Chapter 363: Chu Ning's Tomb
Chapter 363: Chu Ning's Tomb
As Chu Ning's spiritual sense perceived the scene atop Yan Peak, his figure paused.
Cen Ziqin, who was with him, asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"Someone has made a cave abode on Yan Peak. An old acquaintance is there right now. We don't need to hurry over; let's observe the situation first." Chu Ning replied.
Hearing this, Cen Ziqin also released her spiritual sense to perceive the area.
They weren't far from Yan Peak, and although Cen Ziqin's spiritual sense wasn't as impressive as Chu Ning's, she could still sense what was happening.
At that moment, outside the cave abode on Yan Peak, the only Foundation Establishment cultivator among the group of three women and one man—a middle-aged woman in her fifties—was cupping her fists toward a pair of cultivators inside the abode.
"Fellow daoists, we have already explained our purpose here. Please do us a favor and allow us to pay our respects to our predecessor. We will leave immediately afterward," the woman said.
"I didn't pay attention to this mountain before, so do whatever you want with it," replied the male cultivator inside the abode, his sharp eyes giving him a perpetually scornful look.
"This place is now within the range of my cave abode, so there's no burial ground for your so-called predecessor here," he continued, casually waving his hand and sending a spell toward the ground in front of them, kicking up a pile of dirt that partially revealed a broken tombstone.
Seeing this tombstone, the middle-aged woman's expression changed, and she rushed forward, digging with her hands to uncover it.
The other two women and the man also hurried to help.
Soon, they had dug up the tombstone, which had broken into several pieces, and the woman carefully pieced it back together.
Chu Ning and Cen Ziqin, who were observing with their spiritual senses, were both taken aback by what they saw.
Inscribed on the tombstone were the words: "Chu Ning's Tomb."
"What's going on here?" Cen Ziqin asked, giving Chu Ning a strange look.
Although Chu Ning had his suspicions, he shook his head at that moment.
"Let's go take a look," he said.
As they spoke, outside the cave abode on Yan Peak, the middle-aged woman held the tombstone, her face filled with grief and indignation. She stood up and looked at the pair of cultivators inside.
"Fellow daoists, aren't you taking things too far? You've taken over Yan Peak as your cave abode, and we didn't say anything about it. But our predecessor's tomb was originally at the edge of the mountain. Now you've occupied this place as well and damaged our predecessor's tomb. Do you really think we're easy to bully?" she asked.
"And what if I am?" the scornful male cultivator inside the abode coldly smiled. "Get lost with your junk."
The woman's face changed drastically when she heard this. The two women and the man standing beside her also couldn't hide their anger.
However, the middle-aged woman took a deep breath and said with a pleading tone, "Fellow daoists, the tomb I set up here years ago was similar to a memorial tomb. Inside is a jade box containing a talisman. May I ask you to return it to me?"
Hearing this, the male cultivator inside the abode casually took out a talisman that looked a bit old.
"Oh, you mean this?" he asked.
The middle-aged woman's tension eased as she saw the talisman in his hand.
"Yes, please return it to me," she said.
The middle-aged male cultivator let out a light laugh. "I found this talisman by chance near my cave abode, and since it had no owner, it naturally belongs to me now. I think it's pretty good, even though it's a bit old. If you want it, why don't you offer something in exchange?"
The woman's face turned ashen when she heard this, but she still said nothing. Instead, she took out three talismans from her storage bag and handed them over.
"These three are brand new lower-grade intermediate talismans, enough to match the value of that talisman. Please return it to me," she said.
"Who said I wanted a talisman?" The scornful cultivator smiled mockingly. "Give me three thousand spirit stones, and I'll give you this talisman."
Even though the woman was usually patient, she couldn't help but fly into a rage. "You're taking advantage of the fire to rob us!"
The scornful cultivator coldly smiled. "Yes, I am. What are you going to do about it?"
"You..." The woman was furious, but seeing that the two cultivators inside the abode were at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, and realizing that although there were four of them, only she herself was at the Foundation Establishment stage, and even then, only at the early stage, she sighed and reached into her storage bag for the spirit stones.
But just then, a faint voice suddenly sounded out.
"You really plan to give him spirit stones?"
Hearing this faint voice, the middle-aged woman was first startled, and then her entire face contorted as if she had seen a ghost. Her eyes filled with suspicion and disbelief.
At the same time, she raised her head and looked around, searching for the source of the voice.
Seeing the woman's expression, the others were puzzled.
"Who's there?" asked the scornful male cultivator inside the abode, his voice cold.
At that moment, two streaks of light appeared in the distance and quickly drew near, soon coming into view.
The auras emanating from the two streaks of light caused the three male cultivators at the Qi Refining stage to feel nothing, but the three Foundation Establishment cultivators immediately turned serious.
Golden Core cultivators!
Just from the auras, which were far stronger than theirs, they could tell that the approaching figures were Golden Core cultivators.
Soon, the two streaks of light stopped not far from the group, and everyone could see the faces of the young man and woman riding them.
"Young Master!"
Although the woman's voice was soft, it carried to everyone's ears.
Chu Ning's gaze landed on the woman, his eyes carrying a hint of a smile.
"Cheng Xinxin, you still recognize me?"
Although the woman had been staring at Chu Ning, there was still doubt in her eyes.
But upon hearing Chu Ning's voice, the doubt in her eyes vanished, replaced by a look of excitement.
"Young Master, it really is you!"
Chu Ning nodded, landing in front of her, looking at her face that vaguely resembled the little girl from his memories, and couldn't help but sigh at the cruelty of time.
Cheng Xinxin was none other than Cheng Zuyuan's granddaughter, whom Chu Ning had taken in years ago in this Swallow Peak cave abode.
Back then, while Chu Ning focused on his cultivation, he had left the herb garden to Cheng Zuyuan and Cheng Xinxin to manage, and they had stayed with him for several years, helping him a lot.
However, later on, when the Yin Demon Sect came to the Thousand Lakes and Islands to set up the Blood Fiend Yin Demon Array, Chu Ning had hidden himself in the remains of the Thunderfire Sect.
By the time he emerged, the Cheng family had already left.
He never expected that years later, he would encounter them again.
"Granny, is this the Chu Young Master you spoke of?"
Just then, a crisp voice sounded from the side, laced with a hint of curiosity.
Chu Ning turned his head and looked at the young girl of fourteen or fifteen beside Cheng Xinxin.
He smiled at Cheng Xinxin and asked, "Is this your granddaughter? She looks exactly like you when you were young. What's her name?"
"Young Master, her name is Su Ke'ke," Cheng Xinxin replied.
Chu Ning nodded and was about to say something else when his expression suddenly changed, and he turned his gaze towards the formation, asking coldly, "Where do you two think you're going?"
Hearing Chu Ning's voice, the Foundation Establishment couple who were about to sneak away from the cave abode formation stopped in their tracks.
The scornful man bowed to Chu Ning and forced a smile, "Greetings, Senior! We didn't realize these fellow daoists were friends of Senior's, and we have offended them greatly. Please forgive us."
Chu Ning's gaze fixed on the two of them as he said indifferently,
"Forgive you? Sure, it's simple. The talisman in your hand is one I crafted years ago, and since you like it so much,
I'll sell it to you for 300,000 spirit stones."
Hearing Chu Ning's words, the couple's faces stiffened.
They could tell that Chu Ning was mocking the scornful man's earlier words.
However, the scornful man didn't dare show any anger and merely smiled obsequiously, "Senior is joking. This item clearly belongs to that fellow daoist, as she said it belonged to her departed elder. I found it near the tombstone, so how could it be Senior's?"
"That's right, the name on the tombstone is mine."
As Chu Ning spoke, he casually pointed at the tombstone that had been broken into several pieces.
"These spirit stones are just compensation for the talisman. I haven't even asked for compensation for the damaged tombstone yet."
Hearing this, the couple's faces fell, and they looked bewildered.
Although they were confused, they dared not ask any questions.
The scornful man said with a bitter face,
"Senior, we were truly blind earlier and didn't recognize Mount Tai standing before us. If Senior wishes to punish us, we have no complaints.
However, 300,000 spirit stones are truly too much. I'm afraid we can't come up with that amount, so I beg Senior to be merciful."
"If you can't come up with the amount, then don't pay it."
As soon as Chu Ning said this, the couple's faces lit up with joy.
However, the next moment, Chu Ning's words made their faces fall once more.
"Just pay with your lives then!"
Hearing this, the couple's eyes flashed with fear, and they simultaneously took out restriction jade plaques to control the formation before them.
But at that moment, Chu Ning had already made his move, casually throwing two punches.
Two golden fist shadows blasted out, landing on the formation restriction.
This formation, which seemed to have solid defensive capabilities, crumbled instantly under Chu Ning's punches!
Gengjin Spirit Body Talent: Using metal-attributed spells doubles the power of attacks against restrictions.
If it had been a more powerful formation, Chu Ning would have needed to put in more effort.
But a formation set up by Foundation Establishment cultivators was as flimsy as paper to him.
"Senior, spare our lives..."
Seeing that Chu Ning's two punches had easily shattered the formation, the couple didn't even think of resisting.
They immediately knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.
However, Chu Ning paid no heed to their pleas and casually waved his hand. A pure fire spirit energy transformed into a Blazing Sun Spirit Bird and flew out.
Chu Ning was not a bloodthirsty person, and the couple's actions didn't warrant death.
But at this moment, Chu Ning chose to make a decisive move.
He knew that if he let them go now, once he left, Cheng Xinxin and the others would face endless trouble.
"Senior..."
The couple wanted to plead further, but the Blazing Sun Spirit Bird had already flown towards them, enveloping them in flames.
In the blink of an eye, the couple disappeared without a trace.
It was as if they had never been there at all.
This scene left Cheng Xinxin and her companions stunned.
Especially Su Ke'ke, whose face still held a hint of youth. Her clear eyes shone with a bright light as she witnessed this display.
(End of Chapter)
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