Chapter 0960: The City Lordâs Banquet
âYou donât have to worry too much about that; with your alchemy skills, itâs not difficult to get the True Extreme Dao Fruit from Le Jieshengâs hands.â Sheng Huotian said with a smile.
Without waiting for Ning Cheng to ask the reason, he carefully explained. âEvery time before the Alchemy Discourse, influential experts from all sides come to Heaven Essence Sacred City after accepting Le Jieshengâs invitation. Itâs not because of his influence or power, but primarily because of his dao fruits. Itâs all because Le Jieshengâs clan oversees the Illusionary Fruit Orchard. A place that contains countless dao fruits, with the True Extreme Dao Fruit being one of them. Thatâs why I said that you donât need to worry about the True Extreme Dao Fruit.â
Ning Cheng became even more puzzled. âBrother Huotian, dao fruits are already extremely precious commodities, even the most common ones. Yet, Heaven Essence Sacred Cityâs City Lord can still own such an orchard?â
The Grand Essence Domain had plenty of experts and powerful forces. So even if Le Jiesheng was an exceptionally powerful cultivator, he was still just one person. Not to mention other sects, even the Pill Union wouldnât let go of the Illusory Fruit Orchard, right?
Sheng Huotian showed a sly smile. âDonât underestimate Le Jiesheng. Heâs an absolute monster at the peak of the Dao Essence Realm, just one step away from reaching the Dao Fusion Realm. Besides, that Illusionary Fruit Orchard would be the same in anyoneâs hands. Even if it falls in your hands, you might not be able to get in. After all, one simply canât go inside and pick the dao fruits at whim.â
Ning Cheng had only heard about Le Jieshengâs banquet and the many experts and alchemists participating in it through Jian Sanshan. Itâs just that he wasnât clear about why he did such a thing.\nâThe Illusionary Fruit Orchard canât be opened using force. Rather, to open it, one must be at the Dao Sculpting Pill Deity or above level. Moreover, the Illusionary Fruit Orchard is divided into multiple levels with different gardens on each level. But to open the gates to those levels, you need to refine pills of corresponding grades.â
âCanât you use an already refined pill to enter the levels?â This was the first time Ning Cheng had heard of such a thing.
Sheng Huotian shook his head. âThe gardens at the first level contain Dao Sculpting-level spirit grasses and only have twelve entrances, each with twelve pill recesses on them. Only the alchemist who refines twelve exceptional Dao Sculpting Spirit Pills and places them in the recesses can open that gate.â
âSo, once the gate is opened, canât everyone enter?â Ning Cheng asked.
âOf course not. Only the alchemist who made those pills can enter; no second person can enter through that gate. Once you enter the first level, you can proceed to the next level containing Dao Raising-level spirit herbs using the same method. However, you need to refine a batch of Dao Raising Spirit Pills to open the gate to that level. Again, all of them have to be top-quality spirit pills.â Sheng Huotian explained.
Ning Cheng finally understood why Jian Sanshan hadnât told him this. Most likely, Jian Sanshan felt that neither of them had a chance, so why bother talking about it. A Dao Transformation Pill Deity would find it almost impossible to refine a furnace of top-quality Dao Raising Spirit Pills. Much less within a specific time frame.
Sheng Huotian continued, âI heard that the Illusionary Fruit Orchard has a total of six levels, each with its own specific number of entrances. The first level has twelve, the second level has nine, the third level has six, the fourth level has three, the fifth level has two, and the sixth level should have only one gate.â\nNing Cheng immediately grasped onto something Sheng Huotian said. âBrother Huotian, what do you mean when you say that the sixth level should have only one entrance?â
Sheng Huotian sighed before speaking. âBy logical progression, the sixth level should contain Dao Transformation Dao Fruits. However, ever since the Illusionary Fruit Orchard appeared, no one had ever been able to enter the sixth level. Plus, a single door means that only one person can enter. The prerequisite, this person refining twelve top-quality Dao Transformation Dao Pills. However, in the entire Grand Essence Realm, no one has ever been able to refine a batch of top-quality Dao Transformation Dao Pills, at least not in recorded history.â
âDoesnât this mean that even for the first level, only twelve people can enter?â Ning Cheng immediately thought back to the many alchemists who had come to Heaven Essence Sacred City. Didnât it mean that only the twelve fastest alchemists can enter the first level?
Hearing Ning Chengâs concern, Sheng Huotian laughed. âBrother Ning, you can rest assured about that. These twelve gates are more than enough. Besides, how could it be simple to find twelve alchemists who could refine twelve top-quality Dao Sculpting Spirit Pills in the first furnace? I can confidently say that you, Brother Ning, not only can enter the first level, you even have a good chance of entering the fifth level. Just donât forget about me when you enter.â
âYou should now understand why those experts and sect masters eagerly wait for the City Lordâs invitation, right? Itâs not to give some face to Le Jiesheng. In fact, most donât even give a damn about him or his clan. However, everyone does care about the rare spirit grasses and dao fruits coming out of the Illusionary Fruit Orchard. If you find high-grade spirit herbs[1] inside, it would be an unimaginable harvest even if you chose not to exchange them.â\nNing Cheng understood what Sheng Huotian meant. The fifth level of the Illusionary Fruit Orchid contained Dao Raising-level Dao Fruits. Whether it was the Dao Sculpting, Dao Raising or the Dao Transformation Dao Pills he refined, all were top-grade dao pills. At least if you didnât look at the first batches. In other words, as long as he had the required materials, he even had a chance to enter the sixth level.
After explaining all this to Ning Cheng, Sheng Huotian showed a warm smile. âIn any case, the Le Clan doesnât own the Illusionary Fruit Orchard but rather acts as its guardian. As such, it doesnât have any control over the entry restrictions. However, as the orchardâs guardians, they do have some rules that everyone has to follow. Besides, even in that case, with your alchemy attainments, you will definitely reap great rewards. If you enter the fourth level, you might even have a good chance of finding the Exquisite Star Golden Hidden Leaf.â
Ning Cheng felt overjoyed on hearing those words. As long as no unexpected things happened, he felt confident about entering the fourth level. However, Ning Cheng still wondered why the Illusionary Fruit Garden only had six levels, with Dao Transformation Dao Fruits being the highest level. Regardless, he didnât bother to ask Sheng Huotian about it. Sheng Huotian was a first-step pill sage, so he most likely couldnât refine a second-step dao pill. So, asking him would be pointless[2].
âMany thanks, Brother Huotian, for telling me this. I will take my leave now and will see you the day after tomorrow at the City Lordâs mansion.â Ning Cheng stood up and said his goodbyes. He believed that Sheng Huotian would definitely come to the City Lordâs mansion.
âGood, see you the day after tomorrow then.â Sheng Huotian laughed and raised his hand, and a golden staircase suddenly appeared in front of Ning Cheng.\nWhen Ning Cheng walked down the staircase, he saw the female cultivator who led her here still waiting at the side.
âSenior, are you done already?â When the female cultivator who led the way saw Ning Cheng come out, she hurriedly went forward and bowed in greeting. Truth be told, she had never brought anyone to take the pill sageâs assessment before. Plus, Ning Cheng didnât even have a Dao Sculpting Pill Deityâs qualification token. In other words, Ning Cheng technically wasnât qualified to take any of the pill sageâs assessments.
No one had told her about this because one, she was a relatively new recruit and second, she wasnât qualified to bring people to the pill sageâs assessment. After all, those coming for the pill sageâs evaluation were all at least Dao Transformation Pill Deities. A newcomer like her simply wasnât qualified to lead a Dao Transformation Pill Deity at all. Plus, the prospective candidates for the evaluation would all enter through the VIP hall instead of using the common entrance. But despite the confusion, and because of the lack of knowledge, she had unintentionally brought such a person here.
Ning Cheng took out a bottle of pills and handed it to this female cultivator. âThank you for leading the way. The two pills inside are for you. Iâm going to find my friend now, so you donât need to stay with me.â
The female cultivator leading the way didnât dare say no and hurriedly bowed in respect and fear. âMany thanks, senior.â
Seeing Ning Cheng walk down the corridor, she couldnât help but feel a bit of contempt. Generally, alchemists were the wealthiest group of people. Donât look at her as someone who just led the way for him; even average alchemists gave her at least a storage bag. Typically, the storage bags contained at least a few bottles of good pills, and some even had a bunch of spirit crystals. As such, she had never seen a cheapskate like Ning Cheng, who only gave her two pills.\nHowever, even if Ning Cheng didnât give her anything, she wouldnât dare say a single word. Nor would she dare to even show it on her face.
Besides, it was also a good thing this alchemist didnât keep her waiting for long. A few hours werenât much of a loss for her.
Nonetheless, she opened the jade bottle to have a look at the pills. But when the jade bottle opened and the dao rhythm of the two pills flowed out, it almost shocked the female cultivator to death.
She was an Eternal cultivator, but that didnât mean that she didnât have insight. Working at the Pill Union, she naturally had a good idea about the different grades of pills. As such, she recognised that these two pills were, in fact, two dao pills. Two dao pills. Just one dao pill was much more valuable than the corresponding dao fruit, and here she was, holding two of them.
The female cultivatorâs heart thumped wildly. She quickly returned to her senses and closed the lid on the jade bottle. She even looked all around her to see if anyone noticed.
With these two dao pills, she could definitely exchange them for a large batch of cultivation resources, even if she didnât use them herself. These two dao pills had greatly improved the chances of becoming a Dao Sculpting Holy Emperor.
What a generous alchemist. She had never seen or even heard of an alchemist who gave away two dao pills at once. This alchemist was definitely not stingy as she previously thought. In fact, he was generous beyond generous. Would an alchemist who failed the examination take out such precious dao pills and give them away casually?
Thinking that Ning Cheng might have succeeded in his Dao Transformation Pill Sage assessment, the female cultivator leading the way started to tremble with excitement. Not all alchemists who came for the examination were as indifferent as Ning Cheng. Plus, all the female cultivators leading such alchemists had much higher and better achievements than her.\nWhat would happen if word got out that she led the way for such a highly accomplished alchemist? If word got out that she had led the way for a Dao Transformation Pill Sage, her fame within the Pill Union would simply shoot through the roof. If that indeed happened, would she still have to worry about cultivation resources?
The truth was, Ning Cheng had far too many Burst Spirit Pills on him and simply had no use for so many. Plus, Ning Cheng also appreciated the female cultivator who patiently led the way for him. As such, he decided to casually give two of them to her.
As soon as Ning Cheng walked out to where Jian Sanshan waited for him, Jian Sanshan quickly stepped up and looked at Ning Cheng with a smile. âBrother Ning, out so soon? You should have passed the examination, right?â
Ning Cheng nodded, âWith a bit of luck, I did manage to pass. Letâs go, letâs head to the City Lordâs mansion the day after tomorrow.â
Two days passed in a flash. On the banquet day, Ning Cheng entrusted Yan Ji to Xin Xiu and went with Jian Sanshan to the Heaven Essence Sacred Cityâs City Lordâs mansion.
Seeing the defensive formation outside Lordâs mansion, Ning Cheng understood that Le Jiesheng wasnât an ordinary City Lord.
Regardless of Le Jieshengâs cultivation level, Ning Cheng wouldnât be able to break open this defensive formation. He was an Array Dao Master, but according to the Grand Essence Realmâs classification, he was still only a Basic Grade Spirit Array Master. However, because of his dao enlightenment, his mastery over array formations far exceeded that of an ordinary Basic Grade Spirit Array Master. Unfortunately, it still wouldnât be enough to break or bypass this defensive formation.\nWhen Jian Sanshan saw Ning Cheng frowning, he understood that Ning Cheng was using his spiritual consciousness to probe around. Understanding this, he quickly spoke up from the side, âBrother Ning, donât try to probe using your spiritual consciousness. Else, we both might end up dead.â
Ning Cheng smiled, âI understand. Donât worry about it.â
If it was before the Dao Transformation Pill Sageâs assessment, Ning Cheng definitely wouldnât dare to probe around like this. Jian Sanshanâs words were indeed correct in that scenario. If the City Lord became angry, the two would be nothing more than ants in front of him. But now, it was different. Not to mention that he was a Dao Transformation Pill Sage himself, Le Jiesheng wouldnât dare mess with Sheng Huotianâs âbrotherâ, no matter his power.
By the time Ning Cheng followed Jian Sanshan and entered the guest hall, led by an attendant from the City Lordâs mansion, over a hundred people had long since come here. Not only that, but people still kept pouring in from the outside. From this, Ning Cheng understood that the City Lord had invited quite a few people this time.
As soon as Jian Sanshan entered, many cultivators stood up to greet him, showing that Jian Sanshan had a relatively high status. Yet, even in that case, Jian Sanshan didnât dare be negligent and greeted everyone personally.
It didnât take long after the two sat down when another hundred or so people to walk into the guest hall.
When he saw Shi Tianhe of the 9-Revolutions Sacred Dao Pond and a few other women walk in amongst the crowd, Ning Chengâs expressions sank, and he even gave out a cold snort.
[1] âSpirit herbsâ here is a short representation of âspirit grasses and dao fruits.â
[2] Going by the context from earlier, I assume only second-step pill sages can refine twelve top-grade Dao Transformation Dao Pills in the first batch.\n\n<!-- AI CONTENT END 2 -->