Chapter 0454: The Pitiful Girl
In the basement of the Silver Thunder Rest Stop, he saw a skinny little girl confined to an altar within an Array Formation; at the same time, there was also a pale yellow flame burning beneath the Array Formation.
Ning Cheng didn’t have to ask, he instinctively knew that this little girl must be the little girl left behind by the couple.
Going by the waiter’s narrative, this little girl had remained imprisoned here for six years. It would be reasonable to say that she should be around 12 years old by now. However, at this time, Ning Cheng still saw a seven-year-old girl. The only reason why this little girl had not died yet was that the Array Formation under the altar did not let her die. Combined with her possessing an Essence Building Cultivation, under the influence of just-enough Spiritual Qi, she barely managed to hold onto a breath,
The rage in Ning Cheng’s heart exploded out to the point that even the sky showed signs of changing. Ning Cheng immediately punched the basement into nihility, smashing apart the Array Formation in the process. He then reached out and gently picked up the little girl confined within the Array Formation.
The emaciated little girl, in Ning Cheng’s hands, felt like a piece of dried wood, so light that she barely registered any weight in his hands.
Ji Luofei, standing at the side, also felt her eyes going red; treating a six or seven-year girl to such cruelty; this showed that the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce did not even have half a shred of humanity.
After Ning Cheng took away the pitiful little girl from the altar over the Array Formation, her entire body turned paralysed from the waist down, without the Array Formation keeping her soul intact, she quickly weakened.
He immediately deduced that the little girl’s life would soon vanish if he did not do anything.
Ning Cheng did not think of anything else, directly cutting out a thin piece from the Essence of Wood, he then pressed it over the body of the little girl. The formidable Life Energy contained within the Essence of Wood instantly stabilised the condition of the little girl in Ning Cheng’s arms.
Only at this moment did Ning Cheng felt relieved. He then put a Healing Pill into the mouth of the little girl, before finally getting a good look at her in his bosom. At this time, the little girl suffered such torture to the point that one could not even see a shadow of her original appearance. Even the few clumps of sparse hair on her head were on the verge of falling out. Her body, akin to just a dried-up bag of bones, resembled a corpse that one would find during cold winters.
Ning Cheng then stood up over the ruins of the Silver Thunder Rest Stop before looking at the numerous crowded cultivators. He then roared out, “Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce tortured a little girl of seven or eight-year-old, even going so far as to burn her with a Burning Soul Array Formation. Even calling them inhuman would be too much. I, Ning Cheng, swear in this very place, that I will not rest until I extinguish the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce; otherwise, I am not a human.”
This time, Ning Cheng did not go around collecting evidence. Since it had already reached to this point, then any kind of reasoning or truth would just not work at all. Only spilling blood could clearly explain all of this.
Although some of the cultivators disapproved his actions, most of the cultivators agreed with Ning Cheng, thinking that the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce really was too excessive with their behaviour.
“Ladies and gentlemen, when I arrived yesterday, Cecile of the Auspicious Star Chamber of Commerce wanted to force himself on my wife. I think that if the end of Heaven’s Way remained this dirty, it would only add to the countless specks of dirt in Heaven’s Way. Today, I will say something here. From now on, anyone who dares to indulge in such conduct at the end of this Heaven’s Way will end up dead in this Ning Cheng’s hands. This slaughter shall commence from the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce……”
As Ning Cheng spoke, his killing intent spread out without restraint. However, no one dared to underestimate Ning Cheng. A man who could kill a Crucible Transformation 7th Level Cultivator in less than 10 breaths was definitely not someone simple.
Gary and Bian Shao, in a remote corner, stood in stunned silence. Ning Cheng dared to kill Cecile, this they had personally witnessed. However, Ning Cheng was not one good at enduring patiently against people who liked bullying. Even if they were bolder, they could never think that Ning Cheng would actually dare to wipe out the entire Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce’s business from the Receiving Heaven’s Stone.
What’s more, they personally knew about this old matter. This not only involved the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce, it even included the Rootless Black City’s Junior City Master Xu Liangzhi. How much courage would it require to proclaim such a thing? On the other hand, was he feeling fearless because of his ignorance?
Ning Cheng took the little girl out of the ruins of the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce. The cultivators crowding outside immediately parted to two sides to give him space.
At the entrance to the Heaven City’s Rest Stop, that waiter had already seen Ning Cheng coming over and quickly spoke up, “Greetings to senior.”
Ning Cheng currently was a mighty figure. Regardless of the future results, in this place, addressing him as Senior would definitely not cause any problems.
Ning Cheng nodded, “I still want to stay in the Heaven City’s Rest Stop. Would it still be alright?”
“Haha, Brother Ning, despite staying in my Heaven City’s Rest Stop for a brief while, you should know that our doors are always open for business. How could we not agree? In the future, if Brother Ning Cheng wants to stay in our Rest Stop, then you would only need to pay 1000 Black Coins per night, Even if you just want to exchange Black Coins, we would still like to offer you the exchange rate of 100 Spirit Stones for a Black Coin.” A laughing voice arrived. Ning Cheng then immediately saw a middle-aged man with a moustache beard. This middle-aged man had a smile on his face and looked incomparably gentle. However, his cultivation was at the Crucible Transformation 8th Level.
“Steward Mu….” The waiter quickly came forward and offered his greetings on seeing the man come over.
The man nodded and then spoke to Ning Cheng with cupped fists, “This humble one has the name Mu Cunjian, the Steward of this Rest Stop belonging to the Heaven City’s Chamber of Commerce.”
“I’m called Ning Cheng; this is my wife, Ji Luofei. Many thanks to Steward Mu for giving me such a discounted price.” Ning Cheng also thanked him back with cupped fists. Although Ning Cheng knew that there might be conflicts between the various Chambers of Commerce, Ning Cheng still felt grateful towards Mu Cunjian’s attitude.
Ning Cheng was not willing to go to the Rootless Black City immediately. One of the reasons was that the little girl had not yet woken up as her body was still in the process of recovering. The second reason was that he felt his strength was still inadequate. This place was a lot more powerful when compared to the Tian Continent. Therefore, if he used the Spirit Stones and Pills to cultivate in this place, then it should provide him with some effect.
After offending these many people, if he did not possess the necessary strength, then it would not bode well for him.
Ning Cheng had also never been to the Rootless Black City; however, he at least knew a bit about the Receiving Heaven’s Stone. At least on the Receiving Heaven’s Stone, he had the choice to rush into the Void. That would mean that even under the case of besiegement, he would still possess a measure for escape. No matter how dangerous the Void was, at least, it was still a viable escape route.
Lan Wenbin, who kept a watch over Ning Cheng’s actions from a far corner of the Heaven City’s Rest Stop, turned utterly silent. He had always thought Ning Cheng as a competent person, especially since he killed that Cecile. However, from the looks of it, this was not just an issue of strength. If replaced by him, even if he might be competent enough, he definitely would not dive into a matter headfirst if it meant staring in the face of death.
“This man’s guts really do cover the heavens.” Ji Ying murmured to herself. Although it was her first time coming to the Receiving Heaven’s Stone, she still had an inkling of the consequences of exterminating the Silver Thunder’s Merchant House.
“Let’s go.” Lan Wenbin sighed. He had initially wanted to team up with Ning Cheng. However, after Ning Cheng created such a scene, he didn’t even dare to entertain the thought of being associated with Ning Cheng.
……
Ning Cheng had many healing pills. Along with the Essence of Wood, in just two days, the little girl awoke. However, her eyes remained clouded with panic.
For a seven or eight-year-old girl to possess an Essence Building Cultivation, it definitely displayed her top-notch qualifications. Moreover, Ning Cheng also didn’t need to ask about it as he had an inkling that this little girl experienced cultivation from the moment she came into being. Otherwise, even with heaven-defying qualification, it would be impossible for a seven or eight-year-old girl to reach the Essence Building Realm.
He couldn’t help but feel pity for this little girl; it looks like her parents had severely supervised her cultivation since she was born. Breaking through with great difficulties, only to suffer six years of inhumane torture in the Burning Soul Array Formation. Even if it was Ning Cheng, he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable in his heart.
“Little girl, you don’t have to feel afraid. No one will burn you again. Do you know your name? Do you know where you come from?” Ji Luofei gently grabbed the little girl’s hand and asked in a gentle and soothing voice.
It might have been because of Ji Luofei’s soft eyes and her beautiful appearance, but the little girl felt slightly relieved. She then spoke up in a stumbling voice, “I’m called Yi Zhuzhu….”
As Ning Cheng and Ji Luofei continued conversing with Yi Zhuzhu, Yi Zhuzhu started to feel better. Just as the waiter had narrated, Yi Zhuzhu and her parents had come from the Sacred Heaven Mainland. Her father’s name was Yi Jin, and her mother went by the name Chang Manyin. From her words, Yi Zhuzhu had regularly soaked in various types of medicinal liquids to boost her cultivation.
Ning Cheng and Ji Luofei both gave out a sad sigh; this little girl did not seem to have experienced a single happy day in her life.
“Uncle…. Did the Silver Thunder Chamber of Commerce kill my father?” Yi Zhuzhu finally asked her first question. Despite asking the question, she still seemed shy and felt as if she wanted to shrink away as if fearing that Ning Cheng would reproach and scold her.
“No, your father has only left temporarily. You will meet him later.” Ning Cheng could only try to comfort the little girl in front of him. Even he did not know how to answer her question.
Yi Zhuzhu lowered her head. Although she was young, that did not mean she was not sensible. After suffering too many hardships over these past few years, although her body might look like that of a seven or eight-year-old girl, her mentality no longer was that of a child.
“Uncle, I want to cultivate.” Yi Zhuzhu spoke with a slight flinch in her voice. She did not know if she could voice such a request, or if this uncle and elder sister who just rescued her would turn angry at her words. Cultivation required cultivation resources. When she travelled around with her parents, she never knew how many heavenly treasures had she consumed.
Ning Cheng gently fluffed Yi Zhuzhu’s head. After the nourishment from the Essence of Wood, in just two days, her old hair had already fallen, replaced by a head full of short hair.
“Zhuzhu, you don’t have to worry about cultivation. You can stay with big sister Luofei. Just wait for your body to turn healthy once again before you resume cultivation. Cultivation is not something achievable in a day or two, and you certainly cannot spend all your time in cultivation. Sometimes you need to also do something else to keep your mind from straying.” Although the actual age of Yi Zhuzhu was about 13 or 14 years old, Ning Cheng still felt reluctant to let her spend almost all her time on cultivation.
“You can go into seclusion. I will take care of Zhuzhu.” Ji Luofei could sense Ning Cheng’s thoughts. Ning Cheng had deliberately stayed back to not just help Yi Zhuzhu recover but also to raise his own cultivation.
……
The Rootless Black City, for countless years no one could say as to how many cultivators had gathered in this place. However, most of the cultivators end up dying of old age in this place or just fall into the Void. However, a small portion of cultivators would always manage to leave the Rootless Black City and enter a more energetic Starry Sky.
However, whatever the place, there would always be rivers and lakes of blood paving the way, and the Rootless Black City was no exception to it.
In the Rootless Black City, there were many forces of different sizes; however, only 12 of them could actually speak in the Rootless Black City.
The Auspicious Star Chamber of Commerce was undoubtedly one of them. Although they did not possess the ability to leave the Rootless Black City by themselves, they traded with many merchant ships from the distant planet-sized mainlands, which allowed them to gain the ability to partially move out of the Rootless Black City.
At this moment, within the Auspicious Star Chamber of Commerce’s Merchant House in the Rootless Black City, several men and women could be sitting in the Discourse Hall. All because of a very arrogant newcomer that arrived at the Receiving Heaven’s Stone. This newcomer had unexpectedly killed Cecile, the Crucible Transformation Cultivator belonging to the Auspicious Star Chamber of Commerce and stationed at the Receiving Heaven’s Stone.
“There is no need to go to the Receiving Heaven’s Stone. In any case, there is nowhere else to go from the Receiving Heaven’s Stone. This person must definitely come to the Rootless Black City. When he arrives at the Rootless Black City, we can then act on him. Even if he turns out to be more powerful, he definitely would not be an expert at Plundering Life Realm. There is nothing worth caring about.” Said an old woman with dark red hair.