Chapter 18 : Chapter 18
Chapter 18: A Free Ride
Then Zhou Heng said, “You must arrive at the Artisan Heart Tower and meet Chen Xingfeng within three days. Otherwise, the mission will also become invalid.”
“The Artisan Heart Tower is in 【Sunset Glow City】, quite far from the Defying Heaven Sect.”
“If you travel there normally, it will take quite a bit of time.”
“Do you know how to get there?”
Hearing that, Ning Ri said, “This disciple has a little savings. I can hire a... no, I can have someone take me there.”
He had almost said the words “call a ride,” but luckily corrected himself in time.
He had learned of that method of transportation earlier, when he went to perform authentic mortal blade arts for that group of cultivators.
Ning Ri had told them that he wanted to seek a master, but the immortal sects were far away, and he did not know how to get there.
So they had given him a jade slip and a string of hand seals.
As long as he infused the jade slip with spiritual energy and formed the hand seals, he could summon a cultivator to take him where he wanted to go.
Because it was so much like calling a taxi, Ning Ri had privately decided that this thing was basically just ride-hailing.
The first person Ning Ri had summoned was a sword cultivator. That sword cultivator had taken him straight to a place where several sects were gathered, and then he had been rejected there several times in a row...
And what amazed Ning Ri even more was that this cultivation-world version of “ride-hailing” also had a free first ride for new users. The first time he called one, he had not spent a single coin.
That was precisely why Ning Ri had just told Zhou Heng that he could have someone take him there.
When Zhou Heng heard that, he could not help but smile and say, “What you mean... is 【Golden Stratagem Mileage】, correct?”
Ning Ri immediately nodded. “That is right!”
The words jili came from “mile-registering drum carriage.”
A mile-registering drum carriage was, in fact, the mortal world’s version of ride-hailing.
Every time the carriage traveled one li, which was about five hundred meters, a wooden figure inside the carriage would beat a drum once.
In other words, it was essentially a fare meter.
But in cultivation, there was no need to measure distance like that. They could fly extremely far in a single trip, and the rides Ning Ri had taken were not metered anyway. They were all fixed-price.
Still, even though mileage no longer needed to be recorded, the Golden Stratagem Immortal Sect had retained the name, since it was easy to understand.
Of course, that was easy to understand for people in this world. As far as Ning Ri was concerned, he still preferred 【Golden Stratagem Ride-Hailing】.
Hearing this, Zhou Heng seemed to think of something, and a mischievous smile suddenly appeared on his face. “【Golden Stratagem Mileage】... how many times have you used it?”
Ning Ri said, “Twice. One of them was free!”
He did not have enough savings to keep calling rides all the time.
The smile on Zhou Heng’s face deepened a little more. Then he took out a jade slip and suddenly said, “Did you know? The Defying Heaven Sect has a spell created specifically for anomalies, unrivaled in all the world, to the point that sects everywhere imitate it.”
Ning Ri froze. Weren’t they talking about ride-hailing? How had the conversation suddenly shifted to anomalies? “What spell?”
Zhou Heng said, “This spell is called 【Defying Heaven Soul-Splitting Art】.”
“Most soul-splitting arts in this world divide one’s own cultivation and soul, but the Defying Heaven Sect’s Defying Heaven Soul-Splitting Art is not like that. Instead, it creates a soul shell outside one’s original soul.”
“Once you enter an anomaly, that soul shell becomes a life-saving talisman.”
“When ordinary people enter an anomaly, if they have not yet figured out its rules, it is very easy for them to violate one and die on the spot.”
“Even if they do not die, they must consume a life-saving method or suffer enormous damage.”
“But 【Defying Heaven Soul-Splitting Art】 is different. It does not consume any of the caster’s power, yet it can still give you one extra life inside an anomaly.”
“The only drawback is that this Defying Heaven Soul-Splitting Art can only be used in anomalies. If a powerful cultivator in the outside world wants to hunt you down, this art cannot die in your place.”
“But even so, the Defying Heaven Soul-Splitting Art is extremely powerful!”
“It is just that, at your current level, you still cannot cultivate the true Defying Heaven Soul-Splitting Art. The requirement for cultivating it is that your soul must possess a certain strength, and at the very least you must have reached Nascent Soul. But since I have said all this, naturally I am not wasting my breath.”
“What I want is for you to cultivate the simplified version of the Defying Heaven Soul-Splitting Art.”
“Under normal circumstances, Qi Refining disciples would not be able to learn it either, but I have confidence in you.”
Ning Ri froze. “You want me to learn the simplified version?!”
“Exactly. After you learn the simplified version of this art...” Zhou Heng suddenly gave a sly laugh. “You can use 【Golden Stratagem Mileage】 for free one more time.”
Ning Ri was stunned the moment he heard that, then his eyes widened as understanding dawned on him—
Oh!
So you abruptly jumped to anomalies, brought up the Defying Heaven Sect’s peerless spell, and said all that just to turn me into a new user again...
...
When Ning Ri came out of the Technique Pavilion, his heart was still full of gratitude toward Zhou Heng.
Of course, it was not because Zhou Heng had let him become a new user again, but because of the 【Defying Heaven Foundation Establishment Art】.
Although Zhou Heng had not said much, Ning Ri understood very well that, in the entire Outer Sect, only he could complete this mission.
The fact that Elder Zhou had intercepted this mission made it obvious that he had been waiting to hand it to Ning Ri.
Or rather...
Elder Zhou had perhaps long since guessed that Ning Ri would refuse the two choices he had offered.
So Elder Zhou had already prepared a third choice, and that third choice was a path that was even more independent and self-reliant!
If Ning Ri had chosen to let the elders help him retrieve a pill to improve his aptitude, then Elder Zhou would never have given him this artifact-refining mission tied to a cultivation method.
Thinking this, Ning Ri could not help but ponder—
In that sense... had he just passed yet another test?
Then, under the bright moonlight, Ning Ri walked back toward Jingui Garden.
The entire Outer Sect had valleys, plains, and small hills, all linked together by formations. When Ning Ri had first arrived at the Defying Heaven Sect, he had even been warned not to wander around recklessly, because it was easy to trigger the formations. But now that he had a disciple token, he no longer needed to worry about that.
After passing through all kinds of terrain, Ning Ri returned to Jingui Garden.
All along the way, he had been planning out the matter of going to the Artisan Heart Tower to help Master Chen Xingfeng refine artifacts.
Now that he had Golden Stratagem transport, getting to the Artisan Heart Tower would not be much of a problem.
Even at the slowest, it would only take half a day.
So before that, he would stockpile more spells within the sect and see whether he could improve all the strength that ought to be improved first...
After all, he was worried that something might happen on the road while he was going to find Master Chen Xingfeng to complete the mission.
For example, what if some ultimate boss blocked his path and tried to kill him?
However, before stockpiling spells, he planned to go find Liang Chengdao first.
The matter of using someone else’s identity could be big or small.
Offering an apology was only proper.
But when Ning Ri arrived outside Liang Chengdao’s small room, Liang Chengdao did not see him. He merely said flatly from inside that he did not blame him.
After receiving a closed door in his face, Ning Ri said warmly, “Many thanks, Brother Chengdao, for your generosity in overlooking this slight. If Brother Chengdao ever needs artifact refining, Ning is willing to lend his strength.”
That offer of lending his strength was quite flexible. If the dharmic treasure was simple, he would refine it for him. If it was difficult, they could discuss it further.
But in any case, the attitude had to be shown first.
Through the room, Liang Chengdao said flatly, “Mm.”
“Then Ning shall take his leave first.”
With that, Ning Ri returned to his own small room.
Only after Ning Ri had left did Liang Chengdao walk over to the window. He stared at Ning Ri’s retreating back for a long time in silence, then took out a mirror and looked at himself in it. After that, he put the mirror away, turned around, and went back to continue cultivating...