghua wanted to save him. Shi Qionghua already had a very high cultivation, so for her to say these kinds of words and also ask him for a Mirage Stone, if it was not for the Heaven’s Way, then where else was there?
Shi Qionghua spoke up plainly, “That’s right; I’m going to the Heaven’s Way. It is also the reason I decided to meddle between you and Xu Yingdei and save you. I am someone proficient in the art of divinations, and had already divined a few things about you, and from there I realized that you are a kind hearted person. This time’s matter, I am also partially responsible for it. I had also been somewhat affected by interfering with Xu Yingdei’s burning fires of lustful desire, so I know that it could not be resisted unless one was very resolute.”
“You have cultivated in the Small Spiritual Domain, causing you be burned by the Yang Qi toxins, and had also cultivated the Embracing Yang God Tactic, plus also afflicted by Xu Yingdei’s burning fires of lustful desires. At that time, I could only look for an excuse inside me. So I did not blame you, or even acquiesced to you. I’m aware of the Embracing Yang God Tactic, the Embracing Yang God Tactic is not something that originally belonged to Yan Fenghua, but rather it is a kind of ancient body forging cultivation method, even Xu Yingdei’s grandmother is not aware about this thing.”
Ning Cheng was surprised as he looked at Shi Qionghua, from what he understood, Shi Qionghua was someone who was born in the Severing Emotions Dao Sect, so according to reason, she should be a junior for Xu Yingdei’s grandmother. If even Xu Yingdei’s grandmother, was not aware of this fact, so how could Shi Qionghua know about it?
Shi Qionghua did not care about Ning Cheng’s surprise and continued on, “After you and I became one, I realized that you cultivated the Embracing Yang God Tactic. The Embracing Yang God Tactic didn’t really dissolve the burning fires of lustful desires in your body; rather it only temporarily helped you keep it suppressed. If remained unchecked, the next time it would have flared up, it would be much more fearful. It would continue until you are completely burned to ashes. The Severing Emotions Dao Sect’s burning fires of lustful desires can only be resolved by a 9 Life Pure Yin body, and I happen to possess a 9 Life Pure Yin body.”
From this, Ning Cheng realized that Shi Qionghua had not only acquiesced to him, but at the same time had also saved him. At this moment, he had a kind of unspeakable feeling flowing through his heart, but at the same time, he also started to feel a biting anger towards Xu Yingdei. Why was the master this kind yet the disciple this disgusting?
“The second reason that I wanted to save you was because I wanted to ask for your help. I must go to the Heaven’s Way, as such only a Nine-Coloured Mirage Stone can let me possess a chance to survive. After you left the Heavenly Dao Public Square, I lost all news regarding you. It was not until a few days ago, that I was able to sense Yingdei’s position, resulting in me being able to find you.” Shi Qionghua finished with a slightly imploring tone. Not knowing what was going through her head, although she couldn’t help but show somewhat care towards Ning Cheng, but she also couldn’t help but think that she had saved him only for the sake of Mirage Stones.
“Can’t you wait for the Heaven’s Way to open by itself? Or wait till you at least reach the realm above Crucible Transformation……” Ning Cheng hesitated for a long time before he finally spoke up.
Shi Qionghua was silent for a long time, she chose to speak up, “I only have one year to live, I can no longer wait anymore……”
“What?” Ning Cheng asked with shock. Shi Qionghua already looked very young, so how could she only have left with one year to live? Moreover, didn’t Crucible Transformation Cultivators enjoy a very long life?
Since Shi Qionghua had already spoken about that, she no longer had any intentions to conceal it from Ning Cheng and spoke out, “When I started cultivating, a cultivation method had automatically appeared in my consciousness. The cultivation method that I cultivated in was also not from the Severing Emotions Dao Sect, rather it did not even belong to the Xi Ying Mainland, and moreover it was countless times stronger than the Severing Emotions Dao Sect’s Severing Emotions Cultivation Method. I only came to know about this that it was a reincarnation inheritance. Because my spiritual soul was formidable, it resulted in me being suppressed by a major power, to the point that she even sealed away a part of my soul essence…..”
Ning Cheng suddenly stood up, as he angrily interrupted Shi Qionghua’s words and asked, “Who was it?”
Seeing the fury and anger displayed by Ning Cheng, Shi Qionghua unexpectedly turned a bit absentminded, before she subconsciously replied, “Xu Anzhen.”
[TL Note – The author regularly mixes up the words ‘Life Essence’ and ‘Soul Essence’, however essentially these two words are one and the same. He even refers the Soul Essence Realm sometimes as the Life Essence Realm. So rather than choosing to go with one phrase, I decided to keep it as it is for the sake of a consistent translation.]