“Aunt Xu, are you sure you didn’t meet the wrong person?” Striking Order Heavenly Emperor suddenly stood up and looked at a middle-aged woman standing in front of him in amazement.

This middle-aged woman was the same female cultivator Ning Cheng met just before entering the city. But at this time, she recounted all that had happened with Ning Cheng to Striking Order Heavenly Emperor.

Aunt Xu spoke with even more certainty, “Lord Heavenly Emperor, that cultivator admitted it himself. Moreover, when I investigated him in secret, I found that he goes by the name Ning Cheng. After entering the Eternal Heaven Starry Sky City, that person then went to a store owned by a cultivator named Jian Jiao, which always remained empty, and took over the store. He then put up a plaque in front of the store reading ‘Cheng Ruolan Artefact-crafting Store’.”

“Show me his image,” Striking Order Heavenly Emperor frowned. If this person had such strength, what did he want by hiding in a store after coming to the Culmination Starland?

Aunt Xu raised her hand, and an image of Ning Cheng appeared suspended in the air.

“Him!” Striking Order Heavenly Emperor looked at Ning Cheng’s image and blurted out with a shocked voice.

“Does Lord Heavenly Emperor know this person?” Aunt Xu asked carefully.

Striking Order Heavenly Emperor thought about it for a long time before finally speaking, “I have seen this person once. He should have participated in the Celestial Scryer Genius Tryouts on behalf of a certain Celestial River. But at the Dao Discussion Convention in Striking Order Starland’s Lucky Heaven City, he only looked like a Celestial Novice cultivator without any celestial wheels. It’s only been a few years since then, but even with a quick cultivation speed, he wouldn’t turn into an Eternal-level powerhouse.”

Although Ning Cheng sat in an inconspicuous corner back then, a casual spiritual consciousness sweep from an expert on the level of Striking Order Heavenly Emperor would leave behind at least a vague impression in his memory. The image projected by Aunt Xu gave off a feeling of vicissitude and more beard, but seeing the projected image, it immediately kindled a few blurry memories from the past.

historical

“Wait... I think I saw this man participate in an artefact-crafting competition... That’s not right, if he really came from Striking Order Starland, how could he become Zhongli Baichi’s disciple?” Striking Order Heavenly Emperor didn’t initially care about a small man like Ning Cheng. But once he carefully scrutinised Ning Cheng’s image, memories quickly started to emerge. Even if Ning Cheng had changed appearances, as long as even the tiniest bit of his original aura remained, it could immediately connect back to him.

“Could he have hidden his cultivation back then?” Aunt Xu spoke without surety.

Striking Order Heavenly Emperor shook his head, “I don’t think so. If he really were an expert, there would have been no need for him to come to the Dao Discussion Convention. The only possibility is that he really cultivated from Celestial Novice Realm to the Eternal Realm during these years. Of course, there is also a possibility that his Celestial Novice cultivation back then was ‘fake’. It also shows that I couldn’t figure out the concealment cultivation method back then through the casual sweep, indicating that he is not simple at all.”

Aunt Xu took in a deep breath and asked, “Lord Heavenly Emperor, even with Celestial Gatherer cultivation, he couldn’t have advanced to the Eternal Realm in such a short time. Besides, even if he somehow did advance to the Eternal Realm, this speed would definitely cause a major, if not fatal, instability in his foundation. How could anyone survive through that instability?”

“If that is the case, then this person definitely has some powerful treasures to help him.” Striking Order Heavenly Emperor replied. Then thinking for a moment, he spoke again, “Aunt Xu, don’t tell anyone else about this matter. It wouldn’t be good for either of us. If we end up annoying this person, it would mean one more enemy. I’ll visit him personally in a while so let’s put off this discussion until later.”

......

After Ning Cheng renamed the store ‘Cheng Ruolan Artefact-crafting Store’, it didn’t really get or do any business. Therefore, after telling Chasing Bull to look after the store, Ning Cheng decided to use the Scarlet Crow Flame to improve his alchemy. His proficiency in alchemy had already reached the point of breakthrough, and he could now refine Starry Sky Grade 7 medicinal pills. However, Ning Cheng did not plan to come out of seclusion right away; instead, he decided to come out only after successfully refining Starry Sky Grade 8 medicinal pills.

He had some free time now, along with sufficient spiritual grasses. Therefore, he decided to make full use of the opportunity.

When Striking Order Heavenly Emperor came to visit, Ning Cheng still had not come out of seclusion since he started half a month ago.

“Who are you looking for?” Chasing Bull scrutinised Striking Order Heavenly Emperor from top to bottom before raising its head and asking without hesitation.

Recently, it had been living ‘the life’. Without the ‘weng-weng’ sounds of those little wasps flying around, it could now enjoy the peaceful yet bustling scene of the Eternal Heaven Starry Sky City. What else could be more comfortable than this?

Just a Starry Sky Grade 6 demonic beast, yet it dared to speak in front of him in such a manner. Striking Order Heavenly Emperor felt a little angered. However, thinking of the Eternal Realm expert behind Chasing Bull, he decided to hold back his anger and spoke up with a sonorous voice, “Excuse me, can you tell me if Dao Friend Ning Cheng is in here? I’m one of his old acquaintances and here for a special visit.”

Chasing Bull flicked its tail and spoke, “Come back in another month. Master said he would remain in seclusion for at least a month.”

Striking Order Heavenly Emperor gave a cold snort. He was an Eternal Starry Sky Emperor and even controlled an entire starry sky. Even if this were the Eternal Heaven Starry Sky City, he would not stand such an attitude.

However, when his spiritual consciousness swept towards the array formation upstairs, his anger disappeared instantly. All the array formations he found were Tier 7 Celestial Arrays[1], which not only included defensive arrays but also several killing formations.

Although Striking Order Heavenly Emperor was a genuine Eternal-level Powerhouse, he could not arrange even a single starry sky array. Insights into array formations had nothing to do with one’s cultivation; instead, it required countless hours for verification and deduction. Therefore, even if Ning Cheng wasn’t a Starry Sky Emperor, just the level of array formations in this place had shocked him immensely.

“What do you want?” Seeing Striking Order Heavenly Emperor not leaving, Chasing Bull spoke up with some displeasure. It had not seen this part of the world before, as its previous owner didn’t have high cultivation. Therefore, with Ning Cheng’s cultivation on the rise, it didn’t even bother to put Striking Order Heavenly Emperor in its eyes. It was even ready to get into a dogfight... No, it should be a bullfight.

Striking Order Heavenly Emperor felt dissatisfied at this but still spoke up with a begrudging tone, “Well, a month later, Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain is hosting a Spirit Fruit Banquet. I got three invitations to it, and since Dao Friend Ning and I are old acquaintances, I came here especially to invite him.”

If Ning Cheng really came from Striking Order Starland, Striking Order Heavenly Emperor felt confident of winning him over. Higher the number of cultivators in the Eternal Realm coming from a starry sky, the more influential the starry sky would become. Moreover, of the invitations he received, he had already sent one to Tang Yitang. This time, he came to visit Ning Cheng just to gauge Ning Cheng’s strength. If found worthwhile, he wouldn’t mind sending one of the invitations to Ning Cheng to create a friendship.

However, he couldn’t meet Ning Cheng right away, and instead saw the array formation arranged by Ning Cheng. Therefore, he knew that even if Ning Cheng had not reached the Eternal Realm, it would be worth drawing in such an expert in array formations.

When Chasing Bull heard about the Spirit Fruit Banquet, its tone immediately turned polite, “Spirit Fruit banquet, huh, my master will definitely come. You can leave the invitation with me; I will send it to master.”

Striking Order Heavenly Emperor did not want to talk in circles with this stupid bull; therefore, he gave it the invitation card and said, “Since that is the case, I’ll wait for Brother Ning at the Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain.”

......

Ning Cheng did not stay inside for the entire month. After successfully refining a batch of Starry Sky Grade 8 medicinal pills, he decided to come out.

After advancing to the level of a Starry Sky Grade 8 Pill Emperor, Ning Cheng did not choose to continue with seclusion. One, because his flame could not refine Starry Sky Grade 9 medicinal pills at all, and two, because he did not have a large amount of top-grade starry sky spiritual grasses.

“Master, a person calling himself Striking Order came to find you. When I said you were in seclusion, he left an invitation saying that Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain was hosting a Spirit Fruit Banquet and invited you to join.” Chasing Bull happily took out the invitation. It really wanted and looked forward to going to the Spirit Fruit Banquet with Ning Cheng.

Ning Cheng did not expect that Striking Order Heavenly Emperor would remain in Culmination Starland. However, he was not surprised that the heavenly emperor came to find him. Since he came here, he must have gotten the news from that middle-aged woman. Ning Cheng looked at the date on the invitation and found that the banquet was in just two days.

Putting away the invitation, Ning Cheng had no plans to go to the Levelled Heart Emperor Mountain. He had no relationship or friendship with Chuan Xinlou. Moreover, this invitation did not come through Chuan Xinlou himself; as such, it wouldn’t matter if he went or not.

“I’m going to the Eternal Heaven Merchant hall, wait for me here.” Ning Cheng left a message with Chasing Bull and left the artefact-crafting store.

Chasing Bull felt a little unhappy about Ning Cheng going out alone without it. However, since its master told it to stay here, it didn’t dare to bargain. In case master turned upset, there was a good chance it would end up in the ring again. Even the thought alone felt depressing enough.

......

This time, Ning Cheng did not change his appearance and entered the Eternal Heaven Merchant hall directly.

Upon arriving at the Eternal Heaven Merchant Hall, Ning Cheng intentionally revealed his formidable imposing aura. With just a glance, the cultivator receiving guests at the Eternal Heaven Merchant Hall understood that a powerhouse had arrived. Seeing that, a Heaven Seated Cultivator quickly came out to greet him.

“How can our Eternal Heaven Merchant House help this Dao Friend?” The Heaven Seated Cultivator spoke to Ning Cheng with a respectful tone; however, he refrained from addressing Ning Cheng as ‘senior’.

Ning Cheng acknowledged it with a nod and then put up a look of a profound mystery before asking, “I heard that a few years ago a patch of soil that used to store Breath Soil had been auctioned off at the Eternal Heaven Merchant Hall. Who bought that patch of soil?”

The cultivator in the Heaven Seated Realm replied politely, “Everyone who does business with our Eternal Heaven Merchant House is our esteemed guest. Therefore, it is our merchant hall’s policy to not disclose the information of the guests who exchanged auction items through us.”

Ning Cheng already knew that he would get such an answer, but he felt unwilling. He stood up and deliberately pressured this person with his imposing aura.

The cultivator in the Heaven Seated Realm immediately buckled under Ning Cheng’s formidable imposing aura and found it difficult to breathe. His expressions quickly changed. Previously, he had thought that Ning Cheng was at most at the Life and Death Realm. Although people might consider a cultivator in the Life and Death Realm as a powerhouse, they still would not be able to shake the Eternal Heaven Merchant hall.

However, judging by Ning Cheng’s formidable imposing aura, it clearly felt like that of an Eternal-level expert. Nevertheless, even if they met an unreasonable Eternal-level expert, the Eternal Heaven Merchant House still would not particularly fear them, but it would definitely turn into something troublesome.

The cultivator in the Heaven Seated Realm quickly stood up and spoke up with an even more respectful tone and expression, “Senior, our Eternal Heaven Merchant hall has been standing in the Grand Culmination Culmination Starry Sky for many years only because of its reputation. I hope senior can forgive me for this.”

Ning Cheng felt a little helpless. If the other party didn’t want to say it, then he really couldn’t oppress others without any reason.

Seeing the expressions on Ning Cheng’s face changing slightly, the cultivator quickly spoke up, “There are still two days till Levelled Heart Heavenly Emperor hosts a Starry Sky Spirit Fruit Banquet at the Levelled Heard Emperor Mountain. If senior wants to know more about this, then you can go to this and ask one or two questions about it.”

Ning Cheng’s formidable imposing aura had forced the cultivator to change the form of address from ‘Dao Friend’ to ‘Senior’.

“Many thanks.” Ning Cheng nodded. He understood that this cultivator in charge of greeting guests had indirectly told him that the person who bought that patch of soil that used to contain Breath Soil would also come to the banquet.

When the cultivator in the Heaven Seated Realm saw Ning Cheng leave, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat weird in his heart. This expert in the Eternal Realm looked very temperamental. So why did he say something so casually and then leave just like that?

[1] I’m not sure if this is a typo on the author’s part, but I feel it should be ‘Tier 7 Starry Sky Arrays’ according to the ranking set before and the next paragraph, but I decided to keep it according to the raws.