The Gate Of Good Fortune c1-905

by Demon Translations

  Ning Cheng hurriedly gave the Jade Piece back to the old woman and said, “This junior does not dare to covet the Jade Piece of the senior, if senior wants to enquire about something, then please by all means go ahead and ask, this junior will talk about anything as long as I know about it.”

  Ning Cheng was not a fool, he had already understood the technique in the Jade Piece, and letting the old woman give it to him, wouldn’t it mean that he owed her a favour? Even if she wanted something, he could pretend that he never saw the stuff.

  The old woman did not know that not only did Ning Cheng had such a powerful memory, but he even had the ability to correct even a Cultivation Method, because of which she was actually surprised and asked, “You really do not want it?”

  Ning Cheng said in a resolute and decisive tone, “This junior had only come to ask senior for her help in refining an Artefact, if one also wanted the technique in the Jade Piece, then wouldn’t it be me being greedy, senior can just go ahead and ask what you want.”

  The old woman surprisingly took and put away the Jade Piece with much appreciation and said, “Such being the case, I will also not ask any more questions. This One Horned Flood Dragon had just advanced to Class 4, with your trivial cultivation of the Qi Gathering Realm, for you to get such a thing, really shows that you really are not simple. Moreover, aren’t the Flood Dragon’s skin and the Flood Dragon’s Core not with you?”

  Ning Cheng actually did not hesitate, he directly took out the Flood Dragon’s skin and piled it up in the room and said, “I was not able to find the core of the Flood Dragon.”

  The old woman’s eyes revealed that she was pleasantly surprised, she did not continue to look at the Flood Dragon’s Skin, she did not even enquire about the Flood Dragon’s core, and directly asked, “What thing do you want me to refine?”

  “I want to refine a thin needle shaped Artefact which also has a concealing effect, the thinner the better, while at the same time it should be able to help me perform Ice Type Attacks with it, can you….” Ning Cheng was no longer polite, he suspected that this old woman should not be a simple person, and simply spilled out all the characteristics of the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle.

  “You want to refine the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle? Does a Qi Gathering Cultivator like you really have a Profound Grade Technique? It appears that the secrets on your body are not small.” The woman said while staring at Ning Cheng as if implying something else.

  Ning Cheng was immediately startled awake from his sub consciousness, this old woman was really quite amazing, she even knew about the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle Technique. What if she also knew about the Mysterious Yellow Bead, wouldn’t that mean certain death for him?

  Seeing the worried look on Ning Cheng’s face, the old woman smiled and said, “Although a Profound Grade Techniques are good, I do not put them in my heart. However, for you to use the single horn of the Flood Dragon and refine it into the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle, even if the refining was successful, the effect would be far from being satisfactory. This Flood Dragon’s horn and the other materials have a great use for me, I have a stinger from a Class 4 Shadow Bee that is more suitable for refining a needle like Artefact. These materials are not as good as the stingers from a Class 4 Shadow Bees to refine the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle, would you like to exchange them for the horn and materials of the Flood Dragon for these?”

  When Ning Cheng heard about it, he knew that he would definitely suffer a loss, however he did not even consider about it even once and said, “Whatever senior wants you can have it, this junior only wants the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle.”

  The old woman nodded, apparently she was satisfied with Ning Cheng’s attitude, and immediately said, “Although I am not a Crafting Master, but I am a Pill Master, if you have any pills that you need to be refined, you can always come to me. At least for a year, I will not leave this Nan Yuan City.”

  When Ning Cheng heard this, his heart was immediately filled with joy, he did not even think that this old woman was actually a Pill Master. When hearing this news for the first time, he almost immediately went ahead and asked the old woman if she could refine a True Condensing Pill. However, Ning Cheng immediately refrained from executing his idea, he felt that to even ask the old woman to refine a True Condensing Pill, it would not be possible today, he at least would have to wait till he gets his hands on the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle before anything else.

  “Of course, if you want me to help you refine pills, then you need to bring your own Spiritual Grasses, as an old woman, I usually do not go out, so I do not have any Spiritual Grasses for you.” After getting the horn and the hide of the Flood Dragon from Ning Cheng, the old woman’s attitude towards Ning Cheng changed greatly.

  Ning Cheng knew that he had the Golden Cicada Fruit, but for refining the True Condensing Pill, he would need 10-20 different kinds of Spiritual Grasses. In such a short time, he simply would not be able to collect all the Spiritual Grasses needed, so looking for this woman to help him refine pills was a bit unrealistic at the moment.

  Thinking of this, Ning Cheng hurriedly said, “Does senior have any Jade Pieces that have an introduction to Alchemy, if there are any, would you let this junior take a look at them.”

  “You want to learn Alchemy.” The old woman immediately understood the viewpoint of Ning Cheng, she did not believe that someone would ask her such a question.

  Ning Cheng sheepishly scratched his head and said, “Yes, if I could refine my own pills, wouldn’t it save me a lot of trouble later?”

  This old woman mouth revealed a hint of smile for the first time, looking at Ning Cheng she could tell, although this old woman did not ridicule him, it meant that laughing or ridiculing him did not make much difference to her.

  “Since time immemorial, there were tens of thousands of cultivators who wanted to become Pill Masters, but for one to actually become a Pill Master, is very rare. In addition to talent and perseverance in Alchemy, you also need great luck. Even if you had Pure Spiritual Roots, even if you had amazing perseverance, if you are not destined for it, then you would never become a Pill Master.” The old woman turned back, her tone felt a little lonely, as if she was speaking to herself while sighing continuously.

  Ning Cheng knew that he had an opportunity in front of him, he could no longer could help himself and exposed his own tail, while he eagerly asked, “This junior is certain that he would definitely become a Pill Master, this junior does not need to be taught by senior, as long as senior can give this junior a Jade Piece that contains the basics of Alchemy, that is all that is needed for this junior.”

  Chapter 0053 – Improved Spiritual Roots

  Translated and Checked By – DemonKiller

  Edited and Proofread By – SmartyMouth

  [Also a special thanks to

  Anonpuffs

  from the

  Wuxia World Forums

  on helping me translate a paragraph that made me bang my head against the wall.]

  The old woman recovered after a while, shook her head while staring at Ning Cheng and said, “I really do have the Jade Pieces that contain the basics of Alchemy, but I will not give it to you. It is not that I am reluctant to part with them, it is for your own good. Although you dress like an old person, I think that you are not older than 20 years, right? Being less than 20 Years old and also being able to advance to the Qi Gathering 8th Level, although it is not considered as being a genius, but in this Ping Continent, it is not something that is easily achieved.”

  “With your speed of advancement, you can even leave the Ping Continent in the future, that coupled with your own effort and some luck, you might be even be able to advance to the Profound Core Realm. But if your heart is too greedy, and try to delve into the research of Pills, then I am afraid, that in this life, you might not even advance to the True Condensation Realm. Alchemy, it is something that you do not want to learn nor can you learn, just listen to my words.”

  Ning Cheng thought about the Mysterious Yellow Bead, and
said somewhat with an unwilling heart, “Senior, I am sure that it would not delay my cultivation.”

  The old woman smiled slightly and replied, “Any cultivator who wishes to refine pills will have this confidence. In the end the Daos of Alchemy and Crafting are just minor Daos, and they are also for the sake of enhancing one’s cultivation. If not for the sake of advancing to a higher level, there would be no one willing to refine pills. But everyone has been misled by these minor Daos; if the end result is for the sake of cultivation, why not put all your energy into your cultivation itself? If one day you can gaze down on anything whether great or small, will there be a Pill Master who would dare to refuse to refine pills for you, or a Craftsman unwilling to forge weapons for you?”

  When Ning Cheng heard this, his heart suddenly felt hot. This was the first time he heard someone talk about the Daos of Alchemy, even the refining of Artefacts has its own Dao called the Dao of Crafting. But although he was discouraged by her, he actually felt that this old woman did not speak wrong, if one day he could gaze down on everything big or small, will there be a Pill Master who would dare to refuse to make pills for him, or a craftsman unwilling to forge weapons for him?

  However, without the Pills, how would he be able to gaze down on things big or small? His fiery mood that had just flared up, immediately cooled down again.

  This old woman seemed to know about the thoughts that were going through the mind of Ning Cheng, and once again said with an unhurried tone, “In this world people who refine pills are truly not the strongest people, there are naturally many things stronger than them in the world. If one day, you are able to find these inherently magical items, which are countless times even more powerful than any pills, then what would you have to even worry about. If you only rely on artificial pills refined by people for your cultivation, you will not be able to eliminate it toxic dependence, and will forever be a second rate character. Alchemy is just an auxiliary means to cultivation, it is actually not the end goal.”

  “What senior means is, as long as a person just cultivates, there is no need to refine Pills?” Ning Cheng asked in a puzzled way.

  The old woman shook her head and once again said, “No, it is just that you are not suitable to cultivate Alchemy. With only your cultivation level, even if you had an intelligence that went against the will of the heavens, so what of it? The prerequisite to cultivate Alchemy is that it not only requires a lot of Spiritual Grasses at hand, but secondly you must also have a Pill Flame in addition to an excellent luck. If you do not have either of them, then even if you really want to advance to the True Condensation Realm through Alchemy, it would be really difficult, you simply chose the wrong path. If you want to refine pills, then you can always come to me when you feel that you can no longer advance in your cultivation by yourself. However, I believe that at that time, you will already be in no mood to refine pills by yourself.”

  Ning Cheng sighed, he knew that the old woman did not speak anything wrong. He only relied on the Mysterious Yellow Bead, the Mysterious Yellow Bead cannot just create millions of Spiritual Grasses out of thin air. Evidently, even if he wanted to practice Alchemy, this old woman would not let him.

  “You can come back in ten days to collect the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle; I will definitely refine it for you.” The old woman said as she saw Ning Cheng lowering his head to ponder, she did not care what Ning Cheng was thinking about, and directly gave him the order to leave.

  “Yes, this junior will take his leave.” After Ning Cheng came out of the old woman’s cottage, he put aside the matters regarding to Alchemy in his heart.

  No matter how it was, even if he started studying Alchemy from this moment, he would not be able to immediately refine a Qi Gathering Pill. If he wanted to advance to the True Condensation Realm, he must try to think of other ways. It’s true that there are many cultivators in the True Condensation Realm, but it is not necessary that every one of them was a Pill Master.

  ……

  Ning Cheng did not go to the Ming Pu Plaza to test out his Spiritual Roots, he wanted to wait till he had gotten his hands on the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle. Moreover, after what the old woman had said, Ning Cheng did not even have half confidence in trying to conceal his cultivation level using his Concealing Technique.

  He simply decided to rest for the time being, and try to cultivate the new Concealment Technique that he had just obtained.

  Ten days flashed by, in these ten days, Ning Cheng not only perfected the Concealment Technique that he had obtained from the old woman, but had even learnt the new Concealment Technique in its entirety.

  On the tenth day, Ning Cheng impatiently rushed to the stone cottage of the old woman. But he discovered that the door of the cottage was actually locked, Ning Cheng was a bit surprised in his heart, this senior who looked like an old woman, did she deceive him to obtain his materials? Wasn’t this definitely possible?

  “Did you come to ask something from Aunt Gong Sun?” A hesitant voice came from the doorway of the opposite cottage, Ning Cheng turned around and saw a thin lipped boy who had a very ugly appearance.

  “Yes, I am looking for Aunt Gong Sun, did Aunt Gong Sun go somewhere?” Ning Cheng quickly replied. While simultaneously feeling that this Aunt Gong Sun’s name sounded really familiar, when he was on Earth, he had once heard the same name, but he also knew, that this certainly was not the same person.

  When this extremely ugly teenager heard the words of Ning Cheng, he immediately grinned, and quickly entered his house and took out a small wooden box while handing it to Ning Cheng saying, “Just before leaving, Aunt Gong Sun gave this to me, she said that everything that you want is in here, do what you want with it.”

  Ning Cheng received the wooden box with gratitude, but in his heart he did not understand. He had only asked Aunt Gong Sun to create the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle, what did this thing have to do with it?

  Although he was dying to see the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle, Ning Cheng strongly held back his excitement, and first brought the wooden box back to his place of residence.

  After returning to his residence, Ning Cheng first arranged a Concealing Array Formation, and then cautiously opened the wooden box.

  The small wooden box also had a smaller crystal box within it, there was a small pile of things next to the crystal box. Ning Cheng did not pay any attention to this pile of things besides the crystal box, and directly took out the crystal box to open it with his hands.

  An extremely thin, almost invisible to the naked eye, needle was resting inside the crystal box, and was even flickering, almost as if it would vanish at any time.

  “Good needle.” Ning Cheng called out in marvel, he immediately understood, that this needle absolutely surpassed the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle that he had anticipated.

  When Ning Cheng grasped the fine thin needle with his hands, a feeling of wanting to connect to it and refine it surged forward towards his heart. Ning Cheng did not hesitate, immediately closing his eyes, he started to refine the needle in his hands.

  After one day, Ning Cheng was once again surprised as he opened his eyes, the fine needle in his hand had disappeared. The thin needle had already cleanly stuck to the inside sleeve of his garment, and was even completely linked with the thoughts of his mind.

  At this moment Ning Cheng did not believe that the old woman was not a Crafting Master, the rank of this fine needle was even higher than his Flying Sword, this was simply on the level of a best quality Artefact.

  A person who can refine a best quality Artefact, how can they not be a crafting master?

  Ning Cheng was very happy in his heart, he even forgot the pile of other things in the wooden box, and was constantly practicing the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle Technique with the fine needle in his hand.

  Until he discovered that his stomach was empty, he found that one day had already passed by. Ning Cheng was very surprised in his heart with the fine needle. Once he faced his enemy, and using the 36 Thick Ice Sword Technique along with the 7 Plei
ades Ice Needle Technique in unison, even if it was cultivator at the True Condensation Realm, in the situation in him being sneak attacked, he estimated that it would be very difficult for his opponent to evade it.

  Today, he finally had gained some actual abilities to help him protect himself. Ning Cheng felt even more grateful towards the old woman, and even towards Ge Chang, Ning Cheng thought that he should have paid him more than the 10 Qi Gathering Stones that he had given him. Even if he had paid him the 2 Spirit Stones that he originally asked, he felt that it would still be much less for what he had obtained.

  Ning Cheng picked up the 7 Pleiades Ice Needle, and was ready to go out to eat, when he remembered that there were some other items in the wooden box. He hastily picked up that pile of things, shaking it a bit, he found it to be something extremely thin.

  Ning Cheng recognised it in just a glance, it was refined from the hide of the One Honed Flood Dragon. He also understood what was the matter, it should be the case that the old woman thought that the hide of the Flood Dragon was a bit too much for her, so she helped him refine an armour out of the hide.

  Ning Cheng took off his cloths, and put on the refined internal armour, feeling an indescribable feeling spreading throughout his body. He felt very grateful towards the old woman in his heart.

  He did not throw away the wooden box, in his opinion, it was equal to owing the old woman a favour. Originally, if it were other people, they would definitely not have given him the armour, but this person gave it to him just like that. In the meantime, Ning Cheng felt, that when the old woman told him to not learn Alchemy at that moment, he thought that it was definitely not without reason.