Swaying in every direction

The man arrived and looked at Lu Changsheng.

"May I ask if you are young friend Changsheng?" the elder asked.

Lu Changsheng nodded. "I am. And you are?"

"I am Ning Cang, Yuxin's uncle!"

"So you are a senior of the Ning Household. Forgive my discourtesy!"

Lu Changsheng was quite polite.

The two looked at each other, and Ning Cang said, "There is no need to be so courteous, young friend. I came on the household head's orders to find Yuxin, and I also have a question for you!"

"What is it?"

"I heard you said that a hundred thousand Spirit Stones could help Yuxin break through to the ninth layer of Essence Condensation and reach Sword Dao fourth layer within three years. Is that true?" Ning Cang was quite direct.

Lu Changsheng frowned. Hadn't Ning Yuxin sworn not to tell anyone?

How had she sold him out the moment she turned around?

But things had already come to this, and he had no choice but to steel himself and say, "That is true. An old friend of my master's is well versed in this!"

Ning Cang nodded. A bag appeared in his hand, and he passed it over.

"Here are a hundred thousand Spirit Stones. The household head ordered me to deliver them. Sorry for the trouble, young friend!"

For a moment, Lu Changsheng was dazed. So sudden? He hadn't prepared himself at all!

He did not hesitate, either, and accepted the bag.

That was a hundred thousand Spirit Stones! Together with what he already had, reaching Nascent Soul was a sure thing.

Ning Cang did not question him, either. After all, he had already seen the changes in Ning Yuxin. In just over a month, she had entered the Essence Condensation Realm.

Even more astonishing was how she had started from nothing and reached Sword Dao second layer. It truly beggared belief.

Seeing this, they had no reason to doubt him.

He then continued, "How long will you need to prepare, young friend?"

"Is it urgent?"

"Yes!" Ning Cang did not conceal it. "If possible, I need to take Yuxin back within the next two or three days!"

His meaning was clear. He had evidently caught wind of what was happening outside. The Cangyun Sect would probably face upheaval before long, and it was not safe for Ning Yuxin to stay here.

Lu Changsheng understood what he meant, too, and nodded. "I should be able to get everything ready in about two days!"

"Good. Sorry for the trouble, young friend!"

Ning Cang said no more and left.

Looking at the Spirit Stones in his hands and recalling the Ning Household's attitude, Lu Changsheng had a rough idea.

"It looks like I can't wait any longer!"

He immediately turned and left Qingyun Peak, heading for Cangyun City.

This time, he did not drag his feet. He purchased everything he needed and refined all the pills. Two days later, he finished everything and went to find Ning Yuxin.

After explaining how to use each of them, he was ready to begin preparing for his own breakthrough.

"Senior Brother Lu..."

Ning Yuxin opened her mouth to speak.

But Lu Changsheng merely glanced at her, roughly understanding her intention.

"It's good to get away from a place of trouble early. If I could leave, I would have left long ago!"

"I..."

Ning Yuxin wanted to say more, but Lu Changsheng had already gone off into the distance without listening to her at all.

"I don't want to leave!"

Watching his retreating figure, she stood there and murmured to herself.

Watching from behind her, Ning Cang said, "Yuxin, things are different now. This is no place to linger!"

"Uncle Cang, isn't doing this improper?" Ning Yuxin asked.

Ning Cang said, "You don't understand the current situation."

"When you sent me here, you wanted to match me with Senior Brother Qingyu, and the Cangyun Sect tacitly agreed. But now that the Cangyun Sect is in trouble, you're immediately abandoning them. Aren't you afraid people will condemn us?"

Ning Yuxin did not understand why things were like this.

Looking at the young woman before him, Ning Cang sighed softly. "Zhou Qingyu's talent is stunning, and he truly is a fine match. He would offer tremendous protection to the Ning Household in the future. But you may not be any weaker than him now. With you, the Ning Household needs nothing else!"

Only a thin line separated the Spirit Gathering Realm from Essence Condensation, yet crossing that line often took years.

But she had now smoothly crossed into that realm.

An Essence Condensation cultivator of seventeen or eighteen seemed hardly inferior to Zhou Qingyu.

A genius like this was rare not only in Cang Province, but throughout the Yue Kingdom.

With the Ning Household's vast resources as well, nurturing a Nascent Soul cultivator was no longer difficult.

"I'm not leaving!" Ning Yuxin shook her head.

Ning Cang frowned. "The current situation is extremely unfavorable for the Cangyun Sect. The Profound Heaven Sect won't let matters rest and is already joining forces with the Thousand Net Sect. And every power in Cang Province is watching like a tiger eyeing its prey. Later, powers from beyond Cang Province will come as well. Do you know what the consequences will be?"

"Uncle Cang, what if the Cangyun Sect really obtained the Azure Cloud Map?"

Ning Yuxin's words left Ning Cang stunned.

If they really had recovered the Azure Cloud Map, what would happen?

If they survived this calamity, they would inevitably rise. They had been a mighty power in their own right back then; perhaps in the future, they could rival the present Divine Firmament Sect!

Ning Cang fell silent, hesitation stirring within him.

He was considering whether to take a gamble.

"I'll go back and report this!"

Ning Cang made his decision.

Because of the Azure Cloud Map, Cang Province had also fallen into turmoil. No one knew whether someone had truly obtained it, but it had indeed appeared.

Who knew how many people wanted to probe the matter, taking the attitude that it was better to believe it existed than to believe it did not.

A storm swept across Cang Province.

The various powers were stirring restlessly.

Lu Changsheng no longer paid any attention to it. He had left the Cangyun Sect.

During this time, Luo Xianling came to Qingyun Peak.

She was leaving for the Divine Firmament Sect today and wanted to come say goodbye.

But Lu Changsheng was not there. Across the vast expanse, there was no sign of him, and she did not get to see him one last time.

Yet she could not wait any longer. By going to the Divine Firmament Sect, she might still be able to help her sect and deter the various powers.

This was also Luo Tian's thinking.

"Junior Martial Aunt, it's time to set off!" Meng Lang said.

Luo Xianling looked into the distance and said bitterly, "Let me look one more time. I don't know when I'll see him again, or whether I'll even be able to see him..."

In the end, her retreating figure disappeared from this land.

Meanwhile, Lu Changsheng found a secluded place where he usually cultivated.

He set up formations all around for protection and placed the puppet outside the great formation to watch for any movements at all times.

He himself stepped into the formation.

With the hundred thousand Spirit Stones Ning Cang had delivered, he now had nearly three hundred and thirty thousand, just about enough for him to reach Nascent Soul.

For this moment, he had painstakingly planned for ten years. Today, he could finally get his wish. Once he entered that realm, he could cultivate whenever he wanted.

Even if he would face a tribulation with every breakthrough, he would no longer have to endure the pain of the cultivation process.

At the thought, he could hardly calm himself.

As piles of Spirit Stones landed beside him, radiance swirled around them. Sitting amid them, he formed a hand seal, and the Spirit Stones seemed to dissolve like illusions, turning to fine dust that scattered on the wind.

His Law Power steadily swelled as he advanced toward Nascent Soul. Unbearable pain came with it, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

It was as though every inch of his flesh was being ground down, torn apart and gnawed at bit by bit by ferocious beasts. Countless ants crawled all over his body, biting every moment, bringing thousands upon thousands of unbearable pains.

This pain felt like all his past pain piled together. He had no choice but to swallow a Scarlet Spirit Pill, yet even his fingers were trembling, and he could barely maintain the hand seal.

Even after the pill was refined, the pain remained unbearable.

The instant all the Spirit Stones were exhausted, his cultivation entered Nascent Soul. Countless streams of divine light converged between his brows, forming a three-inch-tall little figure above his head.

It looked exactly like him, sitting cross-legged with its hands forming a seal, radiating golden light. Streaks of flowing light wound around it beside him, like immortal light.

He had formed his Nascent Soul. Almost instantly, endless rumbling filled the heavens, and countless bolts of lightning descended, crashing toward him.

Only the final step remained. Once he survived the heavenly tribulation, he would fully enter this realm!