Chapter 179
Looking at the confrontation between the two sides, seemingly on the verge of a fight, Zheng Hua quickly stepped in to mediate: “The three of you, calm down!”
“The real battle hasn’t even begun, and you’re already turning on each other…”
“If word of this gets out, it will tarnish the Ning family’s reputation.”
Zhou Zhenshen and others also chimed in to mediate.
Under everyone’s persuasion, Ning Zhuo, Ning Xiaohui, and the mysterious Snow Soul finally restrained their auras and temporarily stopped.
When they sat back down, Ning Xiaohui and Ning Zhuo were already sitting far apart.
Zhou Zhenshen smiled and cupped his hands towards the mysterious Snow Soul: “May I ask this senior’s esteemed name?”
The mysterious Snow Soul, exuding a Foundation Establishment aura, raised his head proudly and said, “I am Ning Xie. In life, I was an elder of the Ning family, possessing the innate Snow Soul Ice Spirit. After dying in battle, I became a ghost cultivator. I have come out this time for your joint operation.”
Zhou Zhenshen was puzzled: “Senior is a Foundation Establishment ghost cultivator, with your cultivation difficult to change, how will your soul enter the Immortal Palace?”
Ghost cultivator Ning Xie explained, “That’s not difficult. I can attach my soul to Xiaohui’s spirit body, temporarily merging with her.”
“When Ning Xiaohui’s soul enters the Immortal Palace, I can also be brought inside.”
“However, if I appear to fight, I can only remain for thirteen breaths at most. Exceeding that time limit, I will be expelled by the Lava Immortal Palace.”
At this point, Zheng Jian spoke up to verify, “We’ve already confirmed this situation.”
It turned out he was in the know.
Zhou Zhenshen’s gaze darkened subtly.
He was quick to detect that the Ning family and the Zheng family seemed to be closer than he had initially thought.
Outwardly, Zhou Zhenshen cupped his hands, his face showing joy: “With senior’s assistance, and the innate Snow Soul Ice Spirit in play, our chances of success greatly increase.”
Ning Xie coldly snorted: “Naturally.”
Ning Zhuo followed with a cold snort: “With only thirteen breaths of action, what can you do? Freeze the entire checkpoint?”
Ning Xie squinted his eyes, his expression extremely displeased: “You young junior, you are right. I can freeze the surroundings, altering the battlefield. If you don’t believe me, you’ll have a taste of it when the time comes!”
Ning Zhuo chuckled: “Freeze your own people? You died, and your brain must have died with you too?”
“How about freezing the mechanical ape or the puppet slaves instead?”
“Oh, right.”
“If you get enslaved by the puppet, it’ll be hilarious!”
“Rubbish!” Ning Xie shouted angrily, “You little brat, sharp-tongued! Keep this up, and I’ll tear your mouth apart.”
Ning Zhuo’s face turned serious, his gaze dark: “Who’s arguing with you?”
“I’m pointing out the biggest hidden danger here! I’m thinking about the overall situation, but you think I’m just quarreling with you?”
Ning Zhuo pointed directly at Ning Xie: “My concern is clear: can this ghost cultivator really be taken inside?”
“Let’s make sure he doesn’t end up becoming a weapon used against us!”
Ning Xie trembled with rage, his soul visibly paling. Just as he was about to speak, an elderly voice interjected: “Regarding this, I, the clan patriarch, can vouch for it.”
Everyone’s expressions shifted.
Ning Xie immediately shut his mouth.
Afterward, the Ning family patriarch entered the scene, fixing his gaze on Ning Zhuo with a faint smile and a chilling look: “Ning Zhuo, your consideration is thorough.”
“But you’re still too young. You don’t understand the mysteries of ghost cultivation, nor do you grasp the depth of the Ning family’s foundation!”
Ning Zhuo cupped his hands in respect, his gaze calm as he fearlessly met the Ning family patriarch’s eyes: “If that’s the case, then this junior will remain doubtful.”
He then shifted his tone: “But this junior still does not recommend acting so hastily.”
“We currently lack solid intelligence.”
“We can completely wait for the spell techniques to be improved and use the refined spells for reconnaissance.”
“After all, the enemy is just two mechanical battle puppets. Once we understand their nature, their chances of winning will be very slim.”
Zhou Zhenshen marveled inwardly.
He hadn’t expected Ning Zhuo to be so unyielding! He was actually standing firm against the Ning family’s Foundation Establishment elders, even the patriarch.
“What’s his cultivation level? He’s only at the third layer of Qi Refining. Truly brave!” Zhou Zhenshen even felt a sliver of admiration for Ning Zhuo.
Sharing his sentiments were Zheng Jian and Zhou Zhu.
Zheng Hua thought silently: “Ning Zhuo, young and impulsive, dares to openly oppose his own clan patriarch.”
“But, looking at his actions, it makes sense.”
“Now that he’s become the lord of the black market, his power has soared, achieving things he’s never accomplished in his life. It’s the height of his arrogance.”
“If I were him, I’d be even more conceited.”
“If this young man continues to rise, the Ning family will inevitably face a second internal conflict in the future. He’s worth heavily supporting!”
Hearing Ning Zhuo’s suggestion to continue reconnaissance, Zhou Zhenshen pondered and agreed: “Forgive my rudeness, but I also think it would be better to continue scouting.”
“Information is extremely important! Especially in battles like ours, a little more intelligence could very well affect the final outcome of the operation.”
“Hmm? Zhou Zhenshen is clearly siding with Ning Zhuo so openly?” Zheng Jian felt a ripple of surprise in his heart upon witnessing this scene.
In Huoshi Immortal City, the four forces vied for dominance in a complex web of power struggles, where every faction’s relationships with others were always shifting.
Truly outstanding family members were keenly aware of the subtle dynamics between different families.
After thinking for a moment, Zheng Jian spoke: “Indeed, we’ve been improving reconnaissance spells for a long time.”
“But it will still take some time before they’re perfected.”
“In fact, our family has already begun procuring and borrowing related comprehension diagrams from outside.”
“However, even with these diagrams, it still tests the comprehension abilities of the cultivators. For those with average comprehension, they may not gain much from them.”
Ning Zhuo spread his hands: “Then we can wait.”
“I believe we have plenty of talent in the improvement team, and someone will eventually comprehend it. Or, we wait until the three families have completed refining the spells. Once we have results from the reconnaissance, we can fully focus on the battle and have victory in hand!”
“Speaking of comprehension diagrams, I happen to have two of them. Perhaps I could contribute them and share with everyone.”
“Shut up!” Ning Xiaohui almost jumped in anger, “Those comprehension diagrams were lent to you by the family for personal use. What right do you have to share them with outsiders?”
Ghost cultivator Ning Xie also added, “Junior from the Ning family branch, do you not know the clan rules? You have no right to distribute those two comprehension diagrams.”
Ning Zhuo chuckled: “I was merely offering a suggestion. Since the patriarch is here, what do you think, patriarch?”
The Ning family patriarch immediately felt as if he had swallowed a fly, his expression turning sour.
As the patriarch of a family, he couldn’t speak as bluntly as Ning Xiaohui.
And now, in front of members from the Zheng and Zhou families, with the alliance of the three families in the background, it was difficult for him to outright refuse.
In this situation, it was as if Ning Zhuo, this junior, had cornered him and left him with no way out.
For the first time, the Ning family patriarch regretted his hasty appearance, realizing that it was a bit ill-considered.
Suddenly, Zhou Zhenshen laughed: “If the Ning family is willing to offer two comprehension diagrams, I propose my family also contribute two to share with the improvement team.”
Zheng Jian was about to speak when Zheng Hua jumped in: “Great! I can make the decision right now for the Zheng family to offer the Flame Summit Cloud Diagram and the Ground Furnace Flame Diagram for everyone to study.”
The Ning family patriarch laughed heartily, quickly trying to recover: “A mere two comprehension diagrams are no problem for the Ning family.”
“But even if something is comprehended in the short term, it will still require extensive practice, making it hard to use in battle.”
“On the contrary, focusing our efforts on special training, building teamwork and coordination, will be far more useful than understanding new spells.”
“This battle must be fought swiftly!”
“The specific details cannot be revealed, but I can tell you all that this matter concerns the Golden Core ancestors of our three families.”
Everyone was taken aback.
The Ning family patriarch was warning everyone: don’t merely consider this battle at face value. There are powerful external factors forcing you to fight quickly!
The battle was merely a tool.
“The battle isn’t the goal, so what is the real objective?” Ning Zhuo sighed inwardly.
He had deliberately provoked and challenged others to gather more information.
In any case, the conflict between him and the main line of the Ning family had already reached an irreconcilable point, so Ning Zhuo didn’t care about maintaining surface-level harmony anymore.
The rewards were also abundant.
He not only obtained a lot of intelligence but also gained the opportunity to comprehend four new comprehension
diagrams!
Furthermore, the secret the Ning family patriarch had revealed regarding the Golden Core ancestors was good news for Ning Zhuo.
When reading history books, Ning Zhuo often saw cases where two armies fought, but the rulers or ministers behind the scenes ignored the actual battle situation, giving absurd commands, leading to a disastrous defeat.
At first, Ning Zhuo thought these people were foolish.
But as he grew older, especially in recent days, he had come to deeply realize the limitations of people and understood more about the “foolishness” of those individuals.
Were they foolish?
They were foolish, yet also clever, driven by circumstances beyond their control.
In reality, everyone had their own pressures and motivations, their own desires and fears.
These various factors intertwined, turning what was once a pure battle into something far more complex.
Just like how Ning Zhuo needed Yuan Dasheng’s “small victory” rather than a big win or a crushing defeat, and just like how this hurried joint action of the three families stemmed from the mysterious decisions of their Golden Core ancestors.
When young, he had laughed at the mundane world in books, but now, upon rereading, he realized he had become part of the story.
The vast mysteries of the world lay beyond the pages of the book, but the sense of purpose within a single sheet of paper must be cherished!
Zhou Zhenshen sighed: “In that case, we have no choice but to proceed, as the arrow has already been drawn and must be released.”
Ning Zhuo then looked at Zheng Hua: “Since this is the will of the Golden Core ancestors from the three families, no wonder Ning Xie has been dispatched.”
“If the Ning family is like this, then surely the Zheng and Zhou families have also brought out some hidden cards?”
Zheng family elder Zheng Hua chuckled: “I was just about to mention it.”
“One of our ancestors accidentally stumbled into the ghost market, nearly losing his life, but he did gain something.”
“This technique is called the Ghost Martial Spirit Weapon Forging Method, which can consume soul power, cut off parts of the soul, and forge ghost spirit weapons.”
“Once it’s cultivated, it’s as if you possess half of a life-bound weapon. Afterward, when your soul enters the Immortal Palace, you’ll receive the corresponding mechanical parts in the first room.”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone turned to look at Zheng Jian.
Around Zheng Jian floated a hook-shaped magical tool. When his soul entered the Immortal Palace, there were corresponding wooden hook parts floating around his body.
Zheng Jian quickly explained: “This is not a ghost martial weapon.”