The Gate Of Good Fortune

The next instant, a middle-aged man wearing a blue-coloured Confucian robe appeared in front of everyone. But despite his middle-aged appearance, it wouldn’t distract one from his handsome temperament.

“Butterfly Mountain’s Duan Wenbai greets Sect Master Ning. My Butterfly Mountain’s disciples offended you before, so I want to apologise to Sect Master Ning on behalf of Butterfly Mountain and also ask Sect Master Ning to not bother with these juniors.” The middle-aged man’s behaviour was a stark contrast to Duan Qian and Yin Xiushan and spoke to Ning Cheng using polite words. He even had a comforting tone to his words.

Duan Wenbai, after greeting Ning Cheng, also greeted Cang Caihe with the same, if not more, polite words and cupped fists. “You must be the premier Pill Emperor of this starry sky, Cang Caihe. It’s a great honour for me to personally witness the great style of the premier Pill Emperor today.”

No matter how much arrogance Duan Qian and Yin Xiushan had, they would never dare to talk any nonsense in front of Duan Wenbai. Therefore, when the two heard Duan Wenbai speak so politely to Ning Cheng, and even mention them as ‘juniors’ in front of Ning Cheng, they immediately felt shocked. Although they had never wandered the starry skies before, they both were still experts at the middle-stage Eternal Realm. Therefore, addressing two Eternal cultivators as Ning Cheng’s juniors, wasn’t this Ning Cheng a bit too scary?

But then the two of them immediately thought back to how Ning Cheng’s domain had easily crushed their superimposed domains and felt even more confused. From the looks of it, Uncle Master Wenbai truly spoke correctly, that Ning Cheng might just be more powerful than the two of them.

Ning Cheng also cupped his fists and spoke, “How could I dare? I’m just a Mysterious Yellow Sect’s Sect Master, Ning Cheng.”

Ning Cheng couldn’t help but sigh in secret. These three people from Butterfly Mountain all had handsome or pretty appearances. That Duan Gantai also came from Butterfly Mountain, so why was he so ugly? Moreover, Duan Wenbai also had high cultivation and didn’t feel any weaker than Wu Yuankong, who recently died at Ning Cheng’s hands.

Duan Wenbai saw that Ning Cheng had still not invited him into Stately River Star. From this, he understood that Ning Cheng held no affection for Butterfly Mountain and had to speak up directly. “I heard that Duan Gantai has a friendship with Sect Master Ning, is that true?”

After pausing a bit, he added, “I understand that it’s a bit presumptuous to ask this, so I hope that Sect Master Ning wouldn’t mind it. I only ask because Duan Gantai is also a disciple from my Butterfly Mountain.”

Ning Cheng nodded, “It’s true. In the beginning, I did work with Duan Gantai for a while. But the only reason we worked together was due to a Starry Sky Radish Grass he obtained in the Devil Domain. Plus, I could turn that Starry Sky Radish Grass into Eternal Emperor Continuance Pills. I haven’t seen him since that time.”

“So that was the case.” Duan Wenbai spoke up. However, he didn’t feel too sure about Ning Cheng’s words.

Duan Qian and Yin Xiushan sighed with relief. This Sect Master Ning also needed Eternal Emperor Continuance Pills, which meant that he wasn’t as terrifying as they thought. Seventh Elder Taoist must have spoken those words to scare them into not acting.

Ning Cheng had no affection for Duan Gantai, which meant that he naturally wouldn’t help Duan Gantai in hiding his whereabouts. He took out the Connecting Spirit Silk and handed it to Duan Wenbai with the words, “Duan Gantai had given me this Connecting Spirit Silk for the short-lived cooperation. But the cooperation has already ended. If Duan Gantai wants to find me, he will open the Connecting Spirit Silk. You can keep it if you want. I hope that Brother Duan can find your Butterfly Mountain’s disciple soon.”

Ning Cheng didn’t mind throwing some shade in Duan Gantai’s direction. In any case, this Connecting Spirit Silk no longer had any uses for him. Therefore, if Duan Gantai dared to use it to find trouble with him, he would have to wait after Duan Wenbai dealt with him. As for those two straw bags, Duan Qian and Yin Xiushan, even if they caught up with Duan Gantai, they wouldn’t be of any match against him.

Ning Cheng even took out the Connecting Spirit Silk. Seeing this, Duan Wenbai felt overjoyed and quickly collected it. “Many thanks, Sect Master Ning. Butterfly Mountain will always welcome Sect Master Ning as an honoured guest at any time. If someday Sect Master Ning wants to leave this side of the starry sky, you must remember to stop by my Butterfly Mountain.”

Ning Cheng was taken aback for a moment on hearing those words. Whether he left this part of the starry sky or not, what did it have to do with Butterfly Mountain?

Duan Wenbai could sense Ning Cheng’s doubts and quickly replied, “There is a starry sky boundary point near my Butterfly Mountain. It leads directly to a high-grade interface. Those people from Grand Essence Realm also came from there.”

Ning Cheng looked at Duan Wenbai and asked, “Brother Duan. The people from Grand Essence Realm who went to the Mysterious Yellow Starland, your Butterfly Mountain knew about them?

Duan Wenbai showed a slight smile, “It’s only natural. My Butterfly Mountain has been guarding this boundary point since the start. How can we not know about people moving through this boundary point? It’s just that our ancestor had not come out from secluded cultivation, so my Butterfly Mountain had to tolerate a few injustices. But thanks to Sect Master Ning, all those outsiders have already fled this part of the starry sky.”

After speaking, Duan Wenbai even bowed to Ning Cheng with cupped fists.

Ning Cheng seemed calm on the surface but sneered in his heart. Did Butterfly Mountain truly exist to guard the boundary point? It looks like they didn’t have any sense of shame. Just because someone hadn’t come out of seclusion, these bastards didn’t even bother or even bat an eye when those outsiders erased billions of cultivators from Mysterious Yellow Starland. How could such people dare to speak about being guardians of the boundary point?

When he, Chuan Xinlou and the others went to the Mysterious Yellow Starland, they didn’t see even half a shadow of Butterfly Mountain anywhere. Even people like Chuan Xinlou understood that Ninth Prince’s group wouldn’t stop messing around after taking over the Mysterious Yellow Starland. It had forced those people to take action, even if it was for selfish purposes. As the so-called guardian, how could Butterfly Mountain dare use such an excuse that their ancestor hadn’t come out of seclusion?

From the looks of it, Butterfly Mountain had long since known about the existence of the five grand realms. But since they stayed home, it had nothing to do with being a guardian at all. Rather, they most likely were seeking a chance to leave this part of the starry sky.

Although Ning Cheng felt nothing but disdain, he still gave a calm reply, “I can’t kill those people from the Grand Essence Realm. They started fighting amongst each other and ended up hurting each other. It allowed me to escape Mysterious Yellow Starland. Otherwise, I would have already fallen in that place.”

“Sect Master is too modest. Against that Ninth Prince, even my Butterfly Mountain’s ancestor might not have the ability to stop him. Yet, Sect Master Ning easily managed to injure him severely. It’s because of this that my Butterfly Mountain’s ancestor especially asked me to come to Stately River Star and invite Sect Master Ning to the Butterfly Mountain as an honoured guest.” Duan Wenbai spoke with full seriousness.

Ning Cheng showed a slight frown, “During the battle in Moyi City, there didn’t seem to be anyone from Butterfly Mountain there. Yet, it feels like Brother Duan had personally witnessed that fight.”

Only Shen Mengyan had seen him severely injure that Ninth Prince Man Jiuren. Moreover, Shen Mengyan and Pan Qian had already left this side of the starry sky. They would never inform anyone else about him.

Duan Wenbai’s face suddenly filled with admiration. “Just before Levelled Heart Heavenly Emperor and the others were about to leave from the boundary point, I invited them to Butterfly Mountain. The four of them came to my Butterfly Mountain as honoured guests and even held a treasure exchange meeting within my Butterfly Mountain. Because of this, I finally got to hear about the thrilling battles you had in Moyi City. Sect Master Ning, one could say that you single-handedly turned the tides of the battle. It’s a shame that apart from showing admiration, my Butterfly Mountain couldn’t do anything else.”

So, it was Chuan Xinlou who revealed it, huh. Ning Cheng nodded. But in his heart, he couldn’t help but curse at them. With the shamelessness of Butterfly Mountain, they still dared to talk about shame; it just felt disgusting to him.

After a while, Ning Cheng asked, “Brother Duan, I seem to recall that Nine Phoenix Heavenly Emperor didn’t leave with Chuan Xinlou, or am I misremembering things? How could it be four?”

Duan Wenbai chuckled. “It seems that Levelled Heart Heavenly Emperor returned a Breaking Boundary Talisman to Nine Phoenix Heavenly Emperor. As such, Nine Phoenix Heavenly Emperor didn’t go with Levelled Heart Heavenly Emperor. Instead, she returned to Spirit Heaven Grand Starry Sky. As for whether she has already left this part of the starry sky, I do not know. But I’m sure that she hadn’t come to the boundary point again.”

Ning Cheng cupped his fists and said, “Many thanks, Brother Duan, for telling me this. If I come to the boundary point in the future, I will make sure to visit Butterfly Mountain.”

“Okay, then I’m looking forward to meeting Sect Master Ning.” After saying that, he took out a jade strip and handed it to Ning Cheng. “Sect Master Ning, this is a Butterfly Mountain’s star chart. When Sect Master Ning decides to come, just follow the instructions on the jade strip, and you can reach my Butterfly Mountain in no time.”

After giving the jade strip to Ning Cheng, Duan Wenbai took Duan Qian and Yin Xiushan and left. Ning Cheng also didn’t invite Duan Wenbai to Stately River Star. Instead, he returned to Mysterious Yellow Sect with Cang Caihe and the others.

……

“Seventh Elder Taoist, why were you so respectful and polite to that man surnamed Ning?” After leaving Stately River Star, Duan Qian muttered with some unwillingness.

Ning Cheng had dared to tell her to fuck off, if not for Seventh Elder Taoist’s intervention, she would have taught that Ning Cheng a good lesson. So what if he could crush the two superimposed domains? How could her Butterfly Mountain’s methods compare to that of a small sect’s sect master? Moreover, since Ning Cheng also looked for the Eternal Emperor Continuance Pills not too long ago, then presumably his cultivation wasn’t that great. If that was the case, then what could he have done with the strength of his domain alone?

Duan Wenbai gave a cold snort, “If you want to die then die by yourself. Don’t pull my Butterfly Mountain into your mess. Didn’t I tell you before going out that just because you’re from Butterfly Mountain, you shouldn’t flaunt your arrogance? If I hadn’t reached in time, you two would have already died. Moreover, it would have also created a formidable enemy for my Butterfly Mountain.”

Seeing the two upset on hearing his words, Duan Wenbai continued with a harsh voice, “Ning Cheng’s cultivation doesn’t lose out to our old ancestor. You two wouldn’t have survived even a slap from him…..”

“Ah….” Duan Qian and Yin Xiushan now felt truly shocked. They naturally knew about the frightening strength of their Butterfly Mountain’s old ancestor. Yet, Ning Cheng, a cultivator who looked so ordinary, how could he be compared on the same level as their ancestor?

Duan Wenbai’s tone remained harsh. “If he didn’t have at least this much ability, he would have already died at the hands of that Ninth Prince in Mysterious Yellow Starland. The reason why ancestor didn’t stop that Ninth Prince, apart from Ninth Prince’s background, was that he feared losing to Ninth Prince. Yet, this Sect Master Ning could severely injure Ninth Prince and return to Stately River Star unharmed. Tell me how strong he is now? Maybe you have no familiarity with Ninth Prince, but you should know about the Traceless Immortal Pond, right?”

“I know that when we came out, master had specifically told me to not go to the Traceless Immortal Pond. In particular, the cultivation of Sect Master Wu Yuankong of Traceless Immortal Pond didn’t lose out to the Elder Taoists[1] of my Butterfly Mountain.” Duan Qian replied.

Duan Wenbai sighed, “That was when you first came out. Now, Traceless Immortal Pond is just a dead name amongst the starry skies. Two years ago, Traceless Immortal Pond’s Sect Master Wu Yuankong and several Eternal elders of Traceless Immortal Pond died under Sect Master Ning’s hands.”

“What?” Duan Qian and Yin Xiushan cried out in shock. At the same time, cold sweat drenched the back of both of them.

Since Ning Cheng had so much power, if the Seventh Elder Taoist hadn’t stopped them in time, they would have truly turned into ghosts haunting Stately River Star.

……

Sitting within Ning Cheng’s cave inside Covered Snow City, were Ning Cheng, Ning Ruolan, Ji Luofei and Ning Ruoqing.

“I will leave Stately River Star for a while soon, but I don’t know when I will return…..”

“Brother, are you leaving for good?” Before Ning Cheng finished speaking, Ning Ruolan asked immediately. She had a strong resentment in her eyes and truly didn’t want to be separated from her big brother again.

Ji Luofei also looked equally reluctant. She naturally didn’t want to separate from Ning Cheng again.

Ning Cheng smiled, “I plan to take you with me this time, I still have a True Spirit World…”

“Then, can Dai, Zhiyan, Li Lingfan, Zhang Qian and the others come with us?” Ning Ruolan quickly asked.

Although she and Helian Dai weren’t blood-related sisters, they weren’t any different from true sisters. If she left Helian Dai here alone, she wouldn’t truly feel at ease. But if Helian Dai came with them, it would also mean that they would need to take Li Lingfan, Luo Ziyan, Zhang Qian and the others with them. No matter who stayed, it wouldn’t feel right to either party.

[1] In the phrase ‘太上长老’, ‘太上’ is a title of respect for Taoists, for which I can’t find an English equivalent, while ‘长老’ means ‘elder/term of respect for a Buddhist monk’. But in literal character-for-word translation, it means ‘above greatest/highest monk’. Although I could potentially use the word ‘supreme/prime/sovereign monk/elder’ in its place, it feels pretty much out of place. Therefore, I decided to short the words ‘太上长老’ to ‘Elder Taoist’