Chapter 177: The battle is just a tool
“The three families are going to join forces to attack Yuan Dasheng…” Ning Zhuo took this matter very seriously.
The enemy’s strength was unclear, and Yuan Dasheng could not yet exert his full power.
Due to the rescue of Sun Lingtong, many of Yuan Dasheng’s techniques had been exposed, such as the Sun Crushing Hand, Backhand Grab, and the Righteous Bone Gold Frame.
Of course, the immortal material aspect should still be kept confidential. Normally, people would think that the materials used were of exceptional quality, allowing Yuan Dasheng to resist the burning of ghost fire.
This point could also be inferred from the reactions of Meng Kui and others after the battle.
If they had discovered anything spiritual or related to immortal materials, they would have frantically launched a city-wide search, rather than maintaining the current calm and observant state.
Even so, the Righteous Bone Gold Frame made of immortal material should not be revealed again on Yuan Dasheng, the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape.
Ning Zhuo also considered that Yuan Dasheng’s mechanical body was made of low-grade materials, so there was no way to expect much improvement in its performance.
“How can we increase Yuan Dasheng’s strength as much as possible?”
While pondering this question, Ning Zhuo couldn’t help but feel fortunate—fortunately, over the past ten days, he had focused on the Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra.
“By forging spiritual mechanical components through the Fire Burial Sutra, I can enhance Yuan Dasheng’s combat power!”
“This should be the way to break the current situation.”
“But why are the three families so confident that they can challenge Yuan Dasheng?”
“The Netherworld Envoy, Qi Bai, has also appeared, so in the three families’ plan, they must also be factoring in Qi Bai.”
“Their confidence probably comes from the preparation rooms, doesn’t it?”
In the Lava Immortal Palace, beyond Room No. 3, there was a preparation room.
The preparation room contained many mechanical platforms and tools, and with just a few spirit stones, they could repair puppet bodies.
In the next two preparation rooms, spirit stones could even be used to purchase many low-grade materials for a certain degree of modification to the puppet bodies.
The strength of the human race lies in its wisdom, and the area where wisdom shines the most is in the use of tools.
With just a fulcrum and a lever, a person could lift an object far exceeding their physical strength. This was the simplest mechanism, yet it had a power that could move the heart.
Cultivation techniques encompass the art of how to use all types of resources in the most reasonable and true-to-cultivation ways. Among these techniques, mechanical arts could be considered the pinnacle of tools.
Ning Zhuo’s eyes glimmered faintly.
“The three families’ modification teams exploring the Immortal Palace are now all at the third layer peak of Qi Refining.”
“Over the past few days, they have been diligently practicing mechanical arts, and have become extremely familiar with the puppet bodies, as well as tools like the Suspension Ring.”
“Now, they intend to make good use of the preparation room, fully unleash their creativity, and thus explode with great strength, aiming to overthrow Yuan Dasheng in one fell swoop.”
Ning Zhuo’s mind worked swiftly, and his understanding of the situation was razor-sharp. With just a bit of thought, he pinpointed the key to the three families’ joint action.
It was the preparation room!
“Now the question is, should I let Yuan Dasheng appear ahead of time in the first three levels to block them?”
The large joint operation of the three families actually had a fatal weakness.
As long as Yuan Dasheng intercepted them ahead of time, these people wouldn’t even make it to the first preparation room.
However, this simplest and most brutal answer was not the optimal solution to the problem!
“If I do this, it might work once. But if it happens twice or three times, the three families will develop great suspicion because of Yuan Dasheng’s precise interceptions.”
“If they consistently fail to break through, the three families might even collaborate with the City Lord’s Mansion!”
This was entirely possible.
On the path of soul-entry into the Immortal Palace, the most advantageous party was the City Lord’s Mansion.
The three families had united to compete with Meng Chong and others, but they were consistently on the losing side.
Meng Chong and his group dominated all the leaderboards (or so it seemed to them), and the three families, because of Yuan Dasheng, couldn’t leverage their numerical advantage.
If Ning Zhuo suppressed them too much and drove the three families to despair, then, when forced into a corner, they would undoubtedly seek the assistance of the City Lord’s Mansion.
Would the City Lord’s Mansion agree to help?
It was hard to say.
If the soul-entry route was the only path, Ning Zhuo felt that the likelihood of the City Lord’s Mansion agreeing to cooperate was very low.
But now, the body-entry route was also available. On this path, the competitiveness of the City Lord’s Mansion was minimal, almost insignificant.
The ones with the advantage were the Zhou and Zheng families.
And the first place belonged to Zhu Xuanji. He had previously contributed three quasi-Golden Core-grade mechanical creations in one go, and such a bold move had catapulted him to the top, making him the current frontrunner.
“For the City Lord’s Mansion, they need Meng Chong to progress faster, the faster the better, to surpass Zhu Xuanji’s progress!”
“Yuan Dasheng’s repeated defeats of Meng Chong have become a major obstacle. Therefore, joining forces to attack Yuan Dasheng, defeat him, and uncover the secrets of his internal mechanical structure is a strong motivator for the City Lord’s Mansion.”
“Even if Yuan Dasheng is repaired by the Immortal Palace and reintroduced into the trial checkpoints in the future, they will have obtained critical intelligence, allowing them to defend and target him more effectively.”
“So, the key to the City Lord’s Mansion’s decision lies in whether eliminating the monkey puppet would allow the three families’ advantage to surpass that of Meng Chong.”
If it would surpass them, they wouldn’t agree to cooperate.
If not, they would most likely collaborate!
In his current state, Yuan Dasheng was already struggling to face Meng Chong alone.
Once the four major forces united, Yuan Dasheng would be up against a massive team led by Meng Chong, with other geniuses as secondary leaders, and the modification teams numbering over a hundred.
Even if they brought in the Netherworld Envoy, Qi Bai, and exhausted its remaining spirituality to join the battle, the chances of victory would still be slim.
“So, letting them enter the preparation room, allowing them to make full pre-battle preparations, and then letting Yuan Dasheng appear—is that the correct solution?”
“More precisely, this battle cannot let the three families’ joint forces suffer a crushing defeat. Although Yuan Dasheng will win, they must be left with a false hope—a feeling that if they try a little harder next time, they can defeat Yuan Dasheng.”
If Yuan Dasheng appeared too strong, the three families’ alliance would despair and still turn to the City Lord’s Mansion.
The City Lord’s Mansion, seeing this, would think, how could this be? Yuan Dasheng is this strong?
Feeling the pressure, they would also push Meng Kui and Meng Chong to cooperate.
Only by letting the three families believe that they were just a step away from success would they avoid seeking cooperation with the City Lord’s Mansion.
They would desire to defeat Yuan Dasheng themselves, allowing the repaired Yuan Dasheng to continue being a thorn in Meng Chong’s side.
“Only in this situation will it be most advantageous for me.”
Ning Zhuo felt the weight of the pressure.
The complexity of the situation required him to pursue a complex result in battle.
Yuan Dasheng losing was not an option.
Yuan Dasheng winning by a landslide was also not an option.
He had to win by a small margin and leave the three families with a glimmer of false hope. Only by achieving this could Ning Zhuo be considered the true victor in this struggle.
“Battle is just an action.”
“It is a tool.”
“Just like when Zhou Zhenshen recently proposed a sparring match, using battle as a tool to build friendship with me and strengthen our relationship.”
“And the battle between Yuan Dasheng and the three families’ joint forces is my tool to continue maintaining control over the Lava Immortal Palace!”
Ning Zhuo shared this information, along with his analysis of the situation, with Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong praised him and said with emotion, “Xiao Zhuo, your understanding of the various forces and your grasp of human nature have surpassed even mine. In this aspect, I am increasingly assured.”
Ning Zhuo humbly responded, “Not at all. I still have many shortcomings.”
Sun Lingtong said, “In that case, I will also work harder to unlock Qi Bai’s storage bag!”
After being put on the wanted list, Sun Lingtong had remained in a few underground bases, moving once every few days.
His injuries had long since healed.
On a daily basis, aside from cultivating and exploring the Immortal Palace, he was focused on cracking Qi Bai’s storage bag.
Ning Zhuo only intervened in the black market once, when Sun Lingtong took the risk to make an appearance in the city and issued orders to the leader of the Turtle Rest Gang. That was his only venture outside.
With the development of cultivation reaching this point, storage tools used by cultivators often had verification, defense, and self-destruction measures.
Back when Ning Zhuo killed the Huang Family Three Ghosts, it took him a long time to unlock their three storage bags. During that time, a little ghost head even flew out from the bag and attempted to attack Ning Zhuo
. However, Ning Zhuo was not careless and, having been prepared, directly killed the little ghost.
As a disciple of a major demonic sect, Qi Bai’s storage bag had a high level of defense.
Sun Lingtong, only at the Foundation Establishment stage, had been painstakingly trying to unlock Qi Bai’s storage bag. Although there had been progress, it was extremely slow.
According to Ning Zhuo’s speculation, the storage bag’s tight defense indicated that it must be very important to Qi Bai.
It was very likely that this bag contained many of Qi Bai’s personal belongings.
Under the Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra, these items would all enhance the spirituality of Qi Bai’s mechanical puppet.
Ning Zhuo nodded, “If this battle involves the Netherworld Envoy, Qi Bai, I will feel much more confident.”
“But don’t take too many risks, Boss Sun.”
“After Qi Bai’s death, the Soul-Devouring Sect has made no moves, which is quite strange.”
“It’s highly likely that their people are already here.”
Sun Lingtong understood the seriousness of the situation and nodded, “I understand.”
He revealed a solemn expression, “The hooked-nose and triangular-eyed members of the Soul-Devouring Sect are both imprisoned by the City Lord’s Mansion. I’m not worried about them—this is clearly bait set by the City Lord’s Mansion.”
“My bigger concern is Han Ming.”
“Since that battle, Han Ming has not appeared. If she has secretly contacted members of the Soul-Devouring Sect, the threat to us will be even greater.”
“Sigh… we’ll just have to take it one step at a time.” Ning Zhuo sighed. After taking over the black market, he had paid close attention to gathering information on this matter, but so far, there had been no results.
A few days later, Ning Zhuo received a notification to go to the Zhou Family.
In an underground hall, the entire modification team of the three families had gathered.
The three family patriarchs appeared together, officially announcing the start of a new joint operation!
“I’ve long been annoyed by that mechanical monkey.”
“With the three of our families united, led by five geniuses, we will definitely wash away our previous humiliation.”
“Over these past few days, my mechanical arts have improved significantly. I am no longer the same person!”
“Hahaha, then let’s give it our all.”
Everyone was enthusiastically discussing, and morale was quite high.
The three family patriarchs made the following arrangements: the underground hall would be sealed off, and there would be several days of special training. During this time, all modification team members would live and train there, and casual outings were prohibited.
After the meeting, Zhou Zhenshen, with a smile on his face, actively approached Ning Zhuo, “Brother Ning, come with me. We need to focus on discussing the specific battle plan.”
Ning Zhuo smiled slightly and started a conversation, “Brother Zhou, I must thank you for the rivet rapid-fire crossbow; it has been very useful.”
Zhou Zhenshen laughed heartily, “Next time we spar, I will definitely win your mechanical monkey blueprint, Brother Ning.”
“This way, please.” Zhou Zhenshen extended his arm, indicating the way.
Ning Zhuo replied, “Please.”