Chapter 170 Meteor

"There was a huge commotion?" Jiang Ming asked in a dumbfounded tone.

Ping Gong twitched his mouth.

'Did fellow cultivator Jing hide in a rock previously? How did he not hear the loud explosion that literally sent a huge energy fluctuation across the environment?' Ping Gong wondered silently.

Little did Ping Gong know that the huge commotion had occurred during the time when Jiang Ming was still in the Avalon Ruin.

Hence, Jiang Ming didn't know that everyone was currently rushing into the central area.

'No wonder why it took me a long time to find traces of some living people when I came out.' Jiang Ming thought, finally realizing the weird feeling he was getting.

"Wait a minute, how long did that so-called huge commotion last?" Jiang Ming stared at Ping Gong and asked.

"Responding to that question, it had been more than 30 minutes already." Hung Chao decided to intervene and responded first.

"Fellow cultivator Jing was asking me, and not you. Why did you even butt into our conversation, you little hearsay motherfucker?" Ping Gong scoffed coldly.

"What did you just call me?"

"Enough of fighting!" Jiang Ming shouted, prompting the two to stop arguing. He was getting a headache from these two who are acting like some little kids.

Although they didn't know why they stopped fighting against each other, they subconsciously listened to Jiang Ming.

It was like they were hit with an enchanting spell that caused them to obey Jiang Ming's words.

Hung Chao was the first to snap out of his daze and shook his head. "Wait a minute, why should I even listen to you? You are just some cultivator residing in the mountainside."

"Then I guess you don't want a taste of my beef jerky strip." Jiang Ming taunted, flashing out a single strip in his hand.

"..."

As soon as Jiang Ming brought a beef jerky strip, Hung Chao became like an obedient dog.

"Fellow cultivator Jing, I'm not fighting with Ping Gong." Hung Chao's expression turned solemn as he cupped his fist. He wanted to verify if the beef jerky strip could really help him with his breakthrough.

If it's actually possible, then he wouldn't mind obeying his words for some time. However, if the beef jerky strip is just a fraud and wouldn't help him out, then he could get revenge at that time.

Either way, he wouldn't lose much by acting obedient for a while compared to the bigger picture.

'A healing pill was treated like trash in his eyes, so there must be a reason for it.' Hung Chao thought.

Sometime later, the group began to behave in the presence of Jiang Ming as they headed toward the central area.

"Hmm, it seems like a bunch of people are already gathering there…" Jiang Ming halted his footstep for a moment when his spiritual perception detected numerous people.

His expression changed when he realized a fearsome display of a certain person.

'Holy crap, am I daydreaming?' Jiang Ming wondered silently, seemingly in disbelief at the person that was sitting on top of a magical beast.

"Look at that person, isn't she the one with that Jing cultivator?"

"Yeah, if I recall correctly, she referred to herself as Yiqin. Unbelievable… one can cure a broken meridian while the other can tame a ferocious magical beast."

"Just how are these two cultivators from the mountainside? They are clearly cheating and breaking the norms."

The crowd that had gathered in the central area started gossiping among each other at the appearance of Yang Liqin, who was casually sitting on top of Kractacle.

'These people are really annoying. It's like they have never seen a tamed magical beast before.' Yang Liqin thought, seemingly irritated by the constant muttering from the crowd.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

While the crowd was talking about Yang Liqin, a loud clapping sound emitted from the back, causing everyone to turn around to find the source.

"You are making me look really bad, junior sister. To think you would tame such a mighty beast while I came in empty-handed." Jiang Ming laughed heartily, keeping up with their alias.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Yang Liqin stood up at the top of Kractacle and glanced below her. When she spotted Jiang Ming's appearance, her lips curled upward despite the mask hiding her facial expression.

She hurriedly leaped down from the Kractacle and dashed toward Jiang Ming.

"Senior brother must be jestering me… How can I be compared to you?" She said cheekily, void of her haughty attitude, and replaced was a gentle and loving girl.

Jiang Ming could only raise his hand in surrender since he had clearly lost this battle.

"Junior sister has already surpassed this senior brother. I'm too ashamed to even show my face." He sighed in defeat.

"But senior brother… your face is indeed hidden with the mask on. Does that mean you have always been ashamed of yourself?"

"..."

Yang Liqin began giggling when she watched him stumped and unable to respond to her teasing.

'Ahh, this is so much better than exploring alone.' She exclaimed inwardly, wrapping her hand around his arm.

Jiang Ming allowed her to do as she pleased. After all, the bet that they had in the Golden Staircase was still valid and he must obey her.

It was best to not agitate her and cause her to make some unreasonable request.

"Anyway, what happened here, junior sister?" Jiang Ming asked. He then sent her a mental transmission, explaining to her about his expedition and how he failed to notice the huge explosion.

Yang Liqin nodded her head in understanding.

"Well, I was just roaming around the forest until a meteor dropped from the sky. It created a huge shockwave and almost caused my tamed magical beast to lose its mind for a split second." She explained.

"A meteor had landed from the sky?" Jiang Ming was alarmed.

There are meteorites in this world?

"Un, the meteor is currently 20 kilometer in front of us, but none of us can get inside because of some barrier blocking us."