Chapter 20 The Perilous Mango Sea Area_1

Ning Cheng didn't answer because a sharp sound of splitting the air interrupted his thoughts. A grey shadow with a howling sound flew past not far in front of him, and moments later, another black shadow closely pursued it. After a few breaths, the two shadows had vanished without a trace.

Ning Cheng felt a jolt in his heart; he recognized that the shadows were magical items as he had seen ones used by his aunt Ji Luofei before. He had heard that hundreds of nations from Huazhou, as well as countless forces, had come to the Mango Sea Area to gain experience and search for resources. It seemed that this was indeed the case, as the two shadows that had just flown by were clearly not cultivators from Cang Qin Country.

Those capable of using flying magical items must be at the latter stages of Condensation Reality, or even Core Formation cultivators. It seemed that surviving well in the Mango Sea Area was not going to be easy. The excitement that Ning Cheng had felt just a moment ago had considerably subsided; he had already begun thinking about how to survive in this place.

Even An Yi could tell that the two people who had just passed were one fleeing and one pursuing, and both she and Ning Cheng had very low cultivation levels. She wasn't quite certain about Ning Cheng's cultivation level, but it seemed not to be high.

"An Yi, we need to be careful. The Mango Sea Area seems to be filled with danger everywhere," Ning Cheng quickly pulled An Yi down from the high place and went to a secluded spot by the side of the small path.

An Yi also forgot what she had initially wanted to ask Ning Cheng and just hummed in response, closely following him. If she were alone right now, she would have no idea what to do.

"An Yi, you must hide your Storage Pouch well, and never let it be seen," Ning Cheng thought again of An Yi's Storage Pouch. If An Yi's Storage Pouch were discovered, not only An Yi would be killed, but so would he.

An Yi quickly placed her hand on her waist, "Big Brother Ning, I'll take it down and put it on you. It's too unsafe on me..."

Ning Cheng stopped An Yi's movements, "An Yi, this Storage Pouch was left to you by your master; it's best to keep it on you. There might be some of your belongings inside, and it's not quite right for me to hold it."

Ning Cheng did want to take a look at An Yi's Storage Pouch, but then he realized An Yi's master must have passed down something to her. If he took it to look, it would be the same as peering into someone else's privacy.

An Yi quickly said, "Big Brother Ning, mine is not a Storage Pouch but a Storage Bag. There's a difference between a Storage Pouch and a Storage Bag; the Storage Pouch is smaller, while the Storage Bag has a bigger space. These items are controlled through intent; they contain a space formation inside, allowing larger items to be stored."

Ning Cheng then understood the difference between a Storage Pouch and a Storage Bag. Thinking of how a small Storage Bag could hold so many items, Ning Cheng began to feel a sense of yearning; he really wanted such a bag.

...

After that incident, Ning Cheng took An Yi and mainly traveled through small paths.

"Big Brother Ning, there's a caravanserai over there," An Yi spoke a little more after knowing Ning Cheng's concern for her. It seemed she had hidden the pain of her master's death in her heart, and along the way, she also proactively asked Ning Cheng about some matters, but she didn't ask again about Ning Cheng's girlfriend or what a girlfriend was.

Ning Cheng also saw the caravanserai in the distance. The caravanserai didn't look very big, but Ning Cheng stopped.

"Big Brother Ning, Brother Li Shao said that after we pass the caravanserai in Dingbi Town, we'll be out of Cang Qin Country's jurisdiction. There might be caravanserais ahead, but they may not belong to Cang Qin Country." An Yi saw Ning Cheng stop and even appeared somewhat cautious, so she took the initiative to say a few words.

Ning Cheng nodded, "That's true, let's go over and take a closer look first."

The caravanserai wasn't big; it was a pure caravanserai with over a dozen guards and a single inn. The largest area of the caravanserai was allocated for the parking of beast carts. Many beast cart drivers were hollering for customers. The characters written above the caravanserai made Ning Cheng completely let down his guard, "Fire Yuan Country Yihe Fufu Caravanserai."

As Ning Cheng and An Yi had just arrived, a short-haired woman with a rugged face came up to greet them, "Are you two friends going to the Mango Sea Area? Take my beast cart, it's only twenty Gold Coins per person."

Ning Cheng was startled, twenty Gold Coins per person? Was that supposed to be a bargain? Li Shao had said earlier that his fee for a trip was only a few dozen Silver Coins, so why were the prices so high here?

"Isn't that price a bit too high?" Ning Cheng was uncertain if the woman was trying to rip him off and hesitated to ask.

The rugged short-haired woman was taken aback for a moment but before she could reply, someone came over and said, "Friend, this price isn't high. Not to mention it takes over ten days from here to the Mango Sea Area, the dangers of the Mango Sea Area alone are worth this many Gold Coins. The drivers here are risking their lives, it's better not to haggle if it's not necessary."

The man who came over to talk had some short bristles on his face and seemed to have only the cultivation level of the third layer of Qi Gathering. However, he spoke with an extremely gentle tone, and there was nothing abrupt about his manner. The gap between the third and the fourth layers of Qi Gathering is significant; there are more than ten times as many cultivators at the third layer compared to the fourth.

Ning Cheng hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "Thank you for your explanation, friend. It's my sister's and my first time going to the Mango Sea Area to seek a living, so we were unaware of the local market. Hearing what you say, the twenty gold coins really isn't a high price."

Speaking of his sister, Ning Cheng immediately thought of Ning Ruolan, his heart filled with even more concern.

An Yi had tied her head with a white scarf and did not look like a nun at all. Ning Cheng said An Yi was his sister, and the man with the short bristles did not assume that Ning Cheng was lying. He nodded and suggested, "Sister He's beast carriage has a good reputation, and I happen to be going to the Mango Sea Area too. I plan to take her beast carriage as well; how about we go together?"

Ning Cheng said a bit awkwardly, "I don't have a single gold coin on me, and although I really want to go to the Mango Sea Area right away, I just can't afford to."

The most valuable things he had were two items: one was the knife in his package, which he had snatched from Gu Fei. The other was the Qi Gathering Stone given to him by Ji Luofei, and he had never considered using it. Other than that, there were only the two leather scrolls from the Ning family.

At this point, he somewhat regretted not thoroughly searching Gu Fei after killing him; there might have been some valuable things on him.

The man with the short bristles looked Ning Cheng over and said with a smile, "It's quite rare to see a Qi Gathering third-layer cultivator as poor as you, friend. I'll cover the gold coins for the beast carriage, and let's consider it making a new friend."

Upon hearing what the man with the short bristles had said, Ning Cheng immediately clasped his fists with great joy and said, "Thank you very much, my friend. Once I get to the Mango Sea Area, I will definitely find a way to repay you."

If Ning Cheng had not offended Gu Yiming, he really would not have wished to owe this favor. Right now, for Ning Cheng, the farther away from Cang Qin Country, the better. The Mango Sea Area was home to all sorts of people; even Cang Qin Country was not very influential there. It was the safest place.

"A mere forty gold coins; there's no need to return them. My name is Feng Feizhang, and I've been shuttling between the Mango Sea Area and Yihefu Relay Station. Even though I could make twice as much by delivering goods back to Fire Element Country, I'd rather sell my things right here to save a lot of time," said the man with the short bristles, still smiling.

"My name is Ning Cheng, and this is my cousin An Yi," said Ning Cheng, changing 'sister' to 'cousin' on the spot. What kind of siblings would they be if they didn't even share the same surname?

Feng Feizhang wasn't bothered by the inconsistency in Ning Cheng's words and enthusiastically introduced, "The Mango Sea Area is filled with gold coins everywhere, as long as you have the capability. For someone like me who can't advance to the mid-stage of Qi Gathering, once I've earned enough gold coins, I'll go back and establish a family."

"Brother Feng, is the Mango Sea Area also fraught with dangers everywhere?" Ning Cheng, hearing that Feng Feizhang had been constantly going to the Mango Sea Area, wanted to learn about the situation there from him.

Feng Feizhang's expression became solemn after listening to Ning Cheng, "Indeed, Brother Ning. In the Mango Sea Area, our level of cultivation is considered the lowest of the low, slightly better only than some of the lowest-level adventurers. I can only scavenge for things offshore; I don't dare venture any further. The Mango Sea Area's richest resources are in the deep sea, but there are too many people near the shore, making it very difficult to find better things now."

After a pause, Feng Feizhang continued, "Going to the Mango Sea Area requires forming a team. Over the years, I have teamed up with many friends to go there. But not many have returned. I've witnessed many acquaintances fall before my eyes without being able to do anything. I think, perhaps one day, I will end up just like them, forever remaining in the Mango Sea Area."

An Yi, who had always lived in a safe place with her master, had very little concept of this. Ning Cheng, however, was quite worried. Although he was at the third layer of Qi Gathering, his combat experience was not extensive. The only reason he managed to kill Gu Fei last time was that Gu Fei had thought he was at the first layer of Qi Gathering. Even then, he was seriously injured by Gu Fei's backlash just before his death.

What worried Ning Cheng the most was that he had poor talent and was incapable of advancing further. If he could easily upgrade from the first layer of Qi Gathering to the third, as he did in Cang Le City, he would definitely have improved his cultivation before venturing to the Mango Sea Area.

Seeing Ning Cheng's apparent worry, Feng Feizhang said proactively, "Actually, as long as we're careful, it's not necessarily a given that we'll die in the Mango Sea Area. I've been in the Mango Sea Area for almost ten years now and am still alive and well. When we get there, we can form a team, and I will tell you how to survive in the Mango Sea Area."

Ning Cheng gratefully clasped his fists and said, "Brother Feng is so enthusiastic; I am very grateful."

When heading to a dangerous place like the Mango Sea Area, the more experienced and capable the team members, the better, and he, with no experience at all, felt fortunate that Feng Feizhang was willing to take him and An Yi along. If Feng Feizhang did not have ulterior motives, then he was truly kind-hearted. With his and An Yi's attire, it was obvious to anyone they had nothing valuable; Feng Feizhang was clearly a person with a warm heart.

"Sister He, are there any seats left? We also want to go to the Mango Sea Area." Following the voice, another man and woman approached. The man was not bad-looking, but a red scar across his face marred his appearance. The woman seemed somewhat peculiar; she looked extremely seductive at first glance, but on closer observation, she appeared as an elegant and tranquil lady of high social standing.